The Young Man from the Great Qin

Chapter 19: Setting Up the Production Line

Xiao Ren tucked the cloth strip into his chest, walked into the workshop, closed the door, and lit a lamp. The ink on the strip had dried, the four crooked characters reading: "Beware of Zhao Gao." Someone was helping him but dared not show themselves. Xiao Ren spread out a bamboo slip and began writing the preparation plan for the production line.

The chrome salt passivation technique had been verified as feasible. Transitioning from experiment to mass production required solving three problems: the source of chrome ore, skilled craftsmen, and workshop space. Meng Tian had given him one month. Counting today, there were twenty-nine days left.

Early the next morning, Xiao Ren went to the market west of the city. Xianyang had two major markets: the East Market dealt in grain, cloth, salt, and iron, while the West Market was for general goods and craftsmen. Xiao Ren was looking for ore merchants. In the Qin Dynasty, no one cared much for chrome ore; merchants treated it as waste, piled up in corners.

Xiao Ren visited three ore shops. The first two said they had none. The third was an old manager named Zhou, who had been in the ore business in Xianyang for twenty years.

"Chrome ore?" Manager Zhou frowned. "That grayish-green stone? It's too hard to hammer, won't melt when burned, and nobody wants it."

"How much do you have?" Xiao Ren asked.

"Over ten shi piled in the backyard. I picked it up along with other ores and never bothered to dispose of it." Zhou waved his hand dismissively. "If you want it, just cover the transport cost."

"I'll take it all. Deliver it to the military workshop outside the West Gate. I'll pay for the freight."

Zhou looked Xiao Ren up and down. "Are you sure? That stuff is truly useless."

"I have use for it."

Zhou didn't ask further, wrote out a receipt, and sent his assistant to the backyard to load the cart. The ore issue was mostly settled; the remaining problem was craftsmen. Chrome salt passivation required delicate operations—craftsmen who could read blueprints, control the fire, and patiently perform repetitive labor.

Xiao Ren went to the craftsmen recruitment office at the entrance of the West Market. Dozens of people had gathered there: blacksmiths, carpenters, leatherworkers, and a few scholars in tattered Confucian robes. Xiao Ren posted the recruitment notice: "Seeking craftsmen; those who can read blueprints are preferred. Monthly wage: three hundred coins." Three hundred coins was neither high nor low. An ordinary craftsman earned just over two hundred a month. The news spread quickly, and soon a crowd gathered.

A burly blacksmith pushed to the front and asked in a rough voice, "Are you hiring? What kind of work?"

"Polishing ironware. The process isn't complex, but it requires precision," Xiao Ren said.

"Polishing ironware?" The blacksmith sneered. "That's apprentice work. I've been forging iron for twenty years. You want me to do that?"

"Then you can't do it," Xiao Ren said bluntly. The blacksmith's face darkened, and several nearby craftsmen laughed.

A tall, thin carpenter stepped forward. "Young man, three hundred coins probably won't attract any good hands."

Xiao Ren ignored him and continued waiting. Several young craftsmen came over, looked at the notice, then at Xiao Ren, and hesitated before leaving. Xiao Ren asked if they could read blueprints. They looked at each other and said that only foremen read blueprints.

Xiao Ren shook his head, ready to roll up the notice and leave, when a voice came from the back of the crowd: "What kind of blueprints are you talking about?"

Xiao Ren looked up and saw a teenager standing outside the crowd. He looked sixteen or seventeen, wearing coarse cloth clothes washed pale, holding a rolled-up bamboo slip.

"Can you read blueprints?" Xiao Ren asked.

"That depends on what kind of blueprint." The teenager walked over, placed the bamboo slip on the ground, and unrolled it. "Do you recognize this one?"

The bamboo slip featured a mechanical structure diagram. The lines were neat, the annotations clear, detailing the internal structure of a crossbow. The size, angle, and interlocking method of every part were marked clearly.

"Did you draw this?" Xiao Ren asked.

"Mm." The teenager nodded. "I dismantled a Qin crossbow and redrew the blueprint."

Xiao Ren squatted down and examined it carefully.

"Two parts here are wrong." Xiao Ren pointed to two spots on the drawing. "The angle of the trigger lever is off by half an inch, and the engagement depth of the jaw mechanism is too shallow. A crossbow made according to this blueprint would jam after thirty paces."

The teenager froze, leaned in to look closely, and after a long moment, looked up at Xiao Ren with shock in his eyes. "You... how did you know that?"

"I've dismantled one." Xiao Ren stood up. "What's your name?"

"Mo Yuan."

"Of the Mohist school?"

The teenager hesitated, then nodded. "My father was a Mohist disciple. I learned from him since childhood."

Xiao Ren looked at him, his mind making calculations. The Mohists were famous for their mechanical arts. This teenager could draw crossbow blueprints, indicating a solid foundation, lacking only practical experience.

"I'm hiring for polishing ironware, but what I'm making is far more complex than a crossbow," Xiao Ren said. "If you're willing, work with me for a month. Monthly wage: three hundred coins. If you do well, I'll teach you more advanced techniques."

