“`
By the time the two of them returned to their homes, Rein’s hands were filled with a full basket of wild blueberries, hazelnuts, and chestnuts.
It was thanks to George’s help that they could sneak into the manor’s forest and gather various nuts and berries.
A bountiful harvest!
About seventy percent of the forests surrounding the town belonged to the Habsburg manor, while the remaining thirty percent were public woodland.
However, the wild fruits and nuts in the public woods had already been picked clean by the townspeople.
It was already time for lunch, and the autumn sun was exceptionally warm. When Rein was approaching his house, he could already see the white smoke rising from his chimney from afar, which made him feel really good.
However, when he caught a glimpse of his neighbor’s house from the corner of his eye, he stopped in his tracks!
He saw a young girl dressed in a gray linen coat, sitting on the wooden steps of her house, basking in the sunlight while carefully nibbling on a piece of bran bread.
Even though it was bran bread, inferior to even black bread, the girl cherished each bite.
With one hand she held the bran bread, and with the other, she caught the falling crumbs to put them into her mouth, not wanting to waste a single bit.
After a few bites, the girl in the sunlight squinted her eyes, seemingly content just to have a piece of bran bread to eat.
The girl was Anna!
Rein stood frozen in place, staring dully at how carefully she ate, and his heart suddenly felt a tight pull.
How much misfortune must one endure to find such happiness in eating a piece of bran bread?
Rein looked down at the wild fruits in his hand and moved his lips as if to say something but was unsure what to say.
He was not familiar with the girl; offering nuts and such out of the blue might not be welcomed.
After some thought, Rein went into his room and poured out half of the gathered wild fruits and nuts, then handed the remaining half-basket to his sister Bo He.
“Bo He, go, take this half-basket of wild fruits to Sister Anna next door, and make sure she accepts it,” Rein crouched down, patted Bo He’s little head, and said.
It seemed from her brother’s serious gaze that Bo He understood something, and she nodded vigorously, saying:
“Yeah! Sister Anna lives alone and it’s really tough for her.”
“She will definitely like these wild fruits. Don’t worry! Brother, I will make sure Sister Anna accepts them. If she doesn’t, I’ll cry!” Bo He fluttered her big eyes and waved her small hand forcefully.
“Yeah! Good girl.”
Soon after, Bo He came running back with excitement on her face.
“Brother, Sister Anna accepted it. She told me to thank you! And we’ve agreed to continue planting in the garden this afternoon.”
“That’s great, Bo He!” Hearing that Anna accepted the gift eased Rein’s concern, and he gave his sister a thumbs-up, complimenting her.
…
After lunch, Rein headed toward the blacksmith shop in Flashgold Town.
The blacksmith shop was on the main road of the town, and even before Rein got close, he could hear the ding ding dong dong of the blacksmithing from a distance.
As soon as he entered the blacksmith shop, Rein immediately felt a wave of heat rush over him!
Inside, several sturdy men were bustling about in the manner of helpers and apprentices, while Blacksmith Boris Patton was forging a pot.
A few apprentices looked puzzled as Rein approached Boris.
“Uncle Boris, might I help around in the shop? I’m willing to do anything!”
At the sound of his voice, Boris turned his head to look over.
He looked Rein up and down and said, “So it’s young Rein, huh? You seem to have grown stouter. But I’m sorry, the blacksmith shop doesn’t need more hands now.”
“Heh, Uncle Boris, I’d like to help for free; just assign me any task.”
Huh?
Helping for free?
Was there such a good deal?
Blacksmith Boris was initially stunned at the offer, then his gaze focused back on Rein, eyes blazing as he pondered what task to give him.
A task that wouldn’t let Rein learn any trade secrets, yet would make good use of this offer of free labor.
That’s when an apprentice blacksmith nearby heard this and raised an eyebrow, suggesting, “Master, have Rein help with the bellows then!”
Boris glanced at him, thought for a moment, and decided that the bellows was a good idea, requiring no special skills but just some strength.
“Alright then! Rein, remember not to mess with anything in the shop, and you’ll be in charge of the bellows this afternoon. Drews, you show Rein how to do it.”
“`
Rein certainly had no objections; the bellows it was!
As long as there was Experience!
If shoeing a donkey could raise a blacksmith apprentice’s experience, all the more so with operating the bellows!
Seated in front of the bellows, Rein vigorously pulled on the bellows under Drews’s guidance.
A few burly apprentices nearby glanced at Rein, thinking his skinny arms and legs probably wouldn’t manage more than a few pulls.
But once Rein got a grip on the basic technique of the bellows, he began to tirelessly pull away.
[You have worked at the bellows, comprehension has improved!]
[You have learned a new Skill—Bellows Operation]
Rein felt a surge of joy in his heart; it was as he had anticipated.
Subsequently, almost every pull of the bellows added +1, +1… to the Experience.
The blacksmith apprentice’s Professional Experience Points also quickly showed a +1 notification.
This made Rein unable to hide his elation!
Suddenly, Rein started pulling like a perpetual motion machine!
The other apprentices looked on with surprise at Rein!
They couldn’t understand why a mechanical, monotonous task could inspire such enthusiasm in the new kid, to the point where he did it with such gusto.
Didn’t this damn kid know what “volunteering” meant?
Was there really a need to be more zealous than they, the official blacksmith apprentices? It was indeed a rare sight!
Rein continued until nightfall!
The number of breaks he took in the meantime could be counted on the fingers of one hand.
This earned him a new look of respect from the blacksmith Boris!
At the same time, Boris took the opportunity to give several blacksmith apprentices a tongue-lashing, saying a lot about how they should learn from Rein and such.
Suddenly, the blacksmith apprentices glanced at each other, seeing a sense of urgency in each other’s eyes.
Though the work of a blacksmith apprentice was hard, the conditions were top-notch compared to apprentices in other trades. They didn’t say it aloud, but they valued it greatly in their hearts.
Immediately, they all sped up their pace!
Watching this unfold, blacksmith Boris couldn’t help but laugh.
He had not expected that by agreeing to let Rein take on the task of operating the bellows, such an unintended effect would occur.
It wasn’t long before Rein received a system notification about a Profession Level upgrade:
[You have worked at the bellows, comprehension has improved!]
[Your Skill in Bellows Operation has improved, Experience +3]
[You were focused on the bellows, blacksmith apprentice Professional Experience Points +1]
[Congratulations, your blacksmith apprentice Profession Level has been raised!]
Eagerly flipping to the second page of the transparent box, Rein scrutinized it carefully.
The first entry on the panel showed that the blacksmith apprentice had risen to level 3.
[Blacksmith Apprentice lv3 (0/500)]
[Bellows Operation lv2 (245/300)]
[Hoof Repair lv2 (295/300)]
[Nailing Horseshoes lv1 (56/100)]
[Remaining Attribute Points: 1]
[Remaining Skill Points: 2]
Even though Rein knew his Profession Level might very well rise today, the actual sight of it still made it hard for him to suppress his inner joy!
Even though he was working for free at Boris’s forge this time,
the added 1 attribute point and 1 Skill Point at the bottom of the attribute panel right now were the best rewards for his voluntary work!