Chapter 69: Call Me a Genius

The methods to make money were indeed plentiful, but with the lessons learned from Umber, Wu Qingsong realized the importance of not hurrying and taking things step by step.

Although he had already assembled his small troop, the team was still in its acclimation period. The houndmen had yet to face real tests, and confidential affairs were not yet ripe for initiation. Moreover, divulging too much at this point would be equivalent to presenting gifts to the elves, leaving him to settle for mere leftovers. A far from desirable outcome.

The optimal choice now was to make subtle upgrades to the existing industries in Esola. This approach would not draw undue attention and would be relatively easier to initiate.

For this reason, Wu Qingsong took a day to take Liuli and Ling for a stroll around the city. This served the dual purpose of providing them with a chance to unwind and also as a means for him to seek inspiration.

“How did it go?”

Having learned about their outing, Ram took the initiative to join them for an extensive walk. Wu Qingsong couldn’t help but notice that she didn’t skimp on her purchases, loading herself with bags of goodies. This clued him in that her complaint about being broke was merely a pretext. Her true objective was to coax him into revealing his hidden cards.

“We’ll discuss it when we return,” Wu Qingsong said, shrouding the matter in mystery.

Esola was, by no means, a commercial city. With its small populace and a single dominant industry, most of the iron foundries and mines were distributed across the mountainous outskirts. As the heart of regional governance, Esola City had a resident population shy of ten thousand. A principal street extended directly from the south gate to the north gate, with nearly all the businesses and shops situated along this thoroughfare.

Ram felt that Wu Qingsong had merely scratched the surface, bypassing any profound investigations. But from Wu Qingsong’s perspective, as someone who wasn’t entrenched in technical expertise, all that was needed was a sudden spark of genius.

All things that seemed backward or peculiar to him inevitably presented business opportunities. The only differences lay in the difficulty of the implementation and the likelihood of others swooping in to reap the benefits.

“How did it go?” Ram asked eagerly as soon as he returned to the mine office, not even having had the chance to sit down yet.

“It’s a bit of a headache,” Wu Qingsong replied.

Ram was slightly disappointed, but she nodded and said, “It’s okay. This matter is not so simple. Don’t rush, just take your time to think about it.”

Wu Qingsong, however, burst out laughing. “You misunderstood. The headache is because there are too many things that can be done. I don’t know which one to choose first.”

“You…” Ram couldn’t help but get annoyed, but she was really at a loss for what to do when faced with a guy like Wu Qingsong. 

She could only say fiercely, “Hurry up and tell me everything.”

“There are some things that are not easy to explain with words. Let me draw them out for you,” Wu Qingsong suggested.

The ideas, of course, revolved around the traditional essentials of life–clothing, food, shelter, and transportation.

In Esola, a hive of insectoid activity, there were a large number of mercenary groups in operation. However, from what Wu Qingsong observed, the majority of the soldiers did not wear armor. Either they wore tattered leather armor or none at all. The price of iron armor was naturally high. Although Umber, as a hub for fur trading, had numerous leather armor workshops, the prices were not cheap either.

From rawhide to tanned leather, a variety of materials were added to transform it into hard leather suitable for armor-making. Then came the cutting, shaping, sewing, connecting, coloring, and decorating. The amount of work required was by no means small.

While in Umber, Wu Qingsong had contemplated this issue. The artisans there typically worked in small groups, with one master leading a few apprentices, crafting goods entirely by hand. While beautiful, the time and cost involved in this process were substantial.

In his view, the production of leather armor could be simplified into three main steps. First was the tanning of leather, a process Wu Qingsong admittedly knew little about. Any improvements he could make would involve streamlining the production process to enhance efficiency.

The second step was the actual crafting of the armor. Wu Qingsong resolved not to produce beautiful, intricately designed pieces that were aesthetically pleasing and offered good protection. He wouldn’t painstakingly pursue unique colors and shapes as the other artisans did.

To Wu Qingsong, these practices seemed to be influenced by elven aesthetics and deviated from their ideal.

In his opinion, the primary requirement for leather armor as a military product was the ability for it to be mass-produced on a large scale. Its protective capabilities only needed to offer the best value for the money. Overly pursuing higher levels of protection was unnecessary because, no matter how well-made, leather armor could never surpass iron or steel armor. Striving for such was a futile effort.

The ideal model was the armor of the terracotta warriors. Uniform in style, all raw materials were identical strips of hard leather and leather cords. All that was needed was to assemble them according to the design.

The entire factory would require only a few masters to inspect and supervise production, with the rest of the workforce being apprentices on an assembly line. Each person would only need to learn the specific part of the process they were responsible for. This method was not only convenient for secrecy but also far more efficient and cost-effective than any workshop of that era.

Perhaps to the beastfolk, such armor would be considered ugly. But armor was, after all, armor. Wu Qingsong believed that soldiers who couldn’t afford high-end armor would be more than willing to spend a little money on something that was both cheap and effective.

Next on the list was food.

One idea that came to Wu Qingsong’s mind was to raise earthworms, and then chickens and ducks, taking inspiration from a novel he once read. In that story set during the Red Revolution, two revolutionaries led a group of peasants and managed to monopolize the county’s poultry egg market within just half a year. While Wu Qingsong didn’t dare to dream of achieving such a feat, he would be content as long as he could meet the daily needs of the people under his care.

Another idea was to produce compressed dry food, targeting mercenary groups as potential customers. The ingredients were simple: flour, dried meat, salt, sugar, and fats. With the right flavor combination, this product was sure to be popular among warriors who often faced logistical challenges during their extended deployments.

The third idea was to open a hot pot restaurant. The ingredients were readily available and easy to process, plus the food was delicious. Although some ingredients might not be available, suitable substitutes could likely be found. As a food enthusiast, Wu Qingsong’s craving for hot pot grew stronger with the gradually cooling weather, eventually becoming something of an obsession.

As for shelter, that involved cement.

If there were lime kilns in this world, then making necessary adjustments to produce cement should be quite feasible. It was mainly a matter of experimenting with the formula.

While producing high-grade cement might be a stretch, a primitive version should be relatively straightforward. However, cement was a significant tool, and Wu Qingsong wasn’t ready to unveil it just yet.

Transportation entailed a more technical aspect.

The sight of vehicles and carts pulled by slaves made a strong impression on Wu Qingsong. In fact, the main reason most mines were located far away from big cities was not due to environmental concerns, but rather the lack of transport capabilities, necessitating local production. In this world, the price of iron was astronomical, with transportation costs accounting for a substantial portion of the expenses.

After observing carefully, Wu Qingsong noted that both four-wheeled and two-wheeled carriages were commonly used in this world, with their designs closely resembling those from his memory, leaving little room for improvement.

However, the carriages in this world lacked bearings, or rather, used a very primitive form of bearing.

Imagine how much effort could be saved if these primitive bearings were replaced with the ball bearings used in bicycles. This technology could be kept as a closely guarded secret, utilized exclusively for transporting one’s own goods. The difference might not be noticeable with just one or two trips, or even with one or two carts. But what about a hundred carts or a thousand trips? The cost savings over time and scale would be substantial.

Other potential ideas included black powder for mining, coke for iron smelting, and safety lamps to prevent gas explosions in mines.

Wu Qingsong wasn’t exaggerating. After just a brief exploration, a plethora of ideas had already sprung to mind, leaving him with somewhat of a headache. Which should he choose to pursue first?