Farming in the Magical World

Lanny, who had left, was completely unaware of the two men's thoughts.

When he returned to the castle's backyard from the guard camp, a group of people were already waiting there! Among them were the original four-man workshop team, and standing next to them were eight new young men, Frank's newly recruited workshop apprentices.

"Master..."

"Master..."

Upon seeing Lanny, the group greeted him. The new apprentices, unaccustomed to being so close to the noble lord, knelt down timidly.

"Alright, get up!" Lenny raised his hand to rouse the kneeling men, then looked around but couldn't see Frank. He turned to Cody, "Where's Frank? Isn't he here?"

"Sir, after Lord Frank brought these apprentices in, he left, saying that he would arrange the follow-up matters after your arrival, and that he needed to immediately contact people to purchase guard uniforms and such!" Cody answered respectfully when Lenny asked about Frank.

Lenny nodded, then looked at the apprentices again. "Cody, have they been divided up? Who's with Hammer, and who's with Jimmy?"

When Jimmy heard Lenny directly ask about Cody instead of his mentor, he looked at Lenny and then at Cody, wondering when Cody had become so familiar with Lenny.

“It’s all sorted out. These four are Master Hammer’s apprentices, and the four over there are volunteers to follow Master Jimmy!” Cody pointed to the group.

It was only then that Lanny realized that the eight newcomers had subtly formed two teams, suggesting that they had discussed it before he arrived.

Since these people have made their own choices, he doesn't intend to change anything. As for these apprentices, they all lack a foundation and are essentially no different from anyone else.

"Ahem!" Lanny cleared his throat and turned to the crowd standing in the courtyard, speaking seriously, "Attention everyone, before assigning tasks, I have a few things to announce!"

Upon hearing what was to be announced, Jimmy, Cody, and the others became serious. Jimmy even began to guess what the master was about to announce.

Only Iron Hammer, being honest and straightforward, showed no unusual expression and continued to look at Lanny with a cheerful smile.

"Starting today, Iron Hammer and Jimmy are officially promoted to craftsmen, and their monthly salary will also be increased to 10 silver coins per month!" Lanny held up one finger.

"Ah, thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"

Iron Hammer, who originally thought it had nothing to do with him, was stunned when he heard this, and then realized that he had actually received another raise. He then grinned happily.

Jimmy, who also received a raise, noticed something amiss and astutely observed a new term used by Lanny: "craftsman."

Is this craftsman the same as the kingdom's court forge master?

The thought that he could actually receive the official craftsman rank conferred by the kingdom made him tremble with excitement.

He wasn't some country bumpkin like Iron Hammer; he had spent a long time in Elfen and knew very well how impressive it was to have a kingdom-certified level.

However, he quickly calmed down.

What exactly is the level of a master craftsman? I've never heard my master mention that title before!

He remembered his master saying that there was no such thing as a blacksmith being conferred a title or certification as a master blacksmith in the various earls and dukes.

Although the capital city bestows the title of "Master Forger" upon some certified blacksmiths, the title of "Craftsman" has never been heard of even in the capital city.

"Master, did you bestow this craftsman rank upon him?" Jimmy asked Lanny, barely suppressing his excitement.

He hoped he was just ignorant; if such a level really existed, that would be wonderful.

In truth, Lanny had no right to speak of investiture; he was just making casual remarks behind closed doors. He was merely a low-ranking nobleman, and if a higher-ranking noble heard him talking about investiture, they would spit in his face.

But now that Jimmy has asked, he'll take the opportunity to explain, and also share what he had previously envisioned.

"This level of craftsmanship is not a royal certification, but rather a certification of your craftsmanship level from our workshop. Don't tell anyone else about it, lest you become a laughingstock."

Upon hearing that it wasn't a Kingdom Certification level, Jimmy was immediately disappointed, and even the salary increase suddenly seemed less appealing.

Lanny ignored him, but gave Jimmy, whose expression had changed drastically, a strange look before turning to the crowd. "From now on, the workshops in our castle will pay monthly salaries according to rank. For example, Jimmy, you are now a craftsman, earning 10 silver coins a month. Below the craftsman are artisans, earning 5 silver coins a month."

Upon hearing that the workshop offered such good benefits, the eight new apprentices were so excited that their faces turned red, and they began to look forward to their own treatment.

Fortunately, Lanny didn't keep them waiting long and quickly said, "Next up are the artisan apprentices, who will receive two silver coins per month."

He glanced at the eight newcomers and continued, "For example, you newcomers today are currently artisan apprentices, and you will receive two silver coins each month!"

“Master, I… …” At this moment, one of the newcomers raised his hand, but without Lanny’s permission, he still dared not speak loudly. Only after seeing Lanny nod did he continue to speak loudly, “Master, how can we become craftsmen?”

