Survival skills maxed out, I feed my wife and daughter by catching fish and shrimp

Chapter 143 8th Road Mountain Stronghold

Chen Changfan was in a good mood.

This limonite is actually easier to mine than coal, and he quickly dug out a large basket of it.

"Finally, we can smelt iron! The refractory tiles may not be completely dry yet, but it shouldn't be a problem to build a small furnace when we get back."

Chen Changfan became a little excited.

Although this limonite appears to be of good quality, no one can predict how much iron can be produced before it is smelted.

"Boss, what are you doing with all the stones you dug?"

Lao Wei didn't recognize limonite and thought it was just a pile of broken rocks.

"This is iron ore!" Chen Changfan said unhappily.

Fortunately, I went into the cave to search personally, otherwise I would have missed such a large piece of limonite mine.

"Iron ore?" Old Wei couldn't help but raise his voice. When Hu Ming heard it, regret immediately appeared in his eyes.

There is iron ore on my own hill? Why didn't I find it?

In fact, most people don’t recognize iron ore.

Chen Changfan was lucky enough to recognize limonite because he had always surfed the Internet in his previous life and watched many videos about ancient iron smelting and knife forging methods.

"The boss is very knowledgeable and has discovered an iron mine. Once I call Han the blacksmith over, we won't have to worry about lacking weapons anymore. Haha, this iron mine has been wasted in the hands of bandits."

After saying that, he looked at Hu Ming who was tied to the tree with some pride. Hu Ming was already regretting his decision, and now he was so angry that he was fuming.

"The matter of the iron ore needs to be kept secret. Also, this Little Brown Mountain is our base. The protection team will send you some more people to guard this place well."

"Don't worry, boss. With me here, we will have no shortage of iron ore!" Old Wei said, patting his chest.

Looking at this village, Lao Wei couldn't help but feel emotional.

The boss just made a move and wiped out a bandit's nest. Now this small brown mountain is considered the boss's territory, and maybe he can continue to expand in the future.

After a while, Zhang Yi came with two ox carts and loaded a lot of valuables. Chen Changfan specifically instructed Hu the bricklayer to prepare some materials and build a furnace to smelt iron when he came back.

The two ox carts were fully loaded and returned to Xiaofeng Mountain. Chen Changfan led a team of people, carrying the bandit heads and bandit leader Hu Ming down the mountain.

As the group went down the mountain, they unexpectedly ran into a group of familiar people. The man leading the group, who was riding a handsome chestnut horse, was none other than Mr. Chai.

Chai Feng greeted Chen Changfan with a smile.

"Brother Chai, how are you?"

"Brother Chen, where are you coming from? I remember Xiaofeng Mountain doesn't seem to be in this direction."

Chai Feng looked curiously at the sacks on the horses' backs, and asked curiously.

"We just came down from the mountain village over there."

Chen Changfan told the truth, without mentioning Xiaohei Mountain or the Viper Gang.

Chai Feng nodded, but a woman in red behind him spoke first:

"It's just a few horse bandits who were killed. They were just worthless chickens and clay dogs. How could the horse bandits have a stronghold?"

Ji Hongxia had heard of Chen Changfan's deeds, but she felt a little disdainful.

Her senior brother could also kill tigers and hunt bears, but Chen Changfan liked to publicize everything he did, so she had a stereotype in her mind that "this person likes to exaggerate."

Just now on the way, she had talked about Chen Changfan with Chai Feng. When she heard that he was a captain in charge of eliminating bandits, but had only killed a few horse bandits, she felt even more disdainful.

She was a straightforward person. When she heard Chen Changfan say that he came from the mountain village, she thought he was bragging and couldn't help but retort.

Chen Changfan glanced at the woman in red and just smiled faintly, not wanting to argue with her.

Instead, Chai Feng glared at Ji Hongxia unhappily and said, "Brother Chen is my best friend. You are not respecting me, Chai Feng, by talking to him like this. Don't think that you can speak without restraint just because you have your senior brother's support."

