Li Xing’an found a piece of stone and leveled the missing footrest.
How to use this small stove, just last night when they were stewing rabbit meat at Old Qin’s house, Li Xing’an saw Li Yuzhu use it.
She very skillfully got the stove going.
Li Xing’an was quite amazed at Li Yuzhu’s ability at the time.
Li Yuzhu told him that she learned from the nanny while helping her with decocting medicine.
Li Xing’an thought lighting the stove was fun, so while everyone else was examining other items, he stayed put with the small stove.
Moreover, he decided to claim it all for himself!
Of course, Li Yuzhu could use it, but no one else could.
However, the stove seemed to bully him a bit.
Recalling the steps Li Yuzhu took to light the stove, he tinkered for a long time, but only managed to produce a lot of smoke, not a fire.
It even blackened his face with soot, making him cough non-stop, with tears streaming down.
"Why is this happening? Why is it only producing smoke and not fire?" Li Xing’an was both angry and anxious facing the stove continuously puffing smoke, "Third Sister, how do you light a stove?"
Li Yuzhu was washing meat, her hands covered in water, unable to help him.
Without turning around, she just said, "Recall the steps I took yesterday to light the stove."
"I followed your steps exactly! But it keeps producing smoke and no fire." Li Xing’an was extremely frustrated.
The smoke also drifted into the cave.
Choking the two little kids, making them cough incessantly.
An angry Xue Family yelled out, "Jingjing and Guoguo are going to be choked to death by this poisonous smoke! Third Brother, what are you doing?"
Prince Luling and Princess Consort Luling were also coughing, both complaining together, "Third Brother, be more careful!"
The Great Princess and Second Princess were forced to run out of the cave, waving their sleeves to disperse the smoke.
Li Xing’an looked aggrieved, "I really am being careful."
On the other side, Second Young Master Li, who had made a blazing fire, looked at Li Xing’an’s sorry state and chuckled, "Third Brother, that stove dislikes you, it’s telling you to stay away."
"You shut up!" Li Xing’an was both aggrieved and angry.
His tears kept flowing, washing two white streaks down his sooty face.
Li Yuzhu finished washing the ribs and put them in a bowl for later use, turning around just in time to see Li Xing’an’s frightening state.
She was both angry and amused, "Third Brother, the stove is in the wrong place! You can’t put it at the cave entrance!"
"Then where should I put it?" Li Xing’an raised his sleeve to wipe his face.
"Our cave entrance faces north, with the stove here, the smoke is blown into the cave by the wind!" Li Yuzhu said, "And the fire isn’t even lit, why are you stuffing so much fuel? There’s no air circulation!"
"What do you mean by air?" Li Xing’an was intrigued by the term.
Li Yuzhu, "..." She couldn’t explain it clearly, "In any case, you need to leave about half the space inside, wait for the fire to catch, then add more fuel."
Li Xing’an followed Li Yuzhu’s instructions and moved the stove to a spot away from the cave entrance.
Li Yuzhu pulled out the sticks of firewood from the stove one by one.
The firewood was only blackened by smoke, not burnt at all.
She was speechless, "Third Brother, were you trying to burst the stove?"
"I didn’t know you couldn’t do it ?" Li Xing’an scratched his head awkwardly.
Li Yuzhu stuffed a bunch of soft dry grass underneath the logs in the stove.
The stoves of this period were similar in size and shape to those of the modern era.
Except the modern ones were made of iron sheets, cement, and other materials, making them sturdy, durable, and insulating, whereas the ones in this period were made of yellow clay.