Chapter 5 Black Box
I heard this snack store boss child really is “melon package gas”, ask him is not as good as ask, then want to ask someone else, turn your head to look around, glanced at the corner of the street with a half of the door on the old store, look at the facade is to sell groceries.
But the strange thing is that the store door with hemp rope hanging a small coffin-like wooden box, box body to go a lot of paint, are lacquered black, looks like a long time old, paint peeling weathering, just look at the color of the wood, I know it is rosewood, there must be some of the history of the antique, and the shape of the unusual, the more I see the more strange, I can not imagine that in the inconspicuous backwater town, there is actually this thing? I bumped into, also can be regarded as our “touch the gold lieutenant” of fortune.
I put my eyes on the store door hanging on the “black box” on the time, see the right, the heart has a number, I think will not go out of sight, then turn to ask the bald shell boss: “again with you to inquire about a thing, the street that grocery store is the state-run or individual?”
Bald shell boss while busy on the stove, while looking up at the store I said, replied: “That is individual, the old boss called Li Shuguo, is a foreign household in Baoding Province, the old BaZi of the abusive war, only know to punch the shell, do not know how to do business, did not have any serious goods, you want to buy anything, as well as along the street to go down the street, there is a state-run store thi. You want to buy something, why don’t you walk down the street, there are state-run stores.
I listened to the owner of the grocery store is the people of Baoding Province, it would not be wrong, thanked the bald shell, back to Shirley Yang and others sat down, Shirley Yang asked me: “How? Shirley Yang asked me, “What news have you gotten?”
I said: “here people do not know have no brain child king, but some other unexpected discovery ……” said I pointed with a hand to the corner of the grocery store, let the people to look at the store hanging in front of the door “black box “.
Fatty wondered, “is a coffin store ah, old Hu you want to buy a coffin for who?”
Sun Jiuji said that is certainly not a model of the coffin, often in the rural countryside, I have not seen the folk have such a coffin store, and then which grocery store sells coffins, I do not know the door to hang a wooden box has what to say, could it be that they are full of support?
Shirley Yang’s grandfather, is famous during the Republic of China to move a moment of “moving mountain Taoist”, the doorway in the jianghu Greenwood are not familiar with, so Shirley Yang is growing up overseas, but know the jianghu mountain scripture cryptic, do not look at the position of the professor of the Sun Jiuji and the fat man is not clear, but she has seen some of the end of the side of the question, said to me: “This wooden box is full of holes, like a beekeeper’s beehive general, I’m afraid the shopkeeper is the head of the beehive mountain.”
Mr. Sun Jiuzi was puzzled: “Beehive mountain? I don’t think so. Can not ah, you see those holes, different sizes, different depths, no rules to speak of, may be all poked out with a knife, may be some kind of local customs, you do not rush to arbitrariness, it is necessary for us to respect the local people’s folk customs.”
I said, “Professor Sun you are really not a general amateur in this area, I am lazy to raise a bar with you, let’s not just say it, simply go in and buy something to see if this store is hiding a bit of honeycomb mountain inside the old Yuanliang.”
The fat man in fact also know nothing about, but still do not pretend to understand, said to Sun Jiuzi: “Show cowardice, right? Don’t know don’t talk nonsense, don’t think it’s a what expert, can say in all areas, expert professor is not everything, in the future more with the fat master I learn a little bit of it, go in and take you to open your eyes.” After saying that tightly grilled two mouths of rice, pick up the backpack, with us together to the old store door.
Store in an old and young two people, the old seventy or eighty years old, hair and beard are white, holding two iron balls, lying in a bamboo chair, half asleep half awake, think this person is surnamed Li’s old shopkeeper; there is another early twenties of a young girl, looks very clear and very watery, tied two braids hanging in front of the chest, from top to bottom through the clean and sharp, it is the local Sichuan sister, not like with the old shopkeeper has what Blood relations, may be the store salesperson, she saw us into the store, immediately busy greeting, asked me what I want to buy?
I looked around, although the store furnishings are old, but cleaned everywhere, there is an old wooden counter, I do not know how many years ago, polished and bright, the most conspicuous on the cabinet is a large row of glass jars, which are loaded with colorful sugar, as well as some of the local products, the shelves of the various colors of the goods, all the yards are neatly arranged.
