Since Owen no longer needed to help out at the cement workshop, he started frequenting the blacksmith shop more often.
Even though he had the steam engine blueprints, he was still uneasy and wanted to personally oversee the quality.
As expected, the blacksmiths were unsure about the detailed specifications on the blueprints, so Owen needed to first forge a standard ruler to unify length measurements.
He hadn't anticipated that he would unify the unit of 'measure' in metrology here first; he would gradually unify other physical units and standards later.
During the manufacturing process, Owen was not as demanding for other components; as long as the error was not too large, it was fine.
However, he had extremely high requirements for the cylinder and piston parts, which were constantly rejected and required to be remade because they didn't meet the standards.
This made the blacksmiths groan in misery, wondering if it really needed to be so strict.
Additionally, manufacturing the air pipes was also extremely troublesome.
Although they harbored some dissatisfaction, they dared not say anything due to Owen's status.
They simply followed the requirements, as they were paid quite well, so it wasn't a loss.
Gita was one of only three blacksmiths in Border Garrison Town.
He had a rugged appearance, with a strong physique and bronze-colored skin.
Recently, he had been troubled because his blacksmith shop was the closest to the castle, and as a result, all the steam engine components that the Lord had requested the three blacksmith shops to jointly manufacture were piled up at his place, taking up too much space.
That's right, it would take too long for one blacksmith shop to build a steam engine, so Owen gathered all the blacksmiths and their apprentices in town, assigning each shop a portion of the required components to manufacture.
Seeing the pile of iron lumps whose purpose he didn't know, Gita felt irritated.
He didn't know when the Lord would come to complete it, and it couldn't be assembled yet; he said it would take some time to develop a new magic to weld the small components together.
But how long would they have to wait?
What if he couldn't develop a new magic? Would they just stay piled up here indefinitely?
He dared not handle the Lord's belongings casually.
No, I must find a time to explain this to the Lord and ask him to move these parts to his place first, Gita decided in his heart.
At this moment, an apprentice, holding a large iron hammer and responsible for forging, spoke up to remind him, "Master, why aren't you hammering? What are you staring at?"
"Oh! Damn it!"
Snapping out of it, Gita quickly swung his small hammer to strike the red-hot iron blank.
To be distracted during work, it was all those iron lumps' fault, he cursed inwardly.
"Master, the Marquis is here!" another apprentice suddenly ran in and shouted.
"Let's go, let's go out and see."
Using iron tongs to place the iron blank back into the furnace, Gita and his apprentices quickly put down their equipment and walked out of the shop to greet the Lord.
Owen and his group arrived at the blacksmith shop and, without further ado, immediately stated their purpose: to weld the small components of the steam engine.
This thrilled Gita; the Lord had finally come to deal with that pile of iron lumps.
He and his apprentices diligently moved the components one by one to a vacant lot nearby.
Owen first took out four identical curved iron plates from the components; these were parts of the cylinder, capable of forming a complete cylindrical shape.
He used Fireball with his right hand, moved it above his fingers, and then placed a hot magic stone in his palm to reduce magic consumption and increase temperature.
Then, following the techniques he had previously mastered, he transformed the Fireball into a blue jet flame on his fingertip.
This time, Owen opened a smaller aperture than last time, and the jet flame was only about twelve centimeters long.
After fixing and tightly aligning the two iron plates, Owen held a long, thin iron rod in his left hand, raised the high-temperature jet flame from his right fingertip, and began to weld.
When the jet flame landed on the joint of the two iron plates, the high temperature caused the edges of the two iron plates to melt, and the molten iron merged into a molten pool.
Then, he extended the thin iron rod, and the molten iron from the melted rod filled the molten pool.
He continued welding like this, and fortunately, Owen had practiced welding in his dreams, so his first real-world attempt went smoothly.
After welding one side, he reduced the magic output and welded the same position on the back again.
Upon completion of the welding, Owen inspected the joint; it was very firm, a perfect weld seam.
"Oh, not bad, you're already a qualified welder," Wenster praised with a hint of teasing.
"Hmph, of course."
Embarrassingly, Owen didn't catch on.
The others watched Owen's welding work with curiosity, and when they saw the two iron plates firmly "stick" together, they all let out exclamations of surprise.
Especially Gita.
He was very surprised; after working as a blacksmith for so many years, this was the first time he had seen two iron plates joined in this manner.
Unlike bolts and riveting, this method was more stable and reliable.
Amidst his amazement, Gita felt more regret.
This method was clearly only achievable by a magician, destined to be beyond his reach.
Next, using the same method, the other two iron plates were welded together, and a cylindrical cylinder was made.
Owen casually handed it to Gita's apprentices, instructing them to polish away the fluid marks of the molten iron.
Afterward, Owen successively welded some small components into larger ones, completing all the parts of the steam engine.
Finally, with everyone's help, a large, black steam engine was assembled.
This seemingly crude behemoth, in Owen's eyes, possessed a unique beauty.
Because it embodied the beauty of technology, a powerful machine that anyone could easily use.
Of course, this was only the prototype steam engine, and it naturally had some shortcomings.
When better technological conditions were available in the future, he would then build steam engines with better performance.
"Ah! This is a memorable moment; the first steam engine has been manufactured in Border Garrison Town," Wenster exclaimed.
"Wow! It looks so impressive."
Fanny circled the steam engine, reached out to tap it, and turned to Owen to ask, "What can this big guy do?"
"It can move by itself, and it's incredibly powerful.
Many places that require great strength can use it as a substitute," Owen explained.
Upon hearing this, Gita immediately turned his head away, covering his mouth to stifle a laugh.
Many parts of this so-called steam engine were installed by his own hands.
Therefore, he knew very well in his heart that this was just a clumsy, large iron lump.
This kind of thing moves by itself? What a joke.
These nobles nowadays, they really like to mess around with all sorts of bizarre things and boast about some fantastical nonsense.
Shaking his head helplessly, Gita called a few apprentices to go back to work.
Anyway, he had already helped the Lord assemble the machine, and there was nothing else for him to do now.
Like Gita, Fanny also didn't quite believe that the steam engine would move on its own, while Mapel tried to convince herself to believe Owen internally.
Owen understood this, though.
Before seeing the steam engine operate on its own, most people wouldn't believe it.
If he hadn't fully understood the operating principles of a steam engine, he certainly wouldn't have believed it either.
"You'll see later, and then you'll naturally believe what I say."
Owen asked for water and charcoal from Gita's blacksmith shop, poured the water into the boiler, added charcoal underneath it, and then ignited it with Fireball.
"Boiling water?" Fanny whispered.
Owen didn't speak, just waited quietly.
The first time he saw the steam engine blueprints, he also thought it was a boiler for boiling water, and Wenster even "praised" him, saying he had discovered the secret of human technological development—which was to boil water in various ways.
After more than ten minutes of waiting, the water in the boiler boiled, and a gurgling sound could be heard from inside.
Soon, a thumping sound came from within the cylinder, which seemed to be full of steam.
Immediately after, an exciting scene unfolded: the piston moved, pushing the connecting rod to start moving outward.
Under the back-and-forth action of the double connecting rods, the iron wheel accelerated its rotation, and soon its speed reached its current maximum.
Owen, standing nearby, could feel the airflow caused by the rotating iron wheel; how powerful the force contained within it was.
The machine trembled slightly, emitting a harsh, unpleasant roar, and white mist continuously spewed from the exhaust port.
Upon witnessing this scene, Fanny and Mapel on the side were already dumbfounded.
How wonderful!
Watching the steam engine successfully operate, Owen couldn't help but become immersed in it.