Chapter 21
Su Wangchuan felt utterly miserable.
The forging of Hundredfold Steel arrowheads had been halted.
This not only meant his high income was cut off, but also that the experience of the Hundredfold Steel Forging Technique would stagnate.
Left with no choice, he had to return to mining.
But after getting used to days of peak earnings—two to three taels of silver a day, equivalent to six or seven thousand—suddenly dropping back to earning barely over a hundred yuan a day was, frankly, painful.
Fortunately, this gave him time to move from his apartment into the company.
There, he was given a nearly two-hundred-square-meter duplex apartment. Not only were all appliances and furniture fully provided, but three meals a day could be ordered at will, with company robots delivering them door to door, one-on-one.
In his spare time, he could even head to the company’s fitness floor to lift weights and consolidate his core strength.
While lifting, he noticed that his strength had grown even greater.
Doing pull-ups, he could complete five hundred in one go without issue, with improved rhythm and speed. He suspected that his Strength and Agility attributes had truly increased.
He then tested the bench press.
The weight rose from two hundred and twenty kilograms to two hundred and forty kilograms.
Seeing that increases in his in-game attributes directly reflected in his real-world physical abilities, an even stronger urge welled up inside him—to push the Hundredfold Steel Forging Technique to the next realm as soon as possible.
Although he did not know how this game achieved such effects, who did not want to become stronger?
After shuttling back and forth between the mine tunnels and the blacksmith shop for ten days, his latest weekly submission plummeted to just two taels of silver. He finally could not hold back anymore and proactively asked his master whether he could resume forging Hundredfold Steel arrowheads to improve his forging skills.
Blacksmith Sun knew how eager he was and pondered before saying,
“Actually, if we could sell all this batch of armor-piercing arrows for silver, our blacksmith shop could start running again and continue helping you improve your forging skills.”
“But…”
“We truly do not have much money left in the blacksmith shop.”
“How much are armor-piercing arrows worth?” Su Wangchuan asked.
Unexpectedly, Blacksmith Sun lowered his voice and scolded him,
“You actually want to sell them?”
“The court forbids private iron trading! If you are caught, it is beheading! Especially weapons—those are extremely sensitive. If discovered, it would cause enormous trouble.”
“…”
Su Wangchuan felt his heart seize.
Right.
Iron tools in ancient times were strategic resources.
Armor-piercing arrows went without saying.
A mere village blacksmith daring to sell armor-piercing arrows—were you plotting rebellion?
Selling goods was a dead end. It was far too dangerous.
Su Wangchuan’s mind turned quickly, and he pressed on,
“Is it acceptable for hunters to carry armor-piercing arrows?”
“In mountain villages, where beasts frequently harass settlements, a small number of armor-piercing arrows used to hunt large beasts are usually tolerated by the county office. They turn a blind eye and say nothing,” Blacksmith Sun replied.
“But the quantity cannot exceed a single quiver! And…” he added solemnly, “armor-piercing arrows must not approach the county seat. If discovered there, at best you will be fined; at worst, you will be imprisoned.”
“…”
Su Wangchuan looked utterly dejected.
The hard-won road to wealth had been blocked completely.
He picked up an armor-piercing arrow.
Armor-Piercing Arrow: (White Grade) +5 Attack, +1 Armor Penetration.
Such a fine item, yet it could only sit in the blacksmith shop gathering dust.
Out of sheer boredom, Su Wangchuan asked many more questions about armor-piercing arrows.
Such as how much they were worth.
Blacksmith Sun answered them all one by one.
Scarcity determined value. The price of armor-piercing arrows fluctuated wildly.
In ordinary times, those forged by the county blacksmith shop might sell for only three taels of silver per bundle—twenty arrows—breaking down to one hundred and fifty copper coins per arrow.
But in emergencies, when supply could not meet demand, prices would skyrocket, selling for two or three times that.
This year’s autumn harvest had been plagued by wild boars.
The village chief had purchased them at a high price from the blacksmith shop, with one bundle of armor-piercing arrows selling for four taels of silver. After deducting the cost of arrowheads, shafts, and labor, Blacksmith Sun had actually earned quite a bit.
Unfortunately…
In the following days, a large amount of stock had been accumulated, and all those profits had been eaten away.
Su Wangchuan quickly understood.
The blacksmith shop had taken in over eighty taels of silver in total, with more than thirty taels spent on costs.
If there had been no stockpiling, his master would have netted over fifty taels.
But labor alone had consumed nearly thirty taels. Add material costs—iron ore, arrow shafts, wages, daily expenses—and what could possibly remain?
“Right, Master—would hunters from nearby villages need armor-piercing arrows?” Su Wangchuan suddenly asked, struck by inspiration.
Blacksmith Sun waved his hand.
“We already asked around. The wild boar trouble in other villages is not as severe as ours. This batch of armor-piercing arrows will probably have to sit here for a while, gathering dust. Once winter comes, if beasts start coming down the mountains to forage, we might be able to sell a batch then and ease the cash flow.”
Winter…
There were still over half a month to go.
Su Wangchuan did not want to waste that time.
Blacksmith Sun clearly saw what he was thinking and took the initiative to say,
“When winter arrives, everyone in the village will have to become soldiers. If I remember correctly, you do not know archery or spear techniques yet, do you?”
“Hm?” Su Wangchuan was taken aback.
Blacksmith Sun was already warming to the idea.
“Since you are idle anyway, you might as well use this time to practice the spear and bow. It will do you good.”
“Will the village’s situation become dangerous in winter?” Su Wangchuan asked.
“Of course.”
A look of worry and gravity surfaced on Blacksmith Sun’s face as he spoke heavily,
“In past years, when beasts come down from the mountains and cannot find food, they attack nearby villages—stealing chickens, ducks, livestock. Some even eat people outright. Wolves, jackals, tigers, leopards, bears—those beasts have enormous appetites. When winter hunger hits, there is nothing they would not dare do.”
“Besides beasts, there are also human disasters.”
“When vagrants gather in great numbers, they become bandits.”
“When mountain bandits come down, one call and hundreds answer. Whichever village they encounter is doomed,” Blacksmith Sun said, his expression turning angry. “Last year, a bandit group attacked Blackstone Village. We fought desperately and drove them off, but many people died.”
As he said this, he looked toward the village.
“The empty houses you see—that is how they came to be.”
“…”
Su Wangchuan felt his scalp tingle.
Wild beasts were bad enough, but there were bandit threats as well.
He could not help blurting out,
“Does the government not intervene?”
“How many people does the county office even have?” Blacksmith Sun scoffed. “When bandit trouble grows severe, they dare to attack even the county seat! Do you think the wealthy people in the city would ever send out their privately raised forces to support poor peasants outside the walls?”
He sighed.
“So usually, once winter comes, no one goes out anymore. All able-bodied men must accept training. Everyone practices with spears, just in case.”
At this point, he specifically addressed Su Wangchuan.
“This winter has not arrived yet, but it will not be long. The village chief will likely announce a halt to external mining tasks soon, and everyone will prepare for winter. Wangchuan, since you have nothing pressing to do anyway, I will first find you a master to teach you archery and spear techniques. If something truly happens, you will at least be prepared.”
“Alright!” Su Wangchuan agreed immediately.
Since staying in the village would also become unsafe, how much money he earned was no longer important.
What mattered most right now was learning some skills to protect himself and fight back.