Giant Ship Across the Song Dynasty: My Supplies Come from My Motherland

Chapter 59, The Temptation of Fine Steel

The Song Dynasty had no shortage of iron, and its excellent iron smelting technology allowed it to almost monopolize the production of ironware. Although the technology and craftsmen had been leaked to other countries, the Jin Dynasty also possessed considerable iron smelting capabilities.

However, steel is extremely rare because there are too many technologies involved, especially the high requirements for coal. Without a very good source of coal, it is really difficult to smelt refined steel.

Lin Zhou's mention of "coal washing techniques" was indeed very tempting. 300,000 catties of refined steel a month could almost monopolize the entire market. It should be noted that although the output of pig iron and wrought iron is not low, the total annual output of refined steel in the entire Song Dynasty is only 500,000 to 600,000 catties.

If we could monopolize this important resource, it wouldn't just be a matter of money anymore.

However, Qin Hui was no novice, and he still had some doubts: "Don't let yourself be fooled."

"Prime Minister, although that lad isn't very bright, he's extremely reliable. I suspect that it was those extraordinary figures at sea behind him who instructed him to do this. If he could secure an official position in our Great Song Dynasty, it would certainly make things easier for them."

"Have you still not found out the origins of those extraordinary people?"

"Your Excellency, it's truly difficult to investigate. I've sent men to that boy's side, but we've still come up empty-handed. I was thinking of taking him down directly, but I was worried about alerting him, Your Excellency..."

"Isn't that ridiculous?" Qin Hui waved his hand. "Treat those you can to the best of your ability, but don't make enemies everywhere."

"Yes……"

Just as Cao Wenda was about to say something more, Qin Hui raised his chin and said, "I have a plan for this matter. You need to work harder these days to get that steel plant up and running. Give them the manpower and the money they need. I want to see if it's a scam."

"clear."

There are not many things that can move the Prime Minister's heart. Cao Wenda knew very well that this matter must be of great importance, so he dared not be negligent at all. Although the Prime Minister was kind, if someone took his benefits and did not do things for him, then the Prime Minister would also have some ruthless methods.

Cao Wenda quickly returned to Lin Zhou's small shop. There were several women selecting items inside, but he wasn't in a hurry and waited nearby.

"This is called a hand-cranked mini fan; it's much better than a traditional fan. If it's hot, you could have a donkey tied to your door fanning you all day long."

The girls watching the items laughed so hard they almost fell over. One of them said, "You're quite amusing, young man. Who keeps a donkey in their yard?"

These women, all chattering and making a ruckus, bought a bunch of things and left. Before leaving, they didn't forget to flirt with Lin Zhou. It has to be said that the social atmosphere in the Song Dynasty was indeed good. Flirting with women in the street would get you beaten up, but women flirting with men was something everyone was quite happy about.

After they left, Lin Zhou approached Cao Wenda with a smile: "Brother Cao, what happened?"

"I haven't even met the master yet, but I think you should build this steel mill first. Money and people are easy to come by. With your brother here, you can rest assured." Cao Wenda patted his chest loudly: "Just tell me what you want, and your brother can get it for you."

Lin Zhou may not be very educated, but he's not stupid. He knows this guy must have already met Qin Hui, but Qin Hui is probably one to wait for the rabbit before making a move. So, Lin Zhou naturally figured he couldn't risk his life to catch the wolf.

"Thank you very much, brother. How about we go choose a site tomorrow? Then let's start construction as soon as possible. I can't wait to become an official!"

"You're such an aspirant to officialdom," Cao Wenda said with a laugh, shaking his head. "Being an official isn't so easy."

"I don't care about any of that. As long as I have a title, it'll be easier to marry a princess. Whether it's easy or not... I'm just a prince consort of the Jin Kingdom, why would I care about that?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Wenda clicked his tongue and said, "That's true."

As they were talking, Lin Zhou moved two dark objects outside the shop and started fiddling with some strange black wires. Then he pushed the door open, looked up, and called out, "Brother Ying, is that setup up there ready?"

"Alright, sir!"

Lin Zhou hummed in agreement, then turned on the CD player, inserted the disc, and soon a powerful burst of music filled the air.

Cao Wenda was taken aback, clearly very curious about this strange skill, so he also went out to watch Lin Zhou fiddling with it.

