卖刀买犊 Sell swords, buy calves
Explanation
比喻放弃战争，从事生产。也指放弃武力，致力于和平建设。
A metaphor for abandoning war and engaging in production. It also refers to giving up force and devoting oneself to peaceful construction.
Origin Story
话说很久以前，在一个山清水秀的小村庄里，住着一位名叫李铁的铁匠。他年轻时曾参军打仗，经历过许多战火纷飞的岁月。然而，战争的残酷让他身心俱疲，他开始厌倦了刀光剑影的生活。有一天，他偶然听说邻村的张老汉靠养牛致富，生活安逸幸福。李铁深受触动，他决定放下手中的武器，卖掉他的打铁工具，用钱买了几头牛犊，开始学习养牛。他勤勤恳恳，悉心照料牛犊，几年后，他的牛群壮大起来，生活也越来越富裕。李铁不仅过上了安稳的生活，还用自己的经验帮助其他村民养牛，村里的人们也因此受益匪浅。从此，这个村庄更加繁荣昌盛。李铁的故事在村里广为流传，人们称赞他‘卖刀买犊’的明智选择，从此过上了和平幸福的生活。
Long ago, in a beautiful village, lived a blacksmith named Li Tie. In his youth, he had joined the army and experienced many years of war. However, the cruelty of war left him exhausted, both physically and mentally. One day, he happened to hear that Old Zhang from the neighboring village had become wealthy by raising cattle and lived a peaceful life. Li Tie was deeply moved and decided to lay down his weapons, sell his blacksmith tools, buy some calves with the money, and start learning how to raise cattle. He worked diligently and carefully cared for the calves, and after a few years, his herd grew, and his life became increasingly prosperous. Li Tie not only lived a peaceful life but also used his experience to help other villagers raise cattle, and the villagers benefited greatly from it. From then on, the village prospered even more. Li Tie's story became widely circulated in the village, and people praised his wise decision to 'sell his sword to buy a calf' and live a peaceful and happy life thereafter.
Usage
常用作谓语、宾语，形容放弃武力，从事生产。
Commonly used as a predicate and object to describe giving up force and engaging in production.
Examples
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他放弃了经商，回到家乡务农，真是‘卖刀买犊’啊！
ta fangqi le jing shang, hui dao xiang jia wu nong, zhen shi 'mai dao mai du' a!
He gave up his business and returned to his hometown to farm, a true case of 'selling his sword to buy a calf'!
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为了避免战争，他们选择了‘卖刀买犊’，致力于发展农业。
wei le bi mian zhan zheng, tamen xuan ze le 'mai dao mai du', zhi yu yu fa zhan nong ye
In order to avoid war, they chose 'selling their swords to buy calves' and focused on agricultural development.