Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 152 Good things

Hot summer.

Although Yuyuan is slightly cooler than the capital, it is still hot during the day. And because it rained twice in succession, the heat and humidity combined, the man became stained with sweat even if he made the slightest move, making him extremely greasy.

There is a warm soup pool in Qingshuzhai, and the female relatives go to soak in the large pool whenever they have free time. Le Yan and two maids were new to the garden. The Yingying and Yanyans spent their days reading, literacy, working as a hostess, or gathering together to touch dominoes. They lived a leisurely life.

The only thing is that Mr. Li Weijian has been very busy lately. Xiu Ying saved up the night watch days that she exchanged with Qingwen and others. She originally thought that the two of them would stay together for a long time, but unexpectedly, Li Weijian went out early and came back late every day. After coming back, she was exhausted. After the day of giving birth, the two of them only had one more trip, which made Xiu Ying quite unhappy.

It was already the end of June. After Fu Qiufang took a bath, she led Nian Xia out of the Qing Bathroom. After walking not far, she saw the shed that had been built in front of Zhiyuan Hall.

The bamboo pole was propped up and covered with a waterproof tarp on top. Inside was a steam engine with blazing fire and smoke. At this moment, I saw Ding Rufeng wearing a helmet and armor, his whole body covered tightly, and he cautiously approached the valve. The second son, Yan Fengzhen, looked at it from a distance with a single-channel telescope and shouted: "Turn it to the left, slowly, slowly, but be careful!"

Ding Rufeng looked solemn and slowly turned the valve.

Fu Qiufang saw the huge flywheel spinning rapidly, driving the drill bit on the other machine to rotate rapidly.

Everyone was looking at the steam engine, but no one saw Fu Qiufang approaching. Wu Zhong held a white wax pole in his hand, looking in all directions and listening in all directions. He vaguely heard the sound of footsteps. He turned his head and waved his hands quickly: "Aunt Fu, stay here and get back quickly. It's dangerous here!"

Fu Qiufang hurriedly walked around and came to Li Weijian who was next to Yan Fenzhen. She couldn't help but worry: "Master, this thing is so dangerous, so don't play with it."

Li Weijian smiled and said: "It's not that exaggerated -" he raised his hand and looked at the wooden board with observation holes in front of him, and said: "The half-inch thick elm board cannot be penetrated even if a piece of iron hits it."

This is the second time to test the limits of the steam engine. After the previous test, under the standard pressure of [-], the cylinder was still intact. On the contrary, the valves everywhere could not withstand the high-pressure steam and immediately spewed out.

Li Weijian then thought about it and speculated that the valves and threaded joints were not filled and sealed, which caused the leakage.

After turning around and arguing with Yan Fengzhen, Yan Fengzhen went to the capital and moved many things back from the inner government office. The largest item among them is a small boring machine connected to the steam engine.

This time, the valve connection was filled with silk and isinglass, and the tightness is expected to be much better, which is why the current test was carried out.

Fu Qiufang was worried after hearing this, so she had to hide behind the wooden board with Li Weijian. Yan Fengzhen took a single-channel telescope and looked at it carefully, and shouted: "Tighten it again, twist it... Tsk, you're blocking me, move a little to the side! Eh? It's almost four atmospheres. There is a way to resurrect." "

Li Weijian smiled reservedly and said nothing. This cylinder was bored out using a boring machine, so it goes without saying that it's airtight. And although the transmission of his design is a bit rough, the overall thermal efficiency is [-]%, and it can operate at a maximum of six standard pressures. This is only four standard pressures, which is nothing more than a trivial matter.

As the valve continued to turn, the flywheel rotated faster and faster. Perhaps the workmanship was not very good, and the bearing suddenly made an unpleasant sound. When Li Weijian heard something was wrong, he hurriedly shouted: "Stop, close the valve!"

It was too late, and the cylinder was suffocated. The brass cylinder with a thickness of more than six millimeters could still hold up, but the valves everywhere could not.

Hearing a "chi" sound, he saw a spurt of white mist covering the Ding Rufeng. Ding Rufeng yelled and turned around to run away. Ding Rusong, who was carrying well water at the side, threw it over his head and face.

Then a group of people rushed forward, peeled off Ding Rufeng's cotton armor, and checked the burns on his body. Li Weijian inspected it carefully and found that Ding Rufeng's right arm was only slightly red, perhaps because his cotton armor had been splashed with water in advance, but it was not a serious problem.

Li Weijian did not dare to be careless and quickly sent someone to lead Ding Rufeng to apply burn ointment. After making arrangements just now, Yan Fengzhen came forward excitedly: "Fusheng, you really need this steam engine!"

Can it be used?

The thermal efficiency is far higher than today's Newcomen, but the volume is less than one-fiftieth of the Newcomen. The power under four standard pressures is also almost the same as that of the Newcomen. It doesn't matter whether this object is placed in a mine or in the Jingshi Water Company , can definitely replace manpower.

Not only that, Li Weijian will also develop a series of transmission devices in the future. Now it only relies on flywheels and gears to drive, and the kinetic energy loss is serious. He is thinking about developing a set of differentials, so that it can match the double-expansion steam engine.

