After sowing, the farmers entered a short period of agricultural leisure, where they only needed to wait patiently for the seeds to sprout. Meanwhile, the construction of the steel plants and shipyards began simultaneously on the Kullen Plain in early spring.
The first to be built was the ironworks, which was relatively simple and just an enlarged and improved version of a blacksmith shop. Rodney directly funded the project and hired all the assistants from the blacksmith shop in Kulun Town to move the shop to Scott Village. With their guidance and Norfy's advice, it only took a little over a week to complete the construction of a 20-meter-high iron smelting furnace. However, the steel furnace would take some time, mainly because The Lance Kingdom had never heard of such a thing before. Norfy could only rely on his memory and knowledge from university to create a model of a basic steel furnace. Fortunately, the first step was a great success, and improvements could be made later. Norfy's first goal was to cast ten sets of steam engine components, and he needed to first produce a few small ships. After the steel plant was completed, manual feeding would no longer be feasible. The production line had to be driven by steam engines.
The Scott family was not short of money now. Hilton and Niemann not only left a prepayment of two hundred gold coins for the ship construction, but also provided an additional thirty gold coins to invest in the steel plant that the Scott family was planning to build. The first step was to specialize in producing crossbow arrows. They were convinced that the five sample crossbows they brought back would impress the military high-ranking officials. But even if they weren't interested, Sodis was their man! He would definitely benefit from this business. The kid had a complex network of relationships in the higher echelons of the kingdom, with appetites and expenses just as large. He wouldn't complain about earning too much.
One Scott steel crossbow would only require a purchase of one legion's quantity per year, which amounted to ten thousand crossbows. Even if they sold them for thirty silver coins each, Hilton would earn five gold coins from each sale, resulting in an income of five hundred gold coins. This alone would be enough for him to spend lavishly for half a year. Not to mention that the kingdom's twelve legions were all waiting to be outfitted with new equipment. There would be significant income!
However, what Hilton and Niemann saw was not just the immediate income. After coming to the Kullen Plain this time, they witnessed Scott's strange yet practical inventions. They believed that there would definitely be more things worth their surprise and investment in the future. Investing thirty gold coins meant they could potentially gain ten or even a hundred times the return in the future! If they didn't invest early enough, they would regret it tenfold or even a hundredfold in the future! Merchants would never let such an opportunity slip away!
Moreover, before leaving, they spent another ten gold coins to purchase the bear skin. Northern giant bear skin was already the most precious commodity, with an annual output of only ten pieces. Mercenaries risked their lives to obtain it. Radley often said, "Behind each bear fur lies the sacrifice of two lives." Countless mercenary groups ventured deep into the coniferous forest and encountered giant bears without any preparation, resulting in their complete annihilation. But now, ordinary soldiers armed with Scott steel crossbows could singlehandedly kill huge Magical Beast giant bears. In the past, this would have been unimaginable. But Rodney Scott, a retired veteran of fourteen years, had achieved it. This was undoubtedly a remarkable story and excellent publicity.
Combined with the bear fur, the earth elemental crystal core dug from the chest, and the story of an old soldier fighting alone to protect his young offspring, it was enough to move the generals in the military! However, there was also an element of luck involved this time. Radley's appraisal report stated that the magical crystal was only the lowest grade, which meant that the giant bear they encountered had just reached the level of a Magical Beast. However, even the lowest grade magical crystal was still a magical crystal! Not to mention, the quality of the bear fur was quite good. When brought back to the capital, it could be sold for fifteen gold coins, which was also a profitable deal.
Norfy rode on his pony and watched as the workers constructed the basic steel furnace for steel production. This was the oldest method of industrial steelmaking and the most suitable one for the present. Its drawback was that it caused heavy pollution, but in this world full of green mountains and clear waters, a steel plant wouldn't cause much pollution.
"Master, everything else is fine to arrange, but how are we going to transfer the molten iron from over there to the steel furnace here?"
The boss of the blacksmith shop, Luo Lian, wiped his sweat and walked over. According to Norfy's plan, they dug a large hole fifty meters away from the blast furnace, and the steel furnace was built inside the pit. However, they had to figure out how to transport the nearly two thousand-degree molten iron into the furnace. Not to mention the transportation over this fifty-meter distance!Norfy dismounted and pointed at the ground.
"We need to lay a 50-meter long railway track here, with the steam engine driving the chain to pull the cart. Stop here and open the bottom valve to pour the molten iron into it."
Rodney scratched his head. He knew what a steam engine was, but railway tracks were usually only used in mines, and they needed to be pulled by mules or horses. No one had ever tried using a steam engine to do it.
Norfy rested his chin on his hand, as if confirming his thoughts.
"Well, yes, we need a railway track. Let's start by casting two tracks with the blast furnace, and use our current steam engine to pull the molten iron. Are the molds for casting the steam engine parts ready?"
Rodney nodded.
"They are ready - 27 sets, all prepared! Don't worry, young master!"
Norfy simply nodded. He didn't trust these craftsmen's skills at all. In the past, things made by hand were always substandard, but now they worked fantastically. Precision machining was no longer necessary, as long as they took it step by step.
After that, he mounted his horse again and headed towards the busy dockyard not far from the steel mill. Men from Scott Village were recruited to work there, even including some from the Delly family. They earned fifty copper coins a day and were provided with lunch. It was better than sitting idle at home. Now William had truly become the chief financial officer.
The wages paid to local farmers weren't much, but it cost a lot to employ professional technicians from Raddleysin City to build the dock and shipyard. There were less than twenty of them, but it cost more than a gold coin per day for each of them. This pained William. But Rodney was optimistic. As long as the dock and shipyard were completed in two months, relying on old friends' connections and resources, Kulun Town had the potential to replace Raddleysin as the fur trading center of the entire northern region. Rodney even patted William on the shoulder and said,
"Look, in the future, our steam engines will transport furs from the north. They will be loaded onto our steamships and transported to the south. At that time, all the money will belong to the Scott family. The current investment is nothing!"
