Chapter 167 The Harvest Journey: Temujin's Gift, The Wooden House Completed
Timur returned in the morning, and both Lei and Neil happened to be home.
The knights and mages from the town, led by the village's self-defense force, have been in the mountains for two days.
This time, they plan to conduct a thorough investigation of the surrounding area to ensure there are no problems before leaving the small mountain village, in order to avoid such an incident from happening again after they leave.
Barnett also lifted the restrictions preventing villagers from leaving the village.
During the few days he stayed at home, Lai only cooked two batches of mung beans. He sent bean sprouts and some artificially ripened bok choy to Hagrid's house and Gugna respectively.
He simply said that he planted it in the living room when he was bored in the winter, and avoided mentioning any topic related to magic in order to avoid attracting attention and causing unnecessary trouble.
When villagers came to buy bean sprouts, Lai Yi would not refuse them, and would often give them extra.
In the morning, as soon as Lai finished washing and soaking the mung beans, he saw Temuqi, who looked very different from usual.
His hair and beard were clearly well-trimmed, making him look particularly energetic. He was still wearing old clothes, but they were clean and neat.
Lai had planned to go out to town this afternoon to gather information and had already arranged for Lamb to come over tonight. Unexpectedly, Temuji returned today, which saved him a lot of trouble.
"You're finally back, this time a month later than last time."
Lei invited Temuji to sit down and poured him some warm water. Temuji was very happy, but perhaps because it had been so long since he had been there, he moved a little awkwardly.
"I met up with friends and stayed a few more days. I was planning to come back soon, but then I ran into relatives and was pulled back to my father's house, which delayed me a lot."
"So that's how it is."
"I wasn't originally planning to go back... By the way, Lei, although your switch design didn't win the grand prize this time, it did receive a special award. Golden Oak raved about it and wanted to buy the rights to use it. I told him I'd come back and ask for your opinion, and I didn't agree immediately."
When the topic of this design came up, Temuqi immediately became beaming with joy.
"This is the award-winning sample, along with the prize money!"
Temuqi rummaged through the animal skin backpack beside him and found the switch he had made, along with a string of other items.
The switch is a push-button type, and its style is no different from the common small switches of the past. The Temuch is made of a solid piece of wood with no excessive decoration.
"I borrowed a glass lamp as a prop, and everyone was shocked when I turned it on and off!"
Lei listened to Timuch's story with a smile, while Neil, who was joining in the fun, also listened with great interest.
"It was originally the grand prize, but the switch was a prop based on a glass lamp, which was controversial, so an extra special prize was given in the end. However, this time the prize money is a full forty gold coins and a two-pound rare stone! All of it came from Master Golden Oak's own private treasury. He is truly a generous and great dwarf."
Rare minerals?
Ray recalled the scene in the black market.
After leaving the black market, Temuji seemed to be gambling on stones for a while in hopes of finding rare stones, but unfortunately, he didn't get any even after investing dozens of gold coins, and eventually gave up. This time, receiving the rare stone from Golden Oak, Temuji has finally achieved his wish.
"Ray, this is your share."
Temuji handed over twenty gold coins and a pound of rare stone to Laiyi.
"Rare stones are very valuable, even more precious than ordinary elemental stones. You must hide them well and not tell anyone that you possess a rare stone, or you will attract the attention of malicious people."
Temuqi spoke with such solemnity that it was impossible not to take his words seriously.
After a moment's thought, Lei decided to give the rare stone to Temuji. Over the years, Temuji had provided him with a great deal of help, and without him, he would never have been living such a comfortable life.
"I wanted to give it to you; it would be useful in your hands..."
Temuqi waved his hand repeatedly, interrupting Laiyi from saying what he was about to say.
"No, no, keep this for yourself. It's not useful now, but it will come in handy someday. What I received is enough for me to use for a long time. Thank you, Lei, I know you mean well, but I can't accept it."
Temuji forcefully shoved the rare stone into Laiyi's hands.
"This is your share. If you always give me the valuable materials you get in the future, our cooperation will not last long."
