On that day, Zhao Hongrun gathered everyone in the smelting bureau in a square in the bureau, sat on the floor with them, and discussed how to increase the output of candles per unit time.",
It has to be said that everyone gathered firewood with great enthusiasm, and not long after, a craftsman stood up and suggested: "It is better to use the method of minting coins from the Ministry of Household Affairs to create a large mold, which can produce a hundred pieces at a time."
Hearing this, the craftsmen around him nodded in agreement.
You must know that they are the Smelting Bureau and are good at making any large molds. Even the molds used by the Ministry of Household Affairs to cast coins are made by the craftsmen of the Smelting Bureau. Therefore, they can build a large mold for making candles.
The mold is not a problem at all.
But Zhao Hongrun was not satisfied with this.
After all, he had already thought of making large molds. The problem that troubled him was how to solve the candle wick problem. It had to be said that the suggestions made by this craftsman did not hit the point.
At this time, another craftsman stood up and said hesitantly: "Your Highness, how about this: the candle wick needs to be soaked in candle oil anyway, and the candle wick soaked in candle oil will solidify and shape after cooling. I will
Build a complete candle mold, pour candle oil into the candle, and then insert the solidified candle wick into it..."
I have to say that Zhao Hongrun's eyes lit up at the words of this old craftsman.
But at this moment, another craftsman frowned and retorted: "But how can we ensure that the candle wick is in the middle of the candle? According to some speculation, although the candle wick is solidified in advance, if it is inserted into the hot candle oil
, the candle wick must be softened, and the softened cotton thread cannot ensure that it runs across the candle, let alone be in the middle position... The old craftsman's suggestion is probably inappropriate."
After hearing these words, not only did the old craftsman from before nodded and sat down again with regret on his face, but even the craftsmen nearby also talked about it and felt that these words were indeed reasonable.
In response, Zhao Hongrun's expression was a little strange.
Because in his opinion, the old craftsman's suggestion was very constructive. Therefore, he tentatively said: "The hot candle oil will soften the solidified candle oil on the surface of the candle wick. So, what about lowering the temperature of the candle oil?"
"That doesn't guarantee that the wick will be in the middle of the candle." Chen Dan, the official of the Smelting Bureau, shook his head and affirmed: "This method is not good."
…
Zhao Hongrun opened his mouth, but was speechless.
He felt that the craftsmen of the Smelting Bureau seemed to be patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder who strived for perfection and were too particular about excellence, although there was nothing wrong with this.
"It would be nice if the candle wick wouldn't soften." Cheng Lin, the official of the Smelting Bureau, muttered from the side.
Hearing this, Zhao Hongrun's heart moved slightly.
He thought for a while and said in deep thought: "I do have an idea, but I don't know if it is feasible or not."
"Your Highness Prince Su, please speak." Bureau Chief Wang Fu said quickly.
Seeing this, Zhao Hongrun gestured with his hands and whispered: "Take a piece of bamboo silk and wrap the cotton thread around it in circles to act as a candle wick so that it will not bend."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was only silence in the open space, and many craftsmen looked at Zhao Hongrun with wide eyes, with surprise and weird expressions on their faces.
Is it possible that His Highness King Su had already made up his mind? In fact, in the end, the reward of two thousand taels of silver was finally obtained by His Highness himself?
Many craftsmen, who were thinking about the two thousand taels of silver reward, looked at Zhao Hongrun eagerly.
It has to be said that the craftsmen of the Smelting Bureau were quite pragmatic. When someone was excited, they hurriedly took a few bamboo silks and a ball of cotton thread, and followed the method described by Zhao Hongrun, and wound the cotton thread around the bamboo silk in a spiral shape.
First try. Failed.
Because the candle wick produced is almost as thick as a child's little finger.
Use this thing as a candle wick? How thick are the candles on the market?
So, the craftsmen immediately cut the bamboo silk into thinner pieces, and also used the thinnest cotton thread. After a lot of trouble, they made a candle wick that was only as thick as the head of a chopstick.
Although this candle wick is elastic and can be completely bent, it eliminates the possibility of bending without external force, which made many craftsmen of the Smelting Bureau present exclaimed.
But the problem is that this new candle wick cannot solve the most fundamental problem: how to ensure that the candle wick is always in the middle of the mold?
Even Zhao Hongrun has some good ideas for this.
However, seeing that His Highness Prince Su was in trouble, the craftsmen of the Zhongye Manufacturing Bureau became very interested. After all, according to His Highness Prince Su's promise, whoever solves this problem will receive a full two
The reward of a thousand taels of silver is a huge sum of money.
As a result, the craftsmen of the smelting bureau discussed with each other and put forward many suggestions.
It has to be said that even Zhao Hongrun felt that these suggestions were a bit unreasonable and completely out of the blue.
But it is undeniable that there are also some more reliable suggestions.
For example, one craftsman suggested changing the bottom of the mold so that the flat bottom of the mold becomes a pointed cone. In this way, as long as the wick above the mold is maintained in the middle position, the wick will inevitably be in the center of the candle.
Not to mention, even Zhao Hongrun nodded secretly after hearing this wisdom.
