The first clock made by Fei Fei was still thick and bulky in the eyes of Zhao and Ju, with a wooden shell clock body as high as one person, and it was difficult for a strong man to hold it. The sound of the various gears inside when they move is almost comparable to that of a reeling car, and it is an uncompromising noise. The hour hand, thicker than an adult's thumb, looks more like a dagger, and the excessively sharp minute hand is a fish gut dagger. Behind the clock is a hammer attached to a chain, a swingarm similar to the starter of an old tractor, which raises the position of the hammer, and when it is running, the gravity of the hammer drives the clock through the sprocket. For ease of use, the clock is also equipped with a ratchet device, which allows the sprocket to move freely in the opposite direction, and when the sprocket moves in the forward direction, it will drive the hands of the clock to rotate. (Note 1)

In order to control the speed of the clock, at the lower part of the front of the table clock, there is a pig iron hoist that swings back and forth, which is the pendulum.

When Zhao and Ju saw this thing, although it was so ugly, Zhao and Ju wanted to hug it and kiss it. This thing can not only facilitate human life, but also play an extremely important role in navigation, military and scientific research. Although it is still very simple at present, Zhao and Ju seem to see that it will bring a steady stream of power to him, and this power will help him realize his plan.

With a long sigh, Zhao Heju noticed Fei Fei squatting on the threshold. The craftsman was drinking slowly from a large bowl of sea, and though he had succeeded in making a clock, he did not show any joy, but remained in the same wooden appearance.

"There's Mr. Laofei." Zhao Youju couldn't hide himself at this time, in the past, he used Xiao Bolang or the old housekeeper to hide himself, but this time he finally couldn't hold it back, and went up and grabbed Fei Fei's hand. The old craftsman's hands were rough and tight, and he was held by his little hands, and he didn't even show a flattered look, but just glanced at Zhao Youju suspiciously.

"I don't know if it's accurate."

After a long while, Fei Fei muttered a word, and turned his head to the carving in the room.

"If you can move, you can adjust it!" Zhao Youju was very confident in this, and he circled the huge table clock twice: "It would be nice if it could be smaller." ”

"It's not hard to be smaller." Fei Fei's words seemed to be always so brief, and when he saw Zhao and Ju looking over, one of his apprentices said: "What my master means is that the first time you do it, you must always leave some leeway, and the next time you do it, you can do it more delicately." ”

Unlike Fei Fei's immobile mountain, his apprentice was full of excitement, although he didn't know much, he also understood that this thing was an amazing invention.

"Zi said, Zi said!" Zhao and Ju shouted outside.

Zhao Zi said that he came in in a hurry, he knew how to be measured, and he had always been not far from Zhao and Ju, so that he could be called at any time, but it would not affect Zhao and Ju Siyi.

"Send someone to invite Fourth Uncle Huo and Chongcheng to come, and it's done." Zhao Youju said loudly.

Zhao Zi said that it was rare to see Zhao Heju's emotions exposed, and he was a little surprised in his heart, he glanced at the table clock that was still moving, nodded immediately, and went out to call people without saying much.

Zhao Youju looked at Fei Fei, the old craftsman leaned on the bowl, and began to drink water slowly, and when he saw him, he only nodded slightly.

Huo Zuoyu came very quickly, and naturally Huo Chongcheng was indispensable, and as soon as he entered Zhuangzi, he shouted: "Ah Ju, Ah Ju, where are the things you said?" ”

Zhao Youju led him to the clock, Huo Chongcheng at first only saw the gourd-shaped pendulum swinging back and forth, and thought it was extremely interesting, but later found that the short sword-like minutes were also slowly turning, and he was so shocked that he turned around the clock, scratching his ears and cheeks at a loss.

"How much does it take and how much time does it take to make one?" Because he hasn't done it in the past two months, Huo Zuoyu has little hope of success, but at this time, he saw this thing spin with his own eyes, and he couldn't help but be overjoyed. However, unlike Zhao and Ju, who still have a hint of childishness, after he was happy, the first thing he thought about was whether this thing could be sold. If it costs hundreds or even thousands of dollars to make this thing, or it takes two or three months, then it can be sold, and it won't make much money.

"Ninety times." Fei Fei replied hesitantly, and added after a while: "It's small, but it's less." ”

"What about the time to do one?" Huo Zuo was overjoyed, more than 100 things, and they were so practical, the rich and noble had to buy one.

Fei Fei looked at Zhao Heju, and then at Huo Zuoyu: "I'll do it, and I can get one on the fifteenth." ”

This made Huo Zuoyu a little disappointed, with the ability to boil, it would take 15 days to get one, only more than 20 seats a year, each seat can earn 100 yuan, but only 2,000 yuan, compared to the investment, it is really a little too little. If you hire more people, firstly, there may not be craftsmen with such craftsmanship as Fei Fei, and secondly, you are afraid that the craftsmanship of this thing will be spread, which makes Huo Zuoyu extremely hesitant.

Zhao and Ju felt that the opportunity they had been waiting for for a long time had arrived.

"I have a way to shorten the construction period." Zhao Youju mentioned a sentence, and looked at Fei Fei again, the old craftsman finally showed a suspicious look, Zhao Heju smiled: "I'll talk about this matter later, Fourth Uncle Huo, in your opinion, can this thing be sold?" ”

"If the price is not extremely expensive, it will not be marketable." Huo Zuoyu wrenched his fingers and said: "People in the world use carved leaks and hourglass timing, which is not only inconvenient and inaccurate, but also inaccurate. Besides, this thing only needs to be tightened regularly...... Clockwork, no need to be taken care of, if it can be done more beautifully, placed at home, not only can be timed, but also can be decorated, rich and noble homes, will inevitably flock to it! ”

Speaking of this, Huo Zuoyu kept his mouth shut, and secretly thought in his heart, just in one place, there are no less than 100,000 rich families with more than 100,000 yuan, if they can sell this thing for 100,000 yuan, these rich families are afraid that they will flock to it. Ten thousand times a year, it is by no means difficult, Zhao Heju promised to give thirty percent of it to his son, which is three thousand times more than his hard work as a father in a year!

He, Zhao and Ju are both good at mental arithmetic, the two glanced at each other, felt related, and were about to speak, when they suddenly heard a "boom".

The bell fell to the ground in response, and in the midst of the broken wood and flying iron, Huo Chongcheng stood with a disgraced face: "There are no people hidden here, but how does it keep turning?" ”

It turned out that Huo Chongcheng saw that this thing was huge, but someone was hiding in it, and he kept swinging the iron gourd, and slowly turned the pointer on the front. He tried to lift the back cover to pull out the person hiding inside, but he accidentally pushed it and made a mess.

Huo Zuoyu and Zhao and Ju all laughed, and Huo Zuoyu laughed and asked, "This thing has a name?" ”

Zhao Heju smiled slightly: "Fourth Uncle Huo asked, he must have been confident, and asked Fourth Uncle Huo to name it." ”

"This thing looks like a carved leak and a bronze bell, so let's call it a quarter of an hour." Huo Zuoyu did not shirk.

Note 1: The clock process has been changed from a clockwork clock to a hammer clock, thanks to the book friend Quetzalcoatl and Yiyi_ for their guidance.