Entering the workshop with a large chimney, as Lao Luo expected, it was a foundry, because the most conspicuous thing in it was something similar to the local method of steelmaking in later generations, there were no sparks in it, and molten steel overflowed, obviously this was not an open furnace.

Unlike other big houses, there is no roof in half of the place, obviously this should be a fireproof and high-heat setting, you must know that this era can not build a huge steel structure of twenty or thirty meters high in later generations, so according to the nearly two-meter stove-like thing, its heat is enough to burn the roof.

There is a notched lid on the top of the stove, and the chimney is directly connected to the side of the stove, and there are several pottery pipes on the side, which seem to be the functions of blowing air and discharging molten iron respectively, and the terracotta pipes that extend down lead directly to the ground in front.

There were more than a dozen people busy in the empty venue, and when he got closer and looked closer, Lao Luo found that the ground was not a flat green brick, but a uniform soft sand, and the sand was inlaid with evenly arranged pottery fans, which were of different sizes, but they could be guessed to be the uses of different parts.

There are some metal embryos stacked on the wall, looking at the appearance of discarded or unqualified products, and another location is a storage ore tank, which contains black iron ore, of course, there is red ore next to it, Lao Luo can probably guess that this is not crushed phosphorite and hematite, but it is placed here without crushing, maybe it is a problem with the process.

In the distance, there was a lot of coal piled up in the corner of the room, and farther away was a large exit, and outside was a pile of wood that looked like a hill. Lao Luo didn't find such a thing as coke, it seems that the craftsmen here should not have used coke, he remembers that he seems to have heard that the Yue Kingdom began to use coke to smelt iron and forge swords during the Warring States Period, maybe the process was lost, and the people here did not inherit it.

"Siniang, why did you get here?" An old craftsman who was busy on the ground stood up, and it was probably the guy next to him who reminded him, "It's a mess here, there's ash everywhere, let's go play elsewhere...... Hey, who's this? ”

Of course, the latter question refers to Lao Luo, although there is Li Ji with him, that is to say, there is nothing to keep secret from Lao Luo here, but the old craftsman does not have this awareness, because this is the place he is responsible for, and craftsmanship is the capital of eating, and the basic purpose cannot be revealed.

"Fifth Uncle Zong, this is my friend Luo Kaixian Luo Saburo and my second uncle, my grandfather has already seen him, it's okay." Li Ji hurriedly explained Lao Luo's identity, the old guy in front of him was also a stubborn ghost, and his temper came up, and no one paid attention to it.

"No, I'm in charge of this workshop, and we can't ask outsiders to learn our eating skills." Old man Zong's stubborn temper came up, and his words were not good.

Lao Luo understood very well in his heart, the craftsmen of this era have guarded their skills more than the sky, he looked left and right at some of the broken embryos around, pulled out a broken wheel embryo, pointed to the bubbles on the section and said: "Zong Wubo, right?" The younger generation wants to ask a question, the bubbles in the embryo of this casting, I'm afraid your old man hasn't solved it yet, right? ”

Although Lao Luo is not a person in a high position and imposing power, but his behavior is destined to be different from the people of this era, the calmness that comes out of his bones makes the old man of Zong not dare to speak lightly, his words are just to add pressure to Li Ji, at this time when he heard Lao Luo's words, he was naturally diverted, he looked at the young man who was half a body taller than him with scrutiny and suspicion, "That kind of bubble is a problem that no number of masters can solve, what can you do?" ”

"Of course there is a way, but what good will it do me to say it?" Lao Luo's tone was also very annoying, and the people who were originally squatting on the ground and fiddling with the sand mold pottery fan all stood up and looked at the half-cut broken casting in Lao Luo's hand, and the eyes of these people were suspicious, excited, ashamed, and angry...... But this is also the truth, as the old man Zong said, how many people have not been able to solve the problem, why should people tell you?

"Hmph, rely on one or two empty words to deceive my old man, who knows if what you say is true or false? Young people, it's not a good thing to talk nonsense! "The old man has been a craftsman for half his life, so he naturally understands the difficulty of this, and also understands the various crafts of the entire industry.

"Siniang, call someone to invite Shibo here, this matter can't be said casually." Lao Luo knew in his heart that this kind of old craftsman in front of him was not a fuel-efficient lamp, and his words of self-respect were just a method of agitation, although he was only a soldier, but he was not a soldier who only knew how to temper his body in this era. Technology knows no borders, but those who master technology have nationalities and nationalities, and if you say something that changes the times, it is likely to cause too many variables in the future.

"Third brother, you mean?" Li Ji looked at Lao Luo with crystal eyes, and subconsciously asked her to see Lao Luo nodding silently, and directly called a familiar little helper from the crowd to call her grandpa.