Mo Yuan stared at Xiao Ren for a long while. "Do you understand the principles of investigating things to extend knowledge?"

"I don't understand any 'Dao'," Xiao Ren said. "I only understand how to make things work."

"You're talking big. Why should I trust you?" Mo Yuan spoke up suddenly. His voice wasn't loud, but everyone around heard it.

The blacksmith chimed in, "Exactly. What can a kid like him possibly know?"

Xiao Ren didn't reply. He turned and went into the workshop, returning with a Qin crossbow rusted solid. It had been sitting in a corner for a long time; the string was loose, the mechanism rusted shut, and the trigger wouldn't move. Xiao Ren placed the crossbow on the ground, took out a small knife from his chest, and began to dismantle it. The onlookers fell silent. Xiao Ren's movements were swift. He removed the trigger lever, scraped off the rust, and polished it with sandstone. Then he took apart the jaw mechanism, cleaned the rust scale, and readjusted the engagement angle. The whole process took less than the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn.

Xiao Ren reassembled the crossbow, drew the string, nocked an arrow, and aimed at a wooden target outside the courtyard wall. He pulled the trigger. The arrow flew out and*** into the wooden target, the tail still trembling.

The onlookers' eyes widened. That rusted-shut crossbow was fixed just like that?

Mo Yuan stepped forward, picked up the crossbow, and examined it closely, then looked at Xiao Ren again.

"What technique did you use?" Mo Yuan asked.

Xiao Ren said, "The engagement angle between the trigger lever and the jaw mechanism was wrong. No amount of skill could fix it."

Mo Yuan was silent for a long time, then bent down and rolled up the bamboo slip. "I'll work with you."

The nearby craftsmen were dumbfounded.

The blacksmith huffed, "A kid and a destitute nobody. What can they possibly accomplish?"

Xiao Ren ignored him, led Mo Yuan away, and returned to the workshop. Xiao Ren spread out the blueprints and explained the chrome salt passivation process to Mo Yuan.

Mo Yuan listened attentively, asking a few questions from time to time, all hitting the key points.

"Where did you work before?" Xiao Ren asked.

"No fixed place," Mo Yuan said. "I went around repairing farming tools and water wheels for people, saving money to buy books to read."

"What about your father?"

"He died. Three years ago, he was repairing an official irrigation canal when a collapse killed him." Mo Yuan spoke calmly, but his hand holding the bamboo slip trembled slightly.

Xiao Ren didn't ask further and changed the subject. "Where do you live?"

"In a ruined temple west of the city, squeezing in with a few beggars."

"Move into the workshop. There's an empty room in the backyard. Clean it up and it can be lived in."

Mo Yuan paused, then nodded. "Alright."

In the afternoon, Manager Zhou's ore arrived. Over ten shi of chrome ore were piled in the workshop's backyard, the grayish-green stones gleaming dully in the sunlight. Mo Yuan had never seen this kind of ore. He squatted down, tapped a piece, and weighed it in his hand.

"What can this stuff do?"

"It prevents ironware from rusting," Xiao Ren said. "But the process is troublesome. First, it must be ground into powder, then calcined by fire, and finally soaked in water. It needs to be repeated several times before it can be used."

Mo Yuan mused, "Isn't that the same set of methods as alchemy?"

"It's not alchemy," Xiao Ren said. "Alchemy is blind guessing. Every step here has a reason."

Mo Yuan didn't ask further and started moving the ore. Xiao Ren watched his back, calculating the next steps. They had ore and a craftsman, but they still lacked manpower. Chrome salt passivation required a lot of repetitive labor; two people couldn't finish it alone. He needed to hire more people, preferably literate young men who could learn quickly and read blueprints.

Just as he was thinking, footsteps sounded outside the workshop. He looked up and saw a middle-aged man in official robes walking in, followed by two attendants. The man's face was grim, his gaze sweeping across the workshop before landing on Xiao Ren.

"Are you Wang Wu?" the middle-aged man asked.

"Yes."

"I am Li You, Assistant Director of the Shaofu. By order of the Zhao residence, I am inspecting all workshops outside Xianyang. Is your workshop registered?"

Xiao Ren's heart tightened. Zhao Gao's people had arrived so fast. Li You didn't wait for Xiao Ren's answer. He walked to the backyard, glanced at the pile of chrome ore on the ground.

"What is this?" Li You asked.

"Ore," Xiao Ren said.

"What kind of ore?"

"Chrome ore."

Li You frowned, clearly having never heard of such a thing. He squatted down, tapped a piece of ore, and examined it in his hand.

"What is this used for?"

"Making fertilizer," Xiao Ren said. "For farming."

Li You stared at Xiao Ren for a long moment, then stood up and brushed the dust off his hands. "Submit your workshop registration to the Shaofu within three days. Failure to do so will be treated as operating an unauthorized workshop."

**, Li You turned and left.

Two attendants followed behind him. One looked back at Xiao Ren, his eyes carrying a hint of amusement. Xiao Ren stood in place, watching Li You's figure disappear around the street corner.

Mo Yuan walked over and asked in a low voice, "Who was that?"

"Trouble," Xiao Ren said. "Big trouble."