In the smithy, Chan was introduced to Di Kun, a student of the blacksmith named Qu In.
"So Chan, you're looking to become an assistant for us?" Di Kun asked Chan.
"Yes, Di Kun," Chan answered.
"Just call me Di, also if you don't mind can you tell me more about yourself?" Di asked Chan another question.
Chan went to tell his fabricated "story" of how he became an orphan. It was true that Chan is now an orphan as his family was reported as dead by the Kan Kingdom, but the story Chan told was different from reality.
Hearing the story, Di commented, "I'm sorry to hear that your mother tried to kill.".
Trying his best to act numb to the story, Chan put on a blank expression when looking Di eye to eye.
"Follow me, I'll try to convince master to let you stay even if he first refuses," Di feeling empathetic towards Chan.
Following Di through the doorway, there was a sharp right turn before leading to a hallway. The hallway leads to two doors, one on the right and one straight ahead.
"The door on the right is where we keep commissioned items, we would also sometimes store extra minerals and ores there," said Di pointing to the door on the right.
While walking towards the door in front of him, Chan could feel the air get warmer and heavier.
Leading the way, Di told Chan what the door up ahead lead, "The door ahead leads to the furnace and smithing area,". Di opened the door.
( Creak! )
A blast of air hit Chan's face. The doorway leads to an outside area with a canopy-like structure and inside the roof of the canopy-like structure had an anvil, shelves full of tools, a furnace roaring with flame and heat, and lastly, there was a man. The man stood up to about 5'9 and had a stocky build. The man was hammering what looked to be a sword-like weapon. With each strike, he let off a maniacal laugh.
( Ting! )
"Huhaha!"
( Ting! )
"Huhaha!"
With every strike, sparks can be seen flying off the heated metal.
Looking at only the back of the man, Chan could see the long brown-reddish but frail hair, as it looked like the man's hair had been in high temperatures for too long and had lost almost all of its moisture.
Not wanting to step over any boundaries, Chan stood silently as Di was doing nothing but standing there quietly also.
The man hammered about another 15 to 20 times, each complimented with his crazy laughter before he even acknowledge the presence of Chan and Di.
The man looked over and Chan finally got a chance to look at the face of who might be his future boss. The man's face had black smudges all over it like Di, but unlike Di, the man looked to be in his 40s or 50s. The man also had no eyebrows
"Oh, you're back already Di. Also, who's the kid?" the man asked.
Di went on to explain the reasoning as to why Chan was there.
"Sure the boy can stay as long as he works hard. Also, the boy can stay with us at the house." said the man after hearing the story as to why Chan was there.
"That was easier than expected," Di said out loud.
"Well unlike you, he isn't asking to be my apprentice but an assistant. We also need someone to fetch us some things as well." the man responded to Di's remark.
Before Di even said another word the man looked at Chan and told him, "Hey boy, I heard your name, but we haven't introduced ourselves, my name is Qu in, a blacksmith.".
"My name is Chan…. Chan." Chan replied.
"Haha, All I ask is that you work hard as I'm a demanding person," said Qu In.
"Yes sir, thank you for letting me work for you, I'll work even more hard than what you expect!" Chan answered boldly.
After talking for a while, Di and Qu In went back to work and Chan stood there watching. Di was quiet and focused as he work while Qu In was laughing and talking to his hammer, the red hot metal, and the furnace. Chan was trying his best not to laugh at the crazy scene as the mood in that area felt serious.
Watching for what felt like an hour or two, both Qu In and Di finally finished. Qu In was busy shaping the metal into a sword and Di was busy making a scabbard and handle for the sword.
"Are you hungry Chan?" Qu In asked.
"A little bit, Chan answered.
"Well since it's your first day here why don't we make some delicious food as a welcoming meal," said Qu In looking at Di
Chan following Qu In and Di, the three made their way back to the front of the smithy and headed towards the building on Chan's right-hand side. The building looked to be Qu In's house as he had a key to open the door.
( Creak! )
Qu In opened the door and entered. Di and Chan also made their way inside the house.
Walking into the area where they took off their shoes. After the three took off their shoes, Qu In opened another door leading to the mainstay area. The mainstay area had a table near the wall where Chan was facing.
The mainstay area had papers everywhere and Qu In noticed that Chan noticed the mess and told him, "You might need to help us clean this up.".
"Yes sir!" said Chan.
Making their way through the messy mainstay they took a left turn which lead to a hallway leading to four different doors.
Qu In then proceeded to show Chan around the house. The hallway had 2 doors on the left, 1 door on the right, and another door up ahead. The first door on the left was the bathroom, the bathroom had a toilet and a bath. The toilet wasn't like modern toilets but a spot on the ground where they could pee and poop down a hole.
The second door on the left led to Di's room, the door ahead lead to Qu In's room, and lastly the door on the right was going to be Chan's room. Chan's room was smaller than his room back in the Ibu's estate. His new room had a bed, desk, and just about 5 feet of space from his bed.
Walking back through the hallway straight ahead had a doorway that lead straight to the kitchen area where there was a wood furnace used to cook food. There was also a large bucket filled with water, which was closed with a lid.
Showing the backyard to Chan there was a small garden filled with some herbs used for cooking. Taking a couple of steps past the garden, led to the water well.
Coming back into the kitchen, Di cooked the food and Chan clean the mainstay area.
After cleaning and cooking the food was finally ready, Di placed the food on the table. On the table had fried pork, fried greens, and a large bowl of rice.
Chan could smell the delicious fragrance coming from the entrees, Qu In seeing how excited Chan looked scooped some rice, meat, and greens onto Chan's plate and told him, "If you work hard, there will always be more food waiting for you.".
Chan couldn't hold back and dug in. Eating and talking around a table, Chan once again felt the warmth of eating in a room with what felt like a family.