This small size is aimed at water companies and is perfect for lifting water. When slightly expanded, one machine can drive several machine tools, replacing today's human and animal-powered machine tools. Dashun's industrial level and even precision machining will usher in explosive growth.

Li Weijian looked at the deflated steam engine in a good mood and said, "Brother Jing Wen, wouldn't it be much easier to drive your rifling bed than to pull the rifling manually?"

Yan Fengzhen said excitedly: "It is indeed much easier. I will go back to the capital in a while to see if the prince is free, so I will come over and take a look. Tsk, resurrection, why not move this steam engine back to the capital and give it a try? Drive all kinds of beds.”

Li Weijian shook his head: "The one I built is too small, with only six to eight donkeys' power. Only when I build it bigger can I drive more machine tools."

Yan Fengzhen nodded repeatedly, then glanced at the drilling machine and said, "I'll ask a master craftsman to control it later and see how much time it takes to drill a gun tube."

In the past, it was all done by animal power or foot-operated drill presses, which were extremely inefficient. It would take more than ten days to drill a gun tube. Most of the hundreds of craftsmen in the Armed Forces were engaged in drilling muskets, and the remaining work was directly delegated to the private sector by the imperial government.

Even so, the firearm penetration rate among the [-] soldiers and horses in Dashun is only [-]%. In the inland provinces where there are no border dangers or banditry, the number of firearms in the army is only [-] to [-]%.

Moreover, due to the different skills of the craftsmen, the inner diameters of the fire gun tubes were different. Each Dashun officer and soldier brought his own gun clamping pliers. During the break between battles, officers and soldiers would always sit around the fire to bake the tongs, melt the lead inside and fix it into the shape of their own fire blunderbuss.

Once this power device is improved, the shortcomings of human and animal power will be eliminated, and it will be more stable and more efficient than before.

Li Weijian glanced at the sky and said, "Don't worry, look at the clouds coming. Brother Jing Wen is not as good as tomorrow -"

However, Yan Fengzhen had a bad temper and interrupted: "Resurrection can wait, but I can't wait." Glancing at the dark clouds spreading from the west, Yan Fengzhen said: "We can't wait for a while, but I can't wait for resurrection. I'll go back right away." Capital."

The second young master always kept his word when doing things, so he led his servants and rode down the mountain, heading straight for the capital.

Li Weijian scrubbed briefly and changed his clothes before he sat down in the main room.

Dark clouds spread from the west, and the wind blew through the hall, making it suddenly feel much cooler. Fu Qiufang took the tea from Hongyu and gently pushed the teacup in front of Li Weijian.

Li Weijian picked up the tea cup and took a few sips, then saw that Fu Qiufang had not moved. He raised his head and asked with a smile: "Do you have something to say?"

"Ah."

Li Weijian pulled a chair closer and said, "Then sit down and talk."

Fu Qiufang sat down, stroking her dress, and murmured: "The master has his own mind, and I shouldn't say much. It's just that it's almost July now, but it will be autumn in January."

I know that the master has big things in his mind, but no matter how big the deal is, we have to wait until autumn. The day before yesterday, Manager Wu (Haiping) sent a newspaper to the capital, saying that the saint intends to hold the practical examination next year. The master has passed the autumn, and he may be able to be named on the gold list in the future. "

Li Weijian knew Fu Qiufang's intentions, so he put down the tea cup, took her tender hand and said, "I know. I have been busy for a while, so I will concentrate on reading when I get back." Seeing that he had listened to the advice, Fu Qiufang Take a deep breath.

Li Weijian smiled and said, "How come you still feel relieved?"

Fu Qiufang has been married for more than a month, and she has become more and more familiar with Li Weijian, so she said playfully: "I saw that the master was busy with the machinery all day long, forgetting to eat and sleep, so I thought that the master would be annoyed if I persuaded him."

"What you said makes sense, why am I angry?"

Fu Qiufang said: "Maybe the master has a sense of tolerance. If it were anyone else, I'm afraid he wouldn't be far away from hearing the talk of a housewife like me."

He held the warm little hand in his palm and played with it, which was extremely smooth. Li Weijian sighed: "I haven't spent much time with you these days. Should I take you to Xiangshan to worship Buddha tomorrow?"

Fu Qiufang felt happy, but said: "Forget it, I don't know if I have other things to do tomorrow. I want to worship the Buddha, and I can do it anytime. I have to wait until I finish my work."

Well-behaved, sensible, and considerate in every aspect, Li Weijian felt increasingly that the few thousand taels of silver were so worth it.

There is no big fault with Fu Qiufang's temperament, except that she comes from a small family, so it is inevitable that she will be a little unclear when it comes to managing the family. Because Fu Qiufang had been looking for Hongyu to ask questions during these days, he actually inquired about the situation in Rongguo Mansion.

This June rain comes at a moment's notice, and the sky outside suddenly turns dark, followed by strong winds. After a while, big raindrops fell down, making a loud crackling sound.

