After retiring from the Navy, I became a doting husband.

In the throes of passionate love?

Unexpectedly, the boosted attributes increased significantly after the favorability rating was upgraded.

Sure enough, as long as you do well enough, your evaluation will improve, and as your evaluation improves, your relationships and experience will also improve, creating a virtuous cycle.

I never imagined there would be such a benefit. If we add more variety to this, wouldn't it take off?

Wait a minute, I have hundreds of lovely "teachers" deep in my D drive from my past life. I've learned a lot of theories and experiences, which I should be able to make use of.

Starting tomorrow, he will carry forward this great spirit and dedicate himself to technological research and development.

That's right. A good man should learn and grow together with his wife, explore and discover more beautiful things, build a better home, and contribute to the prosperity of mankind!

Chapter 7 Demon Sword?

The next morning, just as the sun was rising, a commotion arose on the street, among which were several familiar voices that drifted in through the cracks in the door.

Martin opened the door and saw a number of neighbors and acquaintances gathered on the street.

Several neighbors were standing on the street, indignant, as if they were discussing something.

"Those pirates are bastards! They won't let me have any peace at night and keep disturbing my sleep. I have to get compensation from them!"

The florist roared in public.

"Compensation? Trying to reason with pirates? Are you looking for death?"

Susan called out loudly.

A farmer said in a deep voice, "I came home late last night after drinking. After hearing the cannon fire, I saw naval ships. It seems that the navy drove them away."

“The whole East China Sea has been quite turbulent lately. You still have the mind to go out drinking at night. If something happens to you, don’t let it implicate us.”

Aunt Susan curled her lip, looking disgusted.

Martin listened carefully and roughly understood that last night the navy and pirates had clashed and bombarded each other, which explained the deafening cannon fire last night.

He could also sense that the atmosphere was actually very tense, and the neighbors all seemed somewhat panicked.

It's estimated that the artillery battle was too close to Orange Town, making the residents feel unsafe.

"Martin, as a former naval warrant officer, what's your opinion on this matter?"

Mrs. Joel suddenly looked at Martin.

Goodness, does this sound like they're asking Yuanfang what he thinks?

"Tell me what you mean first."

Martin glanced at the group and could tell that his neighbors already had a plan, so he threw the question back at them.

"In my opinion, if something unexpected happens, I hope everyone will lend a hand so that we won't be helpless when we encounter danger."

“That’s right. If pirates enter the town and loot and pillage, we’ll have someone to help us.”

"Agreed. If anyone shouts, we'll come out together to fight."

Everyone nodded in agreement and immediately reached a consensus: they would stay home in the evening so that if one family was in trouble, the other neighbors could come to their aid if they heard the cries for help.

After all, when you really encounter pirates, no one can escape unscathed.

Although everyone usually minds their own business, it's still better to stick together when a crisis comes.

In the face of such a chaotic environment, helping each other is the best option, after all, we've known each other for so many years.

After this incident, the prices of various daily necessities in Orange Town skyrocketed, more than doubling from their original levels, and the prices of some special food ingredients also soared.

This has caused many ordinary, already impoverished residents of the small town to cry out in despair.

Martin was glad he made the decision. He always bought things in large quantities to satisfy his hunger, buying enough at once. The food he bought last time was enough to feed his family for two months.

It's expected that the navy will definitely not sit idly by, and they should be able to resolve this issue within a month.

.

For nearly a month afterward, Martin barely left the house, even during the day he stayed home, spending his time with Robin, forging knives and practicing swordsmanship, which was quite leisurely and content.

Besides teaching the children to read, Robin would also go home early, and in their spare time, the two of them would read books or newspapers together, enjoying their time together.

As expected, the shelling incident caused some panic in the town, but under the deterrence of the navy, no pirates dared to attack the town, which was a false alarm for everyone, and the matter was forgotten.

That night, the cold moon hung in the sky, and all was silent.

Robin was already asleep, and Martin, full of energy, put on his clothes and went to the workshop to begin trying to forge a fine knife.

Over the past month, he could clearly feel that his forging skills were improving every day. The success rate of his once-quite-fast knife-making had exceeded 90%, and the time had been reduced to three hours per knife.

The production rate of high-quality items is also constantly increasing. As long as he is willing to spend time forging, the probability of high-quality items appearing will be higher. Now the production rate of high-quality items is about 60% to 70%.

Therefore, he plans to take on the challenge of using a more complex and efficient sword.

To forge a fine and sharp sword, one must use high-quality steel ingots, preferably tamahagane.

