Chapter 12: The Blacksmith

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When Yu Chengfeng saw that An Ning was still standing in place and hadn’t come over, he called her to come closer.

An Ning obediently approached, and Yu Chengfeng personally ladled a bowl of meat stew and placed it in her hands. “Try my cooking!” he said.

An Ning picked up a piece and put it into her mouth. As she gently bit into it, a rich burst of meat juices spread throughout her mouth. Although there was still a faint gamey taste, it was already far more delicious than the meat she had cooked herself.

Without hesitation, An Ning quickly finished the entire bowl of stew in just a few bites. After finishing, she wiped her mouth and said, “Delicious!”

“If it’s good, eat more,” Yu Chengfeng said, scooping another bowl for her. Watching this little girl devour the food ravenously, Yu Chengfeng felt both comforted and a little heartbroken.

After they finished eating, Yu Chengfeng cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks. As he stepped outside, he saw An Ning heading toward the woodshed.

He hurriedly called out to her, “An Ning, where are you going?”

“I... I’m going to sleep,” An Ning replied, looking uncertain. Before, no matter the season, she had always slept in the woodshed.

“Don’t sleep in the woodshed. It’s too cold at night. You should sleep in the main room,” Yu Chengfeng frowned and said. The winter night wind howled, and the door of the woodshed was full of holes. When the wind blew, the whole woodshed was freezing—it was no place to sleep.

“Okay...” An Ning lowered her head and agreed quietly. When she came back in front of Yu Chengfeng, her cheeks were flushed.

“Your body is weak to begin with. If you catch a chill sleeping in the woodshed, what will happen then?” Yu Chengfeng pulled her into the main room and laid out the bedding on the kang (heated brick bed). He stuffed a few pieces of firewood into the kang stove to keep it warm all night, then climbed onto the kang himself.

Although this kang was hard and uncomfortable compared to the memory foam mattress of his previous life, Yu Chengfeng was too exhausted today. He fell asleep within half a minute of lying down.

Meanwhile, An Ning was still anxiously waiting. She thought Yu Chengfeng was going to do something to her, clutching the quilt tightly.

After a while, when she saw no movement from Yu Chengfeng but instead heard the rise and fall of his snoring, she finally relaxed. She realized he truly wanted to take good care of her, and soon fell asleep peacefully to the rhythm of his breathing.

Before dawn the next day, Yu Chengfeng opened his eyes—this was the biological clock he had developed in his previous life.

He moved his body slightly and indeed felt a bit sore. He glanced at An Ning sleeping soundly beside him, her little mouth puckered.

He tucked her in properly, then went out to the courtyard to exercise. Drawing on his memories from the past life, he practiced some Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) techniques, preparing to use them in combat.

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After finishing a routine, the soreness and stiffness in his muscles were completely loosened. Sweat beaded on his body, and white breath hovered in the cold air.

Just as he was about to practice another set, there was a light knock on the door. Although sudden, it wasn’t as rough as when Hou Quan came yesterday.

Frowning, Yu Chengfeng went to open the door. It was Zuo Baihu standing there. Yu Chengfeng quietly asked, “Zuo Baihu, is there something so early?”

Zuo Baihu frowned and said, “Yu Chengfeng, the fortress has formed a tiger-hunting squad that’s heading into the mountains today. Li Zhen recommended you to the Qianhu (Commander of a thousand households), who specifically named you to join. You should get ready.”

“Me?” Hearing Li Zhen’s recommendation, Yu Chengfeng immediately knew something was amiss.

“Yes. I think he still bears a grudge over the last incident and is using this as an opportunity to get back at you,” Zuo Baihu warned Yu Chengfeng. “I’m afraid they’ll send people to the squad to target you. Remember, don’t leave the main group. With many people around, it’ll be harder for them to make a move.”

“If you must leave the main group, then prepare some means of self-defense,” Zuo Baihu sighed. As a soldier himself, he noticed Yu Chengfeng had just finished training, and this earned Yu Chengfeng a bit more respect in his eyes. What had once seemed like a gambler and a rogue was now a promising talent.

Cherishing capable people, Zuo Baihu didn’t want to see Yu Chengfeng fall into Li Zhen’s hands.

“Don’t worry, Zuo Baihu. If they really want to mess with me, I’ll make sure they regret it,” Yu Chengfeng said confidently, patting his chest. Seeing his confidence, Zuo Baihu was no longer worried and took his leave.

Yu Chengfeng began to strategize. After much thought, he decided to forge a suitable weapon for himself first.

A soldier’s household registration, or “Binghu,” allowed one to legally possess weapons. However, the original owner of his body had sold all the family’s weapons to buy alcohol.

Knowing Li Zhen and his group would undoubtedly have plans for the mountain expedition, Yu Chengfeng resolved to forge a handy weapon for himself.

With this in mind, he went to the blacksmith’s shop. Although it was still early, the blacksmith was already at work.

Upon seeing Yu Chengfeng and hearing about yesterday’s incident, the blacksmith’s attitude softened considerably. “Do you need to buy more lye today?”

“Yes,” Yu Chengfeng nodded. “I also want you to forge me a knife. Start it now.”

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“One knife will cost one tael of silver. Can you afford that?” the blacksmith asked skeptically.

“I’ll give you two taels, but you have to forge it the way I say,” Yu Chengfeng said, tossing the silver to the blacksmith.

“Your way? If the knife breaks, I won’t refund the silver!” The blacksmith hurriedly hid the silver in his coat, fearing Yu Chengfeng might back out.

“Don’t worry. Just listen to me and start forging,” Yu Chengfeng urged.

Following Yu Chengfeng’s instructions, the blacksmith pumped the bellows harder, melting the iron blocks. When he took out a piece of iron to start forging, Yu Chengfeng stopped him.

“Take two pieces.”

“What?”

“Two pieces. Heat them, then stack and forge them together,” Yu Chengfeng said seriously. Though skeptical, the blacksmith had already taken the silver and reluctantly complied, stacking two iron sheets and forging them into one.

As they prepared for quenching, Yu Chengfeng stopped him again. “Don’t use water—use oil!”

“Oil?” The blacksmith frowned deeply, having never heard of such a thing, but ultimately followed Yu Chengfeng’s instructions.

After quenching, a knife with a glossy sheen appeared before them. Even at a glance, its sharpness was evident.

This was incomparable to the shoddy blades the blacksmith had made before. Even he was surprised at the quality of the knife they had just forged.

Yu Chengfeng, however, was slightly dissatisfied. The sharpness and hardness still didn’t fully meet his standards, but it was much better than the knives issued in the military.

The method of layering steel and oil quenching truly was the fastest and easiest way to enhance the quality of the metal!