Studying at Western University starts with a knife-forging competition

Lin Yuan picked out a piece of 1084 high-carbon steel from the material rack, weighed it in his hand, and used tongs to put it into the furnace.

Flames licked the metal surface, and the oxide scale began to peel off, the tiny flakes gleaming with a dark red light in the furnace.

He began to sketch the outline of a knife in his mind.

It's neither a pure hunting knife nor a pure Chinese knife.

The blade shape is similar to an American hunting knife—forged from a single piece of 1084 high-carbon steel without any interlayer steel, and the blade area is treated with clay tempering.

Hardening is an Eastern-style localized quenching process. After quenching, a curved hardened layer naturally forms near the blade edge, which increases the hardness of the blade edge and leaves a unique water ripple on the blade.

The judges wanted to see his fundamental skills, and the forging and heat treatment of 1084 was enough to demonstrate his control over a single high-carbon steel.

The judges wanted to see creativity, and this scorch mark is an element of Eastern forging techniques.

The steel billet is heated to a bright orange color, then removed and placed on an anvil, and a forging hammer is picked up.

The hammer fell.

"Dong—Ding."

The sound echoed slowly and deliberately within the red brick house.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

Robert's text message: "My wife asked if I could make an extra portion of braised pork next time I make it."

Lin Yuan smiled as he stared at the screen, typing with one hand: No problem, Professor. I'll make it next week and bring you two copies.

He put his phone back in his pocket, picked up the billet again, and continued hammering.

The temperature in the workshop slowly rose, the flames reflected on his face, and beads of sweat slid down his temples.

He glanced at the main quest on the system panel and a smirk appeared on his lips.

"Master level." The message was in Chinese. "Wait."

-----------------

When Lin Yuan returned to his dorm, the hallway was filled with the mixed smell of potato chips and energy drinks. Matt Wayne's signature scent.

He pushed open the door, and saw a game livestream on TV. Matt was sprawled on the sofa, his posture like a jellyfish washed ashore, an empty bag of potato chips on his lap, and his fingers covered in seasoning powder.

On the coffee table were three empty soda cans, an unopened protein bar, and a MacBook Pro with its screen lit up, displaying about forty tabs.

"You're back?" Matt asked without turning his head, his voice muffled. "Did you deliver it?"

"Um."

"What did the old man say?"

"They said it was delicious."

"That'll definitely be delicious. When have you ever missed cooking?" Matt sat up a little, shoved the last few crumbs from the bag into his mouth, and licked his fingers. "Oh, and I bought the meat."

Lin Yuan opened the refrigerator. Inside were two beautifully packaged Wagyu sirloin steaks, their marbling as even as marble. Below that was a bag of oxtail bones, with scallions and ginger beside them, all carefully wrapped in plastic wrap.

"Did you buy the scallions and ginger?" He glanced back at Matt.

"I bought it. I told you I'd definitely buy everything this time."

"You've made progress."

"Of course," Matt said smugly. "The butcher said this oxtail soup is amazing. Are you making it tomorrow?"

"Do it tomorrow."

"Okay." Matt rolled over on the sofa, sprawled on the backrest, rested his chin on his arm, like a dog that had discovered a new toy. "What were you looking at just now?"

"Video of the preliminary rounds of the sword forging competition."

"Oh, that blacksmith—"

"forging."

"Okay, forging it." Matt jumped off the sofa, walked over, and plopped down in the chair opposite Lin Yuan, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "Wait, you want to participate?"

"It was the professor's suggestion. The preliminary selection process begins with registration."

Matt's eyes lit up.

"Dude, are you going to be on TV?"

"First, we need to pass the preliminary selection."

"That's a sure thing." Matt's tone was matter-of-fact, as if Lin Yuan had already won the championship. "I've seen all those knives you made. My dad's crappy knife that cost eight thousand dollars can't even cut a steak properly, it's like sawing wood. Any knife you pick up is a million times better than his."

"About that knife of yours—"

"I know, let's not talk about it. But I'm serious." Matt leaned closer and lowered his voice, "Just imagine, a Chinese student, on an American TV show, using her family's traditional skills, outshining a bunch of locals. That's a script—"

"I'm not going there to make a movie."

"I know! But what if you win?" Matt got more and more excited. "You can create an account, film yourself making knives, and people will definitely watch. Let me tell you, what the internet needs right now is this kind of thing—"

"You're more excited than I am."

"Because this damn thing is really too interesting!" Matt slapped his thigh. "Think about it, he's in class doing his homework during the day, but behind the scenes he's the heir to a family of swordsmiths. Isn't that a hidden character? Ordinary people can't unlock it even if they want to."

Lin Yuan looked at him and shook his head helplessly.

"Seriously," Matt leaned back, crossed his legs, and put his hands behind his head. "If you're going to participate in a competition, shouldn't you upgrade your equipment? It would be bad if you broke something while using someone else's workshop."

"I've used it for almost two years and it's never broken."

"I'm not saying your skills aren't good enough. I'm saying you should have your own workshop. Think about it, you're a student now, so using the professor's workshop is fine. But what about later? If you want to make knives and sell them yourself, you need your own place, right?"

Lin Yuan paused for a moment. That's true.

"I can't afford it right now. And I might not even stay in the US."

"I know," Matt said confidently, crossing his legs. "But I can buy it."

"...What?"

"You cook, I'll buy the equipment. We'll cover the food expenses." Matt's expression turned serious, showing no sign of joking. "You do the math, you cook me two meals a day, that's sixty meals a month. I'm going to spend that money on food anyway. Rather than feeding those restaurants that serve awful food, I'd rather buy equipment. The equipment won't run away."

"Your algorithm—"

"And think about it, if you really win the championship, you can just forge me a knife anytime." Matt chuckled twice. "I won't lose out."

"I've been cooking for you for almost two years, when have you ever paid me?"

"That's because you didn't ask for it," Matt said matter-of-factly. "A decent forging workshop, with all the top-of-the-line equipment, would cost at most seventy or eighty thousand. That's more than my allowance for a year. Buy a workshop and leave it there; you can use it as you please. As long as you're willing to make more delicious food."

Lin Yuan looked at him and remained silent for a long while.

It would be a lie to say I wasn't tempted.

A workshop of your own, with all the necessary equipment.

Back in Longquan, his father's factory used domestically produced goods. Although they were usable, the difference between them and top American brands was obvious to the naked eye.

After arriving in Clemson, he saw the precision machining machine in Robert's workshop for the first time and stood there staring at it for a full ten minutes. It was something his father would never have bought from the factory.

But he knew Matt too well. His enthusiasm came quickly, and it faded just as fast.

Today you say you're going to buy a workshop, but next week you might forget about it and go buy a new car instead.