Chapter 28: Leave One Hand

  Ten taels of silver for one thunderbolt bomb, Wu Ji is profiteering. The cost is less than one tael of silver, saltpeter, sulfur, charcoal, iron casting, and labor, adding up to just a few coins, each earning nine taels of silver in profit, no problem at all, except that it's profiteering, can't be described.

  Of course, this is still based on the fact that Wu Qi has not sold at a higher price. If Wu Qi's capital is strong and has enough sales network, the price will definitely be higher. It's just that this is not what Wu Qi can do for now, he can only give Qi Da Bao a certain profit margin.

  It's great to eat meat and drink soup. However, in business, this is a problem. If others don't benefit at all, who will help you make money? Therefore, Wu Ji followed his idea of eating meat and letting Qi Da Bao drink the soup, giving up some benefits to Qi Da Bao.

  "My goodness! Ten taels of silver for one!" Yang Xiuxiu patted her small chest, her pretty face full of surprise. If it weren't for Wu Ji saying so, she would have thought it was a lie.

  "Brother Jī, let's go and do it! The more we make, the better we'll sell!" Wú Jiàn was extremely excited, constantly rubbing his hands together, as if he couldn't wait to start making 180 of them.

  "Right! Right!" Yang Xiuxiu kept rolling up her sleeves, revealing two white and tender wrists, ready to go on stage at any moment.

  Wu Ji shook his head and stopped them, saying: "It can't be done for now!"

  "What can't be done? Why is that?! Such a lucrative business, can't wait!" Wu Jian was anxious and couldn't help it.

  Yang Xiuxiu gazed at Wu Ji, quietly waiting for him to make a statement. She knew that Wu Ji was doing this, and there must be a reason.

  As expected, Wu Ji touched Wu Jian's forehead and smiled: "Do it, we must do it. But the three Thunderbolt Bombs we made have a flaw, that is, there is no backup plan, and they are easy to disassemble. If they are disassembled, our secret will be revealed. So what we need to do now is to add something to prevent people from disassembling them, in order to keep the secret safe."

  Wu Ji tried one himself, used two at Qi Yun She, a total of three. These three, Wu Ji was present, and they were used up on the spot, so there's no need to worry about leaking secrets. The ten sold to Qi Yun She are different, if they can't prevent disassembly, Wu Ji's secret won't be kept for long, and will be deciphered by others.

  The ancients were far inferior to Wu Jie in terms of knowledge, ideas and technological level. However, there were also clever people among them, and once they had the opportunity, it was not impossible for them to decipher Wu Jie's secrets, so this matter must be prevented.

  Confidentiality is of utmost importance!

  "Brother Jiong, how can we keep it a secret?" Wu Jian was also a clever person and immediately understood, feeling somewhat worried.

  "It doesn't matter!" Wu Ji had already considered keeping this a secret and was just waiting for the right moment to put it into action: "Let's go see Master Zhang."

  At that time, the three of them left the house and rushed to the blacksmith's shop. As soon as they arrived at the blacksmith's shop, they saw Zhang Daniu alone selling iron tools and casting, busy with joy, sweating profusely.

  Wu Ji put down all the farm tools, vegetable knives and firewood choppers when he set up his stall. Wu Ji planned to sell them off and then end it.

  "Master Zhang, take a break and catch your breath." Zhang Daniu was indeed an honest man, diligent in his work without any laziness. Wu Ji had a particularly good impression of him. He came to the well-cast iron ball, examined it carefully, and was very satisfied.

  "Master, you pay me silver to work for you, how can I rest? The wages you give are several times higher than those of ironworkers!" Wu Jia's wages were several times higher than those of ironworkers. Zhang Daniu was very satisfied with this wage, and whenever he mentioned it, he couldn't help but shout out loud.

  "Master Zhang, taking a break and being lazy are two different things, don't mix them up. Working hard and resting for a bit is necessary." Wu Jie told Zhang Daniu to take a rest: "Master Zhang, take a breath first, I have something to tell you."

  Wu Jian hurriedly handed a bowl of hot water to Zhang Daniu, who took it and came to Wu Ji's side, asking: "Master, what is the matter? Just give me an order."

  "Will you do this?" Wu Ji took out a picture with some things drawn on it.

