Chapter 28: Is It Doable?

He Da did not care about the County Lieutenant's opinion of him; even in the past, the officials and wealthy families rarely gave them a pleasant look.

He didn't care back then, and he cares even less now.

However, he was more willing to chat with Wen Gu.

On the way to take them to find the blacksmith, He Da introduced the blacksmith surnamed Yu to Wen Gu.

"When the world turned chaotic, the elders in his family didn't make it. There are two Yu brothers; Yu Laoda is the blacksmith and has long been married. His wife's surname is Ma, and the two have a daughter over seven years old.

"Yu Laoer is about the same age as me. I've spoken with him a few times; we met back when I was running errands for nobles in the County Town."

In short, they were street urchins together.

"Have the Yu brothers ever been formally named?" Wen Gu asked.

"It seems they are called... Yu Gang and Yu Tang?" He Da thought for a moment and replied.

They usually just called each other by their surname and birth order; they didn't really use their names, as they were hard to remember.

Wen Gu praised, "Good names!"

He Da:?

Are these names that good? They sound like fish tank and fish pond; what is good about them?

They aren't even as good as the name "He Qiu" I chose for myself!

He Da curled his lip and continued, "I heard their great-grandfather was a minor military officer. Back when County Magistrate Tan was still here, he often conscripted Yu Laoda to do work.

"Yu Laoda has a sullen temperament but is tall and sturdy. He often dealt with government officials in the past and accumulated quite a few connections. There are still many people in the city who once worked as house guards at his place and are willing to give him face."

Therefore, even though there is no one in the County Magistrate's office now, the various civilian factions in the city mostly rely on persuasion and solicitation rather than coercion when they need a blacksmith.

He Da was also giving Wen Gu a heads-up: when asking the blacksmith to do something, don't try that coercion routine.

Wen Gu understood.

Having dealt with all kinds of people in government-regulated industries, he knew that when you want someone to do something for you in times like these, small favors won't suffice, and armed coercion is even more inappropriate.

After entering the city, there were foul odors from every direction. Wen Gu and his group also covered their faces with double-layered cloth masks, with a bit of herbal powder sprinkled in the middle layer.

The shops along the street were full of mottled marks; some were residual bloodstains, some were black scorch marks, and others had unknown origins, like thick scabs formed on the walls.

Higher up, broken Arrows were wedged into the brick seams. The shafts had been snapped off by someone—the missing parts were likely burned as firewood—but the arrowhead parts were wedged too deep, which is why no one had dug them out.

He Da told Wen Gu that the Iron arrowheads could be collected and exchanged for food at the government office.

In corners that were easy to overlook, there were also severely rusted metal scraps. It was unclear what they were used for before; perhaps they fell off Iron Armor, or maybe they dropped from other tools, or they could have been stained with blood and no one dared to pick them up.

The shops on both sides of the street had their wooden door panels, window frames, and even building materials dismantled; these were all firewood once chopped up.

Some people were prying at brick walls, likely dragging the bricks and tiles from vacant houses back to their own homes to build walls for defense. A few shops were simply reduced to nothing but remnants on the ground.

The people who came out also walked in a hurry with vigilant expressions, startled by the slightest movement.

The road was covered in debris and trash, with only a narrow path cleared for walking.

It was only because the temperature had dropped; if it were any warmer, the various strange odors would be even stronger.

It was like a garbage dump.

Even with cloth masks on, one could still smell the odors emanating from those piles.

"Is it always like this on the streets?"

Wen Gu pointed to the trash and debris scattered on the road and asked He Da.

"How could it be? It wasn't like this when our County Magistrate was here. The County Magistrate said these trash piles easily breed Evil Plague, so he always sent people to clean them up. But half a month ago, those people left with the County Magistrate, and the streets became like this," He Da replied.

Wen Gu sighed, quickened his pace, and said to Zhou Shan beside him, "This place is not suitable for a long stay; let's finish our business and leave as soon as possible."

When Zhou Shan was a County Lieutenant, he had also dealt with small-scale plagues and felt the same way, his expression serious:

"Yes! We must change into clean clothes immediately after leaving the city."

If the Daoist Priest has any pills, it would be best to take a few more herbal medicine pellets.

Even if we haven't contracted the Evil Plague, we must prevent other diseases.

He Da observed the expressions of Wen Gu and the County Lieutenant, lost in thought.

