Chapter 40: New Year (Part 1)

After the Laba Festival, it was only a few more days until the Kitchen God's Day. The entire household was bustling with preparations for the New Year, the most important of which was the thorough cleaning, or "sweeping the house." All the servants, maids, and elderly women were mobilized, even the visiting family members were given brooms to sweep the courtyards.

The household had many residential courtyards and even more halls and pavilions. Apart from the inner courtyards, there were no fewer than a hundred rooms. Tasks like wiping windows and sweeping walls were part of the daily routine, but the indoor dark floors, partition screens, railings, and intricately carved screens required a lot of effort. Some of these carvings depicted landscapes, figures, fish, insects, birds, and beasts, and a moment's carelessness could lead to damage. Additionally, there were various decorations inside the rooms, such as fine porcelain, jade, antiques, calligraphy, paintings, vases, and other precious items that needed careful handling, some requiring water washing and others oil polishing, making the task quite complicated.

Without a large workforce, it would be impossible to complete the cleaning from morning till night. Fortunately, Zheng Shou, who was in charge of the household's miscellaneous affairs, and Jian Xi, who managed the inner courtyards, had both participated in such large-scale cleaning before and were experienced. They divided everyone into several groups, each led by an experienced person, and assigned tasks in a manner similar to the modern "production responsibility system." They coordinated and directed the workforce, acting like generals commanding a vast army.

Zhao Cheng found himself getting in the way wherever he went, so he decided to take two young eunuchs and hide in the household's workshop. There were about ten people regularly working there, including masons, carpenters, blacksmiths, and those who did finer work like coppersmiths and silversmiths. They were responsible for repairs and the production of various items needed in the household, essentially serving as the maintenance team. Despite their small number, they were all experienced craftsmen who had been selected to work in the royal household.

As soon as Zhao Cheng entered their small courtyard and saw the blacksmith's furnace, tongs, hammers, and saws, he felt a sense of familiarity. In his previous life, he had studied mechanical engineering, and his future was supposed to be in design institutes or factories producing aircraft, artillery, machine guns, and missiles. However, fate had led him to join the special forces, changing the course of his life.

"Second Master, what brings you here? There's not even a place to sit!" The workshop foreman, Zhang Erbao, was surprised to see Zhao Cheng and felt at a loss.

"Master Zhang, they all find me in the way wherever I go. I thought I could hide here, but it seems you don't welcome me either!" Zhao Cheng put on a pained expression.

"Second Master, you're too kind. We would be honored to have you!" Zhang Erbao quickly led Zhao Cheng and the others into the house. The others hurried to greet them, and Zhang Erbao used his sleeve to wipe the only chair several times, then placed a cotton cushion on it before inviting Zhao Cheng to sit down. The others quickly stoked the fire and busied themselves making tea.

"Everyone, please sit down. Don't be so formal. I'm just here to hide out. If you're too polite, it will be my fault!" Zhao Cheng made a sweeping bow and smiled, showing his two small tiger teeth.

"Hehe, Second Master, you're joking. Our place is quite humble, and we fear we might not be able to treat you well!" The coppersmith, Zhang Liujin, offered a handful of walnuts, dates, persimmon cakes, and chestnuts, smiling. Despite his rough appearance, he was skilled with a six-pound hammer and was known as Zhang Liujin, his real name often forgotten. "Second Master, please have some. These are brought by the women who come to the household for the New Year. Though common, they are fresh from home!"

"Thank you, everyone. Are your families here and adapting well?" Zhao Cheng took a date and bit into it.

"We are grateful to Second Master. These women rarely leave home, and if not for the household sending people to fetch them, they would probably get lost. Here, they have food and drink, and they are quite comfortable. They even want to find something to do and don't want to leave!" The carpenter, Lu Dabin, said.

"That's great. In the future, as we develop, we will need more people. After the New Year, we will be building roads and dams, and the construction sites will need people to cook and boil water. Once the dam is built, we can raise ducks and fish. We will also build distilleries and mills, all of which will need workers. There will be no shortage of work for those who want to stay. The household can help provide housing, so you won't have to worry about being apart from your families and missing them at night!" Zhao Cheng said.

