"Is your name Ma Wen?" Fang Er asked, looking at him.
"Yes, my lord," Ma Wen replied, his voice steady.
Fang Er raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you from Taiyuan? Why do you have a southern accent?"
"My lord, my ancestors were from Yangzhou, but we settled in Taiyuan for business reasons," Ma Wen explained.
"Ai, it's a pity that we lost the family business because of this," Ma Wen said, his expression turning dejected.
Fang Er patted his shoulder and gestured towards the numerous bicycles. "You win some, you lose some. I'll give you a chance to rebuild your family fortune."
"These two thousand bicycles are your test. You can recruit your own manpower. I only care about the results. If you do well, you will manage the business for the Duke's Mansion in the future."
Ma Wen's eyes lit up, his dejected look vanishing instantly. "My lord, what do you say?"
"What are you mumbling about? Damn! That embarrassing southern accent." Fang Er, seeing his excitement, nodded in satisfaction. He then turned to Lai Yifa. "Take him to the exchange market and bring back Bing Shuang and Liang Ge. Tell them it's my order, and that the shop will be temporarily managed by Ma Wen."
"Thank you for the promotion, my lord!" Ma Wen saluted gratefully, his heart filled with passion. As he saluted, he felt as if he had grown taller.
Shortly after Lai Yifa and Ma Wen left, Su Feng reported that the Torch reserve team had returned.
"Bring them to the front hall!" Fang Er instructed, then headed to the front hall himself.
Soon, a team of ragged Torch members appeared in the front hall. Their tattered clothes clearly showed they had endured hardship in recent days.
"The Fire Army Torch Team greets the Duke. The surveying mission is complete. Please review it!" After saluting, ten team members respectfully placed thick stacks of drawings on the table in front of Fang Er. Each stack was at least two feet thick.
"This is the achievement of ten squads over one to two months." Fang Er scanned the drawings, selecting a section of railway map from Shenyang city. He flipped through a few pages, examining the content. One drawing indicated a railway length of only fifty meters, yet it meticulously marked all the fields, ditches, forests, houses, mountains, rocks, and roads on both sides of the railway, leaving no detail unrecorded.
"Has anyone from the prefectural office returned?" Fang Er asked after putting the drawings back in order.
"No, my lord. When we returned, their survey was not even half completed," one of the soldiers replied, a look of pride on his face. Through this surveying test, he clearly understood how valuable the knowledge he had gained in the Fire Army was. Otherwise, they wouldn't have so far surpassed the old clerks from the prefectural office in terms of progress.
Fang Er, however, put on a stern face. "This is not the time for you to be complacent! Once the prefectural office's survey results are out, and we compare the two, only then can we determine if what you've done is usable!"
"You've worked hard for so long. I'll give you two days off to rest. Your current team assignments will remain unchanged. After two days, you will begin taking over the mansion's guards. Go!"
"Thank you, my lord!"
Despite having to wait for the prefectural office's results, the Torch team members were full of confidence in their surveying accomplishments. Every mark on the drawings was measured by their own feet, making any error impossible. After leaving the front hall, the Torch team went to the military camp outside the mansion to rest temporarily.
"My lord! My lord, I can't get it in!" Suddenly, an elderly craftsman rushed to the entrance of the front hall, shouting incoherently at Fang Er inside.
Su Feng was about to stop him but was prevented by Fang Er's gaze. Fang Er recognized this craftsman; he had been working under him since Fang Family Village and had followed him from Fang Family Village all the way to Shenyang. The craftsman, named Liu Eryang, often bragged and coaxed younger craftsmen into doing his work.
"Old Liu, why are you so flustered? What can't you get in?" Fang Er asked, frowning at Liu Eryang.
"My lord, that steel rod you made last time, the one that wouldn't go in – I've made it!" Liu Eryang said excitedly, pulling out a steel ingot and a steel rod from his pocket.
Fang Er quickly took the items. Without testing them, he knew from a single touch that Liu Eryang wasn't lying. He stared at Liu Eryang in disbelief. "You made this?"
"Yes!" Liu Eryang nodded heavily.
"Now, go to the workshop and make another set in front of me. Do you dare?" Fang Er stared into Liu Eryang's eyes. While this set of items indeed met his requirements, Liu Eryang had a habit of bragging. Fang Er wanted to know if he could achieve this consistently, not just through sheer luck.
Liu Eryang simply replied with one word to Fang Er's challenge: "I dare!"
"Hahaha, good! Good! Good! Let's go! To the workshop!" The two walked out of the front hall towards the workshop.
The craftsmen were still busy. Seeing Fang Er behind Liu Eryang, they quickly saluted.
"Greetings, my lord."
Fang Er waved his hand, signaling them to stop. "Stop your work for a moment! Old Liu claims he has made the workpiece the Grand Craftsman requires. Now, he will make another one in front of everyone!"
"Hahaha, Old Liu, is it true? Don't be bragging again! When did you make it? We work together every day, how come we don't know?" Hearing this, Liu Eryang immediately got angry. "Do you really think I'm bragging? I made it two days ago, but I wasn't sure if I could replicate it, so I didn't say anything. My lord, don't listen to them. I'll show you right now."
After speaking, Liu Eryang rushed into the warehouse, picked up a steel ingot, and began working.