Temuqi's words were not without reason.
Lai didn't care about rare stones. To him, keeping things he didn't need would only take up space. But he and Temuji were both friends and business partners, and as Temuji said, it was better to separate some things.
"Alright then, but you have to stay for dinner tonight."
"Okay! I didn't eat the hot pot base you gave me on the way, I only ate two pieces, but when I got there, that guy Jinbo snatched several pieces away. I really want to pluck out all his beards!"
Temuji's beard bristled, leaving Neil staring in disbelief.
"Shall we have hot pot tonight?"
"Ray asked."
"That's wonderful!"
Temuji was very satisfied with Lai's decision.
"Lei, besides the prize, I have some small things here that I think you might need."
Temuqi then took out several small metal objects from the large animal skin bag and placed them on the table.
"This can conceal the wearer's presence within five meters, protecting your safety on the road to the low mountain."
Temugi handed a round metal object engraved with a magic circle to Laiyi.
"The items traded at the meeting were just ordinary trinkets."
Temuji added.
When Temuji said it was ordinary, he didn't mean it was actually ordinary. He just didn't want Laiyi to feel any pressure keeping it, and Laiyi naturally understood that.
"Jin Bo asked me to bring this back. He wants to thank the hot pot base supplier and also wants to buy some more. You don't need to pay attention to him. He's shameless, but the little things he makes are still usable."
Temuji then handed Laiyi a small, exquisitely crafted box decorated with feathers and stones; it was more like a small table ornament than a magical artifact.
"If you place it in a place with a water source, it can automatically spray water."
Upon hearing Temuki's words, Lei became very interested.
"How wide an area can it cover?"
"It's only about the size of a living room. It was originally built for the young ladies of noble families to water their flowers, but it's also very effective at watering vegetable gardens. After hearing that you had a large vegetable garden, I brought it to you."
"It's a very useful tool. Please thank him for me next time we communicate. I think I can make some hot pot base and send it to him as a thank you gift."
"Thank you, Lei, I'm sorry to have troubled you."
"You're welcome, it won't take much time."
Finally, Temuji opened an object wrapped in cloth, revealing a short sword about half an arm's length long. It was made of a combination of animal bone and metal, with smooth lines, and the blade gleamed with an inorganic light in the sunlight.
“This is one of my old works. I thought I had lost it long ago, but I didn’t expect it to still be here, so I brought it back.”
"This is for you, Ray."
Temuji handed the knife to Laiyi.
"I......"
"If it is left unused and cannot realize its value, then it is just a piece of junk."
The dwarf race is a very straightforward race, and they like to act spontaneously in their dealings with others.
"I think it's perfect for you, give it a try."
Lai took the knife and found two grooves on the hilt, just like the bone knife, which could obviously be used to install elemental stones. Several magic circles were also engraved on the blade.
"Putting in two elemental stones with complementary attributes might produce a different effect, that's what I think. But my father said that's unorthodox, and I think I might not be suited to making knives."
When talking about the past, Temugi showed no emotional fluctuation, as if he were talking about someone else's affairs, seemingly having let go of the past.
"No, the knives you make are all very good."
Lei admired Temuji's craftsmanship and skills from the bottom of his heart.
"I only tried it with two wood and water elemental stones that were almost depleted of their energy, but it didn't achieve the desired effect. I don't recommend trying this when using it."
Temuji suggested it.
"good."
Lei carefully sheathed his dagger and chatted with Temuqi about the recent events in the village. During their conversation, Temuqi didn't seem surprised by the small beast tide.
“The village is near the Eton Forest, so these things happen from time to time. Barnett has always done a good job and avoided a lot of trouble for the village, so there’s nothing to worry about for now.”
"Um."
Temuqi had lived in the small mountain village for more than ten years. Since he said there was no problem, Lai was completely relieved.
After delivering the items and settling everything, Temuji went home. Lai started preparing the ingredients for tonight's hot pot and sent Neil to Hagrid's house to tell Lamb that the plan had changed. He also delivered a few pieces of hot pot base to Linda.
