Chapter 32: The Handleless Bronze Hammer

Qin Blockhead replied, “These are the bronze hammers my master left me before he passed away.”

“Bronze hammers! What kind of bronze hammers? Can we take a look at them?” Ning Yongqiang asked with a laugh.

Qin Blockhead hesitated for a moment but agreed in the end. He opened his bundle to reveal a pair of bronze hammers, but only the hammerheads remained—there were no handles. The heads themselves were about the size of a grown man’s fist.

Xu Mo was inwardly surprised, thinking, The bronze hammers in television dramas are always huge, so why are these so small?

In truth, Xu Mo had been misled by television all along. The hammers in those shows were made deliberately oversized to make characters appear more powerful and fierce. In reality, the hammerheads used in ancient times were much smaller and more compact, for they were solid metal, requiring great strength and stamina to wield. If they were really made as massive as depicted on screen, even the most gifted warriors of old would struggle to swing them, let alone fight with them on the battlefield.

“Hey, why do you only have the hammerheads?” Ning Yongqiang asked.

Qin Blockhead replied, “The handles were made of wood. They’d rotted away over the years, eaten through by insects, and my master never tended to them. So I took them off when I discovered the damage.”

Xu Mo asked with curiosity, “Why not use bronze or iron for the handles?”

Qin Blockhead shook his head. “I don’t know. My master never explained, and I never thought to ask. After he gave me the hammers, he… he was gone.”

At the mention of his master, Qin Blockhead’s mood visibly dimmed.

Xu Mo picked up one of the hammerheads and weighed it in his hand—it must have been at least ten pounds. That meant Qin Blockhead had carried some twenty pounds of bronze hammers on his back and still managed to leap more than ten feet. Remarkable!

Xu Mo pressed on, “Since your master left them to you, why haven’t you had them repaired?”

Qin Blockhead replied, “That’s why I came to the city this time, to get the hammers repaired. But everywhere I asked, the price was too high—I simply can’t afford it.”

“How much does it cost to fix them?” Xu Mo asked.

“The cheapest place said at least two strings of cash,” Qin Blockhead said, holding up two fingers. “But I only have about twenty copper coins, and I still need to buy seeds…”

“Brother Qin, where do you live?” Xu Mo asked.

Qin Blockhead replied, “Do you know Gushan Village, over twenty li north of the city? My home is at the end of the village—the house with three jujube trees in front.”

As they chatted, a shop assistant came to find Ning Yongqiang, informing him that his friends had arrived.

After Ning Yongqiang went to greet his guests, only Xu Mo and Qin Blockhead remained in the room.

Xu Mo then asked, “Brother Qin, have you practiced lightness skills?”

“What’s that? I’ve never practiced anything like that,” Qin Blockhead said, looking bewildered.

Xu Mo was surprised. “Then how can you jump so far, especially carrying those bronze hammers?”

Qin Blockhead shook his head and scratched the back of his head. “I’m not sure either. Maybe it’s just that I’ve been training with my master since I was little, but what he taught me wasn’t what you’re talking about…”

With further conversation, Xu Mo learned that Qin Blockhead was an orphan, abandoned as a swaddled infant on a pile of firewood at his master’s doorstep. His master had taken him in and, since his own surname was Qin, named him Qin Blockhead.

From the age of three, Qin Blockhead had studied martial arts under his master. For the first few years, it was all foundational training—it wasn’t until he’d built up his basics thoroughly that he was allowed to learn the hammer techniques.

His master passed away from illness last month, entrusting the pair of bronze hammers to Qin Blockhead before he died. When the hammer handles turned out to be rotten, Qin Blockhead came to the city to have them repaired, only to find himself far short of the required money.

Later, when he grew hungry, he happened to see the long jump challenge at Delicacy Pavilion. Noting that a good jump earned a free meal, he joined the queue to compete.

And the rest had unfolded just as Xu Mo had seen.

“Sir Xu, your food is here,” the waiter announced.

Xu Mo paused their conversation and encouraged Qin Blockhead to eat first. He ordered braised pork and stir-fried eggs with chives for him, as well as two small side dishes.

Seeing so much food, Qin Blockhead felt uneasy. “Big brother, there’s no need for this much. I just wanted to fill my belly, not take advantage of your generosity.”

Xu Mo, not wanting him to feel burdened, smiled and said, “I haven’t eaten either. Why don’t we eat together?”

Qin Blockhead was startled. “Is that… is that alright, big brother? I’m dirty and ragged—how could I sit and eat with you?”

But Xu Mo didn’t mind at all. He asked the waiter to bring another bowl and a pair of chopsticks, then began to eat.

Only then did Qin Blockhead pick up his chopsticks. Perhaps it was the appetite of youth, but he was especially drawn to the braised pork, eating piece after piece with relish until the bowl was empty.

Contented, Qin Blockhead set down his bowl and chopsticks, cupped his fists, and thanked him. “Thank you, big brother. I’m full now—I’ll be going.”

He slung his bundle over his shoulder and made to leave.

Xu Mo quickly called him back, smiling warmly. “Brother Qin, our meeting is fate! Take this silver, get your hammers repaired, and pay me back whenever you’re able.”

As he spoke, Xu Mo pressed a piece of silver—worth at least three taels—into Qin Blockhead’s hand. He’d grown fond of the young man and wished to help him.

But Qin Blockhead was taken aback and shook his head vigorously. “No, no, I can’t accept this!”

He set the silver on the table and dashed out of the room, disappearing in a flash.

Xu Mo could only smile wryly, then put the silver away.

——————

That afternoon, past the midpoint of the Shen hour, a Ning family carriage drew to a halt before the Miscellaneous Goods Hall.

Soon, Ning Yaxin stepped down from the carriage, accompanied by Ling’er, and entered the shop.

As soon as Liu Rushi heard that Ning Yaxin had arrived, she hurried out to greet her.

“Miss Ning, what brings you here today?” Liu Rushi asked with a radiant smile, leading Ning Yaxin upstairs to the reception room.

Before even sitting down, Ning Yaxin said, “Manager Liu, the soap you gave me last time was wonderful. I’d like to buy some more.”

Liu Rushi gave a helpless smile. “If you’d come two hours earlier, Miss Ning, you’d have managed to buy some. But now… it’s all sold out.”

“Sold out already?” Ning Yaxin was astonished. “Didn’t you say you’d just received a shipment the other day? It’s only been two days—how can it all be gone?”

Liu Rushi nodded. “Yes! The soap sells incredibly well. I only had two hundred bars, hardly enough for everyone.”

“When will there be more?” Ning Yaxin asked.

Liu Rushi shook her head slightly. “It’s hard to say—perhaps ten days, perhaps a month. There’s no guarantee.”

Ning Yaxin was disappointed. After a pause, she said, “Then, Manager Liu, let me leave a deposit. As soon as the soap arrives, please notify me immediately.”

Liu Rushi was happy to oblige. “How many bars would you like to reserve, Miss Ning?”

Ning Yaxin thought for a moment. “Let me reserve ten.”

Liu Rushi agreed readily, fetched paper and ink, and wrote out a deposit receipt.

“Miss Ning, ten bars of soap will be one hundred strings of cash. Pay fifty now as a deposit, and the rest when you pick them up,” Liu Rushi explained.

Ning Yaxin was startled. “What? A hundred strings for ten bars? That means each bar costs ten strings of cash?”