After lunch, the old man took the four carving craftsmen to the furniture factory.
In the furniture factory, ten carpenters were working in full swing, and the sound of banging and banging could be heard all the time.
One of the craftsmen asked curiously: "Steward, what does this furniture factory do?"
The old man raised his head and said proudly: "The furniture factory, as the name suggests, is for making furniture. This is run by the Second Young Master himself. In time, the entire Chang'an City will use the Second Young Master's furniture. You saw it just now."
Here we are, the revolving wooden chair in our Duke's Mansion is produced by a furniture factory. Even His Majesty tried it and repeatedly said yes. I can tell you, follow the Second Young Master well. The Second Young Master is kind-hearted and will never treat you badly.
Yours."
When several carvers heard this, they were shocked.
At the same time, I secretly made up my mind to work hard. If nothing else, just 10 cents a day was enough to make many colleagues envious.
Du He asked someone to clear out a spacious room, which was the workshop of several craftsmen.
He called the four of them to him, took out "The Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties" and put it on the table.
Du He asked: "How long do you think it will take to print such a book?"
Several craftsmen picked up the thick novel, read through it, and discussed it for a long time.
Finally, one of the engravers replied: "Second Young Master, if there are four of us, it will take at least a month to print it. The main thing is to make engravings, which is too time-consuming. For such a thick book, I am afraid that the engravings required will be too much."
It will fill half the room."
What this guy said is absolutely correct.
In this era, woodblock printing had just started. Although it had made great progress, its shortcomings were also very obvious.
First, engraving is time-consuming, labor-intensive and material-intensive;
Second, it is inconvenient to store a large number of books;
Third, it is difficult to correct typos.
Therefore, making an engraving of "The Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties" is indeed a huge project.
After hearing this, Du He stood up and said, "If I said that a book can be printed in five days, would you believe it?"
All four of them shook their heads together.
The key is that this book is too thick.
Du He smiled and said: "It doesn't matter whether you believe it or not. The most important thing is that it will work. Movable type printing? Have you heard of it?"
Everyone shook their heads.
Du He's face suddenly became serious: "From today on, you will be exposed to a lot of new things, which have not been available before. For the sake of convenience, you need to sign a confidentiality contract first. If you cannot do this,
Then leave now."
Du He clapped his hands, and Lao Fu immediately brought up four confidentiality contracts that Du He had prepared.
This contract simply stipulates that within two months, the four craftsmen are not allowed to leave the furniture factory, and they must stay in the furniture factory for food and accommodation. No matter what the reason is, they must not reveal what they have learned here, otherwise they will
was handed over to the government for processing.
The four craftsmen were shocked.
This is the first time I have seen this kind of regulation!
Du He added: "It's just for safety reasons, not to restrict everyone's personal freedom. During this period, your family members can come to the furniture factory to visit you."
One of the craftsmen stood up and said: "Second Young Master, I have no problem, but I need to go back now and make it clear to my family so that my wife and children won't worry."
The other three people also meant the same thing.
Du He nodded: "Of course, you still have this right. You can go back and think it over carefully, and then come to me. Master, give everyone 10 cents, which will be considered as today's wages."
Several people refused to ask for anything.
Du He waved his hand and said: "This is not to bribe you, but it has wasted most of your time today. It is reasonable to pay wages."
The four of them took the money and left gratefully.
Seeing this, the old man said curiously: "Second Young Master, why do you treat them like this? These people are untouchables. It's good to just give them food. They also have to pay 10 cents in wages. Is this necessary?"
Du He glanced at Lao Fu and said: "Old Fu, this is what you are wrong about. People are rich and low, but there is no distinction between superior and inferior. They, like you and me, are all human beings and have wives and children to support.
It is a matter of course that you have to work, eat, and receive wages. I, Du He, have no control over what other people do, but for me, the first priority is equality."
The old man's eyes widened and he didn't know if he understood.
…
Wang Erniu was originally from a Taoist family in Hexi. In the fourth year of Zhenguan, the Turks went south and occupied Hexi. Wang Erniu fled to Chang'an with his wife and a pair of children under three years old, and lived in his uncle's house under the fence.
In the past few years, although Wang Erniu was good at carving and was very skilled in carving, it was not easy to make a living in Chang'an City, not to mention that he still had a family to support, so he often had to eat without finishing, and he didn't know where he wanted to be.
As for the uncle who took refuge with him at the beginning, although he was a junior member of Chang'an City and his family had considerable assets, he was very snobbish. He gave them a shabby house to live in and had to collect rent every month. It was hard to imagine that they were a family.
On this day, Wang Erniu set up his stall early in the morning. If he was lucky, he could carve seals for people and earn a few penny. But if he was unlucky, he would not open his stall for a day, and he would not make any penny.
After leaving the stall, a middle-aged man wearing silk and satin came, claiming to be the steward of Laiguo Palace. He needed to find some craftsmen with superb carving skills to work. While others were still hesitating, Wang Erniu was the first to do it.
Rushed forward.
What happened next made Wang Erniu feel a little dreamy.
He and the other three were first taken to the Lai Kingdom Palace and met the famous Master Du He, one of the four evils of Chang'an. After the meeting, Wang Erniu discovered that Du He was completely different from the rumored four evils of Chang'an.
, Treat others politely and very politely.
What shocked him even more was that the shocking revolving wooden chair he saw in the courtyard of the Duke's Mansion was actually made by the second young master.
From that moment on, Wang Erniu decided to stay with the second young master and work no matter what, especially as 10 cents a day was enough for his family to live a good life.
After getting 10 cents, Wang Erniu left the Duke's Mansion. Instead of going home immediately, he went to the market and bought a pound of meat and some fruits. In the end, he still had 5 cents left.
Back home, Wang Erniu put the meat and fruits on the table with a smile on his face.
When his wife Zhou saw it, she was shocked: "Er Niu, are you crazy? You must have spent a lot of money to buy these things. We can hardly even eat, so how can we eat meat?"
Wang Erniu showed an honest smile and said: "It doesn't matter, I have money now, and I still have 5 cents..."
As he spoke, he took out the copper coins and handed them to Zhou, and then briefly explained what happened today.
After hearing this, Mrs. Zhou didn't come back to her senses for a long time.
A pair of children, dressed in rags, were so happy that they ate fruits and melons that were rarely eaten a few times a year.