Chapter 4

"Come, little master, help me quench this machete too!"

"My hoe..."

Several farmers gathered around Qin Hai, and their address to him changed from "young man" to "little master." Face is earned by oneself, and Qin Hai's display of skill had silenced the entire crowd, naturally earning their respect.

"Little master, were the methods you used just now hard to learn?" Zhang Laosan timidly approached, with a hint of embarrassment, and asked Qin Hai. As a craftsman, how could he not be envious of such superb skills? What he was uncertain about was whether Qin Hai was willing to teach him this technique, after all, such skills were very valuable.

"So, Master Zhang, do you want to learn?" Qin Hai asked with a smile.

Zhang Laosan was even more embarrassed. He stammered, "This... I don't know if it's appropriate, besides, I have little education, only finished primary school, I don't know if I can learn..."

"If Master Zhang wants to learn, I'll teach you," Qin Hai replied generously. "Some theoretical aspects you might not understand, but with your rich experience, you will definitely grasp them."

"Uh-huh, I just need to learn the practical experience," Zhang Laosan said repeatedly, completely ignoring the mismatch between his words and Qin Hai's. After saying this, he thought of something else and asked in a low voice, "Little master, do you think... should I prepare a teacher's gift for you to teach me these things?"

Qin Hai waved his hands, "No, no, I've only learned a little, how can I call myself a teacher in front of Master Zhang? Let's just exchange skills. How about this, Master Zhang, there are still some other farming tools here, help me a bit, and we'll quench all these tools."

"Sure, sure, I'd be more than happy." Zhang Laosan was extremely excited. For him, working was not tiring at all, and learning Qin Hai's skills through work was a great deal.

The fat man had been in the house for a long time, and was now drenched in sweat, sitting under a tree and gulping down cold water. The other two young men, one tall and one short, admired Qin Hai's skills but had no desire to learn them. Therefore, Qin Hai and Zhang Laosan entered the blacksmith shop and began to repair the farming tools one by one.

Zhang Laosan's blacksmithing experience was naturally much higher than the fat man's, so Qin Hai didn't need to do much of the actual work. During the heat treatment phase, Zhang Laosan also let Qin Hai explain, following his instructions step by step and understanding the essence of Qin Hai's heat treatment techniques.

"Right, this temperature is 900 degrees, I'll remember this color..."

"Good, keep it warm in the furnace ash, the ash needs to be at a certain temperature..."

"This water is called trinitrate solution, it can be used to quench this type of steel..."

Zhang Laosan eagerly absorbed the techniques Qin Hai provided, and in some areas, he even came up with new ideas, which made Qin Hai nod in admiration, secretly marveling that true experts often lay hidden among the common people.

"Great, too exciting!"

When a farming tool completed all the heat treatment processes in Zhang Laosan's hands and was taken out of the quenching solution, glowing with a faint blue light, Zhang Laosan was almost beside himself with excitement.

"Old San, congratulations, congratulations." Manggu smiled and congratulated Zhang Laosan. For a craftsman like Zhang Laosan, learning a new skill was a cause for celebration.

"It's all because of Little Master's excellent teaching. I really misjudged you before. Little Master, at such a young age, you possess extraordinary skills, truly a remarkable talent." Zhang Laosan didn't know how to praise Qin Hai enough. Previously, he had shown disdain for Qin Hai, which now seemed extremely ridiculous. Fortunately, Qin Hai was not the type to hold grudges.

"Hey, Master, I remember you said that if our brother's quenched shovel could split bricks, you would buy all our farming tools. You're not going back on your word, are you?" The fat man, having had enough water, came back to life and walked over with a confident stride, boasting to Manggu.

"Of course not!" Manggu said firmly, "As long as Old Zhang and this little master process all these tools, I'll take them all."

"Take them all? We'll have to raise the price." The fat man said.

"What price? Didn't we agree on 2.5 yuan per shovel?" The farmers quickly stepped in to reason. Such good tools, even without the previous bet, they would have bought them, but the fat man's attempt to raise the price was not welcome.

The fat man said, "2.5 yuan was the previous price. Our brother's skills were not refined, so the products were not satisfactory and had to be sold cheaply. Now, this... right, buddy, what's your name?"

