Due to the kindness of everyone, Bai Yan had to stay in Liujiazhuang for one night.
The villagers were very excited. They killed pigs and sheep and lit bonfires to celebrate. The whole village was filled with the sound of joy.
The hunters came back and brought a lot of game, which they gave to the women to clean and cook.
"Master, I haven't heard laughter like this for a long time." Xiao Cui said enviously.
If nothing happens, she will never be free in her life.
"Yes, the happiness of simple people is also simple." Bai Yan felt the same way.
Not far away, several old men walked over together.
"Uncle Village Elder, is there something wrong?" Bai Yan asked.
Liu Laoer has been elected as the new village chief.
"Young Master, I discussed with the old brothers in the village and decided to give you some rent every year. I hope you can accept it," Liu Laoer said solemnly.
Bai Yan refused: "I'm joking. The land belongs to you, so how can you pay rent to me?"
"Master Bai. Although we were forced to sell the land, Han Chang also gave us a sum of money. Now that you have returned the land to us, we have no money to repay you. We hope that we can pay the land back to you every year.
The rent on the first floor is used to pay off the debt." Liu Laoer said.
The people in the village are still simple. Bai Yan sighed in his heart and was about to refuse when Liu Laoer spoke again.
"Master Bai, you must accept it. We also have our own selfish motives. We have never been a big shot in Liujiazhuang, so we will inevitably be targeted by others. We also hope that we can seek your asylum. In addition, we also hope that you can continue to open
Blacksmith shop!" Liu Laoer's eyes were pleading.
Bai Yan was surprised and asked: "What blacksmith shop?"
Blacksmiths and carpenters are skilled trades that are often passed down from family to family.
Under normal circumstances, there is only one blacksmith shop in several villages. He did not expect that there is a blacksmith shop in Liujiazhuang. It sounds like it is related to Han Chang.
"There is an abandoned mine near us with some iron ore in it. Owner Han built a blacksmith shop in the village to make farm tools and sell them for money. Master Bai, don't you know?"
"I really don't know, please take me to have a look." Bai Yan responded.
Several old men took Bai Yan to the deepest part of Zhuangzi, where they could see a huge blacksmith shop in the distance. It was as big as several houses.
"Xiaohe, Master Bai is here."
Liu Laoer shouted towards the blacksmith shop.
Soon, a boy who was similar to Bai Yan's age came out. Bai Yan had an impression of this person and was one of the young people taking the lead today.
"Master Bai, please keep the blacksmith shop." As soon as the young man appeared, he begged Bai Yan.
"Are you the blacksmith in the village?"
Bai Yan asked as he walked into the blacksmith shop.
This blacksmith shop was much bigger than he had imagined. There were many furnaces, and it could be called a small factory.
"Master Bai, Xiaohe is not from the village. He wandered here and was taken in by the village. He has no land or house." Liu Laoer explained.
Xiaohe was a foreigner who came here begging all the way. At that time, Liujiazhuang was relatively wealthy, so he took Xiaohe in and gave him a bite to eat if anyone had leftovers.
It wasn't until Han Chang came and established a blacksmith shop that Xiaohe could make a living and earn a living.
"So that's it, are you the only blacksmith in the village?" Bai Yan asked.
On such a large scale, one blacksmith is not enough.
"No, there are several blacksmiths among the village chief. Xiaohe also learned from them." Xiaohe did not dare to hide anything.
Bai Yan understood that although villagers participated in blacksmithing and hunting, they were actually controlled by Han Chang.
It's just that Bai Yan doesn't understand what Han Chang does by setting up a blacksmith shop? Is it making money? He doesn't seem to be short of the money.
The blacksmith shop is naturally more profitable than farmers farming, but for Han Chang, it's just a drop in the bucket.
"Master Han originally wanted to make weapons and sell them to the army to make money. But our technology was not good enough and we couldn't make weapons, so Master Han asked us to make farm tools." Xiaohe answered.
Bai Yan nodded, this was best. If he really made a large number of weapons privately, he would have another headache.
"The quality of these farm tools is not very good."
Bai Yan picked up a hoe and looked at it. These farm tools had too many impurities and were brittle and fragile. If they encountered hard objects such as stones, they would easily break.
Xiaohe felt nervous and said quickly: "Young master, I don't accept what you say. The farm tools we build are all of the best quality. The farm tools made by others can only last for one or two years, but ours can at least be
It takes four to five years. People from eight villages in the surrounding area come to buy from us. Our craftsmanship was specially taught to us by the masters invited by the owner of the village."
"What about you? How long can the farm tools you made last?" Bai Yan asked.
"My craftsmanship is the best and can last three to five years."
Xiaohe took out a freshly beaten sickle from the corner and handed it to Bai Yan confidently.
Bai Yan took it and took a look. The quality was indeed good, with few impurities and pure color. However, it was too thin and hard and easily broken.
"It's a waste to keep the blacksmith shop, so just keep it. Xiaohe, from now on, you will be able to manage this blacksmith shop," Bai Yan said.
Xiaohe was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.
"Xiaohe, have you made weapons before?" Bai Yan asked.
"I have never fought, I just watched other people fight, but in the end they were all useless and there was nothing usable. Master Bai, do you also want to make weapons?"
Bai Yan nodded: "I need a matching knife, do you want to try it?"
He accidentally entered the battlefield before and encountered Han Chang's rebellion. Bai Yan understood that it is not enough to have only knowledge and means, but also to have the ability to protect himself.
Xiaohe's eyes shone: "Young master, Xiaohe will definitely go all out. But Xiaohe can't guarantee that he can win."
"It's okay, I'll teach you. It doesn't matter if you don't get it out in the end, I'll just buy one." Bai Yan said nonchalantly.
As long as you have money, you can buy it. He just wanted to try it on a whim.
"Master Bai, do you know how to blacksmith?" Xiaohe and the villagers were shocked.
In their eyes, blacksmithing is just hard work and has nothing to do with the superior young master.
"If you know some skills, find a few people to modify the stove." Bai Yan ordered.
Of course he doesn't know how to blacksmith, but he also learned about the technological changes in blacksmithing in history class.
The smelting technology of this era was similar to that of the Han Dynasty and remained in its primitive state.
To put it simply, the pig iron you bought is put into the furnace, heated until red, and then beaten into shape repeatedly. Even the step of removing impurities is not included.
Bai Yan does not know high-tech smelting technology. But Bai Yan still knows how to simply purify iron ore, improve the furnace, and add blowers.
Soon, some strong men came and followed Bai Yan's instructions.
Han Dazhuang's men were afraid of being settled by Bai Yanqiu, so they worked very hard. In just a few hours, they had already renovated the furnace.
It's just that it's still far from what Bai Yan thought. However, Bai Yan also knows that he can't force it.
The next step is to purify the ore.
The blacksmith shop uses ore dug from the mountains, which saves costs. But these iron ores are not even as good as pig iron on the market.
Xiaohe's eyes lit up after hearing Bai Yan say that pig iron could be purified.
Purification technology is a high-level technology that can only be mastered by some blacksmith masters. Such people will be recruited by the dynasty. Moreover, this technology is absolutely impossible to spread to outsiders.
It is simply impossible for ordinary blacksmiths to learn this technique.
But at this moment, Bai Yan was teaching them how to do it himself, which was tantamount to being a mentor and reborn as a parent.
"You all understand the key points of blacksmithing, but in my opinion, the heat is the most important. Only when the heat is properly controlled can we produce good iron."
Bai Yan stood by the stove, observing the effect and pointing at the river.