Chapter 20
Su Wangchuan was, of course, delighted.
The ability of one-breath triple strike meant improved capability and far greater efficiency. From now on, he could forge more qualified Hundredfold Steel arrowheads each day and earn even more money.
What could possibly feel better than that?
Without hesitation, Su Wangchuan clamped a fresh piece of red-hot iron, calmed his mind, and swiftly entered a focused state, searching for the sensation he had just grasped.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang clang clang! Clang clang clang!
Sparks flew everywhere.
Su Wangchuan rapidly entered the rhythm of one-breath triple strike, evenly controlling his strength. The hammer moved with a powerful sense of tempo, striking the glowing iron block again and again…
One hundred front-and-back hammer strikes were completed in just over thirty seconds. HISS!
He switched to the next piece.
Su Wangchuan’s speed grew faster and faster.
This breakthrough had increased his Agility by one point.
Through continuous forging, his control over his newly enhanced strength and speed became increasingly refined, and the time required kept shrinking.
Clang clang clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The crisp sounds merged—three becoming two.
Blacksmith Sun’s eyes grew brighter and brighter. He stood to the side watching for a long time, scarcely daring to breathe, afraid of disturbing Su Wangchuan’s state.
After a long while, he finally let out a breath of relief.
“One-breath triple strike has been fully mastered. If you can merge the three sounds into a single sound, that would be even more astonishing. That would mean pushing one-breath triple strike to its peak—an opportunity to challenge the deeper realms of our blacksmith craft, perhaps even the realm of a master smith.”
Seeing Su Wangchuan so absorbed, Blacksmith Sun felt ever greater admiration.
The one formal disciple he had finally taken in actually possessed such talent.
Overjoyed, Blacksmith Sun uncharacteristically went into the inner room, took out a small pinch of tea leaves, and brewed himself a fine pot of tea. Listening to the crisp, pleasant hammering sounds, he actually fell asleep.
Su Wangchuan did not disturb his master.
These past days, his master had not only guided him, but also tirelessly forged iron arrowheads and sharpened Hundredfold Steel arrowheads. It had truly been exhausting.
Su Wangchuan focused wholeheartedly on forging.
Because Hundredfold Steel arrowheads were small, producing one batch usually took about three hours. Now, the time was steadily approaching two hours.
The first batch took only two and a half hours.
The second batch took two hours and eighteen minutes.
By the afternoon, the third batch took only two hours and ten minutes.
During all of this, Su Wangchuan still had to clamp pig iron himself, continuously monitor the furnace, and control the bellows.
Just as his fourth batch of Hundredfold Steel arrowheads was about to be completed and taken out of the furnace, several unfamiliar faces, led by Lin Dahai, gathered at the entrance of the blacksmith shop to purchase iron pickaxes.
“The rice has all been harvested.”
“The village chief asked me to bring some newcomers over to buy a few iron pickaxes.”
The people Lin Dahai brought with him all took out their money.
Blacksmith Sun nodded.
“At last, a major matter has been resolved. With the rice stored away, this winter will be much easier.”
“Wait a moment. I will fetch the iron pickaxes for you.”
Soon, Blacksmith Sun completed the transactions with the newcomers.
At this point, Lin Dahai smiled and asked an extra question.
“Uncle Blacksmith, is the blacksmith shop still recruiting apprentices?”
He had come with a task.
The company had handed the newly assigned people to him, instructing him to bring them to the blacksmith shop to ask around. For the sake of his company bonus, he naturally had to inquire thoroughly.
Hearing this, Blacksmith Sun narrowed his eyes slightly and glanced at Lin Dahai’s physique, then shook his head.
“You… won’t do.”
“…”
Lin Dahai forced a bitter smile and stepped aside, allowing Blacksmith Sun to clearly see the six people behind him.
All six were quite young, with solid builds.
Blacksmith Sun took a liking to two of them and pointed at them as he asked,
“A blacksmith shop is not like other places. Can you endure hardship?”
