I founded a heavy industry group in the late Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 005 The First Pot of Gold

Chapter 005

"Bo'an, we'll be family soon, would I lie to you?"

"If I ever trust you again, I'm not a Song!"

Song Xianze didn't give Chen Ying a chance to speak at all; he ran very fast with his short legs.

Chen Ying watched Song Xianze's retreating figure without disappointment. Although Song Xianze was the only male in the Song family, the real head of the family now was Song Yanniang.

Chen Ying's new house was finally basically completed on the ninth day. Except for the wall near the ditch, which was built with blue bricks, the entire house was built with rammed earth.

Chen Ying did not build five houses, a small courtyard, plant trees in front of and behind the house, or reserve a vegetable garden on his two and a half acres of land, unlike other ordinary families.

With the completion of the main project, most of the military households and members of the Song family left one after another. What Song Yanniang found strange was that a huge cowshed was built in the backyard of the Wang family's farmland.

Slightly different from ordinary cattle sheds, this cattle shed is very tall, standing at a full 18 feet, making it a very unique building in the entire Mamuji area.

Chen Ying watched as the ground in the courtyard was leveled and compacted. In this era, he finally had a decent home. However, Song Yanniang was not happy.

She fully supported Chen Ying in building the house, especially since all the food for the one or two hundred people during the construction was brought from the Song family. According to market prices, this food was worth a full eighty taels.

She spent all of the Song family's savings of over sixty taels of silver, along with the family's grain reserves, until they were completely depleted.

Rumors had been circulating in Songjiazhuang for some time, saying that Chen Boying had somehow bewitched Song Yanniang and had emptied the Song family's coffers.

Song Yanniang wasn't actually worried that the Song family's wealth hadn't been depleted, because the Song family still had 278 mu of land, so no matter what, Song Xianze wouldn't go hungry.

What she was most worried about was Chen Boying's attitude.

The land she bought for twenty taels and five mace of silver was registered under Chen Boying's name, and she gave Chen Boying the silver without any receipt.

If Chen Boying were to turn his back on her, she would be powerless to do anything about it. Moreover, she could hear whispers in her ear, "Just wait and see, within three days, Chen Boying's marriage to Song Yanniang will definitely fall through."

If the wedding really falls through, she'll have nowhere to cry.

Song Yanniang was wiping mud off the window frame with a coarse cloth in her hand. This house, inside and out, was the result of her hard work. Because she and Chen Boying were tall, the new house was built tall, and the door frame was also tall.

Even if Song Yanniang stood in front of the door, it would still seem just right.

"Brother Chen, everything is ready. The stove has been tested, the flue is clear, the water tank is full, and the bed boards are set up. It's hot now, so in ten to fifteen days at most, after the dampness dissipates, it will be habitable!"

Chen Ying said softly, "Yan Niang, thank you for your hard work. I've already asked Wang Po from our garrison to go to the Song family to propose marriage tomorrow!"

"real?"

Song Yanniang had a feeling that it was unreal.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you marry into the Chen family in style!"

"Um!"

Song Yanniang didn't believe it. Now that the money was all gone, Chen Ying had less than three qian of silver left. What was he going to do to look good? He probably couldn't even afford a single wild goose.

Song Xianze stood at a distance with his arms crossed, watching coldly. He had also heard the rumors. If Chen Boying dared to go back on his word, he would show Chen Boying what it meant for a common man's anger to cause bloodshed.

A growing crowd gradually gathered in front of Chen Yingxin's house.

Most of them were local residents and migrant workers. The houses were built, and the show should end; that was the prevailing sentiment. They craned their necks, whispering amongst themselves.

"Wow, how impressive..."

"What's the use of being impressive? I heard they've spent all their money."

"Has the Song family's entire fortune been poured into this?"

"That Chen Boying kid, he's really good at causing trouble..."

"And then what? Starve?"

When Shen Keqin and Wang Baishun heard this, they immediately became anxious. Chen Boying promised them that if they could get the large crucible sorted out, he would give them five dou of grain.