The last question was directed at Qin Hai. After all the help he had received, the fat man felt it was inappropriate not to know his name. Additionally, he was considering pulling Qin Hai into their partnership to do business in farming tools, so he needed to know Qin Hai's name.

"My name is Qin Hai, how should I address you all?" Qin Hai asked in return.

"My name is Ning Mo," the fat man replied, pointing to the two partners, "This is Yu Haitao, and this is Miao Lei."

"Nice to meet you." Qin Hai bowed to them, which made the three of them a bit flustered. In those days, there were few period dramas, and such a bow was unfamiliar to them.

"Right, I wasn't finished..." After exchanging names with Qin Hai, Ning Mo turned back to the farmers, "You see, we use the best steel, and the steel here is not as good as ours. Our quenching technique is also the best. Do you think our shovels should be cheaper than Old Zhang's?"

"Uncles, what Ning Mo said makes sense. Such good shovels, you can't buy them for 3 yuan at the agricultural supply company, right? If Ning Mo sells them too cheaply, it would disrupt the market, and Master Zhang wouldn't be happy either," Qin Hai stepped in to help Ning Mo explain.

Manggu and the others had already adjusted their expectations. Qin Hai was right; such good steel, selling a shovel for 3 yuan was not expensive. Any lower, and blacksmiths like Zhang Laosan would be out of business. They had initially held firm on the price to avoid conceding to Ning Mo, but now, with Qin Hai speaking up, they decided to let it go, saying, "Since Little Master Qin has spoken, we have nothing to say. However, you young people shouldn't overprice. The price shouldn't exceed what Old Zhang charges."

"Why, our steel is better than Old Zhang's," the tall Yu Haitao muttered. These young men were not as polite as Qin Hai and called Zhang Laosan by his name.

"Alright, Yu Haitao, the price is fine."

Qin Hai turned to work on the other side. Seeing Qin Hai speak, Ning Mo and the others did not insist and agreed to sell the remaining seven or eight tools, after quenching, at the same price as Zhang Laosan's blacksmith shop.

Next, everyone took turns using Zhang Laosan's blacksmith furnace to heat treat the tools. They worked until late in the evening to finish the job. In addition to repairing the tools they had bought the previous week, Manggu also bought the remaining eight tools from Ning Mo. Manggu counted out 27.5 yuan and handed it to Ning Mo, then left with his companions, overjoyed.

"We've made a fortune!" Watching Manggu and the others leave, the young men were elated. The deal went smoothly, and each tool was sold at a higher price, earning them a few extra yuan.

"Here, Qin Hai, this is your share." Ning Mo, the leader of the three young men, was in charge of distributing the money. He took out a 10-yuan note and handed it to Qin Hai. Yu Haitao and Miao Lei's mouths twitched. With less than 30 yuan in total, Ning Mo gave 10 yuan to Qin Hai, which seemed a bit too generous.

However, the two thought, if it weren't for Qin Hai's help, they wouldn't have earned 27.5 yuan, and might have even lost money. Qin Hai's skills had earned their deep admiration, and 10 yuan seemed a fair reward.

Ning Mo had the same thoughts as Yu Haitao and Miao Lei, but he had an additional motive: to get closer to Qin Hai, find out which unit he belonged to, and see if he could be pulled into their partnership. Since he was determined to bring Qin Hai on board, he wouldn't be stingy with the benefits.

Qin Hai looked at the 10-yuan note and waved his hand, "I don't need it. You've invested a lot of materials, and the actual profit isn't much. I just helped out a bit, it's not worth taking this money. However, Ning Mo, you should thank Master Zhang more. Strictly speaking, you are competitors, but Master Zhang not only provided the furnace but also helped you work. You used so much coal and fire from Master Zhang, you should show some gratitude."

"No, no," Zhang Laosan shook his head when he heard Qin Hai's words. Honestly, at first, he didn't want to help Ning Mo, as selling tools was taking away his business. But later, he learned such excellent quenching techniques from Qin Hai, and the competition with Ning Mo didn't matter anymore. In fact, he should thank Ning Mo.

"Old Zhang, Qin Hai is right. We used your coal and fire, and we should thank you. However, we didn't earn much, so these 3 yuan are for you to buy cigarettes," Ning Mo, who was not as generous to Zhang Laosan as to Qin Hai, took out a 2-yuan and a 1-yuan note and handed them to Zhang Laosan, paying for the coal and fire.

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