Others try to survive on an island, I try to survive on a raft?

Chapter 111 Iron Ore Freedom

Chapter 111 Iron Ore Freedom

Finally, Old Zhang realized that no one cared about him; Su Jin and Zhao Tieshan had both left.

One man sailed back in a boat, while the other hopped back on his own two legs, leaving him standing there helplessly.

However, he finally breathed a sigh of relief after Zhao Tieshan left.

"That old man is terrifying! He can leap ten meters away in one bound, like he's flying—"

The thought that Zhao Tieshan could come to his island as a guest at will sent chills down his spine.

Fortunately, judging from Zhao Tieshan's tone, the other party should be relatively friendly, just like Su Jin, and belong to the Chaos Neutral faction.

Moreover, the old man doesn't seem to think much of him and probably won't make a move against him.

"It's good that they left; they'll probably come back later."

He muttered something to himself, looked at his dilapidated little wooden house, and couldn't help but sigh.

He has a lot of work to do now: repairing houses, disposing of the corpses of these rock turtle hatchlings, and figuring out what to trade with Su Jin.

He also needed to prepare a gift to thank Su Jin, and he had to be careful about social etiquette, otherwise the big boss wouldn't accept it next time.

He also remembered Su Jin asking him about boarding the ship, and he needed to politely decline.

Now it's time for him to make his fortune: upgrade his talents and snag a big catch!

Meanwhile, Su Jin sailed his boat to Zhao Tieshan's island.

The island is named Iron Ore Island because you can really see the reddish-brown iron ore right there on the island.

There were some trees on the island, but they didn't look very dense. He didn't see the steel tree that Zhao Tieshan had mentioned, so it must be hidden deep inside the island.

On the beach, there is a sheltered slope with a very simple thatched hut built on the bottom, which can barely be considered a safe haven.

Around the thatched hut lay five or six small sea monster corpses, all blue in color and with sixteen legs.

It definitely doesn't look like a Tier 1 sea beast; it should be a Tier 2 or higher sea beast, something like a sea spider.

The carcasses of these sea monsters were neatly cut in half, and most of them had few wounds, clearly indicating that they were killed with a single blow, demonstrating Zhao Tieshan's formidable fighting prowess.

"Thump!"

With a muffled thud, Zhao Tieshan, like a weight, leaped from a rock not far away and landed steadily on the beach, kicking up a circle of sand.

He dusted off his knees, chuckled at Su Jin, and said with a hint of self-deprecation, "Please excuse my foolishness, young man. My place is rather simple, filled with nothing but stones and these poisonous spiders. I live like a savage, otherwise I wouldn't have the audacity to ask you to exchange clothes."

Su Jin jumped off the boat and, without saying a word, immediately instructed Shen Qiaoqiao and Lin Xuan to start unloading the items.

"You're too kind, sir. If this island existed in the civilized era, you would definitely be a mining tycoon."

As Su Jin spoke, he gestured to Shen Qiaoqiao to pile the two sets of thick linen long shirts, a freshly washed iron pot, and a large basket of black coal on the beach.

When Zhao Tieshan saw the coal, his eyes gleamed, and his mouth stretched almost to the corners of his eyes.

He stepped forward, picked up a piece of black coal, rubbed it in his palm, and felt the delicate oily texture.

That's right, it's clearly real coal, not some charcoal masquerading as coal.

"Good coal! This kind of coal burns fiercely, making it perfect for forging."

His face lit up with joy; this was exactly what he needed.

If it's for heating, he can burn charcoal, but it won't work for blacksmithing; a fuel that produces a strong flame is the most suitable.

Then, the two of them, one on the beach and one at sea, began the most primitive form of bargaining.

Taking advantage of the height difference between the beach and the ship's side, the two immediately began to haggle over the price.

"Mr. Zhao, take a look at these: a large basket of high-quality black coal, two sets of finished linen long gowns, plus the complete set of standard tools you requested."

