Chapter 24: The Girl Next Door (Part 2) 1/2

  Can I be more shameless and ask for recommendations and collections?

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  Just as they were talking, a noise came from outside the house.

  Right behind the footsteps, a thin and weak boy rushed into the hall like the wind, his face red, his neck stiff, and shouted loudly: "Who took my things?"

  "Ah Fu, you dare!"

  Deng Jie was furious and shouted loudly.

  This young man was Cao Peng. Just now, he had run to the riverbank in the heavy snow but hadn't found his wallet. He returned with his head hung low and dejected, only to hear Wang Meng say that someone had come to return his wallet. Cao Peng immediately became anxious and hastily ran into the main hall. However, his tone... was really not polite!

  The girl pouted, seemingly unhappy.

  Cao Peng also realized that his tone was a bit too strong just now.

  "Sorry about that, I was in a rush and got a bit flustered. Just pretend I farted, please don't mind... Excuse me, who picked up my stuff?"

  His words were so crude that Deng Ji's face turned bright red with anger.

  Even Cao Quan slightly frowned and felt somewhat dissatisfied in his heart.

  The girl's face also turned red.

  But she burst out laughing immediately. She stood up and asked: "You said you lost something, so I ask you, what did you lose?"

  A black pouch with a flame pattern embroidered on it.

  "What's in the wallet?"

  Cao Peng was taken aback, thought for a moment and replied: "There are several drawings inside, and some other miscellaneous small things."

  "Blueprints? What blueprints?"

  "It's just the bellows..."

  Cao Peng suddenly shut his mouth and stared at the girl.

  The girl giggled mischievously and said, "Oh, so that thing is called a bellows."

  Damn it! I've been taken in by her young and charming appearance!

  Cao Peng pursed his lips and didn't say a word.

  The girl seemed to think it was also excessive, so she took the drawings from the case, put them in her pocket, and walked up to Cao Peng.

  "Here, take it!"

  Cao Peng hesitated for a moment, then reached out and took the purse from the girl's hand.

  "Thank you!"

  "No need for politeness... but I have a question, can you enlighten me, sir?"

  Deng Ji spoke up at this time, "A Fu, don't be rude, this is Miss Zhang."

  Although he was angry at Cao Peng's rude behavior earlier, since the girl didn't seem to mind, he decided not to pursue it further. At the same time, Deng Ji could also tell that the ghostly symbols on the hemp paper seemed to have some deeper meaning. He couldn't understand them, but he would ponder over them... His own younger brother-in-law was different from before! Being valued by Pang Ren was enough to show that Cao Peng was indeed not ordinary. Thinking back to the dual-liquid quenching method (in fact, Deng Ji didn't know what it was called), everything Cao Peng did had a very deep intention.

  However, Deng Ji still did not want Cao Peng to slack off in front of the Zhang family.

  Zhang's family?

  Cao Peng looked at Deng Ji with a puzzled expression, then suddenly enlightened: "Zhang of Neyang?"

  Even if you know, don't say it out loud!

  Deng Ji was helpless towards Cao Peng, but could only nod in agreement, indicating that there was nothing wrong.

  "May I ask, Zhang Jitao, who are you?"

  Cao Peng always felt that the name Zhang Ji was somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite recall it. Later, on a chance occasion, Deng Jie said "Master Zhongjing". Cao Peng asked, who is Master Zhongjing? And Deng Jie replied, didn't I mention to you before, isn't it Zhang Ji, Governor Zhang?

  Zhang Ji, Zhang Zhongjing?

  Isn't that the famous medical sage of later generations?

  Cao Peng's old home in his previous life had a chain pharmacy called Zhang Zhongjing's Great Pharmacy.

  If he doesn't know who Zhang Zhongjing is, that's really strange...

  The girl giggled and said: "That is the young lady's father-in-law."

  "Ah, then it's really impolite down there!"

  Cao Peng hastily cupped his hands and bowed. He wasn't flattering the girl, but was genuinely paying respects. Not for anything else, just because of the name Zhang Zhongjing.

  "My name is Wan Zhen!"

  "Huh?"

  "My name!"

  The girl scolded him and said, "You're really unreasonable. Everyone has told you their name, but you still haven't said yours. What's your name?"

  Cao Peng was like waking up from a dream and apologized repeatedly.

