Douluo V: Daily Intelligence - I Want All of Tang San's Opportunities

Seeing that Su Yuntao was easygoing and left room for maneuver, the group smiled and thanked him repeatedly, their expressions completely different from when they first entered.

They then went on to talk about some minor things that needed to be paid attention to in the daily life of the territory: which irrigation canals in which fields needed repair, which tenant's land had been in dispute with their neighbor, and which roads were prone to flooding during the rainy season. Su Yuntao listened to everything without interrupting, and only stood up after they had all finished talking.

The group accepted the travel expenses and dry rations prepared by Su Yuntao, carried their packages, and left the courtyard with much lighter steps than when they arrived.

Su Yuntao stood at the courtyard gate, watching their backs gradually disappear along the dirt road, before turning back to the main hall and sitting down.

He memorized the two names, planning to meet them together when Butler Zhou returned.

If the two aren't too incompetent, arranging a position for them in the Viscount's mansion would be a good way to invest in them.

In the afternoon, Su Yuntao led a group of people to Barak City.

Since he had no intention of selling ironware, the two blacksmith shops that Steward Zhou bought were located deep in a quiet alley in the west of the city.

The shop is small and the facade is dusty and grimy. If you didn't hear the dense and rhythmic hammering sounds coming from inside, outsiders would easily overlook it.

Su Yuntao dismounted at the alley entrance, handed the reins to the apprentice who came out to greet him, and lifted the heavy curtain to go inside.

The air inside the shop was completely different from the outside world. A wave of scorching heat, carrying rust and charcoal embers, rushed towards them. The furnace was burning brightly, and several anvils were lined up in a row, with sparks flying everywhere as the hammer fell.

Zheng the blacksmith was standing at the innermost workbench, holding a newly formed part and comparing it with the blueprints. When he saw Su Yuntao come in, he put down his work, wiped the dust off his hands with the cloth draped over his shoulder, and quickly came to greet him.

"Second Young Master, you've arrived!"

His voice was much rougher than it had been at the Baron's mansion, but he was clearly more energetic.

Zheng the blacksmith was originally the head of the blacksmith shop in the Baron's Mansion. He was also a level 32 Battle Soul Master. This time, if it weren't for his strong request, he wouldn't have been able to personally lead the team to the Kingdom of Barak.

Su Yuntao nodded slightly, but didn't speak immediately. He first walked around the shop.

He bent down and picked up several finished parts, weighing them in his palm one by one, and then examined the smoothness of the edges and the connection of the joints in the light coming through the window crack.

The specifications of several parts were quite precise, even more refined than the batch he had seen at the Baron's mansion before.

He put the parts back in their original positions and looked up at Zheng the blacksmith: "Uncle Zheng, this batch of parts has improved a lot."

Zheng the blacksmith chuckled twice:

"When we were at the Baron's Mansion, everyone was just starting out, so it was inevitable that we were a bit clumsy. Now that we've done more, our speed and quality have improved."

Su Yuntao didn't respond, but instead inquired about the material consumption and the apprentice's progress. Zheng the blacksmith answered each question, his tone tinged with barely suppressed pride:

"The materials are all imported directly from Barak City, with almost no loss in between. I heard from Steward Zhou that an iron mine has also been discovered in the territory. Once it starts production, our costs will be even lower."

"As for apprentices, as per your request, I started recruiting them after arriving in Barak City. The first batch of apprentices I recruited are already able to help out. Before long, they should be able to make a few small parts according to the blueprints without any problem."

After listening, Su Yuntao nodded and was about to turn around to look at other places when his gaze inadvertently fell on a few inconspicuous parts on Zheng the blacksmith's workbench.

Those parts were a size larger than the parts of the Zhuge Divine Crossbow, and their shapes were also quite different. They had several irregular grooves on the edges, like unfinished products that hadn't been polished yet.

He bent down, picked it up, examined it in his palm, and then looked up at Zheng the blacksmith:

"Uncle Zheng, what is this? It doesn't look like a part of the Zhuge Crossbow, does it?"

Zheng the blacksmith paused for a moment, then scratched the back of his head somewhat embarrassed:

"Oh, well... I just made that up on my own."

He walked over, pointed to the part, and explained:

"The Zhuge Crossbow is indeed ingenious and powerful. I had thought about this before when we were at the Baron's Mansion. Since we have all the blueprints for the Zhuge Crossbow, can we assemble it directly? But after trying, I found that the blueprints Tang San gave us were still missing the core components of the Zhuge Crossbow. I was always one step short when I tried to assemble it, and I just couldn't get it to fit together."

As Zheng the blacksmith spoke, he picked up the larger part and gestured to it:

"Later, I discussed the manufacturing principles of the Zhuge Crossbow with Tang San several times, and I gained some understanding of its basic structure. It's true that it's impossible to make it as exquisite as the Zhuge Crossbow directly, but I thought, since we can't make it that precise, why not expand it many times over based on these parts, abandon some precision, and maybe we can create something else?"

Su Yuntao didn't speak. He examined the parts again. Although the edges were rough, the overall structure was roughly outlined, indicating that they were components of some kind of large mechanism.

He mentally reviewed Zheng the blacksmith's words, then put down the parts and said earnestly:

"That's a good idea. Keep thinking about it. Just tell me what materials you need, don't skimp on them."

Su Yuntao never thought that the forging level in this world was really bad.

The reason why no excellent hidden weapons have appeared before is simply because the soul masters in this world are too powerful, so no one has ever developed in that direction.

Now that Tang San has accessed the hidden weapon panel of this world, after weighing the pros and cons, naturally some people will develop in that direction.

All he needs to do is offer a small helping hand to these people.

Su Yuntao turned and walked to the center of the hall, and asked the guards to call everyone over. In no time, dozens of blacksmiths and apprentices had gathered around.

Su Yuntao took a wooden box from the guard, opened the lid, and inside lay a silver-gray lord's badge, which gleamed warmly in the firelight.

He walked up to Zheng the blacksmith and, in front of everyone, carefully pinned the badge to his collar. His voice was not loud, but loud enough for everyone present to hear clearly:

"Zheng Yuan, the timely delivery of the first batch of Zhuge Divine Crossbow parts is largely due to your efforts. Your forging skills are superb. Therefore, you are hereby granted the title of nobility to recognize your craftsmanship and reward your hard work."

After Su Yuntao and the others finished speaking, he glanced at the envious crowd and spoke again:

"I just saw Uncle Zheng researching something new. It wasn't a part of the Zhuge Crossbow, but rather he was experimenting with his own new ideas based on the Zhuge Crossbow. In my opinion, this is what a craftsman should be like. As a blacksmith, you should not only follow the blueprints to forge iron, but also think more about how to innovate."

"In the future, whoever can develop a more powerful hidden weapon based on the Zhuge Divine Crossbow, or improve the existing technology, I will not be stingy with rewards. As long as they can make it, I will keep my word, and it is not impossible for them to become a royal knight like Uncle Zheng."