It was another cold morning. Unlike the outdoors, the charcoal fire that had been burning all night gave the residents enough warmth.
After waking up, Rurik got up and patted the sleepy Rumia awake.
"Lumia, get up. Eat something. We have other things to do."
She slowly got out of the warm sleeping nest, rubbed her eyes, and quickly put on her warm sweater.
Even if there is a campfire, the warmth in the room has not reached the level of making me sweat.
In fact, the tribal residents do not understand what heat is and what heat stroke is.
Niya cut some dried meat and cooked some porridge with wheat for breakfast.
Rurik used two wooden sticks to pick up some pieces of meat and threw them into the pottery basin in his hand.
I don't know when, Niya and Otto began to discover that when their son was eating meat, he always used his right hand to flexibly manipulate two branches, with the branches replacing his fingers.
Chopsticks can easily pick out food from boiling water. Orientals have loved cooking since ancient times, so manipulating wooden sticks instead of hands is probably the most suitable method.
Niya didn't think there was anything special about it. Just cut the dried meat and chew it with your hands. Clean and hygienic? Bacteria and viruses? These thoughts did not exist at all. The so-called dirty was limited to human and animal feces, as well as rotten meat and moldy meat.
bread.
The only thing she was dissatisfied with was that her son took too much meat, and he even ordered the servants to eat more.
The family had more and more money. Once the meat was not enough, they could go to the seal hunters to buy fresh meat at a higher price. Considering this, she said nothing.
After all, Rurik was only seven years old. After eating quickly, he raised his head and asked his father: "Next, let's go find the blacksmith."
"Yes. I will make you an iron sword and your servant's silver jewelry."
"Ah, I understand. I hope they can make me a good sword."
Otto glanced at his son and continued to chew the meat.
He gnawed at the meat and muttered in his heart.
Even the best blacksmith cannot make a good sword!
Otto vaguely remembered that his deceased father claimed that the sword "Destroyer" came from a battle of his ancestors and that it was captured on the battlefield.
The "Destroyer" has a certain degree of elasticity, the blade is extremely sharp, and the blade is covered with patterns.
Rurik had already noticed that the sword was made of ancient patterned steel.
It must be made of pig iron and wrought iron that are folded, forged and beaten. The mixed iron block is struck flat and then folded, and then flattened again and folded twice.
The hammering was repeated until the craftsman felt it was enough, and finally it was hammered into the shape of a sword.
After the last quenching, the sword body becomes full of patterns. Because the carbon content of the iron is different, the color of the sword is also different.
Wrought iron with almost no carbon is soft and easy to bend, while pig iron with high carbon content is hard but brittle.
Combining the two into one for forging is truly a genius invention given the limited technical conditions in ancient times.
Of course there won't be such trouble in a thousand years.
The ultra-high temperature of the electric furnace directly melts the molten iron, and the more extreme acetylene heat flame completes the gasification instantly.
To turn pure iron into steel, just sprinkle carbon powder directly on the molten iron. In this way, people can accurately and quantitatively control the carbon content of steel and the specific gravity of other metals.
Problems that were difficult for the ancients to solve using various means will not be problems at all a thousand years later.
If pure molten iron could be produced using pre-industrial methods, most of the metal problems would be solved. However, even if the coke is re-coked with high-quality coking coal, the maximum energy it releases cannot allow the furnace to reach 1500 degrees. Pure iron is still
Cannot melt.
But when the temperature exceeds 700 degrees, the red iron becomes soft. When the charcoal is burned to the extreme temperature of 1200 degrees, the silicide in the iron ore becomes a pile of liquid "glass" flowing out of the furnace. The workers face the remaining iron-carbon alloy.
After beating it hard, a piece of pure iron was left in the end.
Rurik didn't ask his father about the blacksmith's details, because he knew a lot naturally.
He was very sure that the Ross tribe could not rely on their own abilities to make steel that could be used as weapons.
After finishing his meal, Rurik took Rumia and followed his father closely. He had a stack of silver coins in his pocket, which he used as funds for custom-made swords and as raw materials for silver jewelry.
Most people don't run out of their homes in the cold winter. Most people who go out carry axes and other tools, drag sleds to dig holes in the frozen ocean, or tie hemp ropes with fishhooks and throw them in to fish, or wait for an outcrop.
The breathing seal gives it a head-on blow.
The hunters left, and the tribe's intricate streets returned to quiet.
It was so quiet, the cold wind of the Arctic could be heard so clearly, and there was a tinkling sound in the wind.
Could that be the blacksmith shop?
Rurik would not wander around the beach even in warm periods, just because there is no need.
Since he can roam freely without being dragged back by his parents, he is more willing to lead a group of peers to the hills in the west for training.
He rarely had the opportunity to come to the beach. He only saw a large number of strange long houses here, and the sound of ding-ding-dong-dong came from here.
Rurik casually took his father's hand and pointed to a giant longhouse: "That must be the shipyard. Are they making new ships?"
"Probably so. When the ice and snow melt, I will take your uncles and your brother to Novgorod again."