The four maids, Qingwen, Hongyu, Xiangling, and Xiuying, were busy making horse cranes. Li Weijian hugged Fu Qiufang and stood quietly in front of the door, looking at the heavy rain outside and the rain curtain hanging down from the eaves.

It was rare to relax his mind, so Li Weijian began to think randomly. The woman next to me is good at everything, but... she can't let go between the sheets. Every time I frowned and groaned, as if I was in extreme pain.

This can't go on like this. The way of loyalty is supposed to be in harmony with each other. How can I be happy just for myself? He had cared about Fu Qiufang not long ago, so he acted carelessly every time. You can't do this next time, you have to let him enjoy it.

Vaguely aware that Li Weijian was looking at her, Fu Qiufang raised her eyes and saw that his face looked strange. She thought her hair was messed up and touched it, but it didn't seem to be the case.

Fu Qiufang asked: "Why are you looking at me like this?"

"Well, it's time for you to stay on night watch in two days, right?"

Fu Qiufang suddenly said angrily: "I'm just enjoying the rainy scenery, but now I'm talking like this."

Li Weijian said in amusement, "It's about food and sex. Besides, I've been up early in the morning and been greedy till late in the morning, forgetting to eat and sleep. Now that I've achieved something, why don't I be allowed to enjoy it?"

Fu Qiufang blushed and said, "I've been seeing Tiankui in the past few days. If I want to... I might as well go look for Xiuying."

"Nonsense, then I want to spend more time with you."

Fu Qiufang was impressed, so she leaned towards him without checking herself. Although the man next to her was much younger than her, he looked more sophisticated than her exiled brother in terms of speech and mind. It's a pity that I gave birth to you before I gave birth to you, and my family was in decline, otherwise I would have no regrets in this life.

The wind and rain come quickly and go quickly. But more than half an hour later, dark clouds swept past and rolled toward the southeast.

When it clears up after the rain, a beautiful rainbow hangs in the eastern sky. Xiuying ran out chirping first, and then Yingying and Yanyan came out laughing and observing.

Li Weijian gently pushed Fu Qiufang: "You also go and have fun."

Fu Qiufang said in shock: "I, I won't go."

Knowing what he was thinking, Li Weijian said: "It was only twenty years of glory. Now it looks much worse. After ten or twenty years, it won't be any worse. Go ahead."

Fu Qiufang glanced at Li Weijian thoughtfully, and then Shi Shiran gathered towards Qingwen and others.

Li Weijian took a short rest. When the time was approaching, Ding Rusong came to report that someone from outside was visiting.

Li Weijian was puzzled. If it were Yan Fengzhen and King Zhongyong, they would not say this. He asked in detail, and Ding Rushong said, "They say they are from Cao Dong's family from Shanxi."

"Cao Yunsheng?" Li Weijian was happy, secretly wondering if Jia Lian had leaked the news, so the Cao Dong family had gained the trust?
  This man was a wealthy man in Shanxi, and Li Weijian immediately got up and went out to greet him. When they arrived at the garden, they saw a carriage with a light carriage. Cao Yunsheng had already got out of the carriage and was now waiting at the entrance of the garden.

Seeing Li Weijian, Cao Yunsheng quickly handed over his hand: "Hey, Mr. Li, I took the liberty of visiting, and I hope you can see Haihan."

"The Cao Dong family invited." Li Weijian smiled and bowed his hands, and while leading him in, he said, "How could the Cao Dong family find this place?"

Cao Yunsheng said with a wry smile: "I have been looking for Mr. Li for half a month, and finally I heard that Mr. Li lives here. It was unlucky to go out and it was raining heavily."

Li Weijian said: "Dong Cao's family is too eager."

Cao Yunsheng shook his head repeatedly: "It's time to wait, there are a lot of things at home waiting for you to deal with. Mr. Li, when will the opportunity you mentioned last time come about?"

Li Weijian smiled and said, "Dong Cao's family may have heard the news, right?"

Cao Yunsheng really knew. He then heard him say: "I heard from Dr. Liang in the inner palace that he said that Xishan Coal Mine also wants to disperse its shares?"

"Since the Cao Dong family already knows, why do they need to ask me?"

Cao Yunsheng said: "The water affairs department last time was Mr. Li's work. Mr. Li didn't come forward, so I felt uncomfortable." As he was talking, he came to Zhiyuan Hall and suddenly caught a glimpse of the steam engine under the awning.

Because too much coal had been added earlier, the steam engine was still running at this moment, with the flywheel spinning slowly.

"This is... a steam engine? It's strange, how can it be so small and small and drive such a big iron wheel?"

When Li Weijian saw Cao Yunsheng stepping forward and reaching out to touch it, he quickly stopped him and said, "Dong Cao, be careful. This pipe is filled with hundreds of degrees of water vapor, so you can't touch it easily."

Cao Yunsheng, however, stared straight at the steam engine driving the drilling machine. After a long while, he said: "What a good thing! Mr. Li, do you want to sell this steam engine? Just tell me how much money you have, and I will buy it!"

(End of this chapter)