A Glance at the Clouds and Smoke

Chapter 97 A Glance at the Clouds and Smoke

The rain lessened a bit the next morning.

The bluestone road in the West Market was still flooded, and water dripped from the eaves.

Zhaoyue opened the bolt and then pulled the shop door outwards.

As soon as the first door panel was moved aside, a pair of mud-covered black boots were revealed.

Zhao Yue looked up and saw Yan Xiaolou standing under the eaves, holding a sword and carrying two neatly folded lotus leaf packages in his hands.

"Why are you here so early?" Zhaoyue asked.

"Want some or not?"

Yan Xiaolou pushed the lotus leaf forward, "There are people selling steamed buns by the roadside. I thought it would be inconvenient for you to go out because of the rain, so I bought a few extra on the way."

Even before the lotus leaves unfurled, the aroma of meat already wafted out.

Zhaoyue twitched her nose twice, then forgot everything else she had said.

He quickly leaned the door panel against the wall and caught it with his paws: "Quack~ I'm so sorry, you haven't received your wages yet."

"Just a few steamed buns."

"Then I'll try one for you first, young master, to see if it's cooked through."

Yan Xiaolou watched as Zhaoyue unwrapped the lotus leaf, lowered her head and bit into a bun. Her cheeks had barely bulged when she grabbed the second one in her hand.

A smug look appeared on her face as she walked past the counter into the backyard.

The stove was still cold, and Shen Gui was still sitting by the stone table. However, the green beans that had been by his side all day were gone, replaced by a gray-white stone necklace.

Yan Xiaolou glanced at it once and then looked away. She walked to the table and put down another lotus leaf: "Mr. Shen, this is breakfast I brought for you."

Shen Gui looked up at her.

Yan Xiaolou was slightly nervous, and her fingers unconsciously tugged at the corner of her sleeve.

"Thank you for your thoughtfulness," Shen Gui said.

Yan Xiaolou's shoulders relaxed a little: "I just happened to see it on the way."

"Young master, it's delicious!" Zhaoyue's indistinct voice came from the front hall.

Shen Gui looked at the stove: "After you finish eating, go heat up the stove. We'll start cooking an hour earlier today."

"immediately!"

Zhaoyue answered loudly, then tossed the bun in her hand into the air, rolled her tongue, and swallowed it whole.

Yan Xiaolou turned around at that moment, and her eye twitched.

Aren't you going to chew it?

"Chew it, chew it in your stomach."

Zhaoyue picked up the remaining buns, first stuffing two onto Shen Gui's table, then rolled up the rest and hid them in the cupboard before leading Yan Xiaolou to the stove.

Yesterday, Yan Xiaolou was already able to pick coal and operate the bellows steadily. Today, Zhaoyue is teaching him how to start the furnace.

"First, lay down fine charcoal, making sure not to block the air vents. Once sparks appear, don't rush to add coal; let it absorb the charcoal first."

Yan Xiaolou squatted in front of the stove: "Didn't you order it directly yesterday?"

"Yesterday there was still embers at the bottom of the furnace, today the furnace is cold, can they be considered the same?"

"You've only been learning for a few days, yet you already have a lot of rules."

"Even if I only study for a few days, I'll still be your teacher."

"Say it again?"

"Young master, she's frightening the furnace master."

Zhaoyue immediately turned around and complained.

Yan Xiaolou grabbed some dry grass and stuffed it into the bottom of the stove: "Is this alright? Take charge of the stove."

"It's alright, loosen the grass a little to the left, yes, right there."

Before long, fire broke out from the fine embers, the bellows hummed, and the furnace gradually turned red.

Zhaoyue stood on the raised wooden platform to control the fire, while Yan Xiaolou added coal. Once the first piece of iron was thoroughly heated, the sound of hammering echoed from the backyard.

"clang."

"Don't raise your shoulders."

Shen Gui took a bite of the steamed bun and looked up to remind him.

Yan Xiaolou quickly pressed his shoulders down.

The second hammer blow landed, and the sound was steadyer.

"clang."

"Loose your wrists half a minute.

Yan Xiaolou did as instructed.

Zhaoyue, holding the iron billet between her fingers, couldn't help but ask, "Young Master, does she seem to be progressing faster than me?"

"Hmph." Yan Xiaolou snorted softly.