Not far ahead was the blacksmith's forge.

"Right here, past the shop is his home."

He Da pointed out the place to Wen Gu and then left. He was in a hurry to get back.

Wen Gu thanked him and didn't ask him to stay.

He quite appreciated this He Da; he could see the situation clearly, knew how to humble himself, and had a sharp mind—he was best suited for external communication and gathering information.

No rush, though; let's get the blacksmith matter settled first.

When He Da went back, he passed through that same street again, looked at the piled-up debris, and recalled the words of the Wen Scholar and that County Lieutenant.

Not suitable for a long stay?

Leave as soon as possible?

Thinking about things along the way, he ran to a large courtyard built of brick and stone.

This courtyard was seized by people from their Village after arriving at the County Town.

Back then, everyone banded together to seize vacant houses. Of course, some wealthy families who were still at home but had few people suffered some grievances.

Less than a third of the people from He Da's Village survived, but by banding together, they were able to seize a decent place to stay.

Nowadays, the person with the most say in this residence was a woodcutter whose family originally had many people and had the most survivors, including several young, strong men.

In He Da's family, only he and his younger brother, who was just over ten years old, remained. When the chaos started, his little brother was studying at the County Academy. With County Magistrate Tan in charge of the County Town, the chaos was quickly quelled, but his parents and second sister who stayed in the Village were not so lucky; it was too late by the time he rushed back.

He returned with a heavy heart. A youth of similar age but looking thin and small was already waiting in front of the house. The other party handed He Da a lidded basket containing three large paper packages; these were the payment Wen Gu had given him.

The group guarding the gate kept a close eye on He Da, so he never brought things back himself whenever he found something.

Upon seeing these three large paper packages, He Da's originally heavy mood eased slightly.

The Wen Scholar really is a good person!

On the other side, Wen Gu and Zhou Shan arrived at the blacksmith shop.

When the County Magistrate of Tan County was here, he conscripted the craftsmen in the city to work, but once the County Magistrate left, they went home.

However, fuel was in short supply, and the blacksmith shop had long since closed and stopped working.

The iron smelting industry of this dynasty is advanced, and the technology is already capable of efficiently producing relatively high-quality steel.

I do not know how the craftsmanship of this Blacksmith Yu is.

They walked past the shop and arrived at the entrance of Blacksmith Yu's home, then knocked on the door.

The person who opened the door was a burly man; he used to have a beard, but due to the special circumstances, he had shaved it off for the sake of convenience in daily life, though he had shaved it in a patchy, uneven mess.

This was the Blacksmith Yu that He Da spoke of. His expression was vigilant.

Wen Gu briefly stated his identity, observed the other party's reaction, and took out a small paper packet filled with Grain Powder, opening it.

Blacksmith Yu quickly beckoned Wen Gu and the others into the house and closed the door.

But both sides also maintained a relatively safe distance.

Wen Gu observed this small courtyard.

There were several large water vats in the yard; these should have been placed at the blacksmith shop for fire prevention, but now that the shop was closed, they had moved the water vats over.

Judging by the other party's reaction just now, life in the Yu household is not very good right now either. A single small packet of grain was enough to open the door of the Yu household.

It was fine when the County Magistrate was here; the craftsmen were conscripted to work and were also given appropriate compensation.

Now, they have likely been out of grain for half a month. What is going on? Can Blacksmith Yu not get any work? Is it due to technical reasons or what?

Under a simple shed to the side, some tools were placed; these should have been transferred over from the blacksmith shop.

Wen Gu saw an object.

He pointed at a long-handled item, the front part of which looked like a branding iron. Are they conducting extrajudicial punishment here?

"What is this item?"

"A Flatiron," Blacksmith Yu replied in a muffled voice, "The old styles are not suitable for the present, and I think this one is very good; you just heat it up and it can be used, saving on firewood."

Wen Gu was stunned.

A Flatiron?

This design is quite retro; if you hadn't said anything, I would have thought it was a branding iron used for torturing people!

The flatirons of this era generally look like a spoon; I really have never seen a flatiron that looks like this.

Seeing that Wen Gu seemed to be doubting his professionalism, Blacksmith Yu asked, "Do you think it works?"

Wen Gu said sincerely, "It's very 'punishing'!"

As expected of a seasoned professional who has worked for the government, are you the legendary 'Does-it-work/Does-it-punish' master?

(End of chapter)