"Alright, alright, go ahead and study if you want!" Although she wasn't full yet, Huo Xiaoxiao pushed away her breakfast. She couldn't help it; with Shi Tou around, she just couldn't calmly finish her breakfast.
Stone nodded in satisfaction: "Alright, there should be a forge in the Huo family's manor, right? Xiaoxiao, Linda isn't familiar with the Huo family, so could you assign me a servant?"
Huo Xiaoxiao beckoned to someone behind her with her finger: "Chrysanthemum, go keep Xiaoyi company!"
chrysanthemum……
(+﹏+)~ Isn't this name absolutely terrifying?!
“Actually, the Huo family’s rule is that each young lady has four personal maids. You already have Linda, so I’ll have the butler arrange three more maids for you.” Huo Xiaoxiao nodded to Juhua: “Take good care of the second young lady.”
"Yes, Miss." Chrysanthemum Girl gave a graceful bow.
So, Stone, whose gaze had become fixed again, left Red Maple Garden with the gentle and charming Chrysanthemum Girl. Of course, before leaving, she didn't forget to tell Linda to take good care of Mifen. Well, although she was indeed a bit ugly, elves were still considered rare creatures, right?
"Second Miss, the Huo family does indeed have a very perfect forging workshop, but that workshop is built underground." Aside from her fierce name, Chrysanthemum Girl was quite remarkable. She was about seventeen or eighteen years old, spoke very politely, had a gentle voice, and always wore a standard eight-tooth smile.
"It's alright, just take me there." Underground structures were nothing to Stone. In fact, ever since leaving the underground kingdom of the dwarves, Stone had always felt uneasy. For example, the sky seemed too high, the wind too strong, and she felt like she was developing acrophobia.
Compared to the underground kingdom hundreds of meters below, isn't the surface level really that high?!
What surprised Stone was that the forging room was not far from the backyard, which meant that the original blacksmith must have lived in the backyard as well.
"Second Miss, this is the place. This used to be Mrs. Nika's blacksmith's workshop, but it has been empty ever since she passed away. However, because a lot of materials were used when it was built, the master often sends people to clean it, so as not to let it fall into complete disrepair."
Chrysanthemum Girl was not only a dutiful maid but also a competent tour guide. Under her guidance, Stone memorized the path while listening to her explanations: "Are there any more ingredients in there?"
“Yes,” Chrysanthemum Girl explained patiently. “Master said that if a forge is not filled with ore for a long time, then the forge will be abandoned. So, every once in a while, people come and exchange the ore.”
Shi Tou thought Grandpa Huo was really something. She had only ever heard of uninhabited houses quickly falling into disrepair, but she had never heard of a forge being like that.
“Second Miss, the door here is never locked because the ores we bring are all quite common.” Chrysanthemum Girl pushed open the door to the forge and then led Stone toward the stairs leading down. “If you need any rare ores, Second Miss, you should inform Master in advance.”
"It's nothing, I was just playing around." Following the chrysanthemum down, Stone was surprised to find that there was a luminous stone embedded in the wall at intervals: "This..."
As Huo Xiaoxiao's original personal maid, Juhua naturally knew that this so-called second young lady was a complete fraud. Therefore, she was not surprised at all by Shi Tou's astonished expression: "This is a Radiant Stone, which is produced from underground. It has no other use than to provide light."
Stone naturally knew what it was, but she hadn't expected to see a Radiant Stone in a human kingdom: "But then why isn't there a Radiant Stone in Xiaoxiao's bedroom?"
Chrysanthemum walked forward unhurriedly: "Second Miss, you don't know this. It's true that Radiant Stone can emit light. However, Radiant Stone cannot be placed in the sunlight for a long time. I once heard that if Radiant Stone is placed in the sunlight for more than a month, it will turn into powder."
Is this even possible?!
Stone's astonishment was completely undisguised. Back in the Dwarf Kingdom, the Radiant Stone could never see the sun. Later, she left the Dwarf Kingdom, taking a Radiant Stone with her, but thanks to the light from the steamed bun, it spent most of its time inside the tree hollow. Then, the steamed bun transformed into a spatial ring, and Stone casually tossed the Radiant Stone into it, never to bother with it again.
"This world is truly amazing," Stone muttered.
Hearing this, Chrysanthemum, who was walking ahead, smiled slightly. Actually, this second young lady was quite easy to get along with. Thinking this, Chrysanthemum's voice softened even more: "Second young lady, we've arrived. This is Madam Nika's former forge."
Chapter 130 Taking the First Step in Forging
The forging room in front of them wasn't spacious, and it paled in comparison to the smelting furnaces of the dwarf kingdom. However, at least the necessary tools were all there.
Stone looked around. The entire forging room was only about 100 square meters, and a third of it was occupied by a huge furnace. The remaining space was half forging table and half neatly stacked ore.
