Everyone's eyes were wide, looking at the incredible drawing and Arthur's grand ambitions, as if listening to a tale from the Arabian Nights.
Brin was the first to speak, his brows tightly furrowed.
As a blacksmith, he pointed to the huge waterwheel on the drawing: "Lord Arthur."
"Such a large wheel, just the weight of the wood itself is unimaginable. Can the flow of the Little Three-Fork River really push it?"
A farmer named Roen rubbed his hands. Although he had followed Arthur to fight on the House Ryger's land, this was still the first time he had been so close to his lord.
He spoke cautiously, his voice dry: "Lord Arthur, my ancestors all watered the land with wooden buckets."
"Water... water only flows downwards; that is the rule set by the Seven Gods."
"I've never heard of water being able to go uphill by itself. This... it sounds like dark magic."
Their experience, their lifelong common sense from dealing with the land, all resisted Arthur's claims. This was normal; humans resist and fear things they have never seen, even more so for people living in a quasi-medieval environment.
Unless... this matter benefits their personal interests.
So, Arthur looked at the doubt on their faces, not angry, but with a slight smile. He knew that for these uneducated people, no amount of verbal debate was as impactful as seeing it with their own eyes. He looked at Brin and gave an order: "Brin, go get some small wooden sticks and clay."
"We won't build a big one yet; let's build a small one first to see."
Although Brin was full of doubts, he did not defy Arthur's command and quickly found the materials.
Arthur, Evelyn, and Brin personally worked together, following the proportions of the drawing, to construct a miniature wheel frame with wooden sticks, and then carved small wooden tubes and fixed them to the wheel rim.
With the three of them cooperating, a palm-sized model of a chain pump was quickly made. They took the model to a mountain-fed irrigation canal inside the castle hall.
Arthur carefully placed the model in the water, adjusted its position, and the water flow impacted the small blades. The model vibrated slightly.
Everyone held their breath, forming a circle.
Then, under everyone's tense gaze, the small wooden wheel began to slowly rotate, round after round.
One by one, the small wooden tubes submerged into the water, and then were lifted out of the water by the wheel, carrying a handful of sparkling water droplets.
When the first water-filled wooden tube rotated to its highest point, due to the tilt, the water inside splashed out, accurately pouring into the small wooden trough pre-set beside it.
Water... water... Time seemed to stand still. The farmers' eyes were wide like brass bells, their mouths unconsciously agape, wide enough to fit an egg.
Clear stream water continuously flowed along the wooden trough to a small sand table nearby, wetting the dry sand.
Evelyn took the model, turning it over and over, her fingers tracing every joint, trying to understand its principle.
The farmers, meanwhile, stammered.
"It... it really moved..."
"This... it's so amazing..."
"Water... water really came up by itself..."
They excitedly prayed to the small model, which was still continuously turning, lifting and pouring water, muttering non-stop.
"The Seven Gods have shown their power! This is a miracle of the Smith! A miracle bestowed by the Smith!"
"Lord Arthur must have been blessed by the Smith!"
Evelyn held the model, her sapphire-like eyes sparkling with the brilliance of discovering a new continent.
She looked at Arthur, her gaze filled with unprecedented shock. How much was truly stored in this young man's mind?
Arthur knew he had succeeded. He looked at Brin with a smile:
"Brin."
"Now, do you think we can build the big one?"
Brin's face was flushed with excitement, as if ashamed that he had doubted his lord, and he answered loudly.
"Yes! My Lord! We definitely can!"
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