Chapter 146
Ye Yan followed Qin Su unsteadily to the stall before he came to his senses.
He had assumed Qin Su was looking for food or toys at a stall, but it turned out to be a stall selling stone tools.
Salt and iron were state-owned, and private individuals were not allowed to smelt iron on their own, but they could make stone tools.
Ye Yan couldn't see anything special about it; at most, he felt that the stone tools made by this person were more refined than those he usually saw.
He picked Qin Su up and asked softly, "What happened here?"
Qin Su glanced at the stall owner and said, "Let's go outside and talk."
Emperor Jingxi stood not far away, and seeing that they had returned quickly, he laughed and said, "What? Was there nothing fun inside? You're back so soon."
Qin Su stretched out her finger and shook it mysteriously, saying, "No, I might have discovered a Popeye the Sailor Man."
Emperor Jingxi, puzzled, asked, "What is Popeye?"
Ye Yan: "..."
He quickly interjected to explain, "These are characters from a storybook that my husband, Susu, and I read."
Qin Su waved his hand and said, "That's not important. What's important is that this person is very capable."
She got back to the point and explained from the beginning: "When we were buying sugar figurines, I overheard two passersby talking. One said, 'The rope always breaks at its thinnest point, and misfortune always seems to find those with a hard life. Zhu Lao Er's life is truly bitter.' The other said, 'Zhu Lao Er's suffering has finally come to an end. Don't let his one usable arm fool you; he's a skilled craftsman, better than anyone else.' The first person then added, 'It's a pity his son is still young and can't help much...'"
Qin Su imitated the tone and manner of the two men's speech so perfectly that Emperor Jingxi was amused.
"I was very curious about what Zhu Lao Er was selling. Following everyone's discussion, I found the stall and discovered that it was selling stone tools."
At the same time, she also observed that the stall owner, Zhu Lao Er's, left arm was indeed limp and seemed to have no strength.
According to the Eight Trigrams, Zhu Lao Er's parents had passed away, his wife had died young, and he only had a seven or eight-year-old child to depend on. He was able to make stone tools so well and quickly, which meant that either he or his son was incredibly strong.
After all, the most important aspects of stone tools are polishing and forging.
Thinking of the story Ye Yan told her about Popeye and Spinach, Qin Su suddenly became very interested.
She said with certainty, "This Zhu Lao Er must be very powerful."
Emperor Jingxi had no interest in this. In his view, no matter how strong Zhu Er was or what unique skills he had, he was not a talent. Did the court need someone to make stone tools?
But seeing Qin Su's eager expression, as if she really wanted to get to know the other person, he didn't want to dampen his daughter's spirits and ruin her childlike innocence, so he smiled and said, "Find someone to stay here and watch over things. Let's go look at other things first, and we'll go find him after this person packs up."
Qin Su thought for a moment, then clapped his hands and said, "Father is wise. This way we can avoid disturbing Popeye's stall."
Emperor Jingxi suppressed the corners of his mouth, not wanting to tell Qin Su that he hadn't considered her feelings at all; he just felt there were too many people around and didn't want his daughter to have to squeeze in again.
He wondered to himself, why did the title "father" sound so much better than "father emperor"?
Oh, if I had known this would happen, I should have coaxed my daughter to call me that privately from the time she started talking.
The precocious Qin Su quickly noticed something amiss.
She tentatively said to Ye Yan, "Brother, I want to eat pine nut candy."
Ye Yan was dizzy: "Okay, okay, I'll buy it."
Qin Su then asked Emperor Jingxi, "Father, can we go out and play like this again next time we have some free time?"
Emperor Jingxi felt that such a trip was very necessary, and his recent depressed mood was swept away. He happily agreed: "Of course."
Qin Su glanced at Ye Yan, then at Emperor Jingxi, and gave him a sly smile.
Hmm, has she found a new way to soothe and appease people?
***
The three of them ate, strolled, and shopped around, and were very happy.
While the food and toys outside the palace were not as exquisite and valuable as those inside, they had their own unique charm. Just like many modern people who, no matter how delicious their own cooking is, still want to eat at street stalls, Qin Su ate many snacks today that were far less clean and made with better ingredients than those in the palace, but she kept praising how delicious they were.
