New Trickster

  Making a windmill is not difficult, and the craftsmanship is extremely simple. It's just that ancient people didn't think of this principle at that time. This perfectly illustrates what a philosopher once said: there's nothing that can't be done, only things that haven't been thought of yet. This is a concrete example.

  Lü Shi, this so-called golden master among the traversers, simply brought his 21st-century knowledge over and opened up the minds of ancient people. As the saying goes, "thought determines the path." With a clear mind, even if Lü Shi wasn't skilled in carpentry, it didn't matter; Zhang's family members were, and everything became easy to handle.

  Making a windmill first think of is drawing a blueprint.

  Zhang's family had no paper or pen, so he could only find a piece of charcoal and start drawing on the wall of a mountain. However, before he began to draw, another problem arose - there were not many professional tools available at that time.

  No professional tool is completely useless. As the saying goes, a difference of a single hair can lead to an error of a thousand miles. That's not even wanting to draw a horse but ending up with a donkey instead.

  Zhang Laoshi, this carpenter only has one ruler, which is also in inches, and the length and shortness are not very consistent. It's basically impossible to draw a rigorous and rectangular drawing. Windmills, especially large windmills, are also a big project. If it's not rigorous, it can't be assembled and made. If the donkey's lips don't match the horse's mouth, that's a useless thing.

  No choice, then just bring out the "invention" of the T-square ruler, triangle square and compass, these small objects as soon as they came out, had already made Zhang Lao Shi, this ancestral woodworking craftsman, stare in amazement and be shocked into thinking he was a immortal. This even more firmly established everyone's confidence in making that kind of windmill said by Lv Shuo.

  Windmill, actually only a few dozen parts, many of which are repeated. In the meantime, there should be iron parts, but in this mountain village, there is no blacksmith, only a carpenter. Fortunately, there is a hundred-year-old mountain elm on the mountain, which is as hard as iron and can completely replace iron parts. If桐油 is applied to it for lubrication, 桐油 can penetrate into the wood grain, making the lubrication effect even better than that of iron parts. This was discovered by our ancestors, who used elm wood to make cart shafts until they were replaced by bearings in the 1950s.

  So, Lü Shi stood in front of the wall, thinking about painting and revising from time to time, and replacing some parts that could not be forged with his current ability. As for the invention of Golden Fingers, it was just these simple modified parts.

  After Zhang Lao Shi looked at it for a while, he understood in his heart and also relied on his own experience of several generations to continuously provide suggestions. In this way, the drawing was finished under the palm lamp, and every time a front, back, and side view were drawn, it would evoke a burst of applause from Zhang's father and son, as well as Zhao Da Hai's surprise and astonishment. Outside, it had already turned dark, but everyone didn't feel like leaving.

  Zhang's wife lit up the oil lamp that she had been reluctant to part with, and this room had a rare ray of light in the dark night.

  Zhang Laoshi and others waited for Lü Shi to finish drawing the entire blueprint, and after Lü Shi explained the key points and operating principles in detail, Zhao Dahan, this military officer, not only felt confused but also completely didn't understand. He looked at his own brother Zhang Laoshi with his eyes, hoping that this expert would identify whether it was feasible or not.

  In the midst of repeated shouts, Zhang Lao Shi, who had been petrified for half a day, finally came to his senses and muttered: "Divine object, divine object, with this thing out, the whole village will no longer suffer from drought, Master is truly a god."

  Lü Shì smiled and said: "Forget about being a god, have you ever seen a god fall to such a state?" Lü Shì teased, which triggered a burst of laughter.

  "How did Master Fu know about this thing? Is it a skill passed down from his ancestors?" Zhang Laoshi asked in puzzlement.

  It's no wonder that Zhang Lao Shi has such a question, and it just proves the popular saying - "High people are among the common people", folk artists have many unique skills, which is an undisputed fact.

