Chapter 35: The Blacksmith's Forge

, autumn tax, population tax, land tax... ten people, thousands of wen a year!""Just food Your three mu of thin land, isn't enough to feed so many people""Liu the landowner only took three concubines,..."Success! I made it!"

Wang Guigang ran up to Yang Lin, excitedly grabbing his arm and saying in an excited voice.

“We are refining…”

Wang Guigang just wanted to speak, but seeing outsiders nearby, he immediately swallowed his words.

Let's go take a look!

Wang Gui led the way at the front, while Yang Lin, accompanied by his many female companions, arrived at the courtyard where iron was smelted.

Along the way, Wang Gui couldn't wait any longer and excitedly told Yang Lin about their iron smelting results.

The kind of ironware you want to make was already successful during the experiment.

Yang Lin is overjoyed.

As I pushed open the courtyard gate, I saw that Du Jing and Zhao Shunzi both had excited expressions on their faces.

"Lin Di, the kind of iron you were talking about, we actually made it!"

Upon seeing Yang Lin enter, Du Jing hurriedly picked up a finished piece of ironware and excitedly handed it to Yang Lin.

Yang Lin took it and looked at it carefully. He was also very excited.

"Yes, that's it!"

Yang Lin let out a long sigh.

Wrought iron, honed to perfection!

What Du Jing gave him was real iron!

Actually, the difference between pig iron and wrought iron is the different carbon content.

The lower the carbon content, the purer the iron and the better its ductility. If a certain level is reached, steel can be forged.

Of course, with their current rudimentary blast furnaces, it's impossible to even think about smelting steel. Both the temperature and technology are far from adequate.

But for Yang Lin, having cast iron was already enough.

Wang Gui also brought several iron parts, all of which were casting molds Yang Lin had him make a few days ago. Today, during the experiment process, he just happened to finish making them all.

"Have a look at these lines, will you"

Wang Gui looked at Yang Lin nervously.

Although he was a carpenter, he could sense that these iron parts were different from any iron he had ever seen. Not only was their color whiter, but they also appeared to be more finely crafted.

Yang Lin took it and examined it carefully.

The more he looked, the brighter his eyes became.

It was exactly as he had imagined.

Okay, great!

"Just like this, do eleven of each kind!" Yang Lin said.

"No problem." Wang Gui nodded.

Although it is cast iron, it is inseparable from him when it comes to making molds.

"There's one more thing that's very important."

Yang Lin asked Du Jing to call everyone in the courtyard.

From today onwards, every single part forged here will require my cousin Du Jing, Uncle Wang Gui, and Uncle Shun Zi to be present simultaneously before the furnace can be fired up!

"This is very important, if anyone breaks the rules, don't blame me for not tolerating them here!"

Yang Lin's gaze swept over each person present.

Although they are neighbors and close friends, there are some things that must be dealt with strictly. To avoid future trouble, one can only prioritize being cautious first and then kind later.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

But they all felt that it was just cast iron, wasn't Yang Lin overreacting

They don't understand because they never even considered what these parts they forged actually are!

Women were also curious about the parts Yang Lin had collected, wondering what they were for.

"Jingge, you're in charge here, the overall person responsible. In the future, the workshop will continue to expand. To help you manage better, you can decide on everything related to the workshop from now on."

For example, who gets a raise, who gets a pay cut, who gets a bonus for good performance, and who gets their pay docked for causing trouble.

If someone is not doing well, you can still let them go!

Du Jing was surprised. At Yang Lin's trust, he nodded excitedly: "Well, I will take care of this place for you."

Yang Lin looked at Wang Gui again.

"Wang Guishu, you've done a great job coordinating both internally and externally these past few days. It's a shame to have such talent wasted on carpentry alone. I'm thinking of having you take charge of internal and external communication and procurement for the workshop materials from now on. What do you think"

Wang Gui nodded hurriedly: “Okay! The life of my Wang family all depends on you. You tell me what to do, and I’ll do it!”

Yang Lin looked at Zhao Shunzi again.

"Uncle Shunzi, Brother Jing might have other research directions in the future, so this blacksmithing, I'll leave it all to you. You take charge of the Blacksmith's Guild."

Zhao Shunzi was a little dumbfounded.

"Can I do this"

He was the best blacksmith in the village. When it came to blacksmithing, he was confident.

But as for being in charge, he had never given it a thought.

Yang Lin smiled and shook the parts in his hand: "I said you could do it, and you did!"

"My decision won't change, that's final."

"Xiaojiu, please remember, starting next month, give Jingge, Wang Guishu, and Shun Zishu a raise."

"Jing Ge earns eight hundred wen every month, while Wang Gui Shu and Shun Zi Shu each earn four hundred wen per month."

"This time's iron refining went well, everyone, an extra 100 wen bonus!"

When Yang Lin said this, everyone in the courtyard was shocked.

Immediately, everyone shook their heads.

"No, no, you already gave me too much money, I can't take any more."

Du Jing was the first to refuse.

"Yes, Yang Lin," Wang Gui hastily shook his head. "One hundred and fifty wen a month is already beyond my wildest dreams. You want to raise it to five hundred That would kill me!"

The simple Zhao Shunzi didn't know what to say, her face flushed red. She quickly nodded as well.

The five villagers who had just arrived also waved their hands to refuse.

Ten dollars a day is already a high salary they couldn't even dream of.

The results came, and after just a few days, they didn't even feel like they had done anything extraordinary. They were going to be awarded 100 yen

Although they wanted it very much, they all felt that it was inappropriate to take the money.

However, facing everyone's refusal, Yang Lin said again: "Don't say any more, my decision won't change."

"Jing Ge, I need those parts to be made as soon as possible."

"Wang Guishu, I still have two drawings here. Please make the mold according to the size, and finish it today as well."

Wang Gui took the drawing and couldn't help but be taken aback.

"This... on the water mill"

"That's right!"

Just by replacing these two parts, the water mill's efficiency can be increased by 50%.

Everyone's face was filled with shock.

The magic of water grinding, everyone has seen it.

And replacing two parts actually increased efficiency by 50%! It's amazing!

"Okay, I'll do it right away." Wang Gui excitedly agreed.

Yang Lin smiled: "Replacing these two parts is just a simple upgrade."

"In a few days, I'll draw up some more blueprints for you to try and make."

"If it could be done, the efficiency of the water mill could at least be tripled!"

Yang Lin extended three fingers.

Everyone was utterly shocked.

Putting away the pre-made parts, Yang Lin led the women out of the courtyard.

As soon as he left, Si-mei couldn't wait to ask: "Husband, these parts, they look so strange, what are they used for"

All the women turned to look at Yang Lin.

Just now they were very curious and didn't understand what these parts were for, they just felt that these things were important.

Yang Lin chuckled and said, "This, this is something extraordinary. You'll know when you get home."on"This... this is a furnace for forging steel""I said it was steelmaking!"But, steel... what exactly is it Zhao Shunzi scratched her head."Let's put it this way, cast iron has the most impurities, fo...