After playing the role of "older brother" for a day, Ye Yan felt like he was walking on clouds, and he answered "okay, okay" to everything he was asked.
Emperor Jingxi was called "Father" for a whole day, enjoying a family bliss quite different from that in the palace, and he felt even more that no one could compare to his daughter's thoughtfulness, obedience, and cuteness.
When he took Qin Su to watch a variety show, he even imitated a father in the countryside by putting his daughter on his shoulders and letting her "ride a horse," which shocked the guards who were following them, whether openly or secretly.
At the end of the 11 PM, the people who had stayed near Zhu Lao Er's stall came to report that Zhu Lao Er was about to close up shop, so the three of them went back.
They were lucky to arrive at the right time. Zhu Lao Er had just finished packing his things and was about to leave when he saw several people walking towards him. He nervously took a step back and asked, "Who are you?"
"Oh, don't be scared." Qin Su stepped out from behind Emperor Jingxi. She wanted to call him Popeye, but then felt it was impolite. After thinking for a moment, she changed her words and said, "Master Zhu, I just wanted to ask if you usually like to eat spinach?"
When Zhu Lao Er saw such a beautiful child for the first time, he was stunned and subconsciously said, "Is spinach a Persian vegetable? How could I afford to eat something like that?"
Qin Su then remembered that spinach was introduced from foreign lands by the previous dynasty, and it was not widely cultivated in the Great Yu Dynasty, making it quite expensive among the common people.
She lowered her eyes in disappointment and said, "So you're not going to eat it. Okay."
Zhu Lao Er found her truly adorable and couldn't help but ask, "Whose child are you? Why are you asking me that?"
Qin Su replied truthfully, "Because I heard that eating spinach can make you stronger, and I saw that Master Zhu is so strong, so I wanted to ask him about it."
Zhu Lao Er was taken aback: "Strong? Who? Me?"
Qin Su: "Huh? Aren't you very strong?"
Zhu Lao Er: "It's not a big deal. I injured one of my arms a few years ago, and I only have one arm left that I can work normally."
The two looked at each other, both bewildered.
Qin Su asked in confusion, "You're not very strong, so how do you polish stone tools?"
Zhu Lao Er paused for a moment, then remained silent, appearing somewhat hesitant.
Qin Su realized from his expression that this was probably someone else's unique skill, and she shouldn't have asked.
She was about to say that she did not intend to pry into the family's teachings, and that Master Zhu did not need to say anything, when Zhu Lao Er replied: "I used water to make it."
Qin Su's eyes widened, and her small mouth moved as if she wanted to say something but didn't know how.
Zhu Lao Er looked at her round, dark eyes, which were very lively, and she seemed very curious and wanted to ask, but was too polite to ask. He laughed and said generously, "If you don't mind that my home is simple, you can come with me to take a look."
Qin Su looked up at Emperor Jingxi with longing in her eyes.
Her curiosity was piqued by Zhu Lao Er's answer about "polishing stone tools with water," and she wanted to go and see for herself, but felt that it would be somewhat offensive, so she silently asked Emperor Jingxi for his opinion.
Emperor Jingxi patted her head, and, somewhat curious, said to Zhu Lao Er, "Then I shall respectfully comply."
He also assured them, "We've never heard of this practice before and just wanted to take a look. We have absolutely no intention of learning it from them, so please rest assured."
Zhu Lao Er led the way for them and honestly said, "I see that you are all wearing very expensive clothes and accessories. You don't seem like the kind of people who would appreciate my little craftsmanship."
He didn't know that the person who had just spoken to him so politely was the emperor. He only felt that the young master's aura was strangely intimidating, making him feel inexplicably restrained and afraid, and that he was probably some kind of powerful figure.
The powerful and influential people would never look at his shabby things, so there was nothing wrong with showing them them. Zhu Lao Er was quite at ease.
He led Emperor Jingxi and the other two to his own courtyard and opened the door to one of the side rooms.
As soon as Qin Su stepped inside, she exclaimed "Wow!"
There was a small waterwheel there, with stone pillars tied to it with iron chains. When the waterwheel turned, it moved the stone pillars, which could then be used to press down the stone tools.
Ye Yan asked in surprise, "A water-powered forging hammer?"
Isn't this similar to the water-powered metal forging process in Europe?
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