Chapter 52: A First-Class Merit, Won with Your Life

As soon as Qin Jun and Qin Han walked into the kiln factory carrying their burdens, they were immediately surrounded by a crowd of people.

"Young man, where did you get all these items?"

"Technician Qin, are these for sale?"

"What sale? These are for trading for wheat. A large iron pot like that goes for forty catties of wheat."

"Trading? I'll trade for this big iron pot!"

"That's right, we can't buy and sell, but we can trade. I want this medium-sized pot."

"Why is this pot flat-bottomed?"

"You don't know anything, do you? This is called a skillet. I've seen them in large restaurants!"

"Don't crowd, one at a time!"

"Oh my, there are kitchen knives too? But why does that knife look so strange?"

In an instant, Qin Jun's head was throbbing from the commotion. Seeing that someone was already reaching out, Qin Jun quickly intervened.

Those weirdly shaped knives were all trendy internet-famous knives from later generations. While those internet influencers of the future scammed people, he certainly hadn't. Every single one of these knives was extremely sharp; a mere brush against them would cause injury!

"Stop pushing! These are for the kiln factory, not for trade!" Seeing that a chaotic situation was about to break out, Qin Han, standing beside Qin Jun, roared.

"Ah, these are for the factory? It looks like we won't have a chance then!"

"Young Technician Qin, I heard you made all of these yourself? Make some more! We want to place advance orders!"

"That's right! I heard about it too. Since you can make them yourself, why not make a few more?"

"Are there any more at home? I can pay you right now!"

Seeing that things were about to get out of hand again, Qin Jun hurriedly said, "I didn't make these. I'm just bringing them on behalf of someone else. Everyone, please make way!"

"Could the rumors be false then?" someone asked suspiciously.

Qin Jun broke out in a cold sweat. He hadn't expected rumors to spread this fast.

"Of course they're false. How old am I? Being able to burn lime is already quite impressive; how could I possibly know how to blacksmith?"

Taking advantage of their moment of doubt, Qin Jun quickly squeezed his way out of the crowd. Just at that moment, he suddenly felt a massive shadow bearing down on him from ahead.

"Whoa..." Qin Jun looked up and heard a familiar voice.

"Step aside, can't you see the donkey cart coming through?"

Qin Zheng's familiar voice rang in his ears. Qin Jun looked over and saw Qin Zheng driving a donkey cart, drifting all the way forward.

And what was on the donkey cart? An enormous quantity of blue stones.

Was he actually using the village's donkey cart to haul stones? This was far too dedicated!

"Hurry up, everyone make way. The village's team for gathering stones is coming soon," Qin Zheng shouted with a joyful expression.

Qin Jun looked back in astonishment, and sure enough, a large group of people were trailing behind in single file, pushing carts toward them.

Were all of these people hauling stones? They really were putting in serious effort!

Looking at Qin Zheng's smug expression, Qin Jun suspected that he must have planned to transport stones long in advance, which explained why Qin Zheng had never worried about a shortage of raw materials.

"Qin Shi, I hauled over a thousand catties. That's a dollar and a half, put it on my tab!"

"Haha, I'll go haul another cart tomorrow, and that'll be three dollars!"

"Right, this credit goes to the production team, I want it recorded as five work points."

"Let's keep it this way from now on. Helping the village transport stones means five work points per thousand catties."

Standing off to the side, Qin Jun felt a little ashamed hearing this. The team leaders of this era were truly this selfless.

Then, looking down at the treasure basin in his hands, he wondered if he was being a bit too selfish.

Heaven destroys those who are not for themselves!

Qin Jun steadied his mind, concluding that earning money and spending it entirely on oneself was still the most carefree path!

"Oh? Little Jun, what are you doing carrying all this stuff?"

Having calmed his excitement, Qin Zheng finally noticed Qin Jun's unusual cargo.

Qin Jun said with a straight face, "I bought these utensils on behalf of the kiln factory. Cousin, calculate how much they cost; I haven't paid the supplier yet!"

When Qin Shi came over and took a look, he immediately didn't know whether to laugh or cry. How could he possibly not know that Qin Jun had made these himself? Even if he hadn't known initially, once Qin Han paraded around the village three times carrying pots of all sizes along with stacks of kitchen knives, everyone in the village was fully aware of the situation.

If he could hear Qin Shi's inner thoughts, Qin Jun would definitely want to thank Qin Han's future wife! The kid really listened to advice. He was living quite a high-profile life right now, probably all in preparation for marrying a wife! He had taken Qin Jun's advice to heart, wanting to showcase his financial standing so he could find a bride more easily!

