TFWYH – Chapter 25 Crafting Equipment

“What do you want to make?”

Tang Wan pulled out two drawings she had prepared and handed them to him. “These two.”

The middle-aged blacksmith wiped his sweat before taking the two sheets of paper from her.

He understood the first one—it was a set of silver needles.

But the second one, he didn’t get at all. Two oddly shaped small knives—one with a rounded tip, the other with a pointed one. The blacksmith couldn’t for the life of him imagine what such tiny knives could be used for.

“These knives… for trimming nails?”

“You need to ask about that too?”

“Of course I do!” The blacksmith pointed at the sign hanging at the entrance. “See that? Forging weapons requires an official permit from the court. Without one, it’s illegal.”

Tang Wan frowned at his words. From what she remembered, that was indeed the law.

But: “Are you blind? So small, and you think they’re weapons?”

“Hey! What kind of attitude is that, fatty?” The blacksmith wasn’t pleased. He felt insulted.

Who are you calling fatty?

Now Tang Wan felt offended.

Just as she was about to teach him a lesson, a familiar voice filled with confusion came from behind:

“Wan-niang, what are you doing here?”

Tang Wan and the blacksmith both turned their heads and saw a sturdy young man in his twenties walk in, carrying a bundle of pork ribs.

“Second Tang, you know her?” The blacksmith asked in confusion.

“This is my third sister,” Tang Tianyang replied as he handed the ribs over. “Here, the ribs you asked for—three full jin. That’ll be twenty-one wen, but twenty will do.”

“Thanks!” The blacksmith took the ribs, gave them a weigh, and went to fetch the money for Tang Tianyang.

Tang Tianyang then turned to look at his sister. “What are you doing here?”

“She’s fierce, your sister,” the blacksmith grumbled before Tang Wan could speak. “She came asking me to forge small knives. I said the court bans private weapon-making, and she snapped at me, called me blind!”

While talking, he returned with a money pouch and counted out twenty coins for Tang Tianyang.

Tang Tianyang accepted the money and frowned at Tang Wan. “Don’t cause trouble.”

“I’m not. I need them!”

“What for?”

“… What could such tiny knives be used for?” Tang Wan replied with a completely straight face, “To peel fruit.”

The blacksmith snorted in disbelief. “Who are you trying to fool?”

Tang Wan glared at him and shot back, “Then what else would I use them for?”

The blacksmith was stumped.

Knives that small… well, maybe they could only be used to peel fruit.

But—other than the wealthy, who among the common folk was that particular? Forging a custom knife just to peel fruit?

That’s insane!

“It really is for peeling fruit!” Tang Wan tried her best to make her expression look as sincere as possible.

The blacksmith snorted again, clearly still unconvinced.

In the end, it was Tang Tianyang who took a look at the blueprint and spoke up: “Uncle Hu, my sister’s a bit spoiled—don’t take it to heart. Sigh… our dad pampered her too much growing up. Everything she used had to be fancy. Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past her to forge a special knife just for peeling fruit.”

“Alright, alright!” Old Hu the blacksmith rolled his eyes. “I’m sworn brothers with your father, you think I’d give a hard time to a little girl? I’ll take the job.”

Then he turned to Tang Wan. “Girl, since we’re acquaintances, I won’t rip you off. These two knives might be small, but the finer the item, the more effort it takes—it’s no cheaper than forging a big one. And since you want them made of silver… here’s the deal: thirty wen for the two knives. Add another twenty wen for the silver needles, that’s fifty wen total. As for the silver itself, I’ll need at least four taels. You’ll have to provide that yourself. Any leftover silver after forging, I’ll return to you.”