Emancipation from slavery has always been a simple but not easy matter. If he was like Xiren, who sold himself into the government at a young age, all he had to do was spend money to redeem the private deed.
For a domestic slave like the Lai family, it was not enough to redeem him with money. He also had to be lenient by his master and go to the Ministry of Household Affairs to change his slave status.
Lai Sheng was naturally overjoyed to have this opportunity. As long as he could get his freedom, there was no regret in losing his entire family. According to this rule passed down from ancient times, everything owned by a slave in the house belongs to the master, but few people take the slave's body away from him.
The traditional punishment was to resell it or send it to a farm to farm.
Uncle Rong's approach is already extremely generous. Lai Sheng also laughed in his heart. Most of the money he earned from the mansion over the years had already been transferred to Lai's garden, not in Ningguo's mansion.
It's just that he can think of this, but Uncle Rong can't think of this?
After thinking about it, Lai Sheng said helplessly: "Thank you for your kindness, uncle. I am willing to go to Heishan Village."
He still didn't dare to gamble. He was afraid that although Uncle Rong would let him go free, he would find a reason to go to Lai's Garden to demand the debt. With Uncle Rong's temperament, such a thing is likely to happen. If you don't protect everything, you will end up being accused of stealing and corruption at the owner's house, resulting in the loss of both your personal property and property.
Brother Rong gave a strange laugh and said, "I am much more knowledgeable than your nephew. After all, he is the manager of the house and he knows what is good and bad. Tomorrow I will go to Lai's Garden to spread the word and talk to your nephew. Since Don't wait until you get an official position, just be a rich man and it doesn't matter how you mess around in Lai's garden."
Lai Sheng suddenly raised his head, with a look of fear on his face. Uncle Rong wanted to ruin Lai Shangrong's future. He kowtowed and said, "Please forgive me. It's hard for the Lai family to produce a promising brother. Please forgive him this time."
Jia Rong said: "There is a future? Where is the future? With his temperament of reaching out for money, he really wants to be a county magistrate, and he will not be able to feed the common people? Tomorrow I will personally talk to the two princes of Xifu to see who will give Lai Shangrong Go through the door. It is difficult to be promoted to an official position, but it is very easy to prevent a person from becoming an official."
Uncle Rong said leisurely: "His future was ruined by himself. It has nothing to do with anyone! How can our Jia family push this mover out? It will harm the reputation of the Jia family."
Lai Sheng's heart ached. Over the years, he and his eldest brother had tried their best in both houses to provide Lai Shangrong with opportunities. Even Grandma Lai and everyone in the two houses are trying to please the masters, old and young.
The Lai family was neither an official nor a businessman, but they had a village and a garden at home, and dozens or hundreds of maids, wives, and servants were invited to serve Lai Shangrong. Where did all this money come from? It's not just the rewards that the two generations of Lai family elders received from the two mansions, naturally Tan Mo is also indispensable among them.
Now it's all in vain.
Lai Sheng feels miserable!
But Uncle Rong didn't look at his sad look and said coldly: "Stop kneeling and do whatever you need to do."
In this way, Lai Sheng left in despair.
Uncle Rong sighed, "Today's tea is a little weak."
Not long after, Lai Sheng left and came back with sadness on his face. He said: "Master Qin, Second Master Qiang and the craftsman Zong Cheng are here."
"Prepare good tea and invite them to the study." Brother Rong smiled again and quickly ordered Lai Sheng, "Prepare all the fruits sent from the south yesterday and send them to the study one by one."
Qin Ye and Jia Qiang always have good news when they come here.
Jia Rong quickly went back to the yard and changed clothes before going over.
"Why did the master bring them here today?" Rong brother saw Qin Ye who was getting better and better in the study, and asked again: "Why did the Jing Qing come here with him?"
Qin Ye said: "There must be a manager in the kiln."
"I was thinking of sending someone to deliver some rare fruits to the village tomorrow, but I never thought that the master and Brother Qiang would come first." Brother Rong smiled and called out again, asking the maids to come in with fruits.
"This was brought by the Xue family's fleet from Lingnan yesterday. It's called Fanlouzi, also known as Polo. Ordinary people can't eat it in Shenjing, so the Xue family's supervisor in Lingnan specially rushed it to deliver it. , so I stopped a few on the way. Everyone, try them!"
"Sour!" Brother Qiang picked a piece and put it in his mouth. After taking a bite, he almost threw it away.
"That's the smell!" Uncle Rong said with a smile, "You guys came in a hurry and didn't prepare in advance. If you soak it in salt water for a while in advance, it will taste better. The Xue family's merchant ship traveled over the sea for more than ten days to bring this Yes, I’ll bring two back later so that Jingqing and Brother Yun can all have a taste.”
