The arrival of the county magistrate and his party caused a brief panic in the six-man team on the wasteland.
After all, they are a group of ruffians. Even if they consider themselves to be heroes who live in the world, they will still feel guilty and short of breath when facing people from the government, just like a mouse hanging its head when it sees a cat.
But when the county magistrate asked them if they volunteered to work here for Mrs. Mingxi because of the teachings and inspirations of the gods, an indescribable sense of pride surged in their chests!
At least within a hundred miles, apart from Mingxi, they were the only ones who had had close contact with the God of Joy! (Being beaten is of course considered intimate contact)
Not only that, in the future, every brick and tile of the ashram of the God of Joy will also be made by their hands. Thinking about it like this, how can you not be proud? Not excited?
Hu Tie and others held their chests high and accepted the magistrate's scrutiny openly.
Shen Shihang looked at them one by one and was secretly shocked. Such strong men could obey Mingxi's instructions. Either Mingxi promised a lot of money to win over people's hearts, or a miracle did happen here!
His eyes moved away from these strong men and fell on the wooden frame mold not far away. Unable to conceal his surprise, he turned to ask Ming Xi: "May I ask Mrs. Xi, is this the step you are talking about?"
Ming Xi nodded, "Yes, we grind and mix a kind of ash called cement ash. This ash is evenly mixed with sand and water, then mixed with gravel, and shaped together. It can be used to make steps, walls, or roads. It can also be repaired and the embankments can be built.”
Shen Shihang blurted out and asked: "What is it made of?"
Mingxi replied: "Use limestone, clay, and iron slag."
Shen Shihang: "???"
Just... just said it like that?
Why don't you hide such a precious formula? !
Shen Shihang couldn't help but ask: "How to match?"
Mingxi had no reservations: "About seven to two to one, only a little bit of scrap iron slag is enough."
Shen Shihang's face was full of astonishment, she actually said it again!
"Hasn't Mrs. Xi thought about keeping this important recipe privately?" Shen Shihang couldn't bear it anymore and said, "Maybe there is a rumor that selling it at a high price will definitely bring glory and wealth."
Mingxi chuckled and said calmly: "This recipe is very rough. If I want to exchange it for money, I'm afraid the gods will laugh at me."
Ming Xi looked at Hu Tie and said, "Follow the method I taught you yesterday and demonstrate it to the county magistrate."
Hu Tie nodded, mixed half of the sand into the cement ash that was ground today, poured a ladle of water, mixed it evenly with a shovel, and then called Shuanzi with a solemn expression.
The two cooperated with each other, one person filled the mold with cement, and the other filled the mold with gravel, and the mold was quickly filled.
After seeing the two of them doing this, Shen Shihang stood aside and it seemed that it was over?
"Is this enough?" He looked at the mud in the mold in disbelief, it was still slimy.
"Doesn't it need to be fired?" Shen Shihang asked Mingxi.
"No need." Ming Xi replied, "It only takes an hour or two for initial solidification, and two to three days for complete solidification. If the weather turns cold, the complete solidification time will need to be extended to four or five days. There are two pieces here that have already The cement steps that were left to dry overnight—"
She turned around and came to the hardened cement, bent down, patted the cement in the mold, and said, "Master Shen, you might as well try how hard it is."
Shen Shihang also walked over, bent down, stretched out his palm and slapped it seriously, then clenched his fist and beat it twice!
hand pain.
"Extremely hard, comparable to a rock." Shen Shihang silently retracted his red hand.
Ming Xi smiled and said: "If I can grind out finer plaster, the hardness can be improved by three points."
She walked to the stone mill, gently twisted a handful of the powder, and said, "If I could build a blast furnace, calcine the powder until it melts, and then grind it with iron powder, the hardness would be doubled. "
Shen Shihang already looked dumbfounded and didn't know what to say.
The piece of cement he slapped just now is as hard as a stone. He can't imagine what the effect would be if it were twice as hard and strong. If such a thing really existed in the world, wouldn't it be used for city defense... He would no longer be afraid of the enemy Army attacking the city? !
