Xiao'e swallowed hard but didn't immediately take the lamb leg. Instead, she glanced at Jin Feng for approval. Only after he nodded did she eagerly grab the leg and hand the crossbow to Qing Huai.
Qing Huai examined the crossbow, cranked the wheel to draw the string, and then aimed at a tree about ten meters away. With a soft *thwack*, the arrow disappeared, embedding itself deep into the tree trunk. The arrowhead sank completely into the wood, while the shaft vibrated violently, emitting a low hum.
Qing Huai cranked the wheel again and fired three more arrows in quick succession. Each one struck the tree in a perfectly straight vertical line, evenly spaced as if measured with a ruler.
"Impressive marksmanship!" Jin Feng clapped sincerely.
"An excellent bow!" Qing Huai also praised the crossbow. "I've never seen a crossbow like this. Where did you get it?"
"My father was a craftsman, and I learned a thing or two from him. I made this crossbow myself," Jin Feng explained.
"So, not only are you a tiger-slaying hero, but also a skilled craftsman. My apologies for underestimating you," Qing Huai said, clasping his hands in a respectful gesture. His tone shifted from casual to formal, addressing Jin Feng as "sir" instead of "warrior".
Qing Huai's curiosity about Jin Feng deepened. The man looked slender and scholarly, yet he had killed a tiger and crafted such a powerful crossbow. It was an intriguing combination.
"Just some minor skills. I wouldn't dare call myself a master," Jin Feng replied modestly, though inwardly he found the formalities tedious. Why couldn't people just speak plainly? But he kept his thoughts to himself. In this era, straying from social norms could be deadly.
"You're too modest," Qing Huai said, signaling his guards to retrieve the arrows from the tree. He turned the crossbow over in his hands. "Traditional crossbows are powerful but difficult to load and slow to fire. Your improvements solve both problems. Such ingenuity is truly admirable. Unfortunately, making these requires high-quality wood and strings, making mass production impossible. Otherwise, it would be a valuable asset for our military!"
Traditional crossbows relied on the elasticity of the wood and string to launch arrows, which indeed required high-quality materials. But with the right steel, these limitations could be overcome, allowing for mass production. However, Jin Feng saw no need to explain this and simply nodded in agreement.
"Did you use this crossbow to kill the tiger?" Qing Huai asked.
"Yes," Jin Feng confirmed.
A flicker of disappointment crossed Qing Huai's eyes. When he first saw the tiger's body, he had hoped to meet a master archer. Now he realized Jin Feng's success was due to the crossbow's power, not his own skill. In Qing Huai's view, while Jin Feng's crossbow addressed the issues of loading and firing, its rate of fire was still too slow compared to a longbow. A skilled archer could fire a dozen arrows in the time it took to reload the crossbow, making it seem somewhat impractical.
Still, as a well-educated noble, Qing Huai quickly adjusted his attitude, masking his disappointment. The group entered Jin Feng's small courtyard, where rows of spinning wheels in the thatched shed caught their attention.
Qing Huai initially paid no mind, but when he noticed one of his guards, Zhong Wu, staring intently at the spinning wheels, he asked, "Zhong Wu, what are you looking at?"
"Your Lordship, I'm looking at those spinning wheels," Zhong Wu replied respectfully.
"What about them?" Qing Huai asked, curious.
As a noble, Qing Huai had rarely seen spinning wheels and had no idea what made these different.
"Your Lordship knows I was raised by my mother, who spun thread for a living. I'm familiar with all kinds of spinning wheels, but I've never seen ones like these," Zhong Wu explained, pointing to the wheels. "The ones I've seen are hand-cranked, but these are foot-operated. And they have five spindles instead of one. They must be much faster."
Qing Huai nodded, though he wasn't particularly interested. To him, spinning wheels were women's tools, and he saw little value in a group of men fussing over them. But Zhong Wu had been with him through life and death, more like a brother than a servant. Since Zhong Wu rarely showed interest in anything, Qing Huai indulged him, watching as he examined the spinning wheels.
To Qing Huai's surprise, Zhong Wu wasn't content with just looking. He turned to Jin Feng and asked, "Sir, may I try this spinning wheel?"
Jin Feng had no choice but to nod. "Of course."
Zhong Wu immediately set down his sword, sat at the spinning wheel, and began working. The sight of a burly, armored man spinning thread was comically incongruous. Qing Huai almost covered his face in embarrassment, and the other guards exchanged amused glances. But no one stopped Zhong Wu. They all knew his background—raised by a mother who spun thread for a living—and understood his attachment to spinning wheels.
After spinning a ball of thread, Zhong Wu stood up. "This spinning wheel is amazing. It's five or six times faster than any I've seen before. If my mother had lived to see something like this, she would have been so happy."
The tough, scarred warrior's eyes welled up with tears. In his memories, his mother was always spinning thread—day and night—yet they still struggled to make ends meet. If they had had a spinning wheel like this back then, perhaps his mother wouldn't have worked herself to death.
"This spinning wheel is five or six times faster than others?" Qing Huai's interest was piqued. As a noble, his education far surpassed that of his guards, and he immediately grasped the implications of such an invention.
Clothing, food, shelter, and transportation were the basic necessities of life, with clothing being the most essential. Qing Huai quickly realized the potential wealth this spinning wheel could generate.
"Sir, did you also make this spinning wheel?" Qing Huai asked.
"Yes," Jin Feng nodded, his mind racing.
Tang Dongdong's expression darkened. Both of them could guess what Qing Huai was about to say.
Sure enough, Qing Huai's next words were, "I find this spinning wheel quite fascinating. Would you be willing to part with it?"