During the Qin Dynasty, the control of iron tools was not strict. At that time, the mines called Guanshan were handed over to the people for contracting and mining. The profit was divided into three to seven ratios based on the output value. The transactions of iron ore and iron tools were only taxed without restricting them. In addition to strictly managing the iron tools workshops invested by the government to prevent the loss of state-owned assets, private blacksmith shops were basically ignored and allowed private blacksmiths to build iron tools and even sell weapons for profit.

In addition, as long as you don’t go to the market to run it yourself and ask for a sale, there is no need to be as unlucky as Yu Zhi, who may be ruled as a city. Therefore, Xiang Kang dared to discuss directly with Feng Zhong to open a blacksmith shop. Feng Zhong, an official of the Qin Dynasty, agreed without any scruples to try it.

He had already tasted the sweetness with Xiang Kang twice. Of course, Feng Zhong trusted Xiang Kang's words very much. After drinking wine in Aunt Chen's restaurant, Feng Zhong arranged for diners who were eating and drinking at home every day to purchase coal and ore. He also sent people to find out where they could rent forging tools such as bellows, hammers, crucibles and anvils. Then, according to Xiang Kang's request, he immediately sent someone to deliver them to Xiang Kang as soon as he bought the coal.

When the Feng Zhong family diners sent coal to the village where Xiang Kang lived, it had become a small construction site next to Xiang Kang's dilapidated courtyard. The Xiang brothers, who were idle all day long, followed Xiang Kang to wave their hoes. First, they built a large kiln with earth and stone structure on the abandoned open space next to the courtyard, leaving holes beside the furnace for ignition, and then built a small smelting furnace with stone and soil in Xiang Kang's dilapidated courtyard. The coal had just arrived, and the Xiang brothers poured the coal into the kiln at Xiang Kang's request and rammed it into a coal seam.

It is necessary to explain that the reason why the Xiang brothers, who are used to being idle, can help Xiang Kang with such dirty and tiring work is entirely because Xiang Kang has done the ideological work of his two aunts and asked the two uncles who hoped that their sons would become successful to join forces to exert pressure. The Xiang brothers could not withstand the tears and nagging of the two aunts, and had to be unwilling to be a free coolie for Xiang Kang.

However, the two aunts were also very puzzled by Xiang Kang's actions. After the coal was rammed into coal seams, Xiang Kang actually ignited the kiln directly and calcined the coal before the iron ore was delivered. When the two aunts saw Daqi, they both asked Xiang Kang: "Kang'er, aren't you planning to smelite? Why are you burning Nirvana stones directly? After the Nirvana stones are burned, what are you using to smelite?"

"The iron refined with coke is better."

Xiang Kang's answer was very direct, and then he did not explain carefully, and ignored the local coke oven that had been burning all the time. He led the Xiang brothers to prepare all kinds of steel smelting objects, and prepared several mud molds for swords and agricultural tools in advance, waiting for the coke to be refined to start smelting the ground steel. During this period, the various ironwork tools that Xiang Kang needed were also transported in place with the help of Feng Zhong, and soon everything was done, and only the east wind was missing.

After nine days of burning the coke oven, under Xiang Kang's command, the Xiang brothers carried water and poured out the kiln, and brought out the calcined coke. Then, under Xiang Kang's command, the coke was beaten to a suitable size, and put it into the smelting furnace layer by layer, causing the fire to ignite again.

When the ore gradually melted into molten iron, Xiang Kang decisively drove away all outsiders, including the Xiang brothers, and asked Xiang Zhuang and Xiang Guan, who were secretly persuaded, to guard outside the door to prevent outsiders from peeping. Then he took out the graphite powder he had bought with secretly borrowed money from his two uncles, sprinkled it into the molten iron and stirred it in sweat. Until the flame on the molten iron turned blue, Xiang Kang opened the door and asked everyone to come in to help, poured the molten iron into the crucible, then poured it into the mold, and cooled it into the sample embryo.

The final dipping, forging and polishing were also done by Xiang Kang alone. With the curious eyes of Feng Zhong, Xiang brothers, two aunts and many neighbors, the first steel knife was gradually polished into shape, revealing a blade flashing with blue light. Then Xiang Kang had just said that Xiang Zhuang, who was quick-witted, was the first to grab the straight knife that had not had time to install the hilt. First, he looked at the edge of the knife carefully, and then waved it casually, and immediately cut the wooden stake used for the test knife into two sections, leaving two smooth sections.

"Good knife!"

In the midst of exclamation, the Xiang brothers and Feng Zhong completely forgot the hard work of more than ten days, and the waste of coal. They were just rushing to test the knife, and they couldn't wait to ask Xiang Kang to forge such a sharp blade for himself. However, Xiang Kang just smiled slightly and asked Feng Zhong who couldn't put down his steel knife, "Brother Feng, how about it? The knife I made with the secret method of the Darling General is better than the knife I made in the city's blacksmith shop?"

