After an episode, Han Du and An Qing walked into his own machinery workshop.
As they walked, Sun Xian introduced: "According to Master Han's instructions, the entire machinery workshop only uses about one-third of the land. The other land is temporarily reserved for later use."
Han Du nodded, this was indeed what he had explained. Sun Xian was able to execute it to the letter, which made Han Du very satisfied.
An Qing also came in for the first time. Although she was the mistress of the machinery workshop, she had never been here before. So many properties of the Han family are managed by the shopkeepers below, and Anqing only carries out calculations at the end of each year. Even in the calculations of various shopkeepers, she would not personally participate. Instead, someone from her family would be responsible, and they would just take out the general ledger and teach her to check it.
"This workshop is so big!" An Qing looked at the spacious site, with three rows of houses on the left and front.
Sun Xian led Han Du to a row of houses on the right, pointed and said: "Master Han, this is where we stack various materials. If Master Han wants to go in and take a look, please open the door now."
Han Du waved his hand, "Forget it, what's interesting about a pile of materials? Let's go to the workshop."
"Yes, Master Han, Your Highness the Princess, please come this way." Sun Xian bowed slightly.
Sun Xian took Han Du to the middle house. Before he got close, he heard a crackling noise. Sun Xian stepped forward, opened the door, and walked in first.
The moment Sun Xian opened the door, Han Du suddenly saw the heads inside shaking. A dozen people are surrounding a huge mass of steel and are assembling it.
"Ah!" An Qing's eyes widened in surprise and he asked in confusion: "What is this and what are they doing?"
Handu smiled and explained: "This is a steam engine, they are assembling it."
An Qing looked at the big guy in front of him curiously and hid behind Han Du, afraid to step forward.
Seeing Sun Xian come in, someone immediately came to greet him. The moment he saw Han Du, his eyes widened immediately, he smiled and bowed to greet: "Meet Master Han!"
Then he greeted Sun Xian, "Mr. Sun is here."
Sun Xian nodded, then turned back to Han Du and explained: "This is our apprentice. His name is Xue Dafang, and he is also a student of the academy. Because he likes machinery, after completing his studies in the academy, he did not want to be an official, so he followed us Come to the mechanical workshop."
Han Du looked at Xue Dafang with a smile and asked: "What kind of fame do you have, why don't you want to be a minister?"
Xue Dafang laughed and said: "Jinshi. If you enter the academy and don't even have the title of Jinshi, wouldn't it make Master Han lose face?"
Handu is very welcoming to people who truly love machinery. What are the benefits of being an official? Especially if you were an official under Lao Zhu, you might wake up that morning and your captors would be in front of your bed.
If this machinery workshop wants to develop and grow, it absolutely needs talents who like machinery. Especially people like Xue Dafang, who completed their studies in the academy and recognized their talents.
"Okay, since you like machinery, then do it well. Don't worry, I won't treat you badly."
Seeing that Han Du was not angry, Sun Xian secretly let out a sigh of relief. He coughed twice and said tentatively with some embarrassment: "Um, Master Han..."
"Huh?" Han Du turned to look at Sun Xian, who looked constipated, and frowned suddenly, "If you have something to say, you have to fart."
"Master Han also knows that our apprentices all like machinery after all. So..." Sun Xian was a little embarrassed to speak.
"So what happened?" Han Du looked at Sun Xian curiously.
"So, we brought them all to the academy. Maybe there are a little too many people..." The more Sun Xian said, the more he could not go on. Although this machinery workshop has 10% of his shares, it is still a Handu's.
He rushed people in like this, which seemed to overwhelm the guests.
Han Du laughed suddenly, patted Sun Xian on the shoulder and said, "What are you afraid of? You can get as much as you want. If you can bring all your land, I will give you a reward."
"Is Master Han telling the truth?" Sun Xian was overjoyed. He had never expected that Han Du would have such an attitude. If he had known earlier, he would have brought in the other disciples.
"How many of your apprentices are there in this workshop?" Han Du asked with a smile.
Sun Xian quickly replied: "Sixteen."
Han Du frowned and muttered: "Only sixteen, so few?"
Sun Xian felt relaxed after hearing Han Du's words. Since sixteen is still too few, it at least means that what Han Du just said is the truth. After thinking for a moment, Sun Xian's face darkened and he added, "However, the salary we give them is a bit high..."
Han Du looked up at Sun Xian.
Sun Xian gritted his teeth, stretched out a palm, turned to Han Du, and said: "The monthly salary is ten thousand dollars. We also thought that if they became officials, they would definitely be able to earn such a monthly salary in the future, so we made our own plans. I advocate giving them this amount."
Sun Xian was a little worried that Han Du would be unhappy, and his voice became smaller and smaller.
