In the interior of Noah, rivers crisscross the Babataka Plain, with abundant rainfall and fertile soil.
For more than a hundred years, the three generations of kings of the Noah Empire were all virtuous kings, with enlightened politics, and taxation in each province was reasonable and stable. Except for three major wars that caused temporary turmoil in the country and a sluggish economy. But in peacetime, Noah's country
The economy in various places has achieved good development.
While issuing various preferential policies to encourage the development of industry and commerce, the Noahic Empire also did not forget to invest a large amount of money into agriculture, which is the foundation of the country, to improve regional farming techniques and various water conservancy and livelihood facilities.
Especially in the Leyden River Basin of the Babataka Plain, Kuifeng, Areda and Freddy are known as "Noah's Granary". Windmills and water canals can be seen everywhere in the lush wheat fields in this area.
In addition, there are various medium and large dams and reservoirs to regulate water sources.
Under man-made management, the Leyden River rarely overflows or dries up. The smooth weather of "Noah's Granary" ensures about one-third of the country's food supply. Because of this, even if there are consecutive years of disaster, Noah's granary has good weather conditions.
Large-scale famines rarely occur in the Asian Empire, and people basically do not need to worry about eating.
Therefore, it is not without reason that the Noah Empire can become the strongest empire in mankind. As the orthodoxy of the ancient Noah dynasty, the Noah Empire inherited a vast territory after the collapse of the dynasty. And two of the three holy places of light are located in Noah.
Among them, Jossa is also the headquarters of the Holy See of Light, so the Noah Empire is also called the Holy Noah Empire and is the papal state that is the head of a hundred countries.
Belief, culture, economy and military power are all dominated by the Noah Empire.
Coupled with the industrious national character of the Noah people, although the Noah Empire encountered several invasions by powerful enemies and its millennium-old foundation was almost destroyed, it finally got out of the predicament and showed a prosperous situation.
Arida, located in the middle of the Babataka Plain, is one of the "Noah's granaries". The residents live a prosperous life. In addition, coupled with the enlightenment of the Illuminati Church, the overall security of the area is good. The security of the residents in the church area can even be called "
Don’t close your door at night and don’t pick up lost things on the road.”
On a trail in a mountain forest somewhere in Areda, there was a middle-aged man carrying luggage leading a boy of about twelve or thirteen years old to climb up.
As Arika is a plain area, the mountains are not very high, and there are simple stone steps built on this trail. Logically speaking, going up the mountain is not a difficult task.
But both the man and the boy came from afar. They got up at four in the morning to finish their chores at home. They had a simple breakfast at five or six in the morning, and then took a long carriage ride for a long time before they left their home.
The village arrived at the foot of the mountain, and now the noon time had passed. The tired two people munched on dry food and walked slowly on the mountain road.
"Hey! Kanoda, are you going to buy ironware too?"
On the road, a villager wearing a straw hat and carrying a large bamboo basket came towards him. After recognizing the middle-aged man, he immediately said hello.
"That's right! Fulde, have you just come back from the blacksmith?"
On the mountain road, I met an acquaintance from the same village. The middle-aged man named Kanoda started chatting with the villager who seemed to be going down the mountain.
"yes!"
The villager smiled. He opened the cloth cover on the basket and saw two shiny black kitchen knives and a brand new iron hoe inside.
"That strange blacksmith's craftsmanship is really good. The year before last, I ordered an iron rake from him to reclaim my wasteland full of rocks. As a result, not a single tooth is broken. It's as good as new after cleaning. My brother
He asked me to help him get a hoe made by a strange blacksmith. It happens that my kitchen knives are almost worn out, so I will also buy two kitchen knives this time."
"Oh, haha, if this weird blacksmith is willing to open a blacksmith shop in a big town, his business will definitely be prosperous... Hmm? What's wrong with you?"
"Ugh!"
