HBWnovel Chapter 117 The Great Steelmaking Campaign
Chapter 117 The Great Steelmaking Campaign
Chapter 117 The Great Steelmaking Campaign
"A large ship is a good thing, but it still needs real weapons to protect it. The first step in building cannons is to smelt steel."
'
Su Jin patted Shen Qiaoqiao, who was still immersed in the joy of living in the big house, and pointed to the pile of reddish-brown iron ore in the cargo hold: "Qiaoqiao, get to work. Do you still want your forging hammer?"
Shen Qiaoqiao and Lin Xuan had been working on steelmaking for a long time, hiding in the laboratory.
Although this young girl is usually carefree, she does have a strong work ethic when it comes to construction.
She pulled out a densely drawn sketch from her pocket, pointed to a clearing on the beach, and said, "Uncle, I've chosen a spot. We need to build a small blast furnace first. I collected a lot of refractory clay in the forest before, and I can start making blast furnace bricks today."
It has to be said that talent is sometimes irrational.
Shen Qiaoqiao rolled up her sleeves, placed her hands on the pile of clay, and with a faint flash of red light, neat and thick refractory red bricks appeared on the deck as if by magic.
"Everyone, get moving, move bricks and build the furnace!" Su Jin shouted.
This task cannot rely entirely on the system; it requires human effort.
Su Jin was in charge of moving heavy objects, Lin Xuan and Shen Ruying were in charge of mixing clay paste, and Li Yuanyuan was like a busy little bee, handing over bricks and water.
The group formed a circle and worked hard under the sun on the beach.
Watching the blast furnace rise inch by inch, the sense of accomplishment from creating something from nothing is more real than simply upgrading a ship.
"This is what our ancestors did." Su Jin wiped the sweat from his brow and looked at the earthen furnace that stood up like a giant chimney. He couldn't help but sigh, "Although it was a bit primitive, as long as it could produce molten iron, we officially entered the Iron Age."
Two hours later, the blast furnace was completed.
Shen Qiaoqiao filled it with a thick layer of black coal, followed by crushed hematite, and finally sprinkled a layer of white limestone on top.
"ignition!"
As Su Jin threw in a torch, a huge fire broke out at the bottom of the blast furnace.
The black coal was burning fiercely inside, and the limestone began to play its role, constantly absorbing the impurities in the ore.
"Hiss, it seems a bit slow."
Su Jin looked at the fire in the stove, which didn't seem to be burning much, but he felt that something was still missing.
"Of course it's slow, how can it work without bellows?" Shen Qiaoqiao said matter-of-factly, then a smug smile appeared on her face: "I thought of this step a long time ago. I've already made the blueprints for the double-drum gear bellows, all I need to do is build it with wood."
Soon, two large, loudspeaker-like devices appeared next to the blast furnace, but these devices required human operation.
Actually, there is an easier way: water power. We can build a waterwheel and connect it to the Clear Water Pool.
But that would be too much trouble. It would be better to use manpower instead of working so hard. That's what Su Jin thought.
Shen Qiaoqiao also specially made a connecting device for Su Jin, making it like a fitness machine, where you just need to pull it.
"Hey buddy, get up there and show off your muscles!"
Su Jin naturally accepted the offer without hesitation, treating it as a workout.
He stood in front of the bellows lever, casually pulled off his already sweat-soaked short-sleeved shirt, and threw it on the sand beside him.
As he lowered his waist and assumed a horse stance, he firmly gripped the crossbar with both hands and pulled it backward with a sudden jerk.
"Whoosh—hiss!"
The heavy wooden bellows emitted a muffled roar.
The stove was originally just a fire, but after this strong gust of wind rushed in, the flames instantly turned from red to blue and shot up half a meter high, scattering sparks all over the ground.
"Yes, that's the right amount of force, Uncle, don't stop!" Shen Qiaoqiao excitedly waved her little fist from the side.
Su Jin took a deep breath, exerted force with both arms, and pulled the lever in his hands like a light rattle, faster and faster.
As the range of motion increased, the muscles throughout his body fully relaxed.
Thanks to his high strength, his latissimus dorsi muscles looked like a fully drawn bow under the sunlight, with each muscle resembling a steel ball flowing under the skin, moving repeatedly with his movements.
The heat from the stove rolled in, mixed with the salty and humid air unique to the island, and condensed into a layer of glistening sweat on his body.
Sweat trickled down the lines of his neck, across his chest muscles, and into his waistband, giving him a primal, wild look in the firelight.
Lin Xuan, who was resting to the side, was wiping her face with a handkerchief, but her hand froze.
Her gaze unconsciously swept over Su Jin's body, which was as solid as cast steel. Her cheeks were flushed from the fire in the furnace, whether from the heat or something else, she couldn't tell.
Subsequently, she became even more certain of a certain idea.
Shen Ruying carried a bowl of cold water over, intending to hand it to Su Jin, but upon seeing his muscular physique, she slowed her pace.
She pursed her lips, her eyes slightly unfocused.
Su Jin usually looks quite well-proportioned when he's dressed, but I never expected that his body would be so interesting when he takes off his clothes.
Picking her up shouldn't take too much effort, and it'll definitely feel great!
No, what are you thinking!
She shook her head, her face unconsciously turning red.
Even Li Yuanyuan sat not far away, hugging her knees, her beautiful eyes sparkling as she stared at Su Jin, muttering softly, "Brother Su's stamina seems even better than before—"
She's probably the one with the purest mind, but she's also the strangest.
"Yeah, if Brother Su wore a magical girl cosplay outfit, he'd definitely be a real eye-catcher at the anime convention—"
If Su Jin heard this, he would definitely complain:
That's not eye-catching, that's an eyesore!
However, Su Jin had no time to care what the girls thought. He felt that all his strength had found an outlet, and every time he pulled the bellows, he could hear the roar coming from the furnace.
He hadn't worked out like this in a long time, and this time he really enjoyed lifting weights.
"Is the fire burning bright enough?" Su Jin asked loudly, his voice carrying a magnetic charm unique to men.
"Enough! Enough!" Shen Qiaoqiao snapped out of her daze and hurriedly looked at the bottom of the furnace. "Uncle, just hold on for one more minute! The iron ore has changed color, and the limestone is melting!"
Su Jin let out a low roar, and with the last few dozen pulls, he dragged the lever so hard it was almost a blur.
The airflow emanating from the bellows roared and howled, even more terrifying than the roar of a sea monster.
The furnace temperature soared to its peak in a short period of time.
"It's boiling! It's cooked!"
Shen Qiaoqiao shouted in surprise as she used long iron tongs to forcefully pry open the water outlet at the bottom of the furnace.
In an instant, a stream of molten iron, hot and gleaming with a golden-red light, slowly flowed down the pre-set stone chute into the prepared mold.
Su Jin then released the lever, took the cold water handed to him by Shen Ruying, and drank it all in one gulp.
He casually wiped the sweat from his chest, watched the molten iron being poured into the mold, and breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "Phew, I'm exhausted."
He turned to look at Shen Qiaoqiao and casually asked, "Qiaoqiao, how many did you refine in total?"
Shen Qiaoqiao replied with a smile, "Uncle, that's very good. The yield is good. For every 3 units of iron, about 2 units of pure iron were produced."
"At this rate, it will probably take about 20 more runs to get 80 units of iron ore."
"What? More than 20 more times?" Su Jin was dumbfounded.
You only need to work out occasionally; doing it more than twenty times a day would be too much for even an ox.
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