When Zheng Haizhu walked into the yard, Han Ximeng's second aunt Qian was leading everyone to stand in front of two completely different spinning machines.
The Qian family was born into a landowner's family in the cotton fields of Songjiang. After marrying Han Zhongwen, the Qian family's cotton was mainly supplied to the Han family, who spun, dyed and weaved the yarn.
Therefore, Qian always treated Han Ximeng as her daughter. Since she was familiar with cotton spinning, she came over to take a look when she heard that Dong Erya and Miss Zheng asked the Han family for help and asked spinners to come to Chongming to work on new machines. .
Qian and two spinners brought a three-spindle pedal spinning machine.
It was a machine that had been used in the Susong area for three to four hundred years and was passed down by Huang Daopo.
Southern Zhili originally used single-spindle spinning machines.
After Huang Daopo learned more advanced weaving techniques from Li women in Hainan, he made an analogy and improved the three-spindle spinning machine used to spin silk and linen in the Jiangnan area, so that the three-spindle machine could also spin cotton. The efficiency has increased three to four times, keeping up with the demand for raw materials for weaving.
The British Jenny Spinning Machine has eight spindles since its inception. Although the fineness of the yarn may not be as fine as Chinese cotton thread, the efficiency is indeed higher.
After Zheng Haizhu came to the late Ming Dynasty, he was in Songjiang Mansion, known as "the world of clothes and quilts". After witnessing the processing and sales of cotton textile industry, he wondered why China, which has many skilled craftsmen, did not give birth to jenny machines before the West?
Because there is no need.
The late Ming Dynasty did not expand maritime colonization and dump cheap goods like other European countries at the same period.
The volume of the imperial court's foreign trade was very limited, and the demand for silk cloth in the internal circulation was not hungry. Neither the political dictatorship nor the economic situation could stimulate the leapfrog development of textile productivity.
In China's territory of the late Ming Dynasty, which was enjoying a demographic dividend, the three-spindle spinning machine invented by Huang Daopo could already meet the supply of yarn for weaving. There was no need for weavers to wait for spinners, and "three spindles became eight spindles." Where does the motivation come from?
Tang Po’s grandmother, a Guangxi woman who could only manage her life within the radius of her official husband’s activities, must have had nothing to do with the stimulation of capital to develop multi-spindle spinning machines.
Perhaps because of this, her works progressed very slowly and stopped with the passing of her life. They were abandoned in the corner of her home, covered with cobwebs and dust, until they were surprised to be discovered by a traveler.
But Zheng Haizhu, who understood Mrs. Tang's thoughts, had no ability to continue the deceased's works.
No matter how hard she tried to recall the illustration of "Jenny's Loom" in her middle school textbook, she still couldn't figure out how to use one wheel to drive several vertical spindles.
Han Ximeng and Fan Polu circled the loom for several days. They were inspired by the silk-splitting technique of embroidery and the flying stitches of sewing. Under the upright roving spindles, an equal number of cotton yarn rotors were arranged correspondingly. , in the middle is the horizontal axis that collects the finished fine yarns, and the wooden wheel located behind the spindles in Huang Daopo's "three-spindle spinning machine" is moved to the side.
After the second aunt Qian and the spinning woman arrived, the most critical part was figured out by these women - the wooden frame and the wooden pole.
"Miss Zheng," Mrs. Qian said to Zheng Haizhu, holding a long branch that Dong Erya picked up from outside, "if there is a wooden frame with grooves on the poles on both sides, this branch is like a The sliding rod that can be pushed and pulled back and forth in the slot is used to strangle the seven or eight juxtaposed yarns. By arranging a few more wooden lattice rods from top to bottom, cotton yarns, roving yarns, and fine yarns can all be connected. When the wooden wheel is shaken, the cotton yarn is spun into fine yarn through the roving spindle, and pushing the slider back and forth is like having several three-spindle spinning wheels spinning out fine yarn at the same time.”
Ah, after listening to Qian's instructions, Zheng Haizhu finally understood how the entire transmission device should work.
But Qian quickly frowned: "However, this modification is several times larger than the three-spindle pedal spinning machine we Songjiang people usually use, and the power required is much stronger. If the wooden wheel is If you use cotton thread to connect the hook, I'm afraid if you shake it for half an hour, the thread will break."
After Mrs. Qian finished speaking, she heard someone outside the door say: "Several masters...several grandmas, I think you can use beef tendons to wrap around large and small wooden wheels."
Qian and Han Ximeng looked back and saw a man of medium height and short moustache standing next to the Liao girl Hua Er outside the door, bowing and talking.
Because of this humble attitude, Qian saw at a glance the center of the man's head, which had just grown new hair and could not even be combed into a bun, under the coarse cloth turban.
After Qian came to the island yesterday, she heard Han Ximeng say that the Liao people recruited by Zheng Haizhu to farm and serve as soldiers were all Han Chinese who had escaped from the Jurchens outside Kuandian Pass. When Hou Jin enslaved them, he ordered them to shave their heads like Jurchens, as smooth as a melon, leaving only a lock of hair the size of a copper coin on the back of their heads, formed into thin braids.
At this moment, Mrs. Qian saw the appearance of the man outside the door and asked Zheng Haizhu: "Is this young man from your village?"
Zheng Haizhu nodded and said: "His name is Ashan. Since he has some carpentry skills, I will bring him here to see him today."
Ah Shan was the one who cried in front of the hut and fields and complained that Houjin had killed people. When he first landed on the island, he looked thinner than the wild dogs on the road. In the past two months, he had gained some weight and his eyes had begun to look brighter. But He still habitually bows his waist when speaking, and has not completely gotten rid of his habit of saying "Master, Master" when he opens his mouth.
Mrs. Qian looked around the courtyard and saw that they were all women. Even if Fan Polu hadn't left the cabinet yet, the little girl was still the female steward in charge of many male sewing workers.
Qian then greeted Ah Shan kindly: "Come in, take a look at these wooden wheels, and give us careful advice."
Ah Shan hurriedly crossed the threshold and walked to the eight-spindle spinning machine. He stretched out his hand and turned the wooden wheel. He used his thumb to indicate the width of the big and small hubs, and then pulled the thread on the wheel of the traditional three-spindle spinning machine.
Han Ximeng is good at embroidery, and he usually pays attention to the details. Wherever he looked, he saw that Ah Shan's left thumb was particularly thick and had a thick callus. Looking at the rest of his movements, he clearly used his right hand.
Han Ximeng was curious. This carpenter was not left-handed. Logically speaking, his left hand was not as powerful as his right hand. Why was the thumb of his left hand like this? Is there any work in the carpentry profession that relies on the left hand to exert force?
Just listen to Zheng Haizhu say: "Ah Shan, you carpenters, want to peel off the tendon of beef?"
The tone was very calm, even with a hint of tenderness, hoping that this descendant would not have to be nervous to reply.
Ashan took a few steps back, still not daring to look at the dazzling women in front of him. He lowered his eyelids and said, "To Madam, the Jurchens like to use big bows. To make a big bow requires deer sinews. They often let us Do this job. When you get to Nanzhili, there are more cows than deer, so you can try beef tendons for the smaller ones."
Qian looked at Ashan, then at Hua Er, who was repairing the mule cart outside the door, and looked at Zheng Haizhu: "These people you recruited are not only honest about their duties, but also have their own abilities. They are really good."
Zheng Haizhu looked at Ashan and said with a smile: "Just as you said, tie it up with beef tendons and see if it can move. If it is done, it will be the same as building a gun carriage. I will give you a reward."
