After playing around for a while, someone suddenly shouted, “The young serf is here!” Ren Yinian raised his head and saw three people driving a group of cattle and sheep slowly along the riverbank.
Leading the way was a boy of about eight or nine years old. He was thin and wore clothes that extended to his small legs, obviously discarded by adults. The clothes were tattered and torn, beyond repair, with one pant leg only reaching his knee while the other dragged down to his heel. He walked barefoot, kicking up dust as he moved.
Hearing the commotion, the boy, seemingly indifferent, herded the cattle and sheep to a spot and sat down without moving. His face was expressionless, as if lost in thought or daydreaming. The two younger kids following him, around four or five years old, occasionally looked over with innocent curiosity and admiration in their eyes.
Ren Yinian knew that the so-called “serfs” referred to slaves in the previous era. These were the children of serfs, currently herding for the lord.
Children from common families didn’t play with them. Not only were they dressed in even more ragged clothing, but they also lacked the energy to play. Due to constant labor and insufficient food, even at the age when they should be most active, they learned to conserve energy and move as little as possible.
Seeing children like this in a time of peace would evoke a sense of compassion in anyone. Ren Yinian sighed inwardly, lowered his head, twirled his wrist with his fingers, and couldn’t help but feel that it wasn’t the right time yet, he still had to ensure his own safety.
The car accident in his past life that took away his life, the intense impact causing dizziness and the excruciating pain of shattered bones, the gradual loss of blood and vitality, the approach of death with no way to stop it—all those sensations rushed back as he recalled. Even now, the palpitations were hard to contain.
Having died once, he truly didn’t know that his yearning for life was so strong. When the voice in his mind said, “To survive, you need to complete tasks. Interested in a deal?” his survival instinct made him agree without hesitation.
Upon regaining consciousness, he had become Louis Walton in this unfamiliar world, a world that was ignorant and backward. As a commoner, his life and property security were almost entirely at the mercy of the lord’s whim. He had to leave behind his family and friends, abandoning everything he had achieved in his original world. According to the voice in his mind, there were even more terrifying dangers in this world.
However, none of this could stop his desire to live. Looking at the lively faces of Nick and the others, so vibrant and full of life, only by being alive did he have the right to care about gains and losses.
The voice in his mind, now transformed into the form of a system, communicated with Ren Yinian. The interface now displayed a lonely task screen with a single task: “Survive for one month, task progress (30/30).” The button to claim the reward was no longer grayed out, indicating that Ren Yinian had already spent a month in this unfamiliar world.
Approaching noon, the children gradually went home. Nick came to Ren Yinian with his younger brother Barton. “Louis, we’re going home for lunch. We’ll come to pick you up later. You won’t be coming this afternoon, right?”
Ren Yinian nodded. In the past month, he had been returning home in the afternoon to learn from his father. Nick took charge of herding the cattle and sheep, and Ren Yinian would return in the evening. Because of this, Nick’s family’s tools were always the first to be repaired at the blacksmith shop.
Returning home, Ren Yinian hid in his room and gently pressed the button to claim the reward. A new interface appeared next to the task screen—a backpack. Inside was only one item: a bellows model.
With a thought, two palm-sized wooden bellows appeared in his hands.
Since he began learning blacksmithing, Ren Yinian had been contemplating how to make a bellows. He had played around with leftover wooden boards from building houses for quite some time, but with knowledge from middle and high school fading away after several years of university graduation, the bellows he made always had various issues. The system’s reward came just in time.
The bellows in his hands were finely crafted. Ren Yinian observed it for a while, then without much hesitation, he took it apart using a pry stick. After carefully studying the structure, he used the leftover wooden boards he had stored before, mimicking the model.
Rushing about until evening, he finally produced a much cruder bellows than the system model, but it didn’t affect its function. In the evening, when the apprentices had left the blacksmith shop, Ren Yinian sought out his father, Rubin.
“Father, I made something. I think it can increase the temperature of the forge. Take a look and see if it’s useful.”
Based on Ren Yinian’s observations over the past month, Rubin was not a person bound by tradition. He had a passion for the blacksmith profession and was currently trying to create a new kind of horseshoe-bending knife.
