Chapter 1295: A Rising Star in the Industry

While Baifeng was washing and dismantling the items, he was also observing this young man. He discovered that the young man's features were quite upright—not exactly delicate, but very upright, with thick eyebrows and large eyes. Although he was not yet of age, in a few years, he would definitely be able to charm a group of young girls.

Furthermore, he looked steady and not frivolous. The more Baifeng looked, the more he liked him. If only he could have a son like this. As Baifeng thought this, he suddenly felt a sense of crisis. Damn it, why does this feel like I'm looking for a son-in-law? No, no, Miaoyin is still young; she needs to be at least three or four years older for it to work.

"Come, come, sit down quickly, child. Come, sit down and talk."

Ben was shocked by Baifeng's sudden amiability, because even with his own son, Baifeng would scold him a couple of times without standing on ceremony; he had kicked his son's backside plenty of times when he was little. Now, a stranger of a young man could elicit this attitude from Baifeng?

Ben stared at Baifeng with great suspicion. This was too abnormal. Even if this kid Xi was a talent, he shouldn't warrant such an attitude from Baifeng, right?

Xi's impression of Baifeng had always been that he was high and mighty, omnipotent, majestic, and tall. Seeing such a Baifeng now made him feel very strange as well.

"Donglei, bring more tea!"

Baifeng currently felt exactly like a host entertaining an honored guest, though Baifeng himself did not realize it.

Ben also shouted toward the doorway: "Donglei! Bring my tea first! My tea hasn't arrived yet!"

A Marquis of Huaxia naturally did not fear a servant of Baifeng. Usually, it would be impossible for him to order Baifeng's servant, but urging him like this now was perfectly fine. The main thing was that Ben felt Baifeng cared more about Xi than about him.

Donglei immediately brought in two cups of tea. After setting them down, he smiled and explained to Ben: "Gongqiao Marquis, the water was just boiling. Sorry for the long wait."

When facing someone with Nobility, a Slave must address them by their title to show respect. Only those who are also officials would address others by their official rank. For commoners, addressing someone by their official rank or Nobility is perfectly fine.

Ben could not truly be angry. He simply picked up the teacup first, blew on it, and took a sip of the scalding tea.

Xi also smelled the fragrance of the tea. Because Baifeng's tea was the best tea, the floral scent was intense. Let alone drinking it, someone at his level had never even heard of it.

So he was already starting to swallow his saliva, but he dared not drink. He was afraid his manners were not refined enough, especially sitting on the same sofa as his boss—the main thing was that Baifeng didn't have that many empty sofas here.

To stay warm, Baifeng spent most of his time working in his small office. Working in an empty, open space didn't feel right psychologically. Only when he wanted to summon others, for the sake of formality, would he go out to the large office with a clear height difference to stay temporarily. Besides, looking down from a high position created more of a sense of oppression.

Since Ben was coming, Baifeng didn't need to be that formal. Having him come directly to this office actually showed that the relationship between the two was closer.

Donglei added a little hot water to Baifeng's teacup and then retreated. He had also seen the wood on the floor and the table, but he felt it might be something important, so he didn't look too closely and didn't intend to come in to clean it up. It was only right to wait until the others had left before going in to tidy up.

"Young man, tell me, how did you think of such ingenious things?"

Xi was still a bit nervous. He held his hands together and said: "King, I... I have liked these things since I was small. Before, I would just make some Traps and such, catching birds, using sticks, ropes, and stones to make different shapes so that the prey would trigger them as soon as they touched them.

Anyway, in my head, I could just figure out how to do it, and it would trigger. But I'm no good at learning other things.

Then, later, I went to be a Carpenter's apprentice. Once I had tools, I started making some small things myself, carving little trinkets for my younger siblings, which also allowed me to practice my skills.

After that, I saw the task posted in the factory. Everyone didn't know how to handle it, and I asked several masters, but they all said they hadn't done it before and couldn't think of how to do it.

But after I looked at the requirements, I had some ideas. Then I just slowly made them out of wood myself. I thought about making them the best and most precise. I made many of these three; it took me a year. These are the best three.

I didn't know if this would actually work or if it would count, so I thought I would hand it to Lord Ben first to let him take a look. If there were no problems, then it would be a success.

If it was still wrong, I would just modify it myself."

Xi's voice became small again, and he tentatively asked: "King, I... did I do this right?"

Baifeng smiled and said: "No problem, it is very right. Every one of them is right. I didn't even think someone could make so many varieties. Xi, you are very good. You have great talent in this area. In the future, you must continue to work hard. Try to make these ideas you think are useful. Perhaps one of these things will be very useful to Huaxia. Do you understand?"

Hearing that he was recognized, Xi was so excited he started shaking his feet. He promised repeatedly: "King, King! I will, I will definitely continue to work hard! I will definitely make more things!"

"This thing of yours is very important to Huaxia. So, do you have any rewards you want? As long as it is reasonable, I can give it to you!"

Baifeng naturally would not be stingy with a talent who had such a bright future and was so important to Huaxia, because most Huaxia Carpenters now, strictly speaking, could only be called woodworkers; they could not be called Carpenters. They did not have that much ability.

If Huaxia could cultivate someone who could break new ground in this industry like Luban, or like the Mohist School, researching various mechanisms and clever devices, that would be the great fortune of Huaxia. The industry of Huaxia could leap forward by decades or even a century because of one person. Right now, the most promising person in Huaxia is this Xi.

Huaxia's planting industry achieved a qualitative leap because of plowing. His cross-breeding method is now basically the main method for Huaxia to cultivate new seeds. Baifeng could let a Slave become a Marquis, so naturally, he could not treat such a potential young man poorly, and his status was not even that of a Slave.

But he didn't expect Xi's request to be very simple: "King, I want a set of better tools, is that okay? There are some tools I drew myself, some Knives, that our Huaxia City doesn't have. I thought if they could be forged, it would be much easier for me to make things."