Over the next two days, Ronin completed his inspection of Giant Stone City, accompanied by Macken and Sailin.

During the tour, Ronin saw Giant Stone City’s diverse stone quarries firsthand. It was clear that if he were to undertake large-scale construction projects in the future, this place would be an excellent base for quarrying stone.

In addition to inspecting resources, Ronin also met with the residents of Giant Stone City.

Ever since the last period of unrest, many people had remained anxious. After all, their Lord had not visited, so they had no idea what the future held for Giant Stone City.

Ronin’s official appearance served as a shot in the arm, reassuring them that their Lord had arrived and was paying attention to them.

Two days later, Ronin left Giant Stone City and arrived in Chishan Town.

While Macken and Sailin handled the town’s defense and administration on his behalf, matters concerning the Chishan Town Iron Mine were overseen by the Master Level Blacksmith, Feng Si.

For over three months, the Chishan Town Iron Mine had been worked day and night. Deep within the Iron Mine, Blacksmith Carlos and the others transferred from Wubei Territory had already constructed a blast furnace for smelting iron.

"Lord, after our many experiments, we can now directly cast ordinary farming tools."

Feng Si led Ronin on a tour of their production base.

At that moment, the blast furnace was smelting iron ore. A worker poured the red-hot molten iron into a clay mold, where it cooled into the shape of a hoe.

To be honest, when Feng Si first encountered this production method, he was completely stunned.

When he learned that this method came from the Lord, his heart filled with an unprecedented admiration for Ronin.

However, he had also discovered a drawback to the hoes produced by this casting method.

"Lord, this method of yours is indeed very fast and convenient, but the cast hoes are inferior in hardness. They are prone to cracking or even breaking during use."

Forged hoes are harder and last longer, but forging is too time-consuming and expensive.

Cast hoes are quicker and cheaper to produce, but they are fragile and break easily.

In Feng Si’s view, both methods had their pros and cons. You couldn’t say one was definitively better than the other; the key was the trade-off.

Ronin listened to Feng Si’s report and nodded.

"Casting does have that drawback, but there are ways to mitigate it."

"Oh?"

Feng Si’s eyes lit up, shining with a thirst for iron-smelting knowledge.

Ronin smiled and said, "That would be heat treatment."

As he spoke, he walked over to a nearby shelf, picked up a cast hoe, and tossed it into the furnace.

"Through heat treatment methods like quenching and tempering, you can eliminate the stress created during the casting process and refine the grain structure, thereby improving its hardness and strength."

Feng Si looked baffled. Even though he was a Master Level Blacksmith, he had never heard any of the new terms Ronin was using.

Ronin had Carlos bring over a bucket of water. After the hoe in the furnace had been glowing red-hot for a while, he took it out and quickly plunged it into the bucket full of water.

HISS! A large amount of steam instantly rose up.

"Heating it to the right temperature, holding it there for a period, and then rapidly cooling it—that’s quenching. This method can significantly increase hardness, wear resistance, and so on."

After doing this, Ronin tossed the quenched hoe back into the furnace. After heating it up, he took it out and let it cool gradually.

"This is tempering. It eliminates the stress created during quenching, preventing deformation and cracking while also adjusting the final hardness and strength."

Feng Si, Carlos, and the others had considered themselves quite skilled, but hearing Ronin’s words, they felt like three-year-old children learning their first words—they couldn’t understand a thing.

"I was just demonstrating the principle. Actual quenching and tempering require very precise temperature control. It takes continuous trial and error to master."

Ronin said to Feng Si and the others, "I’m leaving it to you to figure out how to properly adjust the strength of the ironware through heat treatment."

The men nodded gravely. They had originally thought that the blast furnace was the extent of the Lord’s knowledge, but they never expected the Lord to know so much more.

But faced with the task Ronin had given them, they were all eager to get started. After all, everyone wanted to be a pioneer.

Next, Ronin stayed in Chishan Town for a brief two days. He spent the time checking the mining records for the Iron Mine and also familiarizing himself with the situation in Chishan Town.

During this time, Philip and Solstein, the Lords of Casier Town and Sari Town, learned of Ronin’s visit from merchants in Chishan Town.

As vassals of Wushan Castle and neighbors to a prodigy like Ronin, they naturally extended an invitation.

Ronin didn’t refuse. They were neighbors, after all, and maintaining a good relationship was necessary.

He chose Casier Town as the meeting place and met with the two Barons.

Thanks to Philip’s warm hospitality, the three of them ate and drank to their heart’s content.

During the banquet, both Philip and Solstein requested to purchase farming tools from Ronin.

Casier Town was doing alright, but Sari Town, which had been desolate for many years, had a much greater need for farming tools.

Naturally, Ronin wouldn’t refuse business that came knocking on his door.

He offered to sell them iron ore at a slightly lower price, but of course, if the two wanted to buy finished products, Ronin could provide those as well.

When they learned that Ronin’s finished products were thirty percent cheaper than the market price, they both scrambled to see the goods. If possible, they would definitely buy a large batch.

This was the benefit of the blast furnace and casting methods; they had significantly reduced production costs.

Ronin could use this advantage to disrupt the existing market with lower prices and seize their business.

However, he didn’t promise immediate delivery, instead setting the date for before the start of spring next year.

This period would give Feng Si and his team time to research the heat treatment techniques, improve the strength of the cast farming tools, and ensure they were sufficient for daily agricultural work.

In truth, Philip and Solstein had their own agenda.

They had originally just hoped to buy iron ore or farming tools at a "friendship price," but they never expected Ronin’s finished products to be so cheap.

The two conferred privately and came to an agreement:

If the quality of Ronin’s low-priced goods was indeed decent, they could purchase a large shipment and then sell it in various places for just under the market price.

Although this would effectively make Casier Town and Sari Town distributors for Chishan Town, they didn’t mind as long as they could make money.

Ronin could see they had such a plan in mind, and he didn’t mind their intentions either.

For him, as long as he made enough money, letting others have a piece of the pie was completely acceptable.

Once Philip and Solstein got a taste of the profits, they would not only open up new markets for him but also actively protect his interests.

And in the process, Ronin would save on the significant costs of transporting and selling the goods elsewhere himself.

A win-win cooperation was also a path to wealth.