Xiaoyu watched Chen Qingqing's departing figure, her heart deeply moved.
No one had ever treated him so gently in his entire life.
His mother was a palace maid who was temporarily favored by the emperor. She passed away not long after giving birth to him.
A prince born to a palace maid, powerless and cautious.
No one cared, no one loved him; he was like a piece of duckweed drifting in the palace.
He knew from the age of six that he had to work twice as hard to gain recognition.
Only by being strong can one earn the respect of others and remain invincible.
While others slept, he read; while others rested, he practiced martial arts, pushing himself to become excellent step by step.
At the age of twelve, his mentor, the General Who Protects the Nation, recommended him to the battlefield.
From then on, he overcame all obstacles and became the guardian deity of the Great Ning Dynasty.
Everyone thought he was fearless of death, fatigue, and hardship.
But he only felt lonely when the night was deep and quiet.
Now, he was actually experiencing care and warmth from this girl, and she didn't look down on him for being a fool.
As the saying goes, one should repay a drop of kindness with a spring of gratitude, let alone such a life-saving favor.
If he ever succeeds in taking that position, he will definitely repay her kindness and make her the richest merchant in the world...
Seeing that Xiaoyu was staring blankly at the wontons, Chen Qingqing waved the candied hawthorn in front of him.
"Why aren't you eating? Didn't you just say you loved wontons?"
Xiaoyu snapped out of her thoughts, looked up and smiled at her, "It's too hot, let's cool off."
"Oh my, I didn't realize our little fish knew it was hot," Chen Qingqing said, teasingly adding in a lighthearted tone. "Not bad, our little fish has improved."
Little Fish blushed. Well, they're treating him like a child, but it seems alright.
To avoid arousing Chen Qingqing's suspicion, he picked up a spoon, scooped up a wonton, blew on it, and put it in his mouth. "Delicious, my wife, you should eat too."
"Okay, eat up, and then we'll go to the blacksmith's shop."
After quickly finishing the wontons, Chen Qingqing asked Xiaoyu, "Are you full? If not, have another bowl."
"I'm full, let's go!"
After paying the bill, the two headed towards the blacksmith's shop...
At this moment, Zhui Feng, sitting across the street, looked completely bewildered.
"Zhu Yue, is this still the Prince Ning we know, the one who was invincible on the battlefield, our master?"
"It was one thing for him to do these childish things when he had amnesia, but now that he's fully recovered, why is he still following that village girl around with candied hawthorns, acting like a fool? It's unbearable to watch."
"Shut up!" Zhu Yue raised her hand and slapped him. "It's none of your business to interfere in the master's affairs. Hurry up and get on with him."
"Alright, Master has his reasons for doing things. Perhaps it's to protect the divine doctor who can cure his poison!" Zhui Feng muttered, following closely behind.
Chen Qingqing led Xiaoyu to the blacksmith's shop.
A burly middle-aged man was seen forging iron, sparks flying with each strike of his hammer.
After hammering it for a while, put it back in the furnace to heat it until it's red-hot, then take it out and continue hammering it...
After a while, a wood-chopping axe was completed under his hammering.
When the blacksmith saw that customers had arrived, he greeted them warmly, "What would you two like to buy? My shop has all kinds of farm tools."
Chen Qingqing asked with a smile, "I'd like to ask Master to help me forge some ironware. I wonder if Master would take on this job?"
The blacksmith nodded. "What do you want to forge? Do you have any blueprints? But the more complicated the forging, the more expensive the labor will be."
"I know that."
As Chen Qingqing spoke, she took out the drawings she had made the night before from her cloth bag and handed them to the blacksmith.
"Master, I want to make these iron pipes, about three inches thick, each about half a zhang long, hollow in the middle, thirty of them, and with these joints on both sides, and some screws like these, to connect them together... Do you think it's possible?"
Chen Qingqing had already done detailed calculations. The straight-line distance from the top of the mountain to the foot of the mountain was about fifty meters. According to the blacksmithing technology of that era, a pipe could only be made to be at most one and a half meters long. She stated her requirements and waited for the blacksmith's reply.
The blacksmith stared at the blueprints in his hand, utterly astonished. "Young lady, what are you going to do with all these iron pipes?"
Hearing him ask this, Chen Qingqing knew he could forge, and explained with a smile, "To be honest, Master, there is a piece of land in our village that is too dry, and I want to bring water from the mountainside to irrigate the land."
The little fish was immediately filled with curiosity and rushed forward to take a look. Its eyes lit up instantly.
This girl is truly a genius. She knows so much, and she can even draw such difficult blueprints. Moreover, this kind of iron pipe is perfect for drawing water. If it could be popularized in the Great Ning Dynasty, how many people could benefit from it?
"That's a great idea. Once these iron pipes are in use, they can greatly save water resources."
The blacksmith nodded repeatedly.
“I can do it. If you’re not in a hurry, you can pick it up in half a month. As for the wages, it’s one tael of silver per piece, thirty pieces for thirty taels. The connecting screws will cost ten taels of silver. As for the large iron bucket on top of the iron pipe, that’s relatively easy. I can forge it for free. Is that acceptable to you?”
Without a second thought, Chen Qingqing nodded. “Okay, I’ll give you a deposit of twenty taels of silver first. I’ll come to pick up the goods in half a month, and the rest will be settled on the same day.”
The blacksmith laughed heartily, "Okay, no problem."
Chen Qingqing paid the deposit. Half a month wasn't too slow, and she could accept the time. Although the price wasn't cheap, it was a one-time investment. The pipe could be used for thirty to fifty years, so it was reasonable. She could just consider it doing a good deed for the villagers!
After leaving the blacksmith shop, Chen Qingqing went to Qingfeng Restaurant to take another look at Chen Feng.
Chen Feng and she agreed that he would go home in ten days, rest for a while, and then start preparing to open his own restaurant.
He took Chen Qingqing and her companion to a carriage shop, hired a horse-drawn carriage with a sedan chair, and drove them home...
Nanshan Village.
When Mrs. Sun returned from working in the fields, she called out to the house as soon as she entered the yard, "Erbao, quickly fetch me a ladle of water, I'm dying of thirst."
After a while of silence, he shook his head and chuckled, "That kid must have gone to play with Xiao Han again."
Just then, Chen Han called out from outside the gate, "Auntie, is Erbao home?"
Mrs. Sun was taken aback. "Didn't he come to play with you?"
"No, we agreed yesterday that you would come to my house to play chess this morning, but you haven't come yet, so I came to ask."
"Where did he go?"
Mrs. Sun frowned, feeling somewhat puzzled.
Erbao has always been well-behaved and sensible, and never runs around.
If he didn't go to play with Xiaohan, where did he go?
Although she had some doubts, she didn't take it to heart and laughed, "Maybe Erbao went to play with Erniu and Tiedan from the village."
Upon hearing this, Chen Han shook his head repeatedly, "I went to Tie Dan's house to look for Er Bao just now, and they all said they hadn't seen him."
Mrs. Sun was a little worried. "Then I have to go find him."
As he spoke, he lifted his leg to walk out...
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