Chapter 70: How Can You Dig a Hole in the House?

Chapter 70: Chapter 70: How Can You Dig a Hole in the House?

Yun Zhen returned home once again, fully loaded with a bountiful harvest.

"Goddess!" The Village Chief and the villagers waited with eager anticipation as their savior arrived.

CLATTER!

CRASH! BANG!

The bedding Yun Zhen had brought was scattered all over the ground. Two large iron stoves had dented the floor, leaving small craters, and the white bags of rice and flour stood out conspicuously.

The villagers stared at the two unfamiliar hunks of iron. The Village Chief was the first to ask, "Goddess, what is this?" He pointed at the two iron contraptions and a few long tubes.

Yun Zhen introduced them. "These are stoves used for heating in the Immortal Realm. Lighting them will make the entire room toasty and warm."

"Stoves?" The villagers had heard the Goddess mention them before, but they never expected them to be giant hunks of iron.

Even the worldly Yun Xiu was dumbfounded. He looked them up and down, voicing his doubts, "This is just a solid lump of iron. How do we set it on fire?"

"Father, take a look at this," Yun Zhen said. She knew her father was highly intelligent; she had mostly understood the blueprints the moment she saw them, so he definitely could too.

Yun Xiu took the blueprints and studied them carefully. Zhou Dashan and Tian Ergou leaned in to look with him.

Yun Xiu furrowed his brows as he read the diagrams. "Place the stove in an open area of the room and properly install the smoke exhaust pipe, ensuring it is perfectly sealed without a single gap. Then, pry open the circular lid, lay down a few pieces of coal, and add firewood to ignite it... The accumulated ash at the bottom must be cleaned daily, otherwise ventilation will be restricted...

"When not in use, seal it with the cover and close the draft door. This ensures the heat doesn’t escape the room while maintaining proper smoke ventilation."

That was the general process. There were also some worm-like patterns on the paper that he didn’t recognize.

Zhou Dashan asked, "Will burning firewood in this thing really keep the heat from escaping the room?"

Tian Ergou was equally skeptical. "Is this thing called a stove really that magical? I see only one small hole on its lid. The hand-warmers held by the wealthy young masters in the county town have over a dozen holes of all sizes, and every single one emits heat."

Yun Zhen figured the people of the Immortal Realm wouldn’t waste their time painstakingly making useless iron lumps just to scam people out of money. "Let’s light one first. The boss said we can exchange them if there are any issues."

Yun Xiu trusted his daughter’s judgment. "We’ll know if the iron stove is useful once we try it."

He, the Village Chief, and a few burly men positioned the iron stove right in the center of the room. But then came a problem.

"Looking at the blueprints, it means we have to knock a hole in the house to let this silver pipe pass through."

"How can we knock a hole in the house?"

"Yeah, won’t the wind blowing into the pipe extinguish the fire inside the stove?"

The villagers installing the stove were completely baffled. Everything from the Immortal Realm was a precious treasure, and they had experienced this firsthand. Yet this stove actually required them to smash a hole in the wall.

"Won’t smashing a hole in the house ruin the family’s Feng Shui?"

Unable to endure it any longer, Yun Zhen spoke up. "Just follow the blueprints! This is a stove from the Immortal Realm; how could it possibly ruin the Feng Shui?"

If they kept making a fuss like this, the fire wouldn’t even get started. How were they supposed to test if the stove was any good? Hearing Yun Zhen’s words, the villagers suddenly saw the light.

She was right! They were holding items from the Immortal Realm, and the Goddess had spoken. Besides, the Yun Family’s home belonged to the Goddess. Who would be so suicidal as to block the Goddess’s Feng Shui? And even if they tried, would it even work?

"Smash it!" Yun Xiu ordered.

THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!

Holding a pickaxe, the Village Chief found a suitable spot and chiseled a small hole. Cold wind poured in, making him shiver as he shoved one end of the pipe outside. "Done."

