Qin Mu glanced at Shi Tou with a twitching smile. According to the information he had, the innocent-looking woman was none other than the second young lady of the Huo family, the illegitimate daughter of Huo Yuntian, the head of the Huo family.
Looking at Shi Tou's pure Eastern face, Qin Mu frowned even more deeply. Although the Huo family had produced elites in this generation, due to the interference of the old patriarch Huo Bushan, the Huo family's offspring were not particularly numerous. Of course, this referred to the public face; in reality, not only the Huo family, but even the Chu family had no shortage of illegitimate children.
"I really don't know anything." Shi Tou looked at Qin Mu helplessly, not understanding why this lecherous old man kept staring at her. Even if she was stunningly beautiful, she was only eight years old!
Qin Mu shifted his gaze from Shi Tou's face and looked at Huo Xiaoxiao, who was standing next to him: "You are the eldest daughter of the Huo family?"
As he spoke, Qin Mu's mind automatically conjured up Huo Xiaoxiao's life story.
The idiot daughter of genius parents. That was Huo Xiaoxiao's initial description. However, as Huo Xiaoxiao's magical talent was unleashed, such doubts diminished. But another kind of doubt, perhaps even more serious, arose.
Qin Mu recalled the beautiful and gentle woman he had chosen as his eldest son's wife, but unfortunately, that brat Huo Yuntian beat him to it! However, at the time, probably no one expected that the woman would die young and give birth to a child with extremely poor talent and impure blood.
That's right, it's because their bloodline isn't pure.
Although Shui Bi is of mixed race, her appearance is more Eastern, with only a slight Western mixed-race feature. Huo Yuntian, on the other hand, is a pure Easterner, yet their daughter has a distinctly Western appearance.
"Hey, old man, who are you? Why are you staring at me like that!" Unlike Shi Tou's low-key demeanor, Huo Xiaoxiao wasn't one to be easily manipulated: "What are you looking at! Look again and I'll gouge your eyes out!"
"Hmph!" Qin Mu finally spoke up: "You're the eldest daughter of the Huo family, aren't you? Do you know that even if your grandfather came in person, he wouldn't dare to speak to me like that!"
"What?! You..." Just as Huo Xiaoxiao was about to explode, Shi Tou quickly covered her mouth. Unlike Huo Xiaoxiao's lifelong adoration for her grandfather, Shi Tou knew that if there were eight-star mages in this world, then there must be nine-star mages. Perhaps this one was one!
"What are you doing?!" These were the words Huo Xiaoxiao shouted at Shi Tou after she broke free from him.
Qin Mu gave Shi Tou a deep look: "It seems your sister sees the truth clearly. Tsk tsk, indeed, purebred Easterners are not comparable to those mixed-race people."
One sentence almost angered Huo Xiaoxiao again, but this time Shi Tou didn't need to do anything. The girl next to him suddenly spoke up: "Hello, Qin Mu!"
"Chu Fei, it's been a long time," Qin Mu said casually.
Shi Tou looked at the girl in surprise. If Shi Tou himself was a pure-blooded Easterner, and Huo Xiaoxiao was a bit of a mixed-race person, then the girl in front of him was a thorough Westerner.
With her long golden hair, fair skin, pointed cheeks, and brown eyes, Shi Tou couldn't tell at all that she was from one of the six great families of the East. Moreover, even if she really was from one of the six great families of the East, she looked to be only about ten years old; why would she call that lewd old man by his name?
"Hey, Qin Mu, according to seniority, I'm at least your great-aunt, right? How can you have no manners at all?" Chu Fei stared intently at Qin Mu.
Qin Mu covered his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
This is why he gets a headache just hearing Chu Fei's voice. In fact, it's not just Chu Fei; he's afraid of everyone in the Chu family. Perhaps it's because the Chu family has always had difficulty producing offspring, so members of the Chu family tend to marry late, and have children even later. Think about it, even if each generation is only a few years later, over hundreds of years, how could the Chu family's seniority not be high?