If Chen Ying runs out of money and food, wouldn't all their efforts have been in vain?

Shen Keqin put down his tools and hurried to Chen Boying's side: "Boying!"

"Uncle Shen, Uncle Wang, is everything ready?"

"Okay, but..."

Wang Baishun opened his mouth but didn't say anything. He was a little embarrassed, even though Chen Boying had promised to give each of them five dou of grain.

The problem is that so many people from the Hundred Households Office come here to work, and everyone is treated the same way. They are only provided with food, but not paid wages. Moreover, Chen Boying is also out of money.

"Uncle Shen, Uncle Wang, I, Chen Boying, keep my word. Tomorrow, at the latest by noon, I will definitely deliver the grain to your homes!"

"But... we've run out of food at home."

"Alright then, Uncle Wang, Uncle Shen, you two wait here. You're sure to see grain tonight!"

Upon hearing this, Song Xianze curled his lip: "Let me make this clear first, we're out of grain. The food we ate today was bought from the Ding family for two taels of silver!"

Song Yanniang was also slightly nervous.

"Haha, if I say it's there, it's there!"

"I really don't know where your confidence comes from!"

Song Xianze was increasingly disgusted with Chen Boying. He was too good at deceiving people. His silly sister was completely fooled by Chen Boying.

Just then, Chen Daniu and Wang Tiezhu came running up, panting: "Boying, we're back!"

"Did you buy it?"

"I got it!"

Chen Daniu took out about one tael of silver from his pocket and handed it to Chen Ying, saying, "This is the remaining silver."

Two large carts loaded with coal, pushed by several soldiers, slowly entered Chen Ying's new courtyard.

"Uncle Wang, Uncle Shen, here's one tael of silver. You two can divide it!"

Chen rushed forward to inspect the coal, and sure enough, just as he had requested, he wanted coke, not ordinary coal. Although Yongcheng also produces coal, it is one of the six major anthracite coal bases in the country.

It's a real shame that Yongcheng's coal is buried between 200 and 1,300 meters underground, but the problem is that Yongcheng's elevation is only about 30 meters, which means it's impossible to mine with current technology.

Fortunately, Chen Ying only needs a small amount of coal now, which can only be purchased from Xiao County, and the cost is not low. These two carts of coke weigh less than 4,000 catties, but the transportation cost a full nine taels of silver.

When Song Xianze saw that Chen Ying had actually bought two cartloads of coke from afar, he subconsciously thought that Chen Ying was simply crazy. He could use firewood or charcoal to cook.

Charcoal and firewood are both cheaper than coal.

"spendthrift……"

Song Xianze practically labeled Chen Ying.

"Sis, let's go home!"

"OK!"

Song Yanniang returned to Song Family Village with trepidation. In the huge house, only Chen Ying, Chen Daniu, and Wang Tiezhu remained. She closed the gate and led Wang Tiezhu and Chen Daniu to the backyard.

Using the firewood he had prepared beforehand, Chen Ying used the strangely shaped stove in the backyard. This was actually a homemade refining furnace that Chen Ying had built based on his professional knowledge.

After the firewood was lit, the coke was ignited. As the furnace of the refining furnace began to burn, and after repeatedly checking the furnace chamber for any signs of cracking, Chen Ying threw the iron fragments of the iron Buddha statue into the furnace, closed the lid, and shut the furnace door.

"Da Niu, you work the bellows!"

"Why me?"

"Don't you want a wife anymore?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Daniu obediently started the bellows.

In later generations, many people believed that the hereditary system of military households in garrisons was a shackle on military households.

Actually, isn't this a form of protection?

Although military households are hereditary, the problem is that in each generation, only one person needs to be registered as a registered member. Others can go to school, participate in science, or sell salt and forge iron weapons without being subject to too many restrictions.

Since the imperial court was not responsible for the military expenses of the garrisons, the garrisons in various places could increase their income through all means.

When Chen Ying was considering ways to make money, the first thing that came to mind was making soap. The technology was not complicated; he had even made soap by hand when he was in school.

