There was a young craftsman at the Guanwang Temple who was good at making all kinds of bronzes. His name was Gan Lun. He was smart, studious, and skilled in craftsmanship. Instigated by a Suzhou man, Gan Lun imitated the Xuande furnace. From the color, format to the designation, everything was fake.
They made the kind of Tibetan scripture paper color that only the best Xuande furnaces have. These copper furnaces were sold by the Suzhou people as antiques. A Jier furnace was sold for fifteen taels of silver, and a small Yi furnace was sold for twenty taels of silver.
Unexpectedly, there were many Shanyin essence appreciators, and they were discovered. The people of Suzhou fled overnight. Several squires who bought fake antiques asked Gan Lun to pay for their silver. Gan Lun knelt down and begged, saying that he only had one, two, or three cents to make a copper stove.
The money could not be repaid, so several squires called Liu Bantou from the county government to seize Gan Lun and bring him to see the officials. Gan Lun and his mother were so frightened that they cried loudly. They were met by Zhang E who was wandering around and asked him what happened.
Zhang E suddenly thought that there was one less coppersmith in Hanshe Mirror Workshop, so he paid for Gan Lun to send the squires away, and brought Gan Lun back to Hanshe Mirror Workshop to make the telescopic copper tubes for the telescope. As expected, they fit perfectly and expanded as expected.
Gan Lun was literate and willing to learn. He quickly mastered the principles of the telescope. Gan Lun completed the final assembly process of the telescope——
"Third Young Master, Mr. Jiezi——"
Gan Lun crossed his hands and saluted, took out a telescope from a wooden box held by an apprentice beside him, presented it to Zhang E respectfully, and said: "This is a newly made telescope. It is much clearer than the one made last year. Third Young Master
You’ll know by trying.**”
Zhang E took the white copper telescope and twisted it. It was flexible and very delicate. Then he walked to the window and used the telescope to look at the bell tower a mile away. Suddenly he heard a "ha" sound. He smiled and continued to look.
Did you see anything interesting?
"Look at Jiezi, these naughty boys in the bell tower over there are not afraid of falling to death——"
Zhang E handed the telescope to Zhang Yuan and couldn't stop laughing.
Zhang Yuan took a look at the telescope and saw that the lens was crystal clear. The mirrormaker's skill in polishing the lens had improved a lot. Zhang E's focal length was also adjusted just right. The clock tower one mile away is like the neighboring street two feet away. Even the big door
The inscriptions on the bronze bell are barely legible. Haha, there are five boys standing on the eaves of the bell tower peeing downwards. Reflecting the sunlight, a rainbow of urine appears——
Zhang Yuan said with a smile: "Three brothers are lucky, they always see interesting things."
Recalling that he used a telescope to see Yao Fu and his nephew Yang Shangyuan's wife trying to commit adultery the year before, Zhang E burst out laughing and said, "This telescope is pretty good, almost the same as the one I bought from Macau." He let Neng Neng laugh.
Zhu took the brass telescope over and compared it. The clarity of the white copper telescope made by Hanshe Mirror Workshop was no less than that of the Western brass telescope.
Zhang Yuan also compared the two telescopes for a while. The clarity was almost the same, but the brass telescope had a slightly stronger zoom ability, which should be twelve times. The white copper telescope of Hanshe Mirror Factory had about ten times. Zhang Yuan heard a
The mirror maker sighed: "It's a pity it's a few days late."
Zhang E had long forgotten his promise, but Zhang Yuan remembered it and said to the three mirror makers: "On April 26 last year, my third brother and I promised that if the mirror workshop could produce something similar to this one within one year,
For a telescope that is comparable to the Western telescope, I will reward the three of you with forty taels of silver each. If you can make it in advance, each person will be rewarded with an additional one tael of silver every ten days in advance. Today is the first day of May, although it is earlier than the agreed time.
It’s a few days late, but this telescope is really good, and it deserves a lot of silver reward.//”
The three mirror makers were overjoyed and thanked them profusely. Forty taels of silver was a huge sum of money for a small family. They could buy a house with a large courtyard in the suburbs of Shanyin City——
Zhang E scratched his head and said: "That's right, I even forgot that you should be rewarded."
