Chapter 28

Of course!

Edgar was taken aback, looking at Tang En with pleading eyes: "My Lord, are you placing an order?"

"What order... Oh, I suppose it could be considered an order, but not for weapons or equipment."

Tang En said, "Today, I inspected the farmland..."

I like the word 'inspection'!

Tang En felt a strange sense of satisfaction and continued, "I noticed that everyone is still using wooden farming tools, so I want to issue some agricultural subsidies in the name of the lord to help everyone switch to iron tools."

"Really?"

Edgar quickly calculated the number of farmers in Ellington and was overjoyed. Although the price of farming tools was not as high as that of weapons, the sheer quantity would still bring him a substantial profit.

"Of course, it's real. Additionally, I have something else I need you to help forge, but let's confirm this first."

"Sure, sure. Everyone knows that iron tools are better, but they are too expensive, so everyone has been using wooden ones. My Lord, what did you say...?"

"Agricultural subsidies."

"Right! Agricultural subsidies—by the way, what does that mean?"

It was only then that Edgar realized he didn't understand what Tang En was saying.

If you don't understand, why are you so excited!

Tang En suppressed the urge to roar and patiently explained. Only then did Edgar understand. In short, agricultural subsidies meant the lord would spend money to help everyone get better tools!

If Fiona were here, she would be even more shocked and amazed—shocked by his skill in winning people's hearts and amazed by his extravagance!

"This is a great thing!"

Edgar was extremely excited, "My Lord is truly sent by the gods to save us in Ellington! If everyone knows about this, they will be very grateful to My Lord!"

"Let's keep this a secret for now. We'll announce it after the tools are forged."

"Alright! I swear by the gods, I will keep this a secret!"

Hearing him swear by the gods, Tang En subconsciously checked outside for any thunder, but heard none.

Was it just a coincidence this morning?

Tang En quickly dismissed the thought.

"Wait, wait, wait! Brother!"

Bryan couldn't stand it anymore, fuming, "You called me here just to forge farming tools!? Are you kidding me!?"

"Of course not!"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Bryan was furious, "I, Bryan of the Forgehammer family, and you want me to stay and forge farming tools!? The Forgehammer family's emblem would cry! It's really crying!"

"Oh?"

Tang En said lightly, "Even if these tools will be updated later, wouldn't you be willing to use new alloys?"

"Not... of course, I would!"

Bryan's expression changed instantly, and he said with great righteousness, "Forging weapons is just for killing, but forging farming tools is for the benefit of all! I love forging farming tools, and no one can take that from me! Otherwise, I'll be angry!"

Tang En smirked, "You little guy, trying to outsmart me? You're still too young!"

Bryan inwardly sneered, "Trying to outsmart me? Your face is still too thin!"

"I understand, My Lord. So, we'll forge these tools according to the previous ratio, right?"

Edgar looked troubled, roughly estimating in his mind. Although iron ore was somewhat scarce, it would be enough if they were careful.

Tang En noticed Edgar's hesitation, "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

"No problem! I'll get it done!"

"Hmm," Tang En nodded, "Right, although we're talking about iron tools, they don't have to be entirely iron. Just the key parts need to be iron, like the heads of hoes, rakes, plows, and scythes. The handles can still be wood. Full iron tools would be wasteful and too heavy to use."

"I see, I didn't think of that!"

Edgar was enlightened. With this calculation, there would be a surplus of iron ore, which made him happy.

Tang En gestured for him to start calculating, "Estimate how many of each tool you need to forge, and give me a quote."

Edgar quickly calculated, "My Lord, to my knowledge, there are 1,232 households in Ellington. If all of them are to be replaced, we need at least 1,232 of each tool. Considering replacements, we need to forge more than 1,500. Using iron only for the key parts will reduce costs significantly. Scythes and rakes will cost 10 silver coins each, and hoes and plows will be slightly more expensive at 15 silver coins each. These are the cost prices."

Edgar's quote to Tang En was genuine, with no markup.

"Hmm, I'll allow you a profit of 1 silver coin per tool. The selling price will be 11 silver coins and 16 silver coins, respectively."

Tang En didn't even need to calculate. Even if every household bought one of each, a subsidy of 1 gold coin per tool would be enough. That's only 1,232 gold coins, a small price compared to the increased agricultural efficiency.

