Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

Upon returning from the iron mine, Mo Yuming immediately ordered his men to secretly monitor the weapon refiners and instructed them to eliminate any suspicious activity immediately to prevent future troubles.

As a secret strategic material, black iron ore must not be leaked.

Judging from the behavior of the weapon refiners during the recent visit to the mining site, none of them were truly dedicated to their work.

They were arrogant and conceited, using their status as members of the Weapon Refiners Association, but in reality, they wanted to get their hands on the iron ore and gain benefits from Mo Yuming.

Especially when they learned that there was black iron ore in the mine, their greedy expressions, which gleamed in their eyes, completely exposed their pretense.

They thought their disguise was flawless, but in reality, how could their clumsy acting possibly fool Mo Yuming and the others?

The main reason they didn't expose them on the spot was because they didn't want to attract the attention of the Refiners Association.

After all, the Refiner's Association is a powerful organization, and there will definitely be many things we need to do with it in the future.

However, not revealing the secrets of the ore mine to outsiders is the most basic code of conduct for a weapon refiner. It was for this reason that Mo Yuming took the four weapon refiners to visit the mine, mainly because he wanted to hire them to work for the armory.

Early the next morning, Huo Chengde, following Mo Yuming's instructions, sent two people from his family to meet with Mo Yuming at the hotel where he was staying.

Both men were middle-aged, around forty years old, dressed in tight-fitting clothes, with robust builds, broad shoulders and thick waists, square faces and thick eyebrows. In terms of facial features, they bore some resemblance to Huo Chengde.

After talking, it was discovered that the two men, one named Huo Chengfang and the other Huo Chenggang, were both Huo Chengde's cousins.

Within the family, they primarily manage the mining and sales of the mines, meaning they are currently the main managers of the mines.

After conversation, it was learned that the two were initially the most opposed to donating the mine in the family. However, after several heart-to-heart talks with Huo Chengde and family meetings, they finally agreed to Huo Chengde's idea.

It was later learned that the mining was still mainly carried out by the Huo family, and that all the mined ore was converted into currency and distributed to the Huo family in equal shares.

After calculation, the Huo family did not lose much, because the Huo family's iron ore had huge expenses when sold to other places, and they had to give gifts and grease palms everywhere. After all that trouble, they finally got less than 50%.

Therefore, the Huo family members ultimately accepted Huo Chengde's decision willingly.

"The Huo family has been running mines for so long, I wonder if the Huo family has anyone who understands ore refining? Are you familiar with the iron refining methods of various schools of weapon refiners?"

"My lord, to my shame, the Huo family ancestors were all weapon refiners. Our first ancestor was even a master weapon refiner. In his generation, our Huo family was famous far and wide. We also acquired the Xuantian Ridge iron mine at that time, and the weapon refining method has been passed down ever since."

However, the younger generation of the Huo family has become increasingly less talented in weapon crafting.

Although the family has been trying to train weapon refiners, there hasn't been a famous weapon refiner for several generations.

My family currently only has three weapon refiners. My uncle is a level three weapon refiner with high cultivation, and my cousin and nephew are level one weapon refiners.

My uncle ran a weapon-refining shop in Wangxiang Town, and my cousin and nephew helped him in the shop.

Now the family has no choice but to make a living by mining and selling ore.

This is a copy of the Huo family's weapon-refining manual. Please accept it, my lord. The patriarch learned that my lord wanted to learn about iron-refining methods, so he asked me to copy the Huo family's weapon-refining manual for my lord to see if it would be useful.

In fact, the techniques used by weapon refiners to refine ores are all similar, with only minor differences in the amount of ore added, the control of heat and time, and the methods for removing slag.

Therefore, my lord, you need not take this manual too seriously!

After saying that, Huo Chengfang handed Mo Yuming a parchment scroll that he had taken out of his bosom.

"Huo Qing is so understanding! I don't know how to thank you enough. I'll remember your kindness! Please thank Huo Qing properly for me later!"

Mo Yuming quickly took the book with both hands and gently placed it on the table.

Each family's cultivation manuals are treasured and never easily shown to others, especially the rarer manuals on weapon crafting and alchemy.

These items are priceless in major department stores, and are rarely seen as they are available only when they are available.

Judging from the fact that he offered up the secret manual, Huo Chengde could be said to have taken a desperate gamble, entrusting the fate of his family to Mo Yuming.

How many able-bodied men does the Huo family have available?

"Reporting to the Lord, there are currently more than eighty members of the Huo family working in the mines, another thirty-five people following Brother Chenggang to manage the transportation of ore, and another twenty people stationed outside to guard the shops and warehouses."

"Now that the ore will no longer be exported, the twenty-odd people currently working outside and the thirty-odd people involved in transportation can be recalled, as can the dozen or so people who previously helped the head of the family manage Wangxiang Township."

Huo Chengfang replied to Mo Yuming.

"Those who haven't received mining training don't need to be recalled to work in the mines; the eighty-odd people currently in the mines are enough."

If they want to do other things, then let them choose for themselves. After all, mining and iron smelting is not an easy task!

Moreover, the Huo family's businesses will continue to expand.

In any case, we'll need to recruit a lot of people for mining, iron smelting, and weapon forging in the future; the Huo family's hundred or so people alone are far from enough.

Mo Yuming stopped Huo Chengfang's idea.

He casually picked up a few drawings from the table next to him and handed them to the Huo brothers, saying:

"These are some design sketches I drew for the construction of the ore refinery and metalworking plant, and I have marked the dimensions and locations of the plants."

You brothers should take this back and study it, then discuss a construction plan. The clansmen currently mining should temporarily cease ore extraction and instead focus on building the factory.

If we don't have enough manpower, I will bring some craftsmen over in a few days to help with the construction! You can start by paving the factory floor with stone slabs according to the blueprints.

I will send someone to manage the funds for building the factory.

What you need to do is register your existing personnel and resources, and then register every member of the Huo family who works in the mine.

Everyone will receive a payment from the mine on time; these are all distributed uniformly by the mine and will not be deducted from your Huo family's dividends!

The Huo brothers were overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately rose to their feet, bowing respectfully.

"Yes, my lord, my brother and I will return immediately to make the arrangements!"

After seeing the Huo brothers off, Mo Yuming sat down at his desk and began to read the Huo family's weapon-refining manual carefully.