Ginseng stewed old hen.
Braised lamb.
Candied yam.
Smashed cucumber.
Two meat and two vegetable dishes.
Fang Er carried the tray and delivered it to Xiao Qing's bedside.
A faint smile still lingered on her lips as she slept soundly.
In a little while, when the food isn't too hot, call her up, and you can all eat together. I still need to check on Chumo and the others.
Fang Er instructed Xiao Huan and returned to the courtyard where weapons were being forged.
Yu Chi Baolin, with blisters on both hands, sat in the courtyard holding the spearhead.
"Big Brother Fang, look quickly, I've finished grinding it. I have to say, the spearhead you made is truly amazing. Look at that wooden stake; I didn't even use much force and it pierced right through."
Seeing Fang Er enter, Yu Chi Baolin held up the spearhead and praised him.
Fang Er followed the direction of his finger to one side of the courtyard. There was a wooden stake, its original purpose unknown, about a bowl's width in diameter, with a clear hole in it.
"If it works well, just hand it over, and I'll refine it further for you."
Fang Er took the spearhead and, looking at the raised patterns on it, sat down by the blacksmith's furnace.
He picked up the small knife, about ten centimeters long, from the anvil and began to carve the spearhead forcefully.
One thing conquers another. The spearhead, difficult to grind in Yu Chi Baolin's hands, was easily marked by the small knife.
Following the direction of the patterns, Fang Er meticulously refined it.
Iron filings continuously fell from his blade.
In the end, the chaotic, five-character patterns were transformed into a coiling dragon by Fang Er's carving.
"See how it is!"
Fang Er wiped the spearhead clean with a rag. The originally somewhat dark spearhead now had sharp edges on both sides and the dragon above, flashing with a cold glint, appearing exceptionally extraordinary.
Yu Chi Baolin took it from Fang Er's hand and was delighted to see the dragon.
"Big Brother Fang, you're amazing! It's perfect, I love it! I'll go back and ask my father to get me a spear shaft to fit it."
"It's getting late, let's eat first, and you can deal with that later."
Fang Er got up and asked Zhuzi to go find Cheng Chumo.
In the front courtyard, dishes and wine were laid out on a stone table. Fang Er had made generous portions, doubling each dish.
Cheng Chumo's saber, now fitted with a hilt and sheath, was about to be shown off to Yu Chi Baolin when he noticed the spearhead on a corner of the stone table.
He immediately became envious.
"Big Brother Fang, why does this have patterns? No way! I want one too!"
"What do you want? Talk about it after you've sharpened your own saber." Fang Er poured himself a cup of wine.
"Then it's settled. You'll make one for me later."
Seeing that Fang Er hadn't refused, Cheng Chumo winked at Yu Chi Baolin.
Yu Chi Baolin was silently drinking and eating, completely exhausted.
In the back courtyard, Xiao Qing was also woken up. Xiao Huan said enviously to her, "Sister Qing, the young master treats you so well."
"Not at all, I'm injured, you know."
Xiao Qing retorted.
"That's not true! Brother Zhuzi was injured some time ago, and the young master wasn't this worried. He stayed up all night watching over you, feeding you medicine, and even cooking for you himself. I really wish the young master would treat me this well someday." Xiao Huan pouted.
"Alright, alright! What are you talking about? Do you want to be injured like me? Hurry up and eat; the delicious food can't stop your mouth."
Xiao Qing gave her a look and transferred a chicken leg into Xiao Huan's bowl with a smile.
"Alright, alright, I'll eat it. I'll eat it all for you, hmph!"
Xiao Huan didn't use chopsticks and picked up the chicken leg with her hand, starting to gnaw on it.
Xiao Qing looked at her, amused and exasperated, and began to serve herself food.
After dinner, Yu Chi Baolin and Cheng Chumo decided to stay the night.
Fang Er gave Xiao Qing her medicine, told her a few stories to lull her to sleep, and then asked Zhuzi to move a small bed, which he placed next to Xiao Qing's bed, and slept there.
The next day, Cheng Chumo spent an hour grinding his spearhead to a sharp edge. Fang Er also did some carving for him, transforming the raised parts into a fierce tiger looking up at the sky.
Cheng Chumo, happily, left Fang Family Manor with Yu Chi Baolin and their spearheads.
Fang Er then called Zhuzi into a room and quietly instructed him on a few matters.
After that, Zhuzi, along with Zhao Hu and Liu Meng, went to Chang'an.
When they returned, it was already afternoon.
They also brought back a large quantity of saltpeter and charcoal.
That's right, Fang Er wanted to make explosives himself. With limited manpower, his only hope for revenge was gunpowder; it was a case of using the enemy's own methods against them.
For three consecutive days, in a废弃 yard outside the perimeter of Fang Family Manor, the young and strong men of the manor, under Fang Er's command, ground these materials into powder. After dismissing everyone else, Fang Er and Zhuzi together configured them all into black powder.
The next two days were spent continuously making explosive packets, producing dozens of them, each weighing several pounds. There were also over a hundred Meng Han hand grenades.
Fang Er also modified the refined steel long swords and crossbows he had stored as decorative items into formidable weapons.
Meanwhile, over these past few days, Fang Er had also sent people to inquire. Perhaps to prevent Li Er from apprehending them all, or perhaps because they were more comfortable being local emperors in their own strongholds, the leaders and main forces of the Five Great Clans and Seven Noble Families were not in Chang'an but in their ancestral halls.
For example, the Zheng clan of Xingyang had their ancestral hall in Xingyang. Therefore, to uproot the Zheng clan, besides eliminating their influence in the imperial court, it was also necessary to destroy their power in Xingyang.
Otherwise, if they were given any chance to recuperate, it would bring him immense trouble.
Considering this, it was imperative to strike on both fronts simultaneously.
It was on this day that Yu Chi Baolin arrived at Fang Family Manor and found Fang Er by the construction site of the Longshou Canal, where Fang Er was planning his water-powered workshops.
After some communication, Fang Er learned that the Turks had already begun to march south and would soon reach Jingzhou.
Li Er appointed Yu Chi Jingde as the Commander of the Xingyang Route Army, leading three thousand elite soldiers, carrying explosive packets and mist grenades, to depart for Jingzhou the next day to intercept Jieli.
Yu Chi Baolin's visit was a farewell to Fang Er. He also wanted to see if Fang Er had developed any new, impressive items.
Upon learning this, Fang Er took out a crossbow.
No, it could no longer be called a crossbow.
Many of the original parts had been modified by Fang Er. It now resembled a small crossbow!
It was also equipped with a four-times scope.
Removing the four-times scope, he handed it to Yu Chi Baolin.
"Put this up to your eye and look into the distance."
Fang Er instructed.
Yu Chi Baolin, filled with curiosity, took it and, as Fang Er had said, looked towards a large tree in the distance.
The moment he looked, he was stunned.
The large tree, two hundred meters away, when viewed through this cylindrical object, revealed even the bird's nest on it clearly, as if it were right beside him.