I’ll Leave This to You

"Still no?" Xiao Zongshui's face was so dark that it was about to drip water. Not far away from him, a middle-aged man was kneeling on the ground with a panicked expression.

"Superintendent, we did everything we could!"

Xiao Zongshui waved him out.

The middle-aged man kowtowed and bolted out in a panic, appearing as if he had just escaped a calamity.

Xiao Zongshui didn't care about the middle-aged man's reaction. He frowned and stared at a piece of paper in front of him.

Zhou Shu had handed him the formula for the Huben Saber on this piece of paper.

After obtaining it, Xiao Zongshui didn't disclose the formula in the 97th Workshop as Zhou Shu had expected.

Instead, he found a group of skilled Forging Apprentices.

Three thousand Huben Sabers wasn't a lot of work for a workshop. After all, there were hundreds of forgers in a workshop, and each month, they would forge over ten thousand standard long sabers.

Even if the Huben Saber was slightly more difficult to forge, Xiao Zongshui believed that if he found around twenty apprentices, he could complete the task in three months.

In the end, he found many Forging Apprentices, but none of them managed to succeed in forging a Huben Saber.

Is there a problem with this secret forging formula? Xiao Zongshui pondered. Does Zhou Shu have the guts?

He paced back and forth. After a long time, he put the secret forging formula into his pocket and pushed open the door.

Soon after, Xiao Zongshui appeared in front of a luxurious residence and smiled as he stuffed a silver ingot into the gatekeeper's hands.

"Please notify that Xiao Zongshui, the superintendent of the 97th Workshop, wishes to see Grandmaster Zhu."

If an apprentice from the 97th Workshop saw this scene, he wouldn't believe that the man with a flattering smile was Xiao Zongshui!

How could Superintendent Xiao, the supreme leader of the 97th Workshop, ask for help so softly?

The gatekeeper had his nose in the air and a proud expression on his face. He cast a sidelong glance at Xiao Zongshui before weighing the silver in his sleeve and nodding slightly. "Wait."

He turned around and strolled through the door.

After a quarter of an hour, he returned with his hands behind his back and looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle. "Go in. The grandmaster is waiting for you in the study. Remember, you only have five minutes."

"Thank you!" Xiao Zongshui cupped his hands. He walked swiftly toward the study. Five minutes wasn't much.

A moment later, Xiao Zongshui arrived in the study after following the gatekeeper's directions.

A man who appeared to be in his forties or fifties was flipping through a book in the study. When he heard Xiao Zongshui enter, the man said without even raising his head, "Superintendent Xiao, you have graced me with your presence. What can I do for you?"

"I wouldn't dare!" Xiao Zongshui's attitude was very low, and he hurriedly said, "Grandmaster Zhu, I'm here to bother you because I need you to help me look at a secret forging formula. Grandmaster, please have a look. Is there any problem with this secret forging formula?"

Grandmaster Zhu raised his head and looked at Xiao Zongshui. His brows furrowed slightly. "That's all?"

"Grandmaster, I know that you are very busy, but this is an urgent matter. I'm sorry, but I don't have time to look for a Forging Master," Xiao Zongshui replied with a bitter smile on his face. "Don't worry, Grandmaster. I understand the rules."

Xiao Zongshui handed over a large banknote.

To engage an expert, one must pay an 'expert fee'.

Grandmaster Zhu glanced at the banknote Xiao Zongshui placed on the table. He didn't reach out to take it, but his expression softened a little. "Where's the secret formula? Give it to me."

Xiao Zongshui quickly took out the secret formula for the Huben Saber and handed it over.

Grandmaster Zhu took a glance and said unhappily, "Superintendent Xiao, despite our friendship, you brought over the forging formula of an unranked weapon. Are you trying to slap this old man's face?"

"Grandmaster, you've misunderstood," Xiao Zongshui hurriedly explained.

He was one of Great Xia's few Grand Craftsmen, and his position was highly regarded.

Even formulas for ordinary ranked weapons wouldn't attract Grandmaster Zhu's attention, let alone secret formulas for unranked weapons.

Grand Craftsmen were probably similar to academicians on Earth.

"General Cheng Wanli has been ordered to form the Imperial Guards. The designation is Huben, and this is the Huben Saber we specially developed for the Huben Troops," Xiao Zongshui explained. "Grandmaster, you also know that His Majesty is very concerned about General Cheng Wanli forming the Imperial Guards. There can't be any mistakes. Therefore, we would like to ask you to help examine this Huben Saber, Grandmaster."

After Grandmaster Zhu heard Xiao Zongshui's explanation, his expression softened slightly. He nodded. "Even so, this is a formula for a standard weapon. You can just randomly find a Forging Master to take a look."

Despite this, Grandmaster Zhu took up the secret forging formula and examined it closely.

"This idea is quite interesting." Grandmaster Zhu nodded slightly. "It sacrifices a portion of the sturdiness to make the saber's sharpness reach the ceiling of standard weapons. Superintendent Xiao, you have a talented subordinate."

"Is there no problem with this secret forging formula?" Xiao Zongshui asked.

