Industry began in 1937

After listening, Third Master looked at Old Han and said, "Old Han, you were the one who handled this before. How do you think we should seek justice?"

Old Han pondered for a moment, then pointed to the ironware on the ground: "A machete head and a sickle head are top-notch tools; with a handle attached, they can last for more than ten years. A kitchen knife is also indispensable for daily life."

These nails are especially rare; our village hasn't seen such neatly arranged nails in years. At the old prices in our mountains, this good machete head would be worth more than half a sack of coarse grain. A sickle head would be about the same. The kitchen knife and these nails… all together they're worth quite a bit.”

He paused, then looked at Chen Yuan: "Young man, the new shoes you want, we have them in the village. The women in our village are very skilled; they've made many thousand-layer soles for their men, using good cloth and even lining the soles with old leather. They're incredibly durable and fit well, but I don't know if they'll fit your feet. We can trade them for your sickle head. As for the new clothes you want… we really don't have any right now. Everyone's short of cloth and cotton; any cloth we manage to save is patched and patched again. I do have an old cotton-padded coat, it's thick, but it's well-washed and warm enough. I also have an old pair of cotton-padded trousers, that should make a set. How about we trade these clothes for your sickle head?"

Chen Yuan quickly made a mental calculation.

New shoes were what he needed most; with shoes, he could move around and search more effectively.

Old clothes may not be ideal, but they're good enough to keep you warm; we can't be picky at this stage.

"Okay, I'll do as Uncle Han says. I'll change my shoes and clothes."

"Food is precious, and we can all chip in, but I think it's more important to heal your foot. I have about half a jar of medicine at home; I'll trade it for ten big iron nails, okay?" Old Han continued.

"Okay." Chen Yuan nodded in agreement, feeling that it was acceptable.

"We don't have enough grain to eat either, so we can only give you ten catties of millet," Third Master said.

The land in the mountains is barren and yields are low, requiring one less season of grain to be grown compared to the areas below the mountains.

After a year's harvest, after paying the imperial taxes, they could barely afford to eat six-tenths of what they needed. They could only find ways to get food from the mountains, as they really couldn't repay Chen Yuan much.

"I don't want grains, but I'll take dried rations if you can." Grains would have to be cooked, so it's better to just exchange them for some dry rations that can be eaten directly.

Moreover, this kind of weather won't get bad in a short time.

"Alright." Third Master didn't object.

"As for hardwood," Zhao Dachui interjected, pointing to the wooden spear Chen Yuan had brought, "Is this the kind of hardwood you're looking for? I have a few old jujube logs stored in the woodshed behind my house, intended for making cart shafts. They've been sitting there for a few years, completely dried out, incredibly heavy and hard. How many do you want?"

"Three pieces, as thick as a bowl, and as tall as a person, will suffice."

"Alright! Three pieces of old jujube wood in exchange for twenty large iron nails, how about that?"

"OK!"

"The hides," Old Han said, looking at the several rabbit hides drying under his eaves. "The largest one, tanned and ready, will get you fifteen medium-sized iron nails in exchange."

"Can."

As the deal was finalized, Third Master listened from the side, nodding occasionally, clearly agreeing with Old Han's valuation.

The villagers who were watching also felt that it was fair, and even thought that this outsider was somewhat "honest" for not arbitrarily charging a price just because he needed the money urgently.

Chen Yuan received the brand-new, large, and tightly stitched cloth shoes with multiple layers of soles and put them on immediately.

The dry, thick soles of the shoes wrapped around my injured foot. Although they were a bit tight and painful, the sense of security they provided was indescribable.

Although the old cotton-padded jacket and trousers were covered with patches, they were starched and washed until stiff, carrying the scent of sunshine and soap. Wearing them, a long-lost warmth slowly returned.

I also got the medicine jar and the rabbit skin.

There isn't much dry food left in the village right now, mainly because it's not yet time to cook, and at this time of year, most people in the village eat porridge.

This way you can appease your stomach.

Only Zhao Dachui's family could produce three mixed grain cakes.

When the multigrain pancakes were delivered, Chen Yuan took them and stuffed them into his mouth to eat.

He tried to resist, but the aroma of the pancakes made his stomach churn, and he couldn't take it anymore.

He ate the flatbread in a few bites, but the dry, coarse grain flatbread made him choke and almost unable to breathe because he ate it too quickly.

Seeing that his face was flushed, Third Master quickly patted his back and then called his grandson to go home and fetch a bowl of water, which finally saved the good-for-nothing city boy.

Judging from the way Chen Yuan was eating, everyone knew he was really starving.

After recovering, Chen Yuan also felt embarrassed.

This made everyone burst into laughter.

Even the young masters in the city would wolf down their pancakes when they were hungry!

All that was left was the kitchen knife and some nails.

Chen Yuan casually mentioned, "By the way, Third Uncle, Uncle Han, does anyone in our village still have any unused copper household items? Broken copper coins, old copper locks, copper basin bottoms, anything will do. Some of my little tools absolutely require copper. I'm willing to trade my leftover kitchen knife and nails for them."

"Copper?" Third Master's white eyebrows twitched. "That stuff is even rarer than iron. In the early days of war, there were still some copper coins, but later... sigh. Every household might have some scrap copper and iron, which are neither edible nor drinkable, so there's no point in keeping them."