Walking up to the pile of ore, Stone examined it closely: "Why are there only copper and iron ore?"
Chrysanthemum paused, a hint of confusion on her face: "This... Second Miss, I don't know much about ores. I guess it's probably around this time." Chrysanthemum's tone was full of hesitation.
Stone nodded slightly, dumbfounded. Why would she ask a maid such a question? She knew perfectly well that there were relatively few blacksmiths among humans, and it was perfectly normal for an ordinary maid of the Huo family not to be able to distinguish the types of ore.
He picked up a piece of iron ore and examined it closely. The ore here was clearly no longer raw, but rather partially refined. Each piece had been cut into a cuboid, looking remarkably like the pencil boxes of elementary school students from his previous life.
Looking at this pile of ore, which resembled at least several hundred pencil boxes, Stone felt a pang of uterine pain again:
"Chrysanthemum, do you know where these ores came from?"
This time, Chrysanthemum didn't hesitate and answered readily, "I bought it from a store."
Stone looked up at the chrysanthemum with utter depression. This answer was truly...
"Forget it, there's no other material anyway. I'll refine some iron ore today and see how it goes!" Stone pouted, picked up a piece of iron ore with a troubled expression, and walked towards the furnace.
"Can you start a fire?" Stone frowned, noticing the furnace's obvious signs of disuse. In the Dwarf Kingdom, the fire in the smelting furnace was burned year-round; Steel Hammer Papa said that the longer the furnace burned, the purer the metal could be refined.
"Yes." Chrysanthemum paused for a moment, then quickly stepped forward to help.
Fortunately, Grandpa Huo had prepared all the necessary tools to prevent the forge from falling into disuse. Chrysanthemum quickly found two flints nearby, lit them with dry wood, and then added some charcoal.
Stone stared dumbfounded as Chrysanthemum made preparations, a single word stuck in his throat: Damn!
"Second Miss, it's done." Chrysanthemum, having finished her work, secretly wiped away her sweat. Then she replied to Stone with a hint of excitement.
Should I praise her? Should I?
Stone also wiped away a bead of sweat, but it wasn't from exhaustion; it was from anger.
Firewood? Charcoal? Is she going to cook or barbecue? Putting everything else aside, even in her previous life, people had long since moved beyond these primitive materials like firewood and charcoal, using natural gas or solar energy. So, how could this magical world be so primitive?
What angered Stone the most was not this point, but the fact that even the dwarves were using advanced magical tools, so why couldn't humans, who were the most intelligent beings, do the same?
Actually, Stone was wrong. It wasn't that humans couldn't do it; it was just that the Huo family's forging workshop wasn't some top-tier design. On the contrary, it was just a very ordinary forging workshop, not even qualifying as mid-to-high grade.
"Hehe, humans really are the dumbest!" Just when Stone was feeling frustrated and didn't know what to do, Dead Bun came out again and started acting gay...
Taking a few deep breaths, Stone tried to keep his tone steady: "Chrysanthemum, how about this, you watch the fire for me, and I'll test the waters first."
Chrysanthemum did as instructed and began to act, while Stone casually tossed the iron ore into the furnace. Given the heat of the flames, melting the ore would take at least several hours.
Staring intently at the iron ore that stood firm in the fire, Stone began to ponder the possibility of becoming a blacksmith in the human kingdom. Wait, shouldn't her immediate priority be to build a decent furnace?
"Second Miss, it's getting late. Eldest Miss is waiting for you to have lunch!" All morning, Chrysanthemum had been tending the fire. Although it was only springtime, she was still drenched in sweat and looked extremely disheveled.
Stone glanced hesitantly at the iron ore, which had only just begun to soften. She knew that by the time she returned from dinner, the ore would be long gone. But looking at Chrysanthemum's condition, she couldn't bring herself to ask her to watch the fire on an empty stomach. After thinking it over, she decided to put the matter aside for now and deal with it later when she could find a decent stove.
Back at Red Maple Garden, Huo Xiaoxiao was indeed already waiting there. As soon as Shi Tou entered, he heard her loud voice: "Se... Xiao Yi! Why are you so late? I'll let it slide since it's only the first day, but if you're always this late, I won't wait for you anymore!"
Stone calmly sat down in his seat: "You don't need to wait for me anymore. I'm going to start forging."
"Forging?" Huo Xiaoxiao was stunned. "Xiaoyi, are you really going to become a blacksmith? Are you kidding me?"
Stone glared at her, annoyed. "Of course it's true!" What a joke! She considered forging a lifelong career and wouldn't tolerate anyone questioning it.
Huo Xiaoxiao looked at the stone seriously: "You're a girl, why would you want to do forging?" Shouldn't girls be learning things like magic, which are gentle, elegant, and artistic?
"Isn't Mrs. Nicole a blacksmith too?" Stone asked without looking up as he quickly stuffed food into his mouth.