The only question is, how to use this kind of candle with a cone-shaped bottom? Is there a candle holder that matches it?
No, before Zhao Hongrun could ask, Lang Guan Chen Dan had already asked a question similar to what Zhao Hongrun was thinking: "How can it stand on the table if the bottom is sharpened?"
Coincidentally, the craftsman had already thought of a countermeasure, and it was the countermeasure that Zhao Hongrun had in mind: "Our Smelting Bureau can produce candle holders that match this batch of candles."
But Chen Dan sneered at this.
Although this honest and honest man was trembling when facing Zhao Hongrun, in terms of craftsmanship, the targeted questions he raised were really to the point: "Do you think people will spend an extra penny to buy the products launched by our Smelting Bureau?"
Candlesticks?... Or should we say that when our smelting bureau sells candles, we give away candlesticks for free?"
The craftsman was speechless and sat down awkwardly.
Think about it, you must know that candles are not cheap daily consumables, and they are far less economical than oil lamps. Therefore, the number of Wei people who use candles is originally less than those who use oil lamps.
But now, the Smelting Bureau has produced a batch of candles, but it requires the people of Wei who already think candles are expensive to spend an extra amount of money to buy a candlestick. Who will buy it?
As for giving it away for free, don't even think about it.
Buy a candle and get a candle holder for free?
If a common person only buys one candle, should you give it away?
deliver?
That's right, the Metallurgical Bureau will have to compensate so much that they even lose their pants!
At this moment, another craftsman stood up and said: "Actually, we can cut off part of the bottom and flatten it. Wouldn't that be great? The chipped candle can still be melted again to make a new candle.
"
Put it this way, it sounds much more reliable.
Zhao Hongrun nodded secretly and took the initiative to ask the names of the two craftsmen. If his smelting bureau finally chose their suggestion, then the two craftsmen would share the reward of two thousand taels of silver equally.
On this point, Zhao Hongrun has always been very generous.
But Zhao Hongrun's inquiry not only made the two craftsmen blush with joy, but also made the other craftsmen nearby a little jealous.
They racked their brains to think of a better way, after all, this matter involves the huge reward money!
For a moment, the entire square fell silent. Looking around, I could see that the craftsmen were all thinking attentively and gesturing with their hands, making the empty space where hundreds of people were apparently silent.
Suddenly, a young craftsman stood up and suggested: "Your Highness, I think that we can actually make a candle with a wick space inside first, and then put the wick in after the candle is made..."
As he spoke, he forgot about himself and ran to the front of a group of people. He gestured with his hands and added: "Your Highness, our Smelting and Manufacturing Bureau can use the method of minting coins in the Ministry of Finance to create a whole iron mold. This whole mold
, there can be dozens of grooves for making candles. The advantage of this is that as long as we pour the candle oil into the mold, the candle oil will fill each individual groove by itself... As for the candle wick, I recommend it below.
When making the mold, place an iron chopstick about the same thickness as the candle wick in the center of the bottom of each groove... Wait for the candles in these grooves to solidify and form. Well, we can design the bottom of the mold.
Push out the shaped candles. The candles made in this way become candles with wicks in the middle. Finally, we use the candle wicks improved by His Highness, dip them in hot candle oil, and insert them directly into the gaps in these candles.
, the hot candle oil will naturally melt with the inner wall of the candle, and in this way, a candle is made."
Eh?
Zhao Hongrun glanced at the young craftsman in front of him in surprise, and couldn't help but ask: "What's your name?"
The young craftsman suppressed the joy in his heart and said respectfully: "Reporting to Your Highness, my name is Ding Jun!"
Ding Jun......
Zhao Hongrun murmured this name in his heart. Although he had never underestimated these "ancient craftsmen" in his cognitive concept, it was undeniable that he was shocked by the wisdom of these "ancient craftsmen", especially this
A craftsman named Ding Jun.
Because maybe only Zhao Hongrun will understand that Ding Jun's suggestion surpasses the candle craftsmanship of this era by at least a thousand years.
You know, even the Yubu who are responsible for making candles, their method of making candles is still stuck in the process just tried by the Smelting Bureau: making two semicircular molds, and using two semicircular candles to sandwich the candle wick.
Compared with the more and more perfect candle making method that everyone in the Smelting Bureau has become more and more perfect in one step, how can it be described as more than backward?
Immediately, Zhao Hongrun made the decision to reward Ding Jun with one thousand taels of silver, and the other two craftsmen who initially proposed using large molds to make candles each with five hundred taels of silver.
In addition, all employees in the entire Smelting Bureau will receive an additional month's monthly salary.
Everyone is happy.
"Let's do something big!"
When Zhao Hongrun announced that he had officially built a large mold, all the craftsmen present couldn't help but cheer.
Although the tasks Zhao Hongrun gave them were quite heavy.
Within half a month, ten large candle molds were built, and each mold could produce a hundred candles at the same time.
It has to be said that as long as this matter goes smoothly, the speed at which the Smelting Bureau can make candles will make any candle workshop in the country despair, including the workshops managed by the Yu Department under the Ministry of Industry. (To be continued.)