"Grind the scissors! Grind the scissors! Grind the dishes! Knife!" An old man in his fifties was wearing gray old clothes, a straw hat on his head, a torn apron around his waist, black trousers, and a knife on his shoulder. Wear a sweat towel and a pair of worn-out shoes. There is a small string on the edge of the shoe and tied around the ankle. I saw him holding a small bench on his shoulder with one hand. There was a fixed sand wheel on the corner of the bench and a foot pedal underneath. The function of the grinding wheel is to first grind the sharp edges of particularly dull tools, and then finely grind them after the sharp edges are formed. There was a small millstone fixed on the other end, and a cloth chain hung on it. The swag bag was bulging, and he shouted as he walked.
When we walked to the alley where our house was, a middle-aged woman came out of a courtyard with a pair of scissors in her hand.
My mother came back from a relative's house. She saw the knife repairman at the entrance of the alley and said to the knife repairman: "Knife repairman, my kitchen knife is dull and needs to be sharpened!"
"Okay, bring the knife. Let me polish it and fix it!" Mother walked into the alley.
After a while, my mother brought my kitchen knife, went to the knife repairman and gave my blunt kitchen knife to the knife repairer. I watched beside my mother. The knife repairman took the knife and looked at it carefully for a while, then put the knife on the bench. I saw him taking out a dry tobacco bag from his pocket, holding the pipe in one hand, pinching the bottom of the cigarette bag with the other hand and twisting it, and then pulled out the cigarette pipe. The cigarette pot was already full of shredded tobacco. He took out another pack of matches from his pocket, took out a match, and struck it on the side of the matchbox. "Chi!" The flame flickered, getting bigger and bigger. He held the burning flame and placed it on the smoke pot. I saw two small dimples forming on his cheeks, and then I saw his mouth bulged, and sparks flashed in front of the pot. After lighting it, he threw away the burned match stem, bulged his mouth, opened it suddenly, and took a long breath. A thick stream of white smoke spurted out from his mouth, and some even came out of his mouth. came out of his nostrils, and he repeated the action. He was smoking a dry cigarette, and while smoking, he continued to look at my kitchen knife.
After he smoked for a while, he took the cigarette rod and banged the pot on his shoes, and the ashes immediately dispersed from the pot. Then, he wound the pipe around the hanging string a few times and put the pipe into his pocket.
He picked up my kitchen knife and put it on the grindstone first. After placing it, press the back of the knife flatly with both hands and start clicking once, twice, three times...! Start sharpening the knife. I saw him grinding very seriously and attentively. At first, he grinded slowly, step by step, and then faster and faster. I saw his arms shaking non-stop, and a squeaking sound came from the grindstone... …! .
After a while, I changed the blade surface and then sharpened it again, and kept sharpening it. The knife sharpener was busy at the entrance of our alley, and gradually more and more people were watching.
He sharpened it for a while, then stopped and looked at the newly sharpened blade. After looking at it for a while, he stretched out his thumb and gently rubbed the side of the knife, and then went to the vegetable market not far away to pick up a few pieces of vegetables.
He picked up a piece of white radish, put it on the bench, held the knife handle, and started to cut the white radish. The kitchen knife was pressed up and down in his hand, making a crisp and clear chopping sound. After cutting the white radish, I took another piece of red radish and started cutting it again, and finished it very neatly.
After cutting the vegetables, he gave the knife to my mother. My mother also cuts these white radish and carrots and other vegetables like him. The cut was completed neatly, and my mother was very satisfied. After his mother pointed out some shortcomings, she gave it to him again, and he rubbed it gently on the grinder for a while. Finally, he tried cutting it a few more times, and it was sharper than before. He asked my mother to try it again. Sure enough, it was sharper than before, and my mother was very happy. "You can't sharpen it any more. If you sharpen it any more, the edge will be worn away. It's like sharpening it in vain!" the knife repairman said to my mother.My mother took the knife, took out a few cents from her pocket and gave it to the knife sharpener, then turned and went home, while I continued to watch the fun.
It is getting closer to evening, the sun is slowly setting to the west, and plumes of green smoke are emitting from the chimneys on the roofs of the houses in the alley. It was dinner time and the knife sharpener was about to pack up and go home. At this time, a door opened at the entrance of the alley, and an old lady came over with a bowl of rice. She walked to the knife sharpener and said, "Knife sharpener, let's eat! You have sharpened it for us here. Scissors and knives, it's a lot of work, just eat a bowl of rice to warm your body!" The knife sharpener said gratefully: "Thank you, sister-in-law, I'd better go home and eat." When the old lady saw that he didn't want to eat, she said, "Eat it. !It doesn't matter!". "The knife sharpener is fine, let's eat! This is what we all want too!" The onlookers also said to the knife sharpener. The craftsman took the bowl gratefully, and the onlookers went home to have dinner. Soon, several old and middle-aged people came out with rice bowls. Some squatted at the door, some stood and watched, and some moved small stools to sit in front of their homes. They were all chatting with the knife sharpener while eating. After the craftsman finished eating, he put away his tools, put the bench on his shoulders, and walked home. As he walked, he shouted: "Grind the scissors! Cut the kitchen knives!...!"
The sunset shines on people; it shines on the layers of rubble on the roofs of each house and the monster heads at both ends of the roof ridge; it shines on the gates of the courtyards at the entrance of the alley; it shines on the big rocks on the ground. on people's faces; on the bench where the knife is sharpened; on the wrinkled face of the knife sharpener; the sunset illuminates everything here! ….
About the author:
was originally named Zhang Xiaowu, male, born on December 11, 1973 in Shiling Village, Yanzhen Township, Yiyang County, Henan Province. He currently lives in Chengguan Town, Yiyang County. is a member of Luoyang Writers Association, and Yiyang County Writers Association. director. He loves literary creation. His works have won many awards and been published in various literary journals. From 2008 to 2009, he completed a fairy tale novel "Dangdang". In 2010, he completed the fairy tale novel "Tintin Detective Agency" and is waiting for publication. From 2012 to 2013, he co-compiled "Chinese Mythical Stories" with friends, from 2014 to 2017 he compiled "Yiyang County Lianzhuang Town Chronicles", in 2017 he collected a collection of Tang poems and essays "Luoyang Poems", from 2018 to 2020 Compiled "My Childhood Memories" in 2011.
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