  "My surname is Cao, my name is Peng, and my courtesy name is Youxue."

  "You're all grown up now!"

  Zhang Wan-zhen puckered her lips and smiled lightly: "Shouldn't that young woman be addressing you as Mr. You Xue?"

  "Don't dare, don't dare...... just call me Cao Peng!"

  "Hehe, no more joking... Wen Zhen knew she was being presumptuous, but still had some curiosity. To be honest with Cao Gongzi, I've been interested in mechanics and architecture since childhood. Today, I was originally going to see my brother in Jiyang County, so when I crossed the river and passed by the riverside, under a peach tree, I unintentionally picked up something that belonged to you, Gongzi. Originally, I should have returned it to you at the time, but due to the urgency of the situation, I had to rush off to the county town to attend to some matters..."

  On the road, a young woman inadvertently saw the young man's drawings, so she was somewhat curious.

  "This bellows... Ah, is it called a bellows? Can the young master tell this humble girl what this bellows is used for?"

  In those bright eyes, there was a longing expectation that Cao Peng could not bear to refuse.

  "This one..."

  "Ah Fu, you stay here and chat with Miss, I'll go take a look if dinner is ready."

  Deng Ji was very perceptive and excused himself, pulling Cao Quan out of the hall. As soon as he left, Zhang's steward also didn't want to stay in the hall any longer. Because he could see that Cao Peng seemed a bit hesitant. Since it involved secrets, naturally the fewer people who knew about it the better. He wasn't afraid that Miss Wan would get into trouble... Miss Wan's older brother was currently stationed not far from Ji Yang.

  If there's an accident, brother, you can quickly flatten Deng Village...

  "Ah Fu?"

  When there were only Cao Peng and Wan Zhen left in the hall, Zhang Wan Zhen asked with a smile.

  Cao Peng scratched his head somewhat awkwardly, "Ah Fu is my milk name...my brother-in-law has the habit of calling me that, don't mind it, miss."

  For some reason, Cao Peng's heart was racing wildly.

  What a beast!

  Looking at her like this, I estimate she's probably just 15 or 16 years old, and yet I...

  I never thought I was a lolicon, but this girl gives me such an eerie feeling. Those eyes, that aura... damn it, how can girls these days look so mature at such a young age? I'm actually getting a first-love kind of feeling!

  The first love of my past life was a failure!

  I didn't expect...

  The girl in front of him made Cao Peng feel a sudden increase in heart rate.

  Just now when everyone was here, there was nothing, but now only the two of them were left, Cao Peng discovered that Zhang Wanjin actually looked quite pretty.

  "Can you, Lord Cao's son, enlighten me?"

  The desire in the girl's eyes made Cao Peng unable to extricate himself.

  He hesitated for a moment before speaking in a low voice: "I can tell you, but..."

  "Don't worry, I'll definitely keep it confidential."

  The young girl said with a straight face: "I know this thing is very important to you, I won't tell anyone... if you don't believe me, let's make a bet."

  As she spoke, she stretched out her slender fingers in front of Cao Peng.

  Cao Peng hesitated for a moment, then stretched out his hand and checked...

  When Cao Peng touched the girl's fingers, his heart beat faster.

  Zhang Wan's face also turned slightly red, and after nodding at Cao Peng, she said somewhat impatiently: "Actually, I'm just curious. The feeling I get is that this bellows must have some other use... Moreover, I think the blueprint seems to be flawed, not perfect."

  "Oh?"

  Cao Peng also came in strong.

  His drawings, he naturally knew very clearly in his heart.

  He simply drew a rough outline of the bellows from memory, to be honest, this drawing is not perfect.

  After some thought, he spoke up: "Miss Wan also saw that my father is a blacksmith. All along, my father has wanted to cast a superior sword, but unfortunately, he has not been successful. I see my father's anxiety, so I want to help him. Later, I discovered that the bellows can increase the temperature of the furnace fire, and I thought, if I could blow stronger winds into the furnace, would it increase the furnace fire temperature and forge a good sword?

  One day, I saw a book with the sentence: "Between heaven and earth, is it like a bellows? Empty but not bent, moving and more coming out... So, I combined the characteristics of the bellows to design this wind box. However, as you can see, so far, it's still not perfect."

  This sentence comes from "Laozi - Dao De Jing".

