Chapter 357: Heat Treatment Technology

Over the next two days, Luoning, accompanied by Maiken and Sailin, completed his inspection of Jushi City.

During this process, Luoning saw the diverse stone mines of Jushi City with his own eyes; if he were to undertake large-scale infrastructure construction in the future, this would undoubtedly be an excellent base for stone mining.

In addition to inspecting resources, Luoning also held a meeting with the subjects of Jushi City.

Ever since the last turmoil, many people were still worried; after all, the lord had not come, and they did not know what would become of Jushi City in the future.

Luoning's official appearance served as a shot in the arm for them, letting them know that their lord had arrived and was paying attention to this place.

Two days later, Luoning left Jushi City and arrived at Chishan Town.

Although the defense and administration of this town were handled by Maiken and Sailin, matters involving the iron mines of Chishan Town were the responsibility of the Master Blacksmith Fengsi.

For over three months, the iron mines of Chishan Town had been mined day and night, and deep within the iron mine, the blacksmith Kalesi and others, who had been transferred from Wubei Territory, had already set up the High Furnace for Iron Smelting.

"My Lord, after our many experiments, we are now able to directly cast ordinary farm tools."

Fengsi led Luoning to tour their production base.

At this moment, the High Furnace was smelting iron ore, and workers were pouring the glowing red molten iron into clay molds, which cooled into the shape of hoes.

To be honest, Fengsi had been stunned when he first encountered this method of production.

When he learned that this method came from the Lord, unprecedented reverence for Luoning rose in his heart.

However, when using the hoes cast in this way, he also discovered a disadvantage.

"My Lord, your method is indeed fast and convenient, but the cast hoes are relatively poor in hardness, and they are very prone to cracking or even breaking during use."

Forged hoes have high hardness and Along service life, but forging takes too much time and the cost is too high;

Cast hoes take relatively less time to use and are easy to break, but the production time is short and the cost is relatively low.

In Fengsi's view, these two methods each had their own pros and cons; one could not say which was good or bad, as it was a matter of trade-offs.

Luoning nodded as he listened to Fengsi's report.

"Casting does indeed have this disadvantage, but it can be mitigated through other means."

"Oh?"

Fengsi's eyes lit up, gleaming with a thirst for iron smelting technology.

Luoning smiled and said, "That is Heat Treatment."

As he spoke, he walked to a shelf on the side, picked up a cast hoe, and threw it into the boiler.

"Through Heat Treatment methods such as Quenching and Tempering, one can eliminate the stress generated during the casting process and refine the grain, thereby improving its hardness and strength."

Fengsi looked puzzled; although he was a master craftsman, he had never heard of these new terms Luoning mentioned.

Luoning had Kalesi bring over a bucket of water, and after the hoe in the boiler had been burning red for a while, he took it out and quickly placed it into the water-filled bucket.

With a hiss, a large amount of water vapor rose instantly.

"Heating it to the appropriate temperature and maintaining it for a period of time, then cooling it rapidly—this is Quenching. This method can significantly improve hardness, wear resistance, and so on."

After doing this, Luoning threw the quenched hoe back into the boiler, heated it, and took it out to cool gradually.

"This is Tempering; it can eliminate the stress generated during Quenching, preventing deformation and cracking while readjusting the hardness and strength."

Fengsi, Kalesi, and the others considered themselves to have some skill, but hearing these terms from Luoning, they felt like three-year-old children learning words, completely unable to understand.

"I just demonstrated the effect; actual Quenching and Tempering have very high requirements for temperature control and require constant accumulation of experience to master."

Luoning said to Fengsi and the others, "How to adjust the strength of ironware through Heat Treatment is left to you."

The group nodded solemnly; they had originally thought the High Furnace for Iron Smelting was the extent of the Lord's knowledge, but they had not expected the Lord to know even more.

However, faced with Luoning's instructions, they were all eager to try, as everyone wanted to be the first to eat the crab.

Luoning stayed in Chishan Town for two more days, checking the mining records for this period while also needing to gain an understanding of the situation in Chishan Town.

During this time, the lords of Kaxier Town and Sali Town, Feilipu and Thorstein, learned of Luoning's arrival through merchants in Chishan Town.

As vassals of Wushan Castle and also friendly neighbors to this talented genius Luoning, they naturally extended an invitation.

Luoning did not refuse; after all, they were neighbors, and it was necessary to maintain good relations.

He chose Kaxier Town as the location for the gathering and met the two Barons.

Under Feilipu's warm hospitality, all three ate and drank to their hearts' content.

During the banquet, both Feilipu and Thorstein proposed the request to purchase production tools from Luoning.

Kaxier Town was fine, but the long-abandoned Sali Town had a relatively greater demand for farm tools.

Luoning naturally would not refuse such business delivered to his door.

He sold iron ore at a slightly lower price; of course, if the two wanted to buy finished products, Luoning could also provide them.

Upon learning that Luoning's finished products were thirty percent lower than the market price, both scrambled to see the products, and if possible, they would definitely buy a large batch.

This was the benefit brought by the High Furnace for Iron Smelting and casting; it reduced production costs significantly.

Luoning could take advantage of this to impact the existing market with lower prices and snatch their business.

However, he did not promise immediate delivery, instead setting the time for before the spring of next year.

This period of time would be just enough for Fengsi and the others to study Heat Treatment technology and improve the strength of the cast farm tools to meet the needs of daily farming.

In fact, Feilipu and Thorstein also had their own calculations.

They had originally only wanted to buy iron ore or farm tools at a friendly price, but they had not expected Luoning's finished product prices to be so low.

The two conferred privately and unanimously agreed:

If the quality of Luoning's low-priced goods was indeed acceptable, they could buy a large batch and then take them to various places to sell at a price slightly lower than the market price.

Although this meant Kaxier Town and Sali Town were poised to become channel distributors for Chishan Town, they did not mind as long as they could make money.

Luoning saw that the two had such intentions, and he likewise did not mind this behavior.

To him, as long as he made enough money, giving others a little benefit was completely acceptable.

Once Feilipu and Thorstein tasted the sweetness, they would not only open up the market for him but also actively safeguard his interests.

And Luoning would also save a large cost of transporting goods outside for sale.

Cooperation for mutual benefit is also a way to generate wealth. (End of this chapter)