BSI Chapter 39 Blacksmith Shop Upgrade
Chapter 39 Blacksmith Shop Upgrade
As evening approached, Yang Zheng and his group finally got close to Changning Village.
As soon as the troops appeared on the ridge at the village entrance, sharp-eyed children shrieked, "The Eighth Route Army uncles are back! They've won the battle and are back!"
The shout was like a spark splashing into a pot of oil.
Zhou Shunzi was the first to rush out of the house, still clutching half a piece of firewood in his hand. He squinted and saw the vast procession and the fully loaded carts. He jumped up excitedly.
He turned and rushed into the village, shouting as he ran, "Folks! Come out quickly! Our troops are back! They've won a great victory!!"
"Whoosh—"
Changning Village instantly erupted in excitement!
Almost simultaneously, the doors of every household were pushed open, and men, women, and children surged toward the village entrance like a tide.
Zhou Dachui, leaning on his cane, walked faster than anyone else. His cloudy old eyes were fixed on the approaching group, especially the wounded who were being helped and carried. His lips trembled incessantly.
"Quickly! Shunzi, tell everyone to bring out all the hot water that each household has boiled! Wives, hurry up and bring out all the clean old cloth and cotton!"
Zhou Dachui, his voice trembling, directed, "Get your hands and feet moving quickly! Help the soldiers settle in, carry the wounded to the ancestral hall, be careful!"
The houses near the company headquarters have now been converted into a treatment center for the wounded, where all the injured comrades recuperate.
The villagers didn't need him to give them many instructions; they had already taken action on their own.
The men rushed forward, carefully receiving the wounded, carrying them on their backs or lifting them up, constantly saying, "Brother, you've worked hard! We're home, we're home!"
The women brought steaming hot earthenware bowls to the soldiers' lips. Upon seeing the wounds, their eyes instantly reddened, and they quickly began to clean and bandage the wounded soldiers with warm water and clean cloth strips.
The children surrounded the captured weapons and carts, wanting to touch them but not daring to, their little faces full of admiration.
The village entrance was bustling with activity, yet orderly and filled with heartfelt joy and care.
As Yang Zheng watched this bustling scene, a warm feeling welled up inside him.
This scene is the core motivation for them to protect this place with their lives.
At this moment, Li Dachui and several of his apprentices squeezed through the crowd, their dark red faces beaming with joy: "Company Commander! You're finally back! This battle was quite a commotion!"
Yang Zheng pulled him over and took a cloth bag from behind his back, inside which were four Japanese military commander swords of different shapes.
"Master Li, take a look at this. These are all freshly captured Japanese officer's swords. They're yours to melt down! Use this good steel to forge two top-quality broadswords! The kind that can cut through iron like mud!"
Li Dachui took the cloth bag, and it felt heavy in his hand.
He pulled out a blade to examine its texture closely, then flicked the edge with his finger, listening to the clear, resonant sound; his eyes lit up.
"Good heavens! This steel, this quenching... no complaints, Company Commander! Leave it to me! I'll personally forge two swords that will make Platoon Leader Luo and the others envious!"
Yang Zheng patted his sturdy shoulder: "Good! Looking forward to your skills! Let's melt them all down today!"
Yang Zheng was waiting to see if the gold resources he would get after melting down the four command swords would be enough to upgrade the blacksmith shop!
"Alright! Company Commander, I'll go back and get to work!" Li Dachui didn't hesitate, turning around and leading his apprentices back, showing no interest in the spoils.
For him, having good materials to forge weapons to kill enemies was the highest honor.
Yang Zheng watched him leave, then turned to look at the orderly scene again.
"Someone, take all these damaged firearms to the blacksmith!"
"Send these two sections of steel rail over as well!"
"All weapons are in storage, damn it, not a single bullet can be missing!"
"The Japanese soldiers' uniforms, after being washed, were dyed gray!"
"Cooks, start the fire and cook! We're having a big feast tonight!"
Zhao Dahu and several other platoon-level officers were constantly giving orders. The soldiers, suppressing their fatigue, worked under their guidance to set up everything one by one.
The cooks quickly began preparing tonight's meals, opening bags of newly captured grain and starting to cook them.
After staring at it for a while, Yang Zheng looked towards the direction of the village entrance and frowned.
Based on the timeline, Chen Xiaoquan and the others should have returned by now, so why are they still nowhere to be seen?
Just as he was about to send Sun Ming and the others to check it out on horseback, a dozen gray figures began to appear on the dirt road at the village entrance.
Chen Xiaoquan and the others are back!
Yang Zheng squinted and counted carefully, then nodded. There were 15 people when they went, and 15 when they came back. No one was killed. That's good!
"Reporting, Company Commander!"
Before long, Chen Xiaoquan rushed up to Yang Zheng and reported quickly: "We saw it with our own eyes. The Japanese special train had eight carriages, and there was an armored train at the front with strong firepower. Moreover, there was a whole company of Japanese guards on board. They were extremely vigilant, and there was no chance to take advantage of them."
They discovered their stronghold had been taken down, but they ignored it completely, focusing solely on repairing the railway. They finished in less than half an hour and drove off. Judging by their actions, the cargo on the train was more important than anything we'd taken down a hundred strongholds!
Yang Zheng nodded slowly, seemingly lost in thought: "Understood. You've done a great job on the mission. Go and rest now."
Chen Xiaoquan saluted and left.
Yang Zheng stood there, lost in thought.
As far as he knew, such a configuration on Japanese trains usually meant that they were transporting precious metals or... cultural relics.
Just then, system notifications sounded in his mind one after another:
[Gold Resources Acquired: 20] (Captain's Sword)
[Gold Resources Acquired: 5]
[Gold Resources Acquired: 5]
[Gold Resources Acquired: 5]
Current total gold resources: 55 points
Li Dachui acted quickly, and the result was as he expected. Now, he has finally gathered enough gold resources to upgrade the blacksmith shop!
Without the slightest hesitation, Yang Zheng walked to the entrance of the blacksmith shop. He didn't go in, but stood at the entrance and then summoned the blacksmith shop's control panel.
Level 1 Blacksmith Shop: Blacksmith -- 10.
升级条件：铁匠：6/10人；武器打造：40/500或金资源55/50。
Upgrade effect: Weapons can be analyzed using gold resources to reverse engineer blueprints, and then the blueprints and corresponding materials can be used to craft the weapon.
The blacksmith shop meets the upgrade requirements. Shall we upgrade?
"yes!"
Yang Zheng silently recited.
Upgrade has begun and will take 6 hours!
"Phew..." Yang Zheng was filled with anticipation. He glanced at the bustling blacksmith shop again, then turned and left.
He needed to go back and summon his warriors, and he also needed ten warhorses. They could be used for reconnaissance in normal times, and in critical moments, they could be used as surprise troops to achieve unexpected results.