Chapter 30: The Rough but Meticulous Zhang Dazhu, Re-examining the Findings

Walking north for just a short distance, the familiar clinking of a blacksmith's hammer once again reached Chen Yan's ears.

From afar, he saw three or four tourists standing under the awning of the Zhang Family's Blacksmith Shop. Interestingly, Su's Fragrance and Medicine Shop from earlier had been entirely filled with female tourists, while the Blacksmith Shop here was the exact opposite—all male tourists.

These men were gathered around the shop's battered wooden counter, which held a pile of the Peace Talismans Chen Yan had seen that morning.

"The iron ones are ten copper coins each, and the copper ones are thirty. Feel free to choose whatever you like, gentlemen!" Pointing at the talismans on the counter, Zhang Dazhu brought his hammer down—CLANG—onto a red-hot iron billet on the anvil.

"Um... can we get them custom engraved, boss? I want to make a name tag for my girlfriend," a male tourist who looked like a student asked cautiously as he picked up a copper talisman, turning it over in his hands repeatedly.

Perhaps Zhang Dazhu's towering height and muscular build were just too intimidating. The male tourists under the awning spoke in much lower voices, but they stubbornly crowded around the counter, refusing to leave. It was obvious they genuinely liked Zhang Dazhu's craftsmanship.

Skillfully striking the iron billet in his hand, Zhang Dazhu nodded. "Sure, engraving costs an extra five copper coins!"

"Good heavens, Old Zhang looks rough around the edges, but he's got quite a head for business, hasn't he?" Chen Yan thought. Hearing the mention of an extra charge, he almost broke his composure. He could guarantee that Zhang Dazhu had absolutely no exposure to modern commerce. After all, he had been here for barely half a day. Yet, in just one short morning, he had figured out such a smart business model. This only proved that the urban commerce of the Song Dynasty was even more developed than he had understood. Even a rugged man like Zhang Dazhu knew how to adapt and generate extra revenue for his shop.

While Chen Yan was being thoroughly schooled by Zhang Dazhu in business acumen, the student-like tourist had already picked an unengraved talisman from the pile and handed it over.

Taking the copper talisman, Zhang Dazhu glanced at it and asked for the girlfriend's name. Then, he pulled a small chisel from his waist. TAP TAP TAP. He tapped his hammer lightly, making the chisel's tip dance across the back of the metal. In moments, the two traditional characters for "Ruyan" appeared on the talisman.

"Holy crap, this craftsmanship is insane!"

"I was getting ready to record it, but he finished before I even opened my camera app!"

"The boss has a delicate touch beneath that rough exterior. A true role model for our generation!"

Seeing that it took Zhang Dazhu less than a minute from receiving the talisman to finishing the job, the young men in the shop were stunned. Once they recovered from their shock, they immediately began showering him with praise.

Looking at Zhang Dazhu's amusing expression—trying desperately to hold back a wide grin while maintaining his tough facade—Chen Yan couldn't help but shake his head and laugh as he turned and walked away.

The Zhang Family's Blacksmith Shop was as safe as could be!

Having reached this point, the explorable section of Qinghe Street had come to an end. However, he wasn't in a hurry to return. Instead, he continued walking north. He had previously overlooked the ancient well by the storehouse entrance precisely because he hadn't inspected the area carefully enough. Now that he had the time, and especially since he had confirmed that everything on the street was running smoothly, he wanted to take this opportunity to conduct a thorough inspection himself.

A moment later.

As he arrived at the end of the North Shore of Qinghe Street, looking at the familiar Ming and Qing City Wall ahead, Chen Yan knew he had reached the boundary. Suddenly, a faint, peculiar odor wafted over from the left side of the city wall.

Approaching to take a closer look, Chen Yan raised an eyebrow. Appearing before him were two adjacent wooden cubicles. The cubicles weren't large—about a meter wide and over two meters tall—just enough for a single person to turn around comfortably. The wooden posts at the four corners looked slightly weathered, clearly having been in use for several years. Above them rested a thatched roof made of what appeared to be freshly replaced dry straw.

"Are these... toilets?" Chen Yan thought. Smelling the distinct odor drifting from within, he immediately confirmed their function.

After a brief hesitation, he pulled open the door to the left toilet and stepped inside. The space was extremely limited. A squat pit occupied the center, while a wooden bucket full of water sat in the back corner, a hollowed-out gourd ladle floating on its surface. Mounted on the wall next to the pit was a lidded wooden box. Chen Yan opened it and discovered it was stacked full of coarse toilet paper. He pulled out a sheet and rubbed it between his fingers. He found that while the paper looked rough, its texture was actually quite decent—more than adequate for restroom use.

"This isn't right, is it?" Chen Yan wondered as he stepped out of the toilet, sweeping his gaze back and forth over the wooden doors.

After completing his first time-traveling migration, he had spent any free time he had researching the urban culture of the Song Dynasty. The issue of latrines was something he had specifically come across during his research. Historical records indicated that despite the highly developed economy of the Song Dynasty, even in major cities, using the restroom remained a significant challenge for the common people—at least, a considerable ordeal from a modern person's perspective.

But what about the two stalls right in front of him?

Although their functionality was primitive compared to the restrooms in major modern tourist attractions—lacking even an automatic flush—when compared to the historical reality of Song Dynasty latrines he had researched, these two toilets were an overwhelming upgrade!

The system continued to play dead, and Chen Yan didn't expect it to offer any explanations anyway. Standing in place and pondering for a moment, he eventually concluded that these two toilets, much like the supplies in the storehouse allocated for the major shops, had been specifically optimized by the system.

It made sense when he thought about it. No matter how much he wanted to maintain the authentic charm of the Song Dynasty, this was, after all, a tourist attraction open to modern visitors. If he actually provided toilets that required wooden wiping sticks, the Ancient City's complaint hotline would likely be ringing off the hook within days.

Closing the toilet door securely, he didn't linger any longer and began retracing his steps down Qinghe Street.

He made his way back to the ticket office. The area remained bustling into the afternoon, and Xu Ping's copper coin exchange counter, in particular, had unexpectedly formed another short line.

Chen Yan spent his time alternating between checking the day's visitor turnout at the ticket office and returning to Qinghe Street to ensure there were no anomalies. Before he knew it, the clock struck 6:00 p.m., and it was once again closing time for the Ancient City.

Unlike before, however, even though the closing announcement had been broadcast several times, quite a few tourists lingered on Qinghe Street, reluctant to leave.

Although only five shops had been unlocked so far, the fact that Chen Yan had transported the entire street from actual antiquity meant that the immersion Qinghe Street offered tourists, while perhaps not completely unparalleled, was incredibly authentic.

It wasn't until Shopkeeper Li and the other "NPCs" began to close up their shops that the tourists, having nowhere else to go, reluctantly left Qinghe Street. As they exited the Ancient City through the turnstiles, many couldn't resist casting one last lingering glance back at the city gates.

Chen Yan stood a short distance from the turnstiles, arms crossed, quietly observing the scene.

The unfulfilled yearning on the tourists' faces was genuine. Even though the majority of them might only visit this one time, it didn't matter. Once they returned home and posted everything they had experienced on Qinghe Street online, he was confident that his Ancient City, ignited by these sparks of word-of-mouth, would soon cross over into a completely new stage of development!