Chapter 61 Waterwheel

[Recite the URL three times silently. Do you remember it? If not, I will ask again in the next chapter. It would be best if you share it on Facebook for me]

Just as he was lost in his reverie, the steward standing at the door called out to Qin Hao to return to reality.

The rain outside stopped!

Qin Hao unhurriedly tied up his already dried black hair with a cotton strip. He has been here for several months. His originally short black hair has touched his neck. He looks like a modest gentleman. He cannot go out without tying his hair.

After everything was packed up, he stepped out.

The environment after the rain made the air a little hazy. The river in the distance showed rainbows under the scattered sunlight, which was extremely beautiful.

"What are they doing?"

After the rain stopped, a wave of people came to the river, both men and women, holding various equipment and wood in their hands. It was just too far away to see clearly, so Qin Hao had some questions.

Zhuge Xuan poked his head out and looked into the distance. Seeing the busy figures of the craftsmen, he replied, "It is Li Chun's waterwheel construction team!"

"Oh, really!"

This was the first time in Qin Hao's life that he saw a craftsman building a waterwheel. He couldn't hold back his curiosity and invited everyone to watch.

"The wood here needs to be compacted with hardwood so that the structure of the waterwheel can be stable. The same is true here."

Wang Mu pointed to the waterwheel model on the sketch and kept telling the craftsmen around him the key points. "This is what Lord Li Chun told us. We can't be careless. Do you know?"

"I know." Everyone answered in unison.

After Wang Mu's instructions and explanations, the craftsmen began to work enthusiastically, preparing materials and splicing waterwheels.

They have been doing these jobs for a long time. They understand the process and have never made any mistakes. The waterwheel rolling on the river is the best proof of their strength, even though they were just ordinary refugees a month ago.

However, the construction of the waterwheel also encountered difficulties, especially the wood for making the waterwheel shaft, which required a thick, long, wear-resistant hardwood, and it had to be dried for a long time. Those freshly cut wood could not be used.

When the waterwheel was first built, Li Chun took Wang Mu to Pingyuan Village. After meeting Zhuge Xuanmian, Li Chun sat on a recliner with his legs crossed and said: If you don’t give me hardwood, I won’t do this job.

How arrogant the tone was!

Wang Mu was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat and was stunned on the spot, his mind was blank.

When did a craftsman dare to be so arrogant with the Qingtian master? He didn’t care about his life. He didn’t know the relationship between the two when he came.

Unexpectedly, Master Zhuge was also kind. Without saying a word, he asked people to dismantle the beams of the next door and send them over, and then he continued the construction.

Since then, after returning, Wang Mu’s attitude towards Li Chun has changed three times a day, from superficial obedience at the beginning to admiration from the heart.

He was also passionate about work. As soon as the rain stopped, he called for people to come.

Wang Mu had just put down the blueprint when he saw a group of people coming towards him. He was puzzled: Why would anyone come at this time? He had heard that there were many refugees recently.

So he walked forward slowly. Seeing that the leaders were neither refugees nor acquaintances, he didn't think much about it for a while, and stretched out his hand to block the way: "Stop, we are under construction, don't get closer, go back to where you came from."

"Wang Mu, get out of the way, the adults are here to inspect, you kid is so bold, dare to block the adults' way." The sugar-making manager rushed to the front and pulled Wang Mu aside, scolding him.

"What, adults." Wang Mu was stunned for a moment, and in a trance, he saw Zhuge Xuan behind the adults, and his scalp tingled, and he regretted it in his heart.

I should have thought of it earlier. There must be an important person here with so many people!

Qin Hao ignored the two and walked straight to the waterwheel. He came to see the waterwheel, but he didn't care about this little episode.

He still had a good impression of Wang Mu's behavior. He had to stop strangers when they approached. When Emperor Wen of Han went to Xiuli Camp, he was blocked by Zhou Yafu's guards at the door and was not allowed to enter.

When he walked to the waterwheel, he saw several strong women handing wood under the waterwheel, and craftsmen were standing on the groove of the waterwheel to install it. The huge waterwheel had taken shape at this time.

"Zhuge Xuan, do you think you can still see this waterwheel running today?" Qin Hao asked with his head tilted to one side.

"I can't say for sure about this." Zhuge Xuan shook his head and said, "Let the specialist explain it."

As he said that, he waved to Wang Mu and motioned him to come over.

Wang Mu on the side had been anxious for a long time. He just realized that he was stopping the general, who was a man of higher status than Zhuge. Li Chun could act rashly in front of Zhuge Xuan, but he had to keep his tail between his legs in front of the general.

After hearing what the steward said, he slapped himself several times in a hurry, and kept scolding himself for being blind.

It seems that this job that he had finally gotten to make a living is about to end. How can he go back and explain it to his family?

Wang Mu was a carpenter in his hometown in his early years, an excellent carpenter, but even so, he was just a government slave. They had been government craftsmen for generations and had little freedom. They were often called by yamen runners to repair houses and furniture.

They were called officials in the name of serving, but in fact they used public tools for private purposes, and they could not get a penny of silver. They were also hungry and cold on weekdays.

Alas! Why am I so unlucky!

Until he saw Lord Zhuge waving, he dared not neglect it, and hurried forward to beg for mercy: "I am blind and offended the adults. I deserve to die. I deserve to die."

"Okay, okay, stop playing tricks, tell me about this waterwheel." Qin Hao looked at the large waterwheel that was slowly taking shape with interest.

"Yes!"

Wang Mu sighed, and his heart was relieved immediately. He knew that this was a good opportunity for him to make up for his sins, and began to explain one by one.

"This large waterwheel was designed and supervised by Lord Li Chun himself, and it can guide the water from the low place to the high place."

Seeing that he was only giving some basic answers, Qin Hao was a little helpless, and hurriedly interrupted him and got to the point: "How long will it take to build this waterwheel."

Hearing this, Wang Mu looked at the waterwheel under construction and replied: "It has been built for seven or eight days. According to the current progress, it will be completed in another half an hour."

The construction of this waterwheel is not a small project. Even with complete drawings, it will take half a month. This is the time Wang Mu supervised it himself. It is conceivable that other carpenters who are not as good as him will not take less than one month.

However, after learning from Master Li Chun for a period of time, Wang Mu realized that he was a frog in the well, and he didn't know how high the sky was.

Unlike the previous method of building a waterwheel step by step from the river surface, Master Li Chun's method assembled the general framework of the waterwheel in advance, then drove it to the river channel, and finally added the roller. This method mainly spent time on assembly, reducing the time for craftsmen to climb up and down, and reducing many accidents, directly shortening the construction period by more than half.

After the efforts of the craftsmen, half an hour later, the large waterwheel was finally built. It was huge, more than ten meters high, and stood on the riverbed, looking very sturdy.

As everyone held their breath, several craftsmen pulled open the gates on the riverbed, and immediately the bamboo woven wheel blades of the waterwheel slowly turned under the impact of the river water. The huge waterwheel turned faster and faster, with a gurgling sound, and the bamboo tubes on the wheel blades continuously poured water into the canal on the shore, and the river water continued to flow forward.

There was a cheer, and another large waterwheel was completed in their hands. The craftsmen were all very moved.

What is achievement? This is it.

Seeing such a magnificent thing standing on the water, Qin Hao was also moved: if the cost is cheap, more can be made to serve the people.

So he asked Zhuge Xuan: "How much does this waterwheel cost?"

Zhuge Xuan stretched out two fingers slowly and read: "Twenty taels."

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