Godsend Field

Chapter 32 The Apprentice
In the morning, Tashika collected the statistics of the newly recruited personal guards from the squadron leaders.A total of 730 six people were recruited in a few days. According to the established 1000 people, there are still more than 200 people left. We can only continue to recruit today!
After arranging the day's recruitment work, Tashika personally inspected the personnel who were recruited to report yesterday.From Tashika's satisfied expression, it can be seen that the bodyguards recruited yesterday are all very good.After registering the new bodyguards, they were organized into a squadron together with the bodyguards recruited a few days ago, and after setting the time and content of the training, Tashika left the military bodyguard group with Tianci, and went to the back street. The blacksmith shop is looking for Mike craftsman!
It took two streets to come to Mike's blacksmith shop, and the sound of 'jingling' can be heard from afar.The whole door is wide open, and the layout inside is similar to that of the blacksmith's shop in Kiel last time, except that it is a little smaller. There are only two stoves here, a larger main stove and a smaller auxiliary stove. The 50-year-old man wrapped his jacket around his waist, revealing his muscular chest muscles, covered in sweat.The man was holding a huge hammer and beating a piece of red iron on the chopping board; next to him were fifteen or sixteen-year-old boys squatting next to the larger main stove, pulling the bellows hard.

"Mike, I'm still busy!" Tashika said hello to Craftsman Mike with a smile after confirming the shop!

Craftsman Mike saw Tashika come in with a gift from heaven, and said impatiently, "You think that making a mid-grade weapon is as easy as killing a chicken and chopping vegetables! As I said, it will take at least a month! You will come here in just a few days Urge, are you annoying!!"

Tashika, who was stunned, hurriedly explained, "What are you talking about, the weapon that the Marquis wants, I am qualified to urge it! Mike, I want to tell you something when I come this time!"

"What's the matter!" Knowing that he didn't come to urge him, Mike stopped what he was doing, threw the unfinished iron block into the fire again, and then walked off the main stove with confidence!

In the weapons exhibition hall on the right side of the blacksmith's shop, four chairs are placed idly. The backs and armrests of the chairs have been polished smooth and shiny, and they must have been used for a long time.Mike invited Tashika and Tianci to sit down, and the boy pulling the bellows also stopped his work and walked into the inner room. After a while, he brought three big bowls of white water and put them in front of Mike and Tashika.Tashika didn't mind either, she picked up the big bowl and gulped it down, Tianci also picked up the big bowl, there were quite a few gaps on the side of the bowl!

"Mike, this is a distant nephew from my hometown. He originally wanted to join our bodyguard group, but he was too young to meet the requirements, so I would like to recommend, how about being an apprentice with you?" Tashika put down her big Wan said straight to the point.

Mike glanced at Tianci sitting next to him, "It's okay to be an apprentice, but let me ask you first, can you endure hardship?"

"Yes, I'm not afraid of suffering!" Tianci hurriedly put down the big bowl, stood up and nodded firmly.

"Don't say it nicely, eight out of ten people who come to me are like you, but in the end? None of them can persist for three months!" Mike said tirelessly.

Tianci looked at Tashika suspiciously.

"As far as your devilish teaching method is concerned, no one can accept it! Don't you look at it, how many apprentices are there now? Let me tell you first, this is my nephew, you Don't be a free animal!"

"Hmph, you can't even stand this little bit of suffering, and you're still quite a craftsman? When we were apprentices, didn't the three layers of skin come off?" Mike turned his head and said to Tianci again, "Young man, let me talk about the ugly words first, and want to talk to me. It is impossible to learn casting without taking off the three layers of skin, so you should decide whether you want to learn from me."

"Do you have any gold coins with me?" Tianci asked with concern.

"Yes, I'm free of food and lodging here, ten gold coins a month, and two more every year! Until I can leave the teacher!"

Although ten gold coins are much less than those of the Guards, they are better than none. After working for a year, they can go to Ancona to find their parents and younger brother!Tianci thought to himself, "Okay, I promise, when will it start?"

"From now on, you go and take off your clothes, and pull the bellows for A Yin first." Mike said loudly, "A Yin, take a rest and let the newcomer do it. You teach him the rules!"

Tianci took off his coat and walked to the main stove with his upper body naked. The fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy named Ah Yin stood up and made room for Tianci to continue!
The bellows is connected to the main stove at the lower right corner of the main stove. It is a small wooden box with an iron handle protruding from the front. When pulling and pushing, the wind is pushed into the stove to make the stove burn more vigorously.