“Yes!”
“I can.”
The two straightened their backs and answered without hesitation.
They had long learned from the company that the blacksmith shop in Blackstone Village was even more lucrative than those in the county seat. Some newcomers who had switched to blacksmiths there were earning two or three taels of silver per day, and some had even received bonuses of five taels. Including bonuses, monthly income would likely exceed one hundred and twenty thousand.
With a chance to stay in such a place, of course they were willing.
“Then stay,” Blacksmith Sun said.
With just one sentence, the two were overjoyed.
Lin Dahai smiled.
As long as someone stayed, his bonus was secured.
As for the four who were not chosen, they left with Lin Dahai, hearts full of disappointment.
…
Blacksmith Sun led the two into the inner courtyard.
They looked around curiously, their gazes quickly settling on the young man sweating profusely behind the forging table.
Fair yet flushed skin, powerful and vigorous movements, and constantly bursting sparks intertwined into a scene brimming with strength and impact.
Taking advantage of the moment when Su Wangchuan placed a forged iron piece into the water barrel to cool, Blacksmith Sun smiled and called out,
“Wangchuan.”
“Pause for a moment.”
“I have found you two helpers.”
Su Wangchuan set aside his work and walked over.
Blacksmith Sun pointed at the two and said,
“Bai Yuhui and Hong Kaibao will be apprentices at our blacksmith shop from now on. For the time being, they will help you with odd jobs.”
Then he said to the two,
“This is your senior brother, ‘Wangchuan.’”
“Yes, Senior Brother.”
“Greetings, Senior Brother.”
The two naturally knew of Wangchuan and greeted him with smiles.
Su Wangchuan roughly guessed their background and nodded.
“Junior brothers, welcome. With you joining, Master will not have to work so hard anymore.”
“Wangchuan, you continue forging. I will guide them in smelting iron ore and controlling the furnace temperature,” Blacksmith Sun said.
His words left Bai Yuhui and Hong Kaibao slightly surprised.
Were such trivial tasks not usually assigned to disciples?
They did not dwell on it and followed Blacksmith Sun closely, studying attentively.
Su Wangchuan returned to the forging table and thought to himself that the people arranged by the company had arrived surprisingly quickly.
However, judging by his master’s attitude, they were meant only to assist—as apprentices handling support work. In the future, tasks like crushing iron ore and controlling the bellows to smelt molten iron would likely be handed over to them.
It probably would not affect him.
He knew this had much to do with his recent breakthrough and mastery of one-breath triple strike.
There was no way his master would expend energy cultivating a second successor blacksmith.
With that thought, most of Su Wangchuan’s lingering worries dissipated. He quickly cast aside distractions and focused on forging.
Clang!
Clang!
Hong Kaibao and Bai Yuhui picked things up quickly. In just one day, they had mastered most of the miscellaneous work in the blacksmith shop.
By the second day, they proactively took over some of the more tedious tasks from Su Wangchuan.
Taking advantage of this, Su Wangchuan compressed the time needed to forge a batch of Hundredfold Steel arrowheads from two hours and ten minutes down to just two hours. His daily income became even more ferocious.
Experience accumulated even faster—he could produce fifty-four Hundredfold Steel arrowheads in a single day.
Blacksmith Sun felt both joy and worry.
Joy, because his inheritor possessed extraordinary talent.
Worry, because as the village stopped purchasing excess Hundredfold Steel arrowheads, this batch of finished products could not be converted into silver. His small reserve of savings was quickly drained by his disciple, forcing him to suspend the forging of Hundredfold Steel arrowheads.
More than two hundred arrowheads could not be sold, and he still had to purchase a batch of bamboo from Auntie Wang to make arrow shafts.
It was unsustainable.
After all, Blacksmith Sun was merely an ordinary village blacksmith.
Paying wages for three people at once…
He simply could not withstand Su Wangchuan’s overwhelming production pace.