Zhang Yuandao: "Gan Lun is the later one, and he will be rewarded with ten taels of silver. The other apprentices will each be rewarded with one to three taels of silver. It will be decided by the three mirror workshop masters. Those who are diligent and willing to learn will be rewarded with three taels of silver -"
All the apprentices were overjoyed and came up one after another to express their thanks. In addition to taking care of the food, the apprentices of Jingfang only had two taels of silver per month, so they were overjoyed to receive a reward of one tael of silver.——
Zhang Yuan held up the white copper telescope in his hand and said: "Compared with the Thai and Western telescopes, this telescope is slightly inferior in terms of distance. You all understand the principles of mirror making. I will give you five more months to make it before Meng Dong's tenth month."
If the telescope is as good as or even better than the Western telescope, the three mirror-makers and Gan Lun will be rewarded with another forty taels, and the other apprentices will also be rewarded." The reason why it was set before October is because if he succeeds in Qiu Wei, he will be rewarded.
Then you should leave for Beijing in early October for the spring of the following year. If you don’t win, there’s nothing to say——
All the mirror makers and apprentices were delighted and their energy doubled.
The telescopes of Hanshe Mirror Workshop are not currently in mass production. They are only continuously improved and trial-produced. They need to pay for it. The mirror workshop’s income depends on glasses. The mirror workshop can now produce fifty pairs of dimming eyeglasses and forty myopia glasses every month.
Pair, forty pairs of incense mirrors. Zhang originally thought that incense mirrors would not be as popular as myopia and dimming glasses, but unexpectedly, incense mirrors were in short supply. Many households used incense mirrors instead of fire sickles, flints to make fire, and of course, incense.
It depends on God whether the mirror can be used for fire. It won't work on cloudy and rainy days. However, there are still many pre-orders. Zhang Yuan has asked the mirror workshop to reduce the production of twenty pairs of dimming eyepieces and increase the production of twenty pairs of incense mirrors every month——
The glasses sales of Hanshe Mirror Shop are handled by Xi Zhang Qingke Wu Ting and Fu'er's father Zhang Laoshi. They have one accountant and one cashier. The retail price is 4 taels for dimming eyeglasses and 6 taels for myopia glasses. Originally, the price of incense glasses was 3 taels.
Because it is easy to sell, it is natural to raise the price. When it comes to four taels, if foreign merchants come to purchase in bulk, they will only be cheaper by one tael each. No more discounts will be given. The glasses of Hanshe Mirror Factory are excellent, and with the reputation of Hanshe, why?
Worry about not being able to sell it
Zhang Yuan asked that the inventory of crystal stones in Mingjingfang was only enough for this year and next, so he discussed it with his third brother Zhang E, and he agreed to provide one thousand taels of silver, and Zhang E would provide five hundred taels of silver, and then draw from the profits of the mirror workshop.
Five hundred taels made up two thousand taels of silver, and he sent the mirrormaker surnamed Sun, Laifu from Dongzhang, and Qian Laoben from Xizhang to Haizhou to purchase large quantities of crystal stones, because Hanshe Mirror Workshop uses Haizhou crystals to polish lenses.
, this move will definitely become popular among eyewear workshops in Suzhou and Hangzhou, and the price of crystal stones will rise sharply in two or three years, so Hanshe Mirror Workshop must first save enough crystals for ten years before proceeding——
Leaving the mirror shop, the two brothers walked slowly along the willow embankment of the Fuhe River. The midsummer sun was blazing brightly, and the water surface was shining brightly. Zhang Yuan squinted his eyes. His glasses would still feel uncomfortable if the light was too strong. It was about early noon.
There are several dragon boats on the Fu River beating drums and rowing slowly. Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year. The dragon boat competitions in Shanyin and Kuaiji counties will not start until the third day of the Lunar New Year. Now they are just practicing coordination——
Zhang Yuan suggested: "Third brother, let's each bring our wives to watch the dragon boat in the next three days. Call the eldest brother and his wife to watch the dragon boat and then go to the garden. The lotus flowers in the garden should be in full bloom now."
Zhang E said happily: "Okay, I will go and tell my elder brother later - but I have to ask my elder father first. If it happens that my elder father wants to invite people to visit the garden, then we will have to change the date."
Zhang Yuan said: "Okay, third brother, go and inquire and let me know."
Returning to Dongzhang, Shang Danran asked about the telescope. Zhang Yuan had already brought the white copper telescope back, so he took it out to show Shang Danran. Shang Danran insisted on looking through the telescope on the corridor towards the opposite Xizhang courtyard. According to Zhang Yuan,
As he said, he slowly adjusted the focus and said happily: "As expected, it's like seeing it in front of me." He also said: "Xiao Hui really wants such a telescope."
