Farming in the Magical World

"Haha, you took such good care of it! I never expected it to bloom into such a large flower!"

"You're wonderful, Madam!"

Seeing the strange look on Tiffany's face, he could only awkwardly laugh it off and offer a double entendre of praise.

"Roses are only this big, what's so strange about that?"

Tiffany, somewhat absent-minded, shyly smoothed her hair at her temples in response to Lanny's straightforward praise.

She then shook her head, indicating that it wasn't her doing; the housekeeper had been doing it all before, and she was just out for some fresh air today and did it casually.

Tiffany, her face flushed, looked incredibly beautiful in the sunlight. The two were very close, and Lanny could even see the soft down on her face, her fair neck, and her rounded collarbones. He was momentarily mesmerized by her beauty.

Feeling Lanny's aggressive gaze, Tiffany became even more shy. She turned around to return to the castle, but Lanny suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

"Ok?"

Tiffany looked at Lanny, who was so close to her, with a strange expression. Her long eyelashes fluttered, and a blush rose on her face again. She felt her heart pounding.

Lanny, however, didn't notice her unusual behavior. Instead, he suddenly remembered something and looked at Tiffany somewhat apologetically, saying, "Are you going back to Eno Castle soon? Could you... could you put in a good word for us with the Earl? We owe him money, so we can pay it back later?"

Upon hearing Lanny's words, Tiffany, who had been shyly looking down, raised her head. The blush on her face visibly disappeared. She stared at Lanny for a long while before nodding without saying a word. She forcefully pulled her hand back and turned to enter the castle.

"What's going on here?"

Lanny was a little confused by her behavior, thinking, "Why does she seem angry about something so simple? At worst, the Earl just doesn't agree, it shouldn't be that serious, right?"

Even after returning to his study, he still couldn't figure out what had happened.

He naturally couldn't understand what shameful thoughts were going through Tiffany's mind when she was pulled back. She was even about to close her eyes and tilt her head back when Lanny poured cold water on her. Naturally, she wouldn't have a good expression.

After thinking for a while, he shook his head and gave up on trying to figure out this century-old problem.

"A woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea; forget it, I won't guess anymore!"

Putting aside his doubts, he quickly recalled what had happened that day. Since he had decided to try to find a way to solve the problem of the furnace temperature, he could build the bellows first.

But to build the bellows, he naturally couldn't do it himself; he would have to find a carpenter.

He hadn't noticed if there was a carpenter's shop in Hexi Village.

Frank was the only one who could find someone. He had lived in Caster Ridge for decades, so finding a carpenter shouldn't be a problem, right?

The butler arrived quickly; he rang the call bell and soon Frank appeared before him.

"Frank, do we have a carpenter in Castells?"

Hearing Lanny's question, Frank didn't hesitate and turned to leave. "Young Master, do you want furniture made? What style do you want? If it's too complicated, I'm afraid we'll have to go to Elfen City to find a qualified carpenter. I'll go right away!"

"Hey hey hey..."

Lenny quickly stopped Frank, asking why he was moving so fast when he hadn't even said anything yet.

"I'm not making furniture, I just want to create something..."

He said he just had some ideas and needed a carpenter to help him realize them. He didn't need the carpenter to have high skills; an apprentice would be fine if necessary. The only requirement was that the carpenter be quick.

"Apprentices are fine too?" Frank confirmed.

Seeing Lanny nod, he thought for a moment and said that there really seemed to be such people in Caster Ridge.

This carpentry apprentice is named Jimmy, and he lives at the entrance of Hedong Village.

I worked as an apprentice in the city for a year a few years ago, but was sent back because I couldn't afford the tuition.

After a year of apprenticeship, he didn't learn much and couldn't do carpentry work for people on his own. Now he barely makes a living by repairing furniture in the surrounding villages, and it's said that he's having a very difficult time.

"Young Master, Jimmy doesn't even have the ability to make furniture on his own. Is he really not going to interfere with your work?"

Frank checked again to make sure his understanding was correct, worried that the young master might be disappointed if he brought the person over.

He knew Jimmy somewhat; well, to put it simply, relying on him as a carpenter was probably...

He had no idea what his young master was up to this time. Didn't he inquire about the castle's situation carefully this morning? He thought his master had some ideas.

I never expected that after going out for a walk, I would come back and be asked to find a carpenter, but not one who can make things. What is the young master planning to do now?

Could it be that he's thought of some new and interesting thing and wants to cause some trouble again?

Young master, things are not like they were when the master was alive. You mustn't cause any trouble!

Frank felt mentally exhausted!

Lenny, however, didn't care and immediately made a decision: "He's the one. Go find someone!"

As long as he draws the blueprints clearly enough, Jimmy can always copy them. Surely an apprentice can't have learned nothing in a year, right?

Although Frank was somewhat reluctant, he eventually gave in to Lenny and went out to find someone.

Thump thump thump... ...

