The weather in the latter half of November was getting colder and colder. There were even heavy snowflakes falling. Both the inside and outside of Yiwu County were covered in a layer of silver, turning it into a world of white.
Many things had stopped and the commoners were idle.
Du Qi was not wearing thick clothes and was wearing loose ones.
He was reading in his study.
While Du Qi was reading, the attendants entered several times to add charcoal to the brazier to dispel the cold. Although there was anthracite that had been mined, it did not taste as good as the charcoal. In Du Qi's residence, the servants used coal, while Du Qi himself used charcoal.
When Du Qi was bored from reading, his gaze fell on the burning charcoal.
The charcoal burned, but there was no smoke.
On the contrary, there was a fragrant smell coming from the charcoal, making the room smell very pleasant. Du Qi's thoughts, however, immediately flew to the coal that was currently being sold.
Coal had already been widely sold and many commoners could afford it. After all, it was not expensive. In addition, because Du Qi had exempted many people from taxes and countless construction projects, the commoners in Yizhou had a good life and did not lack the money to buy coal. After all, coal could be used for heating, boiling water, and many other purposes. Many commoners bought it.
It was a big industry in the present.
Du Qi thought of the honeycomb briquette of the future. At a certain stage in the future, honeycomb briquette was a necessity for every household. It was only when gas and natural gas began to spread that honeycomb briquette gradually fell out of the mainstream.
Even so, honeycomb briquette still had a place. After all, it could be used in many places.
Du Qi wanted to make honeycomb briquette, so he needed a machine to make honeycomb briquette. In the current environment, there was no mechanization at all. Most of the work was done by hand, so the complicated honeycomb briquette making machine was impossible.
The only thing that could be made was the simplest hand-made honeycomb briquette mold with twelve holes.
The production of honeycomb briquettes with such molds relied entirely on manual labor. Although the speed was slow, with the current foundation, it was enough to satisfy the current needs. Moreover, with such productivity, it required many workers to work, but it also allowed the commoners to work and earn money.
Du Qi searched his mind and found the grinding tool for making honeycomb briquettes with twelve holes. He then began to copy the sketch.
The mold wasn't complicated.
Du Qi revised the sketch several times before marking out the various parts of the mold. When it came to components, the mold was actually the simplest and didn't have many labels. Within a short period of time, Du Qi had completed everything. After the ink dried up, Du Qi kept the blueprint and instructed, "Liu Jian!"
"Here!"
Liu Jian entered the room and answered.
Du Qi said, "Get ready, we're going to the University of Science and Technology."
"Yes!"
Liu Jian answered immediately.
When it came to the production of honeycomb briquette molds, the craftsmen in Du Qi's residence were not good enough. They had to rely on the cooperation of the craftsmen from the Manufacturing Academy. Du Qi's trip to the University of Science and Technology was a good opportunity to take a look at the school's situation.
It was snowing heavily outside, but there were people cleaning the main streets in the city. Moreover, the main roads in and out of Yiwu County in Yi Zhou were made of concrete. The roads were easy to clean and easy to pass through. The speed of travel was very fast.
It was easy for the horse carriage to travel on the roads.
Du Qi sat in the horse carriage and looked at the current Yiwu County with a smile on his face. Because the current Yiwu County was quite clean and had been adjusted everywhere, the overall look was quite good.
Du Qi lifted the curtains of the horse carriage and looked outside. Other than the concrete roads, it was still a vast expanse of white.
In the sky, there were heavy snowflakes drifting down.
The ground was made of concrete and the snow melted quickly after it landed on the ground. Moreover, even if there was some snow, the roads in the city would be cleaned every once in a while. There was no need to worry about snow blocking the roads.
"Ha! Ha! "
At this moment, Du Qi suddenly heard shouts. He was curious and looked through the curtains of the horse carriage. He saw that there were about a hundred people on the road in front of him. They were rushing in an orderly manner.
The clothes of these people were very ordinary. Some of them were even wearing thin clothes. Moreover, this group of people had white hair. They were at least forty or fifty years old.
In their hands, each of them held a broom.
Du Qi was a little surprised by this scene.
What kind of formation was this?
Especially a group of old people carrying brooms, walking in an orderly manner in the cold weather. Moreover, some of them were not wearing thick clothes. The snow danced in the sky and the cold wind blew. A group of old people was hurrying on their way.
Du Qi said, "Stop the horse carriage!"
When the coachman heard this, he immediately tightened the reins. The horse carriage stopped and did not continue on its way.
Liu Jian said, "Young Master, what's the matter?"
He was sitting on the shaft of the horse carriage.
As for Mordor, he was riding a horse and was not sitting on the shaft of the horse carriage.
Du Qi said, "Liu Jian, why don't you go and ask these old people what they're doing? They're marching in an orderly manner. It's very strange for a group of people to walk on the official road in the cold weather. Remember, don't reveal your identity. Understand it first. "
"Yes!"
Liu Jian immediately jumped down from the horse carriage.
He hurriedly walked forward.
Liu Jian did not ask the old man. Instead, he went straight to the front and saw the leader. The leader was an old man about fifty years old. His body was quite strong and his clothes were slightly thicker.
Liu Jian went forward to chat with him to understand the situation. Fortunately, the leader was kind and said with a smile, "We are all street sweepers. We are in charge of the streets in the city. Because the higher-ups have arranged for us to be disciplined. The higher-ups want us to have the spirit and discipline of a soldier. Therefore, they want us to line up and walk in the city in the cold weather. "
When Liu Jian heard this, he was stunned.
He really did not understand why street sweepers had to be trained, disciplined, and have the spirit of a soldier.
Liu Jian said, "Old man, you people are only responsible for cleaning the streets. You don't go to the battlefield and don't care about anything else. Why do they want us to have the spirit of a soldier? What kind of logic is that? "
The old man in the lead smiled helplessly and said, "How would we know? Anyway, we are all about fifty years old. We can't do things quickly and can't farm. "
"Now that the government is willing to let us work and give us a chance to earn money, this is a great gift."
"Although the salary is very low, at least we can earn money to support the family. Not to support the family, at least we can subsidize the family. It's also very good to be able to earn money at this age. "
Liu Jian said, "As for the training, since there's nothing to do, let's just train. After all, we are paid every month."
Liu Jian frowned when he heard this.
He really did not understand.
Liu Jian asked, "How long do you have to train like this every day?"
The old man said, "About two hours. It's the time to walk around the city. Anyway, we have nothing to do now. If we want to walk around, we'll just walk around. "
Liu Jian shook his head and did not ask any more questions. He turned around and left. He returned to the shaft of the carriage and immediately said, "Young Master, I've found out."
Du Qi said, "What's the situation?"
Liu Jian reported, "Young Master, the identity of this group of people is responsible for sweeping the streets. They are now training on the streets. According to the old man, the reason why they are training is because the officials above said that they need to be disciplined, and they need to have the discipline of a soldier. That's why they have to train like this. "
Du Qi asked, "How long do they train for?"
Liu Jian said, "About two hours. They have to walk around the city."
Du Qi frowned, and a trace of anger appeared on his face. The government recruited these old people to do things in order to give them a chance to earn some money.
This matter was to let the people live a better life, not to add more trouble to the people.
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