All the families in the village had the same problem as Brian Cooper's family: the straw collected from the fields was not enough for burning, and going out to gather firewood every day was no small task. If they could have a fuel-efficient stove, the labor saved would be considerable. According to what Emily Scott told them, building such a stove would only take Brian Cooper a single morning's work.

This was also why Emily Scott felt somewhat apologetic in front of Brian Cooper. She certainly understood what these women were thinking, but she couldn't refuse them. Building a stove was something that required Brian Cooper's help. Would this delay her son's studies? And would her son, who had always been proud and aloof, be willing to do this kind of work?

Emily Scott looked at her son with timid eyes, waiting for him to speak.

Chapter 008: The Ways of the World

Brian Cooper had already guessed what these women were thinking. Seeing his mother cast him a look full of apology and hope, he smiled slightly, pulled Emily Scott aside, and whispered, “Mom, you just handle this as you see fit. Whoever you say needs a stove, I’ll build one for them.”

Emily Scott said, “Hao’er, I know you need to study, and this kind of thing really shouldn’t be your responsibility. But they’re all our neighbors, and ever since your father passed away, the villagers have taken good care of us. I really can’t turn them down.”

“Why should you turn them down?” Brian Cooper said. “Since they’ve helped us before, this is a good chance for me to help them in return and pay back what we owe. Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Sigh, it’s all your mother’s big mouth.” Emily Scott was overjoyed to have her son’s promise, but she still blamed herself a bit. Then she went back to the group of women, chatted with them for a while, and returned to tell Brian Cooper, “I’ve arranged it with them. You’ll first build a stove for your Mr. Charles, then for Tiangui’s family, and then…”

“I can’t remember that many, Mom. You just keep track of the order. I can build about one stove in half a day, two a day. You handle the scheduling, okay?” Brian Cooper handed all the authority to his mother. Since this was about repaying kindness, it was best to let his mother take charge. In the future, people would naturally remember her kindness more.

“Will you have time this afternoon?” Mrs. Charles Jr., who had overheard Brian Cooper agree, hurried over to ask.

“There’s time,” Brian Cooper said. “Mrs. Charles, you go home first and move anything unrelated out of the kitchen. I’ll go to the earthen slope at the east end of the village to get some clay, and we can start right away.”

“Let your Mr. Charles handle the clay,” Mrs. Charles Jr. said happily. “I’ll go call him back to help right now.”

Brian Cooper went back to his room to change into work clothes and grabbed his tools. Led by Emily Scott, he headed to Charles Cooper's house. As soon as he entered, he was greeted by three generations of Charles Cooper's family lined up in welcome.

“Oh, the scholar has come! Sorry to trouble you. I said the scholar must be busy, and we shouldn’t bother you with such a small thing, but Changgen’s mother insisted on asking for your help. There’s nothing I can do—my family is big, and we never have enough firewood. I heard the stove you modified is especially fuel-efficient. You see…” The honest and simple Charles Cooper rubbed his hands nervously as he spoke to Brian Cooper.

“Mr. Charles, don’t say that. You’ve helped my family a lot. I just happened to learn a bit about stove repair, so helping you fix yours is no trouble at all,” Brian Cooper replied politely.

“See, the scholar really knows how to talk,” Charles Cooper laughed. “Scholar, you don’t even need to do it yourself—just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it. Just now, Changgen’s mother said she watched at your house for a long time but couldn’t see any difference between your stove and mine. I told her, the scholar is a star descended from heaven—of course the stove he makes is different from others. If a woman could understand it, that would be strange.”

Brian Cooper smiled and said, “Mr. Charles, don’t praise me. There’s nothing complicated about fixing the stove, just a few details that need attention. I might need to do some parts myself, but if you have time, it’d be great if you could help me.”

“Oh… I understand, I understand. Just tell me what I can help with, and I’ll do it. If there’s something I shouldn’t touch, I promise I won’t,” Charles Cooper said, suddenly enlightened, nodding repeatedly.

Brian Cooper was stunned by Charles Cooper's words. It took him a while to react, and he quickly explained, “Mr. Charles, I didn’t mean to keep anything from you…”

Charles Cooper said, “No, no, building a stove is a skillful thing. I definitely can’t learn it, so I’ll just be your helper and do some manual labor.”

Brian Cooper wanted to tell Charles Cooper that actually, this kind of fuel-efficient stove wasn’t complicated—there were just a few key tricks to master, and he could teach them all. But on second thought, he suddenly felt that keeping this technique somewhat secret might be more valuable. Modifying stoves to save fuel didn’t take much effort but had great results, making it perfect for returning favors. If others learned how to do it, wouldn’t he lose the chance to repay kindness?