dognovel Chapter 227 The Mourning Green Hills
Chapter 227 The Mourning Green Hills
Many shops on Datie Street have already started packing up to close.
The shop of Uncle Lü was lit by a dim candlelight, and he and his son were still rhythmically hammering the iron blocks on the forging table.
No more coal was being added to the furnace; only some burnt coal remained inside, glowing red.
Qingshan squatted on the steps by the door, his eyes fixed on the direction where Xiao Han and the others had left at noon.
Upon seeing several familiar figures appear in the dimly lit alley, he immediately stood up from the steps and went to greet them.
"Your Highness, why did you go out to play for so long? It's been almost the entire afternoon, and you didn't come back until it was dark."
Judging from his current appearance and the tone of his voice, he exuded a sense of resentment.
She was still complaining, "You all went out to play, but left me all alone, humph..."
"Oh, don't be angry, don't be angry..." Qing Tong smiled and comforted him, then took out two strings of candied hawthorns and handed them to him.
"Here, I bought this especially for you. It tastes great, try it!"
When they returned, the auntie selling candied hawthorns was about to pack up her stall. She had a few left, so she brought back two skewers for Qingshan.
Qingshan dusted off his hands and took the two strings of candied hawthorns: "At least you still have some conscience."
He took a bite and chewed it slowly, then suddenly remembered his business and looked at Xiao Han beside him.
He mumbled incoherently, "By the way, Your Highness, my uncle and cousin have finished the first stage of forging the original iron ore. Go and check if it's up to standard."
Upon seeing the figures outside the door, Uncle Lü quickly put down the iron hammer in his hand, picked it up and placed it aside, and the half-finished iron block that had already been hammered came forward.
"Your Highness, this iron block was forged according to the steps and material ratios written on the paper. Please take a look and see if it is up to standard."
Because forging a sword takes too long, Xiao Han is only here today to verify whether this formula is feasible.
If the samples produced in the first stage of hammering can meet the previous standards, then the formula can be sent to the Ministry of Industry for testing.
Xiao Han nodded slightly, took the iron block and examined it carefully. Because the light was dim and he wasn't very familiar with this kind of thing, he asked Uncle Lü for advice.
"Mr. Lü, do you think this forging method is feasible? How does it differ from your traditional blacksmithing process?"
“Your Highness, if you wish to ask for my opinion, then it is entirely feasible,” Boss Lü replied respectfully.
He pointed to the piece of iron in Xiao Han's hand: "Look, the shape of this piece of iron now, if it were forged using my old methods, it would take less than a day of hammering to reach this stage."
"Such remarkable results have been achieved in just half a day. If it is repeatedly refined, it will surely forge a hard and durable block."
With Uncle Lü's affirmation, his worries were temporarily relieved.
Tomorrow I will present it to my father in the palace so that the Ministry of Works can begin the trial phase. If the results are feasible, we can then expedite the forging of weapons.
"Alright, thank you for informing me, Mr. Lü. Now I have a better understanding."
"No, no, it is my honor to be able to answer Your Highness's questions."
Uncle Lü glanced back at his son, who had already finished hammering the piece: "Your Highness, one more piece is almost finished. Please wait a moment, and we can take it together later."
After taking the iron block, Bronze took out silver and paid Uncle Lü his reward.
Uncle Lü repeatedly refused, saying, "No, I dare not accept it. It is already the greatest honor for a commoner to be able to share the burden for Your Highness. It only took half a day of effort, it's nothing."
"Uncle Lü, please accept this!" Qing Tong stuffed the silver into his hands again: "If you don't accept it, we won't dare to ask you for help next time. Besides, you all earn your money through hard work."
"Uncle, just keep it!" Qingshan also advised.
Uncle Lü glanced at the silver in his hand, then looked at Xiao Han standing outside the shop. He hesitated for a moment, then quickly walked out.
Somewhat embarrassed, he said, "Your Highness, may I continue with the iron casting steps you brought today to complete the subsequent forging process?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Han turned to look at Long Chuqing standing beside him, only to see Long Chuqing nod with a smile.
"Yes, Mr. Lü, I hope this will help you forge even better ironware."
"Thank you, Your Highness, thank you, Your Highness."
He noticed that Xiao Han had asked Long Chuqing about something earlier, so he happily thanked Long Chuqing again: "Thank you, young lady."
Watched by Uncle Lü and Cousin Qingshan, the group mounted their horses and quickly disappeared into the dimly lit alley at the end of the blacksmith's lane.
After 9 PM, inside Qiushui Pavilion.
"Qingqing, are you getting ready for bed?" Feng Yu asked, looking at Long Chuqing, who had turned off the light and was now lying in bed.
“Yeah!” Long Chuqing replied lazily, “It’s already past midnight, and it’s so cold, what else can we do but sleep?”
"No, aren't you going to go find that monster that devoured the dream world we encountered during the day?"
Long Chuqing countered, "Why would I go looking for it?"
"I'm not a demon hunter, this isn't within my job scope, it's not my concern." Long Chuqing turned over and lay down on the inside.
"Then healing the sick and saving lives must be your job!" Feng Yu continued, "There are still quite a few people trapped in their dreams and unable to wake up!"
"I'll go to the west side of the city again tomorrow and go door-to-door to wake them up. That should do the trick!"
“This is only treating the symptoms, not the root cause. Even if you wake them up temporarily, if you don’t capture that dream demon, it will continue to control the people’s dreams.”
“Feng Yu’s words make sense.” Fei Feng replied, “But… I see you’re so enthusiastic, and you even seem to be looking forward to it. You’re probably interested in that dream demon and want to go and meet it!”
"Hehe... I've been so bored all day!" Feng Yu replied without any attempt to hide her feelings. "I can't miss out on something interesting that I've finally come across."
“Okay,” Long Chuqing said, “I’ll take you to meet it tomorrow.”
"Tomorrow?" Feng Yu said anxiously, "Don't go tomorrow, let's go now! What if the crowds scare the people during the day? Besides, it's not convenient to look for the Dream Demon during the day, let's go now!"
"Didn't the cat demon and wolf demon go looking for it during the day last time?" Fei Feng said, "There wasn't anything inconvenient about it!"
Feng Yu secretly rolled her eyes at her: "Last time we went to the remote mountain valley, it was definitely different since there were so few people around. Now the Dream Demon is hiding in the city, so we can only go there secretly at night. Besides, it's more exciting at night!"
Fei Feng was speechless for a moment after being refuted by her. "That's exciting. I think you're just... never mind, you're right."
Long Chuqing said slowly, "My spiritual power is currently sealed, so I'm afraid I can't defeat that dream demon."
"Hey, I'm here! Qingqing... come on, come on... it's so much fun!"
Finally, after much pleading and cajoling from Feng Yu, Long Chuqing reluctantly got out of bed.
If I don't take her there, I'm afraid I won't be able to get a good night's sleep tonight.