The craftsmen that Ang Lee personally visited this time were all the most skilled craftsmen. They were all important talents in the Tang Empire. Ordinary craftsmen would not receive such treatment. Even the average craftsmen could only receive a small amount of New Year's goods from the servants.
The reason why these senior craftsmen were so respected was naturally because the existence of these craftsmen was extremely important to Ang Lee. In many of the machines that Ang Lee had successfully developed, these senior craftsmen had made great contributions. Without the help of these craftsmen, even if Ang Lee was capable, he would not have been able to succeed. It was just like how a clever housewife could not cook without rice. Without excellent craftsmen, everything would be impossible.
Since these craftsmen were so important, naturally, they would be treated very well. Only in this way could more talented craftsmen be stimulated to join in, so that more advanced machines could be made.
Most of the internal parts of a machine were made of dead metal. This was because metal had the most outstanding performance and was an important material in making machines. However, not all machines needed metal. On the contrary, sometimes, in order to reduce the weight of the machine, some lighter materials were used. For example, wood was a very important material.
In many machines in the future, wood was almost no longer used. They were all metal and a small amount of rubber. In addition, there were also plastic products. Wood had been completely eliminated.
However, in the Tang Dynasty era, many machines were inseparable from wood, and they could not do without excellent carpenters. For example, most of the train carriages in the Tang Dynasty were made of wood. Only the parts that needed to be reinforced were supported by metal. The reason was that there were too many places in the Tang Dynasty that needed steel. The consumption of wood was relatively abundant. In addition, the steel industry was relatively heavy, and wood was relatively light. This could reduce the weight of the train carriages and reduce the energy consumption.
Many of the bases of the machines were made of heavy wood, and a layer of metal was inlaid on top. Some of the smaller machines or machines with higher tolerance requirements had to consider the expansion of the wood when using it. This required a high level of carpentry skills. Ordinary carpenters could not handle it at all. At least in the research and development process, the more skilled a carpenter was, the more he could provide the best solution. This was the significance of the existence of senior carpenters.
As for the shells of many machines, they were made of wood. In order to meet the needs of the nobles, some patterns had to be carved on the surface. This was also something that could only be done by skilled craftsmen. Ordinary craftsmen could not do it at all. Therefore, high-level carpentry was also the object of Ang Lee's respect.
Carpenter Zhao was a craftsman with excellent carpentry skills. This time, the telegraph box was made by Carpenter Zhao. It could be said that he had made a great contribution to the project.
"Husband, Blacksmith Li's family is flourishing, and they are living a prosperous life. However, Carpenter Zhao's house was just a few run-down houses when I came here last year. I wonder if it has improved this time?"
Yan Ruyu asked.
Ang Lee knew a little about the families of these craftsmen. He knew that Carpenter Zhao's skills were very good, but his family's financial situation did not improve much. Among all the senior craftsmen, Carpenter Zhao's family was the worst.
Logically speaking, Li An had always taken care of the talented people under his command. He had always treated Carpenter Zhao well, but why was Carpenter Zhao's family not doing so well? Ang Lee could not remember clearly. After all, he had been away for the past few years and had not returned to Chang 'an for long. There were many things that he did not know. He did not even know the family situation of these craftsmen as well as Yan Ruyu.
"Madam, do you know why Carpenter Zhao's family is so poor?"
Ang Lee looked at Yan Ruyu and asked.
Yan Ruyu smiled and looked out of the window. She said, "I'm not too sure. I only know that Carpenter Zhao has many brothers and he is the eldest brother of these brothers."
Ang Lee understood the gist of it. It could even be said that he understood everything. This meant that Yan Ruyu was not really not clear. She was just saying that on purpose.
As an elder brother, he had many brothers in his family. Moreover, this elder brother loved his younger brothers very much. Moreover, it was a kind of unprincipled love. Therefore, as an elder brother, it was very likely that he would be seriously implicated and the quality of his life would be greatly reduced.
According to the words of the later generations, this eldest brother was a standard sibling demon. He was a terrifying person who sacrificed himself unconditionally to help his younger brothers. He was also a husband that his wife hated. Of course, in the later generations, other than male sibling demons, there were also female sibling demons. It meant that the elder sister would use her husband's money to supplement her younger brothers.
