Chapter 61: Collecting Earth Saltpeter

Meng Yifan wanted to purchase some Bird Guns, but after asking at the shops in the city that sold them, he found that purchasing Bird Guns required proof of identity, implemented a real-name registration system, and also had purchase limits; the procedures were extremely troublesome.

The quantity Meng Yifan needed was very large, and it was impossible to obtain through official channels; it seemed he would have to go look for them at the Heishi.

Additionally, there were the Iron Balls used as cannonballs, as well as the iron fragments used as Shrapnel Shells; this was simple, as long as one had silver, they could easily be bought at a blacksmith shop.

Meng Yifan incidentally purchased a batch of spears and steel Shield to arm the young and strong men; purchasing these items cost another one hundred and fifty taels of silver in total.

Spending money like water was something that couldn't be helped; money that needed to be spent had to be spent, and if one scrimped now, they might not be alive to spend it later.

The elm tree trunks were delivered to Meng Yifan's home, and Meng Dayong began leading the older villagers to manufacture Elm Cannons.

Having had the experience of building cannons in Qinghe Village last time, they could all be considered skilled at cannon-making; the main thing was that manufacturing Elm Cannons really didn't require much technical skill—as long as a craftsman knew carpentry, they could follow the pattern and make them.

Meng Yitong and the other young and strong men, along with the three youths including Meng Qingshan, were all in their rooms in seclusion practicing; each of them had consumed a Condensing Qi Pill, and at this moment, surging True Qi was scouring the meridians within their bodies.

This process was extremely dangerous; if they could force open a path, they would become a First Grade Martial Artist, but if they failed to force it through, they would all suffer severe injuries, or even be unable to become Martial Artists in the future.

According to the normal cultivation process, one should proceed in an orderly way, clearing the meridians bit by bit, condensing one's own True Qi from the Qi and blood, but Meng Yifan had no time left, and these young and strong men and youths had no time either; even if it meant forcing the shoots to grow, he had to make them become Martial Artists as quickly as possible.

Meng Yifan went to collect Earth Saltpeter; this White Powder could be seen everywhere near latrines, and there was some on the walls of the latrine at the house they were currently staying in. To others, this was just trash that emitted a foul odor, but to Meng Yifan, it was a treasure.

The problem was that Luolong County was different from Qinghe Village; in Qinghe Village, latrines were basically built outside the courtyards, so one could just go and collect it, but in Luolong County, latrines were basically built inside the courtyards.

This was a bit tricky; if a stranger inexplicably went into someone's courtyard saying they wanted to collect this unwanted White Powder, the owner certainly wouldn't believe them, and might even mistake them for a villain with bad intentions and send them straight to the government office.

Meng Yifan was feeling troubled when he suddenly saw some laborers on the street pushing manure carts, collecting excrement from house to house. A bright idea struck him, and he stepped forward, cupped his hands to the laborer pulling the manure cart, and said, "Brother, I would like to do a deal with you."

"A deal? Do you want to buy manure?" The laborer was in his thirties, with a dark complexion and a handlebar mustache; he looked at Meng Yifan with some surprise. Judging by his attire, he didn't look like someone who would buy manure.

Villagers in the suburbs outside the city used to buy manure from the city to fertilize their fields, but now, after three years of severe drought, the crops outside the city had basically all died from the drought, so naturally, no one was buying manure anymore.

Meng Yifan shook his head; he wasn't farming, so what use would he have for this foul-smelling manure?

"Then, young man, what kind of deal are you talking about?" the middle-aged laborer asked with some curiosity.

"Brother, when you go to collect manure, have you ever seen White Powder on the outer walls of the latrines?" Meng Yifan asked.

"I have, sometimes there's quite a lot. Even if you clean it off today, a batch will appear again in a few days. Why do you ask?" The middle-aged laborer did this kind of work, so naturally, he often saw that kind of White Powder.

Meng Yifan said, "I am buying that kind of White Powder, ten wen per jin."

"You aren't joking, are you? That White Powder is completely useless. Are you really going to spend money to buy White Powder?"

The middle-aged laborer was somewhat tempted; he encountered a lot of that White Powder every day, and if someone really was buying it, he could earn some extra money. However, he was also worried that Meng Yifan was playing with him, and that after he went through the trouble of collecting the White Powder, he wouldn't be able to find Meng Yifan, making his hard work all for nothing.

Seeing that the middle-aged laborer was uneasy, Meng Yifan took out five wen and handed it to him, saying, "This counts as a deposit, so you don't have to doubt me anymore, right?"

The middle-aged laborer excitedly took the five wen; he only earned ten wen for a whole day of busy work collecting manure. Meng Yifan had given him half a day's wages right away, so even if Meng Yifan seemed to be teasing him, he would accept it.

"Young man, wait here for me a moment, I'll be right back." Seeing there was money to be made, the middle-aged laborer was full of motivation; he pulled his manure cart and ran off at full speed to collect the White Powder.

Meng Yifan waited at the street corner for less than an hour before the middle-aged laborer came running over excitedly, handing Meng Yifan a small bag.

Meng Yifan opened it and took a look; it was actually filled with Earth Saltpeter. He weighed it and felt it was about eight or nine taels, certainly not a full jin, but Meng Yifan didn't quibble over the weight and gave the middle-aged laborer another five wen.

This made the middle-aged laborer incredibly happy; he would pull manure all day, working himself to the bone, only to earn ten wen, but now, just by running back and forth once, he had earned ten wen. How could he not be happy?

"Young man, are you still buying this kind of White Powder?" The middle-aged laborer looked at Meng Yifan, hoping Meng Yifan would buy more so he could take the opportunity to make a small fortune.

"I am, I'll buy as much as you have, all at ten wen per jin. Whenever you collect this kind of White Powder, just bring it directly to my house; my house is that courtyard up ahead," Meng Yifan said. He wasn't afraid of the laborer collecting too little; he was only worried he wouldn't collect enough.

An Elm Cannon required at least one jin of gunpowder per shot. The elm tree trunks Meng Yifan had bought could still be used to make thirty-five Elm Cannons, and with the six he already had, he would have forty-one Elm Cannons in the future.

With so many Elm Cannons, a single volley would consume forty-one jin of gunpowder. Meng Yifan only had thirteen jin of gunpowder left in total, so the shortfall was huge. If this laborer could collect a large amount of Earth Saltpeter, he would, of course, buy as much as he could get.

"Really, you'll buy as much as I have?" the middle-aged laborer asked again, feeling a bit uncertain.

"Really, truer than real gold." Meng Yifan could see that the laborer was genuinely interested in collecting Earth Saltpeter, and Meng Yifan didn't mind this small amount of money, so he took out another one hundred wen and handed it to him, saying, "This is all a deposit. Just go ahead and collect the White Powder with peace of mind; I'll buy as much as you have."

The middle-aged laborer's hands trembled with excitement; he felt he had discovered a huge business opportunity.

He knew everyone responsible for collecting manure in the city and could completely get those people to help him collect it. He wouldn't need to pay ten wen per jin; as long as he paid five wen per jin, those people would be overjoyed.

"Making a five-wen difference per jin—ten jin would be fifty wen, and if it were one hundred jin, that would be five hundred wen. Haha, if I could collect one thousand jin, that would be... I'm going to get rich, I'm going to get rich."

Thinking of this, the laborer's eyes grew brighter and brighter; he seemed to see a mountain of copper coins beckoning to him.