Chai Feng gave Chen Changfan an apologetic smile, while Chen Changfan waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "Miss Hongxia is right. I just destroyed the Viper Gang and captured their leader. It's really not worth mentioning."

After the words fell, Chai Feng was slightly stunned, and Ji Hongxia showed an expression of disbelief.

"The leader of the Viper Gang is Hu Ming. I recognize him..."

As he was speaking, Hu Ming, who was thrown on the horse's back, quickly raised his head and made a humming sound, as if asking Ji Hongxia for help.

"Really Hu Ming? How did you end up in such a miserable state?"

Ji Hongxia seemed to be acquainted with Hu Ming. She couldn't help but laugh when she saw Hu Ming, but she had no intention of rescuing him at all.

Chai Feng frowned and asked, "Who is he?"

"The leader of the Viper Gang, Hu Ming," Ji Hongxia turned to look at Chen Changfan, bowed calmly, and said, "It seems that you have really wiped out a group of bandits. I was presumptuous just now."

Chen Changfan smiled but said nothing.

Being able to talk to Chai Feng like this and recognizing the bandit leader Hu Ming, this woman obviously has an extraordinary background.

"The Viper Gang is a small stronghold, with about thirty members. However, the bandits are cunning and cruel. I really admire your ability to wipe them out and capture the bandit leader alive!"

Chai Feng looked at the team following behind Chen Changfan. It seemed that there were less than 30 people. After comparing the combat strength of both sides, he couldn't help but secretly admire Chen Changfan's good leadership.

I used to think of him as just a sharpshooter, but now it seems he is also a talented general.

He now felt a little regretful. Why didn't he recruit Chen Changfan at the beginning? Maybe he would have agreed at that time.

But it's too late to regret now. Now I can only try my best to be on good terms with him. What he is planning is very big. I hope we don't become enemies in the future and go to war with each other.

"From Miss Hongxia's tone, it seems she's quite familiar with the bandits in these Qingshan Mountains. I might as well tell her a few things so I can be on guard in the future."

Chen Changfan spoke politely, and Ji Hongxia was happy to share.

"My brother has been traveling a lot for years doing business. Qingshan is the only way to enter Qinghe County from the north. There are eighteen large mountain strongholds and more than thirty small mountain strongholds in the Qingshan area. If you don't have ideas and strong strength, you probably won't be able to reach Qinghe County at all."

There are so many bandits?

Nowadays, ordinary horse bandit Chen Changfan would not take it seriously, but only regard the mountain bandits as thorns in his side.

After wiping out the Viper Gang today, I thought the bandits were just that bad.

Who knows if this is just one of the more than 30 small mountain strongholds? How powerful will the 18 large mountain strongholds be? Perhaps only an armed force of thousands of people can compete with them.

"You don't have to worry too much, sir. The eighteen major strongholds occupy important roads and behave more lawfully. Most will let you pass as long as you pay them money. On the other hand, the smaller strongholds have no taboos and act like mad dogs. However, if you take action, you will wipe out an entire gang and capture the leader alive. Even a mad dog wouldn't dare to approach."

Ji Hongxia's words made Chen Changfan feel a little amused and helpless. It sounded like she was praising him, but why did he always feel like she was saying that he was scarier than a mad dog?

"Miss Hongxia, I wonder what your brother's business is? I'd like to get to know him later."

Chen Changfan realized that Hongxia’s elder brother must be extraordinary. After all, anyone who can still do business in this world must be very powerful and should not be underestimated.

Ji Hongxia smiled and ignored it. Chen Changfan looked at Chai Feng, who also had a mysterious look on his face.

He discovered that Chai Feng had a well-made dragon-sparrow ring-handled sword on his waist.

Such a precious sword could definitely not be produced in Qingshan County, and he immediately had some guesses in his mind.

Ji Hongxia’s elder brother is most likely an arms dealer.