Survival skills maxed out, I feed my wife and daughter by catching fish and shrimp

There was a smell of coal smoke mixed in with the steam, and everyone looked curious.

Crunch!

The teeth-grinding sounds of mechanical friction rang out one after another. It was obvious that the steam engine was still in the running-in stage, but the faces of the craftsmen were filled with joy.

"It's done! It's really done!"

Hu the bricklayer laughed loudly, and several old craftsmen kept circling around the boiler, their calloused hands wanting to touch the hot copper pipes but not daring to.

Tang Shao dipped a brush in cinnabar and painted something on the outer wall of the steam engine. The sunlight shone through the steaming mist and he was unaware of it.

Whoohoo!

The cast iron flywheel vibrated and rotated on the brick base. Tang Shao held the brass lever in his left hand and pushed and pulled it repeatedly, while his right hand hung on the cast iron pressure valve to make fine adjustments at any time.

His bloodshot eyes were fixed on the homemade barometer on the wooden frame - the barometer was a little crudely made.

Brass casing, glass mirror, and the mercury column inside is constantly shaking.

"The air pressure is two points different!"

Tang Shao shouted in a hoarse voice towards the coal pile. The apprentice who was responsible for adding coal hurriedly picked up the shovel and shoveled several shovels of clean coal.

"Who installed this joystick? It keeps getting stuck here!"

Several craftsmen immediately went up to check with their tools.

Although the steam engine has been started successfully, debugging and running-in is still a considerable task.

Everyone was busy for a while and finally came to an end.

call!

Hu the bricklayer let out a long sigh. "So... we can start production, right?"

Bricklayer Hu wiped the sweat that had flowed into the corners of his eyes. The oil stains drew black lines in his wrinkles. He looked at Tang Shao with a serious face, waiting for the technical master to give an answer.

Tang Shao checked it several times, and finally nodded seriously, "It should be OK. Let's try to see how it works with the loom."

When Hu the bricklayer wiped his face, it only made it look more scratchy.

But no one present seemed to notice it, and their eyes were all fixed on the newly built operating table.

Bricklayer Hu rubbed his hands together, took a few steps, and walked over to the leftmost loom. His thick, cracked fingers gripped the cast iron joystick. "I want to see how many water wheels this coal-eating monster can withstand!"

The clicking sound of the gears meshing together rang out like firecrackers on New Year's Eve, and the sandalwood shuttles of the five looms suddenly jumped in unison.

"Hey, there's no lag in the power at all. It seems we haven't reached the limit of this machine yet."

Hu the bricklayer continued to operate it a few more times and made some fine adjustments to some of the levers to make the switching smoother.

Du Qinniang subconsciously clenched the embroidered handkerchief in her hand, her eyes fixed on the running looms.

The eyesight she had developed over many years of weaving career allowed her to instantly see that the rise and fall rhythms of these looms were completely consistent.

It is more powerful than a waterwheel drive and the power is more consistent.

In the past, changes in water flow would cause the loom to stop, and weavers would have to try their best to adapt to the rhythm of the water flow.

Now it seems that this big thing called a steam engine was born for the purpose of loom.

Taking in everyone's expressions, Chen Changfan could roughly guess what they were thinking.

In the previous life, the invention of the steam engine directly triggered the Industrial Revolution, and the textile industry was the first to be affected. After the steam engine was widely promoted, the processing costs of the textile industry increased greatly and the price of cloth was greatly reduced. For technologically backward countries, it was simply a dimensionality reduction attack.

"Let the weavers go up and try."

Du Qinniang nodded, and then selected a few of the smartest and most clever weavers from among the weavers and asked them to sit in front of the loom.

bang bang bang!

Chun Xing, who had just sat down, suddenly covered her ears and looked at the huge steam monster not far away with fear in her eyes.

"Don't be afraid! This machine can not only help us save manpower, but also greatly increase the efficiency of the loom. Do you still want to work around the loom day and night like you did a few days ago?"

Du Qinniang's words reminded everyone that in order to meet the deadline, the weaver had been working day and night in the past few days. Although the overtime pay given by the boss was very generous, she was still very tired.

"The boss said we should believe in science! This steam engine is science. If you can't adapt to it, you will only end up working hard!" Tang Shao also spoke to comfort them.

"That's right! If we hadn't seen it with our own eyes, who would have thought that this coal-eating monster could also handle silk and cotton yarn?" The old bricklayer's mumbling mixed with the roar of steam gradually made everyone let go of their fear.

The weavers sat upright, listening carefully to Tang Shao's explanation:

"This is the gear lever, used to switch the power, and this is the emergency stop lever, which can be used in case of a malfunction..."