In winter, the most scarce food for ordinary families is vegetables, but with the blessing of wood magic, Lei Yi has never lacked vegetables.
After the frozen beef and fish thawed for a while, they were sliced and set aside. Vegetables were arranged on a plate, chili peppers were chopped and hot oil was poured over them, and freshly crushed chive blossoms were also prepared. The ingredients were all ready in just over an hour.
At dinner time, Temuqi arrived as promised, bringing a large piece of monster meat, which he also sliced and cooked in the hot pot. The flavor was exceptionally fresh and fragrant, with the tenderness of mutton, but without its gamey taste.
Two adults, one child, and a little monster ate their fill.
A week after Temuqi returned, the villagers who had gone to inspect the mountains also returned, and after that, no more such incidents occurred in the village, which returned to its previous peaceful life.
As the days went by, at the end of the year, Lai treated Hagrid's family to hot pot again.
Of course, as promised, Lai made a pot of hot pot broth. According to Timur, he kept some for himself, sent many to his friends using the town's teleportation array, and sold some to the dwarf boss on the black market.
Temuqi provided all the raw materials; Lai only helped with the processing. However, Temuqi still insisted on giving Lai a portion of the profits from the sales. Lai then used that money to make a lot more base materials and gave them to Temuqi.
This winter was mild with little snow. We only had two heavy snowfalls, and then a light snowfall at the beginning of spring. Before we knew it, it was planting season again.
With the twenty gold coins he won, plus the money he saved from selling vegetables in the winter, and the profits from selling pots, Lai had more than thirty gold coins in his hands.
But soon after, they paid for Neil's entire year of schooling. There were also the miscellaneous living expenses over the past few months, the cost of various metal parts for the house, and the cost of hiring goblins.
I have some money, but it's not enough to keep spending it all.
After the snow melted and the land dried, the construction of the cabin officially resumed, and Rae resumed his life of traveling back and forth between several places.
After finishing the spring planting, the basic framework of the wooden house was already in place. Lai then focused more on the low hillside and, on Guge's advice, purchased a batch of fruit seedlings, so that building the house and planting trees could be done at the same time.
After that, with the basic framework in place, the construction of the log cabin progressed at breakneck speed, changing daily. Within half a month, the exterior walls were completed, and the roof materials were delivered on schedule.
Rows of smooth, flat wooden planks were transported to the low hill by oxcarts, proving that the high price paid by Fley was well worth it.
The town's boss provided excellent service; the rooftop installation was completed that same day by their delivery team, along with Ray, Timur, and the three Hagrid brothers.
By early summer, with the exception of some minor work such as interior furnishing and exterior painting, the log cabin was officially completed. Although there was not much furniture, a bed made of planks could be used as a makeshift dwelling.
The so-called soft furnishings were nothing more than adding two wooden beds and wooden chests to the wooden house.
The kitchen stove was set up long ago, but the main task was nailing on wooden shelves to display the fruit, which were placed in a specially built large warehouse for easy storage after the fruit ripened.
Anyone who sees this wooden house will praise it, saying, "It's beautifully built!"
Aside from the forty gold coins spent on purchasing the hill, the total cost for roof timber, planks, labor, metal parts, fruit tree seedlings, and so on, amounted to approximately forty gold coins as well.
Thanks to the "patent cooperation" from Temuji's side, which occasionally provided some financial support, otherwise, it would have been impossible for Lai to get all this done so quickly with the meager earnings he made from selling vegetables.
To save money, the filling material used between the walls wasn't the best, so the insulation was a bit lacking, but since no one lives here in winter, it's not a big problem.
After the cabin was completed, Lai generously treated everyone who had helped to a whole roasted lamb at his home, and also sent the goblins a whole domesticated goblin as a thank you gift.
After the major issue of building the house was resolved, life gradually returned to normal, and everything was moving in a positive direction.
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Author's Note: The pace is picking up; a short transition is needed before stepping into a new chapter.
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