Supreme Martial Venerable: Starting with the White Ape Cloak Hammer skill point allocation

Zhou Yuan saw Li Shan off, repeatedly assuring him that he would return the remaining three taels of silver in a couple of days.

He closed the door and turned to meet Zhuo Changyu's hesitant gaze.

"Just say what you have to say."

Zhou Yuan said with a wry smile.

If you had to describe his life in one sentence, it would be: the future is bright, but the road is rugged.

With the system panel available, he knew that as long as he persevered, he would definitely be able to turn his life around in the future.

But others don't know that.

Moreover, this process was not smooth sailing; first, he had to live long enough to turn his life around.

Based on his past life experience, countless people have fallen in the darkness before dawn. Even with a system panel, he is now just a craftsman who has just entered the martial arts world, an insignificant ant in this mountainous county.

"Brother Yuan, how about we pawn this piece of clothing I'm wearing? It should fetch a few taels of silver."

Zhuo Changyu whispered, "These clothes aren't very convenient to wear; I've wanted to change them for a while now."

Zhou Yuan looked at Zhuo Changyu. Her dress was white, and the material looked expensive.

In this world, all fabrics can be used as silver. A fine dress like this would cost at least ten taels of silver to buy.

"No need, I have a way to handle the money issue."

Zhou Yuan shook his head and said, "Don't worry, no matter how bad the world is, a craftsman won't starve."

He smiled reassuringly at Zhuo Changyu, then turned and left.

Of the five taels of silver he received from Chen Liu, he returned three taels to Li Shan, leaving him with two taels.

The reason he didn't return all the money to Li Shan was because he needed start-up capital.

He was a blacksmith. When he didn't have to perform corvée labor, he would help his neighbors repair farm tools and kitchen utensils to earn some hard-earned money.

Simply put, he was a blacksmith who didn't even have his own blacksmith shop; he was at the very bottom of the social ladder.

Therefore, his family did not store spare materials like other blacksmiths.

He wants to make money now, and simply waiting for someone to come and repair his ironware is definitely not going to work.

He wanted to make some things himself and sell them.

The market price of pig iron is nine coins per pound, with a minimum purchase of one hundred pounds.

Charcoal is cheap; 100 jin only costs 300 wen.

To make a sickle, including wear and tear, you need 2 catties of pig iron and 3 catties of charcoal, totaling 27 coins.

A sickle costs sixty coins, with a profit of thirty-three coins.

If it's a kitchen knife, the cost will be higher, but the profit will also be higher.

Zhou Yuan calculated that as long as he worked hard, earning 100 coins a day wouldn't be too difficult.

That adds up to three taels of silver a month, equivalent to a monthly salary of three thousand in my previous life...

"Once my blacksmithing skills improve a bit more and I save up some more silver, I'll open a blacksmith shop and earn more money then."

On his way home after buying supplies, Zhou Yuan noticed that there were many more constables patrolling the streets.

Without giving it much thought, he returned home and gave the remaining few hundred coins to Zhuo Changyu for household expenses. He then went straight into the simple shed in the yard and began to forge ironware.

…………

The clanging of blacksmithing continued all night.

Forced by the demands of life, Zhou Yuan no longer cared whether the noise would disturb Zhuo Changyu's sleep.

He even automatically blocked out the cursing coming from next door.

If he doesn't forge iron, how will he repay his debts? How will he afford to eat meat?

Only when one has enough to eat and drink can one know honor and shame. He's so poor, why should he be a good person?

After a busy night, I harvested two sickles.

Free points +12.

Early in the morning, he carried two sickles and began walking through the streets and alleys.

"Yuanzi, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but it's so late at night and you're not sleeping while we are. Who's going to keep making that clanging and banging noise at night?"

The two doors creaked open, and a rough-skinned middle-aged woman poked her head out, shouting at Zhou Yuan with a dissatisfied look on her face.

"Aunt Wang, isn't it the busy farming season? I'm just worried that everyone will miss the harvest."

Zhou Yuan smiled apologetically, "I just made some sickles overnight. I remember Aunt Wang, your family also grows a few acres of rice, right? Do you need any sickles?"

My sickle is of good quality and inexpensive, and comes with a lifetime warranty. If you buy my sickle this year and it gets worn out later, just come to me and I'll repair it for you free of charge.

These days, sickles are considered consumables; they become dull after cutting only a few wheat grains, and may even break midway.

When Zhou Yuan said the repairs would be free, Aunt Wang's eyes lit up immediately.

"real?"

"Of course, we're neighbors. If I were to lie to you, would I still want to live here?"

"Okay, I'll take one."

Aunt Wang happily bought a sickle, forgetting all about causing trouble for Zhou Yuan. She slammed the door shut, fearing that Zhou Yuan might change his mind.

In the past, it would cost ten or twenty coins a year just to repair a sickle. Now, you can buy a new one for sixty coins and get it repaired for free. You can earn it back in two or three years.

The poorer a person is, the clearer their calculations become.

Zhou Yuan saw this point, which is why he offered to repair it for free.

Zhou Yuan put the sixty coins into his pocket and was greatly encouraged.

The good start proves that his idea was correct. After all, a blacksmith is a craftsman, and there's no reason for him to remain poor and destitute forever.

He continued walking forward and knocked on the door of the next house.

…………

In less than an hour, Zhou Yuan sold the two sickles he had made overnight and also received two deposits.

Upon returning home, he placed two hundred coins in front of Zhuo Changyu.

Zhuo Changyu counted them with delight, then looked up at Zhou Yuan's busy figure in the work shed, her heart filled with joy.

And that's how life begins, isn't it?

…………

Anyefang is a slum in the outer city. Apart from a few people who do small business, most of the people here make a living by farming or fishing.

The news that Zhou Yuan was selling sickles and offering a lifetime warranty quickly spread throughout the neighborhood.

In one morning, at least five or six people came to buy sickles.

Zhuo Changyu wrote them down one by one.

Zhou Yuan, on the other hand, was constantly tapping and striking things in front of the stove.

By the time the sun was about to set, he had already forged four sickles.

Just as they were about to deliver the sickle to someone.

suddenly.

A few people swayed and staggered into the courtyard.

They walked straight into the shed, looking left and right. Some people reached out and flipped the hammer to the ground, while others kicked over the baskets containing charcoal.

Zhou Yuan gestured to Zhuo Changyu in the room not to come out, then cupped his hands in greeting to the newcomer.

"Uncle Qian, haven't we already paid this month's incense money?"

Zhou Yuan said calmly.

Anyefang was a melting pot of all sorts of people, with numerous gangs vying for power, and the government turned a blind eye to it.

The alley where Zhou Yuan lived belonged to the territory of a gang called the Broken Blade Gang.

The leader of the Broken Blade Gang was a martial artist who had broken through his cultivation barrier. He had earned a great reputation by fighting with a broken blade and had dozens of underlings.

Those who have followers need to eat, and their livelihood is to collect "offerings money".

Every household paid money to buy peace; if anyone dared not pay, the man would be found dead in the street the next day, and the woman would end up in a brothel.

Besides taxes and corvée labor, the oppression by these gangs was also one of the root causes of the suffering of the lower classes.

"Our gang leader is celebrating his 50th birthday this month. Shouldn't you prepare a birthday gift for him?"

The old man sneered, "And I've heard that you opened a blacksmith shop and sell sickles everywhere."

According to the rules, the incense money for the shop is different from that for those who toil in the soil or make a living on the water; you have to make up for the shortfall in incense money.

However, you'll give me two taels this month, and the same amount every month thereafter.

…………