At this time, more than a dozen healthy women walked in from the outside, these healthy women carried baskets of combed wool, picked up a ball and gently took it on the sharp hammer, and the high-speed rotating sharp hammer seemed to carry an invisible mouth, pulling the wool fiber into it, forming a tough thin thread wound around the sharp hammer.

At this time, Ma Rencheng also saw a little bit of the doorway, although he was born in a family, but when he was young, he was very stubborn, although he had not done such spinning and weaving work himself, he had seen a lot. Seeing that the spike was spinning at an astonishing speed, and the milky white fibers covered the surface of the spindle at a speed visible to the naked eye, it was obvious that this was a hydraulic machine used for spinning.

"What a clever work!" Ma Rencheng high-fived and praised, his cheeks were covered with excitement: "With this thing, it is better than a thousand beautiful women, why worry that people in the world have no clothes to wear?" Lord Liu, did you come up with this? ”

"Huh!" Liu Cheng snorted haha, did not answer Ma Rencheng's question, the success of the water-powered spinning machine also made him very satisfied, because it was a trial run, he only loaded one-third of the number of spindles, if it is running at full capacity, this machine can drive two hundred and seventy spindles at the same time, the speed of spindle rotation is far better than that of the hand-spinning machine, the machine can be day and night, this machine alone, it is worth six or seven hundred rural women using hand-spinning machines. Moreover, I built a pond in front of it, and the water flow is stable, so I don't need to worry about the problems of the usual hydraulic machinery such as dry season and sediment accumulation. As long as the first batch of wool arrives in Xu Hecheng, its own water-powered spinning mill can be opened.

didn't get Liu Cheng's answer, and Ma Rencheng didn't get angry, he saw the other party's performance as a sign of modesty. He walked up to the spinning machine with great interest, reaching out and touching the sturdy stand and the hot belt, like a child who has come across a novelty toy.

After about a meal. The hydrospinning machine stopped - for the simple reason that the raw materials had run out. More than a dozen baskets of wool turned into stacks of neatly arranged yarn tubes, before Xu Hecheng's caravan returned, this was all the wool in Liu Cheng's hands, as long as it went through the weaving process, these fine yarns would become delicate woolen flannel cloth. Ma Rencheng couldn't put it down, picking up a yarn tube. Gently touching the smooth and tough yarn with his fingertips, he sighed again and again: "Good yarn, really good yarn!" “

"Brother Ma, Brother Ma!" Liu Cheng raised his voice and shouted twice before Ma Rencheng woke up from his ecstasy.

"It's very dusty in this house, why don't you go to my office and have some tea?"

"Very good, very good!" When Ma Rencheng came out of the house, he suddenly felt an itchy nose and sneezed six or seven times in a row. Only then did he find that his body was already covered with fine fluff, itching to death, and he couldn't get rid of it no matter how he patted it, so he had to take off his green shirt, asked the scholar to take it, and wore a short shirt with Liu Cheng.

After entering the government office, the two sat down separately and brought tea. Liu Cheng took two sips and said with a smile: "I'm very crude here." If you are sluggish, please also ask Brother Ma Haihan! ”

"Where, where!" Ma Rencheng drank the tea in the cup in one gulp, but he was afraid that he didn't feel what he was drinking at all, so he put the teacup on a few cases and asked: "I came here today, and I have gained knowledge in the next place, and the past thirty years have been in vain." Dare to ask an adult. How can the power of this water flow drive such a stoic spindle, could it be that there are gods and ghosts to help? ”

"This-" Liu Cheng was stunned when he heard this, and then smiled bitterly: "Brother Ma, it's not that I'm hiding my secrets, it's just that there are a lot of joints here." It's not something that I can say for a while. ”

"It's okay, anyway, I'm going to come to Lord Liu every day from now on!" Ma Rencheng didn't care, he stood up, looked around, and suddenly said, "Liu Dusi, you are too hard, Ma Tong!" “

"The villain is here, what does the young master command!" The scholar who had been silent and had no sense of existence stood up.

"You go back, bring a few people over, tidy up this place, see what is missing, and bring it from the house, if anyone asks you, say I said it!"

