Chapter 220: People’s Pursuits Vary
The mornings north of the Great Wall generally began with a hoarse neigh from the Red Date Horse.
After the Red Date Horse neighed, the livestock in the manor automatically left the livestock shed and went to the wilderness to graze. Although the mountain villa also raised many chickens weighing over a hundred pounds, they dared not crow recklessly, because doing so would displease the Red Date Horse.
If the Red Date Horse was displeased, the other animals in the manor could forget about being happy. Even some flat-beaked birds just hatched by the women would be kicked one by one into the pond by the Red Date Horse.
The Red Date Horse was extremely displeased today. Mainly because when it broke through Yun Ce’s bedroom window and stuck its big head in to say good morning to Yun Ce, it got kicked in the eyes by a snow-white, dainty foot. From the smell, it should be E Ji’s.
It was helpless against E Ji. Before, after it had torn E Ji’s skirt and gotten slapped several times by Yun Ce, it knew it couldn’t tear E Ji’s skirt anymore. But now, even opening the window wasn’t allowed?
After kicking away the Red Date Horse, E Ji lazily sprawled in Yun Ce’s arms and said, “A good-looking noble son is not as good as my countryside young master wearing Yi Tree Cloth clothes.”
Yun Ce slapped her bare buttocks and said, “Don’t act like you’ve gained an advantage and still complain. Last night there was no respite at all.”
E Ji buried her head in Yun Ce’s arms and giggled, “Mainly because husband’s appearance changed last night, making me feel like I was having an affair. Then, in my head, husband’s aggrieved look after finding out appeared. Oh my, still holding a knife wanting to kill me… Hahaha, go ahead and kill me, you won’t, and then you force me to say who that man is… Hahaha.”
Yun Ce got angry seeing E Ji’s smug look. Just as he was about to regroup and give her another round, a shrill bark from Doggy King came from outside the window.
Without a doubt, this was the Red Date Horse bullying the little milk dog that had also been chased out to spend the night. When Yun Ce opened the window, he saw the little milk dog pinned under the Red Date Horse’s hoof. Despite its mouth open like a cave, because the Red Date Horse was stepping on its head from behind, it couldn’t reach the Red Date Horse and could only howl loudly in vain.
1 Dog King Nao Sheng has never been a good thing. This thing was born rebellious. Every two or three months, Doggy had to rescan this guy’s brain, and each time new potential dangers were found.
1 Recently, the dog pup was no longer E Ji’s favorite pet. Squatting on the frame with several hundred-pound chickens basking in the sun, the round and plump fledgling eagle was E Ji’s favorite.
1 According to E Ji, Doggy was useless. Even taking it, she couldn’t beat Zhang Min. Pure waste. The fledgling eagle was better. Husband said that once this eagle grew up, it could carry her into the sky.
1 Yun Ce jumped out the window, rescued the dog pup from under the Red Date Horse’s hoof, casually tossed it onto the roof, then stared for a long time at the round and plump old eagle squatting with the chickens.
1 He thought he couldn’t let E Ji keep raising the old eagle anymore. At the old eagle’s current rate of fattening, once it grew up, it couldn’t fly to the sky. Instead, it would be very suitable for the pot.
1 The rising sunlight shone on Yun Ce’s bare upper body, coating his skin with a honey-wax color. The red-tasseled horse spear he wielded left only afterimages, the spear itself invisible. Driven by internal breath, the horse spear seemed to break through the air barrier, with no intense whooshing sound, no sonic boom. Silently and unremarkably, yet far more dangerous than the previous wide-open moves.
1 “If you want to watch, watch openly. No need to sneak around. After I get pregnant, you’ll have to serve husband for me. Don’t let that bitch Zhang Min get the benefits.”
1 An Ji covered her mouth and said, “I wasn’t peeking.”
1 E Ji said disdainfully, “If you weren’t peeking, why are you drooling? Let me tell you, I picked you up. Following me, I haven’t let you suffer, nor have I mistreated you. You should be grateful.”
1 An Ji nodded repeatedly and said, “Only after following madam have I lived two good years of human life.”
2 E Ji continued, “That bitch Zhang Min always says she’s a fully ripe woman, and that a body like hers will get pregnant as soon as it touches a man.
2 That’s all nonsense. Has she touched fewer robust men like husband? Yet her stomach hasn’t grown even now. I suspect she’s just for secret fun and doesn’t want to get pregnant.
2 Our family has everything now, just too thin on population. With husband’s abilities, there should be dozens of children at his knees calling him ‘Father’.
2 You didn’t see husband in the children’s courtyard. Such an ugly child, just because he got first in the exam, yet poor husband could still bring himself to kiss him.
2 See, husband is one who likes children.”
2 While speaking, she patted An Ji’s buttocks and said, “In the future, don’t make yourself so thin for some nonsense dancing. With your body not even a hundred pounds, how will you nurture a healthy child in the future?
2 Husband’s parents died early. We have no elders to tell us these things, so as the matriarch, I have to say it. Be ambitious, don’t let that bitch Zhang Min take all the benefits.”