Meanwhile, Lin Zhou was admiring his masterpiece with his arms crossed, and the deep drumbeats naturally attracted a large group of idle neighbors to come and watch.

Cao Wenda, arms crossed, laughed as the music played, "Brother, you always manage to come up with something interesting."

"Hahahaha... Without these overseas skills, what kind of extraordinary person would he be?"

However, right after he finished speaking, he felt that the music was somewhat familiar.

"Huh? Isn't this...?"

"When the smoke of war rises, one looks northward across the land..."

Lin Zhou pressed the stop button, then silently turned to look at Cao Wenda. Cao Wenda's face was ashen, and he was looking down at his toes. The onlookers in the neighborhood vanished without a trace.

"Oh dear... my little brother..."

"hold head high……"

"Tsk..." Cao Wenda shook his head and sighed.

Lin Zhou quickly removed the CD and replaced it with the latest original ancient-style album. The first song he played was by Li Qingzhao, which made Cao Wenda's expression soften slightly.

"Although I don't know the principle behind this, I'll tell the person who sang the lyrics to be more careful next time." Cao Wenda walked away with a cold face.

At that moment, Brother Ying came out, stood on tiptoe to look at Cao Wenda's back, and asked curiously, "Master, why is he angry?"

"Traitors can't stand hearing 'Man Jiang Hong'," Lin Zhou sneered, flicking his sleeves. "They'll get burned."

However, the thunderous sound quickly subsided, leaving only a lingering, decadent melody, which was neither good nor bad, but rather frustrating.

As more and more people gathered to watch the spectacle and listen to the music, more and more people came into the shop to take a look. At this moment, an old woman stood at the door, leaning against the porch, staring blankly at the speaker, which was playing the song "Do You Know?"

"Grandma, what do you want to buy? My husband's shop has everything."

Eagle stepped forward to greet her, but the old lady just smiled gently, pinched Eagle's face lightly without saying a word, and continued to listen to "Last night the rain was sparse and the wind was strong, and a deep sleep could not dispel the lingering effects of the wine".

Lin Zhou came out at this moment, and seeing this scene, he said with some curiosity, "You like this song?"

"Hmm." The old lady nodded gently: "Forty-seven years have passed like a dream."

After saying that, she raised her chin and said, "These are lyrics I wrote when I was sixteen. They're sung really well."

"You wrote this? You're Li Qingzhao?"

The old lady looked at Lin Zhou with a smile, and Lin Zhou was stunned and straightened up: "It really is Li Qingzhao!?"

After saying that, he quickly made way for him: "Quick, quick, please come in... I've memorized quite a few of your words before."

"Oh? You can even recite the poem about daughters?"

"It's a must-test, how can I not memorize it..." Lin Zhou chuckled and ushered her into the house: "Brother Ying, bring some tea!"

"The way they drink it on the grasslands is quite interesting."

The old lady Li Qingzhao picked up her tea and took a sip. At that time in the Song Dynasty, it was still popular to make tea by pounding and grinding. This kind of tea was usually used in the north for convenience. However, this tea was genuine Fu Hong tea. The production process was different, so the flavor was completely different.

"Hmm, sweet and mellow, not bad at all." After taking a sip of tea, Grandma Li smiled and asked, "What's the principle behind that thing at your door?"

"That thing... it's called a phonograph. It was something that came about by chance, nothing to mention."

Lin Zhou dared not show off in front of this old lady. She was a textbook example of a top-notch person. It would be too naive of him to try to impress her with just a CD player.

"Interesting." Li Qingzhao sighed, "If I were twenty years younger, I would definitely win it back for you."

After saying that, she stood up with a smile: "Do you have any wine? Get me some of those wines I haven't tried before."

"Yes, yes, of course we have alcohol." Lin Zhou hurriedly grabbed a bottle of Erguotou: "Drink this, and you won't be afraid even if an atomic bomb explodes in front of you."

Although Grandma Li didn't understand what an atomic bomb was, she still found Lin Zhou interesting. She took the wine, opened it, and sniffed it. She frowned slightly and said, "What amazing wine."

Just then, a person appeared at the door, peeking in and seeing Lin Zhou standing there. He breathed a sigh of relief: "Brother Lin... I'm here."

Lin Zhou glanced back and saw that it was Lu You, who was suffering greatly from the relationship between his mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

"Hey, it's Wu Guan! Look, look, look who's got me here!"