"Yes, young master!" The scholar answered, turned and went out. Ma Rencheng didn't wait for Liu Cheng to speak, so he smiled and said: "When I came down, my father told me to listen to you more about the things in this bureau, there are only two people in this room, and everything is from the mouth of an adult, and it is in my ears, and there is no third person, please speak up." “

"It's okay, since the virtuous father and son are so trustworthy, then I will tell the truth!" Liu Cheng walked to the wall, opened the curtain, and a map appeared on the wall behind him, he pointed to the map on it and explained: "After the completion of this Liminpi, I don't need to say that Brother Ma also knows all the benefits." But you have also seen that this pond is different from ordinary ponds, there are trunk canals, branch canals, sluice gates, etc., which must be maintained, but the emperor is not short of hungry soldiers! “

When Ma Rencheng heard this, how could he not know Liu Cheng's intentions, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, my lord, I have already discussed with my father last night, after the Pitang is completed, all the acres of land that want to take water from this Pitang will harvest five liters of grain per mu as a water donation, and the food and clothing of those Qu Ding and Pi Ding will be taken from this water donation, but I don't know how many Ding Kou maintenance is needed for this Pitang channel?" ”

"This-" Liu Cheng couldn't help but be secretly happy in his heart when he heard this, although his official position had reached the fifth grade, the number of troops in his hands was extremely limited, and all of them added up to less than three hundred. At that time, there were many young and middle-aged men in northern Shaanxi who were willing to serve as soldiers and eat food, but without a stable source of money and food, it was nonsense, and the army was dispersed when there was no food, and the money and food were in the pockets of the gentry. The most important reason why Liu Cheng wanted to build Pitang was to let the gentry obediently take out money and food for himself, and the more than 100 elite soldiers yesterday were fed with the gentry's money and food. But Pitang will be repaired one day, and how to continue to get money and food from the Jingentry's pocket is something that Liu Cheng worries about all day, after all, as long as Liu Cheng is still under the banner of the Ming Army for one day, he can't directly grab the knife from the Jingentry's pocket one day.

Liu Cheng estimated in his abdomen that it would take about 200 people to maintain the sluices, clean the channels, and overhaul the equipment, and there were many young and strong Liu Cheng who could be recruited, but the strength he could probably master was only about 500 people per battalion, and no matter how much it was, it was not commensurate with his official position, thinking of this, Liu Cheng stretched out his right hand and made a "seven" gesture: "Seven hundred is enough!" “

Ma Rencheng silently calculated in his heart, according to the calculation of three liters of rice per person in a daily eclipse, it would only cost six or seven hundred stone rice per month. And just the water collected from the acres of fields that can be irrigated in the plan is donated 30,000 or 40,000 stone rice a year, and the cost is only one-fourteenth, thinking of this, he replied with a smile: "I will go back tonight to discuss with my father, it should not be a big problem!" ”

"In that case, I'm bothering Brother Ma!"

Speaking of which. Liu Chengcai felt that his mouth was dry, and hurriedly ordered his subordinates outside to send tea up, and took a few big sips of it in a row, and put down the teacup only to find that Ma Rencheng just took a sip and put it down, presumably this tea was very rough, and he was too thirsty to drink it when he just came out of the workshop, and then he couldn't enter the mouth of the son of this family. Liu Cheng didn't say anything, so he gossiped with Ma Rencheng, and soon Ma Rencheng was surprised to find that although this Dusi was not elegant. But he has seen and heard a lot, and he can cut out the inner bag of many things in a few words, and he is by no means the kind of martial artist who kills to this position with brute courage. In the face of Ma Rencheng's inquiry, Liu Cheng prevaricated as if he was weak when he was a child, and went to the temple. Ma Rencheng believed that it was true, clapped his hands and sighed: "The world is really amazing, I can't imagine that the Shi family can also produce talents like Liu Dusi!" ”

At this point, it was already lunchtime. Liu Cheng was about to instruct his subordinates to prepare a meal for the two, when Ma Rencheng smiled and stretched out his hand to stop Liu Cheng. smiled: "Lord Liu, wait a while, my servant must be back soon." ”

"It's good! Let's see the flavor of your house today! “

Sure enough, as Ma Rencheng expected, after about half a cup of tea, the scholar came back with a dozen or so servants in green clothes, and these dozen or so servants were either carrying or carrying boxes and cages. Ma Rencheng stood up and said, "Liu Dusi, the little ones have to be rectified." Let's go out and stay for a while! ”

The two of them came out of the house, and after half a sound, the servant came out and said that it had been rectified. When Liu Cheng entered the house, he saw four plates and eight plates on a fine wooden table, and a beast's mouth gilt charcoal stove was placed on the red sandalwood table on the side. The room is filled with a pleasant warm aroma, the floor is covered with a layer of crimson carpet, and the silver wine jugs, warm barrels, warm cages and other utensils are neatly arranged, just like the scene of a rich and noble family feasting guests.

"Lord Liu, please take a seat!" Ma Rencheng walked to the table and made an inviting gesture.