Han Du immediately sneered and said, "It's only ten guans, how does it count?"
"Ah?" Sun Xian didn't react for a while and asked again blankly, "Master Han agreed?"
Han Du shook his head and waved his hands.
Sun Xian's heart suddenly sank, thinking that Han Du disagreed. Come to think of it, the craftsmen hired by the workshop only do two or three jobs a month. Although each of his apprentices had about ten craftsmen working with him, the monthly salary of ten guans was too high.
"From now on, everyone's monthly salary will be increased by ten guans." Han Du made a sudden decision with a wave of his hand.
"This..." Sun Xian didn't know what to say, and quickly bowed to Han Du, "Thank you, Master Han."
"Thank you Master Han!" Xue Dafang also bowed down with excitement. After all, with just one sentence from Han Du, his monthly salary was doubled, so how could he be unhappy?
The monthly salary is 20 guan, which means 240 guan in one year and 2,400 guan in ten years. With this money, you can buy an ordinary house in the outer city. How could Xue Dafang not be excited?
Ten years, it’s only ten years. You know, even among the officials in the capital, the vast majority of them have been officials for a lifetime, and it is impossible to buy a house in the capital.
Han Du stretched out his hand to help Sun Xian up, "No need to thank me, they earned it by their own ability."
"You get up too."
Anqing may have gotten used to the huge thing in front of him and started to dare to reach out and touch it. His hands were slightly cold, and An Qing immediately retracted his hands.
"Husband, what is the use of this thing?"
Han Du burst out laughing, and Sun Xian and Xue Dafang also smiled in agreement.
Han Du stepped forward, patted the steam engine with his palm a few times, and sighed and said: "This is the crystallization of the wisdom of many people in the academy. This is called a steam engine." Add water to it, and then burn charcoal below, and it will produce a steady stream of powerful power. This power is a hundred times or a thousand times that of a human being, or even more. "
"Really? So magical?" An Qing was a little confused and a little excited.
Han Du then recalled that he seemed to have never explained to An Qing what a steam engine was. He smiled dryly, coughed twice, and said, "Of course it's true."
Sun Xian also interrupted at the right time and said: "Your Highness, every steam engine that is manufactured will be tested to see if it is suitable for use and if there are any problems before leaving the workshop. If Your Highness wants to see it, I can take the Princess to see it." Your Highness, come over and see how these steam engines work."
"Is this okay?" An Qing's last question was asked by Chao Handu.
She looked at him with hope, and An Qing grabbed her hard on her arm. Can Han Du still say the word "no"?
He nodded and said with a smile: "Of course, let's go now."
Sun Xian immediately smiled and stretched out his hand to take Han Du and Princess Anqing to another house.
The steam engines here are being tested. Each one is filled with water and boiled. There are people around holding a wooden board with paper on it. These people all hold charcoal pens in their hands and are constantly recording something. Even when Sun Xian and Han Du came in, they just nodded slightly towards them as a greeting.
An Qing looked at the steel monster in front of her. It was constantly spitting out white mist and making dull roars, which made her feel uncomfortable.
Looking at the steam engine that is constantly moving back and forth, a thick flywheel is driven very fast by it. An Qing asked in great surprise: "This, this thing can really move on its own."
"Of course, if it couldn't be moved, your father wouldn't have spent thousands of dollars to buy one for me." Han Du said with a proud smile.
Then I felt like I was wrapped in a wave of hot air, as if I was in a sauna. He quickly said: "It's too hot here, let's push it out first."
An Qing nodded, it was indeed very hot here. She had only been in for a moment when she felt a little sweaty.
When he came outside the house, Han Du suddenly let out a long stream of hot breath. He turned back to Sun Xian and asked: "I remember I told you before I went to sea, in addition to steam engines, our workshop also needs to make spinning machines? How come I don't see a single spinning machine? They are all steam engines?"
Sun Xian had a wry smile on his face when he heard this.
Han Du immediately frowned and asked in a deep voice: "What's wrong? What happened?"
Seeing Han Du's pressing questions, Sun Xian had no choice but to explain: "The structure of the spinning machine is too simple. If it is not carefully taken apart by someone, others may not be able to make it out of thin air, but as long as one can carefully disassemble it, After looking at it once, a skilled craftsman can easily make one exactly the same.
"Wait a minute, what do you mean?" Han Du narrowed his eyes and asked seriously: "You mean, someone dares to imitate our spinning machine? Who has such courage? Yet?"
Although the spinning machine is not as profitable as the steam engine, it is still a hen that lays golden eggs. Someone actually dared to intervene and cut off his own financial path. This does not mean that I am the Marquis of Zhenhai...well...although I am no longer the prince, I am still the prince-in-law.
How dare someone not take his consort in the eyes? Who is so arrogant?