“Nicole… Madam…” Huo Xiaoxiao was truly frightened this time, staring blankly at Shi Tou: “Xiao Yi, is your idol Madam Nicole?” This… this is really too terrifying.
How is that possible?!
Stone was about to retort, but then she suddenly remembered that she couldn't say her idol was Steel Hammer, so it was necessary to find an idol she could say she was an idol: "Yes, my idol is Mrs. Nika."
A look of horror appeared on Huo Xiaoxiao's face: "Xiaoyi, you..." It's ruthless.
Stone looked surprised: "What's wrong?" Could it be that there's something wrong with Mrs. Nika? "Is Mrs. Nika a blacksmith?"
"Yes." Huo Xiaoxiao nodded stiffly.
"Is her forging skill really that good?" Stone was still a little uneasy.
"Yes." Huo Xiaoxiao nodded again.
"So, is she mentally sound?" After thinking for a long time, Shi Tou finally asked the last question. There was no other reason than Huo Xiaoxiao's expression was just too strange.
"Yes." Huo Xiaoxiao nodded again.
Suddenly, Shi Tou slammed his hand on the table: "Have you lost your mind?"
"Yes." Huo Xiaoxiao had just finished speaking when she suddenly realized, "No! Serena!!!"
Stone laughed so hard he slammed his fist on the table: "Xiaoxiao, my name is Xiaoyi, not Serena!"
Huo Xiaoxiao glared fiercely, but then she burst out laughing: "Hahaha, Xiaoyi, your idol is actually Mrs. Nika, hahaha!"
Shi Tou had a strong feeling that there was more to this than met the eye. But seeing Huo Xiaoxiao's smiling face, she realized she couldn't get anything out of her: "Fine, I won't argue with you."
He waved his hand, and at the same time swallowed the last bite of food: "By the way, Xiaoxiao, can I borrow your carriage?"
Huo Xiaoxiao was still happily munching away when she heard Shi Tou's question. Only then did she realize, "You've finished eating? Damn!" Seeing the food in front of her, Huo Xiaoxiao finally couldn't help but swear. There was no way to blame Huo Xiaoxiao; Shi Tou's appetite was simply too terrifying.
"Hey, Xiaoxiao, as the eldest daughter of the Huo family, you must pay attention to your image. Even if you don't care about your image, you should at least consider the Huo family's reputation. Remember, it's okay if you can't get married, but please don't drag me down with you!" Shi Tou said kindly, looking at Huo Xiaoxiao's ferocious expression.
Huo Xiaoxiao felt a mouthful of blood catch in her throat: "Huo Yi!"
“Yes, I’m here.” Stone replied naturally. “Xiaoxiao, can I borrow your carriage for a bit? I’ll return it to you tonight.”
Huo Xiaoxiao was furious, but the culprit had an innocent look on his face, so she didn't know where to vent her anger: "The Huo family has dozens of carriages, go to the steward and ask for one yourself!"
Shi Tou nodded: "Okay, by the way, can I borrow Chrysanthemum for another afternoon?" After saying that, Shi Tou didn't care about Huo Xiaoxiao's expression and immediately grabbed Chrysanthemum and ran outside.
Sitting in the new carriage assigned by the steward, Stone was in a very good mood: "Chrysanthemum, have you had lunch yet?"
Chrysanthemum looked dejected, but had to force a smile, looking incredibly awkward: "I'm not hungry."
"So you didn't eat?" Shi Tou thought for a moment. Chrysanthemum had followed her into the inner dining room, and while she was eating, Chrysanthemum had been standing behind her the whole time, so she really didn't have time to eat. "Don't look so sad. Come on, I'll show you a magic trick!"
With a wave of his right hand, Shi Tou conjured up several plates filled with snacks on the table: "Eat up, they're still warm!"
Chrysanthemum looked at the stone suspiciously, and asked hesitantly, "Second Miss, where did this come from?"
Shi Tou clapped his hands, picked up a piece of sesame cake and threw it into his mouth: "I just got it at the dinner table."
Chrysanthemum was immediately speechless. Had the food disappeared so quickly? After thinking about it, she realized that reason couldn't overcome her hunger, and she ate three steamed buns before her stomach felt a little better.
This time it was Stone's turn to be exasperated. Because of her earlier grudge against Baozi, she ate steamed buns almost every meal on the way to the capital, and she would crumple them up before eating them. So, even though Stone didn't make any special requests when they arrived at the Huo family home, Huo Xiaoxiao still instructed the servants to prepare a plate of steamed buns.
Seeing how much Chrysanthemum was enjoying her food, Stone suddenly chuckled. "Heh heh, you little rascal, you've finally met your match!"
The bun that was eaten by the chrysanthemum...
☆, Chapter 131 Current Status of the Blacksmiths' Association