I know “honeycomb mountain” is also 72 lines of craftsmen, this store in the open and secretly, doing two kinds of business, but strangers directly into the store, the owner will never do the real business with you, I thought to find a reason, just into the mountain grave robbers need to use some sundries, out of the rush has not yet been procured, then the girl said: “sister”. I said to the girl, “Sister, we want to buy candles, but also good white paper, string, matches, sugar cubes also come two pounds.”
The girl understood, and took out the things I wanted, one by one, according to the quantity, and the fat man beside me added for me, “I say, sister, the candles must be of good quality, and we don’t want the ones that aren’t brand-name.”
The girl thought the fat man was making fun of her, a little angry, said: “You count the altar to make strange yo? Which buy candles also look at the brand?”
At this time the old shopkeeper to open his eyes slits, rubbing the hands of the iron ball on the girl said: “Missy, this group of people are foreign guests, shall not be rude.”
I saw the old shopkeeper woke up, thinking that the youngest sister is young, not like the “honeycomb mountain” in the old shopkeeper, although old, but not fainting, not vulgar, may be the “honeycomb mountain” in the big connoisseur, and then made a question: “Old shopkeeper, I intend to exchange a few pieces of goods with you, I do not know if there is a ready-made?”
The old shopkeeper did not move and said: “line of goods pieces are placed on the cabinet, guests want what despite asking the youngest sister to buy.”
I thought the old shopkeeper this is the intention to play dumb with me ah, with the intention of using the secret language cut with him to say the intention, but I just had heard my grandfather Hu Guohua said some, mostly inverted bucket of the cut, on the general “mountain classic lips canon” is not too familiar, although a few sentences, can always say not whole, a moment to find the right words, but can not be afraid to ask directly, in order to avoid being seen as “foreigners”, the other side. In order to avoid being regarded as a “layman”, quickly made a wink to Shirley Yang, let her face to talk.
Shirley Yang nodded in understanding, went forward seemingly intentional seemingly unintentional to the old shopkeeper, said: “through the mountains look up, the mountain a gold sign; gold sign after the silver sign, row after row are bees head.”
The old shopkeeper heard the words and opened his eyes violently, looked up and down some Shirley Yang, seems to not believe that these words can be said from her mouth, and thought that he heard wrong, and then moved up the “mountain scripture” to ask: “a mirror two mountains according to shine out of the golden wind blowing all over the face; I do not know which way to pass through the Bee Mountain, recognize the I don’t know which way to pass the Bee Mountain and recognize the gold, silver and bee character cards?”
Shirley Yang did not even think about it, and then answered off the cuff: “The wind harrier with the mountains, horseback whip to catch up with the journey; the team is not together, do not be surprised, courtesy is rusty do not worry about it.”
The old shopkeeper looked even more surprised, and asked: “mountain mountain? Why did you come?”
Shirley Yang said: “not up and down, want to invite the bee box.”
The old shopkeeper stroked his beard and nodded slightly, but may still be a little less assured, and continued to ask: “Bee Master is good to see, the bee box is difficult to invite, I do not know what kind of invitation to go as?”
Shirley Yang refused to easily give away his whereabouts, only pushed and said: “Tea to stay in the famous mountain guests, the door to welcome the guests of the five lakes, all are people in the mountains, why ask about the roots of the seedling.”
Only to see the old shopkeeper a pat on the thigh, from the bamboo chair stood up, praised: “Words of sense, these decades, have not heard someone say this open, the youngest sister, fast to the guests to the inner room please.”
Shirley Yang and the old shopkeeper’s reply, I can still understand a general meaning, the fat man and Sun Jiuzi is like falling into a fog, do not know what the cloud, the fat man is the left ear to hear the right ear risk, this is not to go to the brain, only Professor Sun listen to the dull, stupefied in the spot, and so we are into the room, only to hear him in the back of the self said: “are grinding mushrooms slippery which way of the Black language ah!”
We followed the old shopkeeper and the youngest sister into the inner room, his store behind the two-story wooden building, are the daily living place, but did not lead us to the living room, but took us to the basement.
The basement is like a workshop, inside the sand wheel alone there are four or five, the wall is set up all the “sleeve arrows, darts, throwing hand nails, tiger claws,” a type of concealed weapons, all kinds of equipment, have seen the unseen and everything, some of the things we can not even name, and even more do not know how to use.
Professor Sun dragged me from the back, asked what the hell is going on? What is the wooden box hanging in front of the store? What is the honeycomb mountain? How to say a few black words, and led us here?