Zhang Yuandao: "I promised her that I would give her a telescope when she comes to Beijing. I wonder if she can make the trip this year."
Shang Danran smiled and said: "It must be possible. Zhang Lang's collection of contemporary articles has been circulated to the capital. My eldest brother has also read it and wrote a letter to praise you."
Zhang Yuandao: "Whether I can win the imperial examination or not, it seems to be determined by destiny. My teacher, Jiao Ruohou, is as knowledgeable as the sea, but he wasted his time in high school at the age when he knew his destiny. He was the top scholar in the first middle school. What you read for me before
Chapter "Explanation of the Craftsmanship of Xu Guangqi in the Yuan Dynasty" Shun Zhi lived in the mountains and had been deposed. Teacher Jiao saw it when he was searching for the papers. After reading it, he was so impressed that he set it as "Explanation of the Yuan Dynasty", otherwise Xu Guangqi would not have known how to return it.
How many years will it take?"
Shang Danran nodded and said: "If there is a thousand-mile horse, there must be Bole. The examiner is very crucial. I wonder which Hanlin official is the examiner of the Hangzhou Provincial Examination this year?"
The chief examiner of the rural examination is also called the president. Since the 13th year of Wanli, the chief examiner of the provincial examination has been selected by officials from the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites. Most of them are compiled by the Hanlin Academy, and the Lin officials who compile these poems are the examiners. Because these poems are Lin
The officials are all the best in the recent imperial examinations. They have both knowledge and reputation. They are the best candidates to be the examiners. And because the cabinet ministers must come from the Imperial Academy, there is a saying that they will be the cabinet ministers in the future.
Are you selecting talents to strengthen your reputation——
Zhang Yuandao: "It hasn't been decided yet. It should be decided by the end of the month or early next month. The CEOs who are taking the exams will depart from the capital and go to their respective locations. Once I know who the CEO of Zhejiang is, I will study his eight-legged essay carefully.
, just do what you like."
Zhang Yuan asked Mu Zhenzhen to take one thousand taels of silver and give it to Laifu, and ordered Laifu to set off to Haizhou to purchase crystals in the next two days with Xi Zhang's Qian Laoben and Sun Jingjiang -
Shang Danran was surprised to see Zhang Yuan had so much money. He remembered something, went to the box and found out a land deed, handed it to Zhang Yuan and said: "Zhang Lang, this is what my second brother gave me. It is the land deed of Baima Mountain.
Brother gave me the tea garden and orchard in Baima Mountain as a dowry—"
Shang's Baima Mountain Tea Garden, the orchard has an annual income of four to five hundred taels of silver. Shang Zhou Zuo and Shang Zhou Dezhi Dong Zhang Qingpo took Baima Mountain as a dowry for their younger sister, so that Zhang Yuan did not have to worry about firewood, rice, oil and salt.
Being able to study with peace of mind means that my little sister’s daily expenses will not be shabby——
When Zhang Yuan saw the title deed to Baima Mountain, he laughed in surprise: "Did Zhang Yuan marry a lady with gold ingots?"
Shang Danran said with a "chichi" smile: "Who knew Dongzhang also hid his wealth without revealing it?"
Zhang Yuan knew that Dan Ran had some doubts about him having so much money. As a couple, they had to explain some things to her. In the future, she would have to rely on Dan Ran as the housekeeper. When he told her about the large amount of gold, silver, calligraphy and painting he had obtained from Dong's shipwreck,
Already—ˉ—
Shang Danran was stunned and asked for a long time: "Mr. Zhang, you and your sister partnered up Shengmei Store and opened a bookstore and Mirror Shop. What do you want to do to make so much money?"
Zhang Yuan smiled and said: "Dan Ran asked well, what do I want to do to make so much money? I am not very interested in fine food in the temple, prosperity and luxury. Everything I do has only one purpose, and that is the last paragraph of "The Romance of the West Chamber"
"The world is safe, the rivers are clear, the lyrics, and -" Holding his hand, he said: "I wish the years would be peaceful and peaceful, and I wish my husband and I could grow old together."
My waist is very uncomfortable. My waist has never felt comfortable in the past few years. There is only a difference between uncomfortable and very uncomfortable. Go to bed early today and strive for a bigger chapter tomorrow to enter Hangzhou in one fell swoop. -