"Huben?" General Cheng contemplated. Slowly, his eyes lit up.
"Huben Saber, what a great saber. What a greater name!" General Cheng burst into laughter.
Xiao Zongshui looked at Zhou Shu in astonishment. Zhou Shu tended to surprise him. This name, 'Huben Saber', had a lot of appeal.
"Superintendent Xiao, this is?" General Cheng inquired while pointing at Zhou Shu.
He had, of course, seen Zhou Shu earlier. But he had thought that Zhou Shu was Xiao Zongshui's assistant. With his status, he naturally wouldn't be too concerned about assistants.
It wasn't until Zhou Shu spoke that he became conscious of his presence.
"He's an apprentice at the 97th Workshop. His name is Zhou Shu," Xiao Zongshui introduced. "Zhou Shu contributed significantly to the development of this Huben Saber."
Zhou Shu was taken aback. He never expected Xiao Zongshui to say something like this.
He was already prepared for Xiao Zongshui to take full credit for the sharp standard long saber. After all, he was the superintendent of the workshop.
He never imagined that Xiao Zongshui would give him credit.
Although he didn't mention that the sharp standard long saber was forged by Zhou Shu himself, his mention of the contribution was vital and already great. For the time being, Zhou Shu wouldn't ask for more.
"Oh? Is that so?" General Cheng didn't suspect anything. He nodded. "He's a promising talent."
This was merely a polite remark. He had simply inquired about Zhou Shu's identity in response to his comments.
General Cheng had no intention of becoming acquainted with Zhou Shu. After asking for Zhou Shu's name, he turned to Xiao Zongshui.
"Superintendent Xiao, how much does this Huben Saber cost?" General Cheng asked. He adored the Huben Saber so much that he couldn't put it down.
"Huben Sabers are slightly more expensive to produce than standard long sabers," Xiao Zongshui said. "One costs three taels of silver!"
"Three taels?" General Cheng raised his eyebrows.
Zhou Shu was stunned. Charging three taels is robbery!
Zhou Shu had personally forged the Huben Saber, which was actually a sharp standard long blade. He knew how much it cost.
It simply cost a few catties of iron. The rest of the expenses were practically negligible!
Despite the high cost of iron, forging a Huben Saber cost less than half a tael of silver. The cost of a Huben Saber, including the cost of coal and the wages of apprentices, was less than one tael.
What else could he be doing other than robbing money by asking for a high price of three taels of silver?
Zhou Shu's good impression of Xiao Zongshui dissipated almost instantly. Exploiter Xiao demanded that he forge thirty Huben Sabers monthly. Three taels of silver for every saber equaled ninety taels!
How much was his monthly salary?
Half a tael of silver!
Xiao Zongshui was ruthless!
"Three taels isn't too much for this Huben Saber," General Cheng said. "How many can you supply each month?"
General Cheng was an expert in his own right. He didn't just pay attention to the cost of production but also the speed of production.
He wanted the Huben Sabers, and he intended to equip his soldiers with them, but it would be meaningless if there were too few of them.
"Forging a Huben Saber is a difficult task. In the 97th Workshop, Zhou Shu is already the most skilled Forging Apprentice, yet this Huben Saber took him more than four hours to forge." Xiao Zongshui pointed at Zhou Shu and commended him again.
Zhou Shu rolled his eyes internally. It's pointless to place me on a pedestal. Simply increase my pay!
"Huben Sabers are far more intricate and difficult to forge than standard long sabers. Only a handful of apprentices in the 97th Workshop are capable of forging them." Xiao Zongshui was lying through his teeth. Zhou Shu possessed the secret formula for the sharp standard long saber. No one else in the workshop could forge it except him.
General Cheng was oblivious of this and unconcerned about it. "Just tell me how long it will take you to hand over three thousand Huben Sabers?"
Zhou Shu could only make one Huben Saber per day, supposedly. It would take 10 years to make 3,000!
General Cheng clearly couldn't wait 10 years.
"Three thousand?" Xiao Zongshui's face lit up. "Half a year, no, three months! I can deliver three thousand Huben Sabers in three months!"
Zhou Shu wanted to curse. What does Exploiter Xiao mean?
To turn in 3,000 Huben Sabers in three months, he had to forge 1,000 per month, which meant 30 per day!
He wouldn't be able to forge this amount even if he died trying!
"Very good." General Cheng nodded. "If you can hand over three thousand Huben Sabers in three months, this Huben Saber will be the Huben Troops' standard issue weapon in the future!"
General Cheng flicked the blade. The blade made a clear sound as it buzzed.
He was also a shameless person. He utilized the name Huben brazenly as his own.
These people didn't even pay copyright fees! Zhou Shu cursed.
