The Safe

"Young lady, do you find these things satisfactory? If not, I'll take them back and have them remake them," Zhou Chun and Ma Sheng said.

"Hmm." Zhao Ruxi responded, first looking at the tools the blacksmith had made according to her requirements.

She drew up a diagram and had the blacksmith forge a complete set of installation and disassembly tools, including wrenches, screwdrivers, and screwdrivers, according to her specifications.

After examining the tools, she picked up the screws and nuts and looked at them again.

This thing is exquisite; she had a locksmith make it out of copper.

Ma Sheng said, "Locksmith Jiang said that this thing took him a lot of effort, and he ruined many before he finally made these few. If the young lady is not satisfied, he will think about it some more."

Zhao Ruxi twisted it and found that it could all be screwed on. The size was about the same as the dimensions she had drawn. She nodded in satisfaction.

She put down the screws, picked up the few parts that had been delivered, and began to assemble them.

This is a drawer lock, which is not as secure or advanced as a mortise lock.

However, it differs from the padlocks commonly used in ancient times, posing a new challenge for ancient thieves who had never encountered such a thing before. Most importantly, the technique for making it is not particularly difficult. As the first generation of this new type of lock, Zhao Ruxi felt it was qualified.

Once drawer locks become common, they won't be a problem for ancient thieves anymore; she can simply use mortise locks then.

Chives have to be harvested one crop after another.

Because the products she was making were very profitable, she paid her craftsmen five or six times more than they would have earned running their own shops. Therefore, the locksmiths she hired, Locksmith Hu and Locksmith Jiang, were considered among the top craftsmen in the region.

The drawer lock parts they made were quite good, and Zhao Ruxi assembled them smoothly. After assembly, she used the key and the lock opened with a "click".

Zhou Chun, Ma Sheng, Qingfeng, and the others watched from the side, finding the mechanism fascinating but unsure of its purpose.

Dianjiang was the youngest, but very clever. Knowing Zhao Ruxi wouldn't be angry, she couldn't help but ask, "Miss, what are you doing?"

Zhao Ruxi smiled and said, "Just wait and see."

She walked up to the iron cabinet that the blacksmith had made.

This is a half-person-high iron cabinet, about the size of a bedside table. Because it is cast from pig iron, it is very heavy, and even the two guards found it difficult to lift.

The cabinet door hasn't been installed yet; several holes have been left on the door and beside it as requested by Zhao Ruxi.

Zhao Ruxi had Gao Weiqiang and Gao Sheng lift the door, and then she used a copper hinge made by a locksmith to install the door, followed by the lock on the drawer.

After she closed and locked the metal cabinet, she stood up and said to everyone, "Can you take a look and see if you can open this cabinet?"

Everyone immediately gathered around, touching the keyhole and then the door frame that Zhao Ruxi had secured with lotus leaves.

The padlock is completely independent of the cabinet, relying solely on its own sturdiness. If you use an iron bar to pry it open with force, utilizing the principle of leverage, no padlock is difficult to pry open with great force.

The drawer lock is a flat lock, which is completely integrated with the cabinet, even the screw holes are inside; when the iron door is closed, the hinge joints are also jammed, and the iron door and the entire iron cabinet fit together perfectly, making it impossible to pry it open with anything. Prying it open is much more difficult than with a padlock, as there is simply no way to start.

In Ma Sheng's and others' view, it would be almost impossible to open this cabinet without a key.

"Young lady, that's amazing! How did you come up with that idea?" Gao Weiqiang in surprise.

He had seen a lot of the world over the years following Zhao Yuanxun, but he had never seen such a magical mechanism.

"Just think about it a few more times and you'll figure it out," Zhao Ruxi said shamelessly.

Everyone: "..." Girl, are you sure you're not kidding us?

Zhao Ruxi asked Zhou Chun, "Is it alright to use this iron cabinet to store raw materials and finished products such as jewelry and jade?"

Zhou Chun exclaimed, "No problem at all! Girl, with this iron cabinet, the little one will be able to sleep soundly from now on!"

He's been worrying about this problem for a while now.

The workshop is about to start operations. The jewelry and jade raw materials we bought are already very valuable, even before they've been processed into jewelry; the jewelry that the craftsmen have finished processing will be even more valuable.

Unfortunately, their guards are a motley crew. Although they have been trained and spent some time together, who knows what their underlying character is like? I really don't know how to properly store those raw gemstones and finished jewelry.

Security was already a problem in the jewelry workshop. If Zhao Ruxi had put all the jewelry processing in one courtyard, it would have been fine. As long as she kept a close watch and prevented unauthorized people from entering, and the craftsmen had their raw materials and jewelry counted one by one each day, and if she had assigned more guards, there would have been enough security.

However, the young woman divided the jewelry workshop into three separate areas and mixed them with other craftsmen, which increased the difficulty of security.

Zhou Chun was extremely worried about this matter and hoped he could come up with a good solution.

But to this day, he still hasn't come up with a good solution. He was still hesitating whether to mention it to the girl, but unexpectedly, she resolved the matter quietly.

As expected of someone chosen by Master Withered Wood, she's truly remarkable. Confidence and composure perfectly describe my daughter.

At this moment, Zhou Chun's admiration and worship for Zhao Ruxi reached a new height.

"So, do you think that if we make more of these safes and sell them to wealthy families, there will be buyers?" Zhao Ruxi asked again.

Everyone in the room, without exception, had their eyes light up upon hearing this.

"Heavens, girl, are we about to strike it rich?" Dianjiang exclaimed excitedly.

Everyone laughed.

"How could they not buy? They'd definitely go crazy for it," Ma Sheng said. "Those wealthy families have tons of gold and silver jewelry, but they don't know where to store it safely. They lock up layer upon layer of cabinets and have to send people to guard them. If someone gets any crooked ideas, the locks can be pried open easily, which isn't very secure at all."

"But with this cabinet, it's different. We can put our valuables inside, keep the key ourselves, and have someone guard it. It makes us feel much more at ease."

Everyone nodded. "Exactly! It will definitely sell extremely well."

"Once Blacksmith Li and his team move into the workshop, we'll have them make these cabinets," Zhao Ruxi said.

Her expression turned serious. "Uncle Zhou, Uncle Ma, please work hard these next two days to bring all the craftsmen into the workshops. Try to get each workshop up and running in three days."

"Yes," Zhou Chun and Ma Sheng answered loudly.

Zhao Ruxi hired so many craftsmen, all at high salaries, without specifying what products they wanted to make. They were actually quite worried, fearing that Zhao Ruxi was too young and might not have considered things thoroughly, and that the products she made might not sell, leaving her in a difficult situation, and these craftsmen would become a burden to her.

Now that they saw this thing the girl called a "safe," they felt relieved.