Chu Fei is doing well. She's her parents' eldest daughter, and you know, she also has a little brother who just had his one-month celebration last month! Plus, her paternal grandmother gave birth to a baby girl last year!
"Aunt Chu Fei, hello!" That's why people from the six great families of the East value etiquette. Even if Qin Mu was unhappy, he still had to do his part in showing proper manners.
"Yes, sweetie, your great-auntie loves you!" Chu Fei didn't care about Qin Mu's dark face at all: "By the way, my little aunt, your great-auntie will be celebrating her first birthday next week. Please do me the honor of coming then!"
I'd be crazy!
Qin Mu nodded with a ferocious grin, but inwardly he was cursing. Damn it, would he really go? He'd rather die than go to the Chu family! Hmph, any random kid in the Chu family is more senior than him! What a rip-off!
"Hey, Qin Mu, you're aware of what happened today, right? It's not my fault. My grandfather always taught me that the six great families of the East are all closely connected, and if any of them is in trouble, we must lend a helping hand. You agree, right?" Although Chu Fei's tone was tactful, the meaning behind her words was crystal clear: "Oh, right, I just remembered, what should I call my grandfather? Great-uncle?"
puff!
Shi Tou sprayed out a lot of steam. In her previous life, she didn't have many relatives, so she never knew that the seniority system in a large family was such a funny thing.
"I..." Qin Mu was truly furious, but speechless. Although the Qin and Chu families had always been at odds, it hadn't come to an open confrontation. Besides, Chu Fei's words did make a tiny bit of sense; at least he couldn't refute them!
☆, Chapter 139: Revitalizing the Forging Masters Association
Huo Xiaoxiao was unaware of the situation when facing the nine-star mage Qin Mu, and Chu Fei didn't take it seriously, but Nana regretted it.
Not to mention that the Kuruvis family is no more now, even back when her parents were alive, she had never encountered anything like this. Moreover, living under someone else's roof, she had learned to read people's expressions and moods.
That person is from one of the six major families in the East, and he should be related to Chu Fei and Huo Xiaoxiao.
Regret was useless, so Nana thought for a moment and decided to bow her head and admit her mistake.
Qin Mu was struggling with how to handle the situation. All three were at fault, with Huo Xiaoxiao being the first to err, and Chu Fei being the one who interfered. If he had to punish anyone, he could only punish all three. But the thought of Chu Fei's grandfather's stern face gave him a headache. He didn't even need to be hostile; just his presence was enough for Qin Mu to command respect, and a deep bow at that.
Therefore, when Nana took the initiative to admit her mistakes and was willing to accept the punishment, Qin Mu truly breathed a sigh of relief: "Since you have admitted that it was all your fault, then you must accept all the punishments."
Qin Mu looked at Nana Ke, who had a respectful expression, and felt a little sorry for her: "How about this, considering that you are still young and your attitude is acceptable, I will punish you by making you pay 5,000 gold coins in compensation."
Nana's face remained expressionless as she humbly bowed and presented the silk pouch with both hands, which further improved Qin Mu's impression of her. Although Nana was quite pained, this outcome was already very good for her. Most importantly, she knew her place and knew she couldn't afford to offend the person before her.
The whole affair was resolved with a lot of noise but little real impact. Huo Xiaoxiao and Chu Fei actually became good friends because of it. However, at this point, no one expected that Qin Mu, feeling that things had been handled unfairly, would take Nana Ke under his wing as a disciple shortly after the Imperial Capital Academy opened. Of course, that's a story for another time.
After leaving the auction house, even though he didn't get the forging furnace he wanted, Shi Tou still took Huo Xiaoxiao to the "2B Girl's Joyful Life" clothing store and picked up the dress that had been made a few days ago.
Of course. Huo Xiaoxiao immediately took a liking to this extremely gorgeous, elegant, and dazzling dress, and after agreeing to a whole bunch of unequal terms from Shi Tou, Huo Xiaoxiao finally got her wish.