More importantly, Rubin was a man tolerant of his wife and children. In the past month, Ren Yinian, taking advantage of his young age, insisted on boiling water before drinking at home, used a willow twig to brush his teeth in the morning, bathed every two or three days, and played around with leftover wooden boards. Rubin accepted all his antics with good humor.
Now, as Rubin heard Ren Yinian’s words, he put down his work and came over to see Ren Yinian pulling the small bellows in his hand.
Ren Yinian demonstrated the bellows by pulling it, explaining, “When the bonfire is lit, blowing a bit of wind will make it burn more vigorously. I wanted to make something that could deliver the wind to the stove, so I call it a bellows.”
Rubin played with it for a while, examined the simple structure upon disassembly, and said, “This can be used on the stove, but the stove needs modification. Add an air duct for ventilation. The current furnace can’t be moved. Tomorrow, I’ll build a temporary furnace and try it out.”
Saying this, Rubin gestured on the stove, estimating the height for installing the bellows, jotting it down with a rope. He packed up the small bellows model and prepared to go to the carpenter’s house to custom-make a properly-sized bellows.
Though the cost was relatively low, since it was proposed by a twelve-year-old child, Rubin didn’t say much. He went directly to work. Ren Yinian suddenly felt a sense of trust.
The next day, Rubin rose early and began working in the yard while it was still dim. During busy farming seasons, tools needed frequent repairs, and having a couple of extra stoves was a common practice. Rubin, being experienced in this, quickly finished the job and left them to air-dry in the yard.
When Rubin retrieved the completed bellows from the carpenter, he attached it to the stove in the yard. Ren Yinian followed, sealing the gaps with clay, gathering firewood, and happily assisting.
When Rubin adjusted the height of the bellows three times, it was evident that the airflow was appropriate when he placed his hand at the mouth of the stove.
With ignited charcoal in the stove, Rubin nodded to Ren Yinian. Ren Yinian began pulling the bellows, and the charcoal immediately flared up. The flames illuminated Rubin’s face.
Rubin started making the hoe, his most frequently crafted item. After a while, the iron turned red. Rubin, counting time in his mind, repeatedly tempered and beat it. Ren Yinian nervously watched.
When Rubin put down the hammer, he showed a smile to Ren Yinian. “It took one-third less time than usual, and we saved on charcoal!” Ren Yinian relaxed his jaw, showing an even bigger smile than Rubin.
With more complete fuel combustion, the same amount of fuel released more heat. It was indeed saving fuel.
“Saving fuel is a good thing. If every household uses a bellows, it will save some fuel, and the time for everyone to go chopping wood in the winter will be shortened,” Rubin said.
Ren Yinian hadn’t thought about this aspect before. After all, he hadn’t experienced the harsh winter here, and he didn’t have to go chopping wood at home. However, it didn’t affect his increased happiness. After all, to some extent, the appearance of this bellows proved his worth.
Suddenly, Rubin thought of something. He turned back, grabbed Ren Yinian’s shoulder, and, lowering his head, said, “Little Louis, remember, you can’t tell others about this bellows, that you made it.”
Ren Yinian was taken aback, and instinctively asked, “Why?”
Rubin glanced around, seeing no one on the empty road. “You’re a talented kid,” Rubin’s voice lowered a bit, “but in the lord’s castle, there’s not much room for young people with talent.” Rubin looked at him with concern. “Kid, remember what I’m telling you.”
Ren Yinian nodded with a furrowed brow. Something terrible must have happened to make Rubin so concerned. “I’ll remember. What about you? Will this cause you trouble?”
Rubin shook his head. “It won’t cause trouble. It’s a good thing that the item is made. It’s inevitable to use it. I’ll report this to Mr. Luhn.” Ren Yinian knew Mr. Luhn; he was the steward of the lord. Every time the lord had ironware needs, Rubin was notified by him.
As for why the report was necessary, Ren Yinian could roughly guess. This world was not peaceful. Rubin, as the blacksmith of the territory, to a large extent ensured the supply of weapons for the lord’s armed forces, making him one of the territory’s valuable assets. The appearance of the bellows, improving ironware production, was no small matter.
In the late evening, Mr. Luhn rushed over in haste. He didn’t even have time to drink water; he wanted to see the bellows immediately. He made Rubin forge an iron piece on the spot before leaving with the bellows model, wearing a pleased expression.
