Chapter 29: What a Waste

Wen Gu discovered that this Blacksmith Yu's forging skills were actually quite decent, it was just that his skill points in creativity were a bit skewed.

Setting aside creativity, if one wanted to forge any kind of item, finding him would likely result in it being made. Why was he still in an "unemployed" state?

Wen Gu had already learned from He Da that this was the only blacksmith currently remaining in the County Town.

For such a rare talent, how could the few civilian factions in the city leave him unused and idle until now?

What a waste!

Wen Gu pondered, showing nothing on his face, and asked, "This flatiron of yours, is it for sale?"

Blacksmith Yu did not hesitate: "Not for sale, the family needs it."

When cooking food, the flatiron could also be heated and used directly; even if not used for ironing clothes, it had other uses, and could even serve as a weapon.

The flatiron was not for sale, but other things could be sold.

Thinking of the grain Wen Gu had just taken out, Blacksmith Yu said: "There is also a small shovel; if you want it, trade it for that paper package from just now."

"What kind of small shovel?" Wen Gu asked.

Blacksmith Yu's gaze shifted slightly, not daring to look directly.

"It is a... um... tool for the Way of Incense, but it can also be used to dig things now."

Nowadays, many people loved playing with incense, and the incense culture was prosperous.

Before the world turned chaotic, a merchant had ordered a set of incense tools from him, one size larger than what was popular at the time.

Things like incense spoons and incense clips were used by his family, or had already been traded away. This was the only thing left over.

It was just that he had no experience with such elegant and delicate trinkets, so when he first forged it, there was a tiny bit of deviation.

Blacksmith Yu quickly brought the item over.

It looked a bit like a miniature soldering iron.

"Is this item an incense ash press for fire-isolated incense?" Wen Gu searched his memory.

"Right, that's the one for pressing incense ash, just a bit larger, it can be used!" Blacksmith Yu said.

The appearance was indeed somewhat similar, but it lacked any of the elegance belonging to the Way of Incense, instead carrying a rugged, murderous aura—the kind that could be used to torture someone once heated.

Blacksmith Yu did not speak.

He had discovered the problem when he first forged it and intended to modify it, but the world suddenly turned chaotic, so he could not attend to it.

Zhou Shan took the oversized incense ash press, his brows furrowing.

It was too small to be used as a weapon, and it was awkward to use even as a spatula; it would be better to just carve a spatula out of wood.

"It's fine to use as a small shovel for digging medicinal herbs," he said.

"Right, it can dig things." Blacksmith Yu's voice was somewhat tense as he looked at them, worried it wouldn't sell.

Wen Gu nodded: "That works too. We are continuing north, and the weather is getting colder; in the future, we will indeed need harder tools to dig things from the ground."

Upon hearing this, Blacksmith Yu asked: "You are also heading north?"

"Indeed," Wen Gu said. "I heard from He Da that before the Tan County Magistrate of this place left, he also spoke to you about taking refuge in the north."

"He did say that." Blacksmith Yu only said this much, then fell silent, staring only at the small paper package in Wen Gu's hand.

When Wen Gu mentioned He Da, he observed Blacksmith Yu's expression.

Blacksmith Yu's reaction was very faint.

It seemed this He Da was neither a well-known good person nor a notorious villain in the County Town. A nobody.

Wen Gu whispered a few words to Zhou Shan and did not hand over the small paper package, but instead took out a large paper package and opened it.

Blacksmith Yu's eyes went straight.

Inside the house behind him, there was also a slight movement.

Beside him, Zhou Shan tightened his grip on his blade, his expression guarded.

Wen Gu did not look inside the house, but his gaze was sincere as he said slowly: "We will take this incense press; besides that, there is one more thing I would like to ask."

Blacksmith Yu took a deep breath, his gaze moving with difficulty from the paper package, and said: "Ask."

"We are heading north to seek out relatives and are passing through this place; we are not familiar with the routes here..."

Wen Gu had his cousin hold the large paper package, while he took out a notebook and charcoal pencil to ask Blacksmith Yu about the distribution of villages and towns around the County Town and the current situation, which places needed to be avoided, and which were safer.

The former County Magistrate had long planned to leave and would certainly have collected more information. Blacksmith Yu had much contact with the government and knew more.

