Chapter 121: Iron Lump

The range hood was entirely black, with silver-white buttons. Installed on the wall above the stove, it slanted downward to capture smoke and grease directly as they rose.

After the guests left, Hao Nan and Tian Shangguo gathered in the kitchen, curiously touching and poking at the new appliance. Since neither knew how to operate it, they eventually asked Gou Dan, who was still tidying up.

"Gou Dan, how does this big hunk of iron work?"

Gou Dan stepped forward and flipped the switch. As it was currently a standard mute robot, it could not utilize voice control; it had to be turned on using the old-fashioned method. The range hood emitted a "beep" and the cover slowly opened.

"Range Hood 001 at your service."

"Oh, it can talk!" Hao Nan hurried over, examining it repeatedly, back and forth. "This hunk of iron is quite interesting."

Tian Shangguo nudged him aside, equally curious. "It said its name is Range Hood 001."

"It’s all the same, still just a hunk of iron." Hao Nan reached out to touch it. "Everything Comrade Zhong produces is top-notch. Look, even a hunk of iron like this can talk. But why can't Gou Dan talk?" He turned his gaze toward the robot.

Gou Dan glanced at them, shut off the range hood, and walked away. The kitchen was clean, and it had no interest in humoring these two fools.

"Gou Dan, we haven't seen enough yet!" Hao Nan pressed the spot where Gou Dan had, and the range hood turned on again, but this time, it remained silent. "Why isn't it talking now?"

Tian Shangguo shook his head. "We’ll ask Comrade Zhong."

"Comrade Zhong is asleep."

"Then we'll ask her tomorrow. Let's go wash up and sleep." Not understanding the device, there was no point in staring at it; it would be better to wait and ask Comrade Zhong Yuxiu later.

The two left the kitchen one after the other, headed to the bathroom to freshen up, and then went upstairs.

Gou Dan walked into its room, closed the door, and lowered its voice. "Master, the range hood can talk now. When will I be able to speak?"

"They’ve managed to develop the voice control system?" Zhong Yuxiu flipped up from the bed, staring intently at Gou Dan.

"Yes!" Gou Dan nodded its metal head. "When it turned on, it said, 'Range Hood 001 at your service.'"

"I see." She had a better understanding of the situation now. "We’ll look into it tomorrow. Go get charged for now; I’ll check the range hood later."

Gou Dan nodded again. "Goodnight, Master."

"Goodnight."

Gou Dan headed to the laboratory on its mechanical legs, and a moment later, all was quiet.

***

After a good night's sleep, dawn had yet to break the next morning when Zhong Yuxiu woke up. She got out of bed to get dressed, and Gou Dan, hearing the movement, automatically powered on and walked out.

"Good morning, Master. You’ve woken up too early; you could have slept a bit longer."

"Morning." Zhong Yuxiu replied, looking down to put on her shoes. "Let’s go down and make breakfast."

"Very well, Master."

The two headed downstairs, Gou Dan following behind, and entered the kitchen. Zhong Yuxiu immediately checked the range hood. Its design was plain and not particularly aesthetically pleasing. She pressed the switch, and the range hood’s voice control system activated once more.

"Range Hood 001 at your service."

"They really did manage to research it." She turned the hood off and on again; this time, there was no sound. Zhong Yuxiu frowned. "A defective product."

Gou Dan, sensing that Hao Nan and the other were not yet downstairs, spoke up: "Master, even a defective product can talk. I don't dare say a word outside. I’m even more defective than a defective product."

"Move aside." Zhong Yuxiu pushed the hovering Gou Dan away and studied the range hood for a long time. "It’s barely usable. Fine, at least the voice-activated power switch works."

"Master, that’s all it can say." It wasn't as capable as Gou Dan.

Zhong Yuxiu glanced at it. "That’s a technological issue. What are you so proud of?"

"Alright, Master is right."

Still, it felt proud. In the interstellar era, a robot like it was nothing special, but in this era, it was a species hundreds or thousands of years ahead of its time.

"If it can only say one phrase, I thought they had fully mastered the voice control system. How disappointing." Having thoroughly inspected the machine, she lost interest. "Their capabilities are just lacking. If they were truly capable, they wouldn't have produced something like this."

Gou Dan wanted to say that it wasn't a lack of capability on their part, but that the Master was simply too formidable. In front of her, they were all weaklings.

"Gou Dan, you cook. I want to see if the range hood has any flaws."

"Very well. What would you like to eat, Master?"

Zhong Yuxiu scanned the metal contraption on the wall. "Make beef noodles. The broth needs to be fragrant, rich, and spicy."

Steamed buns wouldn't test the range hood's functionality; only stir-frying would provide a direct observation. She figured that making the broth for beef noodles required a vigorous sauté, and besides, she was craving it.

"No problem, Master. Please, have a seat."

Zhong Yuxiu stepped back. Gou Dan prepared the seasonings and beef, sliced them, and put them into the pan. During the stir-frying process, a lot of oil smoke was generated. The range hood had high power and absorbed all of the smoke without any splashing outside. Zhong Yuxiu was satisfied with this.

***

"It's decent, though I wonder how long it will last. I hope it holds up for a while."

"It will, Master. If it breaks, I can repair it," Gou Dan replied, turning back.

Zhong Yuxiu nodded slightly and left the kitchen. After freshening up in the bathroom, she took paper and a pen from the storage room and sat at the dining table, slowly writing down improvements needed for the range hood.

She had provided all the data, yet they hadn't fully researched the voice control system. It could only be considered a semi-finished product—hardly even that, given it could only say one phrase at start-up and nothing else.

According to the data she provided, a voice control system should have been as advanced as Gou Dan.

What a pity.

The voice control system needed further research, and the range hood was too noisy; it really should be soundproofed.

After listing her points, she set the paper on the table and put the pen away. Losing interest in managing it further, she went upstairs to grab a medical book to read. If even a small gadget like a range hood couldn't be made perfect, it meant her understanding of the current researchers was still insufficient. She would have to scale back her technological contributions in the future; she couldn't give them things that were too advanced.

"Good morning, Comrade Zhong."

"Good morning, Comrade Zhong. You’re up early."

Hao Nan and Tian Shangguo came downstairs one after the other. Zhong Yuxiu turned to look at them. "You’re up. Gou Dan is making breakfast. You should go exercise first."

"What delicious thing is Gou Dan making? I smell chili oil." Hao Nan glanced toward the kitchen. The door was closed, so he couldn't see anything.

"Beef noodles. The broth is being made right now; it’ll be ready soon."

She was hungry.

Hao Nan nodded silently and headed out with Tian Shangguo.

Zhong Yuxiu was left alone in the living room, focused on her book. By the time she heard footsteps again, it was broad daylight outside, though the sky remained gloomy.

"Ah, Brother Yan is here. What are you carrying?" Zhong Yuxiu turned to look at the person walking in from outside.