"My Lord is wise."

"Don't flatter me. How long will it take? Is a month enough?"

"One, one month!?"

Edgar and Bryan both jumped up. Bryan shouted, "Brother, are you kidding me! Starting now, even if we work day and night, it will take us at least half a year to finish!"

Tang En was stunned, "Half a year!? That's excessive, it's just a few tools..."

"An outsider is an outsider!"

Bryan huffed, "Edgar! Don't waste time with him! At least half a year!"

"This... My Lord?"

"This is too slow!"

Tang En frowned. Half a year would delay the harvest season.

"Slow? Who dares say it's slow!"

Bryan was furious, "If it weren't for me, it would take even longer!"

"That's true."

Edgar agreed, "My Lord, forging iron tools requires smelting, repeated hammering, shaping, sharpening, and quenching. Each step must be done carefully."

"These are just farming tools, not weapons for battle. They can be a bit rough..."

"You're insulting us!"

Bryan fumed, "Forging is a sacred art. What we produce must be of the highest quality!"

"..."

Tang En was speechless. He realized he had made a mistake in his assumptions.

On Earth, due to advanced industry, everything is mass-produced on assembly lines. Factories produce thousands of items daily, but Plandar was different. There were no assembly lines or machines, everything was handmade!

For example, items here were like mass-produced watches compared to custom-made Patek Philippes. They had the same function but different added value!

But Tang En needed efficiency and mass production.

"Can't we recruit apprentices?"

"No, no. Apprentices need to learn and develop their skills, which takes years."

Bryan and Edgar shook their heads, discussing ways to improve efficiency, but they couldn't avoid the main issue.

There were too few skilled blacksmiths.

Tang En frowned, the efficiency was too low and needed improvement.

"Since that's the case, let's put the previous discussion aside and focus on an important issue."

Tang En pressed his hands down, signaling them to be quiet, and said, "How to improve efficiency."

"Brother, do you have any ideas?"

"Do you know how to use molds to improve efficiency?"

"Of course, every blacksmith knows how to use molds, but it doesn't solve the fundamental problem."

"Good, then I think it's time to innovate Plandar's outdated forging techniques."

"Innovate?"

"Exactly."

Tang En smiled brightly, "Assembly line production and lathe manufacturing technology... applause, please."

"Clap, clap..."

Edgar and Bryan, looking dazed, clapped their hands. The next moment, Bryan shouted, "Brother! I understand every word you said, but I don't understand the whole thing!"

Clearly, Edgar and Bryan were confused again.

"What is assembly line production? What is lathe manufacturing technology?"

These two might be witnesses to Plandar's industrial revolution, so Tang En had to explain patiently to get them started.

"Assembly line production is simple. The principle is to use a large number of workers to replace the repetitive work of one person. Each person completes one step and passes it to the next, working continuously, which greatly increases efficiency."

Bryan couldn't help but ask, "I understand the principle, but why does it increase efficiency?"

Tang En almost thought he would ask, "Why are pigeons so big?" He had to patiently explain what efficiency was, how to improve overall efficiency, and how to enhance production efficiency by improving unit time efficiency...

After listening to Tang En's explanation, Edgar and Bryan were enlightened and amazed.

"Wow! I never thought ordinary people could do this without magic!"

"Why didn't we think of such a simple method?"

Edgar and Bryan suddenly felt like fools. It was such a simple idea, but why hadn't anyone thought of it before?

"However, Brother, this still comes back to the old problem. We don't have enough skilled blacksmiths!"

That's right. Whether forging by hand or using an assembly line, the lack of skilled blacksmiths was the biggest issue.

Tang En's solution was simple and brutal.

Bring lathes and presses to Plandar!

"This leads to the second point, lathe manufacturing technology."

Tang En smiled, "Since we can't improve overall efficiency, we need to improve unit time efficiency. If you two can produce more in a unit of time, efficiency will naturally increase."

Edgar and Bryan looked at Tang En as if he were a fool. Hadn't they just discussed this? It was clearly not feasible!

But what Tang En was about to tell them was that this method was not only feasible but highly feasible!

Lathe technology would change all of Ellington—no, it would change all of Plandar's industry!