'It's Yang Dan Zi's father again.' Xiaobei and the others looked at each other and nodded tacitly. Their gazes towards Gong Shu He were filled with hostility. They had come because Yang Dan Zi's father's contributions had been suppressed.
Gong Shuhe also realized that things were getting out of hand. He reached into his pocket and twisted a few notes with his fingers. He slowly took them out and handed them to Xiaobei. He smiled and said, "According to the rules, I have to divide the benefits I get. Everyone who sees it has a share."
Xiaobei did not refuse. He took them and counted them seriously. He muttered, "One hundred coins, two hundred coins, three hundred coins …"
"Yes, yes," Gong Shuhe corrected softly.
"Oh, 600 coins in total. How much salary does a ninth-grade soldier get every year?" Xiaobei looked at Xiaoyuan. Xiaoyuan shook his head in confusion. "I don't know."
"Why don't you keep track of it?"
"There are many things happening in the world. Do you think I remember?"
"Let's ask someone later."
"I know. Depending on the type of army and the military region, the salary varies. In the past, it was land and food. Now, it's converted into money. I get around five coins and four hundred and forty-one coins a month." Gong Shuhe reported.
Xiao Bei took the money and slapped it on his thigh. "Yo! There's even a small change. Ten years of salary. You're really rich. What's the crime of being greedy for military expenses? "
"You should be beheaded, right? Otherwise, you should be whipped until you die. Then, you'll be exiled." The boy did not understand, but it did not affect him from venting.
"I've been greedy for money. I know that money is important in the military. Money, food, and military equipment are no small matter. A single coin of greed can destroy a hero's soul. Soldiers who charge are not afraid of dying the ground with blood. I know this, so I don't dare to let my soldiers bleed and cry while holding bad weapons. I won't die in peace. "
Gong Shuhe quickly explained. He could not bear the crime. He was not like the local logistics officials. The local officials were only greedy because their lives were not good. They were greedy for money from military logistics. Even a hundred heads would not be enough.
"That's how I get my money …"
Without waiting for Gong Shuhe to finish speaking, Xiaobei walked forward and put away the money. He took a wet towel from someone beside him and wiped his hands. He then walked to the storeroom, where all sorts of noise came from.
Someone stepped forward and pulled open the two-meter-wide doors of the warehouse, revealing the scene inside.
The situation was different from what Xiao Bei and the others had imagined. It was not a murky atmosphere where the workers were working without any protection.
All kinds of equipment inside were spaced apart and neatly arranged according to different areas. The people working wore thin leather gloves and protective masks that protruded out in front of their mouths. They were all bald and wore boots of unknown leather. Looking at the ground, it seemed that it had been artificially cut out into small grids. In the middle of the grids, there was a gap of one inch wide with water flowing through it. The powder that fell from the work was immediately washed away by the water.
"Stop." Xiao Bei's voice was very high in decibels, and its penetrating power was strong enough that it could be heard over the noise of the grinding wheels and the air cutter.
His shout had an effect. Everyone in the warehouse stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him.
"I am the Patrol Inspector of the Tang Empire, Zhang Xiaobei. May I ask who his father is?" Xiao Bei introduced himself and pointed at Yang Dan Zi.
Everyone in the warehouse looked at one person at the same time. This person was standing next to an anvil. He held a piece of paper in one hand and a triangular ruler in the other. He did not follow everyone's gaze to himself. Instead, he looked at Xiao Bei. There was a pencil between his bald head and his ear.
"Ha! Let me guess. It's you. Am I right? "Xiao Bei looked at the person confidently with a smile.
The person who was pointed at took off the string of his mask. He hesitated for a moment before replying, "Impressive. You got it right in one guess."
"Ha!" Xiao Bei guessed it and happily waved his fist. He then asked, "What is your surname? Is it Yang?"
The person nodded with a rich expression. Without waiting for Xiao Bei to continue, he said, "My name is Fei, and my courtesy name is Yun Teng."
Xiao Bei was surprised. He actually had a courtesy name. He must have some knowledge. He walked in front of the person with his hands clasped behind his back and looked at the paper. There was a picture on it. Xiao Bei recognized it. As for what picture it was, Xiao Bei coughed and turned around, "Sister, come and help me look at the picture."
