Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
For the next few days, Zhou Shu stayed in the baron’s mansion to study the materials that Yin Wuyou had borrowed for him. He didn’t even go to the 0th Workshop.
With the excuse of field surveying, Yin Wuyou didn’t care about him at all.
In any case, the 0th Workshop had already developed quite a few standard weapons. People couldn’t say that the 0th Workshop had no results.
With the helpers sent over from Mi Ziwen’s residence, Zhou Shu didn’t have to worry about anything else. He focused on absorbing the knowledge regarding ranked weapons.
Yin Wuyou had put in a lot of effort. There was also a complete book on forging materials that recorded the characteristics of hundreds of different materials.
If this book was placed outside, it would probably be snatched by countless forgers.
The imperial family was the imperial family after all. Even though they hadn’t produced a capable forger for many generations, in terms of their book collection, there were probably not many people in the world who had a comparable one.
The more Zhou Shu read, the more engrossed he became. Only now did he truly feel the charm of forging. Previously, when he forged, it was either because he was forced to or because of the Legendary Armament Canon.
Now, he wanted to study forging.
If someone hadn’t come to interrupt his research, Zhou Shu would have continued to immerse himself in the sea of books.
I owe Yin Wuyou a big favor this time.
Zhou Shu listened to the steward’s report and looked up from his book.
When he interacted with Yin Wuyou before, although she was his boss, he had never felt like he owed her anything.
Although Yin Wuyou had indeed helped him a lot, he had also brought a lot of results to Yin Wuyou.
It was a fair exchange.
Zhou Shu had overlooked the fact that his contributions couldn’t be exchanged for so many rewards. Especially the Emperor Xuan Jade Book, it was practically a priceless treasure.
Zhou Shu didn’t know about these things, but he did feel as though he owed Yin Wuyou a big favor for all the information on ranked weapons.
In any world, knowledge was precious wealth.
Ordinary forgers might not be able to come into contact with such information in their lifetime.
Just because of a single sentence from him, Yin Wuyou showed him the imperial library’s collection. This favor was truly immense.
I still have to think about how to return her favor, Zhou Shu thought. He was not used to owing people, especially women.
Commander Cheng Wanli of the Huben Troops, why is he looking for me?
Zhou Shu temporarily put his relationship with Yin Wuyou aside. He wasn’t in a hurry to return the favor.
There were people waiting for him.
When he came to the front hall, Zhou Shu immediately saw Cheng Wanli, the Huben Troops’ general, and Cheng Yong, the Huben Troops’ lieutenant, whom he was more familiar with, sitting there drinking tea.
Upon seeing Zhou Shu enter, Cheng Wanli and Cheng Yong both stood up and cupped their hands.
“Lord, sorry to disturb you.”
Zhou Shu had seen Cheng Wanli before. Back when he was a mere apprentice at the 97th Workshop, he had followed Xiao Zongshui to the Huben Troops’ camp.
At the time, he had just forged the Huben Saber.
At the time, Cheng Wanli had been very arrogant and had barely looked him in the eye. He wasn’t as polite as he was now.
But he couldn’t blame Cheng Wanli.
Although Cheng Wanli was not a ranked martial artist back then, he was a general of the Country Protector Army and in charge of the Huben Troops. His official rank was as high as the fourth rank!
Even though Zhou Shu was already a baron, he was still one rank lower than Cheng Wanli.
At the time, there was nothing strange about him looking down on a Forging Apprentice.
“General Cheng, you are too polite.”
Zhou Shu sized up Cheng Wanli. Cheng Wanli had already entered the ranks, and his cultivation level was the same as Zhou Shu’s on the surface. They were both ninth-grade martial artists.
This was a world where martial artists and ordinary people lived together. It didn’t mean that one would be promoted to a higher position just because they had higher cultivation. It also didn’t mean that one couldn’t become a high official just because they were unranked.
Zhou Shu and Cheng Wanli were two living examples.
Their spiritual essence cultivation was nothing in the martial arts world, but their official positions were not low.
“General Cheng, may I know why you are here?” Zhou Shu asked.
“I wouldn’t dare.” Cheng Wanli was very polite. Although his official position was one rank higher than Zhou Shu’s, the two of them were not ranked in the same system, so there was no hierarchy between them.
Moreover, he was already over forty years old, and he could already see the end of his road of promotion. Zhou Shu wasn’t even twenty years old yet, so his position in the future would definitely be above his.
“I have a request.” Cheng Wanli cupped his fists.
Cheng Yong cupped his hands as well.
He had had two drinks with Zhou Shu, so they were quite familiar with each other. This time, Cheng Wanli specially called him over to make friends with Zhou Shu.
“General Cheng, I’m just the superintendent of a workshop in the Forging Division. How can I help you?” Zhou Shu said noncommittally.