Zhou Shu had deduced from their talk that General Cheng was in charge of assembling an Imperial Guards unit. He hadn't decided on the designation yet, but he had taken up the Huben Troops' brand.
"In that case, thank you, General." Xiao Zongshui was ecstatic.
3,000 Huben Sabers was 9,000 taels of silver. This was a huge business. He could not only make a great profit after deducting the cost of production, but he could also obtain results. It wasn't out of the question for his rank to climb again.
"Don't thank me quite yet." General Cheng shook his head. "I've seen the Huben Saber. You must now prove that this Huben Saber was indeed forged by your workshop. Don't tell me you obtained a saber from a Forging Master and ended up handing over an ordinary standard long saber to fool me!"
General Cheng appeared to have a lot of experience. He was concerned that the sample would differ from the finished product.
Xiao Zongshui appeared to have anticipated this. He answered with a smile, "Of course! I brought Zhou Shu over this time to forge a Huben Saber in front of you, General!"
Only then did Zhou Shu realize Xiao Zongshui had brought him to the camp to use him as a tool.
Fuel and iron were plentiful in the military camp, and even a smelting furnace was ready to go.
Normally, military camps also had to repair damaged weapons since new weapons couldn't be produced frequently.
Zhou Shu was well aware of his status. He was simply a worker and would carry out the orders of his supervisor.
In front of everyone, he forged a sharp standard long saber.
While forging, he purposefully restrained his strength, and he took much longer than when he forged the last saber. This time, the forging took six hours.
General Cheng ordered the saber be brought over. He tested the saber this time and confirmed that it could still pierce three layers of armor. Only after this did he smile again.
"Great! With this Huben Saber, my Huben Troops' strength will grow by thirty percent!" General Cheng laughed. "We have finally not failed His Majesty! Superintendent Xiao, you did a fantastic job this time!"
"It is my responsibility to serve the Imperial Court." A smile bloomed on Xiao Zongshui's face.
"Superintendent Xiao, I want this Huben Saber." General Cheng's expression became serious. "But I have a condition."
"General, please share!" Xiao Zongshui withdrew his smile and spoke solemnly.
"In the future, you will only supply this Huben Saber to my Huben Troops. It will not be utilized for anything else!" General Cheng said deliberately. "I'll give you four taels of silver for each Huben Saber if you can do it. If you can't, pretend you never came today."
Xiao Zongshui's eyes narrowed slightly. The Forging Division's workshop had a lot of freedom. Every saber cost four taels of silver, and he could claim the expense anyway he pleased.
Even if he handed in two taels of silver, he would still have two taels in his pocket. It wasn't a small sum.
However…
"General, isn't this against the rules?" Xiao Zongshui said hesitantly.
"Rules?" General Cheng sneered. "This Huben Saber secret forging formula was devised by your workshop, Superintendent Xiao. You have the right to deal with it under the Forging Division's rules, right? It will remain your private property as long as you don't give it to the Forging Division. It'll be up to you how you handle it. Then I'll purchase Huben Saber's secret forging formula and entrust the forging to the 97th Workshop. Is this in violation of the rules?"
"Zhou Shu, wait for me outside. General Cheng and I have something to discuss."
Xiao Zongshui didn't reply to General Cheng but instead drove Zhou Shu, who had been stunned by what he heard, out.
Zhou Shu didn't come back to his senses until he walked out of the tent. These men sure know how to live it up. Aren't they attempting to fleece the country?
That's not accurate. They're even fleecing me!
Zhou Shu was indignant. The secret forging formula for the Huben Saber was his, not the 97th Workshop's and certainly not Xiao Zongshui's.
According to the rules of the Forging Division, if he handed over the secret formula, he would be rewarded. But then the formula would belong to the Forging Division.
Of course, he could choose to hand over weapons rather than the secret forging formula.
Both choices had their own benefits and drawbacks, so it was impossible to decide which was better.
Isn't it daylight robbery for Xiao Zongshui to take the Huben Saber's forging formula for himself?
What right does he have to sell the Huben Saber formula to General Cheng?
Zhou Shu turned his gaze to the large tent. Alright, it appears that I have no means of resisting.
Either of them could easily crush him, a Forging Apprentice, to death.
For example, the tall thin man who had attacked Zhou Shu had died without anyone asking.
However, Xiao Zongshui and General Cheng were probably unaware that, while they believed they were fleecing Zhou Shui, he had the means to fleece them in return.
How many benefits would he receive if all 3,000 Huben Sabers he forged were equipped to the military?
How much could it enhance his strength?
Zhou Shu would have had no idea how to disseminate his forged weapons to so many people if they didn't do this.
It's just a sharp standard long saber. I'll give it to you if you want it. It's not anything I'm interested in. Zhou Shu thought. But I'll remember this. I'll let you know sooner or later that taking advantage of me isn't easy!