Qin Jun certainly didn't know yet that Qin Han was acting as his publicity agent. In Qin Han's simple understanding, if he needed self-promotion, Qin Jun certainly needed it too. After all, unmarried young men in their village failing to find wives was the overarching trend! Therefore, the greatest wish of every single unmarried young man must be to marry a wife, and they were all striving toward that goal.

And if anyone said otherwise? Heh! Just look at the workers inside the kiln factory—they were all lifelong bachelors!

By this time, Qin Jun had followed Qin Shi into the accounting office, which was actually just a dugout dwelling. Near the entrance of the dugout, there was a table. Since this spot had better lighting, it served as Qin Shi's office. Mainly, it was too cold outside; even though the interior of the dugout was rather dim, Qin Shi had to make do.

"Our kiln factory is far too crude, and there are still many things we need, such as an office."

"Back when they were smelting steel, there was a command post here. The foundation is still standing, and the team leader plans to rebuild it."

"However, this time the village won't be helping to build it; the accounts must be kept separate, and they must be strictly distinguished!"

Qin Jun was slightly startled. The kiln factory and the village were going to have separate accounts? He hadn't expected Qin Zheng and Qin Shi to possess such advanced thinking. Of course, he didn't know that this was merely the vigilance of a financial worker. Separating finances and keeping clear accounts were the absolute minimum qualities of a qualified accountant.

As he watched Qin Shi keep the books, Qin Jun discovered that the kiln factory actually owed the production team a considerable sum of money—all for raw materials, which indicated that Qin Zheng and his crew had been at this for more than a day or two!

A mouthful of grass, a bowl of porridge, a range of forty miles, fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly, earning three dollars! In this entire business venture, it seemed the donkey was the only one working itself to exhaustion.

Shaking his head, Qin Jun decided not to meddle in this. Truth be told, what he really wanted to say was that the money Qin Zheng earned from hauling stones should belong to him personally. But since he wasn't contributing his own labor for that, he couldn't stop Qin Zheng from contributing to the village!

"Qin Shi, Accountant Qin, the new workers have arrived! Hurry up and register them. Starting today, they are officially on the payroll and will receive a salary!"

Just as Qin Jun was waiting for his cookware to be logged into the accounts, Qin Zheng led several people into the dugout.

Three people entered, all wearing old military uniforms. Yet somehow, looking at them, one couldn't help but feel that these three men were somewhat peculiar.

Watching the men struggle as they stepped inside, Qin Jun immediately realized something was amiss. These three newcomers possessed a total of nine legs among them! Three legs each: two crutches and one normal leg. Had all three of them suffered amputations?

Once the dugout door was shut and everyone's eyes adjusted to the dim light, Qin Jun realized that all three disabled men were quite young. The oldest among them looked to be around thirty, while the other two were youths in their early twenties.

"This is Comrade Zhao Erwa, a Second-Class Merit recipient, and he also holds a collective First-Class Merit."

"This is Comrade Zhao Chuanjia, also a Second-Class Merit recipient!"

"And finally, Liu Zhuanfu, a three-time Third-Class Merit recipient. They are all national heroes!"

Qin Jun looked at the three men. All were disabled, and all were decorated heroes. At that moment, he suddenly recalled a few popular sayings from the internet of later generations: First-Class Merit means trading your life; Second-Class Merit means disability; Third-Class Merit means sweating profusely.

There was also another interpretation, perhaps even more straightforward: Third-Class Merits are received standing up, Second-Class Merits are received lying down, and First-Class Merits are received by family members.

Looking at these three men made it crystal clear. Qin Jun felt somewhat relieved that they held Second-Class Merits and were at least able to receive them lying down. Surviving nine deaths by a hair's breadth was required to earn a full body of military medals!

Qin Jun had initially wondered why the newly arrived comrades were all missing a leg, but now he understood.

"Sit down, please sit down. Qin Jun, pour some water!" Qin Shi reacted quickly. After all, while he had heard plenty of such stories, this was the first time he was seeing them in person.

Qin Jun also snapped back to attention and hurriedly searched for a tea mug. He had heard even more of such accounts, but seeing several of them in the flesh still filled him with profound shock!

"No need to fuss. From now on, we're colleagues. Shouldn't we arrange our work first?"

The oldest among them, Zhao Erwa, spoke up first. Although his heart had turned half-cold upon arriving and assessing the place, a subsequent glance revealed that this desolate kiln factory actually had a bustling crowd inside. Among those people, the vast majority were there to haul lime. The fact that people were coming to buy lime, and in such numbers, proved that this kiln factory had a thriving business. A thriving business meant earning money, and earning money meant wages could be paid, which finally set the minds of these newcomers at ease.