Feng Zhong did not answer, turned his eyes and gritted his teeth, simply pulled out the sword he had bought in Xiaxiang City and handed it to Xiang Zhuang. Xiang Zhuang understood, and then held it tightly with both hands and slashed the steel knife in Feng Zhong's hand. Then with a sound, the steel knife in Feng Zhong's hand, which was less powerful than Xiang Zhuang, fell to the ground. However, the old sword in Xiang Zhuang's hand was broken, and the new steel knife that fell to the ground was unscathed. Feng Zhong also shouted: "What a knife! It's worthy of being a good knife made by the secret method of the Gan Jiang!"

"If you want such a knife and a farm tool made with this iron, pay for it quickly." Xiang Kang said with a smile: "We open a blacksmith shop in the village, which specializes in refining such iron and making such knife."

"No problem, no problem." Feng Zhong couldn't wait to agree, and quickly said: "Brother Xiang Kang, hurry up, let's take a few more knives like this, we will sell it in the city first, and then we will have the money to buy Nirvana and ore to smelly iron."

The Xiang brothers also forced Xiang Kang to forge their swords. Unfortunately, Xiang Kang was too lazy to work hard this time, so he forced the Xiang brothers and Feng Zhong to do a hand in forging and grinding, providing technical guidance, and spent a day creating five steel knives and ten hoists. The next day, he asked Feng Zhong's diners to bring them into the city and sell them to merchants in the market for sale.

The best iron equipment material in this era is made of carburized steel made of coal smelted pieces. The impurities are easy to be damaged. The ground steel made of Xiang Kang made with coke is much higher than that of coal, and it is relatively reasonable to add a certain proportion of carbon. Not only are the impurities much less, but the toughness is also much better. When such iron tools and iron knives come to the market, it is of course difficult to sell them at a good price. So in the evening, when the diner brought the money he had sold back to Shilingting, Feng Zhong, who was extremely excited, came to fill Xiang Kang's wine overnight and discussed with Xiang Kang's official establishment of a blacksmith shop to expand production.

Xiang Kang's life, which has been scattered since time traveling, has become a thing of the past. When Feng Zhong was promoted to You and was busy with official business, opening a blacksmith shop was basically Xiang Kang's own business. Fortunately, he had his own brothers and Feng Zhong's diners to help. In addition, it was already in the winter that the village was relatively idle and labor was relatively large. As long as the money was paid, some people could call it. Therefore, Xiang Kang was not tired. He led his men to quickly set up a decent small blacksmith shop, forging some swords and farm tools to sell them to the surrounding counties. Although he did not make any big money due to the output and cost, he had some spare money in his hand and could use it freely.

During this period, Xiang Kang, who was angry, had never been to Yanjiting. However, just as the iron tools of Shiling Pavilion became famous, Yu Zhi came to find Xiang Kang with a shameless face and gave him a gift, saying that it was the Lidian Shu San of Yanjiting who had a handle in the hands of the Yu family. He really withstood the pressure of Dan Youwei. He did not rule himself as a city in the case, allowing him to escape the misfortune of serving in the frontier. Then, while thanking Xiang Kang, he carefully asked Xiang Kang about the secret method of the general that had been passed down from the magical way of the general. He wanted Xiang Kang to teach him the steelmaking method.

I still remember the beautiful little girl from the Yu family. Xiang Kang did not turn against him and broke off relations with the Yu family, but of course he also flatly refused Yu Zhi's request to learn the steelmaking method. Yu Zhi, who was still very shameless, felt guilty and did not dare to force him. When he said goodbye, he kindly reminded Xiang Kang: "Young Master Xiang, you have something to be careful. When my family heard the news, Shan Youwei from Ling County was trying to deal with you. He also sent someone to inquire about your situation. You should be careful."

"Thank you." Xiang Kang was not surprised and said, "I don't have a big problem here. After all, I live in Xia Xiang. The only one with the surname Dan is Ling County Youwei. It's not that easy to mess with me. But Mr. Yu, you have to be careful. If someone with the surname Dan catches the handle, it will be too easy to mess with you."

Yu Zhi nodded, thanked Xiang Kang again, and then said goodbye, but he never mentioned a word or half of his sister. Xiang Kang was even more angry and hated the Yu family's ungrateful and snobbish reality. However, at this moment, Xiang Tao suddenly came to Xiang Kang and said that his third uncle had something to ask Xiang Kang to discuss, so Xiang Kang had to temporarily put his longing for the little girl in the Yu family behind his mind, and hurried to the third uncle's house with Xiang Tao to learn about the situation.

Both aunts were at the third uncle's house, and the third uncle's two sons Xiang Sui and Xiang You were also there, and a strange man was accompanied by him. Seeing Xiang Ta lead Xiang Kang into the door, the third uncle first asked Xiang Ta to stare outside the door, and then said to Xiang Kang with joy: "Kang'er, come, let me introduce you to you, this hero is Han Li, the family of your Uncle Han Liang and Han. He brought your third uncle's handwritten letter."