  Lü Shi knew that in ancient times, artisans were all inherited from their ancestors. A skill that could make a living was formed through several generations of exploration and accumulation in this era. Many skills are now beyond the reach of modern people to emulate.

  However, these people only focused on accumulating experience, but rarely explored the underlying reasons behind these experiences. This is why ancient Chinese technology eventually fell behind Europe's. Moreover, they all wanted to preserve their own unique skills, which was essentially about protecting their own livelihoods. As a result, once they had gained insights and innovations, they kept them secret from outsiders, including fellow practitioners. This lack of exchange, learning from each other, and collective improvement led to the loss of their knowledge and skills being lost forever.

  In Zhang's opinion, this exquisite piece must be the culmination of Lu's ancestral craftsmanship refined over dozens of generations. By taking out his treasured family heirloom and drawing diagrams, Lu was essentially passing on his family's skills to the Zhang father-son duo, which was tantamount to accepting them as apprentices. Especially since this thing was too extraordinary, bringing his son along as an apprentice not only wasn't unfair but also allowed him to take advantage of the situation.

  At the moment, Lü Shi only smiled faintly and didn't speak, hastily turning around, pulling behind him his 20-year-old eldest son with eyes full of admiration, his 18-year-old second son, and his 15-year-old third son, all of whom tidied up their clothes and bowed solemnly.

  This action almost scared Lü Shi to death. He had never been kowtowed by anyone in his life, let alone by an ancient person who was confirmed to be his ancestor's ancestor. How could he allow his Nth generation ancestor to kowtow to him? Wouldn't that be seeking death for himself? He still wanted to live a few more years after all.

  He hastily rushed forward, pulled up Zhang Lao's three, and repeatedly said with a sincere and fearful expression: "This can't be done, this can't be done, this will cost me my life."

  This made Zhang even more misunderstood, thinking to himself: "It seems that he secretly painted this thing without telling his family, not intending to pass it down to me. He's afraid that if his family finds out that he's privately taking on an apprentice and passing on the art, it would be a disaster. It looks like I won't be able to learn this precious skill after all."

  "Master, rest assured. I know what's at stake. Once this windmill is built, I'll destroy the blueprints and never build another one."

  Lü Shi looked at the disappointed look of Zhang Lao Shi's family and knew the reason. In ancient times, people were so simple-minded that although there was no intellectual property law, human rules were more useful than copyright law. Stealing someone's skills? That was something that everyone despised.

  Laughing busily, he said: "Brother Zhang, you're being too polite. A few of you young brothers learning it would be even better. This good thing that benefits the country and the people is a useless trinket in my hands, but in yours, it's a treasure that benefits the country and the people. It should be promoted and passed on. Forget about taking me on as a disciple, just consider this as payment for the food I've eaten at Brother Zhang's place for some time."

  "Master Fu is truly the lucky star of our family, who dares to be a bother to Master Fu? It's only right that we let the young ones support him for life." With this said, everyone's knot in their heart was untied, and they all started working enthusiastically through the night.

  The first thing to do was for Zhang Laoshi to find a tattered quilt and cover the wall with it, so that the family heirloom would not be seen by outsiders. After the children had all memorized it, they would then demolish this wall, and then instruct the three children to prepare materials and tools overnight.

  Lü Shijian just smiled and did not comment, people are often killed by traditional ideas.

  Everything is ready, and everyone sits together excitedly again. Zhang's wife brings up the wild chicken soup with dried vegetables, drinking the leftover wine from noon, eagerly looking forward to a bright future. With the windmill, there will be no need for irrigation in the coming year, and the autumn harvest is also within sight. There won't be any tragic refugees, nor will there be wives separated from husbands, children scattered, families broken, or people dying. How can this not make people joyful and enthusiastic?

  The common people in China are easily satisfied, as long as they have clothes to keep warm and food to fill their bellies, they are happy.

