Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 31: The Blacksmith Shop

Li Wei also felt this matter was rather suspicious and somewhat unnecessary. If there weren't enough iron ore, why not just go find more? Why did they absolutely have to smelt the household tools?

Currently, the only thing in the house that could be smelted was that broken shovel. Aside from that, all the other tools had important uses—the hoe could remove weeds, and the sickle could be used for harvesting.

Actually, over the past few days, the weeds in the wheat field had been quite rampant. Li Wei made time every day to go hoe them.

Was that bitch Penny trying to play some trick again?

"Can't we go look for more iron ore?"

Li Wei asked right then, but Penny shook her head with a bitter smile.

"George, I don't want this either. I know your concerns, but there's really no other way."

"There's no more iron ore. I've searched everywhere within a dozen miles these past few days. All that could be found was this much iron ore. It might have been washed down from upstream by floods. For smelting molten iron, it's best to ensure a full furnace load. A half load is very difficult to succeed with, and furnace temperature is hard to guarantee. I calculated it—adding all the iron ore we have plus our iron tools, it just barely makes one full furnace load."

"I can guarantee that once the molten iron is successfully smelted, I will remake all these commonly used tools with the fastest speed and the best quality. Mom, George, please believe me."

Penny spoke very sincerely, but neither Li Wei nor Fila would be fools to believe such sincerity.That's right, Penny was still playing tricks—this was certain. She just wanted to delay completing the blacksmith shop until next month.

But then Li Wei would be the one in trouble.

Time was running out. This month was about to end. Li Wei didn't have more time to search for iron ore further away. He was the Family Head; he couldn't afford major setbacks.

Getting the blacksmith shop done quickly and completing this month's main task was the top priority.

Even though he clearly knew Penny was causing trouble, he had to hold his nose and accept it.

Moreover, if they didn't get the blacksmith shop done this month, and if Penny completed it herself next month, then full ownership of the blacksmith shop wouldn't belong entirely to the family.

This point was very important.

Penny dared to take this risk, but Li Wei didn't dare to raise the stakes further.

And what if what Penny said was actually true?

After all, he had previously taken a day to search for iron ore himself. He had followed the creek upstream for over twenty miles in one go without any results.

So from this perspective, Penny's request to use iron tools to substitute for part of the iron ore was understandable.

"Alright, I believe you."

After some thought, Li Wei ultimately agreed. Regardless of the truth, he had to agree.

"Great, George! But I need all the ironware in the house. Also, tomorrow you need to help me smash all the ore—this is very important!"

Penny cheered happily.

"Oh, my George, have you gone mad?"

Fila shouted incredulously, her eyes filled with disappointment.

"Do as you please. You've grown up, you can make decisions. But you need to understand that you alone will bear the consequences of all your actions."

Fila stopped insisting, because with a two-to-one vote, her opposition was ineffective.

"Mom, I promise you, this won't be a risky venture!" Penny said urgently, afraid Li Wei might change his mind. She quickly stepped forward and took away all the iron tools in the house, which meant most of the family's work would come to a halt tomorrow.

They were literally breaking their pots and pans to get iron.

At that moment, a line of information appeared.

【You, as the Family Head, have made a major decision that could potentially plunge the family into great risk. All consequences will be borne by you.】

Huh?

This information made Li Wei feel some trepidation looking back, even making him instantly tense. The pressure suddenly increased, and he became anxious about potential gains and losses, to the point where he wanted to go back on his decision.

But he ultimately steadied himself. Being the Family Head really wasn't easy—it required some courage to do it. Right now, it was equivalent to a high-stakes gamble.

If Penny failed to smelt the molten iron, everything would be ruined. The family, which had just gotten on track, would face a devastating regression, and they'd have to enter the Stone Age.

Fila's past experience was a recent lesson not to ignore.

"Don't wait until tomorrow. Let's start working overnight!"

Li Wei was absolutely filled with urgency, while Penny looked completely relaxed, seemingly very confident. The occasional glances she cast his way held a trace of appreciation and regret. After all, setting aside their competitive relationship, Li Wei's courage was commendable; otherwise, her scheme would have succeeded.

But now, as a result, she couldn't play any tricks during the iron smelting process.

Next, Li Wei and Penny truly worked feverishly through the night.

The former handled the heavy physical labor of smashing the iron ore, while the latter was responsible for crushing the charcoal, spreading it in the already built furnace, and preparing the previously made clay molds. These were all skilled tasks that Li Wei didn't understand, but he was still greatly impressed.

He thought Penny must have been a top science student before; otherwise, just having a Professional Craftsman Card wouldn't enable her to do all this.

It just showed that even after transmigrating, even in a different world, knowledge was still the most important power.

They worked continuously until dawn. After smashing all the iron ore, Li Wei was exhausted, sleepy, and starving. He could no longer hold on, so he went back to sleep, leaving the rest to fate.

Only Penny persisted. She had already lit the fire. Success or failure hinged on this one effort.

Li Wei slept like the dead; even hunger couldn't wake him. Only when several lines of information appeared did they startle him awake from his deep sleep.

【With your full support, the Professional Craftsman *** successfully smelted the first batch of molten iron】

【The Professional Craftsman *** crafted a simple anvil and an iron hammer】

【The Professional Craftsman *** crafted a rough iron pot blank】

【The Professional Craftsman *** crafted three rough short knife blanks】

【The Professional Craftsman *** crafted a rough axe blank】

【The family obtained five units of pig iron ingots】

【Your family main task—Blacksmith Shop—Completed】

——

Damn! Awesome!

Li Wei scrambled up and rushed out of his room. He saw Penny and Fila working together to pour the molten iron into the clay molds. Both were sweating profusely from the effort, but they couldn't hide their excited expressions.

The blacksmith shop had really succeeded. Even Fila, who had strongly opposed it before, would benefit from this.

This absolutely counted as a milestone event on the family's development path.

However, this also meant that Penny's blacksmith shop main task was now complete. She would have at least six or seven days of free time to do as she pleased next.

Only Li Wei still had two units of game prey left unfinished.

Fortunately, this wasn't a big problem. No matter what, during his tenure as Family Head, all main tasks had been successfully completed. This was enough to earn him plenty of bonus points in the final evaluation.

For the next two full days,

Li Wei didn't go hunting. Instead, he assisted Penny by heating the rough tool blanks made from the poured molten iron until they were red-hot, then hammering them fiercely on the anvil with a large hammer.

This was also important work for the blacksmith shop, commonly known as quenching.

Anyway, this process was equally complex. Li Wei didn't understand it; he only knew how to swing the hammer.