Chapter 93: Conversation

"Can you two help me find that paper marked 'Downstream of Tem' from yesterday? It should be on that table." The person buried in drawing and listing at the desk dropped his pen, straightened his back, and worked his cervical spine.

A faint cracking sound seemed to come from his spine, and the soreness reminded him that if he continued like this, a herniated disc was not a distant possibility.

Father Adrian was lying on a lounge chair to the side; his physical condition did not support long periods of sitting or standing, requiring him to rest for a while after writing just half a page.

Over these few days, he had frequently contacted several friends he knew who dealt in ore business, and their friends, spending nights with Kraft moving from tavern to tavern in the port district, truly exhausting himself.

A string of snoring like bubbling emerged from behind his cheek; it seemed he could not be counted on for the time being.

Most of the content still had to be organized by Kraft; condensing the recorded idle chatter into useful information was not an easy task.

Ideally, the information should be: "There is a certain mine at a certain place, operations starting from a certain year, ending several years later."

But the actual situation is usually: "Seems like," "probably," "maybe" at a certain supply point, "heard," "heard from someone" that the source of goods has changed.

Not to mention the positions and times in the descriptions are vague and unstable, the credibility alone is highly questionable; normal people are not like Kraft, and memory errors are quite normal.

So after recording and summarizing the obtained information, each item still had to be classified and listed in different files by region; the Father persisted for a while before giving up completely, willing only to be responsible for the first step of summarization.

Kraft was overwhelmed with work; during a short break, he finally realized there were two idle people in the room and tried to pull them into the work.

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The two people, one big and one small, cooperatively left their chairs, walked to the table, and silently refrained from reaching out, gazing at the neatly stacked papers in deep thought.

They looked at each other, waiting for the other to demonstrate what to do, then quickly realized the other was not hired to do this either.

"Sorry." The person with a thin skin broke the silence first; Yin Feng lowered his head and said softly, "I don't understand."

"Me too, me too." Kup had long recognized his position. When he first arrived, he was excited for a while, thinking that Kraft giving him this opportunity must mean he had exceptional qualities and could achieve something like a hero's follower in old-fashioned stories.

First, seasickness gave him a heavy blow, then he discovered what he could do was too far from Kraft's daily work, and there was no meaning in serving as a guard.

Perhaps his only function was as a large accessory, serving to indicate this person had a background and status; essentially equivalent to the medical academy badge worn on a black robe, replacing the badge when traveling in ordinary clothes.

"My fault." He was truly confused by busyness; staying in the academy's ivory tower for too long made him feel everyone around him was of the Lu Xiusi or Li Si type. Traditionally speaking, the only "team" directly under him that could travel everywhere consisted of squires like Kup.

One could say the academy spoiled him; talent willing to handle his affairs was everywhere, causing him to overlook an important fact—proper squires are cultivated by one's own family.

Let alone Kup, even starting Yin Feng at his age was a bit late; now one could only mend the fold after the sheep was lost.

"Move the chairs over; we need to talk." The organization work was nearly done; Kraft himself found the record of the downstream tributary, filling in the last missing piece of the water transport line along the coast to the Tem River.

"No need to be restrained; the Wood family has never had any traditions regarding etiquette, and I have not inherited the title yet."

Flipping a page of records, Kraft adopted the posture of chatting while reading, indicating this was not a formal conversation.

"I believe you have also discovered a small problem." Of course, it was not small; as a discipline often linked with statistics, medicine could be expected to involve more scenes like this in the future; without assistants, one would eventually be exhausted to death.

"So I will try to teach you some things, at least to recognize common words. However, further development depends on your own willingness; have you thought about what aspects you would like to do?"

Quickly scanning a page and cross-referencing it with the map, Kraft turned the page to conceal the fact that he himself was unsure. Taking in both of them was purely out of an attitude of "helping a little is better than nothing," with no plans for the future, only hoping their words would provide some inspiration.

The slightly relaxed atmosphere just created immediately became serious. The event happened suddenly; saying it was just a casual chat, yet it felt like reaching a crossroads for choosing one's future life?

Accompanied by the Father's snoring, Kraft finished the part of the coastal route heading north, but the two still did not answer.

So this is how it feels when no one answers questions in class? He suddenly felt a bit more sympathy for teachers who called on students to answer questions; it was better to share the awkwardness than to be awkward alone.

"Kup, stop looking at Yin Feng; you have followed me for at least two months. Do you think I will charge you tuition? Just speak freely; if you want to learn medicine from me, I can teach it."

"No, no, no, Mr. Kraft, I didn't mean that." Kup quickly denied it; he neither thought Kraft would charge him tuition nor believed he had the talent to touch content that even academy members found difficult to learn.

With the moment arrived, he had to give an answer. He considered himself to have some strength and was quite good at the port; "I want to learn how to use weapons."

"Fine; starting tomorrow, train with me. I will let you try various weapons and pick one that suits you." Kraft agreed readily; Kup's choice was no surprise.

This was a required course for almost all attendants and also the path with the greatest possibility of advancement for ordinary people; a typical successful case was right beside them.

"The Wood family is a noble family of martial merit; I think my grandfather will like you."

Kup had made a good start; Kraft turned to Yin Feng, reading a few more pages while waiting, neither urging nor holding high hopes.

He was already prepared to provide basic education first before letting her choose; the impact of her young age was two-sided, limiting her vision while also giving her higher malleability.

Perhaps Kraft's decisive agreement to Kup gave Yin Feng confidence; when Kraft finished marking the river mouth area and dipped his pen in ink, she finally mustered the courage.

"Before choosing, may I ask a question?"

"Of course; you can ask questions at any time, including changing your choice afterward, but the time spent belongs to yourself." Asking questions was a good thing, showing at least some thought; Kraft was happy to foster this trend.

Under his expectant gaze, Yin Feng pinched the hem of her clothes and asked a question that seemed slightly offensive to Kup: "If you had arrived early enough, could you have cured my father?"

"No." Faster than Kup's answer, Kraft did not feel there was anything shameful in admitting incompetence. No one here could snatch the life of a stroke and pneumoconiosis patient from the hands of the Heavenly Father; cerebrovascular issues were difficult to handle even in the era of otherworldly souls.

"Then what kind of doctor would be good enough to cure him?" Yin Feng asked again. Kup covered his face; he knew Kraft's skills were extremely high, and such people were generally quite arrogant; how could one ask like that?

Kraft stopped the pen drawing on the map and fell silent. Just as the two felt a bit nervous, he propped his chin and, using a vague tone unfamiliar to Kup, threw out a sentence: "Perhaps doctors in a few hundred years will have a chance?"

"And it won't be easy; timely intervention at the onset of the disease is the only possibility." He added, including some prerequisites.

"But you must know, they were not hatched from stones after a few hundred years; they enjoyed the accumulated results of hundreds of years, including what we are doing now."

"Then I want to study medicine."

"Good choice, but this is not easy; you must be prepared for great hardship." Kraft smiled, rolled up the map, and ended today's conversation. "And in the future, you will also have to do some exercise with us in the mornings."

"Because there will be some mountain roads to walk in the coming days."