The rain continued until noon, and the ironwork also continued until noon.

"Master Zhao, are you there?"

Suddenly someone shouted in the front hall.

Zhaoyue's ears twitched. She first looked at Yan Xiaolou, then at Shen Gui.

No one got up.

The person at the door called out again, "Is Master Zhao here?"

"Quack?"

"Calling me?" Zhao Yue realized what was happening and nearly dropped the pliers.

It hung the pliers on the shelf, turned and ran to the front hall. After running two steps, it turned back, wiped the soot off its face with its paw, and Zhaoyue imitated the old master's tone, lowering its voice to say, "Stove boy, we have guests."

Yan Xiaolou raised his fist in the air, then put down the file and followed behind.

Two people were standing in the front hall.

One was the old farmer who came to retrieve his broken hoe, and the other was a burly man carrying a chipped sickle with two broken blades.

When the old farmer saw Zhaoyue, he immediately put on a smile: "Master Zhao, I'm so glad I called you out."

Zhaoyue's mouth suddenly split open, revealing a mouthful of fine teeth, then she quickly closed it again. With her paws behind her back, she slowly nodded, mimicking Yu Qingxiang's usual manner.

"Some things were delayed."

After saying that, Zhaoyue turned around to get the accounting pen, but tripped and her paw hit the ink box first.

The ink cartridge slid towards the edge of the counter and was about to fall to the ground when Yan Xiaolou reached out and caught it in time.

"That was close," Zhaoyue thought to herself, but her expression remained unchanged. "What's wrong with your sickle?"

The burly man didn't answer immediately. His gaze first fell on the short sword at Yan Xiaolou's waist, and then he looked at the coal dust in her hand.

"Is this also one of the shop's chefs?"

Before Zhaoyue could answer, Yan Xiaolou said, "I am the furnace attendant; it is the one who is in charge of the furnace."

The man was stunned for a moment.

The old farmer chuckled beside him, "Don't let Master Zhao's small stature fool you, he's got a steady hand. After I fixed that hoe, I tried digging in the field for ages, and it didn't loosen the hard soil at all."

Zhaoyue's lips seemed to want to curl upwards again, but it quickly reached out and pulled them down, then coughed, "Put the sickle down first, let me take a look."

The man handed over the sickle.

Zhaoyue caught the blade with both claws, first checking the chipped edge, and then tapping the back of the blade with her knuckles, following Shen Gui's instructions.

The burly man asked, "Can it be repaired?"

"Yes, you can pick it up tomorrow afternoon."

"How much silver?"

Zhaoyue flipped through the old accounts left by the Yu family, her finger pointing down to the bottom, and gave them a number.

The man took half a purse out of his money bag and placed it on the counter: "This is the deposit. I'll pay the rest when it's finished."

Zhaoyue's eyes lit up as she looked at the few copper coins, and she finished writing the order with her pen.

Its handwriting is still not very good, but at least you can recognize all of it.

As the two were leaving, the old farmer called out again, "Master Zhao, you're busy now."

Take care.

Footsteps outside the door faded into the distance.

Zhaoyue stood behind the counter, the corners of her mouth gradually turning upwards, she could no longer suppress it.

It turned its head: "Did you hear that?"

Yan Xiaolou said irritably, "I heard you."

"What did he call me?"

"Take care of Master Zhao."

Yan Xiaolou couldn't understand. "Is there any need to be so happy?"

Zhaoyue had already picked up the order and rushed into the backyard.

"Young master, young master!"

It ran all the way to the stone table, "Someone just called me 'Master'! Not in a teasing tone! I'm not the ugly thing from the pond anymore!"

Shen Gui nodded slightly: "Did you record the deposit?"

"I've got it."

"What about the construction period?"

"Tomorrow at noon."

"Then let's do it."

Zhao Yue paused for a moment: "Young Master, don't you have anything else to say?"

Shen Gui put the stone pendant into his bosom and got up to walk towards the stove.

"The fire is almost over, Master."

Zhaoyue stood there, stunned.

By the time it realized what was happening, Shen Gui had already passed it, and Yan Xiaolou had turned her face away as well.

"Are you laughing at me?" Zhaoyue asked.

Yan Xiaolou: "No."

"I saw it all."

You've misjudged.