Although he didn’t hate Cheng Wanli for what had happened before, he didn’t have much of a relationship with Cheng Wanli, so he naturally wouldn’t agree right away.
“Actually, it’s not a big deal.” Cheng Wanli smiled. “Superintendent Zhou, I came here to ask you for a saber.”
“You want a saber?” Zhou Shu said. “General Cheng, if you want to purchase Huben Sabers, you can go directly to the 97th Workshop. The Huben Sabers are produced there.”
The standard equipment of the Huben Troops was the Huben Saber. Although the ownership of the Huben Saber had been returned to Zhou Shu, the 97th Workshop was in charge of forging them.
After all, the 0th Workshop’s current responsibility was to develop standard weapons, not mass produce them.
“Lord, you have misunderstood.” Cheng Wanli shook his head. “I’m not here for the Huben Saber.
“I would like to ask you for a Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber!” Cheng Wanli said solemnly.
Zhou Shu was slightly stunned. “Great Xia Dragon Sparrow?”
He looked at Cheng Wanli in surprise. Cheng Wanli was already a ninth-rank martial artist. Shouldn’t he get himself a ranked weapon?
By now, Zhou Shu already knew that the difference between ranked weapons and standard weapons was like the difference between heaven and earth.
In some cases, a ranked martial artist’s strength could double when equipped with a ranked weapon!
With Cheng Wanli’s status, it wasn’t easy to get a good ranked weapon, but it shouldn’t be a problem to get an ordinary one.
“General Cheng, you want a Great Xia Dragon Sparrow. Are you planning to use it yourself, or are you planning to give it to the Huben Troops?” Zhou Shu asked.
Not many people knew about the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber. Cheng Wanli actually knew about the existence of the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber, which made Zhou Shu think highly of him.
Although Cheng Wanli’s position was not high, as the commander of the Imperial Guards, he was considered the emperor’s trusted aide.
“I’m going to use it myself,” Cheng Wanli said. “To tell you the truth, Lord Zhou, I have already entered the ranks. Originally, I wanted to change to a ranked weapon, but I have yet to find a suitable one.
“Now that I am about to leave the Huben Troops, it is no longer appropriate to use the Huben Saber.
“That’s why I specially came to ask you for a Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber!”
Since there were no suitable weapons for now, he would use the strongest standard weapon. The name Great Xia Dragon Sparrow was even more domineering than the Huben Saber!
“General Cheng, you’re leaving the Huben Troops?” Zhou Shu said in surprise.
He remembered that the first time he went to the Huben Ttroops’ camp, Xiao Zongshui had introduced him to Cheng Wanli. At the time, Cheng Wanli had just taken over the Huben Troops. How long had it been?
But after he thought about it, Cheng Wanli had already entered the ranks. And judging from his appearance, he should have been promoted.
“It’s confidential information. Please forgive me for not being able to say more,” Cheng Wanli said.
“Lord, I will provide all the materials needed to forge a Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber. Please name your price.” Cheng Wanli cupped his fists.
“General Cheng, you seem to be mistaken.” Zhou Shu shook his head. “This isn’t a store. If you want a Grand Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber, you can go to the Forging Division to register and purchase it.”
“I’ve been to the Forging Division. There’s no Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber in the Forging Division’s standard weapon register!” Cheng Wanli said.
That’s right. The Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber had just been developed and had not reached the stage of mass forging. Naturally, it wouldn’t be given to the three armies of Great Xia.
Let alone the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber, even the Autumn Anatidae Plume Saber had not been publicly listed.
“Lord, I am here to ask you for the saber in my personal capacity,” Cheng Wanli said in a deep voice. “Lord, you are the creator of the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber, and the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber has yet to be recorded in the Forging Division’s standard weapon register. In other words, the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber is still your personal item.
“It is not against the rules of the Forging Division for you to sell your personal items.”
In the words of Zhou Shu’s previous life, the workshop superintendents of the Forging Division, as well as the Forging Apprentices, were all people working for the country. Naturally, there would be some restrictions.
They had used the resources of the Forging Division to create the standard weapons, so the ownership of the weapons belonged to the Forging Division. The developers only had attribution rights.
This was the same in Zhou Shu’s previous life. When a person published their achievements while employed, the unit would take some of the benefits.
Otherwise, why would the Forging Division provide support for the Forging Apprentices?
Since the patent rights belonged to the Forging Division, theoretically speaking, even Zhou Shu, the inventor, couldn’t casually forge Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Sabers for others.
However, this patent hadn’t been registered yet, so using it once wasn’t illegal.
Cheng Wanli wanted Zhou Shu to take advantage of this loophole.
Zhou Shu looked at Cheng Wanli. This guy looks so righteous with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, but he’s full of tricks.