Xiao Zhu followed and recognized what it was at a glance, "It's a three-dimensional perspective picture of a lathe. It looks very complicated."
"Where did you get it?" Xiao Bei found the key point. How could there be a blueprint of a lathe in this place?
Yang Yun Teng did not answer. He smiled reservedly and touched the pencil between his ears while holding the triangular ruler.
Xiao Bei and Xiao Zhu understood. He drew it himself, but it was different from the sketches and gouache that Xiao Zhu usually drew.
Xiao Bei felt the pressure from the technology. He took a deep breath and asked, "What do you mean? Why did you draw it? Where did you hide the real thing? "
Yang Yun Teng turned around and walked to the left side of the warehouse. There were many handicrafts made of wood, such as gears, shafts, connecting rods, and other things. He said to the children who followed him, "This is the real thing. I need to make a few parts that are more precise. I don't have any tools, so I want to make some tools first. The grinding machines and cutting machines in the warehouse were given by the imperial court. I will use them to make the parts I need into wood. After every small part is assembled successfully, I will turn it into cast iron and make a simple lathe. Then, I will use it to process better tools to make an even more precise lathe."
"Why don't you make a big lathe and then turn it into cast iron parts?" Xiao Bei asked like a child who loved to learn.
"Because there are many steps to assembling wood, the force on the parts will increase. They will break before they can turn," Yang Yun Teng explained.
"Okay, come with us. We have something to ask you. Gong Shuhe, you are not allowed to follow." Xiao Bei reached out and touched the polished wooden parts. He could not hide the excitement on his face as he spoke to Yang Yun Teng.
"The inspector is asking you a question. You must answer truthfully. You cannot make things up." Gong Shuhe looked at Yang Yun Teng with a serious face.
As soon as he said that, he felt his chest tighten. He flew backward and crashed into a pile of wood. He did not know which part of his body hurt the most.
"Good kick. Who told him to talk too much?" Xiao Bei looked at Zhang Hu, who had sent him flying, with satisfaction.
Yang Yun Teng followed everyone. When he was about to leave, he paused and said, "Finish today's work. I will treat you to drinks tonight."
"Dad, do we still have money to treat people to drinks?" Yang Dan Zi raised his head and asked.
"We will soon," Yang Fei said.
"Where did you get the money?" Yang Dan Zi continued to ask.
"I have learned both civil and martial arts. I will serve the royal family." Yang Fei looked at Xiao Bei and the others.
Xiao Hai looked sideways and whispered, "You are very confident."
He said that he wanted Yang Fei to follow them, but in the end, he was the one who found the place to talk. They entered a four-room warehouse. The last room was actually a study. There were paintings and scrolls on the wall. There was a faint smell of ink. It was not the stinky kind.
The nine children were shocked. They were not shocked by the layout of the study. They were shocked that this study belonged to an unranked craftsman in the local army logistics department.
"You, you are occupying a room of 60 square meters for a study? Why? " At first, Xiao Bei was biased towards Yang Dan Zi's father. He thought that Yang Dan Zi's ability was suppressed and that he was living a wronged life. When he saw the study, he could not help but ask impartially.
After speaking, Xiao Bei turned to leave. At this moment, Yang Yun Teng finally felt afraid. If he really let the children leave, what if they did not listen to his explanation and directly attacked him?
He quickly said, "Wait a minute. I have a reason."
Xiao Bei gave him face and stopped. He raised his hand to touch the door frame, then leaned closer to smell it. "What is it? It smells like gasoline. Explain. Explain this smell first. "
"This is an anti-corrosive paint that I created myself. There is gasoline in it. The gasoline is made by evaporating and cooling oil. I have a junior brother in the Ministry of Works. When it comes to craftsmanship, even three of him cannot compare to one of me. Later on, I could no longer improve my craftsmanship. I decided to change my profession and study literature. I even passed the High Scholar examination.
Later on, I realized that being an official is more tiring than being a craftsman. If a craftsman makes something good, it is good. If it is not good, it is not good. Being an official is different. It is hard to tell whether it is good or bad. Take Gong Shuhe for example. Others think that he is a bad official, but I think that he is a good official. "
Yang Yun Teng took a thermos bottle from the side and poured water for everyone. Speaking of which, he actually had a porcelain thermos bottle. He did not know who made it for him.
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