Chapter 1453
Siege, Uniting the Power of Craftsmen [3]
Chapter 1453 Siege, Uniting the Power of Craftsmen [3]
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Whooshing, gurgling, buzzing, hissing—various soft sounds emanated from the core workshop area of the weaponry deep within the twilight mountains.
The female healers from the palace, bound by death contracts, are transforming raw materials in various workshops.
They either boil or purify the raw materials; or they sweep off the salt crystals attached to the grass and charcoal, pack them up, mark them, and store them aside, waiting to be transported to the next factory for a new round of purification and transformation.
After passing through five, six, seven, eight, and nine different workshops, it takes nine transformations to become usable military saltpeter.
Each conversion and purification of raw materials takes at least one or several days, and after several conversions, the time required is truly considerable.
That's why Qin Xiaomi has always wanted to take shortcuts to reduce the conversion time of military saltpeter.
Unfortunately, this kind of laziness cannot be cheated at all. The military saltpeter she produces by reducing the time can only be substandard military saltpeter... something that can explode but is not powerful enough.
But there was no waste.
These substandard gunpowder samples were sent to Fang Qing and his craftsmen to be used as fuel for the internal thrust of the combined gunpowder.
In short, nothing that is made will go to waste; everything will be useful.
In short, the entire Mushan Weapon Workshop is a collective effort of all the artisans of the Great Wei Dynasty, working together to create a weapon that surpasses the capabilities of our time, solely for the purpose of killing foreign enemies and protecting our homeland!
Ring ring ring!
"Be on guard! Keep a close eye on the sky! If you spot enemy poison sacs, report it immediately! Do not shoot them down! If the poison sacs land in the city, they may cause plague contamination. Do not shoot them down! If you find them, report them. There are special assassins to destroy them!" Ye Xifen's voice was loud and clear as she led the three hundred mountain women soldiers assigned to her to patrol and deploy defenses in the core weapon-making area of Mushan.
"Jingle, jingle, jingle!" Grandma Qin rang the bell and called out, "Xifen, it's Grandma Qin! We're back!"
To avoid being mistaken for spies and shot, the rules of Mushan stipulated that those who walked at night must ring a bell and shout out their identities every now and then.
Anyone who remains silent and acts suspiciously should be treated as a suspect!
"Put away the arrows, it's Old Madam Qin who's back!" Ye Xifen ordered, she truly maintained the demeanor of a female general.
"Xifen, come here, take this meat and rice and eat it. You're too thin, you need to eat more, otherwise you won't have enough strength and you won't be able to kill the enemy quickly when you're wearing full armor." Grandma Qin heard Qin Xiaomi say that Ye Xifen not only knew military law, but also had excellent aim.
How good is it?
It is almost the best in the Northeast.
Firearms are long-range weapons, and they require two things: range and accuracy.
So we need to take better care of Ye Xifen and make sure she eats more.
"Commander Ye, you eat by yourself, don't worry about us. You're the one who killed the enemy prince with a single shot, you deserve a meal for your meritorious service!" the mountain women soldiers said.
Upon hearing this, Grandma Qin no longer held back and served Ye Xifen another large bowl of stewed food from an earthenware pot, saying to her, "This is a soup made with live chicken, dried abalone, ginseng slices, and red dates. It's very nourishing. Drink more of it to replenish your lost blood and energy."
Upon hearing this, Ye Xifen was somewhat dazed... In her entire life, apart from her wife, the Qin family had been the kindest to her.
Her employer was even more willing to share the military merits with her.
When her name appeared in the victory report and became known throughout the city, she was shocked... She knew very well the rule in the world that when a servant made a contribution, all the credit belonged to the master.
But the employer didn't do that. Even though the employer still didn't quite trust her and wouldn't let her grasp the core of the weapon's raw material transformation, she didn't take any credit for what was rightfully hers. But she...
"Thank you for your generosity, Madam. I have enough to eat, please don't serve me more." Ye Xifen said politely, maintaining a slight distance so as not to upset the old lady later.
The lady had given her a second chance at life, and she would repay her with her life; she could not possibly serve two masters.
