Chapter 71

In the afternoon, Shi Manqiang came over again. His family's blacksmith shop had received a lot of business thanks to the care of Zhao Jin, Chen Sheng, Wang Zhaojing, Sun Dalei, and other friends from well-off families. Although Xuzhou was in decline, his family's business had improved significantly. Shi Manqiang was very grateful for this and always wanted to do something for Zhao Jin and the others, in addition to maintaining their friendship.

This time, he came to discuss the matter of forging iron armor. The military's cotton armor, chainmail, scale armor, and lamellar armor were not allowed to be privately forged, and being caught would result in severe punishment. However, the bamboo armor designed by Zhao Jin, which resembled an iron bucket, did not fall under any of these categories and could be forged by the blacksmith shop.

Shi Manqiang and his father wanted to make a few sets and give them away for free, but Zhao Jin declined, saying that they could make them, but he would pay for them.

Moreover, the Shi family discovered that while it was simple to weave bamboo strips into armor, it was not easy to forge iron armor according to the specifications. Many aspects of the structure were completely different, so they had to come and ask for advice again. Zhao Jin naturally shared everything he knew, but this time he talked about the plate armor he remembered from his memories.

In Zhao Jin's memory, plate armor, long spears, and phalanx formations complemented each other. He remembered a friend explaining that in Europe at the time, weapon workshops could mass-produce plate armor components using water-powered machinery, which was very efficient.

However, after explaining the various requirements of the plate armor to Shi Manqiang, Shi Manqiang was stunned and repeatedly said he would go back and discuss it. When he came the second time, he had a troubled look on his face. It turned out that after calculating, the blacksmith shop would need at least thirty days to forge such a set of armor, and the cost would not be less than fifteen taels. Such armor was not something they could afford to give away, and even at fifteen taels per set, their shop could not sustain it.

Shi Manqiang thought he would embarrass himself this time, but to his surprise, Wang Zhaojing, Chen Sheng, and Sun Dalei were very interested. Wang Zhaojing and Sun Dalei both said they wanted to buy a set, and although Chen Sheng could not come up with that much silver, he was also very interested.

Seeing this, Zhao Jin directly priced the armor at twenty taels, not wanting the Shi family to work for free. Twenty taels was a huge sum for ordinary people, but for wealthy young men like Wang Zhaojing and Sun Dalei, it was simple. The next day, they brought thirty taels as a deposit. Dong Bingfeng, who learned about this on the third day, also brought silver from home.

Although Chen Sheng's family was wealthy, they were not as rich as the Wang and Dong families. Moreover, his parents were around, and he could not spend money as freely as Sun Dalei. So he was urgently trying to find a way, and it was said that his younger brother, Chen Hong, had already taken out his saved five taels to give him.

What was originally an awkward situation for the Shi family turned into a profitable job. Earning five taels per set was a big business for the blacksmith shop, especially since it was four sets at once.

Shi Manqiang was grateful, but he also knew this was a sign of his friends' trust, so he did not dare to be careless. During the process of making the armor, whenever there were problems, he would come and ask for advice. Zhao Jin knew the general idea, but many details still needed to be discussed, and this research itself was a pleasure.

The main part of the plate armor was two iron plates, one for the front chest and one for the back. How to connect these two plates was discussed for a long time in the afternoon. They drew diagrams on the ground and gestured, finally deciding to drill holes at the edges and connect the two plates with leather straps. They also needed to add separate shoulder guards.

Usually, Zhao Jin and his friends would practice until dusk, but today, with Mu Shulan at home, Zhao Jin felt a bit worried and said goodbye to everyone an hour earlier than usual, saying he would leave first.

Everyone understood why Zhao Jin was leaving early and greeted him with smiles. A few close friends even asked him to send their regards to Mu Shulan, and they all dispersed.

Carrying his long spear, Zhao Jin walked home. The commercial street was quiet again. Generally, no one would choose such a desolate place for business. Although Xuzhou was in decline, the Hubei Mountain area was where officials and the wealthy gathered, and there were a few bustling streets there. Zhao Jin thought about this as he returned home.

