Winter and summer are reincarnated in the mortal world, and the first snow falls in the mortal world. Tightly wrapped in clothes, one does not feel warm, and the running water makes numb.
The four of them had a simple breakfast. Empress Wang drank milk, eggs, and a piece of lean meat with soy sauce.
When she was in the palace, she followed the nutrition instructions written by Li Yi and sent people to fetch food from Earthly Paradise.
When she arrived in Zhuangzi, she did not need to care at all. She ate whatever her uncle arranged.
When they finished eating, the weather changed, and it started to snow.
Song De came over, "Dongzhu, do you want to start heating?"
"It's still early. Do you have enough charcoal in a few days?" Li Yi looked at the sky. He did not want to use the heating now. The room was too hot.
"It's enough to burn until this time next year, together with the kiln." When Song De mentioned this, he felt that he did a good job.
Charcoal was cheap, and ordinary people did not use it. They used it for firewood.
Zhuangzi hired people to dig and transport it, but he only paid for the labor. The charcoal was free.
"Brother Yi, it's better to transport more. After this winter, there will be more people using charcoal." Li Yi thought of something and said to Li Yi.
"Yes." Li Longji smiled, "I heard that the Imperial Household Supervisor has made many furnaces according to the drawings you drew. It's snowing now, so it's a good time to promote the fire wall."
Li Yi understood. The drawings he gave to his two brothers were actually used in the palace.
He also thought of something, "Then won't we all use a piece of coal? What about the coal powder? "
"Uncle, are you talking about charcoal? Of course, we have to use a piece. Coal powder can't be burned. "
Empress Wang's harem was already having a fever. She was afraid that the children would be cold.
"Oh my god!" Li Yi patted his forehead.
He called Song De, "Quick, bring the coal powder from the place where the charcoal is piled. Also, find a craftsman with good carpentry and bring a few pieces of wood to me."
A moment later, a basket of coal powder was brought over from the place where the coal was placed.
The craftsman made a rectangular frame according to Li Yi's instructions.
Pour water on the coal powder and turn it into coal slurry.
Li Yi rolled up his sleeves and placed the wooden frame on the ground. He gathered the coal into a ball and threw it into the frame. Then, he patted it with both hands.
He flattened it and grabbed both sides of the frame, wanting to lift it up. A piece of coal that looked like a brick came out.
"Big Brother, Third Brother, Sister-in-law, look at this. Once it's dried, it can also be baked. You can also directly use it to make a biscuit, or use a dustpan to shake the coal balls."
Li Yi introduced. He did not want everyone to fight for a piece of coal with him. There was no need to use a piece of coal for their own household. It would be better to use a lump of coal.
The palace maid beside them brought water for Li Yi to wash his hands. Li Longji and the other two looked at Li Yi and wanted to laugh.
They had guessed Li Yi's intention. At the critical moment, they would immediately have a solution.
But the problem was, why did others have to do it for him? It was free to dig up the charcoal.
"Burning firewood requires money. There are many people and few mines. The charcoal powder is piled up. We have to use it." Li Yi said to the three of them and looked at Song De.
Song De nodded, indicating that he understood. He ran away to find people to bring back a large amount of coal.
Li Longji thought for a while, "We'll see later."
He wanted to discuss with the minister whether to collect the money for mining the charcoal.
"Big Brother, after the charcoal is burned, it can be used to make bricks, cement, or pave roads. It's good to use the charcoal slag to pave a good road."
Li Yi suggested again, hoping that his big brother would continue to use his identity to persuade the imperial court.
"Is that so?" Li Chengqi noted.
The four of them strolled in the light snow again. Zhuangzi was still busy. There was always something to do.
The rice had not been harvested yet. They continued to catch crabs, buy ingredients for making drunken crabs, and make them.
When they walked to the Ba River, a group of people from the Zhang family's village fished out hemp from the shallow water.
The hemp that was planted was harvested and soaked in water. When it was almost soaked, it was just right to take it out.
Next, they had to scrape the hemp and remove the shell. The soaked hemp was still not hemp thread.