The rural boy ate the cake in a hurry and choked. The middle-aged man next to him immediately unscrewed the water bag cover and handed the water bag to his son.
"You brat, I'm not starving you. Eat slowly."
There seemed to be blame in the man's words, so the young man took the water bag and timidly said: "I know, I know, dad."
"Wait a minute, you have to do something good."
"Uh-huh."
Kanoda hid his doting deep in his heart and reached out to ruffle the boy's hair.
"But that blacksmith is so weird! He doesn't want to go down the mountain, so he is forging iron on the mountain. The blacksmiths in the village are also very happy. If this weird blacksmith comes down the mountain to grab business, they will be sad."
The villager looked at the father and son and smiled, vaguely guessing Kanoda's intention this time.
"But that weird blacksmith has never had an apprentice. I feel like he doesn't intend to spread his skills to anyone else."
"Well, he is so old and has been living alone. He can't take his own skills to the grave, can he?"
Kanoda didn't take the villagers' words seriously. Although no one knew the age of the strange blacksmith, he seemed to be in his sixties.
What a blacksmith does is not only a technical job, but also a physical job. It is generally difficult for young people who are not strong and endurance to do it.
Ordinary blacksmiths have already taken a back seat when they reach the age of the strange blacksmith. They no longer forge themselves and are only responsible for guiding apprentices.
But the strange blacksmith is a strange blacksmith after all, and there is no way to treat him as an ordinary person. Although the strange blacksmith is old, he has been living alone in the mountains, never recruiting apprentices, and has always forged by himself.
And this is not the only place where the blacksmith is weird.
This blacksmith obviously had superb skills, but he did not want to do business in the town. Instead, he opened a small blacksmith shop on this remote mountain.
Although the location is remote, "the aroma of wine is not afraid of deep alleys".
Because of the high quality of the tools he makes, some villagers in the countryside are still willing to spend some time going up the mountain to buy farm tools or kitchen utensils from him.
And if you just want to customize a certain tool, the blacksmith usually doesn't charge money. You can just bring enough materials and a pot of old ale to get it done.
It may be a bit unbelievable, but it seems that this strange blacksmith is really not interested in money.
The good products in his shop can basically be exchanged for wine and food. Of course, some of the villagers' own metal tools must also be added. Even if they are rusty old things that have almost reached the end of their life, as long as they are of enough weight, the blacksmith can
I will also nod my head to agree to this deal.
Since you can trade the old for the new, why not?
So even if the strange blacksmith lives alone in the mountains, he still has a lot of business to do.
Kanoda didn't come to the mountains to buy farm tools this time. What he was interested in was the craftsmanship of the strange blacksmith. His son was born with strong strength, simple and studious nature, and was a good candidate to be a craftsman.
Kanoda went to find some old craftsmen to be his son's masters, and found that his son was quite talented in the blacksmithing industry. His son, who had only studied in the blacksmithing industry for a few months, could forge tools that were better than those made by skilled blacksmiths.
The finished product is not much different.
So the blacksmith in their village said that if he wanted his son to further his education, it would be best to find an expert.
So among these ten miles and eight villages, the only one who is most likely to be an expert in blacksmithing is this strange blacksmith in the mountains.
This time Kanoda came all the way to get the strange blacksmith to accept this rural boy as his apprentice.
If his son really has the skills of a strange blacksmith, he will not only be rich but at least he will have enough food and clothing.
Although the strange blacksmith had a weird temper, Kanoda came prepared. He was full of confidence that his son would successfully become his apprentice.
…
In the blacksmith shop.
The old blacksmith with gray temples was sitting on a wooden chair with his eyes closed and holding a pipe. He took a puff of cigarette and then coughed, then opened his yellowed eyes and said to the respectful middle-aged man in front of him:
"You can take all your things, I won't accept any disciples."
"Forehead?!"
The father and son, who thought they were sincere, were poured cold water on them not even a minute after they expressed their intentions.