  Zhang Wan Zhen obviously read this book, but hearing it from Cao Peng's mouth still surprised her a little.

  "Who would have thought, Cao Gongzi is actually a filial son!"

  Zhang Wan's eyes showed a strong sense of admiration.

  She stretched out her hand, "May I, a humble girl, take another look at the drawings?"

  This seems like an expert!

  Cao Peng did not hesitate this time and handed the drawings over to Zhang Wanjin.

  "Hehe, this picture is really interesting, I wonder what it's made of?"

  "This..."

  Cao Peng did not hesitate this time, and from that leather pouch, he pulled out a charcoal pen.

  "This is a charcoal pencil I made myself... Hehe, it's actually very simple. Just take some burnt wood charcoal and carve it into this shape to use it. It's just for convenience when drawing, and it doesn't have much other use... Actually, I have an even better method."

  "What's the solution?"

  "Take a goose feather, write on a hard rod and sharpen it down, then dip in ink for use."

  "Really?" Zhang Wan Zhen showed a curious expression, and the strange light in her eyes made Cao Peng's heart beat faster again.

  "I'll try it out when I get back."

  As she spoke, Zhang Wanjin took over the charcoal pen and walked to the side of the desk, staring at the drawing paper, looking left and right...

  Actually, I had some ideas on the way.

  I'm just unsure what this thing is used for, so I didn't think about it further. The young master's thoughts and my guesses are somewhat different, but overall they're similar.

  "Gentlemen, please take a look. I've added an air intake on both sides of the box. When you pull out the rod, it sucks in air from one side, and when you push the rod back in, the air is sucked in from the other side... Ah, through this process of pulling and pushing, the air is drawn into the box and then pushed out from here, shooting out. It's roughly like that, I think there shouldn't be too much of a problem, but we still need to try it out."

  Zhang Wan said that Cao Peng did not understand a single sentence.

  But judging from the pattern she drew on the rice paper, it seems to make sense.

  In fact, this bellows is a very simple yet clever design. People who understand the trade can figure it out by thinking about it for a moment.

  Of course, rowing is not necessarily unable to achieve this effect.

  The cost of the bellows is too high and it's very complicated to operate. Compared with the blower, it seems a bit extravagant...

  Cao Peng did not notice Zhang Wan's other sentence: Although it is different from my guess, it is roughly the same.

  That is to say, what Zhang Wanjin was thinking of was another use for the bellows.

  It was not until later that Cao Peng paid attention to this usage...

  "How long will it take if we find someone to build it?"

  Zhang Wan thought for a moment, "Since the young master doesn't want others to know about this object, it's best if he makes it himself. Otherwise..."

  "Make it yourself?"

  Cao Peng is in trouble!

  He is probably not good at carpentry, and it seems that no one in his family is familiar with it either.

  Zhang Wanjin couldn't help but understand Cao Peng's difficulties, so she smiled and said: "Cao Gongzi, if you trust me, let me do it."

  "Who?"

  "Underestimating me?"

  There are skilled craftsmen in my family who are very loyal.

  "I'll let them handle it, so you don't have to worry about it getting out... Of course, this requires Cao Gongzi to trust me."

  Cao Peng did not hesitate this time.

  "Then I'm counting on you!"

  Others can figure out what he can't and still keep it to themselves, but that's pointless.

  Since Zhang Wan Zhen has spoken, she has already given Cao Peng enough respect. In fact, if she didn't get Cao Peng's approval, she could still go home and build it herself.

  Now she has spoken up, which means she doesn't have any other intentions.

  Zhang Wan's smile grew thicker as she took the blueprint in her hand, "Then I'll take it away."

  "You're welcome!"

  "Well, I'll be off then... If I don't leave now, my dad will get anxious."

  As she spoke, she put away the drawings and walked towards the outer hall. As she stepped out of the hall, Zhang Wanjin suddenly stopped again, turned her head and asked with a smile: "Mr. Cao, may I ask you one more thing?"

  "What's up?"

  "Every day before dawn, are you practicing martial arts on the riverbank behind your house?"

  "How did you know?"

  "Hehe, my father said that the set of fist techniques you practice every day is very interesting! I'm also curious, may I ask if I can become your apprentice?"

  Cao Peng heard this and was stunned...

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