Ming Xi let go of her hand, and fine pieces of powder fell from her fingers. She said with some emotion: "If I can make steel bars and use them as a skeleton to embed cement, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to increase the hardness by ten or a hundred times. However, although the knowledge is in my mind, it is very difficult to actually implement it. Now I can only use this crudest method for the time being."
As she said that, she smiled at Shen Shihang, "So, even if the cement formula is leaked today, it's not a big deal. If it can be promoted to benefit the people, it can be considered a good thing."
Shen Shihang's heart beat faster and faster, and his blood surged. Because he was too excited, his face turned a strange red.
He has already thought of the various benefits of cement, and he can't imagine how much shock this will bring to the court! What a change it will bring to the entire country!
"Mrs. Xi...Xi," Shen Shihang swallowed, his throat was dry, "Please Madam, please give me this cement stone step. This is a serious matter, and I need to report it to the court after I return. For Madam's sake, Please take credit.”
"Ah?" Ming Xi was stunned, not expecting the other party to have such a request, "...Is it difficult to transport such a large piece of cement on the road? If Mr. Shen needs a sample, I can ask Hu Tie to make another smaller piece. .”
"No, no, no, just this one!" Shen Shihang couldn't wait any longer. If he made another small piece, wouldn't he have to wait another three days for it to solidify?
"I have no preparation today... let's do it tomorrow, just tomorrow!" Shen Shihang said firmly, "Tomorrow I will send someone to get the cement. Please prepare a separate copy of the cement ash that has not been mixed with sand. I am very grateful!"
"Master Shen, you're welcome." Ming Xi smiled, "Just come and pick it up tomorrow."
The excitement in Shen Shihang's heart was indescribable, and he just felt that today's trip was worthwhile! What a great harvest!
The success of cement comes in a thousand years, and he can't wait for a moment. He wishes he could immediately put on his wings and fly back to write a story full of emotion!
"Without further ado, I'll take my leave first and come back to bother you another day!"
Shen Shihang bowed deeply towards Ming Xi. If we say that the bow we made when we first arrived was a courtesy, then this salute when we left is a real thing! Sincerely!
Shen Shihang returned to the county town with his wife and children.
The family of three got on the carriage. On the way back, he was very excited and kept chanting: "Mrs. Xi is really a divine person! She is really a divine person, a divine person!"
Mrs. Shen covered her lips and smiled softly, "What did you say before? You have been uneasy at home all day long, for fear that the rumored lady Xi is a witch who pretends to be a witch. Thanking her will ruin your reputation, but you have to thank me for saving your life. You want to test the origin of the medicine again, so you came here in person, full of ideas and strategies, now it’s better, you can become a god with one mouthful, it seems that your husband has no worries anymore? "
Shen Shihang was a little embarrassed after hearing this, and said with a smile: "Mrs. Xi's magical powers are indeed incredible. After I go back, I will write to the magistrate to explain this matter. I'm afraid it will take a lot of words, so I plan to harden the cement dust and harden it. I sent the cement with the letter, and I hope the prefect can go up to Heaven as soon as possible after seeing it."
Mrs. Shen frowned slightly when she heard this, "Ms. Xi, do you want to tell the magistrate about Mrs. Xi?"
Shen Shihang nodded, "This is natural. I am the county magistrate. Even if I write a booklet, I still need to ask the prefect to submit it on my behalf."
The county magistrate's book was not qualified to be presented directly to the almighty emperor.
Mrs. Shen sighed softly and said, "Do you know, sir, what kind of person our Lord Prefect is?"
The excitement on Shen Shihang's face gradually faded, and his eyebrows wrinkled.
Since he came here to serve as an official, he naturally also inquired about the conduct of the prefect here. Frankly speaking, his reputation was not very good.
"There have been some rumors in the market, saying that he... likes to take credit for his work and take the credit of his subordinates as his own. However, there is no evidence for these rumors, so I don't know whether they are true or not." Shen Shihang said slowly and hesitantly.
Mrs. Shen said: "Since we don't know the truth or falsehood, my husband, do you want to make a bet? If the bet is right, my husband will naturally take credit for Mrs. Xi. But if the bet is wrong, what should my husband do?"
