Chapter 43 Blacksmith Shop
"Well, you did a good job, Thomas. Sometimes you can make your own decisions based on the situation! I'm not that harsh." Gervis nodded. Although Thomas's subsequent words seemed to be flattery, Gervis agreed that Thomas was not stubborn and just followed orders.
There is nothing wrong with delaying the recruitment of male and female servants for a day. If Thomas had chosen in the town yesterday, it would definitely be just a few random people, and he would have picked the tallest one among the short ones.
As a time traveler, Gervis's thinking is not as harsh and rigid as that of other nobles in this world, so Thomas, an experienced butler who knows how to read people's expressions, dares to act in this way.
"My Lord."
"My Lord."
When Gervis and his companions approached the square, more and more serfs saw Gervis and his companions. A large number of serfs immediately knelt on the ground and saluted to greet Gervis.
Suddenly, there was a shout in the town square, all of which were the sounds of serfs bowing and greeting Gervis.
Looking at the serfs in the square kneeling on the ground like wheat in a wheat field, Gervis suddenly felt a sense of pride in his heart. Although his values in his previous life told him that this was not in line with modern people's values, the satisfaction of that kind of vanity was not something Gervis could control.
Gervis began to understand why the descendants of ancient imperial families always had internal strife because of the struggle for the throne. No imperial family could have a loving father, filial sons, friendly brothers, and respectful younger brothers. It was all because of power.
Just seeing the less than 1,500 serfs kneeling and paying homage to Gervis was enough to make him, a time traveler, feel extremely satisfied and proud. Not to mention the imperial power that holds the power over all the people of the world. The temptation is absolutely crazy.
The serfs knelt on the ground one by one. Gervis didn't say a word, and they didn't dare to stand up. The originally noisy town square suddenly fell into silence.
"Everyone, get up!"
Gervis pulled himself out of the messy thoughts in his mind and shouted loudly to the serfs in the town.
After hearing Gervis's permission, all the serfs lowered their heads and stood up carefully. Although they all stood up, no one dared to speak out loud.
Seeing that the serfs were cowering and not daring to speak, Gervis knew that they had been exploited for too long and were naturally afraid of the nobles. As long as he was here, even if he gave orders, he could not make the square as lively as before.
"I hope that things will change slowly in the future." Seeing this, Gervis couldn't help but shake his head. If he wanted these serfs to no longer fear him like tigers and leopards, the only way to change that was through time.
"Thomas, you choose the castle's male and female servants here, I'm going to go for a walk in the town!" Since he was here and these serfs were restricted, Gervis felt it was quite boring and decided not to stay here.
After saying hello to Thomas, he walked towards the front of the town with two guards, leaving one guard with Thomas to protect his safety.
"Okay, sir, take care!"
Thomas bowed and saluted Gervis.
Gervis was not planning to check the alleys of the town today, but walked directly towards the three stone houses, because he felt that there was nothing to see in those alleys, nothing more than thatched houses and shacks that were more dilapidated than the last.
In fact, the whole territory is similar, except that the serfs are poor. It is useless for him to go and see them. If he wants to change, he still needs money.
Gervis' first stop was the blacksmith shop. When he arrived at the door of the shop, he could still hear the incessant clanging sound of iron striking.
Gervis got off the horse, tied it to the wooden fence at the door, and walked in with two guards. There was no electric light in this world. Although it was daytime, the light in the stone house was much dimmer than outside.
As soon as he walked into the house, Gervis was hit by a stuffy heat. It was summer and the furnace in the blacksmith shop was burning red. He felt like he had walked into a steam room.
Fortunately, he was now a titled knight, and his physical condition had greatly improved, so he could barely endure it. But the two guards behind him were already sweating profusely from walking, and when they got into the stone house, they immediately raised their hands to loosen their collars.
Seeing that the two men were in great pain, Gervis couldn't help but say, "If you two can't stand it, you can wait for me outside."
"Sir, I'm fine. Protecting your safety is the most important thing. I dare not leave your side." After hearing Gervis' words, the two guards were grateful in their eyes, but they did not dare to agree. If Gervis had any accident, their entire family would not be able to pay for his life.
"Okay." Gervis didn't force it, knowing what the guards were worried about.
The space inside the stone house is not small, but it is filled with all kinds of sundries, especially coal ore and iron materials, leaving only a small aisle in the middle for people to walk through.
After walking along the path through the cluttered lobby, Gervis finally saw two shirtless men, one big and one small, in the inner room.
Of the two, the middle-aged man, who was about thirty years old, held a pair of pliers in his left hand, clamping the red-hot iron block, and a small hammer in his right hand.
The younger one was about fifteen or sixteen years old, holding only a sledgehammer in his hands.
The two men cooperated well and struck the red-hot iron block rhythmically. Sparks appeared from time to time after the iron block was hammered.
Gervis did not interrupt them, just watched the two men hammering silently. He found that the boy of fifteen or sixteen was the one who was doing the main work, while the middle-aged man in his thirties seemed to be specifically instructing the boy where to put the hammer. No matter where the middle-aged blacksmith's small hammer fell, the big hammer in the boy's hand would hit that position accurately.
As the two men hammered continuously, the iron block slowly changed its shape, and it looked like a hoe. However, because the iron block had been away from the fire for too long, the red glow on the hoe was gone after it had just taken shape. So the two men stopped hammering, and the middle-aged blacksmith raised the pliers and put the iron block back into the red-hot furnace.
The middle-aged blacksmith put the iron block back into the furnace and turned around. Only then did he realize that there were three people standing in the room. He looked at them carefully for a while before he reacted.
He quickly pulled the young man and bowed to Gervis, saying, "Hello, noble sir, how can I serve you?"
Seeing that the blacksmith just bowed to him, Gervis was not surprised. In this world, free people did not need to kneel when meeting nobles. They could just bow politely to greet them. This was also a manifestation of the clear hierarchy in this world.
If you were to ask what is the best profession for ordinary people in this world, it would definitely be blacksmith.
In this world that relies entirely on manual labor, whether it is farming, chopping wood, or war, iron tools are indispensable. And these tools are forged by blacksmiths. As long as you learn the blacksmith's craft well, you will never worry about food and clothing. Of course, people who have no worries about food and clothing will rarely become serfs. Blacksmiths are the iron rice bowl in this world.
Thank you all book friends for your recommendations!
Thanks to 'Xiaoyao's Food Wars' for the tip, he is also the first book friend to tip this book!! Cover your face!!
(End of this chapter)
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