Section 044: Old Tang the Cobbler

The journey was uneventful. As they passed the Thunderclap Tribe downstream from the Yanhuang Tribe, Li Zhan sat at the prow of the boat, lifting his eyes to glance over the settlement. Compared to half a month ago, the scale of the Thunderclap Tribe had expanded yet again. It was clear that the tribe was primarily agrarian; nearly three quarters of the villagers were farmers, while the numbers of fishermen and woodcutters remained about the same. A squad of over a dozen militia were training beside the barracks, and close to the center of the tribe a watchtower had been built, from which a militia member was peering out at Li Zhan’s fishing boat.

After traveling another dozen or so miles, the fishing boat docked at the military pier of Danyang County’s city. With the memory of their last encounter, the swordsman squad leader did not shout at Li Zhan this time. Upon seeing him, he simply had Little Zhang, a spearman stationed on the pier, take the mooring line. After disembarking, Little Zhang even inquired after his cousin Zhang Feng, visibly relieved when he heard that Zhang Feng was safe and well at the Yanhuang Tribe.

Seeing there was still time after entering the city, Li Zhan and Ruoyan led the two craftsmen, Wang Hui and Feng Gang, directly to the United Workshop. Once inside the courtyard, Wang Hui, already familiar with the place, bade farewell to Li Zhan and Ruoyan and went off to find his master. It was Feng Gang’s first visit; he seemed rather bewildered, his expression blank. Li Zhan led him straight to the rough processing workshop by the entrance where animal hides were stacked. A group of craftsmen inside were cutting hides, while several others worked on forging iron billets. Amid the clanging, Li Zhan stepped forward and called out loudly,

“Master, can you make leather armor here?”

The craftsman paused his work, turned to look at Li Zhan, and asked in a booming voice,

“Who wants leather armor made? You?”

Li Zhan lifted the two pieces of cowhide in his hand. “Yes. Is it possible?”

The craftsman looked at the hides, shook his head, and replied, “It would have been possible in the past, but now that old Tang has fallen ill from grief, I’m the only leatherworker left. I can only manage things like greaves and bracers, but not full leather armor.”

Li Zhan asked in confusion, “Who is old Tang? Why is he bedridden with illness?”

The leatherworker, busy with his hands, seemed annoyed by Li Zhan’s questions one after another. Noticing this, Li Zhan glanced back at Ruoyan, who, with a pout, reluctantly fished ten copper coins from her pouch and slapped them into Li Zhan’s hand, glaring resentfully at the craftsman’s back as she did so. Shaking his head with a wry smile, Li Zhan patted the craftsman’s shoulder and slipped him the coins. The craftsman’s face lit up at once, and putting down his work, he pulled Li Zhan aside and recounted old Tang’s story in detail.

Old Tang, whose name was Tang Feng, was a border dweller from the region between Ji City in the north and the Wuhuan lands. Meticulous and dexterous, he had been skilled in crafting leather goods since his youth. He was once captured by the Wuhuan during a border skirmish, spending several years in their camp, where he continued honing his craft. After the Wuhuan army was routed by the combined forces of Ji and Beiping, and retreated into their own territory, old Tang was rescued during the campaign. But upon returning, he found his homeland in ruins, his family scattered. Heartbroken, he refused to remain in the land of sorrow and joined the refugees heading south toward the Central Plains.

As the refugees dispersed along the way, old Tang, with no clear destination, wandered aimlessly, eventually following a merchant ship across the Yangtze into Danyang County. When his money ran out, he settled down, relying on his skills to find work at the United Workshop. Since leathercraft was less developed in the south, his workload was light. Outside the city, at the foot of a barren hill three miles away, he built a small fenced yard where, for company, he kept a four-eyed dog—a companion that brought him much happiness.

But five days ago, while old Tang was at work in the workshop, a small band of mountain bandits broke into his yard, smashing and looting, and ultimately strangled his beloved dog to death. On returning home and seeing the wretched corpse, old Tang was overcome with grief, wept bitterly, and finally fell ill—he has remained bedridden ever since.

Li Zhan vaguely recalled the bandits the leatherworker mentioned; last time, in the tavern, he’d noticed the mountain bandit extermination quest posted on the task board. The quest detailed the bandits’ stronghold and strength, but since the enemies were rather formidable, no one had yet accepted the challenge.

At that moment, the lead craftsman inside the workshop called the leatherworker back to his duties. The man quickly got up and, before leaving, said to Li Zhan,

“Old Tang is the only one in Danyang County who might be able to make leather armor. If he can’t do it, there’s no one else you can count on. If you want a full set of leather armor, you’ll have to seek him out. But with how upset he’s been lately, I doubt he’s in any mood to work, even if he has the skills.”

Before the craftsman left, Li Zhan asked for Tang Feng’s address, making a mental note of him. He left Feng Gang at the leatherworker’s, then he and Ruoyan proceeded to the general workshop.

Inside, Wang Hui was already hard at work, stripped to the waist and bustling about enthusiastically, while his master, Liu—the workshop team leader—stood by watching, nodding in satisfaction at Wang Hui’s technique. Li Zhan approached, greeted Master Liu with a cupped-fist salute,

“Master Liu, we meet again.”

Recognizing Li Zhan, Master Liu hurried to return the greeting. “Ah, so it’s Chieftain Li! Forgive me for not coming out to receive you.”

After some polite small talk, Li Zhan got straight to the point. “Master Liu, I’ve come to ask about the price of ordinary iron swords made here at the United Workshop. I’d like to purchase a few.”

Li Zhan’s purpose in buying iron swords was simple: to arm the militia of his tribe. Thanks to two lucrative clothing trades, the tribe’s gold reserves now exceeded two hundred—a considerable sum for any tribe. With gold at hand, the first thing on Li Zhan’s mind was to strengthen his militia to ensure the tribe’s safety. With the number of soldiers strictly limited (no more than twenty), boosting individual combat effectiveness was crucial. Besides necessary skill training and leveling up, the best way to do that—if the funds allowed—was to equip his men with quality weapons.

Master Liu was surprised that Li Zhan wanted to buy “a few” iron swords. Until now, no chieftain among the seventeen tribes of Danyang County had been willing to spend so much to arm their own militia; Li Zhan was the first. From the beginning, the United Workshop had only sold two inferior iron swords, each to a player obsessed with leveling. Now, Li Zhan was looking to buy standard iron swords—and not just one. Even as steady as Master Liu was, he couldn’t help but be astonished.