After the explanation, everyone had a general understanding and looked eager to try it out.

"Pedal when the red paint is over! Release your foot when the blue paint is in the box!"

At Tang Shao's command, several weavers started working.

Swish, swish, swish, under the somewhat unskilled control of several people, several looms slowly started to move.

“More stable than a waterwheel!”

After becoming proficient, the expressions of several people suddenly changed from anxiety to joy. Widow Zhou's exclamation mixed with the roar of the loom, "Look at the stitching, it's so fine and even, I can't believe it!"

Her rough fingers stroked the freshly woven plain cloth. The touch she had acquired over twenty years of weaving career told her that the quality of this cotton cloth was definitely top-notch.

"The time it takes for this iron ox to catch its breath is enough for us to go over and weave half a piece of fine gauze." Chun Xing pulled the piece of cloth that had just been taken off the loom and gestured, and suddenly found that her arms could be fully stretched out - usually at this time, they would have been too sore to lift.

"Slow down, don't break the machine!" Du Qinniang warned at the top of her voice, but she couldn't help but look at Chen Changfan and the others, "Boss, this iron ox can drive how many looms? We have thirty..."

"Thirty looms is no problem. After the weavers are trained, we will switch the power to the thirty looms. Then the efficiency will be greatly improved." Chen Changfan said confidently.

"Okay, okay, now we can definitely meet the construction deadline." Du Qinnan left with satisfaction.

Seeing that the problem here had been solved, Chen Changfan signaled Tang Shao and Hu the roofer to go and rest. In the past few days, not only the weavers had been working overtime, but these two people had also been working hard.

"Boss, this steam engine still needs a lot of improvement. I... I can't sleep."

"Yes, sir, this iron ox... ahem, it's a steam engine. It consumes both coal and water. It needs to be watched over at all times."

Seeing that one of them had bloodshot eyes and the other had a greasy face, Chen Changfan was speechless.

How come all of my men are the kings of rolls?

"Improvements are definitely necessary. This is only the first generation of the steam engine. You will need to research how to improve the process, increase power, and design new models, such as iron oxen that can replace oxen for plowing, or iron horses that can replace pack horses."

Chen Changfan's words seemed to wake Tang Shao up. He had many inspirations in his mind, but his head was groggy and the more he thought, the more sleepy he became.

"These things won't be figured out in a short time. You should get some sleep and rest your brain."

After hearing what his boss said, Tang Shao felt really sleepy and nodded in agreement.

"As for the maintenance and management of the steam engine, you should draw up a duty roster and have the craftsmen take turns on duty. At the same time, remember to record the fault list in a timely manner and summarize common fault problems to Tang Shao, who will analyze and improve them."

After explaining things to the two of them, Chen Changfan also felt relieved.

For the past three days, he has been focusing on the development and debugging of the steam engine. Now that it has been completed as scheduled and the effect is almost as he expected, he feels a sense of accomplishment from the bottom of his heart.

The sense of accomplishment was even stronger than the day when he made the musket with his hands.

After all, the birth of the steam engine is of great significance. It is a groundbreaking product and a necessary condition for the start of the Industrial Revolution.

Of course, the difficulty is also extraordinary.

Iron ore, coal mines, and labor, each of these resources is indispensable.

Iron smelting, steelmaking, glassmaking and even lathes all need to reach a certain level of technology before they can be considered to have the most basic industrial foundation.

Even so, it took the combined efforts of the entire Xiaofeng Village to create this first steam engine.

If we want to truly enter the steam age, there is still a long way to go.

"The boss is really here."

While he was thinking, a familiar voice came from behind him. Chen Changfan turned around and saw that it was Shen Wanwu walking through the gate. Although he looked much thinner, the shrewdness in his eyes was even greater than before.

His gaze lingered briefly on the machine spewing steam, then he looked at the loom operating in an orderly manner, a flash of shock in his eyes.

"Is this the steam engine Tang Shao and the others were talking about? It's truly an ingenious and miraculous workmanship!"

Although Shen Wanwu did not understand the operating principle of the steam engine, with his keen businessman's vision, it was not difficult for him to see the huge potential of this machine.

Suppressing the many thoughts that were surfacing in his mind, Shen Wanwu turned to Chen Changfan and said with a smile, "Manager Wang from the South City Cloth Shop has been waiting for half a day with a deposit. He said he wants to order 1000 pieces of fine gauze."

He couldn't help but glance at the busy weavers again. "I was worried that Qi Niang and the others wouldn't be able to handle it, but now it seems that even two thousand pieces wouldn't be a problem, let alone a thousand."

