AWDC Chapter 100

“Mommy, hurry, hurry,” my son Allen kept urging Margarita.

“It’s almost time. Just wait,” she replied.

“Allen, waiting for a woman is also a man’s duty. Remember that from now on.” In any era, women’s makeup and changing clothes take time. I quietly cautioned him.

I remember being annoyed when women made me wait in my previous life. But after getting married and having a family here, I’ve come to think that being made to wait isn’t so bad.

I’m able to see my wife, whom I see every day, beautifully transformed, before anyone else, so I’ve come to think it’s not a bad thing.

Some people point out that women wear makeup for self-satisfaction, but I think it’s natural to want to be seen as beautiful by others.

And more than anyone else, they want their loved one to acknowledge their beauty.

With that in mind, I’ve come to wait for my wife to finish her makeup.

And Margarita always appears before me more beautiful than I expect.

Well, it’s just my long-faced impression, so please don’t mind it too much.

Anyway, today was the day our whole family dressed up and went to the bridge’s opening ceremony.

I had been mining coal and planning to use it to make iron and build a steel bridge spanning the Mulan River. But I couldn’t produce steel easily.

Digging up coal and bringing it to the village wasn’t a problem. Transporting iron ore to the village wasn’t a problem either. But the problem was what came after that.

First, the blast furnace was difficult. Even if I built a blast furnace with ready-made bricks, it would crumble under the heat of the coal. After trial and error, I was finally able to create a small blast furnace with refractory bricks.

However, the iron that flows out of the blast furnace is pig iron, which can be used for castings and other things, but it is inferior in strength. I had to develop a converter to turn this into steel in order to produce a large amount of steel. The pig iron wouldn’t become good steel unless a blacksmith re-forged it. To turn it into steel, you just need to blow air into the molten iron, but I couldn’t easily make this converter. I started to consider the materials for the bricks and other things, and racked my brains over how to introduce the air.

The knowledge I had was far removed from the technological level of this world, so I couldn’t apply it. It wouldn’t work unless I used the methods that existed in this world.

I was reminded of that again with this iron making. Unfortunately, both the blast furnace and the converter were still incomplete. Just when I was happy that the blast furnace and converter were starting to work, unexpected trouble would occur again and again, causing them to stop. I still haven’t reached the point of producing large amounts of steel.

On top of that, to build a steel bridge, I had to hone my skills in cutting, processing, welding, and assembling steel. I may have had the knowledge, but I hadn’t actually experienced making things. Building this steel bridge was not easy.

First, I didn’t have the technology or tools to cut and bend the iron. Furthermore, I couldn’t weld or rivet these things either. At this rate, it would take decades to build a steel bridge.

On the other hand, as roads connecting various regions were developed and rail carriages were opened, the amount of traffic for people and goods increased dramatically. There was a major obstacle to Toriholi. Even if various goods came to the opposite bank of the Mulan River, they couldn’t come in unless they were put on a boat from there. Rail carriages were pulled from Milona through Starfen to the opposite bank of Toriholi, but they were stopped by the Mulan River. I gave up on the steel bridge and decided to build a wooden bridge as soon as possible.

A wooden bridge would rot after 10 years and need to be rebuilt. Wood couldn’t be made strong enough, so there was a risk of it being washed away by heavy rain. Furthermore, since sturdy and long pieces of wood couldn’t be obtained, a high bridge couldn’t be built above the water surface. Therefore, even riverboats wouldn’t be able to pass under the bridge with their sails raised. The wooden bridge had these drawbacks.

I considered making it out of stone, but to connect Toriholi Village with a bridge, it would be over 100 meters at the shortest. It didn’t seem possible to build a stone bridge with this length.

I decided to cover the immediate demand while rebuilding the wooden bridge, and eventually build a permanent bridge with a steel bridge.

Although it was made of wood, iron plates were attached to key points, nails and wedges were driven in, and stones were piled up for the piers that were in contact with the water. After reworking various plans, the bridge was finally completed.

And today, a bridge-crossing ceremony was held to commemorate the completion of this bridge. The bridge-crossing ceremony is an event where families from Toriholi and its vicinity, with three generations of grandparents, parents, and grandchildren, start crossing the bridge first. This was my proposal, imitating a Japanese custom.

However, in this era with short lifespans, it was rare for three generations of parents and children to be together in this region.

Among them were the lord’s family, Roy’s family, and familiar families such as Tom and Samuel’s families.

The lord and his wife were holding their newborn grandchild carefully. Roy’s family had 12 people because his three sons each brought their grandchildren. And the family that could be said to be the most suitable for the true bridge-crossing ceremony was Samuel’s family, whose grandchildren were even married, and a couple with three generations together was very rare in this world.

Everyone was smiling and proud. Building a bridge is an event that happens once every few decades. It must be an honor to be the first to cross the bridge on such an auspicious day.

Unfortunately, my family doesn’t have any grandchildren, so we can’t be at the front. We have no choice but to follow behind.

(I want grandchildren, but that means I have to marry off my daughter! I absolutely can’t let Marina marry!) The image of Marina dancing hand in hand with Salah was in my head.

Furthermore, unpleasant memories come back to me near the water. I’ve been thrown into the water several times at festivals and other auspicious events.

I’m over 30 and no longer a young man, and I don’t think I’ll be thrown in anymore, but I don’t feel very good looking at the water from the bridge.

I must have looked difficult because I was thinking about such things, and Marina suddenly warned me, “Papa, you’re not smiling anymore.”

Recently, she’s become strangely meddlesome. She’s almost 16. She’s becoming more and more beautiful, and has the air of a flower that is starting to open and give off a fragrance.

(No, don’t show such a smile in front of people. You should only show it to me,) my feelings grew stronger.

Fortunately, I wasn’t thrown into the water, the bridge-crossing ceremony ended safely, and then there was a village-wide festival.

Stalls were set up in the square, and people with drums and flutes went up on them, music started to flow, and young men and women started to dance around them.

“Yes, my Marina is the cutest.” As I was showing off such parental love, a man reached out to Marina.

It was Salah. (That bastard, he even shows his face at festivals in other villages.)

If it wasn’t dark, he would have been able to see my face turning bright red.

After dancing several songs and the two of them separated, I called out to Salah.

“There’s a saying that heroes are fond of women. If you want to be a hero, that’s fine.

But don’t make a woman cry. You’re involved with a seamstress’s daughter, aren’t you? Whether it’s a game or serious, first think about what to do with that girl.

If you want to continue your relationship with the seamstress’s daughter, don’t approach Marina.

If you’re hesitating to marry the seamstress’s daughter because of the difference in status, I can speak on your behalf.

I won’t say never cheat. But if you’re going to date my daughter, break off your relationship with other women before you approach her.”

Salah’s face showed that he knew that much.

(Of course. How can you do politics without knowing the inside story of the house you rely on? Your father must have investigated me as well.)