Chapter 4: Gunpowder Manufacturing

As night fell, the singing of crickets and frogs was heard outside the window, as well as the tireless cicadas of summer.

Three or two moths flew into the house and crashed into the flickering flames.

Ian was sharpening willow wood with a knife and was making a simple scale.

He cut the willow wood into small sticks, glued bamboo chips to the sides of the sticks with grains of rice, and then carefully drilled a hole in the middle of the stick, and through the hole inserted a small iron rod and fixed the iron rod between two sunken stones.

A rough scale was thus created; he took two pieces of maltose to test and checked that the sensitivity of the scale was not bad, so he began to mix the ratio of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal.

According to the recipe on the bed table, the materials were divided into small portions and a small portion of gunpowder materials was smoothly prepared.

Then it is ground into powder, and the charcoal and sulfur are crushed with stones and the three things are mixed.

He could smell the gunpowder smell, which was only the size of a gunpowder packet, so he filled it with leaves, placed it on the ground, picked up the flint, and fired the sparks.

Hiss!

The black powder ignited instantly, exploding with dazzling sparks.

In an instant, it went out, leaving only a small ember with black smoke floating upwards.

Ian swallowed a gulp of saliva, looked around like a thief, wrapped the burned debris with the mud he had prepared, and went out at night to throw it into the river.

On the way back, his heart was beating hard.

The recipe is real, it wasn't his dream!

He learned from Asuka, including material gathering, and he really learned to make gunpowder!

He hurried back to his room, hid the scale and materials, and lay down on the bed.

You can't get carried away too much, it's just a bit of gunpowder and is still too good compared to the soldiers who can use three-dimensional mobile devices.

Moreover, with the gunpowder, it was difficult for him to get a weapon, he didn't have the skills to manufacture weapons, but he could make some homemade bombs, maybe he could use them in the future.

"I really want to see Asuka again and have her learn more things herself."

Asuka's side of the world is much more developed than the world of the giants, and the technology of both sides is not at the same level at all.

You know, in the EVA world, there are organic mechas and underground mechanical cities, which are real worlds of science fiction.

Ian now deeply understands the true meaning of the phrase "knowledge is power," if he obtains more knowledge, if he had read more books before, maybe he can think of a way to get out of the problem.

He looked at the moon outside the window and turned over to sleep.

He slept peacefully today, and when he woke up the next day, he was a little disappointed, maybe it was just a fortuitous coincidence and he was still alone.

...

A month later.

Ian returned from the city in a horse-drawn carriage and, following the butler's instructions, moved the boxes one by one to the warehouse.

Since he returned from his first trip to the city, he convinced the butler, earned his trust, and joined the weekly shopping team.

Although he is only ten years old, his strength is already quite great and is not inferior at all to those adult men.

The butler did not suspect him, after all, he could be considered to have lived on this farm since he was a child.

After he proved he could do the accounts, the butler seemed interested in cultivating him as a henchman and stopped feeding him cattle and sheep, began teaching him numbers and allowed him to help keep the accounts.

In just one month, with Ian consciously demonstrating his ability, he was promoted to a small managerial level, responsible for the command and record of each purchase, and on weekdays he went to the warehouse every day to count all the materials.

After all, he is a person who has been cultivated in modern society, and his knowledge and ability are much stronger than those of the field farmers, especially in this part of the calculation, the people here, buying things and adjusting accounts, often do not. They calculate clearly and the addition and subtraction are a bit difficult for them.

As a person who has learned the ninety-nine multiplication table, those "complicated" calculations are a piece of cake in his eyes and he doesn't even need to play a draft.

However, he was careful not to show too much of his "cool" side, just a little more special to not attract too much attention.

"Ian, have you finished adjusting your accounts?" The butler asked his men to drive the horse to the stable.

"Ready, sir." Ian handed him a booklet.

"Please take a look."

The housekeeper looked at it and nodded.

"Good, remember well, from today you'll be responsible for future purchases, and tomorrow you'll go to the classroom and learn to read and write."

"I see." Ian nodded in response.

It seems the butler really intends to cultivate him, and actually wants to teach a slave to read and write.

This is also normal, the housekeeper alone cannot take care of the whole farm, this is essentially a national level secret place, Historia is not just the daughter of the Langley family, but also the hidden heiress of the Founding Titan.

Being able to be a housekeeper in such a place, he definitely is a member of the royal family and knows many secrets, and it is very difficult for a housekeeper to find help from strangers, so it is better to cultivate it himself, Ian is a good seedling, he is innocent, smart, also young and there is plenty of time to educate him.

The housekeeper appreciates Ian's efforts to express himself, which means he has more power, more freedom, and can cope with the imminent crisis.

It's just that he is a little worried.

Asking him to take classes with Historia might cause potential problems?

But he can't refuse, this is both a risk and an opportunity, he cannot be afraid of everything and do nothing when the time comes.

The next day he got up early and followed the butler to Historia's bedroom.

"Listen, you're only qualified to audit and, when you're in class, you can't stand up, ask questions, or talk." The housekeeper held the textbook.

"After class, I'll assign you homework and you'll hand it in before the next purchase."

"I see, sir." Ian said respectfully.

The housekeeper knocked on the door and asked, "Miss, may I enter?"

"Please come in." A childish voice came from inside the door.

The door creaked and the housekeeper pushed it open.

Historia was already holding her textbook and sitting in her chair, her small short legs swinging back and forth.

She seemed to enjoy the class and had been sitting waiting for a long time.

The housekeeper smiled and sat down in front of her, while Ian stood aside, served tea and water, carried the desserts and cookies prepared by the chef to the table, and then, obediently, stood aside and learned.