Industry began in 1937

Back near the valley, the sun was just beginning to set.

Despite the still sharp pain in his feet, Chen Yuan felt much more energetic thanks to the fullness of the multigrain pancake in his stomach.

He made two more trips to carry the timber up himself. He simply didn't have the strength to carry it all up at once, so he had to carry it in batches.

Without taking a break, he immediately began to tally up the physical gains from his trip to Gouzi Village.

Most importantly, there was the pile of rusty scrap ironware that had been traded for the remaining nails, and the bag of heavy copper odds and ends that had been traded for a kitchen knife and thirty nails.

He moved the two large piles, along with the three heavy jujube woods and a rabbit skin, to the open space in front of the "Flint" platform in batches.

Looking at this "capital," he composed himself and placed his palm on the platform's cold interactive area.

A pale blue light screen illuminated, displaying an energy level of 0.53%. Time was of the essence; careful calculation was essential.

"Flint scans and analyzes newly added scrap iron and mixed copper materials. It combines these with the platform's existing inventory to provide the latest total amount of available materials."

The focus is on calculating the difference between steel and copper materials in the basic unit of "human energy conversion".

"Clearly label the impurities in the newly added materials." Chen Yuan issued the instruction with a clear mind.

The data stream on the screen scrolled rapidly, and after a moment, a clear list appeared:

[Material scanning and inventory merging calculations completed]

Steel: Current steel inventory: 23.75 kg.

Newly added scrap ironware: weighing approximately 19.2 kg.

The scanning process removes unusable impurities, allowing for the recovery of approximately 15.6 kg of usable steel.

The latest total available quantity of steel is: 23.75 + 15.6 = 39.35 jin.

"Human energy conversion machine" requirement: 20 kg.

Status: Sufficient, with a surplus of approximately 19.35 kg.

Copper: Previous inventory: 0 catties.

Newly added mixed copper materials (copper coins, tobacco pipes, thimbles, bells, copper sheets, etc.): total weight approximately 0.76 kg.

Composition analysis: Approximately 0.58 catties of pure copper and approximately 0.18 kg of lead and tin impurities are available (already included in lead and tin inventory).

Total available copper: approximately 0.58 kg.

"Human energy conversion machine" requirement: 1.5 kg.

Status: Still short by approximately 0.92 kg.

Other key materials: Lead-tin alloy: 0.4 kg in previous inventory, 0.18 kg separated from new impurities, totaling approximately 0.58 kg.

Insulation material: 1 kg required.

Current: 3 jujube trees, approximately 28 kg. Status: Sufficient, with a surplus of approximately 24 kg.

Leather/Durability Rope: Required 2 kg. Current: 1 tanned rabbit skin, approx. 0.3 kg. Status: Short of approx. 1.7 kg.

The list is clear at a glance.

There is an abundance of steel and a surplus of insulation materials, which forms a solid foundation.

However, the copper shortage is as high as 0.92 kg, and there is also a significant amount of missing leather rope.

The most crucial and challenging issue remains copper.

Chen Yuan's gaze fell on "approximately 19.35 jin of surplus steel" and "0.53% energy".

The idea quickly took shape.

We must utilize this surplus iron and precious energy to manufacture a batch of objects with extremely high exchange value, especially capable of leveraging the scattered copper coins in the hands of farmers.

He recalled the crude iron needles the village women used for sewing, and the fact that almost every household lacked a good pair of scissors.

"Flint," he said in a deep voice, "develop a manufacturing plan based on the current surplus steel and available energy."

Objective: The products must meet the farmers' urgent daily needs and be easily exchanged for small amounts of copper coins or copper items.

It must include a large quantity of sewing needles and several pairs of household scissors. Supplement this with a small number of high-quality farm tools for bulk trade. Calculate the optimal inventory, supplies, and energy consumption.

Light curtain response, solution optimization:

[Optimize manufacturing plan generation.]

