Chapter 8 Blacksmith Shop

Yang Pingan walked into the blacksmith shop and said to a blacksmith inside: "Hello, uncle. I would like to apply for the position of blacksmith apprentice. I wonder if it is possible."

The leading blacksmith came out. He looked tall and muscular, obviously trained by long-term blacksmithing. "Little boy, you look like a student of Notting Primary School. You should focus more on meditation. When you become a soul master in the future, you will be much better than our blacksmith business."

Yang Pingan quickly said, "Uncle, I am a villager from Wanghun Village. I am currently a work-study student. I want to learn how to forge iron so that I can support myself and exercise my body."

The leading blacksmith couldn't help laughing: "Little friend, I am the owner of this blacksmith shop. My name is Tielin. You can call me Uncle Tielin. Being a blacksmith is very hard work. And you are too young now. I'm afraid you can't be an apprentice."

"Uncle Tielin, I'm very strong. If you don't believe me, you can try it."

Tie Lin seemed a little confused: "Little friend, no matter what, you are too young. If you were more than ten years old, I would dare to take you as an apprentice, but it seems that you are only six years old now. Do your parents know that you want to learn blacksmithing?"

Yang Ping'an's face became a little gloomy at this time: "Uncle Tielin, my parents have passed away, and I am the only one at home now. I am now a part-time student at Notting Primary School."

When the blacksmiths around heard this, they all fell silent and even stopped working.

One of the old blacksmiths said to Tie Lin: "Boss, I think this guy is quite strong. Why don't you just take him in? Even if he can't forge iron now, he can help with chores. At most, you can pay him a lower salary."

Tielin thought for a moment before speaking: "Little friend, why don't you try to swing the smallest hammer we have here? If you can swing it, then I can let you come here as an apprentice, but the salary of an apprentice may be a little lower. Of course, if you work here, you will have no problem with food."

"And one more thing, you can't do ironwork in this school uniform. Our environment is too dirty. I'm afraid your uniform will be ruined in a few days."

Yang Pingan quickly said: "Uncle Tielin, don't worry, I will wear my own clothes in the future. I just want to find a job today."

After saying that, Yang Ping'an picked up the smallest hammer at the scene. Even though it was the smallest hammer, it weighed more than thirty pounds.

However, Yang Ping'an has been exercising for a long time, so he is much stronger than other children of the same age. He picked up the hammer and swung it twice to show his strength.

Tie Lin nodded: "Yes, you are small, but you are strong enough. Even if you can't forge iron, you can still do some odd jobs in our blacksmith shop, or carry heavy things. But don't you have to go to school?"

"Uncle Tielin, we have classes in the morning and arrange our own time in the afternoon. I can come here to work and learn blacksmithing every afternoon."

Tie Lin nodded and said, "This is not bad. You can come to our place for lunch and dinner every day. Although the food is simple, it will fill you up. You can work here in the afternoon. Your monthly salary is ten copper soul coins, which is one silver soul coin. When you become a real blacksmith in the future, your salary can be increased."

"Thank you, Uncle Tielin. I will work hard in the future and will never let you down."

"Little boy, what's your name? Which village are you from?"

"My name is Yang Ping'an, and I'm from Wanghun Village."

Tielin nodded: "Wanghun Village? It's a very remote place. I remember that Wanghun Village is dozens of kilometers away from here. Even if we walk, it will take half a day to walk there."

"You will come to work here starting tomorrow."

Yang Pingan thanked Tielin again and left the blacksmith shop. As for why he wanted to be a blacksmith apprentice, Yang Pingan thought about it for a long time before deciding.

First of all, in terms of money, the blacksmith shop can provide oneself with a relatively stable income, which can at least guarantee food, clothing, housing and transportation.

Secondly, the gold element is particularly rich in the blacksmith shop. Even if it is just simple blacksmithing, on the one hand, it can exercise your body and physique. On the other hand, it is obvious that the Purple Gold Mastiff prefers places like blacksmith shops, which will be of certain benefit to its future cultivation.

The most important point is that even if you become a soul master, there is no way to obtain soul rings in the early stage. After learning blacksmithing, you can make some things such as bows and crossbows, or make some traps, so as to prepare for obtaining soul rings in the future.

On Blue Star, in the ancient 5,000-year-old culture, there are also various weapons, including swords, bows and crossbows, bed crossbows, and even the most complex Zhuge Liannu. As a Blue Star person, there is still a certain understanding. With these things, it will be relatively simple to obtain spirit rings.

Especially some of the more powerful iron bows and crossbows, in terms of concealment and maneuverability, they are not as good as the Zhuge Divine Crossbow made by Tang San, but their attack power is definitely not worse than the Zhuge Divine Crossbow.

As for finding mercenaries to hunt for spirit rings in the future, Yang Ping'an had never thought about it. On the one hand, he had very high requirements for spirit rings, and on the other hand, he did not have the money to find mercenaries. What's more, he was just an elementary school kid, facing those powerful mercenaries, if they turned against him, he might not even be able to save his life.

In short, learning blacksmithing is a very good choice at this stage, at least it can ensure early growth.

After leaving the blacksmith shop, Yang Ping'an went straight back to the academy and came to the teaching department, where he happened to meet Director Su of the teaching department.

Yang Pingan quickly saluted: "Hello, Director Su, I am Yang Pingan, a first-year student. I want to transfer from a work-study student to a regular student. I wonder if this is possible?"

Director Su was puzzled: "Yang Ping'an, I remember your information said that you were an orphan. If you were not a work-study student, how would you study and live in the future?"

"Director Su, I found a job at the blacksmith shop. I will be an apprentice in the future. The blacksmith shop has advanced my tuition fees, and my living problems will be guaranteed while I work there."

Director Su nodded and said, "Working in a blacksmith shop is indeed a good choice, but your innate soul power is only half level. You should spend more time on meditation and training, otherwise it will be difficult for you to graduate in the future."

"Director Su, don't worry about this. The environment in the blacksmith shop is very good. I will definitely work hard to practice and improve myself as much as possible. I will definitely become a soul master before graduation."

Director Su sighed: "The path of a soul master is ultimately based on meditation. Although your family conditions are poor and your innate soul power is also poor, you must not let your living conditions affect your future."

After some communication, Yang Ping'an took out three gold soul coins from his pocket as one year's tuition.

After Director Su collected Yang Ping'an's tuition, he arranged a new dormitory for Yang Ping'an and also issued a certificate to Yang Ping'an.

Yang Ping'an took the certificate and went directly to the dormitory management teacher, and changed the dormitory he originally lived in to Room 1. Room 1 is an entire floor with various small rooms. All students live independently, unlike Room 7 which is a large public dormitory.

Yang Pingan himself doesn't care much about moving to a new dormitory, but the biggest advantage of an independent dormitory is that he can keep his own little secrets without being disturbed by others.

As for the mere three gold soul coins, they were nothing to Yang Ping'an. If he could exchange three gold soul coins for one or two hours of cleaning time every day, it would be worth it no matter how he looked at it. Besides, in addition to the daily work, part-time students occasionally had to assist the college in doing other things. Maybe the work was not important, but it was a waste of time.

(End of this chapter)