After hearing this, Qin Ye quietly put down the piece he was holding and said, "Then let's talk about the matter first, and then take a closer look at this thing."
Zong Cheng also nodded, took out a scroll of paintings from his arms, and spread it on the long table.
"This is?"
Brother Rong looked at the toys in the painting and felt strange. He didn't recognize what they were for a long time.
Zong Cheng smiled shyly, "I drew it by myself in my spare time. It's a tool used to grind cement clinker. I don't know if it's feasible. I was forced to come over by Master Ye and Second Master Qiang when they saw it."
Brother Rong asked: "What are these round things on the top?"
"They are iron balls." Zong Cheng replied, pointing to the small round fairway on the lower layer of the painting, "These are all iron balls, but they are different in size."
"iron ball?"
Brother Rong was stunned, why did this thing look familiar?
If you look at the drawing sideways...
This is a simple ball mill!
Jia Rong looked at Zong Cheng with a different look. Isn't this a genius? Can he even think of such a thing?
Zong Cheng's face showed the shyness of an old man, and said: "I don't know if it is feasible, but I just heard what the uncle said the other day, as long as the water power is enough, the power it can drive will be greater, so I came up with this thing blindly. Above. Put in lumps of clinker, and the bearing drives the millstone and the iron balls on it to crush the scraps.”
This idea is very good, but whether we can make this machine is the key. Even if it is possible, the money and materials consumed will definitely not be a small amount.
Brother Rong sighed in his heart, but didn't show it on his face. Thinking about how to face it, first of all, we must not dampen the enthusiasm of craftsmen like Zongcheng. Being able to draw a simple ball mill is already extraordinary.
Not only cannot they be attacked, but they must also be rewarded.
He smiled and said: "It's feasible. Brother Zongcheng's talent is really an eye-opener for me. When I was in the sky in the past, I saw something similar, but it was difficult to build it here. Instead, it was painted by Brother Zongcheng." What came out happened to be much simpler.”
Everyone was delighted when they heard this.
Qin Ye patted Zong Cheng on the shoulder and said with a smile, "It's possible if I told you earlier."
Brother Qiang whispered in Jia Rong's ear: "Master Qin accepted Zong as his disciple. The two of them have a close relationship in the village."
I see.
Brother Rong nodded slightly and asked Zong Cheng: "Brother Zong Cheng, do you have any calculations on how much silver is needed to make this thing? How much more clinker grinding output can be increased every day."
This question actually shocked Zong Cheng. He really hadn't thought about this. Although he drew the thing, he was worried about whether it would be feasible. Where do you think about the cost and output?
Seeing that Zong Cheng was speechless for a moment, Qin Ye took the initiative and said: "We don't need to build this object directly. We can use wood boards and stones to make a small toy study. Check first to see if there are any other problems. If there are no problems, then apply it. In the kiln factory."
Zong Cheng nodded shyly.
Brother Rong also laughed: "That's it. Let's test it with cheap stuff first. Once verified, we can use it for production. At the new factory, Brother Zong Cheng was not in a hurry to go there and researched this object. It is much better than the new factory in the past. Building a kiln is much more important.”
Zong Cheng heard that Uncle Rong also supported him, and his face turned red with excitement. He replied: "There are still ten days left, I will create him."
"There's no rush. It takes time to buy and open land for a new factory and build a kiln. Is it possible that you still can't trust the other craftsmen?" Brother Rong said with a smile, "Brother Zongcheng has experimented with this thing. I will give you a personal reward." Silver. But during this period, the water mill originally planned will continue to be built."
A few people chatted in some more details, and Brother Rong also told them the principle of the ball mill in his impression. Zongcheng is not required to restore a ball mill. Even a simple clinker grinding machine that can be put into use with slightly improved efficiency is an improvement.
Zong Cheng's eyes were opened today and he heard a lot of unfamiliar vocabulary.
Friction, centrifugal force, inertia, etc., are used by these inexplicable forces to cause the iron balls to crush the clinker, thereby achieving the effect of turning it into ash.
After a few people left Ningguo Mansion, Brother Qiang held a Polo in his hand and sighed.
"Although Brother Rong doesn't show much on weekdays, his talent is something I will never be able to catch up with."
Zong Cheng also said: "My talent is beyond the reach of ordinary people. But I long for the land of Lihentian, but there is so much knowledge in a small millstone."
Qin Ye snorted, "If you don't speak well, why should you learn to drop your book bag?"
Zong Cheng smiled coquettishly, stepped forward with a polo in his hands, and quickly invited Mr. Qin to get in the car.
"Master is here again today?" Qin Keqing asked.
"No, the master also has a disciple. It's just that he is a bit old, but his brain is flexible." Brother Rong smiled and sat on one of Ke Qing's legs. "In the future, you don't have to worry about Master Qin having no one to respect him in the village. Both Zong Cheng and Brother Qiang are very respectful to Master Qin."