So, in the following days, Huo Xiaoxiao attended one banquet after another wearing this incredibly stylish dress, while Shi Tou also received the product of the unequal treaty—an excellent forging furnace, various rare refined ores, and a so-called essential guide to forging methods.
"Baozi, why is the forging method book that Xiaoxiao gave me different from the forging method that Steel Hammer Dad taught me?" Having placed the forging furnace and various refined ores into her spatial bracelet, Shi Tou, holding the book, half-reclined on the bed, began to read. But the more she read, the more something seemed off.
"Quack quack, then the humans must have made a mistake!" Baozi has now turned back into a chubby white steamed bun and is hopping around with the new little pet duck.
Stone turned a few more pages: "But the main content should be the same, although it seems that this essential text has omitted a lot of things and added some things that the dwarves don't have."
"Quack quack, humans must be being clever again!" Baozi opened its pleats and stuffed the little yellow duck's bottom inside, causing the little yellow duck to scream for help.
Stone glared at Baozi speechlessly, but Baozi didn't care at all. Ever since buying the little yellow duck, Baozi had started ignoring Stone, and whenever no one was around, it would transform into its bun form and play with the little yellow duck.
A while ago, Shi Tou moved into Zi Xin Yuan and didn't hire any other personal maids, only keeping Ju Hua. Now that she had sent Ju Hua away, Bao Zi was immediately overjoyed.
"Help! My life!" The little yellow duck finally escaped the devil's clutches and struggled to run towards the stone.
Stone reached out and loosely held the little yellow duck in his hand: "Baozi, stop bullying the duck."
"Quack quack, duck, Baozi loves duck, Baozi loves duck the most!" Baozi jumped and hopped, trying to snatch the little yellow duck back from the stone's hands.
"Ducklings don't like steamed buns!" Upon seeing this, the little yellow duck rolled its eyes, pouted, and shouted arrogantly.
Stone was practically begging to kneel before these two. After raising it for so many days, she realized that this little yellow duck was more like Baozi's pet than hers: "Baozi, don't bully the duck, or I'll give it to Xiaoxiao!"
Huo Xiaoxiao certainly wouldn't like this kind of pet. A few days ago, she took the entrance exam for the Imperial Capital Academy and passed it smoothly, becoming a freshman in the Magic Department of the Imperial Capital Academy with excellent grades. As a reward for her, Grandpa Huo specially asked someone to bring her a two-star combat-type fire magic pet.
The pet's name is: Blazing Wolf...
"No~~~" The scream didn't come from Baozi, but from the tragic little yellow duck. The little yellow duck struggled to jump from the stone's palm onto the bed: "Duckling won't go to the fire-breathing wolf! No, no! Baozi didn't bully duckling!"
Stone was deeply depressed. Although they were both two-star magical creatures, it seemed that Huo Xiaoxiao's was really different from hers!
"Quack quack, good duck, Baozi loves you, duck!" Baozi was overjoyed and followed duck around happily, saying, "Master is the worst! Duck will never talk to master again!"
Stone rolled his eyes decisively: "Baozi, I curse you to turn into a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) right now!"
In an instant, the steamed bun was squashed flat, and Shi Tou easily grabbed the now contorted bun in his hand: "I have some questions for you. You can choose to answer, or answer?"
"Gah...reply...answer..."
Stone snapped his fingers: "Let's go back to normal!"
Baozi instantly transformed into a sphere as if it had been inflated: "Hehe, what question does Master want to ask?"
“I’ve roughly figured it out. It’s been about 500 to 1000 years since you fell into slumber. In your time, were there any differences between human and dwarven forging techniques?”
"Huh?" Baozi was a little confused. It couldn't believe it had actually slept for so long. "Baozi thinks there should be a difference, right?"
"Explain in detail! What exactly is the difference?" Shi Tou slammed the forging manual that Huo Xiaoxiao had painstakingly found onto the bed with a "thud": "If you don't tell me, I'll turn you into a dumpling!"