The problem is that the key ingredient in soap making is oil, preferably vegetable oil, which is extremely difficult to obtain now after the floods in Guide Prefecture.

Even if you manage to get your hands on one, where will you sell it?

In chaotic times, survival is the most important thing. Even for a landlord family like the Song family, Song Xianze and his sister Song Yanniang considered it a luxury to add a few drops of sesame oil to their meals.

Brewing also requires a lot of grain.

More importantly, the magistrate of Yongcheng County is Sun Chuanting. Not to mention, if he knew that Chen Ying dared to brew wine, he would directly let Chen Ying experience what it means to be a magistrate who ruins a family and a prefect who wipes out an entire clan.

Moreover, only a few landlords have the purchasing power, so even if they brewed strong liquor, who would they sell it to?

After much deliberation, Chen Ying, having unexpectedly discovered the iron Buddha statue, decided to utilize his professional expertise—metallurgical engineering—to…

Chen Ying watched the pig iron slowly melt inside the furnace through the observation port, while he and Wang Tiezhu dried the cooling tank and mold.

Molten steel will not explode if it falls directly into water, but it will explode instantly when it comes into contact with moisture, with a power comparable to a bomb.

He had Wang Baishun and Shen Keqin use ceramic refractory materials to create a strangely shaped mold, which was a plow.

Of course, Chen Ying was not going to create the common curved-shaft plow popular in the Ming Dynasty. This type of plow was used until the founding of the People's Republic of China because its functions were so perfect that there was almost no room for improvement.

However, such a wooden curved plow can cost anywhere from a few taels to ten taels of silver. The main factor affecting its value is the material; ordinary, inexpensive poplar and pine wood have different values.

Of course, willow, mulberry and birch are different.

Chen Ying directly crafted a more advanced iron-shafted plow, which could improve work efficiency by 40 percent compared to the curved-shafted plow. However, the problem was that the iron-shafted plow required more than 40 kilograms of iron.

According to the manufacturing costs of the Ming Dynasty, more than 40 catties of iron would cost nearly 400 wen, plus a plowshare weighing seven or eight catties, so the total cost of iron materials would be around 500 wen.

Although pig iron can be used to cast iron plowshares, the problem is that cheap pig iron is not in Chen Ying's interest.

Chen Yingcai used a refining technique, which can directly add the cheapest pig iron, which costs nine cents per pound, and mix it to allow the carbon elements in the pig iron to react chemically with the oxygen in the air.

This process produces carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide, turning pig iron into low-carbon steel. This low-carbon steel is then subjected to cold casting and surface heat treatment to form steel with a hardness no less than that of high-carbon steel.

The cost of forging a 50-pound iron plow is only 720 wen, which is about one-tenth the cost of wrought iron.

In this way, the iron-shafted plow is not only simple in structure and sturdy and durable, but also cheaper than the wooden curved-shafted plow.

Just as dawn was breaking, Chen Ying observed that the molten iron had completely melted into molten steel. Only then did he begin to use a steel spatula to pry open the plug at the bottom, allowing the molten steel to slowly flow into the cooling tank.

After the molten steel is cooled in the cooling tank, it flows into the mold, where it is rapidly cooled and solidified by the water cooling effect. When the cooled mold is broken open, the iron plowshare inside is exposed.

Chen Ying then subjected the iron plow to surface heat treatment.

Wang Tiezhu stared in disbelief and asked, "Why are you making a plow?"

"Of course we'll sell!"

Since it was a trial production, Chen Ying melted only a little over 100 jin of pig iron, barely enough to cast two iron plows. The remaining low-carbon steel was cast into steel billets.

Exhausted, Wang Tiezhu said, "I'm hungry..."

"We've run out of food!"

"Oh no... how could you... do this?"

"I'll treat you to something delicious!"

Chen Ying, along with Wang Tiezhu and Chen Daniu, placed the newly crafted iron plow on a cart, covered it with a layer of dry grass, and headed towards Songjiazhuang.

