Transmigrating Through the Heavens: Starting with the Silly Pillar of the Courtyard

Chapter 330 The Blacksmith Shop 2

The Imperial Guards and the constables had a tacit understanding: they would constantly exploit the shop owners, but they wouldn't actually let the other side suffer a complete defeat.

Of course, they have no way to deal with those shops that are doing really big business.

For example, casinos and brothels are places they simply cannot touch.

Behind them are either a prefect, a general, or a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Otherwise, with over a thousand shops in the entire Songjiang Prefecture, the monthly kickbacks would amount to more than a few thousand taels, and could even reach tens of thousands of taels.

Unfortunately, the most profitable businesses are all backed by big shots, or rather, they were originally the businesses of big shots.

As members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the constables of the yamen naturally knew exactly what they were doing. They knew which shops on the street should be charged and which should not.

Wu Tao's own blacksmith shop doesn't need to bear this responsibility, and neither the Embroidered Uniform Guard nor the constables would want to make a fool of themselves.

This could be considered one of the perks of his position; at least he saved a few taels of silver each month.

Wu Tao's blacksmith shop opened quietly, and the workers and apprentices he recruited were all relatives of Chen Wu, Wang Liu, and others.

Wu Tao wasn't in a hurry to make money; instead, he wanted to focus on training them.

The blacksmith shop is small, only a few dozen square meters, but the backyard is quite large, over 500 square meters.

Apart from the warehouses and furnaces where ore was stored, the rest of the area served as a place for people to rest and engage in activities.

Wu Tao had Chen Wu and Wang Liu introduce more than twenty apprentices at once.

When they arrived, Wu Tao first had them do some moving and cleaning work, and in the early stages, he mainly made sure they ate and drank well to rest and recover.

They were just like Chen Wu and Wang Liu, who had just arrived at the Wu family; they were all thin and small.

Wu Tao was well aware of how difficult life had been for these people in the past.

He wanted to cultivate his own loyal followers, so he naturally knew how to select his subordinates.

Just like Chen Wu, Wang Liu, and the others, they are now extremely grateful to Wu Tao.

At Wu Tao's house, they could eat fish and meat every day, and they could also take away one or two taels of silver every month. How could they not be satisfied and grateful to Wu Tao?

Now Wu Tao even asked them to introduce their own brothers and sisters to the blacksmith shop, so everyone naturally became more and more devoted to Wu Tao.

Indeed, blacksmith shops aren't just for men; women do too.

After all, this place is always dusty and dirty, and women are needed to cook and clean it.

Most importantly, Wu Tao knew exactly what their weaknesses were.

When their entire family can rely on themselves, they will work even harder for their families.

Wu Tao himself was a highly skilled blacksmith, proficient in everything from ore smelting to tool making.

Under his personal guidance, he quickly selected several good apprentices from among his students.

After six months of adjustment, the blacksmith shop was finally able to operate normally.

These apprentices cherish their good life and arrive at the blacksmith shop very early every day.

Everyone was very dedicated when learning blacksmithing skills. Even if they couldn't become skilled craftsmen, they would strive to be competent assistants.

Wu Tao was also very happy to see such hardworking people. He would be more careful when teaching them. With a good teacher and hardworking apprentices, their progress was naturally rapid.

The blacksmith shop usually makes farm tools, and occasionally repairs swords or does custom business.

Blacksmith shops are not allowed to sell large quantities of swords, armor, and other such items. Armor, in particular, is a prohibited item.

However, Wu Tao, as a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, still dared to sell a small number of swords. This was normal, since some public officials would choose to have their swords repaired if they broke.

You could also explain it as repairing swords for the other party, which would also be a bonus for the blacksmith shop. Otherwise, if they really thought that a few dozen taels of rent a month was easy money, they would have gone bankrupt long ago relying solely on the farm tool business.

During his regular teaching, Wu Tao unknowingly collected dozens of machetes and breastplates in his personal space.

Because Wu Tao was in charge of managing the inflow and outflow of ore, no one knew the specific quantity of ore.

In fact, Wu Tao had already built a furnace and a blacksmith's workbench in his personal space.

Since he's going to do something big, he'll definitely prepare the weapons and equipment in advance.

Normally, Wu Tao would go to the Thousand Household Office to report for duty in the morning and then stay home to rest in the afternoon.

Of course, on the surface, he's reading or sleeping indoors. But in reality, he's forging iron in his personal space, working day and night, even at night.

Fortunately, the portable space is amazing; after resting for two hours at night, you can be full of energy the next day.

Wu Tao was already physically strong, and he has mastered swordsmanship in less than three months.

Actually, there's nothing mysterious about it; it's just some techniques for applying force and the angle at which you strike.

He already possessed the strength of a top-tier special forces soldier; he simply switched to using cold weapons.

However, Wu Tao was not the rigid type. He directly crafted one hundred crossbows that could fire ten bolts in a row.

They fired over a thousand crossbow bolts.

The price of ore was not cheap, but Wu Tao only took out one hundred gold bricks, which was enough to buy over one hundred tons of iron ore.

One tael of gold could be exchanged for twelve taels of silver, and one kilogram of gold brick was equivalent to one hundred and twenty taels of silver.

Meanwhile, Wu Tao's smelting method is modern and can fully extract the materials from the iron ore.

After six months of training and adjustment, Wu Tao's team finally began to accept missions again.

The previous case ultimately became an unsolved mystery because Wu Tao and his group were attacked on the road, so it became a secret which force was behind it.

Later, Liu Peng, the commander of a thousand households, sent people to investigate the farm again. The farm had been reduced to ruins, and the landlord had died suddenly at home.

It seemed that all clues had been cut off, causing Qianhu Liu Peng to fly into a rage but also leaving him with no way to continue the investigation.

Although Liu Peng, the commander of the thousand households, continued to investigate, he discovered that the enemy had vanished without a trace.

Later, he was distracted by other important matters, and the matter was left unresolved.

Unfortunately, the Great Yan Dynasty is facing problems everywhere these days, not only from external troubles but also from within.

The White Lotus Sect and the Dragon God Sect were also causing chaos.

Everything seemed to be foreshadowing the end of the Great Yan Dynasty.

The emperor, sitting in the palace, still had to worry every day about where to raise military funds.

Despite having a million-strong army, their military pay was frequently cut off.

Because the Embroidered Uniform Guard is the emperor's personal guard, they can still receive regular pay. However, the city guards and the two directly subordinate legions have not received their pay for half a year.

To raise funds for the army, even the imperial concubines in the palace were tightening their belts. Meanwhile, the powerful and wealthy landowners could indulge in nightly revelry and debauchery.

This situation is undoubtedly the most ironic scene, with the emperor having to wear patched clothes to court, while the people below are still complaining that the silk from Jiangnan is not warm enough.

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