It seems that this difference in treatment really does motivate people to work harder. Even the newcomers are daring to ask questions now.

It should be understood that if a commoner dared to ask questions in front of a nobleman, it could be considered as rebellion against the nobleman, and the same crime as offending a nobleman, which could result in being killed on the spot.

However, Lanny didn't mind the question at all. He didn't feel offended at all. Instead, he explained with a smile, "Good question. As long as an apprentice craftsman can pass the master craftsman's test, he can be promoted to a master craftsman, and his salary will naturally increase to 5 silver coins!" He pointed to Hammer and Jimmy, indicating that the test was for these two.

Then, he looked at the two of them and instructed them, "Iron Hammer, Jimmy, you two come up with an assessment method as soon as possible. I don't care about the specifics, but it must reflect the differences in everyone's abilities, understand?"

Seeing their blank expressions, he worried that they wouldn't be able to handle it, so he thought for a moment and added, "You can refer to your graduation exam back then, and combine that with the daily work of our castle, understand?"

After hearing Lanny's explanation, Hammer and Jimmy nodded repeatedly in understanding.

Seeing that the two seemed to understand his meaning, Lanny changed his tone and became stern, "But you can't deliberately make things difficult for each other. If I find out, I will punish you severely without mercy, understand?"

Seeing Lenny's stern expression, Hammer and Jimmy both tensed up and quickly nodded, assuring each other, "Sir, we understand, we promise we won't!"

Seeing that the two had made their promises, Lanny nodded in satisfaction.

He wasn't naive enough to think that just because Jimmy was deliberately harassed back then, he wouldn't harass these apprentices anymore. On the contrary, he was very likely to take revenge on these apprentices on the same day he was harassed back then, and he had to be on guard.

It's important to know that the nature of good and evil in people can sometimes be quite counterintuitive.

After warning the two, he added, "Well, as for the upgrade of craftsmen to master craftsmen, I will conduct the assessment for now. I will make detailed assessment standards based on the actual situation later, so don't worry."

Upon hearing that there were ways for craftsmen to upgrade to master craftsmen, everyone except Hammer and Jimmy showed excited expressions, as if they would be able to upgrade to master craftsmen immediately.

Jimmy noticed that Lenny's words hadn't mentioned Cody's situation, which gave him a bad feeling.

Could it be that the old man was angry because the experiment with that glass failed last time, and he's planning to send Cody home?

Thinking of this possibility, he became a little anxious. If Cody were really sent home, he wouldn't be able to explain it to Cora.

But then I thought about it again and it didn't seem quite right. The master had just spoken directly to Cody, and he seemed to value him highly.

So what's going on?

Just as his mind was racing, Lenny spoke again, "Jimmy, your carpenters' task for now is to build the new guard barracks within half a month. This time, I expect you to take the lead, and the standard should be the same as the previous barracks—only higher, not lower. Understand?"

Upon hearing Lenny mention him, Jimmy disregarded everything else and immediately bowed in agreement.

Seeing Jimmy nod, Lanny realized he might have been a bit too harsh, so he softened his tone, "Of course, you can talk to Tim and ask for the assistance of the guards, after all, you don't have that many men at your disposal."

Hearing Lanny's words and realizing he was going to have to deal with Lord Tim, Jimmy felt a little guilty. After thinking for a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, "Yes, sir!"

He figured that since it was the master's order, Lord Tim probably wouldn't make things difficult for him. He didn't dare to even think about complaining, after all, Tim was a knight, and if he were to draw his sword and kill him, wouldn't he die unjustly?

He now only hoped that Lord Tim would follow the master's arrangements and that nothing unexpected would happen, otherwise he would be in a difficult position.

Lanny was completely unaware of his concerns, and nodded in satisfaction when he saw that Lanny understood.

Although Jimmy has many flaws, he is at least very serious about his work and doesn't rashly agree to things, which satisfies him.

Then, he turned his gaze to Iron Hammer. When Iron Hammer saw that the master was looking at him, he held his breath and prepared to listen carefully to the task the master would assign him.

Although he could roughly guess that it was definitely related to the Dark Pattern Sword, he dared not slack off while his master was assigning tasks.

Sure enough, Lanny quickly spoke up, "Iron Hammer, your blacksmiths have two tasks: one is to do everything you can to create the Dark Pattern Sword, and the other is to cooperate with Cody to conduct some new experiments!"

Seeing Iron Hammer open his mouth to make a prediction, Lanny reached out and stopped him from speaking. Knowing what the other party wanted to say, he simply gave the answer directly: "Iron problem, right? Use what you have for now, I will give you enough iron as soon as possible, and I will make sure you don't have any trouble with raw materials!"