"Sister Peravina, are you going too?" Rurik suddenly asked.
"Of course, I have to tell that chief that I treated all Novgorod women well, so they have to give me more tribute." As a father, Otto felt that it was very necessary to tell his son this. He suddenly
Qixiang asked: "Child, if you were me, what would you do?"
"Me? I should be the leader of the Novgorod people myself. I have always thought so."
Otto laughed boldly. He patted his son's thin shoulder and remembered many things his son had said. It seemed that his son was never joking. He really let Rurik become the leader. Those idiots in Novgorod
Actually want to become a member of the Ross tribe?
Make those people slaves?
No! Rurik definitely had no such intention.
This kind-hearted child was so kind to the deer herder captives, like family, that when he grew up, he would also treat the Novgorod people the same way.
Otto had a lot of emotion in his life. He finally patted his son on the back: "Keep going, future leader. Before you can command many people, you must have a good sword." As he said that, he glanced at Lu who was following closely.
Mia gave a stern order: "And you, humble servant. Your master is very kind to you. If you dare to do any disobedient behavior in the future, God will also punish you."
Rumia, how dare she disobey?
She followed Rurik closely, and soon, a cloud of black smoke suddenly appeared in the clear sky.
Rurik took a closer look and saw that on the roof of a long house with an open wooden door not far away, there was a very rare chimney structure, and a lot of black smoke came from it!
After walking a little further, a ding-ding-dong-dong sound came from the door. This building must be a blacksmith shop!
"Interesting, how come I didn't know there was a blacksmith shop hidden here in the past few years?"
Just as Rurik was muttering, Otto pulled him hard and almost carried him away, urging: "Son, let's hurry up. And that servant, follow me."
So, who is the best blacksmith in the tribe?
Otto knew it best. There were actually only five blacksmith shops in such a large tribe, and the number of recognized professional blacksmiths could only be counted on one hand.
The tribe's official clan members and all the residents have a population of about 7,000. How can there be only one blacksmith per 1,000 people.
I have to say that blacksmiths have a really hard job. They have to find ore by themselves, carry a large amount of ore back, and the smelting and forging work is all done by the blacksmiths themselves.
These professional blacksmiths almost rely on selling their labor in exchange for food.
It's really hard work, but the benefits are actually quite good.
Even if it's for money, theoretically more people should be willing to be blacksmiths.
There are only so few blacksmiths, and new blacksmiths are all sons of old blacksmiths. This job is also passed down from female to male.
In the final analysis, the biggest reason is very simple. A blacksmith will never become a warrior, and a blacksmith has no interest in becoming a heroic spirit in Valhalla. When a person decides to become a blacksmith or other professional craftsman, they are actually abandoned by the warrior culture of the tribe.
.
They are religious and long to be servants of the child.
Therefore, people who believe in Odin are willing to take risks and fights, and people who believe in day care are willing to smelt and forge, and even discover gems and gold in the mountains.
Otto's memory of two old axes with inscriptions seized during an attack on deer herders in the north was still fresh in Otto's memory.
A young man named Kawei was ordered by his father Clavarson to hunt a deer in order to use its skin to make a new blower.
Because the original blower is an airbag made of leather. The bag is covered with a wooden board. Manually lifting the wooden board is to suck air, and pressing it is to supply air. Its principle and structure are very simple. It is used throughout Europe, which is efficiency.
Not as good as their counterparts in the East.
Otto's appearance surprised the two blacksmiths in the room.
Similarly, Rurik was even more surprised when he saw an old guy with an even more exaggerated beard than his father.
"Hey, Klavason, I'm here."
"It's the leader! You don't usually come to my place to chat. Once you come, you ask me to make something and you will reward me a lot."
Otto felt very comfortable listening to these, and then glanced at the forging platform made of a large piece of black iron weight. He saw the young man still holding pliers in one hand and hammering in the right hand, as if he didn't know what he was doing.
The chief's visit.
The young man was naturally Kawei. When he saw him and then looked at the old Klavasen, Otto had some words that he was holding back in his stomach.
"Clavason, you are the best blacksmith I know for sure. You are old, and so am I! My son is only seven years old, and your son is already twenty. I admire his bravery in the last action.
.”
Klavasen could understand the leader's polite words, and he muttered with pretense of regret: "So I should find a wife for my son, but you know that our tribe lacks young women, and even girls have their own wives. Maybe.
…”
Klavasen's expression suddenly became funny. He leaned close to Otto and muttered, "After the ice and snow melt, let my son follow you again and you go to Novgorod. I don't care about the distribution of the tributes."
, I just ask him to find a beautiful Novgorod woman, haha. I really hope I can hold a grandson before the end of my life and see my grandson start to become a blacksmith."
Klavasen spoke from the bottom of his heart, but suddenly thought of the tragedy that happened to the leader.
Poor leader, if his eldest son had not died, he would have gotten married and had children by now.
Well, isn't it? The leader was originally his young nephew Arik, but now there is news that that brat's beautiful Novgorod wife is pregnant.
