Zhuge Liang also has a temper. After being criticized by his sister for being a "disregarding housework", he certainly had to prove himself.
The task of unpacking the pile of strange things brought by his elder brother fell on him.
Zhuge Liang called his third brother, and they slowly sorted through the list together. When they encountered something they didn't understand, they had to look at the "instruction manual" or "schematic diagram."
"Mung beans were bought locally in Xiangyang, coix was bought from Changsha merchants on Lingnan Road, wolfberry was bought from Lingling County merchants on Qianzhong Road, and walnuts were introduced from the Western Regions during this dynasty, but now there are many in the Central Plains. Any land can be planted, and as long as you have money, you can buy it from a mediocre businessman..."
Zhuge Liang first counted all the food that his eldest brother asked people to buy, and wrote down the purchasing locations one by one, so that he could restock after eating.
Brother's list also mentioned some health-preserving foods, but they are not in stock, mainly because fresh food is not convenient for long-distance transportation.
This requires you to catch it yourself using the tools pointed out by the elder brother. It can also be regarded as "it is better to teach a man to fish than to teach him to fish."
Zhuge Liang followed the list and found a "longline fishing" fishing tackle from a pile of boxes. It also attached drawings and instructions on how to use it. With Zhuge Liang's cleverness, he quickly saw that this thing could effectively catch big fish that sank to the bottom. , mainly bass and mandarin fish.
However, the elder brother also said in the letter that this "longline fishing" was just something he had just figured out. It is just a rough prototype now and can be continuously improved in the future.
After Zhuge Liang took a look at it, he also felt that the weight setting depth of this thing was not accurate. He could discuss it with the Huang family's wife and tinker with something more efficient.
"Yes, in this way, if the big brother said that we can eat fresh fish every day, it will be achieved. In the afternoon, we can go to the tributary of the Han River behind the village to try it. Only after using it will we know how to improve it."
And Zhuge Jin obviously had more than one tool for "teaching people how to fish".
Zhuge Liang continued to rummage in the box, and soon found several other tools.
He first picked up two of the farm tools, which seemed to be a set.
The first item is an L-shaped sickle with a long handle. According to the description, it is used to harvest crops and vegetables without bending. After the handle is lengthened and curved, it can be used to sweep a large area while standing, just like swinging a sword.
"Jiju" in the Han Dynasty was the polo of later generations, and the clubs were similar to golf. Of course Zhuge Liang had never seen golf, so he could only imagine it as a polo club.
There is also a net bag behind the sickle blade, which can hold the cut crops and sweep them aside at once. Because the pole is longer, the attack range of each swing of the knife is several times larger, and the production efficiency is greatly increased.
Zhuge Liang was also very skilled in craftsmanship. When he saw this sickle, he always felt that it seemed too easy: If this thing can really improve the efficiency so much, why didn't the ancients think of making a long crank sickle? This direction of improvement should be easy to think of.
It was already October, and the rice harvest had long been finished, but there were still some leeks outside the yard. Zhuge Liang decided to try it himself.
"Cha-cha-cha-" Zhuge Liang harvested two fields and immediately discovered the problem.
"No, the environment this thing is applicable to is too harsh. Normally when cutting rice and wheat, you need to hold the stalks with one hand and harvest with the other to prevent them from falling over. Although this knife is sharp, it can only replace the hand holding the knife, not the hand holding it. The hand that holds the straw.”
Obviously, this kind of sickle was completely created by Zhuge Jin. Before he traveled through time, he saw a few Douyin videos about rural areas and farmers. When he saw that a long cranked sickle could protect his waist, he copied one directly. Zhuge Jin had never farmed before, so he made a fool of himself.
He did not know that the crops of later generations have been repeatedly bred and enhanced in terms of resistance to lodging, and wheat straw is particularly strong. Coupled with the powerful metallurgical industry in later generations, the blade of the sickle can be made very sharp, and it can cut off the stem as soon as it touches the stem without using hands.
The crops of the Han Dynasty were not strong enough to resist lodging, and the blade of the sickle was not sharp enough. So when Zhuge Liang tried his hand with leeks, the leeks were swept flat.
In the end, you have to bend down and use your other hand to lift the leeks and cut them. The so-called "reduce the bending time and protect the waist" becomes empty talk.
"My eldest brother still doesn't do farming. It's all based on fantasy. But this idea is not bad. At least there is a net behind the crank to catch the cut crops. If we improve it in other aspects, it might be useful."
Then he continued to look at the next farm tool - it was a tool shaped like a large wooden scissors, used to dig holes in the ground for planting.
There is also a gap at the end of the scissors handle for tying a rope, which can control the maximum opening and closing distance, so that the distance between holes dug in the ground can be consistent every time.
There is also a small bucket for seeds on the handle, which can leak out a few seeds each time it is opened and closed. The amount of seeds is also more even and economical.
There is no doubt that this thing is also a three-legged cat thing that Zhuge Jin created as a layman before he time traveled through Douyin.
However, Zhuge Liang still verified it again with a pragmatic mentality and found that this thing was indeed better than the previous sickle.
