Chapter 57: The Motorcycle
As soon as Chu Feng appeared in the village, a crowd gathered around him.
“Brother Feng, do you need help carrying your stuff?”
“Brother Feng, I can help you bring it inside!”
“Brother Feng, what can I do to help?”
Everyone wanted snacks from Chu Feng, and they’d learned that working for him was the best way to earn them. So now, every time he arrived, he was swarmed with eager villagers.
Tiantian, wearing a little dress, hugged Chu Feng’s leg and spoke in a soft baby voice. Chu Feng vaguely understood she wanted to help.
He rolled his eyes and thought, Even if I wanted to use child labor, I wouldn’t hire someone this tiny!
Chu Feng picked Tiantian up and set her aside, waving her off impatiently. “Go, go, go. Go play somewhere else.”
Tiantian pouted in disappointment, looking at Chu Feng with a sad little face. A villager came out quickly, looking apologetic, and scooped her up.
Chu Feng looked around, puzzled, and asked Gray, “Hughes didn’t come?”
Chu Feng thought to himself: Didn’t Hughes just swear allegiance to me under the title of ‘Craftsman God’? And now he doesn’t even show up? Is that title not so useful after all?
Gray replied, “He got beaten up by my brother. Probably too embarrassed to come.”
Chu Feng blinked. “Why did your brother beat him?”
Illya seemed like a calm guy—why would he suddenly lash out? Chu Feng remembered that Illya had always spoken respectfully about the dwarf craftsmen.
Gray rolled his eyes. “He broke my brother’s desk lamp and pissed him off.”
Chu Feng nodded. “Ah, that explains it.”
No wonder that thick-skinned Hughes suddenly got shy.
Even though the battery-powered desk lamp hadn’t been expensive, it was a pretty miraculous item in this world.
Chu Feng had brought two lamps—one for Illya and one for the village shaman.
Gray rolled his eyes again. “That idiot swore he wouldn’t break it. But not long after getting it, it was broken. What a moron.”
Gray sighed in regret just thinking about the ruined lamp. It had amazed everyone—once turned on, it lit up the entire room. When their house was lit for the first time, some people even thought the place was on fire.
Chu Feng: …
Hughes probably was a skilled craftsman—but electric lamps were entirely different from the cold weapons he was used to. Since he had no knowledge of circuitry, it made sense that he couldn’t figure it out.
“Hughes saw the lamp was broken and decided to take it apart completely.”
Chu Feng nodded. “Makes sense.”
“That idiot…” Gray muttered.
Chu Feng chuckled. “Actually, that wasn’t the worst idea. Those lamps only cost a few dozen yuan each. If it’s broken, there’s no point in fixing it—might as well buy a new one.”
“You’re agreeing with him?” Gray glared at Chu Feng.
“Did he manage to figure anything out from it?”
Gray shook his head. “Doesn’t seem like it.” The dwarf, who claimed to be the Craftsman God’s heir, looked pretty useless when it came to a simple desk lamp. “And Hughes wasn’t content with just breaking my brother’s lamp—he even set his sights on the shaman’s.”
Chu Feng: …
That guy is bold. He’d just learned a few days ago that shaman Qiu Luo, while seeming gentle and kind, actually had quite a few hidden tricks—and had stashed plenty of poisonous powders in his house. If Hughes barged in, he’d definitely be in trouble.
Chu Feng laughed. “Next time I come, I’ll bring a few more lamps.”
Gray’s eyes lit up. “Awesome!”
Maybe I’ll get one, Gray thought excitedly.
The others didn’t speak, but they were all secretly planning to show their best behavior to earn one too.
“That lamp must be really valuable, huh?” Gray said.
Chu Feng glanced at him. “Not really.”
“Liar. Luminous pearls are super valuable.”
Chu Feng looked confused. “Luminous pearls? You mean glowing beads?”
Gray nodded and said, “Yes, nobles use them for lighting. Don’t you have them over there?”
Chu Feng shook his head. “Nope. If I could bring one over, that’d be great.”
A glowing pearl, huh? Something rare and valuable—it could definitely fetch a high price back home. Rich people have never been stingy when it comes to jewelry.
“Do you want one?” Gray asked.
Chu Feng nodded. “Of course.”
Gray thought for a moment. “The dwarves might have some.”
Chu Feng: … The dwarves have something that precious? Too bad Hughes isn’t here, otherwise I could ask him.
Gray nodded, thinking to himself that a few of the dwarven master craftsmen were quite well known. He recalled someone once coming to barter for a weapon using a luminous pearl as payment.
“Oh right, the sweet potatoes from the field—we’ve harvested a lot. They’re delicious.”
Chu Feng nodded. “That’s great.”
He hadn’t actually tried the sweet potatoes from this world yet. Might be worth a taste. After all, they were grown with supernatural abilities—who knows what they’d taste like?