Tamahagane is too expensive, and no one in an ordinary town like Orange Town sells Tamahagane. He used his only piece of Tamahagane to forge the Zanpakuto Senbonzakura, so he plans to try forging a Ryo-kai-tō using ordinary steel.

Although it was quite difficult, Martin felt he should give it a try, or try using the Senbonzakura forging method to forge a good katana. It would just be a waste of blood, since he succeeded in forging Senbonzakura on his first try.

With his mind clear and free from distractions, Martin gripped his hammer and began forging the Zanpakuto based on the image in his mind.

The forging diagrams for the Zanpakuto Senbonzakura were practically imprinted in my mind; not a single detail was overlooked.

Practice makes perfect, and Martin's forging skills and techniques had improved considerably this time, but a problem arose in the final step of the forging process.

Bang!

As the blade-shaped red iron trembled slightly, it shattered the moment the hammer fell, turning into a ball of crimson flame and dissipating into nothingness. The first knife was completely shattered.

Every time blood was spilled, the blade would break when the last few hammer blows were used to shape it, and the steel would even shatter into several pieces.

Then came the second, the third, the fourth...

"It failed again. Ordinary steel simply cannot withstand the pressure."

Looking at the shards scattered all around him, Martin couldn't help but stretch.

This fine knife is too difficult to make, and his success rate is very low, but he will not give up because of that.

With the clanging of hammers, the forging process began again.

It wasn't until the eighth attempt that he finally succeeded. Although he managed to make it, the quality was poor, only reaching the level of an ordinary fast sword, and far from the quality of Senbonzakura's Zanpakuto.

It seems that I can only forge one Zanpakuto, so Zanpakuto are probably unique?

By this time, it was already broad daylight. Unbeknownst to him, Martin had been forging knives all night.

"It's finally done, but it's incredibly difficult to forge a good, sharp sword using ordinary steel."

"Even using the Zanpakuto forging method isn't working very well. It seems we need to buy Tamahagane before we can try the next step."

"It's such a waste of my blood."

Martin stretched and felt his blood circulation was poor; he needed to do some extra exercise.

He picked up the slightly flawed blade and examined it closely. He discovered a blood-red pattern on the blade that had never been there before. Although it was dull and lifeless, it was extremely eerie, like a blood-red crack.

Why does it look a bit like a demon sword?

Martin assembled the blade and prepared to test it when a knock came from the direction of the workshop door.

"Is anyone there? Is Mr. Martin here? I've come to ask for a knife!"

A loud voice roared.

Need a knife?

Business is coming in!

Chapter 8 The First Customer

I need a knife.

As the name suggests, these are customers who come specifically to buy knives.

The salaries of naval logistics personnel are not high, not as high as those of naval soldiers who go out on missions. It is normal for many logistics soldiers to take on some side jobs to earn extra money, and their superiors usually turn a blind eye to it.

In order to save money and earn extra income, Martin has taken on many private jobs at the logistics base over the years, and has accumulated some connections.

He also posted flyers on the bulletin board in the town center, offering custom-made blades for customers in need.

He opened a shop after his honeymoon, but business was slow, probably because of the trouble caused by pirates.

It's been a long time since we finally got business.

Pushing open the door to the workshop, one sees a sharp-eyed young man standing outside. He is wearing a short shirt and has a knife at his waist, exuding a fierce aura.

This is the spirit of a swordsman!

"Are you the knifemaker Martin?"

"I'm Jason, a swordsman who just moved to Orange Town. I'd like to buy a good knife from you."

The young swordsman got straight to the point: "If you have any fast knives here, the higher the quality the better, the price is negotiable."

After saying that, he presented a box of coke with both hands.

Martin nodded. Judging from the attitude and gifts given during the visit, it was clear that this person was knowledgeable and sincere.

"A fine knife isn't cheap. If you have the money, you're sure to find a good one here. Come in."

He accepted the coke, led the other party into the workshop, and brought them to the knife rack.

"These six or seven are all fast knives, and these two are high-quality fast knives. You can pick one and try it out."

Martin casually pointed to a row of blades on the knife rack, which were simply wrapped in plain leather sheaths, the result of his work over the past month.

If it weren't for the physical exertion and time spent on sex, he could have forged even more sharp knives. But the feeling of having entertainment and work complement each other is wonderful.

"What? This place is full of sharp knives? And even high-quality ones?"

Jason's eyes lit up when he heard this, finding it hard to believe.

He immediately went to the knife rack to examine it, looking like he wanted to find out what was going on.

Martin laughed. It was clear that Jason was a knife enthusiast. His expression—like a lecherous man seeing a beautiful woman or a wolf seeing a piece of meat—was absolutely right, which showed that Jason's swordsmanship was also quite good.