He placed the long spear in the courtyard and pushed the door open. He Cuifang poked her head out of the bedroom and asked, "Why are you back so early today?"

"Everyone said to finish early. How is Xiao Lan?" Zhao Jin poured a cup of tea from the teapot, which was still warm, and asked after taking a sip.

He Cuifang walked out of the house and sighed, "Xiao Lan's relatives came in the afternoon and took her away."

Relatives took her away? So quickly? The news from Mu's "relatives" was more sensitive than Zhao Jin had imagined. He casually asked, "Did they take the silver?"

"They left in a hurry and didn't take it."

"Mother, did you not tell them?"

"You naughty boy, what do you think of your mother? Would I be greedy for that little bit of money? Xiao Lan's cousin was in a hurry. I said I would go back and get it, but he said the family was waiting to see Xiao Lan and that the silver could wait. You know, Xiao Lan's family is not like ordinary people..." He Cuifang said, rambling on.

Not knowing when he would see her again, Zhao Jin felt a bit melancholy and put down his teacup.

Before he could place the teacup on the table, Zhao Jin's body suddenly stiffened. Something was wrong!

The Mu family was not that wealthy, and neither the White Lotus Sect nor the Fragrant Sect had that much money. Nearly two hundred taels was not a small sum. How could the people who took Mu Shulan say they didn't need the silver?

Last night, Mr. Mu was murdered, and today it was determined to be a revenge killing. There would be no official pursuit. The Mu family's "relatives," who were members of the White Lotus Sect or the Fragrant Sect, had nothing to fear. Why were they in such a hurry?

If Mr. Mu was a leader of the Fragrant Sect and was killed last night, and he had no subordinates around, why did someone come so quickly to inquire about a girl not even twelve years old?

Zhao Jin's mind raced. The peddler he saw in the morning often appeared in the area but not so early. The people he saw on the usually quiet street at noon—how could merchants suddenly appear in a place that had been deserted for so long?

Everything was wrong, and he had not noticed!

"Mother, how long ago did they take Xiao Lan?" Zhao Jin asked urgently.

"Less than half an hour. It's almost time for dinner. Where are you going?" He Cuifang answered, then saw Zhao Jin run out the door.

"I have an emergency!" Zhao Jin shouted, grabbed the long spear from the courtyard, and ran out. It should not have been too far in less than half an hour.

After running a few steps out of the courtyard, Zhao Jin stopped. The street was empty. Where had Xiao Lan gone, and how could he find her? He had no clue.

The sunset was already hidden behind the city wall, and the sky was filled with a brilliant afterglow. Zhao Jin glanced at it and had an idea. The city gates would close an hour before dusk, and with the days getting longer, the closing time had not been adjusted. If Mu Shulan had been taken less than half an hour ago, she should not have left Xuzhou.

After a moment's thought, Zhao Jin ran to the nearby Wang family. Unlike the formal visit last night, he greeted the gatekeeper and said he needed to see Wang Zhaojing. The gatekeeper, knowing he was the young master's friend, did not dare to be rude and quickly went to inform him.

Soon, Wang Zhaojing came out in casual clothes, looking puzzled. Before he could speak, Zhao Jin pulled him aside and whispered, "Go back and get your weapons. There's something important about Xiao Lan."

Wang Zhaojing was taken aback but, seeing Zhao Jin's serious expression, did not ask more questions and quickly ran back inside. A short while later, he came out with his sword.

"I feel something is wrong. It might really be her relatives, but we need to see her to be sure. Otherwise, it will be too late to regret..." Zhao Jin said solemnly on the way.

"Brother Zhao, how can we handle this? I'll go back and ask my father to write a letter to the authorities..." Wang Zhaojing said urgently.

"No, you should know what Xiao Lan's family is involved in. We have to investigate this ourselves. If the authorities get involved, it will cause unnecessary trouble!" Zhao Jin firmly interrupted.

Wang Zhaojing was taken aback, stopped, and, knowing the background of the Mu family from the Wang family's influence, immediately nodded and silently followed Zhao Jin.