Liu Cheng didn't shirk either, walked straight to the table and sat down, and said with a smile: "Brother Ma was originally a guest today, but he didn't expect to be a guest!" ”

"My lord laughed." Ma Rencheng sat down with a smile, pointed to the plate on the table and said, "The road is far away, only some cold dishes have been prepared, please forgive me for the humble places!" ”

"It's okay, it's already good!" Liu Cheng sat down, casually grabbed a chopstick dish and stuffed it into his mouth, refused two bites, felt that the taste was much lighter than the local dishes in northern Shaanxi, and Ma Rencheng on the side hurriedly explained: "Jiaci is a native of Nanzhili, and several cooks in the family are from there, I don't know if it suits the taste of adults." “

"The taste is a little lighter, but it also has a different flavor!" While talking, Liu Cheng grabbed a few more chopsticks, Ma Rencheng saw that Liu Cheng was eating comfortably, so he made a look, and the servants standing on the side didn't need Liu Cheng to speak, they added wine and dishes, and sent dishes to change dishes, as if they were roundworms in Liu Cheng's stomach.

After the wine and food were full, the servant brought fragrant tea again, and Liu Cheng took two sips and said: "Brother Ma, dare you live such a life on weekdays, and you won't change it for a prince." “

"Lord Toji laughed! These are all brought by Jiaci from his mother's family, and he has learned to wait for people since he was a child. In fact, after Jiaci came to my house, the rules have been reduced a lot, I heard that there are twenty or thirty people waiting next to the master of the big family in Yangzhou when he eats, not only in the house, but also in the hall is full. “

Ma Rencheng's words aroused Liu Cheng's interest, before crossing Liu Chengcheng's books, he learned that the core of the Ming Dynasty's rule was the north and south Zhili, that is, today's Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Jiangsu, Anhui and other provinces, and the richest place is the south of Zhili and Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian coastal area, many experts believe that from the middle and late Ming Dynasty, in the south of the Yangtze River has produced the germ of capitalism. But what is written in the books is one thing, the fact is another thing, after crossing Liu Cheng's eyes are only hungry people, wars, barren land, a little richer places are concentrated in the east of the Guanzhong Plain centered on Xi'an, even the gentry who are located at the top of the local society, the life of the family can not see the budding of capitalism, when he learned that Ma Rencheng's mother is from Nanzhili, Liu Cheng hurriedly asked, after all, historically, the Jiangnan region is the richest area in the late Ming Dynasty, and the northwest has been in turmoil. There are many strong men who have fought a hundred battles, and the wealth of the southeast and the horses of the northwest are the only way to take the world. After passing through so long, the wind and sand in the northwest have eaten a lot, and the scenery in the southeast has not even seen a single hair.

Ma Rencheng saw Liu Cheng like this, and thought that the other party was greedy for the thin horse of Yangzhou and the Fengyue of Qinhuai, which was also a common phenomenon among the middle and senior officers of the Ming Dynasty, after all, they were all men. He hurriedly mustered up his energy to tell all kinds of stories about the wind and moon, but after talking for a while, he felt a little wrong, as if Liu Cheng was not interested in those things that were in love with the wind and moon, but the price of local rice, the price of cloth, the income of a machine household's daily work, how much grain can be harvested in an acre of land in ordinary years, and so on, Ma Rencheng naturally couldn't answer Liu Cheng's questions, so he could only call a few servants to come in and ask one by one.

When Liu Cheng emptied the stomachs of several servants, the sun was already setting in the west, seeing Ma Rencheng's appearance, Liu Cheng was also a little embarrassed, arched his hand and said: "Brother Ma, I was busy with my own affairs just now, please forgive me for the neglect!" “

"Toji-sama laughed!" Ma Rencheng hurriedly returned the salute and said: "The help of the adults who can help is the blessing of these subordinates." “

"I still have something to ask for, and I ask Brother Ma to answer!"

"Your Excellency, please speak!"

"Since I was young, I have been quite fond of the study of economics (the economy of the Ming Dynasty does not mean modern economy, but the abbreviation of economic economy), so I asked the noble servant that although he had gained a lot, there were still many puzzles. Therefore, I would like to list the questions I want to ask on a piece of paper, and ask Brother Ma to ask my mother's family to answer them one by one, I don't know if it is possible? (To be continued.) )

PS: I'm very happy today, I posted a manuscript in a magazine, it seems that Weber is still very good! The pen is very slippery!

By the way, ask for a reward for subscribing to a monthly pass or something, the brothers who fattened the book, and the cats and dogs also have to be eaten! It's the same with raising books!