Orders

"Good blade! What a fine blade!"

Li Chengwen praised it again and again, patting Shen Chu on the shoulder.

"You've got skills, kid. Your craftsmanship really is impressive—you actually forged a weapon like this!"

"You flatter me, Young Master. It's all thanks to the fine materials you provided, along with Master Sun's guidance at my side. That was the only reason I didn't let this piece of Silver-Veined Meteorite Iron go to waste."

Shen Chu smiled modestly, keeping his achievements and fame well hidden.

"That's exactly the kind of temperament I like!"

The more Li Chengwen looked at him, the more pleased he became. He played with the blade for a long while, unable to put it down, before finally sheathing it with great reluctance.

He then pulled several small silver ingots from his sleeve and pressed them into Shen Chu's hand. "This is your reward. Take it! Don't think it's too little. Once the government order is finished, I'll give you a big red packet!"

Shen Chu declined twice before accepting the silver.

Still, he could not help asking one more question. "Young Master, why did you suddenly decide to practice martial arts?"

Li Chengwen looked a little uncomfortable at the question. He hemmed and hawed for a while before finally sighing.

He plopped down onto a stone stool nearby and said gloomily, "Isn't it because of my father? Tell me, why does he always favor Second Brother more? I did a perfectly good job negotiating business on this trip, but the moment he turned around, he was still taking Second Brother's side. That matter with Zhao Dezhu—three hundred taels of silver! He just said to let it go, and that was that. If I'd made such a huge mistake, he would've cursed me until I was drenched from head to toe in dog's blood."

At the mention of "Zhao Dezhu's three hundred taels of silver," Shen Chu's expression immediately turned strange.

After all, that money was currently sitting beneath his bed.

Li Chengwen had his head lowered and did not see Shen Chu's expression. The more he spoke, the more aggrieved he sounded.

"I thought it over and over, and I figured maybe it's because I'm fat. Second Brother is handsome, and he has a good figure too. Whatever he wears looks proper on him. The moment he stands before Father, he's pleasing to the eye. But me? The second I plant myself there, I'm like a wall."

He raised his head and glanced at Shen Chu, laughing at himself. "So I thought, if I could slim down too, would Father like me a little more?"

Shen Chu fell silent for a moment after hearing that, then said, "Young Master, do you want to hear the truth?"

Li Chengwen froze. "Go on."

"I wouldn't dare speculate recklessly about what the Old Master thinks."

Shen Chu spoke slowly.

"But in my view, whether a person deserves respect does not depend on what they look like or what clothes they wear. It depends on what they have done and what they have shouldered. You closed such a major deal on this trip—that is real ability. To complete this order, you personally came to the courtyard to supervise the work, raised everyone's wages, and promised generous rewards—that is real responsibility. Those things matter far more than whether you are thin or not."

Li Chengwen stared blankly at Shen Chu for a long while. Then he suddenly grinned and heavily patted Shen Chu on the shoulder. "You kid, you sure know how to talk. Fine, for the sake of those words, I'll eat one less steamed bun this morning!"

Shen Chu glanced again at the stone table.

Good heavens.

This breakfast was certainly substantial.

A huge basin filled to the brim with porridge, along with eight steamed buns?

Whether he ate one more or one less would hardly make any difference!

Shen Chu then explained a whole series of things about carbohydrates, protein, and vitamins to Li Chengwen, leaving him utterly lost in the clouds and mist.

To lose weight, he actually had to eat more meat and less rice?

Seeing Li Chengwen's half-believing, half-doubting look, Shen Chu chuckled. "Young Master, try my method for a while. Either way, you won't lose out."

"Fine!"

Li Chengwen thought about it and found that eating meat was indeed far more pleasant than drinking porridge and eating steamed buns. The bitterness on his face eased, and he began to smile.

Seeing that Li Chengwen was in a better mood, Shen Chu took the opportunity to bring up taking leave.

"Leave?"

Li Chengwen was stunned again. "What is it? Do you have something to do?"

Shen Chu nodded, having already prepared his excuse. "To be honest, Young Master, I fled from famine in the neighboring county. I've been away for quite some time, and I want to return to my hometown, Wangchuan County, to take a look—to see whether anyone from my family is still there."

Li Chengwen did not think much of it and waved a hand readily.

"Yes, that's only right. You've been away so long; you should go back and have a look. Fine, I approve it! When are you leaving?"

Just as Shen Chu was about to answer, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the courtyard gate. A steward rushed in, clutching a letter in his hand, panting as he said, "Young Master! Young Master! News has come from Qingyang Prefecture!"

Li Chengwen took the letter and opened it. His brows slowly furrowed.

Seeing that something was off about his expression, Shen Chu asked, "Young Master, what happened?"

Li Chengwen handed him the letter and sighed. "The government has temporarily increased the order. It was originally five hundred blades, but now it's tripled. The first batch requires one thousand five hundred standard-issue long sabers, and the deadline has not changed."

Shen Chu took the letter and gave it a quick scan, his heart sinking as well.

One thousand five hundred blades, with the same deadline—this meant the Sword-Forging Courtyard had to complete three times the workload in the same amount of time.

With their current manpower and conditions, this task would be extremely difficult to accomplish!

Li Chengwen paced twice around the room, then suddenly stamped his foot. "Gather everyone in the main courtyard! I'm holding a meeting!"

A quarter of an hour later, the Sword-Forging Courtyard was packed with people.

Li Chengwen stood on the steps, his gaze sweeping over the crowd below as he announced loudly, "Everyone, news has just arrived from Qingyang Prefecture. The order has increased. The first batch will not be five hundred blades, but one thousand five hundred!"

The crowd immediately erupted in an uproar. People looked at one another and began whispering among themselves.

Li Chengwen raised a hand to quiet them, then continued.

"I know everyone feels the time is short and the task is heavy. But this is also our Sword-Forging Courtyard's chance to hold our heads high! As long as we secure this order, the Li Family's name will truly resound throughout Qingyang Prefecture! When the time comes, I, Li Chengwen, will never shortchange any of you. Not only will everyone's wages be doubled, but there will be additional generous rewards once the order is completed! Are you willing to work with me and finish this job?!"

His speech was not especially stirring, but the determination and sincerity in his tone still moved some of them.

Several veteran craftsmen were the first to respond. "Young Master has put it that way—what else is there to say? Let's do it!"

"That's right! Let's do it!"

Yet quite a few people wore troubled expressions and murmured among themselves.

After all, insufficient manpower, tight materials, and an impossibly short deadline were all very real problems.

Standing among the crowd, Shen Chu was also torn.

He had originally made up his mind to use this chance to take leave and run away.

The shadow of the Red Lotus Sect had always hung over his heart.

Though Zhao Dezhu was dead, the Flag Master had yet to reveal himself. Li Jiwu and Madam Liu were no good either. If he remained with the Li Family, the risks would only grow greater.