Chapter 72

In the early morning breeze that dispersed the smell of blood, Wang Liangdao woke up from his hangover, left the house, and soon found Lao Heishan sitting amidst a pile of corpses, with cigarette butts scattered all around him.

At the sight of so many dead bodies, Wang Liangdao's legs turned to jelly, and he couldn't stop his nose and tears from streaming down. He said, "Brother Lao Heishan, what are you doing? Did these foreigners have such a deep grudge against you?"

Lao Heishan grinned and said, "This Russian officer is the one who killed my wife. That day, he and a Chinese woman came to our village to recruit workers. My wife went and never came back. I've never forgotten his words, 'We can negotiate the wages.'"

At this moment, the other lumber workers also came out one after another. Seeing so many dead bodies, they were all in a panic. Lao Heishan smiled faintly and said, "I'll take responsibility for my actions. I'll be the one to face the consequences."

The incident where Lao Heishan killed eleven Russians occurred on the morning of December 5, 1894, and is known in history as the "Lumber Yard Incident." Of course, this personal vendetta is rarely mentioned by historians. This event gave the Russian troops stationed in Northeast China an excuse to increase their forces in the region over the next month, citing the need to "protect the railway."

Soon, Lin Yuan, far away in Ryukyu, received this news. From the information about Russian troops protecting the railway, he sensed the impending war. Their newly recruited army still lacked weapons, which made him extremely anxious.

He went to the steel mill and saw that the coal had already been unloaded from the ship and stacked in the pre-built warehouse. The coking equipment was also ready, and the blast furnace had been constructed. This blast furnace was clearly smaller than the modern ones, which are often several dozen meters high, so it was built relatively quickly. When he arrived at the steam power workshop, the installation was almost complete, and several technicians were adjusting the equipment.

When he came to the open hearth and converter workshops, he saw Liu Jinqiu standing there, staring at a row of steel ladles. Steel ladles are used to hold molten steel. Lin Yuan walked up and asked, "Teacher Liu, what's the matter?"

Liu Jinqiu frowned and said, "The shapes of the cast steel are too limited, and I'm afraid they won't meet our needs."

Lin Yuan thought for a moment and asked, "What do you mean?"

Liu Jinqiu said, "I think the British are trying to trip us up again. They only gave us one type of steel mold, which means the steel we produce can only be cylindrical."

Lin Yuan said, "That won't do. The first batch of steel we produce must be used to manufacture processing equipment. We need to make machine tools, stamping machines, and external refining equipment, which will require various types of steel molds."

Liu Jinqiu shook his head and said, "Let's not even talk about external refining. We lack sensors, and it's unimaginable to have external refining without complete monitoring and control equipment."

Lin Yuan asked, "Can we make the steel molds ourselves?"

Liu Jinqiu sighed and said, "We can, but we don't have anyone who knows how to do it. Even in modern steel mills, many molds still need to be made by hand. Our ship's engineers can design the molds, but they can't actually make them. To do this well, we need experienced masters."

Lin Yuan asked, "Can't you do it?"

Liu Jinqiu smiled and said, "I do theoretical research. Making things by hand is completely unrelated to my work!"

Lin Yuan thought of Cheng Jiuzhen and said, "Can't Cheng Jiuzhen do it?"

Liu Jinqiu nodded and said, "He can, but the people in his family are not enough. We need more hands."

Lin Yuan thought for a moment and said, "I saw an iron statue in the king's palace, which is said to have been cast in one pour. I wonder if the person who made it can make molds."

Liu Jinqiu said, "He probably can. Why don't you go find him and see if he can help?"

When Lin Yuan returned in the afternoon, he found that the coking plant had already started operating and had produced some coke. As he was walking, Shen Wanqing approached him and asked, "How did it go? Did you find that person?"

Lin Yuan sighed and said, "I found him, but he didn't even look at me and sent me away."

Shen Wanqing covered her mouth and laughed for a while, then said, "Our great ship captain isn't new to being turned away."

Lin Yuan said, "Don't even mention it. That old man is playing mahjong every day now."

Shen Wanqing's eyes lit up at the mention of "mahjong" and said, "I might have a way to get him to help us."

Lin Yuan asked her, and she said, "You'll see."

The two of them walked through the streets and alleys and arrived at a quiet courtyard. The sound of mahjong tiles could be heard from inside. Lin Yuan said at the door, "I found out that this old man is named Chen Bo. His ancestors also came from China, and he is particularly skilled at casting iron."

Shen Wanqing bit her lip and thought for a moment, then said, "So, he's just a blacksmith! Watch me deal with him."

Without knocking, she pushed the door open and entered the courtyard. Lin Yuan, who didn't expect this, had no choice but to follow. Chen Bo didn't recognize Shen Wanqing but recognized Lin Yuan. Chen Bo smiled and said, "Young man, go back. You're using machines to forge iron now, so why do you need an old man like me?"

Shen Wanqing smiled and said, "We didn't come to ask you to come out of retirement. We came to play mahjong with you."

Chen Bo was quite confident in his mahjong skills and smiled, saying, "Little girl, do you know how to play mahjong?"

Shen Wanqing's response left Lin Yuan speechless. She smiled and said, "No, I don't."

The four people at the table laughed. Shen Wanqing didn't care and took a chair to the table, smiling sweetly and saying, "I don't know, but you can teach me."

Chen Bo laughed and said, "You look so delicate and fair. Seeing you reminds me of my granddaughter. Alright, I'll teach you how to play."

After watching a few rounds, Shen Wanqing smiled and said, "Mahjong is so simple, it's boring."

Chen Bo smiled helplessly, and Shen Wanqing said, "How about this: let's play a few rounds. If I win, you'll come out of retirement and help us make things."

Chen Bo smiled disdainfully and said, "What if you lose?"

Shen Wanqing, looking very confident, said, "I won't lose."

The people at the table laughed again. One of them moved aside, and Shen Wanqing sat down. To Lin Yuan's surprise, Shen Wanqing won five consecutive rounds!

Shen Wanqing spread her hands and said, "Old Master Chen, you lost."

Chen Bo was speechless and asked, "Didn't you say you didn't know how to play?"

Shen Wanqing smiled and said, "I don't know how to play, but I just need to know how to win to win."

Chen Bo shook his head and smiled, saying, "Alright, I'll help you make the molds, but you have to explain to me how you managed to win every round."

Shen Wanqing smiled and said, "That's easy. When I played, I knew everyone's tiles. How could I not win?"

Chen Bo couldn't help but ask, "How did you do that?"

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