Liu Zhong returned by noon.

Because of the heavy wooden box, fearing it contained something precious that might delay Qin Yao’s matters, he went to the stationery factory, unloaded the items he had purchased from the car, and immediately carried the wooden box to Qin Yao’s house.

The children followed Ah Wang into the mountains, while Liu Ji was still helping Gongliang Liao pack at the Lotus Courtyard, leaving only Qin Yao and Mrs. Li at home.

The two had a simple lunch and squatted in the kitchen to study how to make a cake.

Of course, Qin Yao provided verbal guidance, while Mrs. Li handled the execution.

Since Qin Yao had never done any baking herself and had no experience, Mrs. Li had to rely on her intuition to figure it out. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

At least Qin Yao knew one thing — the egg whites must be whipped into a stiff foam that can hold chopsticks.

Mrs. Li had made countless types of pastries and, after hearing Qin Yao’s description, vaguely understood the key points.

In fact, Eastern and Western pastries are quite similar, differing mainly in cooking habits.

To make it fluffy and soft, egg whites are the key.

However, Mrs. Li had never whipped egg whites before, and couldn’t achieve the desired effect quickly enough.

Qin Yao took matters into her own hands, using a simple bamboo whisk to whip furiously, moving so fast she left only afterimages, and after beating for two quarters of an hour, she finally saw the results.

Just as she was getting into it, Liu Zhong arrived.

When Qin Yao saw the wooden box, her whole demeanor changed; she handed the bowl with beaten egg whites to Mrs. Li, instructed her to continue stirring, washed her hands, and eagerly proceeded to the main hall to open the wooden box.

The box was a pull-out type, and upon sliding it open, one could see a blade head wrapped tightly in red cloth inside.

Yes, it was only a blade head.

Because this was a long saber that could be assembled, and with the handle attached, it formed the shape of a Green Dragon Crescent Blade.

Qin Yao had previously complained about how light the old swords were, not expecting Song Zhang to find her the heaviest Yanyue Saber in cold weapons.

The blade was about 1.2 meters long, with a loop handle that could be held or attached to a suitable long handle to be used as a long saber.

The blade was snow-white, forged entirely from fine steel, and Liu Zhong, who was observing, was awed by its grandeur.

The blade had a blood groove in the middle with no engravings, leaving it pristinely plain, giving a feeling of comfort.

Qin Yao picked up the blade; it felt quite hefty, weighing roughly over twenty catties.

If a fully metallic long rod were added, it could weigh sixty to seventy catties, even reaching a hundred.

Qin Yao guessed that Song Zhang did not attach the handle because he couldn’t estimate how heavy she wanted it to feel.

Of course, it might also be because he was reluctant to spend more silver.

Qin Yao knew how high the cost of weapon forging was; having obtained this blade, she was already very satisfied.

As for the handle, she planned to find the Big Blacksmith from Lower River Village to make her a long stick forged from solid fine iron.

Preferably weighing eighty catties, so that combined with the blade, it would be around a hundred catties. The two could be dismantled to serve as both club and blade.

Assembled, it would be an unmatched Yanyue long saber.

Liu Zhong, watching Qin Yao play with the blade, couldn’t help but ask how she planned to use it.

When he heard her say she intended to make an eighty-catty iron rod to pair with the blade, he gasped.

Even just the blade alone was heavy for him to hold, let alone lift and wield.

He estimated that after a couple of swings, his arms would be too sore to lift.

If an eighty-catty iron rod were added, heavens, he worried it might crush someone if dropped and couldn’t imagine wielding it!

Qin Yao still felt it wasn’t enough; if not for current technological limits, she would have used denser, tougher, yet smaller materials to make cold weapons.

Then, the weight wouldn’t just be a hundred catties.

Superpower users are formidable because their bodies have undergone comprehensive enhancement, a qualitative leap from zero to one compared to ordinary humans.

Sometimes, Qin Yao felt incredibly lucky to have traveled to this productivity-limited ancient era yet still be able to awaken her superpower.

In the air, free-flowing superpower molecules pulsated with her breath like dancing notes.

Qin Yao twirled with the sword for a few minutes before realizing Liu Zhong was still standing in the main hall, dumbfounded. She awkwardly cleared her throat, put away the blade, and asked Liu Zhong if he was busy in the afternoon.

Liu Zhong shook his head, "There’s basically no work left, my father is handling things in the field; I plan to gather some firewood in the mountains this afternoon."

"So you’re free." Qin Yao smiled, "How about you run an errand to Lower River Village for me, Second Brother?"

She offered a running fee.

Liu Zhong speculated and asked, "To the blacksmith?"

Qin Yao nodded, and Liu Zhong, shocked, asked, "Do you really want to make an eighty-catty iron rod?"

Seeing Qin Yao firmly nod, Liu Zhong softly advised, "Sister-in-law, in this peaceful era, there’s no need for such powerful weapons, right? What if an innocent passerby got hurt accidentally?"

Qin Yao confidently assured, "It won’t happen, I don’t carry weapons when I’m out unless necessary. Hold on, I’ll draw a blueprint for you to take to the blacksmith. If he says it can’t be done, tell him I can pay extra."

To melt eighty catties of iron into a small iron rod required repeated hammering to remove impurities, a process of genuine "ten thousand hammerings".

Based on the usual price, the blacksmith probably wouldn’t agree.

But for more money, there would be no issue.

No one would deny money.

Qin Yao took twenty taels of silver, along with the blueprint, and handed them to Liu Zhong, asking him to make another trip in the afternoon, giving fifty cents as the running fee.

Despite feeling uneasy, Liu Zhong happily went given the fifty cents.

Qin Yao watched Liu Zhong leave, envisioning herself wielding the Yanyue Saber in future battles, happily rubbing her hands in anticipation.

She turned back, smiling, and started walking toward the kitchen, only to see Mrs. Li staring at her.

At the moment their eyes met, Mrs. Li inhaled sharply and stepped back two large paces in shock, her face flushing, nearly knocking over the bowl on the stove.

The bowl contained freshly beaten egg whites, white and fluffy foam that the two had worked on for two quarters of an hour. If spilled, their hearts would ache painfully.

Fortunately, Qin Yao steadied the bowl in time, saving the egg whites, but Mrs. Li didn’t look well.

"What’s wrong?" Qin Yao asked with concern.

Thinking of Little Lai Fu mentioning that Mrs. Li had been staying up late making clothes for her, Qin Yao felt a bit embarrassed.

"Why don’t you take a rest? We can make the cake another day."

Mrs. Li shook her head, "No, no need, let’s continue. I think I have an idea on how to do it, I’d like to try while there’s time."

Qin Yao confirmed again, "You’re sure you’re okay?"

Mrs. Li nodded, although scenes of Qin Yao wielding the great blade with impressive skill flashed incessantly in her mind, causing her heart to race uncontrollably.

It wasn’t from fear, but excitement!

She never imagined that the madam could look so valiant and dashing wielding a blade!

Qin Yao skeptically glanced back at Mrs. Li, not sure what was wrong with her; her breathing seemed irregular—hopefully she wasn’t faint from anemia.

Watching her for a few seconds and seeing she was still standing fine, Qin Yao dismissed her other thoughts, focused on starting a fire, igniting the oven Ah Wang had built in the courtyard for Mrs. Li to bake the cake.