Tianci squatted on the ground and grabbed the iron handle, and began to push and pull vigorously. The bellows immediately made a sound of "quack, quack...", sharp and ear-piercing!
"Stop, stop!" Ah Yin hurriedly prevented Tianci from continuing to make noise, "The force must be even and steady, so that the sound will not be so harsh!"

"Oh!" Tianci learned to calm down his strength, and sure enough, the sound he made was not so harsh.

"Okay, I don't have anything to do here, Mike, I'll leave it to you from Tianci!" Tashika stood up and shouted loudly to Tianci, "Tianci, you work hard, I'll go first! I still know the way back Bar?"

"I remember the way, goodbye Uncle Tashika!" After Tianci finished speaking, he continued to pull the bellows!
Tashika waved to Tianci and Mike, and walked out of the blacksmith shop.

Mike took a rest for a while, walked onto the main stove, picked up the iron chisel with his left hand and put the iron quickly on the iron pier, and picked up the hammer with his right hand to continue beating the iron block!After beating for a while, the iron block became a little cold, and Mike threw the iron block into the fire again.

"The fire is getting smaller, boy, pull the bellows!" Mike ordered.

Tianci immediately pulled the bellows vigorously, and with the movement of the bellows, the fire in the main stove suddenly became stronger.

After squatting on the ground and pulling hard for a while, Tianci was already sweating, and his back was sore.It's not very hot now, but it's like a grill next to the main stove, and it's a bit unbearable after only a short time!

"The bellows don't work like this!" Mike was a little annoyed, "Ayin, you can teach him how to pull the bellows, he can't do such a small thing well!"

Ah Yin hurriedly squatted beside Tianci, and took the iron handle from Tianci. Although the fire escalated immediately, it was a violent fire and could not last long, and although the fire became larger, the temperature was not high, and it was not easy to burn the iron red." As he spoke, Ah Yin pulled the bellows rhythmically to give God-given as an example.The flames in the furnace shot up and slowly made a "sizzing" burning sound.

"Let me try." Tianci took the iron handle from Ah Yin's hand, and pulled it 'rhythmically' just like Ah Yin did.

"No, no, you are just a little slower than before, not the rhythm! Godsend, when you pull, you count one or two, one or two, count one to push, count two to pull! See if it works!"

Tianci counted one or two in his heart, and pushed and pulled with his hands. Sure enough, the rhythm was much more rhythmic than before. The fire in the furnace was already whistling.

Seeing that Tianci learned so quickly, Mike was also very satisfied.Ah Yin approached Tianci and whispered, "You're pulling fast, and your strength is exhausted very quickly, and you will be scolded by Uncle Mike at that time!"

After pulling the bellows all afternoon, Tianci's whole body is like an eggplant beaten by frost—withered!If it weren't for the little blue light in the body following Tianci's consciousness to relieve the fatigue of the body, Tianci really didn't know how to spend this afternoon.No wonder Uncle Tashika said it was the devil. . . . . .

"How about it, can you bear it? It will be like this every day in the future, and I can't bear to leave early!" Looking at the wilted Tianci, Mike said.

"Who said I can't bear it!" Tianci's stubborn and unyielding character became more energetic.

For a whole month, during the day, Tianci squatted on the ground for Michaela's bellows. Although the physical fatigue could be relieved by the little blue light in his body, what was unbearable was the huge heat beside the main stove, and the occasional flying fire from the furnace. The soot and sparks that come out, often choking and coughing again and again.Tianci would be disheartened after work every day, but fortunately, Yu'er was by his side to pass a wet towel from time to time. . .

The high temperature of the main stove was uncomfortable for Tianci and others, but Yu'er seemed to enjoy the high temperature very much, and would lie on the bellows or next to the main stove when he was free.At night, Tianci rested in the room of Uncle Tashika's son.Tianci sat cross-legged on the bed according to the posture on the cave murals, put his palms flat on his knees, relaxed his whole body and closed his eyes slightly, releasing his spiritual consciousness to the limit. Feel the feeling of extreme stretching!
After waking up early in the morning, he withdrew his consciousness.Tianci will follow Uncle Tashika to the training ground of the military guards, and every day at dawn there will be newly recruited bodyguards for morning exercises. After asking Uncle Tashika, Tianci will continue to exercise here every day. Within a few days, I got acquainted with the newly recruited guards here.After the morning exercise, Tianci went to the blacksmith shop to report to Mike!
Mike is also very demanding of Tianci, if the movements are not in place, if the wind is weak, or the wind is strong, he will scold Tianci.Even after eating at noon, Mike and Ayin had an hour to rest, and only Tianci needed to continue looking at the main stove.Tianci has to drink a full tank of cold water every day.

