Reborn as a Cube Man in the Late Ming Dynasty

"Mom, look! What a huge mushroom! And over there, that big white thing, it's so big! It looks kind of dumb, but it's so strong!"

Ji Xing'an's youngest son excitedly grabbed his mother's hand and chatted excitedly all the way.

Ji Xing'an, along with the other artisans, were all captivated by the abundance of fish in the village.

Ji Xing'an was alright; although the food wasn't great, he could still eat his fill.

But the artisans were different; they could hardly take their eyes off them.

Let alone fish, they can't even get enough to eat on a regular basis, so they wouldn't even consider minced meat. They would be more than satisfied if they were given just a little bit of fish tail.

We've come to the right place!

The craftsmen exchanged knowing glances, overjoyed at their choice.

Before they even reached that place, Wei Shi and the others stopped because they saw Bai Li walking towards them.

The straw-hatted villagers who were busy digging in the soil also stopped, cupped their hands in greeting to Bai Li, and said, "Greetings, Young Master Bai."

"Greetings, Young Master Bai!" Liu Qi and his group replied in unison.

Bai Li asked the blacksmiths, "Does any of you know how to make crossbows?"

"Yes, I will!"

They were prepared long before they came here, since the only reason anyone other than the imperial court would want them was to make weapons and armor.

We can't exactly take them there to make farm tools, can we?

Therefore, upon hearing Bai Li's question, almost all the blacksmiths echoed his words.

I was afraid that if I spoke too late, I wouldn't be noticed and would be kicked out of this place.

Bai Li was somewhat surprised to see that almost everyone nodded.

"Can you make armor?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

No, does the imperial court really not value these craftsmen?

Bai Li was very puzzled.

In his view, these were all skilled people who had been so easily deceived.

Moreover, although they were not exactly pale and thin, they were all somewhat malnourished, which was probably caused by not having enough to eat on a regular basis.

It seems the imperial court isn't treating them very well!

Bai Li wouldn't let them make the armor; after all, an iron suit wouldn't be as good as a full leather suit—it would be a pure waste of iron.

However, crossbows are good things. If a crossbow is made by Bai Li, it will consume a lot of iron ingots and will break down in a few months.

The advantages, of course, are that it can be crafted instantly and can be enchanted!

However, for large-scale production, these artisans are still needed.

"Ah, are we going to rebel?" one of the villagers asked tremblingly when he heard Bai Li ask if they could make crossbows.

"Rebellion! Rebellion! I'll teach you to rebel!" A villager from Liu Family Village smacked the man twice on the back of the head, glaring at him angrily. "Can't you speak properly? Didn't you hear what the young master said? This is protecting ourselves, not rebelling!"

"Exactly! And if we're talking about rebellion, it was the emperor who rebelled against the young master!"

"That's right, we'll listen to you, young master. Whatever you say goes!"

"That's right, even if the young master wants us to rebel, we will!"

"That dragon throne should be reserved for Young Master Bai!"

As the villagers became increasingly agitated, the artisans standing nearby began to tremble with fear, lest they be overheard by the imperial court.

Bai Li quickly raised his hand and pressed down, and the villagers instantly quieted down, looking at Bai Li and waiting for him to say the next word.

Then, Bai Li asked Liu Qi to recount everything that had happened in the county town.

"The number of bandits will only increase, so we must take up arms to protect ourselves. I will select some people in a moment to learn how to use crossbows and other weapons. Of course, you will not work for free; you will receive wages every month."

"In short, that's pretty much it. I'll let Wei Shi, that is, him and Liu Da, decide on the selection this time," Bai Li pointed to Wei Shi beside him: "You can talk to them."

"But before that," Bai Li glanced at the artisans and said, "you are all artisans, so stand in a group so I can confirm the number of you."

The artisans quickly took their positions.

Bai Li quickly determined that the six artisans consisted of two stonemasons and four blacksmiths.

If I remember correctly, there should be four blacksmiths.

These are the armorer, the arrow maker, the weapon maker, and the tool maker.

An armorer is clearly unnecessary, and as for toolmakers, there are very few villagers at present, so they don't need to be considered for the time being, since there are only four blacksmiths.

After careful consideration, Bai Li decided to convert the four blacksmiths into three arrow makers and one weapon maker.

"Okay, I have a general understanding of the situation, but we'll discuss the specifics of what you want to do tomorrow. Let's leave it at that for today."

First, someone needs to transport all these iron items to outside his house so he can break them down into iron ingots one by one before he can make those profession blocks.

There's also a lectern, and the synthesis requires bookshelves, which also need to be made of paper.

"I'll have Tieshan bring you this miraculous cure-all in a bit," Bai Li said to Ji Xing'an.

After all, what he had now was a water bucket. He would use iron ingots to make another iron bucket that night, and then use this iron bucket to hold milk, so that Ji Xing'an could study it slowly.

"Okay." Ji Xing'an nodded.

"Miao Zhiming, after you go to Wei Shi's place, remember to discuss the control measures with the village chief." After saying that, Bai Li thought for a moment, felt there was nothing else to do, and left.

He planned to cut some grass and harvest some wheat seeds, as he had used all the stock in his backpack to breed chicks and didn't have much left.

Then go back and make all the necessary career blocks. Bai Li plans to let those people do it tomorrow, so they can familiarize themselves with their future lives first.

Once Bai Li was completely out of sight, the people of Liu Family Village erupted in cheers, surrounding Wei Shi and Liu Da completely.

"Pick me, pick me! I'm strong and I can fight!"

"Choose me, I only need half the salary!"

"I only need 30%."

"Okay, okay, so this is how you play it? Then I don't want wages, just give me enough to eat!"

"Uncle, what do you think of my nephew?"

"Get out of here! You act like everyone's your nephew!"

……

On the other side, Bai Li cut off the wool from the grown sheep and used the three pieces of wool from her backpack to make a bed.

He went inside, placed the bed in the inner room, and lay down immediately.

"This is so troublesome!"