The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Casterly Rock.

Lord Tywin Lannister held a smooth wooden cylinder in his hands, polished inside and out.

It was originally an iron cylinder, but in response to the Duke's decree of 'wood instead of iron,' the craftsman had changed it to wood.

In the middle of the cylinder was a thin, smooth iron plate with many small holes drilled into it.

The bottom of the wooden cylinder had a raised ring, and the circular iron plate fit perfectly into it.

A solid wooden disc, the same size as the iron plate, had a long handle. Holding the handle, the solid wooden disc fit snugly into the wooden cylinder.

The wooden cylinder was about forty centimeters long, open at both ends, and without a lid.

Lord Tywin and Maester Pycelle looked at the device. It was simple, consisting of three parts: a wooden cylinder, a perforated iron plate that could be freely inserted and removed, and a handled wooden plug that matched the cylinder's inner dimensions.

Cylinder; thin iron plate; handled wooden plug.

It was a very simple device, but its combination was a first for both Lord Tywin and Maester Pycelle.

The craftsman who made it was beside them.

Tobb Mott, from Clegane village, a well-known weapons and machinery master from King's Landing. Beside the master stood the restrained Alicent, a woman from Clegane village, as well as little Alys, who had married Ser Polliver, and her grandfather, Butz, from King's Landing. Of course, Tywin's youngest daughter, Jeyne Westerling, was also there, standing beside her father.

They were all in the Duke's kitchen.

The Duke's cooks, servants, and attendants were also watching the cylinder.

Beside them was a wooden basin—because of the 'wood instead of iron' decree, the iron basins in the Duke's household had also been replaced with wooden ones—and in the basin was dough that had already been kneaded. Under the guidance of Alicent, the noodle-making expert from Clegane village, eggs, herbal spices, snow salt, and a specially prepared spice packet from Clegane village had been added to the dough for the first time.

Under everyone's quiet, attentive gaze, Master Tobb placed the freshly cleaned iron plate into the equally freshly cleaned wooden cylinder. He stood the cylinder upright, and Alicent placed two fist-sized balls of dough into the cylinder from the top opening. Tobb picked up the handled wooden plug, which was circular and perfectly matched the cylinder's inner diameter.

After placing the wooden plug into the cylinder, Master Tobb gripped the handle and pushed down forcefully. From the bottom opening of the cylinder, uniform strands of dough emerged from the small holes in the iron plate—a refined food from a distant Eastern civilization several levels higher—hand-pulled noodles—were being produced.

Everyone watching held their breath.

Master Tobb pushed the wooden plug forcefully to the bottom, and strands of noodles continued to emerge from the small holes.

Alicent used a long bamboo chopstick to lift the noodles from the center, preventing them from touching the ground due to their length.

Another two balls of dough were placed into the cylinder from the top opening, and Master Tobb repeated the same action. The noodles grew longer and longer, and Alicent raised the long bamboo chopstick holding the noodles: "Your Grace, the noodles produced in this way can be infinitely long. When they reach a certain length, they can be cut with scissors and hung on the long bamboo chopstick to dry in the sun. These are dry noodles, which can be stored for a long time and will not spoil as long as they are kept dry."

The 'hanging' in 'hand-pulled noodles' comes from the fact that the noodles are hung on long bamboo chopsticks.

"Your Grace, the wet noodles can also be directly dropped into the pot and cooked," Tobb said respectfully.

Tywin's iron-like, cold face visibly softened, which was very rare.

Maester Pycelle was secretly delighted by the Duke's rare gentleness.

"Is this how hand-pulled noodles are produced in Clegane village?" the Duke asked.

"Your Grace, not exactly. The hand-pulled noodles in Clegane are produced by a purely mechanical, manually operated rocker, which is ten times faster and more productive than this cylinder method. The noodle-making machinery is all made of iron. This manual, family-style cylinder method was ordered by Ser Gregor, specifically designed for Your Grace."

"Family-specific?" Tywin said. His tone was also gentle, which was also rare. His imposing demeanor had a hint of approachability.

"Yes, it is for Your Grace's family specifically."

"Does this noodle taste good?"

"After being dried, they can be eaten raw, crispy, fragrant, and hard, with a wonderful aftertaste on the tip of the tongue and in the mouth," Alicent said.

"Good," Lord Tywin said, "Maester Pycelle, instruct the steward to give Tobb and… what is your name?"

"My name is Alicent, Your Grace," Alicent quickly stood up straight, lowered her head, and curtsied.

"Maester Pycelle, arrange for the steward to give Tobb and Alicent two gold dragons each as a reward."

Tobb and Alicent thanked him repeatedly!

The Duke's cooks and servants came forward. The cook learned to put the dough into the cylinder and push the wooden plug. Sure enough, noodles emerged from the bottom of the cylinder. Under Alicent's guidance, the servant used a second long bamboo chopstick to lift the noodles that were about to touch the ground. She raised the bamboo chopstick, and the noodles hung on the bamboo chopstick—hand-pulled noodles!

The structure of this device was very simple, and the production method was also very simple, but the wisdom and ingenuity it contained impressed Maester Pycelle greatly.

It was a very simple device, but very practical.

"Where is your Ser Gregor?" Lord Tywin asked about the Mountain.

"Father, Ser Gregor is discussing the repurchase of our family's land with the northern nobles. He will be back soon," Jeyne said softly.

Tywin looked at Jeyne. In the past, when Lord Tywin looked at people, he would stare, his gaze like nails, but this time he used 'look', his eyes without sharpness.

"He won't be too late to come back for lunch, will he?"

"No, Father," Jeyne said politely and elegantly.

The Duke nodded, his eyes gentle. The small machinery and production process of family hand-pulled noodles put him in a good mood.

"Let's go to the study!" Lord Tywin glanced at Master Butz.

"Yes!" Jeyne, Butz, Alys, Tobb, and Maester Pycelle said in unison, respectfully.

The woman Alicent stayed in the kitchen as a hand-pulled noodle master to teach the cooks how to cook hand-pulled noodles.

*

The study was where Lord Tywin cultivated his mind and discussed top-secret matters.

The group walked into the study, and Maester Pycelle gently closed the door.

Outside the door were seven steps, and the guards stood away from the steps.

There were no books in Lord Tywin's study. The only decoration on the wall was a very exquisite silk painting, depicting a stunningly beautiful woman with watery eyes looking at everyone with a faint smile on her face. Her name was Joanna Lannister, Tywin Lannister's cousin and his wife, who had passed away twenty-five years ago.

Lord Tywin sat upright behind his desk, his back straight. The rare gentleness in the kitchen had disappeared without a trace, and cruel, ruthless indifference had returned to his face, conveyed through his eyes.

"Master Butz, take it out!" the Duke said.

Thank you for the reward!