Seeing these good things, how could Klavasen not be envious?
Klavasen was afraid of offending the leader, so he saw the leader bringing his youngest son Rurik, with a little girl accompanying him.
"Ouch! Chief! Have you already chosen a wife for your son? You can also raise her while she is still young, and then train her to do housework. When this girl grows up, she will be your wife."
In fact, young Kawei is extremely sensitive to issues such as marriage.
A twenty-year-old tribal young man should get married as soon as possible. He does not hate his blacksmith profession. If he has a wife, his life pursuits will basically be enough.
Kawei looked up at the short girl and corrected her directly: "Dad, this girl is a deer herder. She was the only captive last time. She is a servant."
"Oh? I have heard about this matter." Klavason realized that it was a bit embarrassing, and stopped paying attention to the girl Rumia, and continued to ask the leader, "So what can I do for you? Build some tools? Nothing.
Question, I will be first in line for the leader’s order.”
"Let's continue with your work. I want you to do something. If you don't have to worry, you can put it in the queue. There is only one thing, you have to do it quickly."
"I'm here to serve you."
"Rurik, let's do the silver jewelry first and take out those silver coins." Otto ordered his son.
Rurik quickly reached into his linen bag and took out a stack of ten silver coins.
Klavasen and Kawei were shocked when they saw this!
"Ah! Chief, what exactly do you want me to do? Is the reward of ten silver coins inlaid with a few more rubies for that divine sword?"
"That's not the case, but we need rubies." After that, Otto patted his son on the shoulder, "You come and tell him."
Rurik nodded and raised his head to look at Klavason with a huge beard. He couldn't help but wonder if this man was burning ore in his small stove. He was not allowed to burn his beard?
"I am Rurik, and I want to use these silver coins to create some decorations."
"Ornaments? Oh? For women?" Klavasen asked.
"certainly."
"For your mother? Oh, what a good boy."
Klavason naturally thought so, and never expected Rurik to make the most thorough denial. Rurik suddenly grabbed Rumia's tiny arm and said: "Make some jewelry for my servant. I need one inlaid with rubies or
It’s an amber necklace and a bracelet.”
Rurik wanted to make a set of jewelry for Rumia. Considering that she did not have pierced ears, making earrings was not suitable for the time being.
Ten silver coins actually weigh 40 grams. Rurik can feel the weight of ten silver coins. If he wears less of them on Lulu Mia, she will not feel uncomfortable.
"You actually gave it to a servant..." Klavasen looked surprised. He turned to look at Otto: "Chief, you know this?"
"Why, no?" Rurik asked, "I will give you money, and I can even give you a piece of soap. You should know, smart blacksmith, that a piece of soap with two silver coins can help you clean all stains. This
Definitely useful for blacksmiths."
"Ah! Soap!" Many magical rumors reached Klavasen immediately. He learned that behind the priests making soap, it was Odin who gave Rurik wisdom.
Clavathon believes this should be true, but will Odin's favor be given to Thor's servants?
Soap is a wonderful thing, and silver coins are even more wonderful.
Anyway, money is money. It is just smelting silver coins to make jewelry, but the jewelry is actually given to servants.
Klavasen couldn't help but speculate that Rurik really planned to marry this servant in the future, but now the matter must be kept secret. The purpose was simple, it was not a good thing for a master to marry a servant.
Unless Rurik really becomes the leader, it doesn't matter how many favors he bestows on his servants.
Klavasen tacitly understood that he was not stupid enough to offend the recognized successor to the leader.
"I can make ten silver coins into necklaces, pendants and bracelets quickly, but the price is more expensive because I use gemstones."
Rurik was also very generous. He took out ten more silver coins and said, "How about this reward? It will also include the money to buy your gems."
"Ah, that's enough! That's enough! Even..." Klavason wanted to tell the truth. The so-called cost of including the gems was less than three silver coins, but he was just too greedy for money.
Rurik didn't say much and looked very generous: "I keep my word and make jewelry, and the total reward is ten silver coins. There is another thing besides, I want an iron sword, and the hilt should be plated with silver.
If you can, please plate the sword with silver for me. I heard that a dagger with one-third the length of a stika costs three silver coins. I will give you five silver coins as a reward, and of course there will be money for the silver plating."
Rurik's words were logically logical, and Klavasen secretly admired him. Of course, what he admired most was that Rurik actually took out 25 silver coins. What a generous act!
Among them, as a blacksmith, I can earn at least ten.
Looking at the child and then at the leader, he guessed that the money came from the leader.
It means that the leader thinks highly of himself.
Rurik didn't say much and put all the silver coins in Klavasen's calloused hands.
"Blacksmith, you start now, I will see my servant put on the jewelry quickly."
"Oh! I'll do it right away!" Klavasen roared like a dragon, which meant that he, an old guy, had to use all his skills to make a rare piece of jewelry.
Because there are ten delicate tasks in making jewelry, my son Kawei is currently busy making jewelry for the future wife of the future leader. This honor cannot be missed.