Du family, back residence.
In the study.
Du Qi was writing a book. His memory of "Water Margin" was extremely clear.
To Du Qi, the matter of copying was simply too simple. He only needed to continuously copy it down. Of course, even if there was a part that needed attention, it would only be slightly modified. It would not have any effect.
While Du Qi was busy reading, it was Liu Jian who entered.
Liu Jian bowed and said, "Young Master."
Du Qi asked, "What's the matter?"
Liu Jian replied, "The craftsmen of our residence have come to report that they have discovered a novel item. They would like to invite Young Master to take a look and see if it is useful."
The craftsmen of the Du family were all in the residence.
Especially after the production of movable type printing and the improvement of the curved shaft plow, Du Qi had new requirements and rewards for the craftsmen of the Du family. Any new invention in the residence that had practical value could be rewarded. Therefore, from time to time, the craftsmen would come up with new things.
It was just that many of the items were not very useful.
Du Qi smiled and said, "Let's go and take a look. What good things have they come up with."
"Yes!"
Liu Jian immediately agreed.
Du Qi and Liu Jian went to the residence's workshop.
When he arrived at the workshop, many craftsmen stopped and bowed to Du Qi. The current Du Qi was a veritable god of wealth. Everyone in the residence relied on Du Qi to live.
Especially when the craftsmen came up with new items, they all relied on Du Qi to reward them. The Du family did not have such a rule. It was Du Qi who set the reward for new and practical items.
Not long after, Du Qi came to the open area of the craftsmen's workshop.
The person who came up with the new item this time also came to greet him. This person was called Yuan Kewang. He was in his early sixties.
He was quite old.
His fingers were incomparably rough and even cracked because of the cold weather. His back was stooped, and his stubble was messy. His cheeks were a little flushed from being exposed to the wind.
This was caused by frequent strong winds.
When Yuan Kewang saw Du Qi, a bright smile hung on his old face. He bowed and said, "Young Master, you're finally here."
His eyes were filled with anticipation.
Because he believed that his discovery was valuable.
However, these old brothers who worked together with him did not agree. They felt that it was worthless.
He wanted to prove himself.
He also wanted to make money.
Du Qi asked, "Master Yuan, what did you invent?"
Yuan Kewang immediately took Du Qi and walked forward for a while. Yuan Kewang squatted down and looked at a lump of dirt on the ground. Yuan Kewang squatted down and used the hammer to mark it down. He said, "Young Master, look, this is my invention. Inside the soil package, it was just normal soil compaction. On the outside, I used a layer of mud. After this layer of mud dried up, it became incomparably hard. Even if the iron hammer hammered it lightly, it did not break. This mud is my invention. "
Du Qi looked at the mud that had already dried up and hardened, and a trace of a smile flashed across his eyes.
Isn't this concrete formed from cement?
It could solidify!
At the same time, it formed a certain hardness.
Du Qi looked at Yuan Kewang and said, "How did you discover this situation?"
Yuan Kewang said, "Young Master, it's actually a coincidence. At first, I used clay and water to mix. It was too thin. There was lime at the side. I coincidentally used some lime and mixed it together. I wanted to make it thicker. I didn't expect it to form such an effect in the end. "
"This is not the second time I've experimented. I've experimented several times."
"Once the mud mixed together is dry and hardened, it will be incomparably hard. I believe that such a discovery can be useful, so I invited Young Master here for your comments. "
Yuan Kewang looked at Du Qi eagerly.
Everyone around looked at him in unison.
He had a smile on his face.
In ancient houses, why were mainly wooden houses and some mud walls instead of brick and stone structures? The reason was very simple. In ancient times, there was no cement, so the stone couldn't really form and stabilize.
But with cement, it was different.
The appearance of cement caused the buildings to change and gradually become all brick and tile structures. In particular, the appearance of cement caused the roads to change, which could trigger a revolution.
As the saying goes, if you want to be rich, you must first build roads. This principle was real.
Everyone's eyes were focused on Du Qi.
Du Qi coughed twice and said, "I won't say much about the mud. In short, I think it's excellent. At the same time, give Yuan Kewang the highest level of reward. He will be rewarded with a house in Chang 'an City and 500 strings of string of coins. "
"Thank you, Young Master!"
When Yuan Kewang heard this, he immediately became excited.
It was done.
Such a reward of the highest level had not been given in the entire workshop.
Yuan Kewang was the first.
As for the rest of the people who had inventions that Du Qi approved, they also received some other rewards.
"Young Master, I'm not convinced."
At this moment, someone among the craftsmen spoke.
This person was called Diao Peng.
He was in his early forties and was relatively young and energetic among the craftsmen. His main responsibility was to smelt pig iron. Diao Peng had also received a reward. He mainly increased the temperature of smelting.
However, the effect of Diao Peng's improvement was not particularly obvious. Therefore, Diao Peng's reward was limited. It was just that he felt that Yuan Kewang's invention was not new, so he was not convinced.
Du Qi said, "I know you. You're called Diao Peng. Tell me, what do you think?"
Everyone's eyes fell on Diao Peng.
Many people's eyes were actually unfriendly.
Because craftsmen like them actually had a very low status. Now that Yuan Kewang had received Du Qi's reward, it was an extremely good thing. But now that Diao Peng stood out to oppose, it was equivalent to a very bad beginning, so many people were unhappy.
Yuan Kewang did not say anything.
He just looked at it.
After all, he was the inventor. As for how to judge, it was up to Du Qi to decide.
Diao Peng gritted his teeth and said, "Young Master, the mud that Yuan Kewang discovered was at most pasted on the wall. It's not very useful. It seems to be useful, but in fact, it's not very useful. Therefore, I think that Young Master's reward is a little too much. Yuan Kewang's new invention is worthy of praise, but it's still a little inappropriate to reward the highest level. "
"Wrong!"
Du Qi shook his head and said.
Diao Peng said, "Please tell me, Young Master."
Du Qi looked around and swept his gaze across the people around him. He said, "This mud, on the surface, seems to be useless at the moment, but in fact, it has a great function."
"With a slight improvement, this item can be used to build roads and even city walls. Think about it, a bumpy road, and after the rain, the road will be muddy. But when this mud solidifies into stone slabs and is laid on the road, the road will be hard, and the road will not be soaked, so the road will be easier to pass. "
"Whether it is the road or the house, after using this mud, there will be great changes."
"Therefore, mud is extremely useful."
Du Qi's eyes were sharp and even more expectant. He said, "This is a new business opportunity. Of course, Yuan Kewang's invention still has many shortcomings, and there are many problems in the details. These can be slowly adjusted. "
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