Also Shen Hua, the smelter brought his 7 son families from the Zhudun Village in Wuxing County to the suburb of Zhaxi Town (suburban Wuzhen) in Tongxiang, around the Jiajing reign of the Ming. With 10 mu (0.67 ha) reclaimed in 2 rural plots, the clan was engaged in the casting of pots and pans in furnace workshops, enjoying a wide sell. Leaving his 6 son families and more in Zhaxi, the Shen couple removed downtown for business extension. 

A Buddhist devotee, Shen showed a propensity for guzzle and weiqi, mingling with the abbot of the urban Fengming Temple. Jiajing 33rd year (1554), the Ming coastal region was infested with intruding wokou (Japanese pirates), when Shen had Zhaxi workshops shifted into town, just outside of the Temple grounds. To make ends meet, they took odd jobs like casting temple bells, tripods, and candlesticks. Into the 35th year, Jiaxing fell to an invasion, then Zaolin. The county seat of Tongxiang got besieged for a whopping 40 days. The defending general was at a loss to expel the pirates. Some day on a weiqi session with the abbot in the grounds, Shen spoke out, “fret not, a card up my sleeve.” Surprised, imperial inspector Ruan E in siege paid a gifting visit in search of tactics. “For the time being, our side is short of hands and weapons like arrows. A quick-fix is to gather pots and pans to smelt, ready for a splashing fight,” gushed Shen. As told, the inspector commanded a collecting and smelting drive to the recruited manpower, with heavily-roped battle logs prepared on ramparts. In time of attacks, the smelters used molten iron plus gunpowder for a splashing counterattack, causing whopping casualties. In startled flight, the pirates were fought back, saving Tongxiang from devastation. Post the wokou incident, Shen received a 4-character plaque inscribed by the inspector, Town Saviour from Piracy, hung onto his residence. As with the rank of nobility, baihuhou (with fiefdom of 100 households), Shen declined.

After death in the Longqing reign, his memorial tablet enjoyed homage in the Zongli Temple in Zaolin, and later into the Zhongyi Temple in downtown. Packed with gratitude, the local community revered him as the Flying Fire General. Following in his steps, his descendants practise smelting in Shen Yichang Workshop in Zhaxi (later relocated to Wuzhen), a legacy lasting a whole 4 centuries. Zhaxi then abounded in furnaces, better known as Lutou until this day.