Qin Keqing ate a piece of pineapple, still not satisfied, and said: "I don't know how such a fruit grows. Although it looks ugly, it tastes surprisingly good."
Brother Rong asked, "Don't you think it's sour? Mr. Qin and the others thought it was too sour when they ate it today. I persuaded him, so he reluctantly took two back so that Jing Qing could have a taste."
"It's not sour. The taste is just right!" Qin Keqing said with a smile, "I don't know what's going on in the past two days, but I always feel a little uncomfortable in my throat. This meal is to my liking and can suppress that feeling."
Brother Rong stood up hurriedly and asked, "Is it possible that I have a bad stomach? Tell Que'er to go outside and ask for an imperial doctor."
Seeing the uncle's nervous look, Qin Keqing smiled and said, "Where can I go to see a doctor this late at night? It's just a discomfort in my throat. There's nothing else wrong with me."
Brother Rong smiled, maybe he was too nervous.
"Go to bed early today and regain your energy. Maybe you will be fine tomorrow."
"Don't do bad things tonight." Qin Keqing smiled softly, with a gentle and charming look, which made Uncle Rong feel itchy.
The two just chatted about some interesting things that happened in the two houses today, but Qing was obviously sleepy, and Uncle Rong couldn't bear to quarrel with her. I had to hold him in my arms and fall asleep.
On the second day, Brother Rong came back from Shuili Yingtian Mansion.
Then he saw Lai Sheng leading someone waiting in the front hall.
"I've met Uncle Xiao Rong!" The man had a fat face and a round and blessed figure. He held his hands in greeting. When he smiles, he is kind. Just a pair of eyes with an elusive light.
Not like a serious person.
Brother Rong glanced at Lai Sheng and heard Lai Sheng say: "This is my brother from my brother's family, his scientific name is Shang Rong."
"Oh!" Uncle Rong gave this guy a meaningful look and said coldly: "Brother Lai is not enjoying himself in the garden, why are you here?"
Lai Shangrong's face darkened, and he lost his previous enthusiasm. He said, "It was my second uncle who called me here to clarify the misunderstanding with Uncle Xiao Rong a few days ago."
Jia Rong wondered: "Huh? Is there a misunderstanding? What misunderstanding? Why didn't I know?"
Seeing his nephew like this, Lai Sheng felt helpless and hummed: "Kneel down."
How could Lai Shangrong be willing to kneel down? He said indifferently: "He is a brother from the Ningguo Mansion. I am a brother from the Lai family, and I am not their servant. Why kneel to him? Since Uncle Xiao Rong said there was no misunderstanding, there is no need to explain."
"Then please." Uncle Rong waved his hand and went to the yard without looking back.
"..."
"Why are you so angry in front of him?" Lai Sheng scolded.
Lai Shangrong sneered with a cold face, "You are used to being slaves and kneeling down when you see your master. I am an innocent person, not a slave of the Jia family. If you hadn't forced me to come here, how would I want to come to them? Jia family."
"You..." Lai Sheng was so angry that he couldn't speak.
Lai Shangrong said coldly: "Let me kneel to him, and he is not afraid of shortening his life? We are the same generation as Xue Pan and Feng Ziying. If we really want to talk about him, he has to respectfully call me uncle. Whether we recognize him or not is another matter."
In the yard, Brother Rong listened to Que'er telling him about the conversation between Lai Sheng and Lai Shangrong, and was both laughing and crying for a moment.
A few more days passed.
Xue Pan is finally ready to go to Jiangnan.
Ningguo Mansion also divided a group of people. Qin Zhong and Jia Yun led several old craftsmen to accompany Xue Pan.
At Qinghe Pier, Jia Rong specifically asked Duan Yu to borrow half a day. Looking at Qin Zhong on the boat from a distance, he felt mixed emotions.
This kid can finally do something serious!
Although I did not continue to attend lectures in the free school, I still lived up to my intentions.
Brother Rong said: "Master, just go back."
Qin Ye next to him nodded, looking at the ships going away, but the corners of his eyes were moist.
It is said that their parents are not far away, Qin Ye is old and Qin Zhong is young, but they are separated because of this matter. Uncle Rong also felt a little sorry, but this was indeed the idea that Qin Ye and his son had discussed together.
Although Qin Ye wanted Qin Zhong to go to Ping'an Prefecture, he was still thinking about his young son.
Seeing this, Brother Qiang came over to help Qin Ye and said, "The thing Brother Zongcheng is studying has reached a critical moment. Master, please go back to the village first."
Brother Rong heard someone coming from behind and said, "It's too late to come here, why did this guy just leave?"
Looking back, it was Feng Ziying.