Previously, during the process of harvesting hemp, it was very easy for the hands to get injured. They just had to break the position of the hemp pole and make a hole. Then, the hand would follow the hole up and down, and the hemp skin would come off.
During this process, it was like a hand scratching on paper. If they were not careful, there would be a hole.
Fortunately, the people who were chopping hemp would wrap a cloth around their fingers.
This prevented any problems.
After soaking hemp, they had to continue to scrape it when it was still wet.
They held a knife with one hand, the blade facing up, and wrapped a cloth around their thumb to press down on the blade. The hemp would be pulled out from between the blade and the thumb.
The people from the Zhang family's village fished out hemp from the water and stood on the shore to scrape the hemp. The children also helped.
"Ah!" A twelve or thirteen year old child screamed and stuffed his thumb into his mouth.
"Uncle's hand is injured." Empress Wang quickly said.
Without needing Li Yi to say anything, the palace maid Cui Liu ran over and brought the child over. Qing Song took off the medical kit on his back.
Li Yi lifted the child's right hand and looked at it. He wiped it with an alcohol swab. The child grimaced.
"It's okay. The wound is less than a centimeter. It's not deep. There's no need to suture it." Li Yi said as he wrapped the bandage.
"Don't touch the water for now. Take it down in two days and see how it goes. Remember to look for me." Li Yi said softly to the child.
The child looked into his eyes, as if he was making a decision.
After a few breaths, the child clenched his left hand into a fist and took a deep breath. "Li Dongzhu, they all say that you're the best and that you know everything. Is that right?"
Li Yi shook his head. "No. The more I know, the more ignorant I find myself."
"Then can you think of a way to make us scrape hemp faster? Every year, there are people who hurt their fingers. Some of them get a fever and die. "The child's face was full of pleading and expectation.
Li Longji looked at Li Yi, waiting for this omnipotent brother Yi to say 'yes'.
"Yes." As expected, Li Yi said the word that Li Longji was waiting for.
He turned his head and ordered He Yan, "Find a craftsman. I want a long stool, a few pieces of wood, two hemp scraping blades, and two pieces of smooth leather."
Li Yi said to the child, "We can only make a simple one for now. It's too troublesome to make a better one. We don't have enough time."
The child smiled. "I knew Li Dongzhu could do it."
After saying that, he turned and ran over, shouting as he ran, "Li Dongzhu has something good! It's good for scraping hemp!"
Li Longji and the other two also smiled.
Li Chengqi patted Li Yi's shoulder. Empress Wang naturally placed her hand on Li Yi's head and rubbed it.
"Brother Yi, you really never disappoint." Li Longji sighed.
"There may be a day when I can't do it." Li Yi tied his hair again.
"It must be because the heavens don't allow it. It's too heaven-defying." Li Longji said.
As long as it doesn't offend the heavens, Brother Yi can do it. If Brother Yi can't do it, then it can't be done.
Not long after, the craftsman and the items were all brought over by He Yan.
Li Yi began to give instructions.
A wooden stick was erected on both sides of the stool. There was a hole in the middle of the stick. A blade was placed on one side of the hole and a piece of smooth leather was placed on the other side.
The wooden stick was connected to the two pieces of wood at a right angle. The hole on the outside of the piece of wood was big and extended all the way to the gap.
A wet hemp was brought over. Holding one end of the hemp, the other end of the hemp was easily placed into the big hole and then pulled.
From the big hole to the small hole, the hemp had to pass through the blade and smooth leather. The smooth leather was elastic and pressed tightly against the blade.
As soon as the hemp was pulled out, the hard shell was stuck.
With the other hand, he took the part of the hemp that was removed from the shell and placed it in the other hole. With another pull, the entire hemp was removed.
"This can be faster. The main thing is that it won't hurt your hands. Everyone, give it a try." Li Yi said to a group of people who came over to watch.
Everyone's eyes lit up. It was much easier than scraping with one hand. The main thing was that the blade wouldn't hurt the hands.
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