Su Shiwei didn't delay any longer and immediately assigned tasks to the beastmen.
Mining, transportation, and building steelmaking equipment alone account for the majority of the cost.
The main raw materials for steelmaking are iron ore and coke.
Now that iron ore is available, coke is obtained by dry distillation of coal under high temperature conditions. Fortunately, the Black Mountain tribe has a huge coal mine, and the remaining small number of orcs are used to make coke and find other auxiliary materials needed for steelmaking.
After the distribution, not a single one of the two hundred orcs was left.
Su Shiwei wasn't in a hurry. He knew that trying to do too much at once would only lead to failure. He was happy enough to get these things done right now.
The beastmen quickly and orderly began to work according to Su Shiwei's instructions.
After several busy days, the beastmen gradually got back on track, and Su Shiwei finally had a chance to rest.
Thinking of the sandalwood he had brought back last time, he found some tools and, taking advantage of his limited free time, began to carefully carve and polish it in the stone house.
...
Cave.
On the not-so-smooth and flat stone wall, dozens of small circles were left by black scratches from charcoal.
Lin Shanyue held a small, thumb-thick, charred wooden stick in her hand and drew another small circle next to the existing ones.
"Thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty... Forty days have already passed..."
After counting the marks she had made, Lin Shanyue was somewhat worried.
Logically speaking, they should have received news from the humans within a month. Even if they didn't return that quickly, at least some orcs should have returned first to deliver the message.
Why is there still no news after so long...?
Could something have gone wrong?
The idea was quickly dismissed.
"The orcs are so powerful, what could possibly happen to them on human territory? All the men, women, and children of the human race combined couldn't defeat them," Lin Shanyue muttered to herself, feeling a little relieved.
She both longed for their return and worried about what might happen to them on the way, yet she also hoped they wouldn't return so soon, so she could stay a little longer and enjoy the tranquility of the place.
Even though she knew she shouldn't have such thoughts.
"Shan Yue."
Su Shiwei's voice pulled Lin Shanyue back to reality.
"Why are you here?" Lin Shanyue subconsciously wiped the black carbon stains off her hands and went out to greet her.
Su Shiwei's gaze swept over the stone wall behind her.
Lin Shanyue's concern for her people and tribe was no secret in the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain. Every day, the beastmen who brought her food could see an additional circle on the stone wall, the number of which corresponded to the number of days Niu Li had spent traveling to the human realm.
"I've come to ask you for help."
Su Shiwei withdrew her gaze, a faint smile appearing on her face, pretending not to have noticed her just now.
Upon hearing the word "help," Lin Shanyue's attention was quickly diverted.
She thought of the favor Su Shiwei had asked her before, and her expression suddenly became complicated.
"How...how can I help you..."
"Just stand still."
Su Shiwei came up behind her, took her long hair in his large hand, and took out a sandalwood hairpin that he had prepared in advance with his other hand, and wrapped it around her long hair. The skillful movements seemed to have been practiced in his mind thousands of times.
Because Lin Shanyue was in the cave, she did not wrap her hair with animal skin.
In no time, her long hair was coiled up in Su Shiwei's hands.
She carefully adjusted the angle of the wooden hairpin and then gently stroked the stray ends of her hair.
Sensing Su Shiwei's movement, Lin Shanyue's body stiffened slightly. She could almost smell the faint woody scent emanating from him as he approached, which made her hands, which were placed in front of her, clench even tighter involuntarily.
He...he and Atang are not siblings, so why does he admit it?
Why did he have to test things on me when he could have just given them to Atang?
Lost in her own thoughts, Su Shiwei had already walked to the side, distancing herself from her. His gentle gaze made her feel perfectly at ease.
"Okay, try it and see if your hair comes down and if it's convenient to use."
Su Shiwei's voice brought Lin Shanyue back to her senses.
She raised her hand to touch her hair and found a smooth, thin piece of wood on it. She didn't know how it was done, but it made her hair hang up tightly, keeping it cool and comfortable without making her scalp feel tight.
"What is this thing? How did you do that?" Lin Shanyue asked curiously, her mind completely focused on the piece of wood.
She couldn't fathom how a straight piece of wood could "tangle" soft hair.
This is amazing!
“This is a wooden hairpin, which I polished from wood,” Su Shiwei explained.
"Wooden hairpin? What a beautiful name..." Lin Shanyue murmured, even the name was as beautiful as this place.
"This wooden hairpin is very useful; A-Tang will definitely like it."
Lin Shanyue gave it high praise and reached out to take the wooden hairpin off.
No sooner had I raised my hand than a large hand grabbed my wrist.
"No need to take it, this is for you as a thank you for helping me." Su Shiwei said in a relaxed tone, "This thing is easy to make, and the material is the most common wood, it's not precious."
Lin Shanyue was stunned for a moment, but she noticed that the hand that was gripping her wrist had thick calluses on its fingertips.
Some parts feel prickly, which is clearly because the cocoon was pierced by something.
She didn't believe this thing was easy to make!
Moreover, the wood smelled distinctly different from ordinary wood, leading her to believe it must be a very precious and rare variety.
Seeing Su Shiwei's feigned ease, Lin Shanyue suddenly had a thought.
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