God-level Consort of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 20: Movable Type Printing

After lunch, Lao Fu took the four carvers to the furniture factory.

In the furniture factory, ten carpenters are working in full swing, and the sound of ping-ping-pong-pong is endless.

One of the craftsmen asked curiously: "Housekeeper, what does this furniture factory do?"

The old man raised his head, and said arrogantly: "The furniture factory, as the name suggests, is to make furniture. This is run by the second young master himself. In time, everyone in Chang'an City will use the furniture of the second young master. You also saw it just now. Come on, the revolving wooden chairs in our Duke's Mansion are made by the furniture factory. Even after His Majesty tried it, he said yes again and again. Let me tell you, follow the Second Young Master to do things well. The Second Young Master is kind-hearted and will never treat you badly. Yours."

The sculptors were shocked when they heard the words.

At the same time, I also secretly made up my mind that I must work hard. If nothing else, just 10 Wen a day is enough to make many colleagues envious.

Du He asked people to vacate a spacious room, which was the workshop of several craftsmen.

He called the four of them to him, took out "The Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties" and put it on the table.

Du He asked: "How long do you think it will take to print such a book?"

Several craftsmen picked up the thick novel and flipped through it, discussing for a while.

Finally, one of the engravers replied: "Second young master, if it was the four of us, it would take a month at the fastest to print it out. The main thing is to make engraving blocks, which is too time-consuming. I am afraid that the engraving blocks needed for such a thick book It would fill half the house."

This guy is absolutely right.

Block printing in this era has just started, although great progress has been made, but the shortcomings are also very obvious.

First, engraving is time-consuming, labor-intensive and material-intensive;
Second, it is inconvenient to store a large number of books;
Third, typos are not easy to correct.

Therefore, it is indeed a huge project to make an engraving of "The Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties".

Hearing this, Du He stood up and said, "If I say that a book can be printed in five days, do you believe it?"

All four shook their heads together.

The point is that this book is also too thick.

Du He said with a smile: "Believe it or not, it doesn't matter, the most important thing is that you can do it this way. Movable type printing? Have you heard of it?"

Everyone shook their heads.

Du He's face suddenly became serious: "Starting today, you will come into contact with a lot of new things, which are not available before. For convenience, you need to sign a confidentiality contract first. If you can't do it, Then leave now."

Du He clapped his hands, and Lao Fu immediately brought up the four non-disclosure contracts that Du He had already prepared.

The contract simply stipulates that within two months, the four craftsmen are not allowed to leave the furniture factory, and they must stay in the furniture factory for food and lodging. No matter what the reason is, they are not allowed to disclose what they have learned here, otherwise they will was handed over to the government.

The four craftsmen were stunned.

This is the first time I have seen such a regulation!

Du He added: "It's just for safety reasons, not to restrict everyone's personal freedom. During this period, your family members can visit you at the furniture factory."

One of the craftsmen stood up and said, "Second Young Master, I have no problem, but I need to go back now and make it clear to my family so that my wife and children won't worry."

The other three also meant the same thing.

Du He nodded: "Of course, you still have this right. You can go back and think it through before you come to me. Old Fu, I will give you 10 Wen per person, which will be considered today's wages."

Several people refused to ask for anything.

Du He waved his hand and said, "This is not to bribe you, but to delay your time for a long time today. It is reasonable to pay wages."

The four took the money and left gratefully.

Seeing this, the old Fu asked curiously: "Second young master, why do you treat them like this? These people are untouchables, it's good enough to feed them, and they have to pay 10 Wen wages, is it necessary?"

Du He took a look at Old Fu and said, "Old Fu, this is what's wrong with you. People are classified as high or low, but there is no difference between high and low. They, like you and me, are human beings, and they also have wives and children to support. Working, eating, and receiving wages, this is a matter of course. I, Du He, have no control over what other people do, but for me, the first thing is equality."

Old Fu's eyes widened, and he didn't know if he understood.

……

Wang Erniu was originally a Taoist in Hexi. In the fourth year of Zhenguan, the Turks went south and occupied Hexi Road. Wang Erniu took his wife and a pair of children under three years old and fled to Chang'an, where he lived in his uncle's house and lived under the fence.

In the past few years, although Wang Erniu has been able to carve and is proficient in his skills, it is very difficult to make a living in Chang'an City, not to mention that he has a family to support, and he often eats and eats without finishing his meal, and he doesn't know where his hope lies.

As for the uncle who had taken refuge in the beginning, although he was a small employee in Chang'an City, his family had considerable assets, but he was very snobbish. They were given a dilapidated house to live in, and they had to collect rent every month. It was hard to imagine that this was a family.

On this day, Wang Erniu went out of the stall early in the morning. If he was lucky, he could carve stamps for others and earn a few pennies.

After leaving the stall, a middle-aged man dressed in silk and satin came. He claimed to be the housekeeper of the Lai Kingdom Mansion. He needed to find some craftsmen with exquisite carving skills to work. When others were still hesitating, Wang Erniu was the first one. rushed up.

What happened afterwards, Wang Erniu felt a little dreamy.

He and the other three were first brought to Laiguo Mansion, where they met Young Master Du He, one of the four evils in Chang'an. After meeting, Wang Erniu discovered that Du He was completely different from the four evils in Chang'an in rumors. , Treat people politely, very politely.

What shocked him even more was that the shocking rotating wooden chair he saw in the courtyard of the Duke's Mansion was actually made by the second young master.

From that moment on, Wang Erniu decided to stay with the second young master to do things no matter what, especially the salary of 10 Wen a day was enough for his family to live well.

After getting the 10 Wen, Wang Erniu left the Duke's Mansion, and instead of going home immediately, he went to the market to buy a catty of meat and some melons and fruits, leaving 5 Wen in the end.

Back home, Wang Erniu put the meat, melons and fruits on the table with a smile on his face.

His wife, Mrs. Zhou, was shocked when she saw this: "Er Niu, are you crazy? You spent a lot of money buying these things, we can hardly even eat, how can we eat meat?"

Wang Erniu showed a simple and honest smile, and said: "It's okay, I have money now, and I still have 5 Wen..."

As he spoke, he took out the copper coins and handed them to Mrs. Zhou, and then briefly explained what happened today.

After hearing this, Mrs. Zhou didn't come back to her senses for a long time.

A pair of sons and daughters dressed in tatters were so happy that they ate melons and fruits that were rarely eaten a few times a year.

(End of this chapter)