Sibling demons seemed to be very kind and doted on their younger brothers. However, the premise was that they would harm their own interests. They would make their lives very difficult. This would be very unfair to their wife and children.
Since ancient times, all kinds of sibling demons had been criticized. In ancient times, there were more male sibling demons. However, in the later generations, female sibling demons gradually gained the upper hand and became the target of public criticism.
The female sibling demon would often say such things, such as, 'I only have one brother.', 'He's my biological brother, what can I do?', 'Blood is thicker than water, I have to help him.', 'I don't want my parents to work too hard.', 'He's my only brother.'
In other words, in the eyes of these female sibling demons, her maternal family was the real family. However, it was natural for husband and wife to share property. For example, they would say, "What's wrong with me using my money to let my parents and brother live a better life? If you object, you are selfish, cold, and heartless!"
They were the porters of property. They emptied their husband's family to supplement their maternal family. They had to give money to their younger brothers to go to school. They had to give money to their younger brothers to buy a house. They had to give money to their younger brothers to marry a wife. They had to give money to their younger brothers to buy a car. They also had to give money to their younger brothers to give birth to children.
Furthermore, they had to give money to their younger brothers. The reason why this kind of people existed was related to the special education they received since young. They were instilled with the idea of sibling demons. Their parents told them since young that their younger brothers were the only bloodline in the family. They had to protect them, treat them well, and provide them with good food and drinks. For sibling demons like this, they would be slightly morally coerced. Their relatives and friends would surround them and turn a deaf ear to their weak resistance. If their willpower wasn't firm enough, they would give in.
You couldn't wake up a person who was pretending to be asleep, nor could you pull up a person who wanted to crawl into a pit. A person with a weak personality was very easy to be morally coerced. It would be difficult for them to escape and become a sibling demon.
In the eyes of the older generation, their daughters would eventually get married. Only their sons could inherit the family business and the family name. Therefore, they particularly valued their sons. They couldn't wait to give them all the good things, take care of them, and not let them suffer any grievances. In this way, they would painstakingly cultivate their daughters to become sibling demons.
Supporting one's younger brother was simply too detestable. In the later generations, they would be hunted down and killed. However, in this era of the Great Tang, not only would a man not be hunted down and killed, he would even become a role model for his neighbors. As a result, many people were willing to sacrifice their entire fortune to become a younger brother's younger brother.
Of course, there was no such thing as a younger brother's devil in the Tang Dynasty. A married woman was like spilled water. Under normal circumstances, she rarely had too much contact with her maiden family. Naturally, it was difficult to be a younger brother's devil, especially for a woman who had married far away. Moreover, a married woman in ancient times had to change her surname to her husband's surname and become a part of her husband's family. She had to put her husband's family first. Even if her maiden family committed the crime of rebellion, the married woman could safely escape this catastrophe.
There was no place for female sibling demons to exist. As the elder brother, the man should take care of his younger brother. This seemed to be the right thing to do. There was no such thing as sibling demons. When others saw an elder brother taking care of his younger brother, they would only think that the elder brother was benevolent. However, if his wife did not agree, then he was not virtuous and would be reviled by the world. However, there should be a limit to taking care of one's younger brother. His younger brother also had to work hard. Otherwise, he would become a sibling demon.
Ang Lee's subordinate, Carpenter Zhao, should be a standard sibling demon. This was the most reasonable reason that Ang Lee could think of.
"Alang, we have arrived at Carpenter Zhao's house."
The guard reminded him.
Ang Lee and Yan Ruyu got out of the car hand in hand. They looked up and saw that Carpenter Zhao's house was a little different from Blacksmith Li's house.
Blacksmith Li's house had four courtyards and a total of thirty-six rooms of different sizes. Carpenter Zhao's house, on the other hand, only had one courtyard and not many rooms. There were only three tile-roofed houses in the front, and two temporary sheds were built at the corners on both sides of the house. They were probably toilets. There were two rooms on each side of the house. One of them was a living room, while the other was a kitchen and a storeroom. There were a total of seven rooms, and four of them were habitable. Compared to Blacksmith Li's house, the difference was huge.
