Chapter 147: 108 Inventions (Second Update)_3

After his surprise, he said, “The thing you mentioned, I’ve seen it. Only the royal foundry has it.”

No local craftsman knows how to make a water hammer.

“I can make one,” Gu Jiao said.

The old blacksmith was greatly surprised.

Gu Jiao contemplated, “But, what I’m going to make next is not a water hammer.”

Gu Jiao mentioned a name.

“What kind of box?” The old blacksmith said he’d never heard of it!

“Do you have paper?” Gu Jiao asked.

“What?” The old blacksmith had been stunned by Gu Jiao, taking a long while to respond.

Gu Jiao simply found a piece of bluestone on the ground, took out a charcoal pencil from her pouch, and began to draw meticulously.

Other blacksmiths were drawn in, but the old blacksmith shouted, “What are you looking at! Get back to work!”

Out of respect for the master, the blacksmiths suppressed their curiosity and went back to work though their eyes kept darting towards Gu Jiao.

What on earth was this young girl drawing on the ground of their foundry?

Ultimately, the old blacksmith couldn’t help but ask, “What are you doing, young lady?”

“Drawing.” Gu Jiao said succinctly.

“Why are you drawing on my ground? I’ll have to get it cleaned up afterward. It’s such a hassle!”

Gu Jiao smiled, “Don’t you want to finish the remaining thousand-plus iron pieces within ten days?”

“T-Ten days?” The old blacksmith stood straight, hands on his hips, “Quit joking!”

He was the blacksmith. How could he not know? Even if everyone in the foundry worked non-stop, it would take at least a month!

Unless they used the royal water hammer technology, but even so, that would still take twenty days.

“I’m not joking.”

The old blacksmith showed his disbelief.

“If I do it, then what?”

The old blacksmith crossed his arms and looked down at her, “If you manage to do it, I’ll make your iron pieces for free, not charging you a single Copper Plate! Moreover, I’ll take care of all your future ironwork! You won’t need to pay a dime!”

Gu Jiao thought seriously about his offer and felt this deal was feasible, “Alright, I agree.”

The old blacksmith scoffed, did you just agree? You must be talking big!

Gu Jiao quickly finished her drawing, then nodded in satisfaction, “That’s it. Go get a carpenter.”

The old blacksmith had his mouth agape, “What?”

Gu Jiao rolled up her sleeves, “Stop dawdling. If you dawdle, you won’t finish your iron pieces.”

With that, Gu Jiao stood up, wrapped the charcoal pencil back into her pouch with a piece of parchment, washed her hands, then turned around and left.

The old blacksmith was utterly confused. Was this young girl teasing him? How could she possibly understand all this?

However, for some reason, the image of her calmly kneeling and drawing on the ground convinced the old blacksmith to go get the carpenter next door.

The carpenter was a professional. As soon as he saw the blueprint on the bluestone, his eyes widened, “Who drew this?”

“What’s wrong?” The old blacksmith asked curiously.

Without answering, the carpenter knelt down, treating the blueprint like a priceless treasure, touching it reverentially, yet afraid to smudge it.

The old blacksmith was left scratching his head at the carpenter’s cautious behavior.

A glint of green light appeared in the carpenter’s eyes. Without a word, he ran back to his shop, grabbed some paper and a pen, and started to meticulously copy the blueprint.

He had an intuitive feeling that this might be the most amazing thing he’d ever create in his life!

The old blacksmith was utterly baffled, staring at the design on the bluestone from all angles, “What’s going on? Can something really be made out of it?”