mtl008 Chapter 389 Piecework Wages
Chapter 389 Piecework Wages
Yongxin Street, blacksmith shop.
The blacksmiths finished a day of sword-forging training. Their skills had become quite effective and they began to feel a little excited.
"I've already mastered the sword-forging technique. When can I start forging the ink sword?"
"I feel incredibly strong now. I'm just two kilograms of meteorite sand away."
"Nothing much to say, now I see iron and I want to hammer it twice."
The blacksmiths were arguing loudly, looking as if they were still not satisfied, and they didn't notice at all that Deng Jiuxian appeared behind them with a sinister look on his face.
Boom!
Several big men placed half a bucket of meteorite sand heavily on the ground. The blacksmiths looked back in surprise, somewhat confused.
Deng Jiuxian stepped on the edge of the bucket and pointed at everyone, "Whoever said they wanted to forge an ink knife, come over here and get the meteorite sand. If you can't forge an ink knife today, don't even think about eating!"
The blacksmiths were all confused. Meteorite sand?
Everyone moved closer and looked at the wooden barrel. They saw that the black sand and gravel inside the barrel was shining with a faint blue light. It was obviously rare meteorite sand.
The blacksmiths were stunned.
Some of them had seen meteorite sand, while others had never seen it. However, judging from the expressions of Deng Jiuxian and others, as well as the special appearance of the sand, it was obviously meteorite sand.
Isn’t it said that meteorite sand is rare and hard to find?
Isn't this stuff said to be worth more than gold? Why did they suddenly bring a huge bucket over here?
"Master Deng... Master Deng, is this really meteorite sand?"
A few brave blacksmiths asked tentatively, their eyes gleaming with excitement. Deng Jiuxian snorted coldly, "Stop talking nonsense! Now that we have the materials, let's see if you have real skills. If you can't forge an ink knife today, no one will eat!"
As he said this, he asked a few strong men to take out the meteorite sand, divide it evenly into two-liang portions, and distribute it to each blacksmith.
The blacksmiths lined up to receive their own meteorite sand, and even when they returned to the anvil, they still felt that it was a little unreal.
Meteorite sand was distributed so naturally?
Can you get this thing just by wanting it?
Don’t we need to carefully screen everyone’s skills and then distribute them based on the best ones?
The blacksmiths were confused, but they did not dare to slow down.
They knew that Deng Jiuxian never made promises easily. This opportunity was rare. If they could successfully forge the ink knife, there would be a considerable reward.
The craftsmen in Xiaofeng Village have two systems for monthly wages.
Take blacksmiths as an example. In addition to the fixed monthly salary, they also receive a certain amount of piecework wages.
Craftsmen can also receive additional rewards based on the quality of the forged knives.
For example, forging a high-quality steel knife can get a reward of 500 coins.
Forging an ink knife will reward you with 5 taels of silver.
This piece-rate wage method is not uncommon in later generations, especially in the manufacturing industry.
The more workpieces craftsmen produce and the higher the quality, the greater the rewards they will receive.
Chen Changfan flexibly uses this incentive method, which not only effectively motivates the enthusiasm of craftsmen, but also improves the overall craftsmanship level.
The craftsmen did not understand such a deep meaning. They only knew that the more knives they forged, the higher the quality, and the higher the wages they would get.
Therefore, when Deng Jiuxian taught the knife-forging skills, the craftsmen listened attentively, fearing to miss any details.
After all, this not only improves personal skills, but also brings in generous extra income. Only a fool would not take it seriously.
Dangdang Dangdang!
Soon, the sound of hammering could be heard from the blacksmith shop.
The hammers in the hands of the blacksmiths fell like rain, accompanied by exclamations of surprise from time to time.
It has to be said that with the addition of meteorite sand, the Moyun iron, which was originally difficult to plasticize and forge, has become much softer, as if it were endowed with spirituality. The forging process can be said to be smoother than ever before.
"One thing conquers another." Deng Jiuxian couldn't help but smile when he saw the knife blanks in everyone's hands gradually taking shape.
Meteorite sand and Moyun iron are extremely compatible, and even these ordinary craftsmen can control them.
According to his expectation, perhaps one of these craftsmen would be able to forge a few ink knives today, which would greatly reduce a lot of his burden.
If he had to handle all the orders for thousands of ink knives by himself, he would be exhausted.
Although the skills of these craftsmen are not as good as mine, the yield rate will naturally decrease, and the meteorite sand will inevitably be lost, but there is no shortage of materials at the moment, and it is more than enough for me to use.
"These young guys are really lucky. They practice with Black Cloud Iron and Meteorite Sand, which is much better than what I had back then."
Deng Jiuxian curled his lips, then opened another bottle of Erguotou and leaned back in the recliner to sip it leisurely.
After leisurely drinking half a bottle, Deng Jiuxian was about to fall asleep when he suddenly heard a burst of cheers.
Deng Jiuxian suddenly opened his eyes and saw the blacksmiths gathered around a fire, holding several shiny black knife blanks in their hands, their faces filled with excitement that was hard to conceal.
He was delighted, knowing that someone had forged the ink knife, but he deliberately squinted his eyes and did not stand up.
Soon, several footsteps were heard, and the craftsmen came running over excitedly. A tall man holding a black blade, his face flushed, said excitedly, "Master Deng, we finally succeeded! This ink knife is not only deep in color, but it can also cut through iron like mud!"
As he spoke, he picked up a piece of wire and cut it lightly with the blade. The wire broke with a sound, but the blade remained as good as before.
Cutting iron like mud is the qualification threshold for an ink knife, which obviously makes this man very excited.
Deng Jiuxian smiled slightly, put down the wine bottle, slowly stood up, walked to the man, carefully examined the still warm ink knife, and said with suppressed approval, "It's not bad. I'll go to Old Shen to get five taels of silver later."
"Thank you, Master Deng!" The tall man bowed quickly, his eyes full of gratitude.
Five taels of silver was a considerable sum of money even for the craftsmen in Xiaofeng Village, who had a relatively high income. Upon hearing this, the other craftsmen showed envy, turned back to their respective positions, and swung their hammers with shining eyes.
There was a moment of silence in the blacksmith shop. Everyone was silent, but they just worked hard and forged the swords against the clock.
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
The female workers in the weaving workshop next door were also disturbed by the noise and stuck their heads out to see what was going on. They saw sparks flying in the blacksmith shop, hammers clashing like thunder, and the air was filled with a burning smell.
This time, the men hammered even harder.
Seeing this, Deng Jiuxian nodded secretly in his heart, turned back to the recliner, continued to sip his Erguotou, and the smile on his face became more and more intense.
……
"Congratulations, sir, congratulations to Sect Master Yue. Today, the blacksmith shop has forged a total of five ink knives. Please take a look."
In the private room of Cuiyun Tower, when Chen Changfan was introducing the dishes to Yue Lingfei, Shen Wanwu pushed the door open with a happy look on his face, followed by Deng Jiuxian who looked very proud.
There were also two big men holding five black blades with a compelling luster in their hands.