"We are grateful, Second Master. Having more women around to do the laundry and cooking will make it feel more like home. The women will be overjoyed to hear this!" Zhang Liujin said, tears welling in his eyes. The others were also deeply moved. Who wouldn't want to live with their families, but in the past, this was a luxury. Craftsmen were registered separately and could not leave their workshops easily, often separated from their families for long periods.

Zhao Cheng chatted with everyone for a while, then the conversation turned to their crafts. He was not very familiar with ancient production techniques and wanted to learn more about the current level of technological development from their discussions. These craftsmen were living textbooks, and they had created many new techniques through their practical experience.

"Master Zhang, if I want to shape this copper sheet into this form, what method would you use?" Zhao Cheng picked up a thin copper sheet and gestured.

"Second Master, that's easy. You can hammer it directly, and it won't have any wrinkles!" Zhang Liujin took the copper sheet and quickly hammered it into shape.

"If I need a large number of identical pieces, is there a faster way?" Zhao Cheng asked.

"That's also possible. Just make a male and female mold. Place the copper sheet on top and hammer it to ensure they are all the same size!" Zhang Liujin quickly came up with a solution and demonstrated it.

"Master Cao, if I want to drill a hole in a two-foot-long piece of fine iron, can you do it?" Zhao Cheng asked Cao Shuangcheng, the blacksmith.

"Second Master, that's too long. We can't do it. One, we don't have a good drill bit, and two, we can't guarantee it won't deviate. A shorter piece would be possible!" Cao Shuangcheng respectfully replied.

"Ah, I see." Zhao Cheng nodded. His question was not random. He wanted to improve his revolver. Since the gunpowder in his revolver contained saltpeter, it was prone to moisture, which could cause misfires. The solution was to create a cartridge with the gunpowder and bullet combined.

Many people believed that improvements in guns led to the development of bullets, but this was incorrect. The development of guns was driven by advancements in bullet manufacturing. From their conversation and demonstration, Zhao Cheng realized that it would be impossible to produce modern bullet casings with the current technology, but making percussion caps was feasible. He had an idea: using early paper cartridges might work, which could solve the problem of gas leakage and the severe wear caused by frequent firing. If the barrel could be made of fine iron, he could essentially create a functional revolver.

"Second Master, are you thinking of making something? We will do our best to help you!" Cao Shuangcheng asked, seeing Zhao Cheng lost in thought.

"Yes, but that's not urgent. Right now, I have an urgent task and need your help to find a solution!" Zhao Cheng said.

"Second Master, what is it?" The craftsmen leaned in, eager to show their skills. Recently, only Zhang Liujin had made a large hot pot for the prince and received a reward. The others were eager to demonstrate their skills.

"Have any of you seen a 'mercury extraction device' used by Taoist priests?" Zhao Cheng asked. A few days ago, he had used such a device left in the Taoist temple by Qingyun to distill alcohol. These ancient Taoist priests designed a distillation apparatus to extract mercury from cinnabar. The device was divided into two parts: the upper part, shaped like a round-bottomed flask called a "pomegranate can," was a sealed container for cinnabar and other materials, with a tube connected to it. The lower part, shaped like a bucket called a "sweet pot," was heated to allow the mercury vapor to flow into a cooling container, where it condensed into liquid mercury.

This distillation apparatus was quite advanced even by today's standards. However, it was not suitable for large-scale alcohol production, so it needed to be improved. Since these devices would be needed after the New Year, it was a good time to discuss improvements with the experts.

Artisans often competed to show their skills, and these craftsmen formed a "research and development team" to tackle the prince's challenge. The carpenters thought about how to solve the problem with their methods, while the blacksmiths and coppersmiths proposed solutions from their perspectives. The silversmiths and jade carvers, feeling left out, could not contribute much to this particular task.

Everyone offered ideas and suggestions, and Zhao Cheng listened to one and talked to another, effectively mobilizing everyone's enthusiasm. Zhao Cheng spent almost the entire day in the workshop, even having lunch there, and finally came up with a preliminary plan. They agreed to start the trial production after the New Year.

As the sun was about to set, Jian Xi rushed in, looking flustered. "Second Master, why are you hiding here? Everyone is waiting for you to preside over the Kitchen God's Day ceremony. Quick, come back and change your clothes!" He saw the prince chatting enthusiastically with the craftsmen and looked distressed.

"Second Master, please go back. This is important and can't be delayed!" The others urged. Reluctantly, Zhao Cheng left the workshop and followed Jian Xi back.