Chapter 41

The dwarf innocently took out his money bag and without a second thought, threw it to Zhao Mai. Green’s mouth hung open, as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately swallowed his words.

After enjoying the superiority of his intelligence, Zhao Mai felt satisfied. He said to Green, "Green, I didn’t expect you to be able to retrieve this bag of salt. No matter how you did it, I am very grateful to you. Therefore, half of this bag of salt is yours."

At the peak of his glory, Green had bet thousands of gold coins at every poker table. Although the value of this bag of salt was not low, it did not reach that level. What he cared about was not much different from the dwarf Sock, both seeking recognition, but he had more social experience and was not as obsessed with one thing as the dwarf.

So he asked, "Why do this?"

"Because the loss of this bag of salt was half due to my negligence. You retrieved the salt, which means you also retrieved half of the responsibility, so you naturally deserve a corresponding share. As for the other half, you can help me sell it, then add the dwarf’s money to rent a blacksmith shop and buy the necessary materials."

Then, Zhao Mai opened the dwarf’s money bag, rummaged through it, and took out a gold coin, which was naturally the fate gold coin. "As for me, I’ll keep this gold coin as a reward for my idea. Even brothers need to settle accounts clearly."

The dwarf raised his glass and shouted, "For friendship! For our business!"

Green pondered for a moment. If he kept doing errands for others, he would soon get tired and might itch to return to his old gambling ways. Wasn’t this a good opportunity to start a new chapter and do something meaningful? Sock was a craftsman who was entirely focused on his craft, pure and passionate. "Mike" was well-informed, quick-witted, and fair and generous in his dealings, a trustworthy person. Green had no particular strengths, but he understood human nature and could manage various aspects well. The three of them complemented each other well, forming a good team.

"I shouldn’t take half of this bag of salt, but refusing would be pretentious. I might as well convert it into money and invest it." Green said to Zhao Mai, "It’s not too late yet. I can handle this before the guild closes, then contact the blacksmith shop overnight. We should be able to start work by morning."

Zhao Mai was a bit surprised and pointed to the salt, asking, "Is it that easy to handle?"

"At first, I didn’t know what you were selling, thinking it would be complicated. Later, I realized I was overthinking it. These things aren’t hot potatoes; no one cares or questions where they come from. Everyone needs salt, so there’s no worry about sales. We can directly entrust the guild to sell it. The guild will charge a commission but will settle the payment immediately. Salt is a commodity with a known market value, so everyone has a clear idea of its worth, and the guild won’t cheat us."

"Then it’s settled. You go ahead, and I’ll flip through the dictionary to learn the relevant professional terms, then work with Sock to make a list of what we need. We’ll probably work all night, but..." Zhao Mai raised his glass, "For us!"

"For us!" The three glasses clinked together, foam flying everywhere, indistinguishable from one another.

The three of them split up, "Mad Rat" Green went to handle various tasks, while the other two got busy at the inn. Sock, considering Zhao Mai both a mentor and a friend, naturally didn’t hold back, asking him to treat them to meat. "I need a lot of food to replenish my strength and have some reserves. The human blacksmith shop I saw earlier is far inferior to ours, so I need to be well-fed to do a good job!"

"No problem." Treating people to a meal is a popular activity for the Chinese, and it might even be the most popular. "Eat more this time. If you can make me a musket, that would be even better."

"No problem!" Sock chuckled, "You need a musket for self-defense; you’re too weak."

"Ha, why does everyone say I’m too weak? Is it that obvious?"

"Really, you look like you’ve read too many books and seriously lack exercise. To use a musket, you need to build up your arm strength, at least to the point where your shoulders are as broad as mine."

"Elephants’ legs aren’t even as thick as yours!"

"What’s an elephant?" The dwarf pouted, "Forget it, elephants don’t matter. I don’t care about small animals."

"I do. In five days, I’ll start my Druid training, learning about plants and animals, and then magic. Getting stronger isn’t just about physical exercise."

"Druid! Congratulations are in order. We dwarves have underground druids who help us expand our caves, maintain the underground ecosystem, and provide food and meat. Without them, we wouldn’t even have food! Druids are very powerful!"

"Is treating you to a meal making me a Druid?"

"Haha, that doesn’t count, absolutely not." The dwarf’s eyes narrowed into slits with laughter, "At most, it counts for a tiny bit."

Seeing the dwarf’s short, thick fingers steadily draw a hair-thin line, Zhao Mai knew he was a good blacksmith and felt reassured.

Zhao Mai opened the dictionary left by the old angel, feeling for the first time how powerful this dictionary was. Previously, he had only looked up everyday words, but when he flipped to various chemical compounds and other professional terms, he found translations. Moreover, it carefully listed methods to help the local natives understand these terms accurately.

For example, under the word "carbon," it included charcoal, coal, and coke, each described in detail with preparation methods. Some of the common terms Zhao Mai didn’t recognize, but they looked like alchemical vocabulary.

He copied the entire sentence, learning each word one by one. Although this didn’t mean he had the practical skills, it helped him understand the alchemical thinking of this world. The formula for black powder was something every internet novel enthusiast knew, becoming the go-to choice for "conquering a foreign world with technology." However, Zhao Mai didn’t believe that without the support of an industrial system, black powder had any overwhelming power against meteor showers. Even if he could use space weapons, what could he do against interdimensional attacks?

Relying on this to conquer a magical world was purely a dream. The only use was to make weapons for self-defense, helping him safely navigate the "newbie period." Everyone knew his combat strength was too weak. Even if he could happily play the role of a pig eating a tiger, in the end, always pretending to be weak would drive him crazy.

Looking at the dwarf who was eating voraciously, Zhao Mai thought for a moment and decided to stick to his original plan, not to tell him the formula and processing methods for now. On a larger scale, he was worried that revealing too much might attract the attention of certain deities. On a smaller scale, he didn’t know how to explain to the dwarf how he got the formula. It seemed Sock wouldn’t stop researching, so he shouldn’t limit his thinking.

Without gunpowder, there were still methods for artificial explosions in this world, so why worry so much?

While thinking, he wrote, using a jumble of things to cover the real formula, and made a list to see what he could buy.