Although the old butler left reluctantly, he was quick to search for people. By the time he reappeared, Lanny had just finished drawing the bellows design on the parchment.

"Young Master, Jimmy is here!" Frank, who had just entered, stepped aside, revealing the young man behind him.

Jimmy was about twenty years old, not very tall, with messy hair and looking rather unwell. His eyes were sunken and puffy. As soon as he entered, he held his back and took a few deep breaths at the door before stepping forward to greet him.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Lanny. Jimmy... ...sends his greetings to you... ...sends his greetings to you!"

Seeing his sickly appearance, Lenny frowned slightly and looked at Frank with a puzzled expression.

I thought to myself, "Are you sure you haven't picked the wrong person? This sickly guy is actually a carpenter?"

Upon seeing Frank confirm that this was indeed the person, he nodded without further ado and handed over the parchment.

Jimmy first wiped his hands on his not-so-clean clothes before bending down and taking the blueprints with both hands, then looking down to examine them carefully.

Judging that the other party had already seen what was on it, Lanny asked softly, "Can you understand it?"

"I can understand some of the pictures, but I can't understand the words on the sides."

"Master, I, I, I can't read..." Jimmy stammered, his face flushed. Then, seemingly afraid that Lanny would be dissatisfied, he quickly added, "As long as the drawing is okay, I'm sure I'll be fine!"

Jimmy was illiterate, so he naturally didn't know that those so-called words were actually numerical scales. Calling them words wouldn't be wrong, but even literate nobles probably wouldn't recognize them.

Lenny nodded, smiling at Jimmy. He was worried that if he was even slightly rude, the guy might not be able to speak clearly.

"It's okay, as long as you can understand the picture, I'll tell you what the words mean."

Seeing Lanny's gentle demeanor, Jimmy finally relaxed a bit. Hesitantly pointed to the blueprints and asked, "What kind of tool is this? It looks a bit complicated. I wonder what this little square is for..."

Considering that the manufacturing technology in this world might not be very advanced, Lanny designed the bellows as a square barrel rather than a round one. The main body is formed by four long wooden planks, plus two baffles with sealed hinges at both ends, a push-pull rod, and a ventilation channel on the side.

Jimmy asked about the hinge baffles, one pair in the main cylinder and one pair in the ventilation channel.

Although it's called a loose-leaf type, Lanny actually plans to make it out of leather. There aren't any loose-leaf materials or processes available right now, so leather can serve the same purpose perfectly.

On the contrary, the piston seal of the main cylinder is difficult to solve.

In an era when there was no rubber and no hope for precision machining, Lanny planned to use the most primitive method, which was... chicken feathers.

Don't laugh, it really is chicken feathers, grouse feathers!

Many people may not know that in the days before rubber, the airtightness of the bellows could be achieved using chicken feathers, right?

Yes, grouse are a specialty of Castel Ridge. Although there aren't many of them and they're not easy to raise, finding some feathers shouldn't be a problem.

A ring of stiff chicken feathers is fixed around the outer ring of the piston. As long as it is thick enough, the sealing effect is not very good, but it is barely enough. However, the cylinder pressure will be very low. Therefore, Lanny designed the cylinder block to be relatively large, intending to trade volume for quality.

"This? This is a hinged cover. You just need to cut a piece this big from leather and then fix it in this position and that position. But be careful not to turn it upside down, otherwise you'll have to take it apart and redo it later..."

Pointing to the blueprints on the table, Lanny explained very patiently and carefully. After all, if Jimmy didn't understand some of his design ideas, it would greatly increase the difficulty of manufacturing and also greatly extend the manufacturing time.

He doesn't intend to invest too much time in this; it's just a small experiment, and he hasn't quite figured out what he'll use it for.

As Lenny explained, Jimmy's mind wandered. "Such a complicated thing, yet the master knows the structure inside so well. He truly lives up to his noble status; he knows so much!"

After a long conversation, Jimmy finally gained a basic understanding of the complex machine. As a carpenter, he had never imagined that such a small thing could be so complicated.

As the discussion progressed, the issue of compensation inevitably came up. Jimmy hurriedly stated that all he needed to do was provide his daily meals, and he didn't need any extra salary.

As the lord, Lanny did have the right to conscript Jimmy to work for him for free, but he couldn't bear to do it when he saw the pitiful Jimmy.

In the end, he decided to pay Jimmy some salary.

One aspect is that he has been educated in the market economy concept for decades in another world, and the other aspect is that Jimmy's current situation really makes it impossible for him to recruit for free.

"Jimmy, how about you work for me for a while? I'll pay you 20 copper coins a day."

In other words, I won't have to worry about food every day anymore? I can buy four bags of Qingfu, and if I'm careful with them, it will last me five or six days!

It may not seem like much, but for Jimmy, who worries about food every day, it's an incredibly generous treat!

Jimmy blushed with excitement again and knelt down with a thud. "Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir! You are so kind!"

Then, he thumped his chest loudly, "Don't worry, I will definitely not let you down. I guarantee I will make this thing."