"It's not a huge problem," Grandmaster Zhu explained. "This secret formula can be used to forge incredibly sharp standard long sabers. But…"

"But?" Xiao Zongshui continued asking.

"But there aren't many apprentices who can forge according to this secret forging formula, right?"

Grandmaster Zhu hit the nail on the head. "The forging techniques used here are easy for Forging Masters, but they are a little challenging for Forging Apprentices. The saber is a good one, but mass production is difficult."

"Grandmaster Zhu, you mean there's no problem with the secret forging formula, just that the forging difficulty is too high?"

"That's one way to look at it." Grandmaster Zhu nodded. "If you can invite Forging Masters to assist you in forging Huben Sabers, it won't be difficult."

Inviting Forging Masters? Xiao Zongshui smiled bitterly. Which Forging Master is bored enough to forge a standard weapon?

They could forge any ranked weapon, and it would be worth hundreds of standard weapons.

Even if Xiao Zongshui had the prestige, it wasn't worth it. How much was a Huben Saber worth?

How much money would it cost to hire a Forging Master?

It wasn't worth it at all!

"But Grandmaster Zhu, I do have an apprentice capable of forging Huben Sabers…" Xiao Zongshui refused to give up.

"As I have said, forging this Huben Saber is incredibly tough for Forging Apprentices, but I did not state that it was impossible for them to do so.

"An apprentice with better skills can forge after three to five years of training," Grandmaster Zhu added.

"Alright, if there are no other questions, then let's leave it at that. An old fellow like me has important matters to attend to later." Grandmaster Zhu waved him off.

Xiao Zongshui left Grandmaster Zhu's mansion despondently.

It wasn't merely to earn the difference that he was so eager to supply weapons to Cheng Wanli.

Despite his low official status as a superintendent of a Forging Division workshop, Xiao Zongshui had a lot of profit. Even people in positions of greater authority might not be as wealthy as him.

He had sucked up to Cheng Wanli because he was a popular figure in front of the current emperor. Most importantly, he was in charge of the Huben Troops, which were tasked with protecting the emperor.

They were going to appear in front of the emperor.

If their weapons could enter the emperor's eyes, then the benefits Xiao Zongshui would receive went without saying.

But Cheng Wanli would be furious if he couldn't forge 3,000 Huben Sabers in three months. He would have wasted his efforts if Cheng Wanli switched to another workshop for his weapon supply.

It doesn't make any sense, Xiao Zongshui thought. Zhou Shu isn't outstanding in the 97th Workshop, so why can't others forge it? There's no problem with the secret forging formula either. Could Zhou Shu have additional skills?

Grandmaster Zhu was a Grand Craftsman. Since he said that there was no problem with the secret forging formula, it had to be the truth.

Xiao Zongshui didn't doubt this at all, but he now suspected that Zhou Shu grasped a unique forging technique.

Otherwise, how could an ordinary Forging Apprentice suddenly be able to forge the Huben Saber?

Even Grandmaster Zhu had said that the Huben Saber was difficult to forge for Forging Apprentices!

Hmph, so what if it's difficult? I, Xiao Zongshui, have solved countless problems in my life. I don't believe I won't be able to handle a mere three thousand Huben Sabers if the secret forging formula isn't a problem!

Xiao Zongshui rushed back to the 97th Workshop.

After returning, he immediately gathered the top-ranked Forging Apprentices from the 97th Workshop.

Zhou Shu was also among those gathered.

When Zhou Shu arrived at the open area, it was already crowded with around 40 people. These people were in groups and were all whispering to one another.

Zhou Shu had no friends in the workshop, so he could only stand in a corner and listen in on everyone's conversations.

Xiao Zongshui arrived just as everyone was discussing why the superintendent had gathered everyone.

He coughed lightly, and the crowd immediately fell silent.

"I summoned everyone today because you are the 97th Workshop's most skilled Forging Apprentices." Xiao Zongshui swept his gaze across the crowd. "I have a glorious mission for you. This mission is very important to the 97th Workshop, so no matter what, we can't make any mistakes.

"You are all elite forgers under me. I hope that you can complete this mission for me. Of course, I'm not going to make you labor for free." Like a hawk, Xiao Zongshui's eyes swept across the entire scene. "I'll put it out here. I'll reward you heavily if you succeed in completing this mission! From now on, regardless of who you are, if you can forge a weapon according to this secret forging formula I have here, I will reward you with one tael of silver per weapon!"

The crowd was in an uproar. One tael of silver! Most Forging Apprentices didn't even receive one tael of silver per month!

However, there were a few people who lowered their heads and remained silent. They were the people Xiao Zongshui had summoned previously to forge weapons.

Thus, they were well aware that earning this money would be difficult.

The Forging Apprentices who had no idea what was going on were ecstatic. They would receive one tael of silver for forging a weapon. It was the equivalent of a month's pay. Forging two to three weapons a day meant…

"Superintendent, even if we have to risk our lives, we will complete the mission!" a Forging Apprentice shouted.

"Very good." Xiao Zongshui nodded in satisfaction. "I have other matters to attend to. I'll leave this matter to you, Zhou Shu. For the time being, all of the apprentices here will be under your command. I want to see three thousand Huben Sabers in three months, or else… Hmph!"