He looked around at the villagers: "If anyone has anything, bring it out and trade it with this young man. We'll trade it by the piece. If it's a cheap copper item, we'll trade it for one or two iron nails. If it's a slightly larger one, and of good quality, we'll trade it for several. This kitchen knife will also be traded for copper. We won't take advantage of anyone, and we won't let this young man suffer a loss."

Several villagers immediately went home and searched the place. Before long, a small pile of "junk" appeared in front of Chen Yuan: dozens of copper coins covered in green rust and with blurred writing; half a deflated copper pipe bowl; a chipped copper thimble; a small, silent copper bell; and several thin copper pieces whose original shape was no longer discernible.

Chen Yuan examined it carefully and weighed it in his hand. The copper coins were bronze, the pipe bowl and thimble were brass, and the bell and copper plate were of mixed materials. The total weight was estimated to be just over one pound, still quite a distance from his target of 1.5 kilograms. He

He sighed inwardly, but his expression remained unchanged. "That's all. Third Master, how would you like to change it?"

After assessing the situation, Third Master said to Old Han, "These copper parts aren't worth much. But the young man urgently needs them, and we can't just take his good iron for nothing. How about this: this kitchen knife, plus... thirty medium-sized iron nails, in exchange for these copper pieces? Young man, are you willing?"

The villagers thought this price was a huge loss for the outsider, but Chen Yuan thought it was worth it as long as he could get copper.

"I'm willing, I'll do as Third Master says."

Once the copper material arrived, carefully wrap it up.

Chen Yuan still had some iron nails left.

He was thinking about how to ask for more scrap ironware that the village might have when Third Master spoke first.

"Young man, you've exchanged your copper for copper, are you going to make something? Judging from your appearance, you know your stuff. In our village, every household still has some worn-out iron tools, broken hoes, rotten sickles, rusty spatulas. We used to save them up, hoping to take them down the mountain to the blacksmith's shop to exchange for needles and thread when the peddler came, but we never collected enough and never got around to it. Do you still want these things? They're all iron, just ruined."

Chen Yuan had a sudden thought. The flint platform still had some surplus electricity, which could be used to produce some ironware.

These iron tools can be used to exchange for more copper in other villages.

This way, enough copper could be collected to manufacture the human-powered pedal generator.

"Yes! Third Master, I'll take any iron I can get!" Chen Yuan said immediately. "Can I trade the remaining iron nails for it? Or, I can trade the newly forged ironware for it. I'll bring it over in a couple of days, and then I'll take the remaining grain, not the cakes."

Third Master waved his hand with a smile: "No need to wait. These scrap irons are just sitting there anyway. If you can use them and exchange them for nails, everyone can repair their doors and windows and fix their farm tools. It's a good thing. Let's exchange them for nails according to the weight of the scrap iron. Big Hammer, you take some men and collect all the scrap irons that everyone wants to exchange, estimate the weight, and settle the accounts with the young man."

Zhao Dachui responded and left with several young men.

Before long, they brought back a pile of rusty, oddly shaped scrap ironware: a hoe with a broken handle, a machete with a chipped blade, a broken pot with a leaky bottom, and a few pieces of iron of unknown origin. In total, it probably weighed thirty or forty pounds.

Chen Yuan looked at the pile of "treasures" and was overjoyed.

He counted the iron nails he had left, estimated the value of the scrap iron, and offered a fair exchange amount.

With Third Master's approval, the transaction is complete.

The sun has begun to set in the west.

Chen Yuan's broken iron bucket was filled with new shoes, old clothes, medicine jars, rabbit skin, hard cakes, a small bag of copper, and a large pile of scrap ironware that he had traded for the remaining iron nails.

Zhao Dachui also carried over three heavy old jujube wood logs.

Carrying, lifting, and hoisting these heavy harvests, Chen Yuan once again thanked Third Uncle, Old Han, and many villagers.

This time, the villagers' gazes were much more complicated.

Curiosity remains, but there's a greater sense of practical acceptance, and even a hint of anticipation.

This outsider seems to have really good skills, and he's fair in his dealings and doesn't try to cheat people.

Maybe... we'll still have contact in the future?

"Young man, you have an injury on your foot. The mountain road is difficult to travel. Go back soon."

"If there's anything else you want to change, or if you have any difficulties, come again," Third Master said finally, his tone much gentler than before.

Chen Yuan nodded, leaning on his wooden spear, dragging his still aching feet, now encased in thick new shoes, as he slowly made his way home.

The setting sun cast long shadows of him, the bundle of timber on his back, and the heavy iron bucket in his hand.

Although the copper content is still somewhat lacking, the trip to Gouzi Village yielded far more results than expected.

He solved the most pressing problems of food, clothing, and transportation, obtained the first batch of crucial copper materials, and acquired a large amount of scrap ironware as raw material reserves.

More importantly, he has initially established channels and built trust for fair trade with this mountain village.

On the way back, Chen Yuan had already started making plans.

The copper I have, plus what I collected before, should weigh close to a pound.

We're still short about one kilogram.

These scrap iron tools can be processed by "Flint" into more and more practical iron tools—not just agricultural implements, but perhaps something more exquisite and valuable.

With more ironware, he could travel to more distant villages and try to exchange it for more copper, or even other scarce resources.

Copper is no longer an unattainable dream, but a goal that can be achieved step by step through hard work.

Time was of the essence; 72 hours had passed, and he estimated that 30 hours had already gone by. He needed to exchange the items as soon as possible.