Li Zhi took two more bricks to try. This time, no matter how Li Zhi shook them, the second brick stuck firmly to the first brick. Li Zhi took a knife to cut the joint between the two bricks and found that
The hardened cement was as hard as stone. When the steel knife was cut hard, sparks flew out, leaving only a small hole in the cement.
This kind of strength is enough to make a city wall.
When several craftsmen saw the effect of cement, they were all very surprised. The most powerful adhesive they had ever seen was Sanhetu. Where had they seen such a hard adhesive as cement? Four craftsmen gathered around the two pieces and glued them together.
After looking at the bricks together for a long time, I pulled, knocked and smashed them, but I couldn't separate the two bricks.
Finally, Boss Feng shook his head and walked up to Li Zhi and said: "The official's methods are too powerful. This cement is used to build the city wall and it is impregnable!"
After making cement, Li Zhi was very happy and said loudly: "The four of you have made cement. You have merit. Each of you will be awarded five taels of silver."
Five taels of silver is enough for a family of three to spend two or three months. The four craftsmen are also used to living a hard life. They are very grateful to get three taels of silver from working here for a month. At this time, Li Zhi
The reward of silver was given again, which immediately made the four craftsmen beam with joy.
"Where did we make it? It was all made according to the instructions of adults!"
"Your Majesty, that's so generous. Thank you very much, Your Majesty!"
"Thank you, sir!"
Li Zhi listened to the craftsmen's thanks with a smile, and then said: "But you can't leak the formula of this cement! Once someone leaks the secret, military law will be dealt with!"
The four craftsmen quickly answered: "I know!"
"We know it!"
After experimentally making cement, Li Zhi began mass production. He hired twelve more limestone workers and erected three new vertical cellars under the guidance of Boss Liang. All four vertical cellars soon began mass production.
Cement. One vertical kiln produces three furnaces of cement per day, each furnace is 200 kilograms. Three vertical kilns can produce 2,400 kilograms of cement per day.
This cement is enough to supply Fanjiazhuang's civil engineering projects. Any extra can be sold on the market.
After the cement was produced, the masons in Fanjiazhuang got the new cementing material immediately. Li Zhi gave the finished cement to the masons who were building the barracks to replace the Sanhe soil.
However, these masons who were accustomed to using Sanhe soil did not accept Li Zhi's cement.
Tao Youmao, the head mason, looked at the cement sent by Li Zhi, blew his mustache with some disdain, and said to the craftsmen around him:
"Master Guan Dui is joking with us! I have been a bricklayer all my life, and I have never heard of anything better than Sanhe soil! The only thing I have heard of is that rich officials and gentry in the south added brown sugar to Sanhe soil when building their houses.
The effect is slightly better than Sanhe soil, but the cost is too high. The 'cement' sent by the management team seems to be very cheap at first glance, how can it be comparable to Sanhe soil?"
Hearing Tao Youmao's complaints, the masons nearby also commented:
"Yes, there is glutinous rice in Sanhe soil. How can other materials be more useful than Sanhe soil?"
"Isn't it possible that the leader of the team was fooled by the lard and wanted to save some money by cutting corners?"
"It's really possible. Is the team leader running out of money?"
For a while, the masons were all talking about Li Zhi's view of money. Li Zhi challenged these masons' worldview, and these masons damaged Li Zhi from beginning to end. They were unwilling to believe that cement was better than Sanhe soil.
A middle-aged mason walked up to Tao Youmao and said worriedly: "Mr. Potter, a few days ago you said that the management team had money and wanted to use us to build the city wall. Now the management team has even resorted to cutting corners to build a barracks.
I'm afraid we don't have the money to build the city wall!" Shaking his head, the middle-aged mason continued: "We have been working so hard on building this barracks these days and using so much materials, just because we want to take over the job of building the city wall and covering it with bricks. Now look.
Come on, this is all fantasy!"
After hearing the discussion among his men, Tao Youmao pondered for a moment, waved his hand and said: "Okay, let's try the effect of this cement first, and then we'll see if it's useless!"
Hearing Tao Youmao's words, the middle-aged mason said loudly: "What are you trying, potter's head, this cement is dark, it doesn't work at first glance!"
Tao Youmao blew his beard and said loudly: "I said try it, so I'll try it. Let's talk after you try it!"
After hearing Tao Youmao's words, everyone stopped complaining and started trying out the dark cement. According to the boy who delivered the cement, the masons mixed cement and sand in a ratio of one to five, and then brought in well water.
Pour on top of the cement and sand mixture and stir evenly with a shovel.
The black powdery cement turned into a sticky paste when stirred. Seeing this scene, the onlookers were amazed.
"It's turned into something like a cement bar!"
"It's interesting!"
"Don't tell me, although it's definitely not as good as Sanhe soil, it might actually be a little sticky!"
"The team leader is a bit careful about cutting corners, and it's not all random."
Tao Youmao was also surprised when he saw the changes in the cement. He asked people to use the cement as an adhesive to build a four-foot-high wall in the dug foundation hole.
The masons were all veterans, and the cement was now as sticky as the Sanhe soil before it solidified. Several masons built the wall very quickly. In less than half an hour, a brick wall four feet long and four feet high was completed.
After the wall was built, everyone buried the foundation of the brick wall with soil and waited for the cement to dry.
When the sun set, the cement gradually dried, and everyone gathered back at Tao Youmao's place. Seeing that the guys were all back, Tao Youmao said, "Okay, it's time to do it anyway! Let's give him a try!"
Everyone's eyes suddenly lit up to see how Tao Youmao was going to try the cement.
Tao Youmao pointed at the middle-aged mason and said, "Go kick him a few times!"
The middle-aged mason said "Okay", then rolled up his sleeves and took three steps back. He yelled, rushed forward and kicked the wall.
Seeing the middle-aged mason kicking so hard, everyone was afraid that the wall would fall down and hit them, so they all took a step back with grins on their lips.
"ah!!"
However, they did not see the brick wall fall, but they heard the middle-aged bricklayer let out a scream, and then saw him jumping up with his feet in front of the motionless brick wall.
"My feet! Damn it, Tao Youmao, you made me kick this wall because you wanted to kill me! My feet were broken by the kick!"
Everyone was shocked when they saw the appearance of the middle-aged mason. They were stunned for a while and began to look at the cement wall again.
This cement from the team leader is still of some use, it's not that inferior. At least this cement can withstand the impact of a small area, and it's not something that can make a hole every time.
Tao Youmao looked at the middle-aged bricklayer who was moaning like a pig, blew his moustache, then pointed at another young bricklayer and said, "Come here and bump against this wall!"
The fact that it can't be damaged by kicking means that the cement is still very hard after it dries. But if someone hits it with blunt force, it's another question whether the cement can support it with blunt force.
