Chapter 55: Turning decay into magic
Late autumn and early winter, a riverside workshop.
The ground is covered with withered yellow weeds, and the trees around the workshop have long been cleared away by their roots, but the north wind still sweeps the fallen leaves from afar over, covering the water of the moat.
Most of the nine workshops are vacant, and only four are in use.
One room is used to prepare Angel Tears and Angel Embrace, one room is used to prepare Angel Kiss, one room is used to sew labels, and the other room is used to prepare Warcraft Leather Armor.
Raven came to the workshop and first had a brief explanation with Poirot.
With the accumulation of experience, Poirot has gradually been able to stand on his own, coordinating the operation, input and output of the two workshops, and can be regarded as the "chief engineer" of the Angel series products.
The long-term regular life has made Poirot lose some weight, his spirit is stronger, and he is much more confident in his speech.
Farewell to Poirot, Raven met Joya again, the woman who embroidered the first Angel Tears label.
Now she is also responsible for the operation of the entire workshop.
As her hands gradually became wider, Qiao Ya's face became more rosy than before, her hair was not as dry as before, and she straightened her back when she walked, looking energetic.
However, when facing Raven, she still knelt down humbly, her words full of gratitude.
Lei Wen didn’t know much about embroidery. He just took a look at the work process and went to the last workshop.
The door of the workroom is open, and there are more than a dozen wooden barrels of various sizes placed close to the door. Inside are pieces of semi-monster-like pig skins, exuding a pungent and refreshing smell. A fishy smell.
Fortunately, it is already winter. If it were summer, it would inevitably be full of flies.
"Lord Baron!" A middle-aged man with a brown beard as messy as weeds ran out quickly and said in fear: "Why did you come to a place like this in person?"
This The man was one of the five cobblers hired last time, named Green. Seeing that he was the oldest, Raven made him the steward here.
Hearing Green's words, the cobblers and apprentices who were working swarmed out and began to salute unevenly.
After they finished saluting, Lei Wen said: "I'm here today to check on the progress, not to rush you, just go to work and don't worry about me."
Although Lei Wen said no. Never mind him, but these craftsmen can't really pretend that he doesn't exist. Each one of them exerted all their energy and worked hard.
They all want to perform well in front of the Baron, so that they can be favored and arrange an official position.
Seeing this scene made Green very angry. He was usually very good at fishing, and would always be indifferent when asked to do work, but now he was acting out.
But this cannot be said, because he is much more diligent than these people.
With a smile on his face, he followed Raven every step of the way, his tongue seemed to be loaded with clockwork, and it moved so diligently.
"Sir, this is a tanned animal hide. Look at it. It has been soaked in the caustic soda you gave. It is tough and soft. It is impeccable!"
Looking at the tanned and sun-dried leather in front of him, Raven nodded, stretched out his hand to touch it, and frowned unconsciously.
Green's heart thumped: "Sir, do you have any questions?"
Leaven said: "Tell me about your process for making leather armor."
"Huh?" Green was stunned for a moment.
“Just say what you say!” Volaf frowned and angrily said, “Are you still afraid that the Baron will take a fancy to your inferior craftsmanship?”
"Yes, yes..." Green nodded repeatedly.
But I was wondering in my heart, how could the noble Baron be interested in such a lowly craftsman's work?
"Actually, the steps are very simple. Practice makes perfect." Green rubbed his hands and began to introduce the entire process to Raven.
In this era, the craftsmanship of leather armor is quite mature and very simple.
After tanning, the grease on the inner layer of the leather must be scraped off first. Due to the special characteristics of the pigskin itself, the bristles on the outer layer must also be removed.
Then comes the segmentation, which is the part that reflects the craftsmanship of a cobbler.
Due to the different moisture content of the leather itself, the degree of shrinkage and expansion after cutting will also vary. Getting nail pieces with suitable specifications requires a lot of experience.
Finally, the leather is glued together with leather threads, nails, animal glue and other things to fix the shape and combine into leather armor.
"...Brush it with tung oil and let it dry, and you have a finished set!" Green held the leather armor in both hands and handed it over like a treasure.
Leaven looked surprised.
No wonder, he always felt that there was something missing in this leather armor. It turned out that a process was missing.
He tilted his head and whispered a few words to Volaf, who nodded and left, leaving Green alone standing next to Raven, trembling but not daring to ask questions.
After a while, Volav came back, and the two warehouse workers behind him placed a large wooden box on the ground with a thud.
When the lid of the box was opened, it immediately attracted the attention of the cobblers.
This is a box of iron filings.
The appearance of iron filings in the cobbler's workshop is really a new thing.
Taking off his coat and handing it to Volaf, Raven grabbed a pair of gloves from the side and put them on.
Green asked inexplicably: "Sir, what are you doing...?"
"Watch it, I'll only do it once." Raven's voice was quite serious.