Gray looked at the motorcycle curiously. “Brother Feng, what is that iron lump?”
Chu Feng smiled. “Take a guess.”
Gray puffed out his cheeks and thought hard. “Is it a weapon? It looks kinda heavy…”
Chu Feng: … This idiot has no vision.
He left the motorcycle outside and directed a few kids to carry the rest of the goods into the house.
Chu Feng was becoming quite used to giving commands to the child workers. In his mind, it was good for kids to learn self-reliance early. In modern society, children were often spoiled, and it was obvious you couldn’t count on them to care for you in old age.
A few kids crowded around the motorcycle, examining it. One of them squatted near the exhaust pipe, staring at it intently.
Chu Feng waved his hand. “Shoo, shoo, be careful or you’ll get hurt.”
Seeing they were being dismissed, the kids scattered reluctantly.
Once the goods were moved in, Illya returned, dusty and worn out.
Chu Feng looked over his shoulder at him. “You’re back. You weren’t here earlier—did something happen at the castle?”
He’d heard from Gray that Illya had gone to the construction site in the morning and was supposed to be back earlier.
Illya nodded. “There was an accident at the site. One of the Highlanders workers fell.”
Chu Feng took a deep breath. A work injury… that’s a problem.
“Was it serious?”
Illya also took a deep breath. “Not too bad.”
If it was a work-related injury, he’d probably have to compensate. Even in the modern world, an injured worker could cause huge financial headaches for a small business owner.
“I’ll go take a look this afternoon.”
Illya raised his head and glanced at him. “It’s all taken care of. Do you still need to go?”
Chu Feng nodded. “Of course. He got hurt working for me.”
Illya looked at Chu Feng. “You’re not like other nobles. Nobles only care about construction progress. As for workers getting injured or even dying—they don’t care. If someone working for them gets hurt, tough luck.”
Chu Feng smiled. “That’s because I’m not a noble.”
Illya nodded in agreement.
Chu Feng smiled again. “Let’s go after lunch. I’ll take you there.”
“You’ll take me? You’re going to carry me?” Illya asked, a bit puzzled.
Chu Feng: … This guy thinks too highly of me. Even though Illya probably wasn’t heavy, carrying someone all that distance just wasn’t going to happen. “You’ll see this afternoon.”
Illya’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. “Don’t tell me you guys have something that lets you fly?”
Chu Feng: … Well… flying in a plane counts, I guess. But no way I’m bringing a plane here.
“Not exactly. But I’ll take you for a ride.”
Chu Feng took a deep breath. Back when he was younger and full of imagination, he’d dreamed about taking a girl for a ride on a motorcycle. Eventually, he gave up on the fantasy—but now, he finally had the chance.
Illya didn’t quite understand what he meant, but he nodded anyway.
“Let’s have roasted sweet potatoes for lunch,” Chu Feng said.
Illya nodded. “Sounds good!”
Qiu Luo, the village shaman, really lived up to his reputation as a wood-element user—the sweet potatoes he grew were incredibly fragrant and sweet. Chu Feng ate several in one go.
“These are amazing.”
Illya asked curiously, “Don’t you guys have them where you’re from?”
Chu Feng nodded. “We do, but they don’t taste as good as these.”
Back home, who knows how much fertilizer they used—sweet potatoes had long lost their original flavor.
Illya nodded. “Okay. Oh, and by the way, the picture books you brought last time—the shaman really likes them.”
Chu Feng smiled. “I’m glad.”
“Come on, let’s go visit the Highlanders. Bring some candy with us.”
It wasn’t often he made these inspection visits—he should bring a little something for the occasion. Illya nodded. “Alright.”
Chu Feng had already brought over three boxes of candy. At first, the villagers went crazy over it. But now that there were more and more kinds of food available, people weren’t as obsessed with sugar anymore. The Highlanders, though—they’d probably still be interested.
“Let’s go. I’ll take you.”
Under Chu Feng’s guidance, Illya got on the motorcycle.
Chu Feng started the engine and sped off.
Sitting behind him, Illya exclaimed in disbelief, “So fast!”
Chu Feng laughed. “It’s alright.”
The villagers stared in shock as Chu Feng zipped away on the motorcycle.
“That… that thing moves!”
“And it’s so fast!”
“This thing is way faster than a horse-drawn carriage!”
“It’s amazing! That iron lump looks so cool—I want a ride too!” …
Gray blinked rapidly, staring in the direction the vehicle disappeared, looking a bit dazed.
“Gray, what’s wrong?” Duoduo asked, her round eyes blinking in confusion.
Gray shook his head. “Nothing.”
Earlier, when Chu Feng said he was taking big brother to the Highlanders, Gray hadn’t quite believed him. But he hadn’t expected this was how he meant it. Truly impressive!