Back then, he and Xiao Zongshui had deliberately raised the price of the Huben Sabers and obtained many benefits.
Now, he actually wanted him to use this loophole to help him forge a Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber?
“Sorry.”
Would Zhou Shu listen to him? What nonsense.
Although Zhou Shu didn’t care about the rules, and the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber was developed by him, he wouldn’t do such a thing for an irrelevant person.
What good would that do him?
“Lord, listen to me first.” Cheng Wanli’s expression remained unchanged as he spoke in a deep voice. “Other than the materials needed to forge the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber, I am willing to pay another thousand taels of silver!”
Zhou Shu had recently come into contact with more than 10,000 taels of gold. When he suddenly heard that Cheng Wanli was willing to pay 1,000 taels of silver, he nearly blurted out, “Is that considered money?”
But on second thought, 1,000 taels of silver was really not a small amount. An ordinary standard weapon was worth a few taels of silver to a dozen taels of silver. Expensive ones were only a few dozen taels of silver.
This was the standard pricing.
For a standard weapon, 1,000 taels of silver was definitely a high price.
Cheng Wanli was quite rich.
However, Zhou Shu still chose to refuse. “I’m sorry, General Cheng. I can’t help you with this.”
He wanted the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow. Although he had enough money, they were not close enough.
Zhou Shu stayed in the Forging Division because he hoped to distribute the weapons he forged through the channels of the Forging Division to the Grand Xia’s three armies. He didn’t want to ruin his foundation in the Forging Division just to help Cheng Wanli.
When it came to loopholes, with the first time, there would be a second time. Sooner or later, something would happen.
“Lord—” Cheng Wanli was about to say something when a voice came from outside.
“Give it to him!” The voice was as clear as a silver bell. Following this, a beautiful woman in a gauze dress walked in.
Yin Wuyou’s long hair was loose, and she had tied it up simply with a headband behind her head, seemingly like she was dressed at home.
Cheng Wanli and Cheng Yong only took a glance before they hurriedly lowered their heads and bowed. “Greetings, Your Highness!”
“I’m not the princess now. I’m the grand minister of the Forging Division,” Yin Wuyou said.
“General Cheng, you want a Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber?”
“Your Highness—” Cheng Wanli wanted to explain.
However, Yin Wuyou didn’t give him a chance to explain. “Superintendent Zhou, why don’t you want to earn money? Help General Cheng forge one!”
“Grand Minister, this—” Zhou Shu wanted to say that this was against the rules.
Yin Wuyou shook her head. “I’m the grand minister of the Forging Division. I’m saying it’s okay!”
Zhou Shu rolled his eyes in his head. Since you said it, I’m not responsible for it. In the future, don’t take this as an excuse to kick me out of the Forging Division!
“Alright.” Zhou Shu nodded.
“General Cheng, that will be one thousand taels of silver.” Zhou Shu extended his hand in front of Cheng Wanli.
Cheng Wanli looked up at Yin Wuyou. Seeing that Yin Wuyou didn’t seem to lose her temper, he hesitated for a moment before taking out a large banknote and handing it to Zhou Shu.
At the same time, he was wondering why the princess was here. Could it be…
Cheng Wanli quickly cut off his thoughts. As the former commander of the Imperial Guards, he knew exactly what he should know and what he should pretend not to see!
“Your Highness, I’m requesting the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber because I want to live up to His Majesty’s expectations.” Cheng Wanli cupped his hands. “I will definitely use the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber to raise the prestige of Great Xia!”
His expression was solemn, and his eyes were full of sincerity. At this moment, he didn’t seem like a pretentious general but like an indomitable warrior.
“You don’t have to tell me that. Just tell yourself.” Yin Wuyou shook her head. “I only hope that you don’t disgrace the name of the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow!”
Zhou Shu watched as they spoke, but he was still in a daze and couldn’t be bothered to continue listening.
“General Cheng, I happen to have a forged Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber here. I’ll give it to you.” Zhou Shu said. “As for the materials needed to forge the saber, I’ll convert them into money. It’s probably—”
Before Zhou Shu could finish speaking, Yin Wuyou interrupted, “Three hundred taels!”
Zhou Shu’s expression didn’t change, but he was shocked in his heart. Three hundred taels?
If he didn’t remember wrongly, the iron used in the Forging Division wasn’t that expensive, right? It seemed like five kilograms of iron was only worth one tael…
One Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Saber consumed 150 kilograms of iron. This was worth at most 30 taels. She increased the price by 10 times?
Cheng Wanli didn’t hesitate. He immediately took out three banknotes worth 100 taels and stuffed them into Zhou Shu’s hands.
Zhou Shu was a little confused. One was asking for a sky-high price, and the other was actually willing to pay!
Had he encountered another blind spot in his knowledge?