  But as he spoke, Zhang Lao Shi couldn't help but furrow his brow again and let out a long sigh.

  Zhao Dahi heard and curiously asked: "Good days are about to come, but what's troubling you, old brother?"

  "Things are good things, but there are tens of hundreds of parts, and the requirements are extremely fine. It takes a lot of time and effort to make them. Even if we three start working now without rest, it will take twenty or thirty days to complete. But the season is not waiting for people, and all these are delayed. If we recruit people to help..."

  In ancient times, craftsmen would make an item from start to finish by themselves. They had to be proficient in all aspects of the craft. According to Zhang's logic, once outsiders were hired, the secret family techniques would no longer be a secret.

  Lü Shìwén listened, and smiled slightly: "What's the big deal? Zhang, don't worry. I have a method that can speed things up without worrying about revealing our skills."

  Everyone was stunned, is there really a way in this world that makes people work but doesn't teach them the skills? How refreshing.

  Lü Shizhi had no choice but to be forced to open another golden finger, "Actually, the method is very simple. Zhang Lao Ge only needs to gather all the skilled carpenters in the village, and we'll organize them together. We'll give each person a unified set of tools such as a ruler and compass, and have them work on one component each. This way, they'll only know how to make one part. The crucial components will be made by you three at home. Once everyone has finished making their respective parts according to our standards and hands them over to us for assembly, it's done."

  "This is really great!" As soon as this method came out, even outsiders like Zhao Dahan applauded and agreed that it was a great good deed. Zhang Laoshi was even more impressed, admiring it with all his might.

  "Master, look at us, we've built windmills and day and night the water is flowing, but we can't use it all up. Shouldn't we also give some to a few neighboring villages?" Zhang was an honest and kind-hearted person, always thinking of his neighbors when he had something good, but the windmill actually belonged to Lü Shi, so naturally they would have to get Lü Shi's agreement.

  "Everything will be decided by Zhang Lao Ge anyway." Lu Shi said indifferently.

  "Then I'll thank Master on behalf of all the poor brothers, now everyone can have a good harvest, get rid of the miscellaneous things, and also gain something in autumn, and fewer old brothers will starve to death." As soon as he finished speaking, his eyes turned red.

  Lü Shijie said, changing the subject: "But everyone can't just use water for free, they also need to put in some effort."

  "That's it, that's it, whatever you say, Master."

  "When your family makes windmills, mobilize everyone to start tamping the foundation at the future windmill installation site. Also, dig ditches along each household's border. I also need some pipes, so everyone needs to contribute some money to buy them."

  "Digging the irrigation canal is everyone's responsibility, as for collecting money to buy pipes, that's not necessary. First, everyone doesn't have the money, and secondly, there's an idle kiln outside the village, and the mountain is full of clay, which can be utilized. It just needs Master Wang to point it out." Zhao Dahai said hastily.

  "Good, now everything is ready, all we need is a push from the east wind. Let's get started tomorrow."

  Zhao Dahi laughed and said, "My station is nearby and has nothing to do with it. I also brought those few station runners to help out. With so many people, the order will be chaotic. My tiger skin uniform still has some authority, and over the years, I have offended not a few local villagers. This can be considered as atonement."

  Zhang Laoshi happily said: "This is even better, otherwise everyone would be fighting and quarreling over this water source. In previous years, there were many fights and disputes over this issue. With brothers stepping forward to maintain order, who dares to cause trouble? As for offending the villagers, it's not the fault of my brothers either. It's all because of the orders from above. How can you defy the superior officials?"

  Zhao Dahi let out a long sigh, and the room fell silent once again. He drained the wine in his hand, hung his head low, and quietly pushed open the door to leave. His tall figure slowly merged into the boundless darkness of the night.

  Lü Shi couldn't help but watch as Zhao Dahai walked further and further away.

  The dark night has just begun, and even a low-ranking official like Zhao Dahai will become one of the refugees and cannot escape.