Chapter 31 Collecting Raw Materials

The knife came out in the shape of the dog leg-shaped knife.

Li Zhenhua’s last blow landed on the blade. The entire blade was done.

“Hua Zi, what’s the next step for this knife?”

Guo Shugui held a camera at the side and asked Li Zhenhua.

“The next step is to quench it. When you’re done, drive the V, open the blade, and attach the hilt. It’ll be polished until it’s shiny. Then the pattern on the blade will be revealed.”

Li Zhenhua grabbed the knife and waved it in the air twice to test the comfort of the knife.

“Quenching, huh? Then is there going to be a backfiring later on! There’s no need for the last batch of table knives to backfry. Is this knife going to be used for backfiring?”

After Liu Xiaodong heard this, he asked Li Zhenhua.

“This knife will only quench, not fire. I plan to quench it in a special way.”

Li Zhenhua looked at the two puzzled people at the side and didn’t tell them what method to use.

“Alright, just watch. I’ll go find the ingredients!”

With that, Li Zhenhua placed the knife in his hand on the bed.

Li Zhenhua thought about the storeroom beside him and walked in.

Together, they surrounded the knife on the kiln table, a fat man with zero work,

He grabbed the hilt of the knife and held it in his hand. The thin one looked remorseful.

Li Zhenhua came to the storeroom and took out the iron powder he had collected during the forging process and placed it in the courtyard.

Then he brought over the borax that had been placed beside the kiln table. A pinch of carbon dust that had been ground into powder.

Most of the raw materials had been gathered. There were still two things missing. One was charcoal powder, and the other was raw soil.

Charcoal was easy to deal with. The last thing the blacksmith’s shop lacked was charcoal.

He found some good fruit charcoal and placed it in a stone mortar. The charcoal was quickly mashed into powder.

Now, he was only missing one thing. This raw soil was a little difficult to get.

Li Zhenhua took a shovel from the corner of the courtyard and a Luoyang shovel that his grandfather had made previously.

He walked out the door with two handfuls of things.

“Guoba, get your camera and get going. We’re going to find raw earth in the woods by the river.”

Guo Shugui was watching with a knife in one hand and a camera in the other. He faithfully recorded all of Li Zhenhua’s actions.

“Hey, you’re here. Hua Zi, where are you going?

And is that a Luoyang shovel you’re carrying?

Are you going to raid the tombs?

Are you also a part-time tomb raider after becoming a blacksmith?!”

Guo Shugui asked Li Zhenhua after seeing his appearance.

“Get lost. I’m a good person. Do you think I’m Hu Bayi?

The tomb raider was from a novel, alright? My Luoyang shovel wasn’t used for tomb raiding

Hurry up and follow me. You’ll know what this thing of mine is for in a while!”

With that, Li Zhenhua walked out of the courtyard. Guo Shugui followed behind with his things.

Liu Xiaodong, who had been playing with his semi-finished knife, hurriedly followed after the two of them.

Li Zhenhua led the two of them to the river with their tools.

There was a small forest by the river. Li Zhenhua stopped near the river.

He placed the two tools in his hands on the ground and based on his experience,

Arriving on the ground between the two trees, Li Zhenhua used his feet to sweep the leaves that covered the ground to the side.

The land leaked out. Li Zhenhua picked up his Luoyang shovel and started working on the ground.

He grabbed the Luoyang shovel with both hands, lifted it up, and smashed it hard against the ground.

The Luoyang shovel was very sharp. Li Zhenhua pulled again.

Luo Yang shoveled the soil into the soil and poured the soil inside the shovel aside.

He raised the shovel again and smashed it into the hole.

Just like that, he dug down bit by bit. The handle of the Luoyang shovel was originally two meters long, but now the handle that was exposed was only about 50 centimeters.

In other words, the hole Li Zhenhua was digging was already 1.5 meters deep.

He pulled out the Luoyang shovel again and dumped the soil in it aside. Li Zhenhua looked at the soil and shook his head in disappointment.

Yellow sticky soil: microbial content, excessive decay, does not meet the raw soil standard.

“Sigh, it wasn’t a good start. This place doesn’t have it. I dug so deep for nothing.”

Li Zhenhua put the Luoyang shovel aside and took the shovel. He scooped up the soil he had dug out and poured it into the hole. Soon, the hole was buried.

“Huazi, what are you doing!

Why can’t the two of us understand your operation? You’re now a living tomb raider in my eyes.”

Guo Shugui, who did not understand what Li Zhenhua was doing, finally could not help but ask Li Zhenhua.

“Damn you, tomb raider. I’m looking for raw soil. Have you read too many novels? There aren’t that many tomb raiders in reality!”

Guo Shugui was unhappy to hear this and quickly retorted.

“Look at you, you’re so ignorant. Didn’t Third Uncle just dig into the Three Star Mound[1. The Three Star Mound is an archaeological site and a major Bronze Age culture in modern Guanghan, Sichuan, China. Largely discovered in 1986)? And the one who wrote the novel called Wang, didn’t they all had their background in tomb raiding?”

Li Zhenhua, who was tired of digging, heard this and his interest was piqued. He threw the shovel aside.

He sat on the ground and said to Guo Shugui.

“Go ahead. The Three Star Mound had already been dug out before Third Uncle’s novel appeared.

And that Wang guy, really was a tomb raider.

Talk about me. I’m just here to dig dirt that works. Raw dirt.

Soil that is excavated from the depths. Soil that contains no decay, soil that contains almost no nutrients.”

After hearing Li Zhenhua’s explanation, Guo Shugui understood. He had thought that he had encountered something incredible!

After the small talk, Li Zhenhua found another place and started digging with the Luoyang shovel again.

Li Zhenhua finally dug out the soil that met his requirements when he reached the fourth hole.

At this moment, the shovel that had not been of much use came in handy. With the hole as the center, it dug down.

Soon, a huge pit about a meter square and about 1.2 meters deep was dug.

Li Zhenhua squatted down and picked up a small pinch of soil, twisting it in his hand.

A smile finally appeared on his face. At least he hadn’t wasted his efforts. He had finally found the raw soil.

He started digging with the shovel and put it into the woven bag he carried.

After throwing the soil on it, he climbed out and threw the shovel at Liu Xiaodong, who was idling at the side. “Fatty, I’ll leave the rest to you. Take the shovel and bury this huge pit for me.

But I’m exhausted. I can’t muster any strength now.”

Seeing that Li Zhenhua was so tired, Liu Xiaodong grabbed the shovel and started to bury the soil.

Soon, the pit was filled. Li Zhenhua carried the woven bag, while Liu Xiaodong held two tools and called Guo Shugui to go back with him.

“Let’s go. The ingredients have been gathered. It’s time for the next step. Guoba, have you taken the scene just now? If you have, send it to the organizing committee and send it over together.”