"Hey, that ball was mine, I remember it!"
A proud voice rang out in the crowd.
"What happened to your ball? I'm the one who loaded the gunpowder for it!"
Another voice also loudly declared his contribution.
"Young Master, this thing is too powerful. If it's used on the battlefield, wouldn't it take down a whole group of people in an instant?"
Zhu Zi exclaimed from the side.
"This thing is called a cannon, and it is the king of future warfare! It exists purely for war. It's a top-notch weapon for defending cities, and if used in open field battles, cooperating with infantry, it can also turn the tide of battle."
Fang Er introduced calmly.
"You're the most amazing, Young Master! No matter how powerful this 'king of warfare' is, it was still made by you!"
Zhao Hu flattered from the side.
Mm, Fang Er found this very pleasing.
At least someone was finally flattering him.
"Alright, if any of you are itching to try, go ahead. Remember to clean the barrel, otherwise, there's a risk of it bursting, which can be fatal. The gunpowder should not exceed two jin; more than that is also fatal. Also, if you notice any changes in the barrel, stop immediately and inform me!"
Although he didn't know the maximum load capacity of the barrel, Fang Er was already satisfied with the current power. He had only made one cannon so far, so he had to be careful. Once materials were sufficient, he would consider other things.
Hearing Fang Er's words, a group of farmers shouted excitedly and rushed to the cannon, ready to start loading.
"Get to the back and wait! One by one, you bastards! Didn't the young master say to clean the barrel first?"
Zhao Hu kicked them away, one by one, and secured the prime spot for himself.
The others didn't get angry. They had either grown up together, naked, or were like uncles, and they were used to roughhousing.
Zhao Hu fired the cannon, while the others watched from a distance.
After he was done, the others would take turns firing the cannon.
Fang Er, on the other hand, left them to their own devices, taking Zhu Zi back to the manor, letting Zhao Hu and the others play, and incidentally test the reliability of the cannon.
Having eaten dinner early, Fang Er sat in the courtyard, watching Xiao Qing and the others play with Wangcai, and felt that life was very comfortable.
With a thought, he opened the system.
He didn't know when the shop had been refreshed.
"This damn thing, there's no notification."
Fang Er flipped through the new items that had appeared.
Ai Kang 58 * 200 jin
Zhou Mai 16 * 200 jin
Yan Nong 88 * 200 jin
Jimai 35 * 200 jin
After looking at only four, Fang Er got excited!
High-yield wheat seeds from later generations, with a yield of about twelve hundred to fifteen hundred jin per mu!
Even without fertilizer and pesticides, it could at least produce six hundred jin, which was half the yield!
Six hundred jin, what did that mean? The crops of this era only yielded over two hundred jin!
Looking at the others, they were all high-yield crops!
There were several varieties of pumpkin, potato, and sweet potato!
Without hesitation, Fang Er bought them all.
Then he refreshed again!
"Ugh, Wap.kanshuWu.net"
"Embarrassing!"
"Insufficient points, I'll go to your grandma!"
It had been many days since he last got money. Fang Er estimated that he could get several thousand taels, so he asked Zhu Zi to take more people to the Drunken Immortal Restaurant to retrieve the silver.
Zhu Zi knew that transporting silver was not to be taken lightly. Even though it was near the imperial city, if they encountered any unlucky fellows, it would be a huge loss. He directly selected ten villagers to accompany him into the city.
An hour later, Fang Er had finished telling a story and lulled Xiao Qing to sleep. He heard Zhu Zi quietly calling him from outside the door.
He got up with his clothes on and opened the door, seeing Zhu Zi standing at the door. There was a chest on the ground, and several villagers were standing in the courtyard.
"Young Master, the silver has all been retrieved. A total of eleven thousand taels."
Zhu Zi said, opening the chest.
"Wow!"
The silver gleamed under the oil lamp inside the house.
It was a bit beyond Fang Er's expectations.
"It's only been a few days? And it's already over ten thousand taels?"
But he didn't dwell on it; the more of this thing, the better.
After having them carry the silver into the house, he let them rest.
Closing the door.
Fang Er placed his hand on the chest, and the silver instantly disappeared, turning into system points.
"Hia`hia`hia`hia"
Fang Er happily lay back on the bed.
"Refresh!"
A golden light flashed.
Fang Er jumped up from the bed with a carp flip.
"Holy crap!"
"Seamless steel pipes! Three meters per section, ten sections per bundle!"
"What am I thinking! Buy, buy, buy!"
Thirty steel pipes were acquired!
Looking at the other items, Fang Er burst into laughter like a pig.
"Roar, roar, roar, roar, roar~~~"
"Angle steel, I-beam steel, various construction steels!"
"These things that are so common in later generations."
"But now they can be of great use. Even if they are melted down, they are better than the steel made now. Kanδん"
The next day, as soon as it was dawn, Fang Er got up early. He steamed a bowl of egg custard for Xiao Qing and kept it warm in the pot. After instructing Xiao Huan, he went to the backyard and found an unused empty room, where he stored all the steel.
He woke up Zhu Zi and asked him to bring people to deliver the steel to the workshop, while Fang Er went ahead himself.
The workshop was almost finished these days. With money, things were easy. The invited craftsmen were also from the nearby villages. Fang Er was generous with his money, and these craftsmen worked as if their lives depended on it, with the workshop changing day by day.
He had currently planned four sections here, each covering about three mu of land. Since it was unclaimed wasteland, after paying a sum of money to Wannian County, he successfully obtained the documents.
Of the four sections, the blacksmith workshop part was basically completed, consisting of a row of dormitory-like buildings, similar to factories in later generations.
However, they were mainly used for the craftsmen to live in. There was also a row of warehouses for storing materials and finished products. The actual work was done outside, as these workshops were made of wood. Blacksmithing required fire, so it was too dangerous to do it inside the houses.
Fang Er also planned to build two blast furnaces when he had time, as the current efficiency was too low.
At the workshop, Zhao Hu and the others had a great time yesterday. The sound of cannons came almost every few minutes. Fang Er could hear it from three to five li away in the manor.
It didn't stop until dark. After playing for half a day, Zhao Hu and the others knew the value of the cannons, so they consciously arranged for guards to take turns on watch.
When he arrived at the blacksmith workshop, Zhao Hu and the others were still asleep. The two guards saw Fang Er coming. One of the guards, Ma Han, quickly went up to pay his respects.
"Young Master, you're here so early. Do you have any instructions?"
"How were the cannons yesterday? Did you find any problems?"
Fang Er asked.
"Reporting to you, Young Master, we didn't find any problems. They just got hot after firing a few rounds. It was fine to fire them again after the barrel cooled down."
Ma Han replied.
"That's good. You can do whatever you were doing. Don't mind me."
Fang Er waved his hand, telling them not to mind him.
He was quite satisfied that they could arrange their own guards.
Entering the workshop, Fang Er took out his tools from the storage space.
He was mentally reviewing the blueprints.