"There's still plenty left in the jar. Eating an extra bowl or two won't make a difference... Eat more to build up your strength so you can do your job better." Grandma Qin knew that no matter how capable her granddaughter was, she still needed a lot of help to get things done.
Ye Xifen couldn't refuse, so she had no choice but to accept the basket of food.
"Second daughter-in-law, let's go find Xiaomi for dinner." Grandma Qin smiled and led Second Aunt Qin to the temporary residence to wait for Qin Xiaomi.
More than half an hour later, Qin Xiaomi came in, smelling strongly of sulfur.
"Your face is so dirty, anyone who didn't know better would think you crawled into the stove." Grandma Qin felt sorry for her and handed her a wet towel.
When Qin Xiaomi took the bag and wiped her hands and face, she sniffed Qin Xiaomi's scent again and asked, "Won't you get poisoned from smelling these scents for too long? Xiaomi, you're the boss, you don't have to do all the work yourself..."
The second son is right, it's very dangerous. Let someone else do it, she can just give the orders!
"Why don't you teach Grandma? Grandma will come and help you with the chores. Grandma is very quick and efficient, and she will never hold you back."
Qin Xiaomi smiled, threw the cotton towel into the washbasin, and looked down at Grandma Qin... Yes, that's right, she was already taller than Grandma Qin.
"Grandma, you can take care of our food and clothing. If you can't stay idle, you can help Second Aunt with the accounts. If you still can't stay idle, then go back to Wuyuan to take care of Dabao'er."
Grandma Qin objected: "Da Bao'er has a lot of people taking care of him, I don't need to help. Your aunt sent Da Bao'er's rattle drum, so Grandma can look at his rattle drum when she misses him... Fine, fine, Grandma won't say anything more, I'll just keep you company, let's eat."
Haha, Aunt Qin laughed too: "Mother-in-law, don't bother anymore, just enjoy your retirement. Anyway, you can't win against Xiaomi."
"Alright, I won't make a fuss anymore. I'll just take care of the house for you." Grandma Qin stopped arguing and ate with her granddaughter and second daughter-in-law.
Thump thump!
We're close to the city wall here, and we can hear the enemy's 'crazy shouts' from time to time.
To avoid being disturbed by the noise, Grandma Qin told them about her hometown... She didn't mention what happened after Uncle Qin was framed for cheating, but rather about things that happened before.
They talked about Qin's father and mother; they talked about how clever and handsome Qin's second uncle was when he was young, and how people would stop him on the street to ask him to be their son-in-law; they talked about Qin's third uncle and third aunt.
"The old man asked Lord Xue for help, Lord Xue asked Master Li for help, and Master Li asked the Chi Escort Agency, a relative by marriage, to deposit a sum of money in the Tai Zhou Mansion's bank and buy houses, shops, and land. If we find Xiao Mi's older brother, Xiao Gu's maternal grandfather's family, or your second wife's close relatives, the Chi Escort Agency will give them a portion of that money and land so that they can live a better life."
This could be considered his last words.
Upon hearing this, Qin Xiaomi and Aunt Qin Er did not feel that giving money to their relatives was a loss. In any case, if they lost this battle, they would surely die for their country, and no matter how much money they had, they would not be able to use it. It would be better to give it to their relatives and help them out.
“Da Dao, that’s Xiao Mi’s older brother, is very simple-minded. He always likes to imitate the stories in the storybooks. He buries some of the family’s things in the ground, waters and fertilizes them, saying that he can harvest double the amount of things in the fall… When he digs them up in the fall, the things have all rotted. He cries loudly and insists on building a grave for the seeds of his dead things and setting up offerings and incense to worship them.”
"Good heavens! My nephew is going to get a beating!" Aunt Qin thought that letting the object be buried until autumn before beating him was really a sign of her in-laws' kindness.
Grandma Qin laughed and said, "I didn't hit him. He was only five years old then, not ten. If he was ten and still playing like that, it wouldn't be hitting him; we'd have to go see a miracle doctor to check his brain."
Qin Dao, far away in the Northwest: Grandma, can you please speak more clearly? I almost got a bad reputation for being mentally challenged!