Chapter 10

After several days of overcast and rainy weather, the rain finally stopped on the night of the sixth day. By morning, the clouds had dispersed, revealing a clear blue sky, and the sunlight that had been absent for several days once again shone upon the forest.

As soon as the rain stopped, Zhao Chen returned to his previous work routine. During the day, he led people to measure the mountains, and at night, he returned to the wooden cabin to draw maps. Occasionally, during his free time, he would play a game of chess with Old Qin.

In just a few short days, Old Qin's chess skills had improved dramatically. This old man would play with his left hand against his right hand all day long, so it was no wonder he had improved. Zhao Chen indirectly asked about it and learned that Old Qin would think ten moves ahead for every move he made. After that, Zhao Chen refused to play chess with Old Qin.

"Come on, boy, let's play a game!"

"No time! I still have a lot of work to do!"

"Doing work while lying there?"

"That... the boy is thinking about problems!"

"…I promise I won't cheat this time!"

Once someone gets addicted to chess, they become like Old Qin. To find a worthy opponent, Old Qin even admitted to cheating.

The search for the gold vein continued in an orderly manner, and the amount of gold extracted each day kept increasing.

One day, when a small handful of gold, about the size of a soybean, appeared in the split bamboo tube, Zhao Chen announced that they had found the gold vein. The crowd erupted in thunderous cheers.

During this period, everyone had been holding their breath, feeling as if they were climbing a mountain, inch by inch, until they finally reached the summit. The sense of achievement was indescribable.

A large group of people shouted and cheered on the mountain, waving their tools excitedly. Zhao Chen was repeatedly thrown high into the air by the excited crowd, completely submerged in the sea of cheers.

Old Zhuang lay on the ground, holding the few grains of gold, muttering something incoherently, his face streaming with tears mixed with mud, looking like a mud monkey.

The gold vein was found, and the gold reserves were substantial. Old Qin returned to the wooden cabin and excitedly reported the details of the gold vein to Li Er, sealing the report with fire wax. He handed it to Liu Cheng, who carefully hid it along with his own secret letter and hurriedly set off for Chang'an to report to Emperor Li Er.

Old Qin ordered a day off for everyone. The kitchen staff made a special meal of braised pork for the entire camp, using up all the game they had hunted in the past few days.

This rascal had finally come to his senses after seeing the five-spice beef that Zhao Chen had made. He shamelessly begged Zhao Chen to teach him many cooking techniques. Although his cooking skills were still mediocre, they were a world apart from the pig feed he used to make.

"Boy, I noticed something was off with you this afternoon. What's wrong?" After dinner, Old Qin, holding a thermos, walked into Zhao Chen's wooden cabin. Seeing Zhao Chen hunched over a table, silently staring at a map, he frowned and asked.

Hearing this, Zhao Chen looked up at Old Qin, gave a bitter smile, and pointed to the map, indicating that Old Qin should take a look.

"Boy, you know I can't read these maps!" Old Qin, seeing Zhao Chen's expression, knew something was wrong. Although he said he couldn't read the map, he couldn't help but step forward and look at it.

"These dotted lines mark the gold vein, which is quite large, but look here..." Zhao Chen, knowing Old Qin couldn't read the map, pointed to the marked area and explained, "Following the gold vein, there is a large rock formation!"

As he spoke, Zhao Chen couldn't help but sigh. "I've been worried about this for days. If the gold vein extends under this rock formation, it will be like an additional barrier, making things extremely complicated!"

"Is there no way to go around it?" Old Qin stared at the map with wide eyes, his expression suddenly becoming very serious. If what Zhao Chen said was true, it would mean they would have to abandon the newly discovered gold mine.

"There's no way to go around it!" Zhao Chen sighed.

In the modern world, this wouldn't be a problem, even if it extended hundreds of meters. But this was the Tang Dynasty, where mining was in its most primitive state. Extending too far would make it impossible to solve issues like drainage, ventilation, and lighting. If they insisted on going forward, it would cost lives.

Old Qin's face darkened, and he stared at the map in silence, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

During the day, the entire camp had celebrated the discovery of the gold vein, but by night, reality had dealt him a heavy blow, leaving him dazed and at a loss.

Seeing Old Qin's state, Zhao Chen paused for a moment before continuing, "We don't know the thickness of the rock formation yet. If it only crosses the gold vein, there might be a way out. We could just drill through the rock!"

"Easy to say, but how do you drill through it?" Old Qin raised his head angrily, his eyes red as he glared at Zhao Chen, his voice cold and harsh.

