"A workshop opened in secret?"
"Yes. That kind of workshop doesn't need registration, doesn't pay taxes, and no one knows what they're doing inside. From the outside, it looks like a broken-down house, but inside there might be a dozen people working day and night to rush out goods."
Lin Taichu thought about it and felt it made sense. Most of the Forging Workshops in the Southern Region were under sect names; how much goods they produced and how much they sold for were all recorded. But those small workshops opened in private were different. No one could control them.
"Is the output from that kind of workshop large?"
"Depends on the scale. If it's just a few people working, the quantity won't be large. But if someone invested Spirit Stones and hired manpower, the quantity could go up. If Black Stone Ferry can send out a boat every few days, then the scale isn't small."
Lin Taichu nodded.
"Let's go take a look."
Early the next morning, Lin Taichu and Mr. Ma set out from Luofeng City and flew east on their swords.
After flying for nearly four hours, Mr. Ma pointed downward from atop his sword.
"Down there is Black Stone Ferry."
Lin Taichu lowered his head and glanced down. Below was a gray, hazy stretch of coastline. A patch of low trees grew by the shore, and behind the trees, dozens of black-tiled houses were scattered here and there. None of the houses were large, and faint smoke rose from their roofs.
The two landed on a small hillside outside the village. They did not enter directly, but stood on the slope and looked down.
The village looked very ordinary, no different from the other small fishing villages in the Southern Region. A few dirt roads wound