"Remember, the first batch of stoves should be prioritized for families with small children and the elderly and infirm."
When the first batch of stoves was urgently cast, Link instructed Russellie to arrange this matter.
He knew that strong, healthy adults could endure the cold for a longer period, but infants, young children, and the frail elderly had no resistance to the cold.
The first batch of stoves produced would naturally be supplied to this group of people, allowing them to feel warmth during the cold winter days.
Russellie was also very diligent and responsible. After receiving Link's command, she personally wrapped herself in a fur coat, took some City Guards, and began to distribute the first batch of stoves.
She knew what these stoves meant to those families in need, so she dared not delay for a moment.
It was also because of the previous census that Russellie quickly figured out which common people were most in need of stoves.
She directly brought the stoves to their homes, precisely targeting and delivering this batch of stoves to those who needed them most.
At each household, she patiently explained how to use the stove to the common people, ensuring they could use it correctly and have a warm winter.
Looking at the grateful smiles on the faces of the common people, Russellie felt that her efforts were all worthwhile... Old Mike huddled in the corner of his wooden house, tightly wrapped in a tattered animal skin.
The animal skin, having endured years, had faded fur and several remaining holes along its edges, yet it was the only thing Old Mike could find to ward off the cold at that moment.
Even so, the biting cold still clung to him like a shadow, silently seeping in through the tiny cracks in the wooden house walls, mercilessly eroding his body, making him shiver uncontrollably, his teeth chattering involuntarily.
However, even amidst this bitter cold, a look of contentment appeared on Old Mike's face.
He knew in his heart that he shouldn't ask for more.
Recalling the past, when he was strong and healthy, even if he lived in a dilapidated dwelling, relying on his still sturdy body, gritting his teeth and enduring, he could barely get through those long and cold winters.
But now, time had taken its toll; his body was no longer what it once was, and the signs of aging were clearly visible.
If it weren't for the wooden house the Lord had specially built for him, in this ice and snow, his body would probably have already frozen stiff, and his life would be in peril.
"Which winter wasn't as hard to bear as living in hell? But this year's situation is indeed much, much better."
Old Mike murmured softly, his voice carrying a hint of vicissitudes and emotion.
He subconsciously reached out his calloused, cracked, and rough hand, pulling the tattered animal skin tighter around him, as if this could block out the raging cold.
Just as Old Mike was struggling alone in this cold winter, the door of the wooden house creaked open.
A gust of cold wind seized the opportunity to rush in, making Old Mike shiver.
Immediately after, a burly young man strode in.
His name was Kevan, and he served in the City Guards. At this moment, he held a strangely shaped stove in his left hand and a heavy bag of coal and kindling in his right, his face beaming with an enthusiastic smile.
"Uncle Mike! It's me, Kevan, I've come to bring you good things!" Kevan shouted loudly, his voice full of cheer.
Old Mike squinted, carefully identifying him, and then recognized Kevan.
"Oh, Kevan, it's you, boy. Didn't you join the City Guards? How do you have time to come here? To share the burden of the kind Lord is an unparalleled honor, you must work hard and never be lazy!"
Old Mike said with a chuckle, his eyes full of expectations for Kevan.
"Of course, with such a good Lord, I naturally have to work hard! Uncle Mike, today I am representing the Lord to bring you something! Look, what is this?"
As Kevan spoke, he brought the stove in his hand closer to Old Mike's eyes.
"Something sent by the Lord? This is..."
Old Mike looked puzzled, his wrinkled face full of confusion.
He had lived most of his life and had never seen such an object, so he naturally didn't know what this iron box was for.
"Hehe, Uncle Old Mike, you'd better watch closely!"
Kevan smiled triumphantly, then, following the steps he learned during training, carefully placed the stove in the center of the wooden house. After installing the chimney, he skillfully added coal and firewood to the stove, then grabbed a handful of sawdust and put it in. Next, he pulled out a tinderbox, blew gently, and lit the sawdust.
Instantly, a small flame flickered, casting a faint glow in the dim wooden house.
Kevan waited quietly for the coal in the stove to ignite.
Time passed by minute by minute, and before long, the coals began to burn, the bright red flames happily licking the stove walls, making a crackling sound.
Streams of astonishing heat slowly emanated through the stove walls, gradually bringing a touch of warmth to the previously cold wooden house.
"So warm!"