2 Yun Ce, who was practicing martial arts, naturally didn’t know that E Ji was currently training An Ji and preparing to start a fight in the inner chamber.
2 When he faced the sunrise, withdrew the horse spear, exhaled like an arrow, and let his body return to calm, E Ji brought An Ji over. One took the horse spear, the other affectionately wiped the non-existent sweat from him.
2 Yun Ce had no sweat to wipe, but Huo Liao’s sweat was endless.
3 The roaring flames seemed about to melt the stove. Bare-chested Huo Liao stirred the molten iron water nonstop with an iron hook, while staring intently at the changes in the iron water. When the flames above the iron water turned blue-green and the iron water gradually thickened, Huo Liao carefully skimmed off the steel slag with an iron ladle.
3 With a wave of his hand, two half-grown boys, also bare-chested, flipped the frying pan and quickly poured the steel water inside into a mold, preparing for the next round of steel smelting operation.
3 Feng An, dressed in Yi Tree Cloth clothes, personally carried two water buckets out of the cave and came to this relatively open smelting area. He set down the buckets, scooped a large ladle of soup water from inside, and handed it to Huo Liao, saying, “Drink some bean paste water, take a break.”
3 After speaking, he waved to the other half-grown children, signaling them to help themselves, then sat beside Huo Liao drinking the bean paste water, popped a bean into his mouth, chewed, and said.
3 “You need to make up your mind early. The longer Huo Minggong lives, the worse it is for your control of the Fire Tribe. Recently, we’ve gathered quite a few Fire Tribe people, but as long as Huo Minggong is alive, you have no hope of inheriting the Fire Tribe.”
3 Huo Liao silently sipped the bean paste water until he finished the full ladle, then said to Feng An, “The hammer head for the water-powered forging machine hammer isn’t forged yet.”
3 Feng An said anxiously, “The blueprint for that thing is in your hands, and you know how to make it. What’s the harm in delaying a bit? Now, the most important thing is the inheritance of your Fire Tribe. As long as you agree, I’ll immediately beg the lord to personally kill Huo Minggong for you and clear all obstacles for your inheritance of the Fire Tribe.”
3 Huo Liao answered irrelevantly, “The Steel Smelting Technique has just been mastered. Large-scale production will still take time. Although the steel billets from frying are already very good, I still suggest frying to produce wrought iron.
3 Then through carburizing and carbon-adding processes to make steel materials of various hardnesses we need. The benefit of this is that the produced steel has uniform quality, suitable for future large-scale production.”
3 Feng An said urgently, “The Yun Clan steel secret recipe is all given to you, do whatever you want with it. What I’m telling you now is the position of Fire Tribe clan leader, not some nonsense steel smelting or steelmaking.”
4 Huo Liao flew into a rage upon hearing this, grabbed Feng An’s collar, and roared, “Steel smelting and steelmaking are wondrous skills of the human world. How dare you insult them? Listen clearly, Feng An.
4 Right now, I don’t care at all about the damned Fire Tribe clan leader position. I only care about how to make everyone master the ‘Steel Smelting Technique’ as quickly as possible to fry out more steel materials.
4 As long as we have enough steel materials in hand, I can turn Jin Suo Pass into a true all-refined steel fortress. That’s what I want.”
4 Feng An was equally furious, grabbed Huo Liao’s sweat-soaked arm, and said, “People? People? Look at how exhausted you’ve become lately. You slept less than two hours last night, right?
4 If you keep going like this, I’m afraid you won’t fully understand the Yun Clan iron smelting and steelmaking techniques before you collapse first.
4 A Liao, listen to me. You’re the only heir in the family. Your parents’ spirits in heaven certainly don’t want you to leave your life on iron smelting and steelmaking. They want you to start a family, establish a career, and continue the family line.
4 Once you control the Fire Tribe, more people will help you, so you can relax a bit. At least, you won’t need to personally man the steelmaking stove and can focus on researching those processes you like.
4 Even the patriarch is waiting for your decision now. As soon as you agree, Huo Minggong’s head will soon be delivered to you. You’ve heard, right? The lord now has the valor of ten thousand men. Under Xiangcheng, two battles, battlefield beheading three thousand. What martial prowess! Killing one Huo Minggong is a piece of cake.”
4 Huo Liao pondered for a moment, then said painfully, “Do we really need the Fire Tribe’s treasury that badly?”
4 Feng An’s mouth gaped in surprise, then he said helplessly, “Aren’t the armor and weapons in the Fire Tribe treasury better than those the Red Date Horse escorted over before?”
5 Huo Liao shook his head and said, “Because the craftsmanship is the same, even if better, it’s only marginally so.”
5 Feng An laughed and said, “In that case, where did the armor and weapons escorted by the Red Date Horse go?”
5 Huo Liao frowned and said, “I threw them all into the steelmaking stove.”
5 Feng An burst out laughing, “Do you think if you were to make armor and weapons now, could the quality match your Fire Tribe’s treasury?”
5 Huo Liao said with a bitter face, “You know, the craftsmanship is different…”
5 Chapter One, no need to say it, today is another day accompanying brothers and sisters.