He picked up a piece of leather armor that had just been coated with tung oil and was about to be dried and spread it on the workbench. Then he picked up a handful of iron filings in both hands and sprinkled it little by little. This scene made the cobblers present widen their eyes - isn't this nonsense?
Green's face became hot when he saw it, and he felt a little embarrassed for Raven.
He knows that the Baron is very smart, but he is as smart as a mountain. He can make good wine, but he is a layman when it comes to leathermaking. What does he know?
Sprinkling iron filings on it, apart from making the leather armor look dirty and heavier, what else can it do?
Leaven’s work may seem rough, but it’s actually very detailed.
After spraying one side, switch to the other side for the same treatment, then pick up a bucket of tung oil and brush it carefully.
"Take it and bake it dry."
Green nodded quickly: "Understood, sir! Who is that, don't be stunned, go quickly!"
Dozens of minutes After baking, the tung oil on the surface of the leather armor has almost dried up, and the entire leather armor looks oily and smooth, and even has a somewhat metallic shine.
Holding the leather armor in the palm of his hand, Green's heart was bleeding - what a waste of a good thing!
But he was flattering: "Lord Baron, your craftsmanship is amazing, this leather armor is so beautiful!"
"Haha." Raven glanced at him with a smile, but did not respond: "Choose another piece that is ready and hang it up together."
There are already hooks in the workshop, so this process is not difficult. Soon, two pieces of leather armor, one new and one old, were hanging in the air. .
Just when the craftsmen were confused, Raven grabbed the sword at Volaf's waist, pulled it out with a clang, and slashed at the old leather armor with a sword amid a burst of astonished exclamations. .
With a huff, the leather armor shook for a while, and then a scar about a foot long was revealed, completely cutting open the two layers of leather on the chest, and even a scar appeared on the leather on the back.
This scene made the craftsmen's eyes wide open.
Lord Baron is so powerful!
When they tested it themselves, even if they tried their best, they couldn't cut it so deep.
Before the sword edge fell, Raven moved his steps and struck another sword with his backhand, striking the newly made leather armor.
锔——
The clear sound of gold and iron was accompanied by first-class sparks.
Raven inserted the sword back into Volaf's waist, and the newly made leather armor stopped shaking.
A gasping sound sounded.
The craftsmen saw in disbelief that although the new leather armor was also cut open, the iron filings on the surface prevented the cutting force of the long sword very well, and the leather would not be broken.
There was a snap.
Green suddenly slapped himself hard: "Lord Baron, damn me, I still question your skills in my heart!"
Not just him, other cobblers also looked at Raven in shock. Mixed with admiration.
They are all veterans in the cobbler's trade and know what this means.
The reason why leather armor, even Warcraft leather armor, is not as good as chain armor is because although there is not much difference in the ability to protect against puncture and bludgeoning damage, it always has a huge disadvantage in dealing with slashing damage.
The technology demonstrated by Raven cannot be said to have bridged the gap between leather armor and chain armor, but it has also greatly improved the practicality of the former.
Isn't the Baron only good at wine making? How come he can do this too?
Only Volaf looked calm and looked down on these cobblers in his heart.
A group of rare and strange guys, if the Baron takes action, of course he will turn decay into magic!
"It's normal not to believe in technology you haven't seen before." Raven stopped Green, who wanted to slap himself again, and glanced at the craftsmen: "You all remember the steps I just demonstrated. Are you staying?”
“Remember, sir!” Green nodded repeatedly.
The other craftsmen also nodded. After all, Raven's operation just now was not difficult.
Lei Wen said: "Very good, all leather armor will need to go through this process in the future. I will also transport the already made ones back to you for remaking. If time permits, then put them on the two sides of the chest. I don’t insist on using this technology on all layers of armor.”
“I will give you twenty days at most. After twenty days, I want to see one hundred and thirty sets of these. How about this kind of leather armor?"
"Yes, sir! Don't worry!" Green nodded heavily: "I guarantee you will be satisfied!"
"Then hand it over. Here it is." Raven patted him on the shoulder and looked around the audience: "If you can hand it over in good quality and quantity, I will definitely reward you greatly!"
This sentence immediately ignited the spirit and motivation of the craftsmen, and their eyes shone with excitement.
Leaven always does what he says, especially when it comes to rewards. The three workshops of Poirot and Joya are examples.
"But if I find you cutting corners and doing things wrong." Raven's voice became colder, his sword-like gaze pierced every craftsman's face, and he pointed at the leather armor before improvement. : "Then this is your fate!"
Rejecting Green's farewell and going to take stock of the inventory in the warehouse, Raven left the workshop, mounted the blood-eyed war horse, and rushed towards the military camp.
The preparations for the armor are now on the right track, and the purchased war horses, pack horses, and weapons are all on the way.
But without generational differences, equipment has never been the decisive factor in a battle.
The most important thing is people!
……
(End of this chapter)