Seeing this situation, the onlookers began to be silent, but there was a flame burning in their eyes, no one is a fool, and now this situation clearly shows that a new practical technology can be seen, as people who can watch from the sidelines, this is the capital that they will have more experience than others in the future.

The old man Zong, who was still blushing with excitement, also understood that the other party was not something he could provoke at this time, and said calmly: "Young man, do you really have a way to solve the bubble problem?" If you can really solve it, I can come and go as you like here, even if you want me to make you a hundred or ten objects, or apologize! ”

Lao Luo was still holding the half-cut wheel in his hand, looking at this upright and stubborn old guy, he was really a little crying and laughing, and when he was about to speak, there were hurried footsteps from behind, "Zong Lao Wu, what are you doing?" To whom to apologize? ”

It was Li Ji's father Li Nie's big voice who came over, Li Ji turned around and grabbed his father to explain, and in a few words, Li Nie understood everything, and dared to love this future son-in-law to support his daughter, he also pulled Lao Luo with some suspicion and asked: "San Lang, do you really have a way to solve this bubble problem?" ”

"Shibo, this is a trivial matter, the key is that this technology can't be passed on casually." Lao Luo whispered to the future father-in-law.

"Well, that's right!" Li Ne looked around and found that because there was no start to cast new spare parts, there were no outsiders here, and the people who came with him just now were all his own family, "It's okay, basically my own people here, San Lang, you say." ”

Lao Luo nodded, and he didn't pretend to be a big man, he just tapped the half of the casting embryo he was holding with his fingers, and the people around him were silent, only the object in his hand made a muffled sound, "Everyone heard this sound, this sound means that there is a hollow inside the casting, which is not dense enough, that is to say, there are a lot of impurities in it." ”

He didn't say anything about sulfides, oxides and the like, and he couldn't explain it in a short time, "Then only by removing these impurities and bubbles can the casting be more durable, I won't say much, everyone has their own understanding, I said that there are two ways to remove impurities, one is to extend the calcination time......"

The craftsmen all understood this simple truth, impurities, just burn it for more time, as long as you pay attention not to burn the stove out, they all nodded, along with the stubborn old man Zong and Li Nie all had one expression.

"Another key way is to stir!" Lao Luo threw away the casting in his hand and stood next to the ladle-like forge, "What about this furnace, what is your name?" Iron ladle or steel ladle? ”

When Lao Luo said "stirring", the eyes of the crowd were bright, but there was also confusion, stirring is easy to say, but it is not easy to actually operate. As for Lao Luo's ladle or iron ladle, everyone is a little confused, this technology has never been named exactly since they started using it, everything is just a blur, just work.

Looking at the expressions of the people around him, Lao Luo understood, don't talk nonsense, these are unsystematic craftsmen, and the classical technology of the East suffers from here - there is no theory called a system, "I just said it directly, I call this thing an iron ladle, the main adjustment position is at the top, this cover should be redone, retain the air dispersion hole, and there must be a probe hole for the agitator, the stirring rod will stick into the hole, and the outside should be connected to the crank handle......"

He also did not specialize in metallurgy, and the problem of eliminating bubbles in liquid molten iron was also a key point in technology until later generations, and he also went to the interior of various factories in later generations, and in this era, although this big problem could not be solved in a few words, the possibility of residual bubbles could be minimized through simple methods. Fortunately, no one in this era corrected his "unprofessional" naming method, and in fact, the name of this thing is a symbol, the key is the principle and function, this point is thorough, these old craftsmen are far from being comparable to the experts on paper in later generations, maybe they don't understand the principle, but in terms of hands-on practical ability, dozens of experts can't compare to them.

So after Lao Luo Bibi made a rough point, Li Ne and the old man of Zong drove everyone else aside, grabbed Lao Luo on the ground and borrowed sand, smeared and painted, this is two or three hours, the three of them sometimes laughed, sometimes noisy and blushing and thick-necked, Li Ji did not participate but did not go away, just stared at Lao Luo who was with his father with a pair of beautiful eyes.

The rest of the craftsmen did not turn away in annoyance because they were driven away by the old craftsmen, but gathered together in groups of three or five to discuss everything they had heard, whether they understood it thoroughly or not, Lao Luo's words opened a window for them.

As for the future, it depends on how these craftsmen grasp it.

After Lao Luo, Li Nie and the old man Zong finished discussing, it was already time for the sunset to cross the mountainside, and Lao Luo was pulled by Li Nie to drink together, accompanied by Li Ji and the old man Zong, who was still stubborn. Lao Luo, who had a relationship with his future father-in-law for the first time, made a serious mistake - he poured too much into his future father-in-law......