Even though he had a young-looking face, the teenager had a very refined name and didn't look weak at all.
Instead, it should be said that there were no weak people among the aboriginals. Even if there were, they were still stronger than ordinary people and stronger than even some lower-ranking martial arts experts.
Their only pitfall was that they had more brawn than brains.
"This is good news." Su Ye smiled and put aside the book in his hand before turning and entering the house behind him with the burly man.
It was called a house, but its area was much larger than one. It occupied at least 2,000 square meters of s.p.a.ce and was entirely made out of stone. Cement was also used to hold all the irregularly shaped stones together and piece them into a house.
The house was supported by stone pillars that had many protruding areas on them. They clearly weren't polished carefully, and the sharp edges were simply broken apart, leaving behind scar-like and jagged b.u.mps.
In addition, there was a large set of steel equipment in the house. Even though it looked crude, it had a unique aesthetic. There were huge rivets set in it along with rows of pipes that gave it a steampunk style.
If Ren Baqian were to see it, he would never have thought that it was designed by him.
Even though this set of equipment looked crude, it had a very sensational look as well.
Apart from that, in this huge house, or rather this factory, there stood dozens of large men who all looked delighted.
The teenager named Su Ye first checked the equipment carefully and then took a few steps back before saying, "It looks like there are no problems. Let's begin and see how it goes."
After an hour, thick black smoke started rising from the chimney above the factory. This was followed by a rhythmic roar that sounded like the collision of metal.
In the distance were captives who were thin and looked like they were suffering. They were using carrying poles that had both ends filled with heavy ores and transporting them to a place where all the ores were piled up.
They heard a loud roar and looked up at the place that was strictly forbidden, wondering what was going on in there.
After a while, Su Ye looked at the long blade in his hand. There was no handle, and in its place was an iron rod that had yet to be fitted with a real handle. There was no sharp edge, it wasn't dangerous at all, and it also lacked the layered patterns of a handmade blade. There were only shallow and unsightly pressure lines on it.
However, the shape of the blade was completely formed by a grinding tool and was then forged by a large mechanical hammer after cooling.
On average, an ordinary craftsman could make up to two or three blades every day. With a machine like this, as long as it wasn't problematic and the raw materials were sufficient, more than 3,000 such blades could be produced.
All that was left to be done was to install a wooden handle, wrap it with animal hide, and sharpen the blade.
This way, 100 apprentices would be able to achieve in one day what it took 1,000 craftsmen to do in the past.
The accompanying official from the Ministry of Works held one of the same blades and kept rubbing it with his hands. His eyes were full of joy. It was as if what he was touching wasn't a blade, but a beauty.
"Su Ye, you have made a great contribution this time. I'll report it when I return. With your ability, after you have finished studying, you can consider working at the Ministry of Works as you will definitely be given a good position," the official turned and said to Su Ye.
Su Ye didn't show any objections to joining the Ministry of Works. As a commoner without any talents, this was a very good opportunity that he had never expected himself to have. However, even though he hadn't graduated yet, this offer was already presented.
He knew in his heart that he displayed his amazing ability when he built this blade forging factory and that this was why the other party was so eager to invite him to join the Ministry of Works.
However, most of the other students could achieve what he had done as well.
It wasn't the Ministry of Works that got him to do this job originally. It was Tong Lan.
The little girl with the hard fists.
If it wasn't due to the fact that Su Ye couldn't defeat her, he would have been studying how to improve the generator instead of building this set of equipment at the mines in the Yun Nation.
He worked on constructing the steam engine, the steam-powered forging equipment, and also part of the blast furnace.
Even though he was forced by Tong Lan, he had gained quite a bit out of this. On the one hand, he managed to transform what he learned into real objects that were able to produce exciting results. On the other hand, he gained considerable awareness and confidence in what he could achieve.
Su Ye believed that he could do better in the Ministry of Works than most people.
However, it was still a little early for him.
As for when he could graduate, he had no clue at all. Yagui never mentioned how long it would take. Even if it would take a few years before he could graduate, it would still have to depend on whether the unreliable princ.i.p.al would be around…
"I'll wait here for three days and leave if nothing happens. I heard that Her Majesty and the princ.i.p.al are already on their way back to Lan City. I have to return before they do," Su Ye said to the official from the Ministry of Works.
"What if a problem arises?" the official subconsciously asked. Although this machinery seemed very simple to Su Ye, the official knew nothing about it. In fact, it could even be considered the top secret of Dayao.
With the blast furnace and this machinery, the situation of Dayao's lack of craftsmen was finally alleviated.
At the same time, the officials from the Ministry of Works were worried that something might go wrong with this set of "high-tech" equipment.
"From the beginning to the end, all of you know how these things were made. Simply replace the parts that are faulty and just don't make a mistake about the size of the parts. I will also educate them about this over the next few days," Su Ye said.
"I hope that they will understand it," the official replied.
Although he was an official from the Ministry of Works, he was pretty capable at fighting and also had full confidence that the others could do the same.
However, regarding the matter of maintaining the equipment, he didn't have much faith.
"It's not that difficult." Su Ye copied Yagui and gave a faint smile.
Even though they called their princ.i.p.al Yagui, in their minds, he was like a devil from the stories.
Even so, they had to admit that he really was very knowledgeable.They had never seen anyone who knew more than him. Even though he was often unreliable, his mind was full of wisdom.
Therefore, they often picked up some of his habits and copied them.
They had to thank their ancestors that Yagui appeared in Dayao.
A few days later, Su Ye and a few other students happily embarked on their journey back to Lan City
"Su Ye, have you done your homework?" One of the students suddenly remembered something as they traveled.
Su Ye's movements suddenly became stiff. He slowly turned his neck like a robot and looked at his companions.
As all of them looked at each other, they all had an expression of pain and despair on their faces. It was extremely saddening that they had suddenly recalled this matter, and a few of them were so anxious that that leaped up into the air.
"Let's hurry back and finish our homework!"