“General?”
Guan Xiaorou looked at Zhou Jin in confusion.
She knew that A Mei was the captain of the women’s soldier team, but she did not know who the general Zhou Jin was referring to.
“The general is Mu Lan, and the captain is A Mei.”
Jin Feng said, holding back his laughter.
Ever since the women’s soldier team had been formed, Qing Mulam had insisted that the female soldiers call her general, as if indulging in a taste of being one.
“Oh, oh!”
Guan Xiaorou glanced at Qing Mulam with amusement.
Even with her thick skin, Qing Mulam felt a bit embarrassed at that moment, so she quickly changed the subject and asked Zhou Jin,
“Zhou Jin, are you willing to take Mr Jin as your master?”
“Ah?”
Zhou Jin was momentarily stunned.
How had the question come out of nowhere like that?
However, that afternoon when Jin Feng had told her to move in with them, Zhou Jin had already considered this possibility.
So she quickly regained her composure and knelt down with a thud: “This disciple pays her respects to the master!”
With that, she kowtowed three resounding times to Jin Feng.
Jin Feng pulled Zhou Jin up with a helpless chuckle.
But no sooner had he done so than Zhou Jin knelt before Guan Xiaorou: “Zhou Jin pays her respects to the master’s wife, and kowtows to her!”
“Get up, get up quickly!”
Guan Xiaorou had not expected Zhou Jin to pull such a stunt, and by the time she reacted, Zhou Jin had already finished kowtowing.
“Oh dear, I do not have anything valuable on me…”
Guan Xiaorou, used to a life of hardship, rarely wore jewellery, so she frantically patted herself down but found nothing suitable to give Zhou Jin.
In a moment of desperation, she reached up and removed the hairpin from her head: “Your master’s wife has nothing else, this hairpin was brought back by your master from the frontier, so I give it to you.”
“Master’s wife, this was a gift from the master to you, it is not appropriate for me to take it.”
Zhou Jin hurriedly waved her hands.
“We are family from now on, what is inappropriate about it?”
Without further ado, Guan Xiaorou inserted the hairpin into Zhou Jin’s hair: “No more back and forth, or I shall get angry.”
“Then many thanks to the master’s wife.”
Zhou Jin had no choice but to bow and accept it.
“Silly girl, you kowtowed too early, you will have to do it all over again at the apprenticeship ceremony.”
Tang Dongdong teased with a smile.
“It does not matter, I would gladly kowtow to the master and master’s wife every day.”
Zhou Jin said with a beaming smile.
It was clear that she was delighted to be taken as Jin Feng’s disciple.
“Mr Jin, congratulations.”
Qing Mulam said with a smile.
“Not calling me by my surname any more?”
Jin Feng said irritably.
“Who is so bold as to disrespect the gentleman?”
Qing Mulam feigned ignorance.
Jin Feng shot her a sideways glance and could not be bothered to respond.
“Sir, do not be angry, it was my mistake.”
Qing Mulam admitted her fault with a smile, then awkwardly changed the subject: “By the way, sir, taking on a disciple is a major event, when do you plan to hold the apprenticeship ceremony?”
“No time like the present, so tomorrow it is, I shall go to the smelting workshop later and ask Man Cang if he is willing.”
Jin Feng did not seem too concerned about it.
“He dares not to be willing!”
Tang Dongdong, now quite familiar with Man Cang, clenched her fist and said: “If he disagrees, I shall have Liang Ge break his other leg too!”
“When did you become so hot-tempered? Breaking Man Cang’s leg, why not just throw him straight into the steel furnace and burn him?”
Jin Feng said irritably: “From now on, associate less with people like Qing Mulam.”
“Hey, you with the surname Jin, how do you speak like that?”
Qing Mulam, who had just apologised, was immediately displeased again: “Explain yourself, what kind of person am I?”
“You are a heroine who does not yield to men, does that suffice?”
Jin Feng still had unfinished business that day and had no interest in bickering with Qing Mulam.
“That will do.”
Qing Mulam nodded in satisfaction: “Alright, full and sated, A Mei, let us head back.”
“Wait, I have something to tell you.”
Jin Feng called out to Qing Mulam.
“What is it?”
Qing Mulam turned and asked.
“Man Cang has nearly finished making the bladeless training sabres over there, come with me to take a look, and if there are no issues, you can take them for training in a couple of days.”
“That is wonderful, let us go and see.”
Qing Mulam had long been eager for practical combat training.
Unfortunately, the smelting workshop was the foremost forbidden area in Xihe Bay, and even she could not enter without Jin Feng or Man Cang escorting her.
She could only pester Man Cang during meals.
Later, Man Cang grew fed up with the nagging and simply avoided the female soldiers’ mealtimes, waiting until they had finished before going himself.
Even now, Qing Mulam had no idea of the progress.
“Xiaorou, see to Zhou Jin’s arrangements.”
Jin Feng instructed as he led Qing Mulam out.
“Leave it to me.”
Guan Xiaorou smiled and saw Jin Feng to the door.
In the smelting workshop, Man Cang was sweating profusely from his labours when he saw Jin Feng and Qing Mulam enter, so he quickly set aside his work, wiped his sweat, and came over to greet them.
“So this is the smelting workshop, it does not look like much, just a big furnace.”
Qing Mulam looked around curiously.
“Do not underestimate this furnace, even if you gave me ten thousand taels of silver, I would not sell it.”
Jin Feng said proudly: “That black sabre at your waist, in the whole of Da Kang, only iron smelted from this furnace can produce it.”
“If that is the case, then this furnace truly is valuable.”
Qing Mulam nodded in agreement.
The black sabre was not only incredibly sharp but also extremely durable.
The first batch of veterans who received the black sabres had used them for a long time, yet not one had a rolled edge.
Even with Qing Mulam’s experience, the black sabre was the finest weapon she had ever seen, bar none.
If such divine weapons were taken to Bianjing to sell, even at one hundred taels of silver each, those noble clans would probably not blink.
And yet Jin Feng could produce them in batches.
Now, nearly every veteran and female soldier had one.
“Is this the bladeless training sabre you made for us?”
Qing Mulam walked around to the other side of the furnace and saw a pile of long sabres on the ground, her attention immediately shifting from the furnace.
She picked one up and deftly twirled a flower with it.
“How is it?”
Jin Feng asked.
“The shape, dimensions, weight, and feel are all basically the same as the black sabre, very good, perfect for training.”
Qing Mulam nodded in satisfaction.
“As long as you are pleased.” Jin Feng turned to Man Cang: “How many more to go?”
“A dozen or so, and it will be enough.” Man Cang replied.
“Very well, Mu Lan, have someone come fetch them tomorrow afternoon.”
Jin Feng said.
“Could Man Cang work overtime tonight? I want to use them tomorrow morning.”
Qing Mulam could hardly wait.
“No, Man Cang arrived at dawn and has been in the workshop for six or seven hours, another all-nighter and you will work him to death!”
Jin Feng flatly refused Qing Mulam’s request.
Although there were moulds, each sabre still needed polishing after casting, which took considerable time.
Rushing another dozen would mean Man Cang getting no sleep that night.
Blacksmithing was heavy physical labour, working a full day and night straight would wear a person out.
“If it is no, then it is no, why so fierce?”
Qing Mulam muttered: “This is before the apprenticeship, wait until tomorrow when Man Cang formally becomes your disciple, then it will not be too late to protect him!”
The speaker meant no harm, but the listener took it to heart.
Man Cang reacted as if struck by lightning, grabbing Qing Mulam’s arm and asking: “What did you just say?”
