At the entrance of Xie Guang's small courtyard, there was a carriage that was filled with large boxes and small cloth bags.
Qin Feng inspected it and nodded in satisfaction.
As expected of Lord Marquis, the pig iron he bought was much better than the old blacksmith's.
He also bought a new set of tools for the blacksmiths and carpenters.
What surprised Qin Feng the most was that the butler actually found saltpeter and chalk.
With these things, Qin Feng could try to make even more powerful weapons.
This was his true life-saving trump card. He had never told anyone about it.
However, when he went to Jin Chuan and searched all the shops in the city, he could not find these two things.
Xie Guang's house was not big to begin with. After Qing Huai, the guards, and the butler stayed, there was no extra room. Qin Feng asked the guards to build a military tent in the courtyard and unload the things into the tent.
There were people standing guard twenty-four hours a day here, so it was much safer than his house.
After eating and drinking to his heart's content, Qin Feng picked out some of the things he needed and carried them back to his house with ManCang.
Looking at the small stove by the wall, Qin Feng felt a little toothache.
This furnace was too small, too simple, and the output was too low.
However, he had no choice. Even with Qing Huai's help, it would take at least a few months to build the furnace he wanted.
There was no time at all.
Qinghuai's guards had already gone to Bianjing with letters from home. If they were to rebuild it, perhaps the transfer order would be brought back before the furnace was built.
"Forget it. I'll make a batch of urgent needs first. I'll change the furnace later."
Qin Feng could only comfort himself like this.
From that night onwards, the tinkling sounds in the blacksmith shop never stopped.
Qin Feng, Man Cang, and Zhang Liang took turns to work. They could make about 200 meters of iron wire every day.
Because of this, Zhang Liang didn't even go to the county government. He temporarily handed the delivery to Liu Tie.
After staying in the shop for seven or eight days, the village chief suddenly came to find him and said that the brick kiln had finished cooling down and could be opened.
"Aiya, I've been so busy these past few days that I almost forgot about this."
Qin Feng patted his head.
As the investor and designer of the kiln factory, he had to be present at the opening of the first kiln.
Qin Feng kicked Mancang, who was sleeping soundly in the corner, to wake him up and take over. Qin Feng followed the village chief to the river.
He hadn't been here for a few days. The river was filled with bricks, neatly stacked into a large area.
"I was just scolding these idiots. All of them wanted to earn a few more days 'worth of wages. Why didn't they think that you only wanted to build a house? I already said that I'm not doing it anymore. I'm not doing it anymore. I'm not stopping."
" Don't worry, Brother Feng," the village chief said, pointing at the clay bricks." I won't pay you for the clay bricks you don't need."
"Why not?"
Qin Feng smiled and said," Village Chief, when the kiln bricks are pulled out, divide half of the people who make the clay bricks. We'll dig a new kiln. Isn't that good?"
" But didn't you just build one house? Why did you burn so many bricks?"
"If I can't finish it, everyone can build a house too."
"Village Chief, tell everyone that when my house is finished, whoever wants to build a brick house can bring firewood here to exchange for bricks," said Qin Feng.
"Really?"
Village Chief suddenly stopped.
"Of course it's true."
Qin Feng thought for a moment and said," One jin of dry wood for five bricks. In the future, help me look after the brick kiln. I won't collect firewood for your bricks."
People were lazy. In the beginning, whether it was the women in the workshop or the men in the brick kiln, they were all fighting to be the first to do the work. However, slowly, some people began to slack off.
The workshop was better. After all, Tang Dongdong had been keeping an eye on it. The situation at the kiln was much worse. Some men had already begun to dawdle.
Qin Feng's main focus was on the blacksmith shop and was not in the mood to manage the brick kiln. He could only ask the village chief to help look after it.
If these villagers still didn't know how to restrain themselves, then they could only adopt a piece-by-piece method.
"Brother Feng, don't worry. In the future, if anyone dares to play tricks, or if the firewood delivered doesn't work, this old man will break their legs."
The village chief patted his chest loudly, and his beard trembled with excitement.
His family's thatched cottage had been living there for more than ten years. Many parts of it had rotted. Not only would it leak when it rained, but it would probably collapse in a few more years.
Every time he went to the county government and saw the brick houses of the people in the city, the village chief would drool with envy.
The brick house would not rot. If it was maintained well, it would be equivalent to leaving a family heirloom for his descendants.
The village chief had never dared to think that he would be able to live in such a good house in his life.
"Of course, I'm not worried about the village chief."
Qin Feng smiled and patted the old village chief's shoulder.
Five bricks for a catty of firewood was basically the cost price. If things went wrong, they might even have to pay some wages.
However, he had never intended to make money by building the brick kiln. So what if he had to pay some wages? It would be more convenient for him to talk and do things in the village in the future.
Sure enough, when the village chief announced the news, the riverside immediately exploded.
"Tomorrow, let the kids go up the mountain to collect firewood."
"Brother Feng, you gave me, Old Bull, wages and even asked me to exchange firewood for bricks. If you have any problems in the future, just come and look for me."
"Brother Feng, I will definitely work hard for you in the future. I won't slack off anymore."
"Brother Feng, you have found a way for my family to survive. You are my family's benefactor!"
...
The men covered in muddy water excitedly surrounded Qin Feng, scrambling to show their loyalty.
After everyone calmed down, Qin Feng instructed the villagers to pry open the earth wall that blocked the kiln entrance.
This was the first batch of bricks produced by the brick kiln. Qin Feng was already prepared for failure.
However, to his surprise, this batch of green bricks was fired very successfully. There were not many cracks.
A bumper harvest always made people happy, even if the harvest was not grain but piles of bricks.
The villagers were even more excited than Qin Feng. They did not care about the stifling heat in the kiln and rushed in to move the bricks.
At the same time, Zheng Fang and Liu Qiong finally arrived at Bianjing with Qinghuai's letter.
He rode his horse to the Qing Public House, handed over Qing Huai's waist token, and asked to see Butler Chen of the Public House.
They had no choice. Their identities were not enough to meet the Duke. They could only pass the letter to the Duke through this butler who had a good relationship with Qing Huai.
"Please follow me to the gatehouse to rest. I'll inform Butler Chen."
The gatekeeper naturally recognized the Third Young Master's waist token and hurriedly invited the two of them in.
However, before Zheng Fang and the other two could even move, Qing Huai's elder brother, Qing Zheng, walked out with a birdcage.
"Eldest Young Master!"
Zheng Fang and Liu Qiong hurriedly bowed and greeted him before retreating to the side to make way.
"Why aren't you two protecting Third Brother in Jinchuan? What are you doing in Bianjing?"
"Could it be that Third Brother was killed by the Tanguts and you're here to report his death?" Qing Zheng asked with a sideways glance.