The happiest person this month is Ah Yin. Since the arrival of Tianci, Ah Yin has been released from the bellows and started to work as Mike's assistant to help blacksmith.

It was the end of the month when Mike paid his wages, and Tianci was so happy to get ten gold coins!In the afternoon, Mike gave Tianci and Ayin a half-day off with great kindness, and the two ran out of the blacksmith shop with Yu'er as if they had been pardoned.

Within a month, Tianci and Ah Yin got to know each other very well.Ayin is an orphan who was adopted by Mike since he was a child, and learns casting from Mike as his teacher.

"To be honest, you're really good. It's been a whole month, and you haven't complained!" Ah Yin and Tianci walked on the street.

"It's nothing, in fact, it's too hot to bear, and I can talk about everything else!" Tianci was very modest, if it wasn't for the little blue light, not to mention the tiredness in the body, it would be those sparks jumping out of the furnace, You can scare away Godsend!

"What I'm saying is true. Before you came here, as soon as Master and I came here, the whole shop was crowded with apprentices, but within half a month, none of them left. Later, they came here sporadically. A lot of people were killed, but each of them lasted for more than 20 days. You can last for a month, which is very strong!" Ah Yin said to Tianci with admiration.

"No way! I really can't tell that Uncle Mike was so popular back then!" Tianci opened his mouth wide in astonishment.

"Of course, Master is a craftsman and is well-known throughout the country." Ah Yin said proudly.

"Artisan? Is the craftsman famous? I have seen a craftsman before, but it is from the dwarves!" Tianci asked curiously.

"..." Ah Yin was taken aback, not knowing what to say, "Tianci, you haven't heard of craftsmen before, have you?"

Tianci opened his eyes wide and shook his head, Yu'er on his shoulder also imitated Tianci and shook his head innocently!

"Cough! Cough!" A Yin cleared his throat, imitating Mike's tone and said to Tianci like an apprentice, "On our mainland, those who can make weapons and armor are called blacksmiths! They can only make ordinary underground weapons. Then At the top is the craftsman, who can forge middle-grade weapons. Our master is a craftsman. When you and Tashika came here last month, the master was making a middle-grade broadsword for the second guard regiment of the Marquis Mansion! "

"Oh! It turns out that craftsmen are just a little more advanced than blacksmiths!" Tianci said lightly.

"What does it mean to be more advanced?" Ah Yin was a little anxious when he saw Tianci. "You have to know that there are countless blacksmiths on the mainland, but there are only more than 100 craftsmen. Every craftsman will be valued by the country and nobles. If it is not for Marquis Dolan this time With a strong invitation, Master and I will not come to Yaster City either."

"So that's the case! But I also met a craftsman in Kiel before, why didn't anyone invite him?"

"You must be talking about dwarf craftsmen! In fact, dwarves have much higher casting talent than us humans, and most of the more than 100 craftsmen in the mainland are dwarves. I heard from Master that the craftsmen go up to the foundry masters, and the casting masters are basically They are all dwarves! But dwarves are very lonely, although the country and the nobles are trying their best to recruit them, but not many are really willing to accept them!" A Yin explained, "Because the dwarves are relatively united, no country or noble is willing to force Offend them."

"So that's how it is!" Tianci understood a little bit. "It seems that Uncle Mike is quite famous, but he treats us too harshly. Many times I wanted to pull out his hair and burn it with coal!" Tianci was a little bit aggrieved.

"Haha! Haha! In fact, I also had this idea at the beginning!" Ah Yin smiled happily, but then said to Tianci with a solemn expression, "But Tianci, Master did this for our own good, and strict requirements are training for us. To become An excellent craftsman, if he can’t even make fire well, how can he talk about blacksmithing? In fact, he is also very knowledgeable about making fire. Master told me about it, and I’ll tell you about it after lunch tomorrow!”

"Okay!" Tianci said gratefully, "There is a snack shop in front, I invite you to eat meat!"

Speaking of which, Tianci dragged Ah Yin to a roast chicken shop, ordered three roast chickens, one for each of them including Yuer, and they were full.It was the first time I saw someone eating at the same table with pets, the boss and customers gathered around curiously and praised Yu'er greatly!Yu'er is not afraid of life, and greets everyone from time to time. When the boss is happy, Yu'er has another chicken thigh!