I said nine masters, you really should study, I guess since you hang a professor’s title, you do not know the sky and the earth, right? People do not learn to change repair, that’s why we have to live to learn old, one day do not learn more problems, two days do not learn to go downhill, three days do not learn can not live, in the long run how to get it?
Professor Sun said: “Quickly do not joke, I also do not want to eat the old capital, but these doorways where do I learn to go? What are they selling in this gourd?”
I had to give him a simple explanation, since ancient times, more than some prohibited hooks, so all walks of life have their own line of code words, which is now known as the “lingo”, but the line is like a mountain, in order to facilitate a wide range of communication, seventy-two lines in the production of a common set of large cuts, called the “Mountain Scriptures”. Mountain Scripture”.
“Beehive Mountain” is specialized in making a variety of “pin child” craftsmen, but these things, but concealed weapons, from ancient times for the expressly prohibited, more dangerous than the control of knives, no one has ever blatantly open a store to sell, are secretly trading, store door hanging a Black wooden box hanging in front of the shop, above all the holes, that is to try the concealed weapon when shot out, hanging in front of the door, know the line of discerning people, a look at the store know that there are concealed weapons for sale, go in with the jargon, you can trade to buy, if you do not know the Bureau, one is not to see out of the door, and secondly, even if it can be out of the money, no one will be willing to sell you the real thing.
I gave Professor Sun explained a pass, and went over to talk with the old shopkeeper, it turned out that Lee shopkeeper ancestry in Baoding, Hebei Province, Baoding Province is a famous martial arts township, Lee shopkeeper’s family generations are “Honeycomb Hill” in the skillful craftsmen, specializing in a variety of excellent equipment, after the July 7 Incident, the Sino-Japanese War broke out, Lee shopkeeper fled into Sichuan, incognito, under the name of “Beehive Mountain”, and the name of “Beehive Mountain”. Incognito, made a false name, opened an old store selling groceries, actually still want to do his old profession.
But after the liberation of these crafts and mountain scriptures are gradually lost, in the concealed weapons have not opened a few decades hair over the market, still hanging the wooden box in front of the door, entirely out of the “saddle think of horses, see things think of people” nostalgia, I can not imagine that there are still guests recognize “bee” signboard, the good thing is that the “bee” signboard. “The word signboard, good thing that year’s guy style are still retained.
Our team of people this time into Sichuan, in addition to the engineer shovel, and then did not bring any sharp weapon, even the paratrooper knife did not dare to bring, empty fists into the depths of the Wushan Mountain in search of ancient tombs, the hands of the hand is not inevitably a little thin, coincidentally, in this small town to see the “Bee” sign, naturally, you want to buy some of the hand instruments, we picked a few kinds of this year’s sleeve arrows and darts have long been No one will make it, just to find some sharp weapons with edges for self-defense.
The old shopkeeper here has “Emei thorns”, short and sharp, are made of steel, and easy to carry, so each person chose a handle to hide on the body, the fat man has a fancy only a “fast offspring of the beads”, this thing is not as good as the range of the rifle, but a box of forty-two “Funeral offspring”, all for continuous fast arrows, hit out enough to penetrate dozens of paces within the armor, only the “honeycomb mountain” in the skilled craftsmen, to make such a sharp instrument.
Fatty asked: “old shopkeeper, you have a really complete guy, my eyes are picking flowers, I do not know which is the treasure of the town mountain? Bring it out for us to see or not.”
The old shopkeeper laughed, said: “To say what the treasure of the town, really do not dare to be, but there is a piece of very delicate equipment, is the old monument life favorite work, years and years of rust left here, should not be its rightful home, just do not know you are not interested in it. Dele, first look and then say it, all the heroes, please on the eyes of …… “said the words unveiled a lying box, there is something inside, with brocade densely wrapped a number of layers, and so he turned over the brocade, I and Fatty, Shirley Yang at the same time exclaimed:” gold steel umbrella! ”
“Golden Steel Umbrella” is the protective equipment of the Golden Touches, when the Bitter Temple “Dust Elder” once passed down a handle, and by Shirley Yang from the United States to bring back, but we went to Yunnan to pirate hair “King Xian’s Tomb However, when we went to Yunnan to steal the hair “King Xian’s tomb”, it will be lost, the materials and production process of this umbrella is a secret, lost for a long time, and want to find someone to build a handle are impossible, I can’t believe that Shopkeeper Li actually built such a piece, I have a thought in my head: “Is it possible that the old shopkeeper has also been a gold digger?”