  This is a firing device. Zhang Daniu looked at it with some confusion, his eyes wide with scrutiny for a while before saying: "I don't quite understand, but somehow I seem to understand a bit of it."

  He's a straightforward man, honest and candid, he told everything without holding back. Wu Ji had to explain it to him, after explaining, Zhang Daniu understood and nodded: "Master, this matter is complicated, we can only rely on tempering."

  This firing device, in the Song Dynasty, without a lathe and other tools, can only rely on forging. This is a test of the ironwork's craftsmanship, Wu Ji asked: "Master Zhang, can you do it?"

  "Ability is doing. The first few times won't be too familiar, I need to get my hands used to it before I can do a good job!" Zhang Daniu still spoke with his usual sincerity.

  "That's great!" Wu Ji was very much in favor of this, and letting him practice was a must.

  Zhang Daniu didn't say a word, put down his bowl and came to the anvil, started preparing for work, burning the furnace, burning iron blocks. Then, he clamped the iron block, swung the hammer, ding-dong-dang, and began forging.

  This was the first time Wu Jia saw him forging iron, his hammering technique was skilled and he was a good hand. The equipment for striking fire was fine and precise, not big or complicated, under Zhang Dabao's careful forging, it took shape bit by bit.

  Until Zhang Daniu was busy with a big sweat, the first part of the firing device was done. Wu Ji took a look and thought it was okay, but still needed improvement, which would have to wait until Zhang Daniu became more skilled, no need to rush.

  Zhang Daniu took a look at Wu Ji putting the firing device components aside, knowing that he was not satisfied yet. He took a deep breath and continued to hammer away. It wasn't until he had hammered five times that Wu Ji was finally satisfied, taking the firing device to test it.

  The firing device must be guaranteed to be foolproof, otherwise, there may be leaks, and every one of them must be tested. In modern terms, that is to say, it must be "fully inspected".

  Assemble the parts together is a firing device, this is not difficult, it's a quick thing.

  The result of Wu Ji's experiment was not bad, whether it was soaking in water, pulling or disassembling, it would ignite the fuse. On the thunderbolt bomb, igniting the fuse was equivalent to detonating the thunderbolt bomb. If someone with ill intentions tried to disassemble it, they would lose their life.

  As for the test results, Wu Ji was still satisfied and came back to praise Zhang Daniu: "Master Zhang, you did a good job, keep doing it like this!"

  "Haha!" Is there anything more delightful than being praised by the master? Zhang Daniu let out a string of happy laughter and worked even harder.

  He forged one, Wu Ji tested one. At first, Wu Ji was testing with his own hands, later he just pointed and let Wu Jian and Yang Xiu Xiu test.

  This test was not difficult at all, and Wu Jian and Yang Xiu quickly mastered it. As soon as they grasped it, there was nothing for Wu Jue to do, and the work was done by others, with Wu Jue only needing to point out a few things.

  Spent an entire day making ten firing mechanisms.

  Zhang Daniu had to do the firing mechanism and also cast it, he must be busy, Wu Ji wanted Zhang Daniu to recommend an honest and reliable blacksmith with a good technique.

  Zhang Daniu thought for a while and recommended an ironworker named Duan Dapeng. Wu Ji asked Zhang Daniu to go and call him over, and after inspecting him, he found that this person was similar to Zhang Daniu in being exceptionally honest, with decent skills, so he hired him.

  By then, the Wu family's ironwork had Zhang Da Niu, Duan Da Peng and Qiao Da Yuan who was not yet skilled, three blacksmiths. Adding Wu Jian, Yang Xiu Xiu and Wu Ji himself, there were six people in total.

  Although there were only six people, it was quite a formal affair.

  The foundation has been laid!

  The entire Thunderbolt, the most troublesome thing is this firing device, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive. However, for any advanced weapon, secrecy is essential, and it cannot be helped. With this firing device, whoever disassembles it will die! In this way, the secret will be kept safe.

  Furthermore, when Wu Jie was casting the iron ball, he would spill some of the molten iron on the ground, resulting in a large amount of iron sand and fragments of various shapes, some sharp and some dull. When these were loaded into the iron ball, if an explosion occurred, the power of the thunderclap bomb would be greatly increased, equivalent to a killing net with a considerable coverage area.