After finishing all the drawings, shaking his somewhat sore wrists, Li Nian had someone bring over a plow for drawing and asked the craftsman in front of him: "Do you all understand?"
The craftsmen looked at each other, and after a little while, one craftsman who looked to be in his forties said, "Is it a plow that the young master has drawn?"
"Exactly! Can you all guess?"
After hesitating for a moment, the craftsman spoke again, "It's not difficult to make. However, this style of plow is something we have never seen before……"
These people are all outstanding craftsmen of the Ministry of Works, and when they saw the drawing, they already thought about how to make a physical object from it. What they worried about was not whether they could make it, but rather, if this new type of plow turned out to be inferior to the current ones and the young master insisted on promoting it to the world, then it would not only be a burden on all farmers but also make them sinners.
That's not surprising, as a new thing that has not been verified is very normal to be worried and hesitant!
Li Nian laughed and said: "I understand your meaning, my friends. You can rest assured that I will not immediately promote this thing to the world. First, please make ten new plows for me, wait until I compare them with the old ones, and then we can decide."
Seeing that Li Nian was so considerate and not acting impulsively or assuming things, all the craftsmen of the Ministry of Works bowed to Li Nian in unison: "The young master is wise!"
They, who work, do not fear competition from peers, but fear the interference of amateurs by professionals. Especially some noble people who impulsively think of a brilliant idea that they believe is wonderful, and then make them carry it out. This is simply disastrous.
If a successful result is achieved, that's fine; the credit goes to the nobleman, and even though they don't get any credit, they won't be at fault. The worst case is when there's no credit but only blame. In that case, the nobleman may have nothing to worry about, but they will have to take on a big pot of blame.
Fortunately, this young master is not one of those nobles.
Seeing that the craftsmen had no problem with the plow, Li Nian had someone bring over tools and venues for papermaking, saying, "These are also things that I want you to make. Please come and have a look. I will explain them to you."
One by one, pieces of wood were displayed before the craftsmen's eyes. From the drawings on the wood, it seemed that these items were not difficult to make. However, they couldn't understand what purpose they served.
"What you see on these wood boards are things for making paper. As for what paper is, you will know when it is made."
"Now, I will explain the steps of making paper according to the process. The first step is called 'chopping bamboo and floating in ponds', which means cutting the bamboo and then putting them into a pond to soak……"
Li Nian felt as if he had returned to the future, giving a PowerPoint presentation, except that now he was using wood boards instead of slides.
"The second step is called 'boiling water enough fire', which means putting the bamboo soaked in water into the kiln and steaming it. During the steaming process, someone has to keep stirring the bamboo to make it easier to be cooked, so this kiln has to be big enough."
As Li Nian explained, the craftsmen also understood. They realized that the drawings on the boards were actually ponds and kilns. More than a dozen people perked up, as they felt that Li Nian's explanation sounded quite convincing. It seemed as though he was really in the process of making something, not just a fleeting idea or whimsical thought.
The process of papermaking is not complex. Soon, Li Nian finished his explanation and looked at the more than ten craftsmen of the Ministry of Works, saying, "That is the whole process of making paper. If any of you have any questions, feel free to ask. I must not deceive you; this is my first time making paper as well, and I have only seen others do it before, so I'm not very familiar with it. If any of you have good suggestions, please speak up. If your suggestions are good, I will definitely recommend you for merits to the king!"
Technology is like that. You know it if you know it, and you master it if you master it. Don't misunderstand or act unskilled when you don't understand, or pretend to be skilled when you are not. Never look down on craftsmen just because they are ancient and don't think of them as equals. Refusing to communicate with them is not right.
These people are not the best craftsmen in Qin, but they are definitely among the top. Compared to Li Nian, what they lack is knowledge and technology from later times, not intelligence.
Although Li Nian can obtain knowledge from the later times through search engines, he is not familiar with the craftsmanship of this era. Conversely, these craftsmen are very knowledgeable and can offer him a lot of good suggestions.
For example, where to place the pond can make it more efficient for soaking the bamboo, where to build the kiln and how big it should be to make better steam cooking……
It's not that Li Nian says to build where and how high and wide it should be that it will definitely work. It is necessary to consider the working foundation of Qin, even if the technology is better, it must also conform to the environment of the era!
These craftsmen are exactly what Li Nian needs to fill in this gap. Li Nian provides the knowledge and technology, and the craftsmen figure out how to implement it on the basis of Qin's current level, striving to do it well.
After hearing Li Nian's words that he would reward those who gave good suggestions, the craftsmen first thanked Li Nian. Then they began to speak, and there were quite a few questions and suggestions. Li Nian mentally called himself lucky that he didn't just directly order them to start working, or else there would definitely be problems.
'Still, I need to be more proactive in understanding this era! Although the search engine can search for data from this era, it's not comprehensive. Some things still need to be understood by myself. Otherwise, some things that I think are good for Qin may turn out to be the opposite when actually done.'
Through discussions with more than ten craftsmen, Li Nian had roughly finalized the papermaking project, so all that was needed was to notify Mr. Zheng to arrange manpower to start the work.
After dealing with the papermaking matter, Li Nian brought out drawings of iron pots, tables, and chairs and asked the craftsmen of the Ministry of Works.
These things are as simple as the plow. Craftsmen promise to deliver the items drawn on the wood to Li Nian within half a month.
The making of tables, chairs, and stools is simple, but for a long time in history, they did not appear. This is for two reasons: first, people did not think of it not because of a lack of intelligence, but because the discovery and the creation are more difficult than the subsequent transformation and development, just like the first person to eat a crab; secondly, there are items with similar functions in daily life that do not necessarily need to be changed.
But Li Nian has already used tables, chairs, and stools, knowing that they are more practical than the few cases in Qin at that time. Of course, he chose to use tables, chairs, and stools.
"I'll make two sets. I'll send one to Mr. Zheng as well. I wonder what kind of evaluation Mr. Zheng will give after trying them out? Will he continue to sit in the seiza position?"
Li Nian thought to himself, he really wants to see a picture of Ying Zheng sitting on a chair, working and eating at the table.
"I actually want to see Mr. Zheng's reaction when he uses paper for defecation."
Li Nian's main reason for being so eager to establish papermaking in the Qin Dynasty is for the toilet.
Reining in the chaotic thoughts in his mind, looking at the group of craftsmen who had not yet left, Li Nian thought of something: Qin also has Mohists, known as "Qin Mohists!"
"I wonder if there are any Mohist disciples among these craftsmen?"
"For Mohism, the first thing Li Nian thought of was the ancient and old comic book. He had been watching that comic book since he was in primary school. Even after he graduated and became a salaryman, that comic book is still not finished!"
In that comic book, there is Mohism. Because of the comic book, he also learned about Mohism in history. It can be said that there are many differences between the Mohism in the comic and the real Mohism.
The real Mohism is not as good as some people think, like the Legalist school. However, Mohism indeed has its merits, especially in the field of natural science. Compared to the majority of schools that only think about humans, Mohism is obviously more advanced in its exploration of nature.
"Although the thoughts of Mohism are unrealistic, this group of people in the field of natural science have explored more than other schools. Perhaps they can be used."