To drill through the rock formation would require the best steel. With the current tools, it would take an eternity to drill through such a large area.

"Uh! If we can determine the thickness of the rock formation, I can find a way to forge the tools needed to drill through it!" Zhao Chen, seeing Old Qin's angry face, looked at him cautiously and tentatively said.

"Stronger than the tools we have here?" Old Qin's expression changed slightly, and he frowned as he looked at Zhao Chen, his tone serious.

"Probably a world apart!" Zhao Chen thought for a moment, made a comparison, and then answered in detail. He even took a short dagger from his backpack and handed it to Old Qin.

Old Qin, a seasoned veteran who had handled weapons for half his life, was immediately startled when he held the dagger. The thin blade was adorned with layers of snowflake patterns. When he flicked it, it emitted a resonant hum, a sound only the best steel weapons could produce.

Suddenly, Old Qin trembled as if he had a seizure, his eyes almost spitting fire as he looked at Zhao Chen, his voice trembling, "With such masterful forging skills, why did you hide them and not share them?"

The more Old Qin thought about it, the angrier he became. The dagger was light and incredibly sharp. If such weapons were mass-produced for the army, the army would be unstoppable. But this boy had hidden them, and if not for the rock formation, he probably wouldn't have revealed them. This made Old Qin even angrier.

"That... I didn't plan to hide them!" Zhao Chen, seeing Old Qin's anger, wisely moved to a safe distance and cautiously defended himself, "The emperor said he wanted to mine the gold quickly!"

"Bullshit!" Old Qin, pointing at Zhao Chen, who was cowering in the corner, said angrily, "With such masterful forging skills, what difference would ten gold mines make?"

Zhao Chen stared at Old Qin, confirming that he wasn't insulting Emperor Li Er, and then sighed, "Alright! It's not too late. I'll draw the plans for you now!"

With that, Zhao Chen left the corner and came to the table, ready to start drawing the furnace and the necessary data for steelmaking. However, just as he picked up the pen, he received a heavy slap on the head from Old Qin.

"Your intentions are despicable!" Old Qin, after slapping Zhao Chen, shouted angrily with a purple face, "Why would I need such forging skills? You should draw them for the emperor!"

Indeed, he had forgotten that part!

Seeing Zhao Chen start to draw, Old Qin left the cabin as if his pants were on fire. Soon, Zhao Chen's cabin was surrounded by layers of fierce soldiers, their swords and bows drawn, ready to kill anyone who approached within ten paces of the cabin.

It was just a simple method of steelmaking, no need for such a grand display! Zhao Chen, seeing the soldiers protecting him like a national treasure, shook his head in helplessness and muttered to himself.

But then he thought, in this age of cold weapons, having advanced steelmaking skills was like having nuclear power in the modern world. He felt more at ease.

True steelmaking wasn't something that could be achieved with just words. It involved many aspects, and in the primitive industrial state of the Tang Dynasty, producing such high-quality steel was a pipe dream.

Fortunately, Zhao Chen wasn't trying to produce such high-quality steel. The simple method of steelmaking, though criticized in the modern world for producing many defective products during the mass steel production era, could still produce good steel if the carbon and iron ratios were properly controlled.

He meticulously drew the furnace for the simple steelmaking method and wrote detailed instructions in his notebook, including the necessary precautions and specific operations. By the time he finished, it was already late at night.

Stretching, he looked out the window and saw Old Qin still lying on a chair outside. Zhao Chen gave up on the idea of sleeping and scratched his chin, leisurely walking over to Old Qin.

"Finished?"

"What else?"

Zhao Chen picked a piece of beef from the plate in front of Old Qin and chewed it, not in a good mood.

Old Qin, hearing this, habitually raised his hand to slap Zhao Chen, but then, for some reason, handed the thermos to Zhao Chen.

Zhao Chen stared at Old Qin in surprise, not used to this sudden change.

Had he changed his ways?

Was he moved by my selfless contribution?

This doesn't make sense!

"Brat, what are you thinking? I just wanted you to have a drink!" Old Qin, feeling embarrassed by Zhao Chen's strange look, angrily took back the thermos and shouted at him.

That's more like it! This fits the image of a cunning old man!

"Uncle Qin, I have a question for you!"

Seeing Old Qin return to his previous unreasonable self, Zhao Chen's heart finally settled. He sat down opposite Old Qin, picking pieces of beef from the plate and eating them casually.