"Croak~"

Zhaoyue believed it, and happily jumped onto the wooden platform. When she grabbed the bellows, she still had a grin on her face.

From this order onward, things in the shop became more organized.

Zhaoyue was in charge of taking orders and keeping accounts, and also kept an eye on the stove.

Yan Xiaolou was in charge of the physical labor. She complained a lot, but she never slacked off. When she encountered something she didn't know, she would ask. If Zhaoyue could answer, she would answer; if she couldn't, the two of them would watch Shen Gui together.

Shen Gui mostly sat at the stone table, speaking little, but each time he did, he touched on the key points.

Yan Xiaolou remembered every word he said.

Once, when she was holding the pliers, her arm tightened. Shen Gui only said, "Leave a way behind your elbow." That night, she practiced swinging the pliers in the backyard for half an hour, and the finishing move of the third form of the Hunhe Sword Technique became a little smoother.

She didn't press further about why the short sword felt stiff, nor did she ask what the path Shen Gui had promised her was.

Focus on the task at hand first.

By the next day, the wooden shelves in the front hall were filled with farm tools being sent for repair, and the order had increased from one to three.

The man came to collect his sickle at noon, stood outside the door to try cutting a bundle of wet grass, touched the blade with his thumb, and said "good" three times.

"Master Zhao, your skills are no worse than Manager Yu's."

Zhaoyue felt very comfortable listening to this. When she was collecting the remaining money, she forgot to count a copper coin, but luckily Yan Xiaolou saw it from the side.

Wei Lianshan also arrived that night.

He had just stepped outside the shop when Yan Xiaolou stood up from under the eaves, holding his sword and blocking the doorway.

"Master, what brings you here so late?"

"Let's see if you've wasted ten days working the bellows."

Let's see in ten days.

Wei Lianshan glanced into the shop: "I'm your master, can't I even come in?"

"You can go in, but once you're in, you'll definitely have to ask Mr. Shen about his cultivation level and then inspect the furnace from beginning to end. Nobody will be able to work tonight."

"You seem to understand me quite well."

"Go back now. I will arrive at the inn for joint training before 9 PM."

Wei Lianshan stood for a moment, and seeing that his disciple's wrist was covered in iron dust, but his breathing was more stable than yesterday, he turned and left.

Zhaoyue peeked out from behind the door: "Is that your master? Why don't you invite him in for a seat?"

"Mind your own business, add more coal."

On the third day, the rain finally stopped.

Word of mouth spread to several nearby villages, and as soon as the shop opened, several regular customers came in one after another.

Upon entering, they first inquired with the shopkeeper, then with the chef, and finally placed the items on the counter, leaving a deposit with utmost trust.

By evening, the order folder had reached its fifth item.

Shen Gui walked to the front hall, took out the bottom one from the wooden clip, and placed it in front of Yan Xiaolou.

It was the list of wood-chopping knives left behind by the porter.

The blade was badly curled, and there were several dents on the back of the blade.

"You do this one," Shen Gui said.

Yan Xiaolou looked down at the order, then glanced at the wood-chopping knife: "I've only been learning for three days, is that alright?"

"I'll be watching."

She paused for a moment, then nodded: "Okay."

The fire in the stove was reignited.

Yan Xiaolou sharpened the wood-chopping knife, put it into the fire, and waited for the chipped edge to turn a good color before using long tongs to clamp it onto the anvil.

Zhaoyue stood by the bellows, not interrupting as she usually did.

This was Yan Xiaolou's first order.

She gripped the hammer, her palms quickly sweating—a state of pressure mixed with excitement, as if she had returned to her first time practicing swordsmanship.

Shen Gui stood to one side of the chopping block: "Raise your Qi to the Jianjing, Quchi, and Laogong acupoints."

Yan Xiaolou followed the instructions and circulated his qi, causing all three acupoints to heat up simultaneously.

"Shoulder well sealed off."

She quickly pressed down the force on her shoulder again.

"Place Quchi and Laogong points downwards."

Yan Xiaolou brought down the gavel.

"clang!"

A clear sound echoed through the backyard, and the fire in the stove flickered.

Shen Gui glanced at it a few times and said, "Follow my instructions," before returning to the stone table and sitting down.

On the stone table, the blue "A Thousand Miles in a Foot" coin turned red for the first time.

>