Hearing Lanny's assurance, Hammer nodded, indicating that there was no problem.

After both of their work assignments were completed, Lenny paused for a moment before bringing up Cody's arrangements.

"As for Cody, from today onwards, he is officially promoted to craftsman and also becomes the new workshop manager. From now on, he will be responsible for coordinating all matters in the workshop and will report to me!"

Upon hearing that Cody had been promoted to workshop manager, everyone present reacted with varying expressions.

Jimmy gaped in astonishment when he heard that Cody hadn't been sent home, but instead had been appointed as a workshop manager by Lord Lanny.

He had been worried about Cody before, but now he was somewhat envious of his cheap brother-in-law.

Jimmy was one of the first to arrive at the castle, even a day earlier than Hammer, but now Cody, who came later, has been promoted to steward. It's impossible for him not to feel a little jealous, but it's not fair to say he's resentful.

As his relationship with Cora grew stronger, even to the point of discussing marriage, Cody could be considered a true brother-in-law. Naturally, he couldn't possibly resent Cody, especially since he was currently deeply in love with Cora.

Hammer, on the other hand, seemed rather carefree. Upon hearing that Cody had been promoted to workshop manager, he showed no jealousy or anything of the sort. He glanced at Cody and then turned back with a cheerful smile.

The eight new apprentices followed Lenny's hand and looked at Cody, their eyes revealing a mixture of awe, excitement, and anticipation.

Cody, the person involved, made no comment, remaining calmly standing aside without saying a word. He only bowed to Lanny to express his gratitude when Lanny announced the appointment.

He already knew the news, so naturally he wasn't surprised.

Lanny didn't care about the reactions of the others. After speaking, he waved his hand and said, "Alright, everyone go back to your work!"

He waved to Cody and walked into Workshop Two first. "Cody, come here for a moment, I need to talk to you about something!"

As Jimmy led his new apprentice toward Workshop One, he kept glancing at Cody incredulously.

So this is his superior? That's really... unexpected!

He couldn't tell for a moment whether it was envy or jealousy!

Fortunately, I also became a craftsman, which is considered a promotion, so it's not too shameful!

He felt he needed to think carefully about how to get along with Cody in the future.

Lanny, who entered Workshop No. 2, paid no attention to how Hammer planned to train his five apprentices. He had already explained the assembly line method to Cody and Hammer last time, so there was no need for him to care.

He walked directly to the furnace where he had experimented with glassmaking last time, and Cody followed him in, standing beside him and waiting for Lanny to speak.

"How's your review of the one-way wheel design?"

Looking at the first manual blower in front of him, he remembered the blueprints he had given Cody earlier.

"I've looked at it enough, and I plan to try it out in the next couple of days." Cody's voice was calm, but he was very confident, clearly not thinking it was that difficult.

“Hmm, very good!” Lanny nodded, then said, “I’m giving you another task. You were involved in the entire experiment I did last time, and I have some ideas for the new experiment. I hope you can help me prepare the necessary materials.”

There were just too many things to do lately, and he really didn't have time to spend every day in the workshop, so he wanted to hand over the lead of the research to Cody, who would prepare the materials and advance the experiment.

Based on his performance while handling the crucible, I believe he has the ability to advance this experiment!

As for the reason for the failure of the last experiment, Lanny also had some guesses.

Either there's a problem with the raw materials, or there's a lack of catalyst.

The raw materials are relatively simple; all that's needed is for people to sift them along the Castel River.

If you're lucky enough, you can find suitable materials quickly. If you're unlucky, there's nothing you can do; there's no desert or ocean around here, the only thing you can find is river sand.

On the contrary, the catalyst is what gives him the biggest headache.

The term "catalyst" is relative. Some materials play a catalytic role in certain processes and can be called catalysts, while in other processes, these catalysts may become the main materials.

Therefore, he had no way to narrow down the range of catalysts; any material could be a catalyst.

In the end, having no other choice, he could only roughly divide everything into two categories: organic materials and inorganic materials, intending to try them out step by step.

He only borrowed some junior high school knowledge from this concept, but if you asked him how to explain it to Cody, he certainly couldn't say anything about carbon or oxygen; that would be asking for trouble and would bring up a whole bunch of basic knowledge. Now is not the time to do popular science.

So his method was really simple and crude: organic materials could burn, while inorganic materials could not.

This division is definitely not correct, but it's sufficient for the current experiment.

His idea was to have Cody start by experimenting with inorganic materials, trying everything he could find, and then finally try organic materials.

If he can't even get this done, he'll accept it.

What to do when you're unlucky? Just accept it!