However, Carpenter Zhao's treatment in the R&D Center was about the same as Blacksmith Li's, except that it was slightly lower. Logically speaking, as long as he lived a normal life, he shouldn't be so poor.
"Greetings to Assistant Minister Li and Madam," Carpenter Zhao greeted politely.
There were five to six people following behind him.
Judging from their age, the old lady was his wife, the young lady was his daughter-in-law, and the two young men should be his sons. As for the two young girls, they were either his granddaughters or he got them at an old age. There were only seven people in total. However, there seemed to be an even older lady in the courtyard. It was just that she was old and her reaction was a little slow. She didn't come out to welcome Ang Lee.
"These two ladies are so cute! Are they your granddaughters? "
Ang Lee bent down slightly to look at the two little girls. However, the two little girls were a little scared and subconsciously hid behind him.
"Come, here's some candy for you."
Ang Lee smiled and took out the candy in his arms.
"Take it! Children. "
Carpenter Zhao said gently. Then, he introduced, "Assistant Minister Li, the older one is my daughter, and the younger one is my granddaughter. This is my son and his daughter-in-law. This is my second son, he's not married yet. This is my wife. Oh right, my old mother is old and couldn't come out to welcome Assistant Minister Li. Sorry for the lack of manners."
"It's fine, it's fine. Elders are respected. You don't have to be so polite."
Ang Lee said politely. Then, he did some calculations and realized that the accommodation in Carpenter Zhao's house was quite tight. A four-room house had to accommodate eight people. On average, there were two people in each room. Although it wasn't to the extent that they couldn't fit, the pressure was still quite high.
Carpenter Zhao and his wife would definitely live together. His son and his daughter-in-law would also have to live in one room. As for the two little girls, the younger one would have to live in the same room with her mother, and the granddaughter would have to live in the same room with her son and daughter-in-law. Relatively speaking, it was quite tight. If there was an extra room for the two little girls to live alone, the situation would be better and it wouldn't be too crowded. After all, it wasn't good for an old lady to live with a little girl. It wasn't convenient for a young couple to live with their daughter, and it wasn't good for giving birth to a son.
In addition, Carpenter Zhao's son didn't look young anymore. According to the customs of this era, he should have been married long ago. However, there weren't any extra rooms in the house. They couldn't possibly let their new daughter-in-law live in the side room after marrying in! Probably no family's daughter would be willing to live in the side room. Carpenter Zhao's second son was held back by the conditions in the house.
Although the people of this era weren't as passionate about houses as the people of the future, it was still impossible to live without a house. Without a place to live, how could one live a good life?
"You guys, hurry up and move the New Year goods in."
Ang Lee didn't say anything, but the captain of the guards gave the order directly. This action was tacitly approved by Ang Lee. After all, the New Year goods for each family were the same. It didn't matter how many people were able to unload the goods. Carpenter Zhao's family didn't have many able-bodied laborers, so it was destined that they would have to help. Although it was tiring, when they returned at night, they would be paid. Moreover, the New Year goods that Ang Lee would give them wouldn't be less than what these carpenters gave. After all, they were the guards who protected Ang Lee's family. These people had to be coaxed well.
"Why aren't you guys helping?"
Carpenter Zhao also ordered his son to help. It was customary for Ang Lee to send New Year goods, so he naturally didn't need to be courteous and had to accept it. The only thing he could do was to ask his family members to help move the goods so that the guards wouldn't have to work so hard.
"Assistant Minister Li, please come in."
Carpenter Zhao very politely invited Ang Lee into the house as a guest.
Ang Lee waved his hand and said, "This official won't be going in. The garden here is yours, right? Look at these winter vegetables, they look pretty good! "
As he spoke, he walked towards Carpenter Zhao's garden. Looking at the lush green vegetables, his heart was rather calm. It was obvious that Carpenter Zhao was a meticulous person. Even his vegetables were better than those of other families.
If a house was built in this garden, the living conditions of Carpenter Zhao's family would be greatly improved. With that, their housing situation wouldn't be so tight. In fact, everyone could even be allocated a house.
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