Strategy: Focus on small, delicate items essential to women (needles, scissors) for efficient exchange of loose copper coins; supplement with high-quality farm tools (hammers, sickles) to handle large-scale exchanges or the acquisition of key information.

Recommended list:

Large/medium sewing needles: 50 pieces.

Household scissors: 4 pairs.

Standard machete head: 2 piece.

Standard sickle heads: 2.

Large nails: 30 pieces; Medium nails: 40 pieces.

Material estimates:

Steel: Approximately 3.4 kg.

Additional ingredients: None.

Energy consumption estimate: 0.11%.

Post-execution estimate: Remaining energy: 0.42%.

Surplus steel: approximately 15.05 kg.

"This is it!" A sharp glint flashed in Chen Yuan's eyes. Fifty steel needles and four pairs of scissors were enough to "search through" every household in the village, exchanging all the lost copper coins and small copper items for them.

A machete, sickle, and nails could be used for larger transactions or to exchange for urgently needed food, leather, or ropes.

"Confirm manufacturing! Prioritize ensuring the precision, hardness, and durability of the needles and scissors," he decisively ordered.

[Command confirmed. Manufacturing initiated. Estimated time: approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes.]

A deep, continuous sound of precision machining emanated from inside the platform.

Taking advantage of this time, Chen Yuan sat down to the side, took off his new shoes, and carefully unwrapped the old cloth covering his feet.

The swelling in my ankle has subsided somewhat, but the wound on the sole of my foot is still bright red, and some tissue fluid is seeping from the abrasions caused by friction when I walk.

He picked up the black pottery medicine pot that Old Han had given him, used a small, cleaned piece of wood to pick out some dark green ointment, and carefully applied it to the wound.

A cool, stinging sensation came over him, and he grimaced, but his movements remained steady.

After re-wrapping it with clean strips of cloth and putting on my shoes, I felt much more at ease.

Sitting and resting for a while was really boring. I thought that if I had a cell phone, this hour and a half would probably have passed in the blink of an eye.

He could only think about what to do next to pass the time.

It seems that manufacturing human-powered pedal generators is becoming possible, but it appears that having to pedal generators by oneself would be too inefficient.

It doesn't generate much electricity in a day.

Using electricity to produce ironware, although it can be recycled, is just too arduous.

Could we buy a livestock in the future and use it to generate electricity instead?

That should be acceptable. Aren't people also treated like livestock by capitalists? We're all just cattle and horses, there's no distinction between us.

Moreover, real cows and horses can eat grass, so their energy supply is considered very green.

This will make things much easier for me.

The goal is to expand production, but the source of iron ore is the problem.

I don't know if there are any iron mines around here.

As Chen Yuan's thoughts wandered aimlessly, time passed quickly.

The notification sound indicating completion was exceptionally clear in the quiet mountain valley.

Chen Yuan immediately came to his senses and got up to check.

At the discharge port, the brand-new artifacts gleamed in the afternoon sunlight.

Fifty steel needles, slender and straight, with a sharp glint at the tip and a smooth eye, were neatly inserted into the attached cork block.

Four pairs of scissors, with smooth lines, make a soft "snip" sound when they open and close, their blades tightly closed, exuding a cold sharpness.

The two machete heads and the two sickle heads still had that solid and standard appearance.

The nails were stacked neatly.

He picked up a needle, bent it gently, and found it to be extremely resilient.

I tried the scissors again, cutting a piece of coarse cloth next to me. It opened easily with a clean cut.

"Great! With these things, we can definitely scrape together two pounds of copper and leather!"

He carefully wrapped these still-warm "hopes" into different categories using cloth.

The tension in my heart was high, but my goal had never been so clear.

We're still short two pounds of copper.

The leather rope is three pounds short.

There are about thirty hours left.

But they already had "hard currency" in their hands, which allowed them to knock on the doors of other villages and exchange for scarce resources.

Without further hesitation, he shouldered his bundle, leaned on his wooden spear, and strode towards Gouzi Village once more.

This time, he wanted Old Han to lead the way to the next village immediately.

Time is of the essence; every second counts.