After eating the roast chicken, it cost seven silver coins in total. After paying the silver coins, Ah Yin, as the 'host', walked around Yaster City with Tianci.Except for Tianci wandering around on the first day of his arrival in Yaster City, he has honestly pulled the bellows in the blacksmith's shop for the whole month and has never visited Yaster City.It has been a while since A Yin came to Yaster City, where the snacks are famous, where the food is cheap, where the crowds are the most, and where the most fun is.

Originally, Ah Yin wanted to show Tianci the most luxurious Phoenix Restaurant in Yaster City, but was declined by Tianci 'politely'!

On the side street where she was shopping for groceries, Tianci bought a scarf and a headband for Aunt Sili.Aunt Sili was very happy, and specially added food to Tianci that night!
The next day, after the morning exercise, Tianci brought Yu'er to the blacksmith shop.Mike and A Yin have already opened the door, because Mike was invited by the Marquis of Dolan, so Mike usually spends most of his time building weapons and armor for the Marquis of Dolan’s bodyguards, and there is no more time to go Doing general business, over time, fewer and fewer people come here to order and buy weapons.

"This is a gift from God! Go and light the fire that was suppressed last night in the main stove. Today, I am going to make a long sword for the third young master of the Marquis. Next month, the third young master will go to study at the Capital Imperial College!" Mike ordered.

In the habit of all blacksmiths on the mainland, once a furnace is turned on and a fire is started, unless there are special circumstances, the flame will not be extinguished within a year, otherwise it will be considered the most unlucky!At night, the fire in the main stove will not be completely extinguished, but some red-hot coals will be kept, and the ash and some broken coals will be mixed to cover it, so that the fire will neither ignite nor Will not go out, most blacksmiths use this method.

Tianci climbed onto the main stove, pushed out the ashes and crushed coal, added new pieces of coal, squatted down, and pulled the bellows wheezingly.As soon as the old fire in the hearth was blown, it ignited with new coals.

When the fire in the hearth reached a certain level, craftsman Mike stepped onto the main stove, took out a piece of shiny metal from the side, put it in the hearth and started burning. It’s very hard to burn, Godsend, don’t relax today, if it delays me, don’t even think about resting in the future!”

Seeing Mike's serious expression, Tianci also knew that this time it was not easy, so he stuck out his tongue and continued to pull the bellows.

After burning for a whole morning, the piece of magic gold was burned red. Mike held the iron tongs in his left hand to clamp out the refined iron and put it on a large iron pier. He held a smaller hammer in his right hand. According to Mike, it should be For the main hammer, Ah Yin holds a larger hammer in both hands, called the secondary hammer, for forging. The beating sound of 'jingle dong dong' sounded, and sparks flew everywhere.Craftsman Mike holds a small hammer in his right hand and iron tongs in his left hand. During the forging process, he constantly flips the magic gold by visual inspection. Under the joint efforts of Mike and Ah Yin, the magic gold begins to slowly become long strips.

After lunch, Mike continued to rest, and Tianci was still pulling the bellows to burn the magic gold in the furnace.Yu'er lay comfortably by the stove to warm up.

At this moment, Ah Yin ran over
"Tianci, didn't I tell you about flames yesterday? In fact, you see, a general flame can be divided into three parts. The first part is the inner flame, which is the blue one in the middle, which is used to prevent the wind from blowing to you. Inside, so they burn incompletely and incompletely, and the temperature there is also the lowest, Master calls them inner flames or inner flames. When you first start burning iron, you always start with the inner flames." A Yin pointed to the fire The flame inside and the gift of heaven explained.

Craftsman Mike sat next to him, closed his eyes and meditated, nodding his head slightly.

"Outside the inner flame is the middle flame. You can see that they are very bright. They burn a little more fully than the inner flame, so the temperature is higher than the inner flame. Master calls them the middle flame or hot flame. The outermost flame has no color, because They are in direct contact with the air, so they can burn most fully and completely, and their temperature is also the highest. Master calls them outer flames or scorching flames. The iron blocks burn in the inner flame for a while before moving to the outer flame to burn. Master said that if it is directly moved to the outer flame, it is easy to cause internal cracks in good materials."

Tianci listened with gusto.

"The flame also has an impact on our casting. For example, if your bellows bulges too fast, the coal in the main furnace will be burned quickly. If it is not enough, it will be wasted. If the blowing of the bellows is slow, there will be no air flow in the main furnace, the flame will not burn, and the temperature will not meet the requirements of the master; therefore, only by blowing the bellows evenly and rhythmically can fuel be saved. The temperature is still high!"

"Master said that if you want to become an excellent craftsman, you must start with the most basic fire! I will definitely do it!" Finally, Ah Yin clenched his fists and vowed.

(End of this chapter)