That threat was ruthless enough, at least enough to scare Baozi: "Giggle, Master, don't be angry, Baozi will tell you everything!"
With Baozi's rapid explanation, Shi Tou finally gained a general understanding of the world hundreds of years ago.
Firstly, the art of blacksmithing originated entirely from the dwarves. Some dwarves, being on good terms with humans, secretly taught them some blacksmithing techniques. Therefore, the biggest difference between human and dwarven blacksmithing lies in the level of refinement.
It's clear that what humans call blacksmithing skills originated from dwarven instruction. However, dwarves at that time didn't have any rigorous blacksmithing schools; they typically taught the craft through an apprenticeship system. Moreover, regardless of race, everyone has their own interests, so true blacksmithing masters always came from among the dwarves.
“But Steel Hammer Daddy clearly said that humans are all treacherous and cunning, and that dwarves would not associate with humans, let alone teach them forging.” Stone pushed the restless little yellow duck aside and looked at Baozi with a thoughtful expression.
Fearing that Stone might come up with some other mischievous idea, Baozi quickly explained, "Hehe, Baozi doesn't know what happened either! Before Baozi fell asleep, the dwarves and humans clearly had a good relationship! And there were many half-dwarves appearing!"
"A half-dwarf?" Stone suddenly remembered the story he had overheard from Elder Redstone when he left the Dwarf Kingdom: "A half-human, half-dwarf hybrid?"
“Giggle, that’s right!” Baozi nodded, bouncing up and down: “Not only are there half-dwarves, but also half-elves, half-orcs, half-merfolk, and half-dragons…”
Stone, nearly driven mad by Baozi's string of half-XXs, decisively stopped Baozi: "What kind of nonsense is this? Hybridization?"
Baozi, trembling, asked in confusion, "Hehe, doesn't Master really like these new races? Doesn't Master want to collect them all?"
"What are we going to do with them? Make specimens?" Stone slapped Baozi with annoyance. "Alright, alright, stop talking to me about those hybrid animals. Just tell me, why has human forging become like this?"
"Giggle, even Baozi doesn't know! Baozi is just a cute little bun, not a blacksmith..." Baozi lay down in grievance, not expecting the little yellow duck to jump onto its body and step on it.
Immediately, Baozi bristled.
Stone looked helplessly at the two wrestling again, then leaned back dejectedly. Originally, she already had a forge and ore, plus the skills she had learned in the Dwarf Kingdom. Although forging divine artifacts was still difficult, forging weapons of superior quality for the current human kingdoms was quite easy.
However, a problem arises: according to that essential book, it is impossible for human beings to produce such a high-quality weapon with their current forging skills. Isn't she just asking for trouble by suddenly taking it out?
Remembering the desolate state of the Blacksmith's Guild, even finding someone to pretend to learn from was impossible for Stone. What to do now? Since transmigrating to this other world, Stone had never felt so frustrated. It wasn't her own incompetence that bothered her, but how to avoid arousing suspicion. What the hell was the purpose of sending her here?!
Wait, the Blacksmith Association's decline doesn't mean she can't revive it!
If I don't post any more pictures of pan-fried buns on the last day of November, forget about the aroma, I might as well just turn myself into a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger)!
Luckily, I made it in time! \(≧▽≦)/~
Chapter 140 A Heartfelt Bun
"Baozi, I've made up my mind!" Stone said proudly to Baozi, "From now on, I will work hard to revitalize the Blacksmiths' Association!"
Baozi, who had been lying next to the stone, suddenly fell off the bed upon hearing this, rolling quite a distance with a "groan..."
Stone stood up in surprise and looked at Baozi: "You stupid Baozi, what's wrong with you again?"
"Gaga, Master just said he wants to revitalize the Blacksmith Association!" Baozi rolled back along the same route. "Did Master take the wrong medicine or forget to take it?"