For the first lesson, Chen An planned to give a general overview of the blacksmithing profession.
He would cover everything this profession could do, from identifying materials, controlling fire, swinging a hammer, and forging.
These students all had fairly solid foundations and were not starting from scratch, which saved a great deal of effort. Later, he could simply have the master craftsman give several specialized lessons, followed by a few assessments.
So Chen An did not focus on material identification.
"For the first lesson, I won't teach you how to swing a hammer."
Chen An walked to the main forging station and casually picked up a forging hammer that looked utterly ordinary, yet was frighteningly heavy.
With a turn of his wrist, the hammerhead lightly spun half a circle in his palm, steady beyond belief.
The main forging station was only half a level away from the students' workstations, so they could see everything clearly.
"Nor will I teach you to show off. The most dangerous thing in forging is having lofty ambitions without the skill to back them up."
Chen An went to the nearby material rack, took down an iron block, weighed it casually in his hand, and placed it on the anvil before facing the students.
"Today, you will first learn three things: watch, listen, remember."
Learning relied on those three things: watch how something was done, listen to the explanations and the sounds on site, then remember and understand.
What Chen An needed to do was demonstrate for them and tell them how it should be done.
Hearing this, no one dared slack off. Their eyes locked onto Chen An's movements. They were all blacksmith apprentices, still young and not yet battered by society. This was precisely the age when they still carried dreams in their