After a great deal of effort, they finished installing the stove, sweating profusely.

"There’s an extra hunk of iron on the floor. It looks so bizarre." Yun Old Lady stared at the silver metal contraption and the pipe. It felt incredibly out of place inside their dilapidated thatched cottage.

Next came the most thrilling part. Lighting the fire!

Yun Xiu grabbed a piece of coal to line the bottom of the stove, then added some firewood. He used the "lighter" to ignite a scrap of cloth.

WHOOSH!

Flames leaped up. The villagers jumped in fright. Yun Old Lady’s heart pounded in fear; she prayed they wouldn’t burn the house down.

"It’s lit! It’s lit!" Yun Xiu, the Village Chief, and Zhou Dashan suddenly cried out.

A cluster of flames burned through the small hole in the middle of the stove, and then, with a heavy WHOOSH, it erupted into a roaring fire, much brighter than a normal fire pit on the ground. Everyone was both nervous and excited.

Yun Zhen’s eyes lit up. "If the stove can maintain a fire like this, maybe it really will make the whole room toasty and warm."

The Village Chief looked ready to fall to his knees. "It actually lit! A divine artifact! It’s truly a divine artifact!"

The flames gradually subsided, gathering steadily inside the firebox.

Zhou Dashan marveled to his wife, "We smashed a big hole in the wall and stuffed a pipe in it to catch the freezing wind from outside, yet it didn’t put out the fire. It’s an absolute miracle!"

Infected by everyone’s excitement, Li Cuilan said, "This is a treasure brought by the Goddess. How could it not be amazing?"

Yun Zhen turned to the Village Chief. "Uncle Village Chief, the people who didn’t get bedding last time can receive a set today."

Zhou Dashan was standing quite close to the Goddess and the Village Chief. When he heard her say that those left out last time would get bedding today, he was so overjoyed he could have jumped. Priority had been given to households with elders and children, but now it was finally their turn. He had never slept under a cotton quilt before, but he had heard from the other villagers that they were incredibly warm.

"The Goddess just declared that the households who didn’t receive bedding last time may take a set home today!" the Village Chief announced loudly to the crowd.

The villagers who had missed out previously were ecstatic.

"This is wonderful! Those hemp blankets stuffed with straw can’t hold in any heat at all. I went to Granny Wu’s house yesterday and felt how amazing the cotton quilts are. They’re so soft and don’t scratch you in the slightest!"

"We get to enjoy cotton quilts too!"

Yun Zhen pulled out another bag. "I also have scented soap and candles here."

Li Cuilan asked respectfully, "Goddess, is scented soap... the same as regular soap? In the county town, half a tael of Silver only buys a piece the size of a child’s fist. I heard the madams and young ladies of wealthy families love using it to wash their faces and hands."

Hunters Wang chimed in, "I heard soap is made from the fat of various livestock. It takes special methods to ensure the soap doesn’t stink. However, the recipes for making soap are firmly in the hands of wealthy families; we commoners can’t even get close to them."

Yun Zhen nodded. "I’ve checked. The scented soap from the Immortal Realm is made from all kinds of flowers and fruits. It smells wonderful.

"I plan to distribute one box to households with up to seven people. Families with more than seven can take two boxes."

"Thank you for your grace, Goddess!" everyone said in unison.

Yun Zhen instructed them, "My teacher in the Immortal Realm said that washing your hands cleanly before and after meals helps prevent illness. Starting tomorrow, you are to boil a pot of hot water every day specifically for washing hands. Lather your hands thoroughly with the scented soap, and you may only eat once they are completely clean."

No one dared to disobey the Goddess’s command.

The Village Chief committed it to memory. Starting tomorrow, everyone had to wash their hands before eating. "Rest assured, Goddess. I will supervise them. I absolutely won’t let them eat with dirty hands."

"Pass out the candles as well. I bought a hundred of them. Give three to each household, and the rest will be stored here with my father and Uncle Village Chief."