"Who did this?"
The voice of Claire sounded, and the blacksmiths below all looked at each other, turning their heads to look at the people beside them, but no one stood up to admit it.
Claire frowned slightly and asked again, "Who did it?"
After a while, one of the blacksmiths below slowly raised his hand and said in a trembling voice, "Lord Viscount, maybe I did it? If not, blame me."
"Why do you say it's possible?"
"Uh..." The other party hesitated, "Because I make the most statues..."
Just after he finished speaking, the other party quickly explained, "But I didn't delay the work of making metal ingots. I only made these statues in my spare time."
"Stop!" Claire stretched out his hand to stop the other party, "I don't mean to blame you."
As he said that, he took out a Gold Coins from Spatial Ring, flicked his thumb, and accurately landed in the hand of the person who just spoke.
"You just thought you might be punished, but you still have the courage to stand up. This is your reward."
The blacksmith happily held the Gold Coins and said, "Thank you, Lord Viscount!"
Claire nodded, looked around at the blacksmith below, and said, "Who else has made a statue?"
After what Claire said just now, not long after, more than half of the blacksmiths below raised their hands.
Claire smiled and nodded, then suddenly smashed the mermaid statue in his hand, "Look what you made! How dare you sell it for money?!"
Claire didn't throw it very hard, and the blacksmiths below reacted very quickly. They quickly dodged and looked at Claire with shocked faces.
Mom, why are you lying? You just said you won't blame us, now you're going to hit us with a statue?
"Pick it up for me!" Claire pointed at the statue.
Claire's words still worked. Although the blacksmiths were a little scared, they still picked it up and took it over carefully. After putting it down, they quickly ran back to the crowd.
"Whatever you are running for, come here and take a good look at the crap you made." Claire took out the statue he bought and put it up, putting the two statues together.
The blacksmiths looked at each other again, fearing that Claire was trying to trick them again. As soon as they got up, they took the statues and threw them at them.
However, they were afraid of returning, so the blacksmiths' bodies were still very honest, and they moved closer one by one.
Claire also consciously made a space for the blacksmiths to observe carefully. The blacksmiths stepped forward and just took a look. They saw the gap between the two statues without touching them. They were not at the same level as the one Claire just used to smash them.
Thinking back to what Claire said when he just hit them, they blushed and felt ashamed.
It was indeed not unfair to be beaten.
"Have you seen them all?" Claire also walked forward and picked up the two statues, "What do you think now?"
"..."
The blacksmiths were silent. Claire also anticipated this scene. He pointed at a bearded man and said, "You, that's right, it's you! Tell me!"
"Uh..." The bearded man grinned, "It's not that big of a deal. I can also make another statue."
"You can do it too?"
"Of course, it's just a simple craft. It's not just me, most of the people present can do it."
Claire focused on the blacksmith who raised his hand first before and asked, "Is this true?"
"Uh... it's true, I can indeed do it."
Claire tilted his head in confusion, "Then you still made such a thing?"
"Well... anyway, the finer and rougher ones are the same price. The rougher ones are more efficient, so why spend more time polishing them."
The words were rough, but Claire soon understood.
Then Claire asked, "Have you noticed that fewer people have come to collect your statues recently?"
The blacksmith scratched his head and replied, "That seems to be the case. The statues in my home have not been sold for a long time."
In the past, when there was no market competition, no matter what quality of statues these blacksmiths made, someone would collect them and sell them in Nafu City. Over time, a market phenomenon was formed where bad coins drove out good coins. Anyway, the money sold for the statues made with care and those made casually were about the same, so why bother to put in more effort.
As a result, the quality of the statues created by the blacksmiths on Nakin Town who made extra money by making statues plummeted. When external market forces intervened, their high-quality statues suddenly suppressed their shoddy statues and lost any market share.
Because of their preconceived notions, vendors who collect statues will subjectively feel that the quality of Nakin Town statues is not good and the price is too expensive, so they no longer come to buy them. These blacksmiths are scattered and have not gathered into a whole. They have no measures to deal with such market changes. They can only watch the statues they have made in the past pile up.
Claire threw the rough mermaid statue in his hand onto the bearded man and said softly, "You just said you could make it, take this and try it."
The bearded man was holding the statue of the mermaid in confusion. He looked at the statue and then at Claire. Finally, he was pushed to the steel-making furnace by everyone. After feeling the familiar heat, he came back to his senses.
He took off the Iron Hammer from his waist, wiped the sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief, and stared at the red-hot statue intently.
Then the tinkling sound of Iron Hammer came from Blacksmith Street. Every time Iron Hammer fell, a crisp impact sound could be heard, and gradually a unique rhythm was formed.
Almost half an hour passed like this, and as the bearded man put the red statue into the cold water, there was a sound of "Jie!" and steam came out.
When it was taken out with iron pliers, the originally rough mermaid statue had turned into a new and exquisite mermaid statue with a smooth appearance, and the figure had a touch of agility.
"No!" The bearded man presented the statue of the mermaid in front of Claire, "I also put some thought into it. It's much prettier than that."
Claire reached out and took over the other party's newly built statue. He held it in front of his eyes and observed it carefully. After about ten seconds, he nodded with satisfaction.
"Indeed, it's much better now than others."
"Hehehe." The bearded man laughed sheepishly.
Claire looked at the statue, took out ten Gold Coins from his arms and handed it over, saying, "This is a reward for you."
"Hey!" A hint of excitement flashed in the eyes of the bearded man. He wiped his hands and took the ten Gold Coins from Claire. This was his salary for several months.
Then Claire raised the statue in his hand and shouted, "Is there anyone who can make a better statue than this? If he makes it, I will reward him with one hundred Gold Coins!"
"..."
As soon as these words came out, the scene fell into dead silence...
After a few seconds, thunderous shouts came from Blacksmith Street.
The blacksmiths below raised their hands and pushed forward crazily, shouting, "I'll do it! I can do it!"
Some blacksmiths even tore off their own clothes, revealing the strong muscles underneath, and shouted, "Sir Viscount, I can do it too!"
"Lord Viscount! Choose me! My skills are the best!"
"Fuck you, who doesn't know that my skills are the best on this street! Which customer comes and is dissatisfied with my craftsmanship!"
Claire stretched out his hand and pressed down, "Quiet!"
"Let's do it together. If anyone exceeds the quality of this statue, I will reward one hundred Gold Coins!"