The Engineering Prodigy

The next morning.

They said transmigrators were bound to have great luck. It wasn't as if they'd find gold and gems just by tripping, but when luck came, nothing could stop it.

After breakfast, Shawn was called over by Old Saldean.

"Shawn, two of the Harvest Golems at Furlbrow Farm to the north have broken down. Furlbrow invited me to help repair them. Would you like to come along? The Furlbrow family and I are good friends. If you can fix one of the Harvest Golems, I'll ask him to give you a gold coin as payment."

One gold coin!

Young Shawn had never seen so much money. All his savings up to that point amounted to just one silver coin and thirty-two copper coins. Compared to the other orphans Old Saldean had taken in, that was already quite a lot.

But now, Shawn might actually get a gold coin! His wealth would multiply several times over in an instant. At this rate, it was a shame he wasn't a loan shark!

To be honest, the money itself wasn't what shocked Shawn. What he really couldn't understand was that Old Saldean had agreed to ask Furlbrow to pay him a gold coin.

If all he did was repair a Harvest Golem, he shouldn't get that much. Ten silver coins at most would be enough. Since Old Saldean was offering this much, it seemed he really liked Shawn and thought highly of him!

Come to think of it, when he'd run out yesterday, hadn't he heard Old Saldean say something? Unfortunately, he'd been running too fast to catch it. Could there have been some important information in what Old Saldean had said?

But none of that mattered. The most important thing for Shawn to do now was agree.

"Don't worry, Pa Saldean. I'll definitely fix the Harvest Golem!" Shawn said, thumping his chest.

Old Saldean looked at Shawn acting like a little grown-up and pictured a "future Shawn" with his "hair combed like an adult's, dressed in a handsome suit." A complicated smile spread across his face.

"If only Shawn were my child!"

But there was no if.

Westfall was vast, with farms scattered across the north. Saldean Farm and Furlbrow Farm were both well known. The two farms were neighbors and not far apart, but it would still take several hours to walk there.

Fortunately, Old Saldean was quite wealthy and kept a horse. Riding at a gallop was much faster.

Before long, Shawn had left Saldean Farm with Old Saldean and followed a small road to Furlbrow Farm.

Furlbrow Farm was also called "Furlbrow Pumpkin Farm" because it grew nothing but pumpkins.

A quick note: because Arcane Energy permeated all of Azeroth, and because of factors like temperature, humidity, and sunlight, crops didn't grow on the same schedule as they did on Earth. Simply put, crops could be planted all year round, and harvested several times a year.

So Furlbrow Farm grew pumpkins in every season.

They said Furlbrow-brand pumpkins didn't just supply Westfall; they were also shipped far and wide across Europe and America—no, across Azeroth—to Elwynn Forest, Stormwind City, and even other towns across Azeroth aboard Stormwind's ships. At least a third of all the pumpkins in Stormwind City came from Furlbrow Farm.

They said many northern nobles would eat only Furlbrow-brand pumpkins and refused to touch any others.

That was exactly why the Furlbrow family was so wealthy—far wealthier than the Saldean family.

But the family wouldn't meet a happy end. In this age of war and turmoil, wealthy Furlbrow was like a giant lightbulb, attracting everyone's attention.

Before long, Defias bandits would take their farm, forcing the family to flee. They would then join the Westfall Brigade, reorganized from the People's Militia, and head north as part of the Alliance's Northrend Expeditionary Force. They would fight the Worgen of the Wolf Cult in Grizzly Hills. Not long after returning home from Northrend, they would be wiped out along with Furlbrow's wife and beloved horse, their deaths shrouded in mystery.

Many people believed the Furlbrow family had been killed by Defias bandits.

But for now, at least, the Furlbrow family was doing well.

It took Shawn an hour to repair one of the Harvest Golems, and he worked faster than Old Saldean.

Wiping off his sweat, Shawn shouted, "Uncle Furlbrow, I fixed it!"

Furlbrow was younger and stronger than Sadin. When he saw that Shawn had repaired the Harvest Golem, he burst out laughing and pressed a gold coin into Shawn's palm. "Ha ha! Shawn, you're much better than Old Saldean! If you ask me, young people should go out and see the world instead of staying cooped up in this godforsaken place. Stormwind City is wonderful. Go to Stormwind City—that's where you belong!"

Furlbrow's words were persuasive, but Shawn wasn't swayed.

He knew that Stormwind City was in unprecedented chaos at the moment, and it was dangerous too. King Varian had been kidnapped, and the Black Dragon Princess Onyxia was stirring up trouble. Stormwind City was no place for a person to live. There was no way he'd go there.

Westfall was great!

Sure, there were Murlocs, Gnolls, and the Defias Brotherhood—three enormous burdens that weighed on everyone—but they weren't really much to worry about.

The Murlocs and Gnolls weren't much of a threat, and the Defias Brotherhood was essentially a group of peasants and workers who'd been forced into revolution. As long as Shawn had enough strength at his disposal, there was nothing to fear.

Didn't the farms all seem peaceful enough?

"Ha ha, Furlbrow, I'll tell you what: I'm planning to send Shawn to Goldshire to become an Engineering apprentice! Heh, the boy's got a good head on his shoulders. He's clever and has a bright future!"

Old Saldean had finally repaired the Harvest Golem. He put down his wrench and wiped off his sweat.

"Old friend, that's not a bad idea. I think Shawn has a bright future ahead of him. He won't stay cooped up in Westfall!" Furlbrow patted Shawn on the shoulder, then turned to Old Saldean. "Old friend, sorry to trouble you, but there's one more thing I need your help with. Heh, I was going to cut down a few trees to fix up the house, but my Shredder stopped working. Could you take a look?"

Old Saldean raised an eyebrow. "A Shredder? Furlbrow, that's not my specialty. But I can give it a try, with Shawn as my assistant. I don't mind helping, but Shawn can't work for free, can he? How about you pay him another gold coin?"

Furlbrow laughed helplessly. "Old friend, you really know how to work a deal! I know you. Is a Shredder really harder to fix than a Harvest Golem? Ah, never mind. I know you're doing this for Shawn's sake. I'll give him the gold coin!"

At the mention of the word "Shredder," Shawn's eyes lit up. He quickly said, "Uncle Furlbrow, I don't need payment. But once the Shredder's fixed, could you teach me how to operate it and lend it to me for a while? I want to build a house too... It's too cramped sharing a room with the other kids!"

Old Saldean shot back, "Kids? Aren't you one yourself? All right, all right, I'll help you build a house when the time comes—a big one, for you to live in with your future wife! Let's see, you're old enough to get married now, aren't you?"

At that, Furlbrow burst out laughing again.

Shawn's face turned bright red in an instant.