At least it does protect the waist and allows for more precise sowing. It’s just that there are still too few application scenarios, and many crops sown extensively cannot be used.
It is said that these new tools can be used to conduct some breeding research experiments in conjunction with the "Principles of Farming and Animal Husbandry Life" in volumes 12 to 14 of the family letter.
…
Zhuge Liang looked at several tools and tried out his eldest brother's practical and ingenious skills.
It seems that the eldest brother also has weaknesses!
There were a few small tools in the box at the end, which had nothing to do with production and were purely for household use. Zhuge Liang glanced at them and read them:
Among them is a new-style small iron stove, which is much easier to make a fire than a large earthen stove. It also saves fuel, is suitable for long-term stewing, and is easy to carry.
With this stove, they can follow their elder brother's instructions and eat small meals frequently every day, and when drinking water, they must cook it before letting it cool.
There is also a special oil lamp. The instruction manual says that its wick is particularly resistant to burning and must be used with the "cow ghee" that is delivered with it. This oil is said to be expensive and rare, but it can ensure eye protection when reading at night.
Zhuge Jin also specifically mentioned in the letter that if you can read and study during the day, you should try your best to rest early during the day and at night.
Do not read in direct sunlight during the day, but it is best to read in a bright place near a window. If it's dark, you must light the butter lamp in time, and never wait until it's too dark to see.
He also said that this was a good prescription for protecting young people's eyesight that he got from a famous doctor, and asked the two younger sisters to keep an eye on the younger brother and must follow it.
Cow ghee is made from a mixture of butter and milk oil. Among biological fats, the brightness is about the same as that of whale oil.
But it was difficult for the Han Dynasty to hunt whales, and there were no kerosene lamps.
Zhuge Jin was able to recall this recipe because he was dragged to Lingyin Temple by some superstitious colleagues in his previous life. When he saw that one of the lamps donated by them lit up very brightly, he learned that this kind of sesame oil was called cow ghee.
Now that there is no other way, I will use this first.
At the end of the list, there are several protective gears for body training, used to protect the joints, made of certain elastic leathers or even animal stomach pouches, which can be used in conjunction with the fitness and gymnastics methods in the last volume of the family letter.
…
Zhuge Liang unpacked everything his eldest brother gave him and learned how to use it.
Then we singled out those that clearly had problems and still needed to be improved.
I'm going to think about it myself when I have time. When the Huang family's wife comes to visit, we can go over the details together.
In any case, at least 70% to 80% of the things given by the eldest brother can be used directly. This made Zhuge Liang feel great warmth, but also very stressful.
If the elders in the family pay too much attention to his studies, the person being served will definitely feel psychological pressure.
Just like many good students in later generations, their families will tell them, "You don't have to worry about anything else, just study. If you still can't read well, who can you afford?"
Fortunately, Zhuge Jin did not set learning goals for his second brother.
Zhuge Liang is still completely independent on the issue of "what to learn" based on his personal interests.
If you learn something you like and are interested in, the pressure will not be so great.
After adjusting his mentality, Zhuge Liang finally embarked on the road of self-study steadily.
Sima Hui and other Xiangyang celebrities should go there. Zhuge Liang has not yet finished learning the traditional knowledge of various schools of thought. It is always beneficial to communicate with people and verify the results.
So he calculated and set aside two hours every day to study the scroll theory knowledge provided by his elder brother.
Set aside another hour for fishing, animal husbandry, various farming and breeding experiments, or practicing craftsmanship.
The rest of the time was spent visiting and discussing, continuing old learning, and exercising and cultivating the mind.
In this way, the whole day's schedule is quite full.
Zhuge Liang estimated that if he only studied the scrolls for two hours a day, it might take ten or eight days to understand the difficult scrolls, and five or six days for the simple ones. Brother, if you go quickly, it will take him two months to learn these things, if you go slowly, it will take him until the end of the year.
…
Zhuge Liang arranged the rhythm based on his own interests and plans, and there is no need to elaborate on the more than two months of hard training that followed.
Time has quietly arrived in mid-October.
About a week after Zhuge Liang began to study hard, his eldest brother Zhuge Jin finally, under the protection of Chen Dao and accompanied by Chen Deng, successfully arrived in Xu County, now the temporary capital of the Han Dynasty.
It was the first time in Zhuge Jin's life that he came to the capital of the Han Dynasty, so curiosity was inevitable.
But he also knew the priorities, so after entering the city, he went to the bus door first, and Chen Deng and Chen Deng each handed in the stamps of the states and counties they represented, and then they were free to move around, leaving people in the posthouse to wait for summons.
The court is very busy, and local states and counties will not deal with the matter immediately.
You have to go to the bus gate to deliver your application, then queue up, and wait for the chancellor's desk to process it in order and decide whether to receive it or give it a direct reply. I heard that it takes at least three to five working days.
Theoretically speaking, if Cao Cao or Xun Yu did not intend to meet with them and directly gave a written reply, then Zhuge Jin and Chen Deng would have to go back to Xuzhou directly with the reply letter in despair.
Zhuge Jin got bored waiting for the notification, so he planned to visit Xu County for a few days.