Su Jin pointed to the things at his feet, then picked up two bundles of processed lean meat from the aft deck and waved them around: "This is no ordinary scrap. This bundle is lean meat from a Tier 3 sea beast, the Burning Shell Jet Beast, a top-quality meat for replenishing attributes."

"The other bundle contains meat from a Tier 3 Smoky Four-Legged Fish. Although the taste is a bit pungent, the energy is definitely plentiful. You should know the value of Tier 3 sea beast meat in this sea area, right?"

Su Jin deliberately emphasized the words "third tier," his face showing an expression of "this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," confident that Zhao Tieshan would take the bait.

Zhao Tieshan stared at the two bundles of meat, his throat visibly twitching.

He's been fighting those second-tier blue spiders every day for the past few days. Not only is he feeling nauseous from all the food, but his attributes haven't improved in strength either; he's only gained a tiny bit of speed.

Of course, he didn't have a spiritual chef like Li Yuanyuan, so not only would all the sea beast meat taste bad, but its effects would also be much worse, resulting in a significant reduction in the added attributes.

Upon hearing that there was tier 3 meat, his mental compass began to waver.

"Name your price, young man."

"I want fifty units of high-purity iron ore," Su Jin said, holding up a hand without changing his expression.

Based on the current refining efficiency, fifty units of ore can probably yield more than thirty units of pure iron.

Shen Qiaoqiao's forging hammer is a heavy iron consumer; her hammer alone costs 30 units, which is only enough to cover the starting price.

Zhao Tieshan lowered his head and pondered for a moment before speaking in a gruff voice: "Fifty units of ore is nothing to me, but this ore is heavy. I have to hammer it down from the mountain one hammer at a time. It's hard work."

"In that case, you must make my iron pot thicker, and give me another basket of coal. I'll add ten more units of ore for you."

"

"Also, take these blue sea spiders on the ground with you. They may look disgusting, but their leg meat is quite chewy, so it's a bonus."

Su Jin glanced at the sixteen-legged monsters, his stomach churning, and waved his hand to refuse: "Forget about these arthropods. We don't lack food on our ship. We can give you another basket of coal, but you have to give me eighty units of iron ore. I risked my life to get this Tier 3 meat."

Hearing the words "risked their lives to get it back," Shen Qiaoqiao almost burst out laughing. It was all free.

But when adults talk, children should shut up; she just needs to obediently watch from the side, since it also concerns her forging hammer.

Lin Xuan couldn't help but want to speak up, but Su Jin wasn't wrong, after all, they were almost overwhelmed by the lingering stench of the stinky fish yesterday.

Dealing with these stinky fish is not an easy task either. Just like Zhao Tieshan mining iron ore, it can be difficult in some ways, but it's not as easy in others. Everyone is about the same.

The three men looked at Zhao Tieshan, waiting for a reply from this big customer.

Su Jin thought the old man would think he was asking for an exorbitant price, but to his surprise, Zhao Tieshan waved his hand and happily agreed: "Alright! Eighty it is. There are stones all over the island. As long as you have the ability to haul them away, this old man won't feel bad!"

Su Jin's heart skipped a beat, and he cursed himself for asking for too little. It seemed that the iron ore was indeed worthless in the blacksmith's eyes.

However, the words had already been spoken, and both sides reached a consensus in a relatively amicable manner.

Now we've finally achieved iron ore freedom.

The iron ore was piled on the other side of the small slope. Because of the weight of the ore, it would be impossible to move it by hand without breaking one's back.

Su Jin had no intention of making everyone do hard labor. He turned to Shen Qiaoqiao, whose eyes were shining, and said, "Qiaoqiao, stop drooling. Go and use the remaining wood and pulley system to build a simple hanging wheel over there at the cliff edge."

"I'll bring the rope over to tie it up, and you operate it from the boat. We'll 'fish' the ore directly up."

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