Blacksmith Yu indeed knew quite a bit; he glanced at the large paper package and quickly told Wen Gu the information he knew.

These things did not need to be kept secret; he had been thinking about these matters for days, so he remembered them clearly and spoke very fluently.

Wen Gu noticed this detail and tentatively interrupted to ask a few questions, which Blacksmith Yu also answered quickly. It was not fabricated.

After asking what he wanted to know, Wen Gu handed the large paper package to Blacksmith Yu.

Blacksmith Yu received the large paper package, felt the texture of the grain inside, paused, and asked: "You are heading north to seek relatives?"

Wen Gu said casually: "Right, my uncle is a military officer in Beidi. We are fleeing there, so at least we will have a place to stay."

Blacksmith Yu, whose ancestors had been military officers, felt a sense of kinship immediately.

He chatted with Wen Gu for a few more sentences. Wen Gu gathered that this Blacksmith Yu had also wanted to leave with the Tan County Magistrate back then.

He did not know why he had remained here.

Although he did not know the inside story, there was no resentment in Blacksmith Yu's eyes when he mentioned it.

Wen Gu brought up the sanitary conditions in the County Town again.

Speaking of this, Zhou Shan was also worried. He had originally planned to have this blacksmith repair his axe, but now it seemed fuel was scarce, and the furnace could not be lit.

"Since that is the case, we should leave as soon as possible," Zhou Shan urged.

Wen Gu nodded: "This city is even more dangerous than outside; trash is everywhere, and even without the Evil Plague, other epidemics might break out."

He sincerely urged Blacksmith Yu: "Minimize going out as much as possible; if you go out, you must cover your face with a cloth, and be very careful about what you put in your mouth!"

Zhou Shan commented on the few civilian factions in the city: "Ignorant rats, unable to distinguish priorities, they will never amount to anything!"

Blacksmith Yu kept a wooden expression as he glanced at Zhou Shan.

He had much contact with the government, and this person looked like he carried an air of officialdom in his words and actions.

Wen Gu did not chat further, only revealing that He Da had brought them into the city this time.

After Wen Gu and the other two left, a young man walked out of the house, bearing some resemblance to Blacksmith Yu, only thinner.

This was the second son of the Yu family, Blacksmith Yu's younger brother.

Blacksmith Yu handed him the paper parcel containing grain, "Finally, there is some income."

Yu Er's face, however, did not relax: "Brother, just continuing to idle here is not a solution."

Blacksmith Yu was also worried.

Half a month ago, the County Magistrate left with a portion of the people, and the several major civilian factions within the city began to fight among themselves.

They had indeed tried to win over him, the only blacksmith, but now that those people were busy with infighting, they had no intention of firing up the furnaces at all; he had no work to do, and thus could not be allocated supplies.

Therefore, Blacksmith Yu was still waiting for those people to decide on a result so that he could receive work on his end.

But when would those few factions be able to fight their way to a result?

The waiting time had been too long; the family had run out of grain and could not hold on.

During this time, what the family ate had been exchanged for Ironware, and they had even been ruthlessly price-gouged.

But the Ironware at home would soon be used up.

"The city is becoming more and more dangerous; why don't we go north with them? Their family has relatives serving as officials in Beidi!" Yu Er said.

Blacksmith Yu was also tempted. His family had wanted to leave before, but a neighbor had become possessed and went mad; at the time, he was handling business at the county office, his wife and daughter were at home, and his younger brother had been injured protecting the family, lying bedridden for several days, which caused them to miss the main group's departure.

Yu Er pondered for a moment and said, "We still need to ask clearly, was it He Da who brought them here? I will go ask later."

On the other side, He Da was in the room talking to his younger brother.

"Little brother, come, here is a surprise for you!"

He took out the book he had brought back.

"You used to like those Confucian Classics, and this one even has annotations written by a big shot; it was almost burned by someone today! Good thing I was fast!"

Some families had no firewood to start a fire and did not dare to go out to chop wood, so they burned the books in their homes.

There were too many people like this.

"Brother also met a very kind-hearted scholar today..."

Adjusting the outline, wait for me to add more updates!

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(End of this chapter)