Industry began in 1937

The crisis of pig iron and raw materials has been temporarily alleviated, and the furnace fire has become stable and vigorous again.

The clanging of forging, the hissing of grinding wheels, and the creaking of the human-powered generator shaft once again became the main melody of the back mountain of Gouzi Village.

Under the guidance of Shuanzhu, Tiedan, and several newly recruited reliable apprentices, Chen Yuan restarted the production line for "Gouzi-made" hand grenade bodies and bayonets.

After previous tests and summaries, the process has become more proficient and orderly, and production has steadily increased.

Although this small blacksmith shop still relies mostly on the flint and steel platform for most of its work, everyone's basic production capabilities have been greatly improved.

This includes Chen Yuan himself.

He was already skilled at replacing standard parts in those damaged firearms.

Some simple minor defects can also be addressed by machining the blanks produced on the flint platform.

This has actually solved most of the problems with these firearms.

Even core issues like gun barrels cannot be resolved yet.

In fact, he knew that if a stable power center could be established, and with that power and a rifling machine, gun barrels could be produced using the carbon steel produced on the platform.

However, the power center cannot be built yet.

Whether it's steam power, internal combustion engines, or electricity.

The core issues are insufficient platform power and a lack of raw materials.

The main reason is that, in order to survive, electricity and raw materials are constantly being used to produce goods and weapons.

Over the past three months, we used up all our electricity and materials, first in order to survive, and later in order to resist the Red Spear Society and fight against the Japanese invaders.

However, there is a problem with building wind and hydropower now: a shortage of iron and copper.

This is a problem that needs to be solved as soon as possible; we can't wait until the rainy season arrives to come up with a solution.

In Chen Yuan’s view, to solve this problem, we cannot rely solely on the local government; we should also leverage the capabilities of the platform.

However, as a time traveler, Chen Yuan understood a principle more clearly than many people in this era: behind military struggles lies the support of the economy and people's livelihood.

Later generations may see the country seemingly suffering in many ways, but the development of industry and economy has given us greater confidence.

An isolated, purely attrition-driven armed force is unsustainable; a base area without economic vitality and improved livelihoods is also unlikely to truly take root and grow strong.

The technological advantages brought by the "Flint" platform should not be used only to manufacture weapons for killing enemies.

Weapons are shields and spears, guarantees of survival, but what truly revitalizes this land and its people is the improvement of productivity and the enhancement of living standards.

The base area is now in ruins and the people are living in poverty. Many families may not even have a good iron pot or a handy hoe.

The Japanese blockade and previous sweeps further exacerbated the already fragile rural economy.

He remembered the market at the river mouth that was open regularly.

Before the war, it was an important place for dozens of nearby mountain villages to exchange goods and share resources.

Although the economy has declined considerably, some people still risk their lives to bring small quantities of mountain produce, grain, and handicrafts to trade for necessities.

That might be a starting point.

In the evening, Chen Yuan went to the village to find Secretary Wen, Third Uncle, and Old Man Han. They sat around the kang (a heated brick bed) and shared their ideas.

"Secretary Wen, Third Uncle, Uncle Han, our 'Justice Blacksmith Shop' is currently mainly engaged in forging military supplies for the troops, which is of paramount importance and cannot be stopped. But I'm thinking, could we also spare some of our resources to do something else?"

"Something else? Master Chen, you mean..." Wen Shizhou asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Make some tools that ordinary people use in their daily lives." Chen Yuan said seriously, "Hoe, sickle, kitchen knife, scissors, iron pot, door knocker, nails... these are the most common farm tools and everyday ironware."

Third Master puffed on his pipe, his brow furrowing. "Forging these things? Aren't our iron ore mainly supplied to the troops? Besides, forging these everyday items won't fetch much money, and it'll just delay our work, won't it?"

"Third Master, you can't calculate it like that." Chen Yuan shook his head and began to explain his thoughts, his words unconsciously revealing a perspective ahead of his time. "First of all, the villagers in our base need to make a living and farm. Without good farming tools, the land won't grow well, and the harvest won't be plentiful. If there isn't enough food, what will the troops eat? How will the villagers survive? We manufacture weapons to protect our homes, but our homes themselves also need to be built up so that people can live and live well. That's the fundamental thing."

He paused, and seeing that the others seemed to be deep in thought, he continued, "Secondly, we now have a relatively stable source of iron. Although most of it needs to be used for military supplies, we can produce quite a few small civilian items. These items are easy for us to make, but we can exchange them for what we need at the market—grain, cloth, oil, gunpowder, iron, and copper."

Old Han's eyes lit up: "Master Chen, you mean bartering?"