After receiving the favor from Han Liang, Xiang Kang of course quickly greeted Han Liang's family and asked about Xiang Bo's current situation. Han Liang's family replied: "Don't worry, Mr. Xiang, everything is fine in Xia Pi. He also knows some of your recent situations. He praises you endlessly. He wants to bring you a message to me and ask you to watch more for him. The Xiang Xiang family now expects you in everything."

"Thank you, brave man, please tell my uncle, please rest assured, I will do my best to take good care of my two aunts." Xiang Kang was kind-hearted.

"Kang'er, this is your third uncle's letter." The third uncle took out a piece of white cloth full of words and handed it to Xiang Kang and said, "Your third uncle has something to ask you for help, please take a look."

"Why would you ask me for help if you have something to do?" Xiang Kang was puzzled and quickly took the white cloth to look carefully. Then Xiang Kang's face changed a little. It turned out that the reason why Xiang Bo sent a book home was that he also saw the steel knife sold from Shilingting Pavilion in Xia Pi. He also knew that this weapon was actually from Xiang Kang's hands. He asked Xiang Kang for fifty steel knives, and asked the Xiang brothers to send the steel knives directly to Xia Pi and handed them over to him.

"Fifty knives?" Xiang Kang spoke in surprise and asked Han Li, who was delivering the letter, "Han Zhuangshi, why did my uncle want so many knives? What did he want to do?"

"I don't know this little one." Han Li shook his head and said, "Mr. Xiang just told me to ask Mr. Xiang to get things done as soon as possible. He is waiting for good news in Xia Pi."

"But I went there to prepare so many knives?" Xiang Kang complained and said, "The blacksmith shop in Shiling Pavilion was opened by Feng Zhong and I. He was staring at him. I took so many knives to Xia Pi, how could Feng Zhong not know? Although he is now friends with me, he is still a member of the government after all. If he knew my uncle's whereabouts, how could he give up?"

"This..., the villain doesn't know what to do." Han Li was also very embarrassed and said, "Mr. Xiang just asked you to get things done as soon as possible, and didn't say anything else."

Xiang Kang was even more helpless, but Xiang You suddenly spoke and said sarcastically: "Brother, the blacksmith shop has half of yours, and only fifty knives, shouldn't it be a big problem for you, right?"

"Yes, Kang'er, your uncle rarely speaks to you. You should help him no matter what." The third uncle also said anxiously: "You think of a solution. Anyway, you will be the one who takes someone to hit the knife. If you hit fifty more, it will definitely not be a big problem."

"Auntie, do you know how much does a knife from Shilingting Pavilion cost on the market now?" Xiang Kang smiled bitterly and said, "One thousand yuan, a pair of rhinoceros leather armor only sold for more than 1,300 yuan. Also, even if the government does not prohibit the sale of swords and swords, and if so many swords are taken in one breath, how can the government not be suspicious? If the government continues to investigate, what if the whereabouts of the third uncle are found?"

After hearing Xiang Kang's words were reasonable, the third uncle, who had always been reasonable, couldn't help but show a look of worry. Xiang You, who has been significantly alienated from Xiang Kang recently, sneered and said, "Isn't it enough to fight quietly? At worst, we brothers will help you fight together. Anyway, we have all done such a job, so it's nothing to do it once in vain."

It was very clear about the reason why Xiang You was separated from him. For the sake of unity and harmony between his brothers, Xiang Kang ignored it and just frowned. After a moment, Xiang Kang made up his mind and gritted his teeth and said, "Twenty, I have some savings in my hand now, which is about half the profit of twenty knives. I will give my money to Feng Zhong, and I will say that I sold it to other places to make money, so that he will not be suspicious."

"But Mr. Xiang wanted fifty hands." Han Li looked embarrassed.

"I can only take out twenty handfuls now." Xiang Kang shook his head and said, "Please tell my uncle about the situation, and ask him to understand my difficulties. After a while, I will find a way to make some more for him."

Finally, it was not a waste of time. Seeing Xiang Kang say this, Han Li had to nod and agree. Xiang Kang had no choice but to ask Han Li to wait for another day or two, and Han Li agreed. Xiang Kang then said goodbye and left, and hurried back to the blacksmith shop to supervise the steel knives.

Sometimes kindness is not rewarded. In the interest of family affection, Xiang Kang gritted his teeth and bought a knife for Xiang Bo, who was talking to the lion. However, what Xiang Kang did not expect was that as soon as he left, his jealous brother Xiang You complained in front of his two aunts, and he complained that Xiang Kang had no conscience and was ungrateful. He refused to satisfy his uncle's "Xiaoxiao" request. He was a typical ungrateful wolf who was jealous.
Chapter completed!