When they arrived at Songjiazhuang, Song Xianze was having lunch with Song Yanniang and her brother. Their lunch was a simple millet porridge with radishes.

Song Xianze quickly finished the porridge in his bowl: "You... why are you here?"

"Chen Lang..."

Song Yanniang looked at Chen Ying with delight, then was somewhat surprised. Wasn't it agreed that a matchmaker would come to their door? Why did she bring her own cart?

Chen Ying sat down in the chair with an air of superiority: "Bo'an, get me some meat!"

"You still want to eat meat?"

Song Xianze shook his head vigorously: "No, no, not a chance!"

"Then I'll go to Dingjiazhuang..."

"You'll be beaten up if you go to the Ding family's house!"

Chen Ying pointed to the iron plow on the cart and laughed, "What if I present this new plow to the Ding family? It could increase the plowing speed by at least 40%."

Song Xianze didn't say anything, but walked over and personally lifted the new plow to test it.

The plow handle's curve fit perfectly in his hand, and the center of gravity was cleverly designed, making it easy to hold. He touched the plow head; it was made of high-quality steel, with a sharp blade that gleamed with a cold, azure light.

"This is... made of high-quality steel?"

"Otherwise what?"

Chen Ying asked casually, "Is this gift worth a meal of meat?"

"Worth it, so much worth it!"

Song Xianze thought to himself, regardless of whether this plow is 40% efficient or not, just the 40 or 50 catties of steel, even if it is just the tenth-refined steel used to make the blades, is worth three qian of silver per catty. This plow is worth at least fifteen taels of silver.

"What's so special about eating stewed meat?"

Song Xianze, with his short legs, ran towards the chicken coop at home.

Song Yanniang could only smile wryly, but she was still very happy to see that her brother's relationship with Chen Ying had improved.

Half an hour later, Song Xianze and Chen Ying arrived at the Song family's field and began to test the new plow.

A skinny old ox was pulling an iron plow forward.

Wang Tiezhu was the one holding the plow.

This young man was strong and capable, and his arms were bulging with veins.

The plow tip broke through the hardened silt like a knife slicing tofu, turning up neat and even ridges of soil with just the right amount of broken clods.

The plow body turned left and right with ease, navigating around stones and tree roots in the field with incredible agility.

Song Xianze silently calculated in his mind that, just as Chen Ying had said, the speed could be increased by at least 40%. He had gotten the answer he wanted. With this new plow, Chen Ying could not only make a fortune.

The Chen family had established themselves in Yongcheng. Now, after the flood, hundreds of thousands of houses collapsed, and a large number of farmers' farm tools were washed away. Most of the farm tools in this era were made of wood.

With such a new plow, not only can we plow quickly, but we can also plant another crop of autumn grain before the autumn harvest. This is a great thing that will save countless lives. Who will not remember Chen Boying's kindness in the future?

"stop!"

Wang Tiezhu reined in the ox, panting heavily: "This new plow really saves effort."

"Try the curved plow again!"

Chen Ying pointed to the two furrows and said, "Bo'an, look, this new plow goes into the soil eight and a half inches deep, while the old plow only goes in six and a half inches. The new plow turns the soil one foot and six inches wide, while the old plow turns it one foot and two inches wide. In the same amount of time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the new plow has plowed twenty feet, while the old plow has only plowed fourteen feet."

"All things considered, efficiency has increased by at least 40%, and the new plow is more maneuverable, while the old plow required half a day's worth of oxen's effort to make a turn."

Song Xianze rubbed the soil between his fingers: "This soil is turned over so well that it's breathable and retains moisture."

"Forty percent!"

Chen Daniu exclaimed in surprise, "Doesn't that mean that work that used to take ten days can now be finished in six? We can plow the fields now and still have time to plant the autumn crops, that's wonderful!"

"This new plow is so light; it saves the oxen so much effort!"

"Even without oxen, a person can pull it!"

Chen Daniu draped the rope over his shoulder and pulled the new plow.