Chen Changfan nodded slightly. This is natural.

Next month, the modified steam engine is expected to be manufactured and debugged. By then, the power will not be as simple as doubling it.

"Since the boss has agreed, we will accept the order. I will negotiate with Shopkeeper Wang in the next few days and try to get a good price."

"I trust you to do the job." Chen Changfan returned to his hands-off attitude and nodded with a smile.

Shen Wanwu opened the list in his hand and reported to Chen Changfan one by one on the progress of Xiaofengzhuang and the market.

"The vegetable greenhouses have seen a bumper harvest, and the corn is also growing well and will be ready for harvest within half a month.

Nowadays, the business in the market is booming and the demand for alcohol is in short supply.

We have now started to acquire other wineries in the city. Once the acquisition is successful, we can further expand production capacity and reduce storage pressure.

The restaurant is still under renovation, and our sign hasn't even been put up yet, but all the major restaurants in this county town are already feeling insecure."

Chen Changfan was not surprised by this. After all, Erguotou was very popular nowadays, and it was difficult for many powerful people to have a sip.

If you open a restaurant and offer Erguotou as a special dish, you can directly attract a group of diners from the powerful and wealthy classes.

By then, if he could serve up fresh river food and his own signature dishes, it would not be difficult to become an instant hit.

To Chen Changfan's surprise, the shipbuilding project that had been shelved had actually made some progress.

"The price of ebony has plummeted recently. A piece of ebony that normally costs at least 50 taels is now only 20 taels. I think it's a good time to buy, so I stockpiled 1000 pieces of ebony. Whether for my own use or as an investment, it's an absolutely worthwhile deal."

Chen Changfan's eyes suddenly lit up when he heard this.

Ebony is dense and resistant to corrosion, making it the best wood of this era.

Ebony is used in shipbuilding because it is wind-resistant and corrosion-resistant, making the ships built strong and durable.

However, due to its high price, ordinary people generally cannot afford to use ebony to build ships. At most, important parts such as the keel are replaced with ebony.

In addition, ebony has a deep color and a solemn and steady pattern, so it is also used to make high-end furniture.

Whether it is furniture or ships, people generally recognize ebony. It can be said that ebony is the hard currency among woods, so Shen Wanwu decided to stockpile a batch of it.

"Keep an eye on the price of ebony. If the price is right, you can purchase more. We'll need this high-quality wood when we build our fleet."

The fleet Chen Changfan mentioned was not just the small black-sailed boats used for fishing, but also the canal boats and even the tower ships that could sail on the big rivers.

After all, Qinghe County guards such a large Qinghe River, which leads directly to the Canglan River. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a "thoroughfare that reaches all directions."

This convenient transportation is certainly an advantage, but it is also a hidden danger.

The world is in chaos now. Once a full-scale war breaks out and the enemy organizes a navy, I'm afraid they can attack from hundreds of miles away in a day.

Therefore, if conditions permit, building some warships might really come in handy.

He knew that the real chaotic times were about to come, and the prosperity before him was just a moment of peace before the war. It was always good to be prepared.

Shen Wanwu nodded, indicating that he would continue to pay attention, and then continued to report, "Now that Xiaofeng Village has further expanded its manpower, the Firearms Battalion has become quite combat-ready. Especially the already established Fire Gun Company and Artillery Company, the soldiers are sharpening their swords, eager to have a tough battle to practice their skills."

Chen Changfan was speechless.

Other people's soldiers are afraid of fighting, what's wrong with you recruits?

They are all so warlike, are they rebelling?

"Those new recruits are probably bored, so let's assign each of them to mine for a month and see if they can still make trouble!"

Now that Black Horn has been transferred out, the mine is missing a big heart, and the enthusiasm of the new recruits is just the right thing to fill the gap.

The corners of Shen Wanwu's mouth twitched slightly. "Boss, what you said makes sense, but... we have more than 2000 soldiers now, I'm afraid the mine can't accommodate so many people..."

This reminded Chen Changfan.

Soldiers are all ruffians, and they all have a bit of a ruffian nature.

This group of new recruits would be fine if there were a war, as they could quickly gain experience. However, with the recent peace, if they are not restrained, I am afraid that trouble will arise.

"It seems like it's time to find an opportunity to give them some experience."

"Master, you are wise. I heard that the ice on the Qing River has been cracking abnormally recently, and many people have fallen into the ice holes. Now, people from the ten major sects have gone there. They say that a monster has appeared in the river, and they are all rushing to subdue it."