Attracted by the heat emanating from the stove, Old Mike couldn't help but slowly approach it, slightly spreading his arms, greedily feeling the warm heat emanating from the stove.
The warmth, like a gentle hand, softly caressed his body, gradually restoring feeling to his already frozen limbs.
After a while, when the heat emanating from the stove enveloped the entire wooden house like an invisible net, Old Mike was surprised to find that the house was now as warm as spring.
Even if he no longer tightly wrapped himself in that tattered beast hide, he felt no cold; all that remained was boundless warmth, as if the severe cold of winter had never arrived.
"Is this thing given to me by Lord Link?"
Old Mike looked at the blazing stove, his voice trembling slightly, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Uncle Mike, this is for Lord Link's people. It's not just for you; all the people of Winterfell City have a share! Lord Link said that with this stove, the people will be able to safely get through the cold winter! After all the people in Winterfell City have received theirs, we still need to go to Thorn City to distribute them!"
Kevan straightened his chest, his face beaming with pride, as if this honor also included him.
Old Mike subconsciously looked outside the door at that moment, only to see several nearby households bustling with activity.
It turned out that the short-haired girl leading the group had arranged for people to go door-to-door, distributing the magical stoves.
Old Mike recognized the girl as Russellie, who had recently taken up a position in the Lord's Mansion.
He watched as she calmly directed the City Guards to deliver the stoves and coal to every household, a gentle smile on her face, making her incredibly approachable.
Seeing this, Old Mike finally believed that this stove was truly given to them by Lord Link.
His eyes gradually welled up with tears, and he tremblingly knelt on the ground, clasping his hands together, bowing deeply towards the direction of the Lord's Mansion, muttering incessantly: "Thank you, Lord Link! Thank you, Lord Link! We can never repay Lord Link's kindness!"
Not just Old Mike, at this moment, all the people who received the stoves, as if by some calling, devoutly knelt on the ground, their eyes full of gratitude and awe, thanking Lord Link for his benevolence.
Now, compared to those ethereal gods, they worshipped their Lord Link even more.
They knew deeply that in this biting cold winter, it was the stove sent by Lord Link, like the warm sun in winter, that illuminated their lives and warmed their hearts.
Inside the wooden house, a young couple held their newborn, just one month old, tightly, gathered around the blazing stove.
Their faces were tired but filled with relief, feeling the warm aura emanating from the stove.
That warmth, like a mother's embrace, made them feel incredibly secure.
The infant in the young couple's arms had a rosy little face, like a ripe apple, and was sleeping deeply with closed eyes, a faint smile on its lips, as if dreaming a sweet dream.
And the young couple, looking at the sleeping infant in their arms, their gratitude was like a bursting dam, impossible to conceal.
Originally, this harsh winter had plunged the couple into the abyss of despair.
The little life just born in their arms, so fragile, so delicate, simply could not withstand the biting cold.
The child's little face was already frozen blue and purple, and its breathing had become weak and rapid, as if it could stop at any moment.
At that moment, their hearts felt as if they were tightly clutched by an invisible hand, in unbearable pain, feeling as if the sky was about to collapse.
Just then, Russellie arrived with the City Guards, braving the wind and snow.
Like saviors, they brought this thing called a stove, and also brought the hope of life to this desperate couple.
When the blazing flames in the stove, like the spark of hope, warmed the entire cold room, the child in the couple's arms, who had been on the verge of death from the cold, finally had its breathing become smooth and long again.
That faint yet firm breathing sound, like the most beautiful music in the world, made the couple weep with joy.
The child was saved, and the young couple devoutly knelt on the ground, their eyes full of excited tears.
They clasped their hands together, murmuring: "Gods above, thank you, Lord Link, my child is saved!"
"From today onwards, I will be Lord Link's most loyal subject, I will go through fire and water for Lord Link, without hesitation! Even if it means sacrificing my life, I will not fear!"
Scenes like these continued to unfold in the homes of the people.
Batch after batch of stoves were delivered, like warm messengers, and warm fires were lit in one household after another.
The flickering flames, like symbols of hope, illuminated every corner.
They could not only gather around the stove to warm themselves and dispel the chill, but also use the heat from the stove's flames to boil water.
When everyone could feel the warmth emanating from the stove and drink the hot water boiled by it, all the people in the territory praised and thanked Link for his benevolence.
Their hearts were filled with gratitude and admiration for Lord Link, and this bond, like a winter hearth, would forever warm their hearts.