"Yes, it's about bartering, or using our ironware as 'money'," Chen Yuan nodded. "Now that the Japanese are blockading us, it's difficult for foreign dollars and legal tender to come in, and even if they do, it's hard to buy things. What we need most in our base area is a real, usable 'hard currency.' The ironware we forge is sturdy and durable, so it's hard currency. The villagers can exchange grain for a new hoe, and with better farming, they can harvest more grain next year. With the grain we get, we can feed the workers and have the surplus to produce more. It's a virtuous cycle. And we can also use the ironware to exchange for more iron and copper materials from outside."

The production cost of the flint platform has a huge advantage. Although it requires continuous power generation, this dark factory can minimize energy loss.

As long as the cycle continues, raw materials can be obtained continuously.

Wen Shizhou understood the implication and leaned forward slightly: "Master Chen, you mean that our blacksmith shop should not only serve the troops, but also become a 'spring' for the revitalization of our base's economy?"

"That's exactly what I mean!" Chen Yuan praised. "Secretary Wen is right. We can't just keep sending out without bringing in anything. Military production consumes a huge amount of resources, and relying solely on support from higher authorities and internal requisitioning is not a long-term solution. We need to have some of our own 'blood-generating' capacity. We can use our skills and 'surplus' iron to produce civilian necessities, circulate them in the market, and exchange them for living supplies and other raw materials. In this way, we can not only improve the lives of our fellow villagers and make our base more stable, but also partially support our own production and reduce the burden on the government and our troops. Furthermore, if we do well, the reputation of our ironware will spread, attracting people from surrounding villages to trade, gradually restoring and expanding the market in our base."

He concluded by adding with an air of certainty based on common sense in modern economics: "Only when the economy is vibrant can people's hearts be at peace and the foundation be solid. With a more solid foundation, our troops can have more ample supplies, and military production can have a more robust base. In the end, war is about money, supplies, and people's hearts."

These words caused Wen Shizhou, Third Master, and Old Man Han to fall into deep thought.

They might not understand terms like "economic cycle" or "positive interaction," but Chen Yuan used the simplest words to outline a future where villagers would have better farming tools and produce more grain, blacksmiths would exchange ironware for necessities, and goods would circulate within the base area—a good thing that they could understand and personally experience.

This is not just about forging iron to make money; it concerns whether everyone in the base area can live a better life, and whether this resistance can be sustained for a long time.

"That makes sense!" Wen Shizhou was the first to agree. "Master Chen, you have foresight! We can't just focus on the battle and forget about daily life. I think this is a good idea! We can use scraps to forge some civilian ironware on the side. It won't interfere with our main business, and it will benefit the villagers, revitalize the market, and maybe we can even get some unexpected good things in return. Third Master, Uncle Han, what do you think?"

Third Master tapped his pipe: "Master Chen has seen the world, he's right. We farmers know best how valuable a good hoe is. If your shop could make good and affordable farm tools, I'd be the first to trade!"

Old Han laughed and said, "I know the river mouth market well; it used to be very lively. If our Gouzi Village's ironware can really make a name for itself at the market, it will bring honor and vitality to our village and our base area!"

The consensus was quickly reached.

Chen Yuan was responsible for design and quality control, and used the "Suihuo" platform to optimize some commonly used agricultural tools and daily ironware.

Shuanzhu and Tiedan, along with a group of apprentices, began to try forging civilian ironware in addition to fulfilling their military production quotas.

Wen Shizhou was responsible for communicating with the village office and the district to coordinate market stalls and trading rules, and for ensuring that civilian production did not affect the priority of military production tasks.

Soon after, a stall with a fairly complete selection of goods quietly appeared at the river mouth market.

The stall was looked after by people sent by Gouzi Village, and the goods on display were eye-catching: newly made hoes with bluish-green quenched luster on the blade and smooth, easy-to-handle wooden handles; sickles with a suitable curve, sharp and lightweight; kitchen knives with uniform thickness and full of steel heat; as well as iron pots of various sizes, scissors, fire tongs, door knockers, and even small boxes of iron nails of different specifications.

In contrast, the other two blacksmith stalls that were originally in the market seemed much quieter.

Their goods were scarce, and mostly consisted of repaired old parts or new goods of varying quality—the reason being simple: the Japanese puppet regime had extremely strict control over iron materials, resulting in very little iron material circulating in the market and exorbitantly high prices, making it difficult for small iron shops to survive.

Ironware from Gouzi Village, with its relatively high quality and relatively complete variety, quickly became a hot commodity in the market.

The villagers exchanged grain, eggs, mountain products, homespun cloth, and even some scrap metal and rare mineral samples for these much-needed production and living tools.

The transactions were not purely market-driven; they had a strong element of local mutual aid.

Prices were flexibly determined by the village office and stall owners based on the actual situation, prioritizing the basic needs of the local people, while also attracting people from surrounding villages that were not yet fully under Japanese control.

Gradually, the reputation of "the ironware from Gouzi Village is good and durable" spread, and Hekouji regained some of its former vitality because of this stable and reliable source of ironware.