A chorus of agreement immediately arose around them, mostly from people just watching the spectacle, who didn't think the iron lump could be of much use.
Qin Ye's face immediately darkened, but Su Tang pulled him back and calmly said to everyone, "We'll find out soon enough whether it's scrap metal or not."
Amidst the curious and amused gazes of the crowd, Qin Ye carried the new stove into the house, deftly dismantled the old stove, and reconnected the chimney.
Everything is ready.
Su Tang stepped forward, opened the furnace door, and put in only three or four small coal briquettes, less than half of her usual ration. Then, she struck a match and threw it in.
Everyone craned their necks, waiting to see what would happen. But the scene they had anticipated—thick smoke and coughing fits—did not materialize.
The flames in the stove flickered quietly for a few moments, then emitted a soft whooshing sound, like wind blowing through a pine forest.
There was almost no black smoke coming out of the chimney.
An old worker named Zhang, who worked as a boiler operator in the logistics department, squeezed in. He looked at the furnace's structure, frowned, and said to Qin Zhenbang with a serious expression:
"Old Qin, don't do anything reckless! I think this stove has too many return air ducts, and the smoke path is not smooth. If it starts burning, the smoke won't be able to escape and will flow back in, which could cause carbon monoxide poisoning! It could kill someone!"
Upon hearing this, the military wives around her turned pale with fright and took several steps back.
Qin Zhenbang and He Shumin's hearts jumped into their throats.
"Dad, Mom, Master Zhang, please don't worry." Su Tang wasn't flustered at all. She pointed to the stove and explained, "My design is called secondary combustion. If the soot isn't completely burned in the first furnace, it will be sucked into the small compartment above and burned again at high temperature. That's why the smoke that comes out is so clean, it's all thoroughly burned. It's not only hot, but also much safer than the old stove, and there's no backflow."
As she spoke, she walked outside, took a box of matches from Qin Ye, struck one, and held it less than a hand's width away from the chimney.
Everyone held their breath.
The tiny flame flickered slightly in the cold wind, but remained straight upward, motionless, showing no sign of being sucked in or blown out by the airflow from the chimney.
"Hey!" Master Zhang exclaimed in disbelief, "There really was no smoke poured out! This...this is incredible!"
While everyone was still marveling at this amazing principle, a miracle happened in the room.
A strong, pure heat wave, carrying the warmth of baking, suddenly emanated from the oven, instantly driving away the chill from the entire room!
The temperature in the entire room soared rapidly!
"Why?"
"What's going on? It seems... it doesn't seem so cold anymore?"
Li Xiumei and the others who were standing at the door were the first to feel the sweltering heat.
She couldn't help but take two steps forward. As soon as she stepped into the room, she was instantly enveloped by a powerful warm current. The warmth traveled from the soles of her feet all the way to the top of her head, and she breathed a long sigh of relief.
"Wow!" Li Xiumei's eyes widened as she looked around incredulously. "This...it's already hot? It's only been a few minutes! It's warmer than my house when it's on fire all day!"
A military wife who didn't believe in superstitions instinctively reached out to touch the wall more than a meter away from the stove.
"Ouch!"
She recoiled as if electrocuted, her face filled with shock. The once icy, bone-chilling wall was now warm!
The whole room erupted in chaos!
"Oh my god! It's so hot!"
"Look at that chimney, there's not a single wisp of black smoke! Where did all the coal go?"
"They only put in a few pieces of coal! How...how is this possible?!"
Wang Cuicui, who had been full of resentment just moments before, now stood with her mouth agape, as if she could fit an egg in it. She stood there blankly in the middle of the room, feeling the warmth that made her feel comfortable all over.
This isn't some scrap metal lump; it's a real treasure!
Grandma Qin, who was coughing badly inside the house, felt much better after this pure, warm current came in. She let out a long breath and her complexion improved.
Just then, Li Xiumei, with her sharp eyes, noticed a copper pipe with a valve sticking out from the side of the stove and asked curiously, "Tangtang, what's this pipe for?"
"Oh, that's for boiling water," Su Tang replied casually.
"What?!"
This sentence drove the military wives even more crazy than the house getting warmer earlier.
Li Xiumei rushed over and carefully turned on the valve. A plume of white steam rose out, followed by a gush of boiling water.
In this weather where water freezes instantly and you have to break ice to wash vegetables, being able to use hot water anytime is the best life ever!
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