Shen Shuren's courtesy to Song Yingxing not only made Song Yingxing himself feel quite ashamed, but could even be described as "flattered".

Even the wife and children of the Song family were all panicked.

Song Yingxing's sons, the eldest of whom are in their thirties, and the youngest is slightly older than Shen Shuren. Looking at his father, who had just been transferred from the official position of the seventh grade, sitting in the carriage, while the imperial court's imperial capital and military preparation were riding by the car window, they always felt scared and a little unreal.

Along the way, Shen Shuren talked and laughed vigorously, and the scope of the topic was also open-minded, talking about physical and chemical content that was of interest to both parties, but it was a big and generalized content, and he did not ask the other party to solve any specific technical problems immediately.

This attitude made Song Yingxing cry more and more, and he deeply felt the grace of encounter.

However, as he spoke, Shen Shuren suddenly became abrupt and said something that did not fit the atmosphere well.

The two had just talked about "Heavenly Creations", and Shen Shuren came up with a sentence coldly: "Mr. Song, the younger generation is going to point out a point where you didn't go when you wrote the book." ”

Song Yingxing was stunned for a moment, thinking that the other party had some insight in specific machinery or agronomy, and wanted to pick the technical errors in the book, and at that moment he was ready to cooperate modestly:

"Oh? I don't know if it's a lower official...... What are the mistakes and omissions in the old man's book? ”

Shen Shuren: "The biggest mistake and omission is in the preamble!" In the last paragraph of the preface to this book, you actually say that "Heavenly Creations" is a useless book, "Beggars and scholars, abandon the desk, this book is fame and enterprising, and it has nothing to do with it."

Isn't that a big fallacy! I, Shen, am also a two-list jinshi, and my reputation is broadcast all over the world. Didn't I read this book well before I was admitted to the Jinshi exam?

I not only read it, but also put what I learned into practice, and inspired by some of these KitKat institutions, I created a new kind of crane by combining Chinese and Western styles, and also used it in the imperial court's transportation reform, which greatly reduced the loss of repeated loading and unloading of grain!

At that time, I was only a prisoner of the country, and I was an official who was directly bought by the eunuch, although I was only an eight-grade petty official, but I did not forget to study the country with the practical study of the world! As for being admitted to the Jinshi, it was after I made meritorious service as the assistant director of the river yamen and was promoted to the seventh grade.

Even if you don't take the test, a practical talent like me can still be an official! How can such a book that has helped me as an official be said to be 'enterprising and irrelevant'? ”

Song Yingxing was ready to be provoked, but he didn't expect Shen Shuren to say such words in the end, which really moved him to tears.

When he wrote the preface to "Heavenly Creations", he said that at the end, he was also angry, hating iron and not steel. Knowing that his book has to be stamped upside down, no one will share it, and it will not be able to sell it.

He has feelings for everything else in the book, but for this sentence, he has wished that someone would slap him in the face in the past few years to prove him wrong, and to prove that this book is "not useless for progress".

Now, a two-rank jinshi who has been reprimanded in front of the emperor has slapped this face, Song Yingxing is so willing that he wants to be slapped a few more times.

He sighed fiercely with sincerity: "Shen Daotai has learned a lesson!" The old man was really ignorant and short-sighted, because he lost many years of savings and was indignant for a while, so he said these cynical words.

In the world, how can anyone be intoxicated with profits? No, four years after the book came out, there is finally the first exception in the world! Shen Daotai, you are the great sage of this exception! ”

Shen Shuren heard him mention the sad past of losing money, and he also asked along the way:

"Sir has lost many years of savings for this book? This book has fine illustrations, and the cost of engraving printing should be more expensive than other books with only text, right? I have also engraved a lot of books, and I have an understanding of the market, such a large book, I'm afraid it cost two or three thousand taels of silver? ”

Song Yingxing nodded: "It really cost nearly three thousand taels." At that time, 500 volumes of each volume were first printed, but they were not delivered in vain. ”

Shen Shuren recalled thoughtfully, and suddenly realized: "No wonder, I see that you said in the preface that this book originally had five volumes, but 'the audience, the two volumes of music and rhythm, its way is too fine, and it is not my business, so Linzi deleted it'."

Now that I think about it, I'm afraid it's not that those two volumes are not well written and unessential, but that they don't have money, right? Are the manuscripts of those two volumes still there? This official has another great use, so let's use it for printing.

In the past two years, the official has really benefited a lot from relying on "Heavenly Creations", and he has also reprinted a lot of them, and handed them over to his staff, subordinate officials, and craftsmen to study.

You lost three thousand taels, and with the two unprinted volumes, you will be counted as five thousand taels in total. The official will double it for you and take 10,000 taels, and from then on, the official will continue to reprint "Heavenly Creations", how about it? ”

It was impossible for the ancients to talk about copyright sharing, so Shen Shuren was a little more cheerful and directly bought out the system, and he didn't say that this was a copyright, just as a pen, plus to make up for Song Yingxing's previous losses.

The two volumes of "Audience and Music Rhythm" in the preface of "Heavenly Creations" mentioned by Shen Shuren were lost due to Song Yingxing's lack of money and lack of engraving in history.

However, there are scattered fragments that have been cited in other books later, and based on archaeological research, it can be roughly inferred that

These two volumes respectively study the acoustic principles of musical instruments, and the analysis of some stage performance techniques, prop techniques, shadow puppet shows, and kaleidoscopes of shadow puppetry.

Among them, the volume "Music Rhythm" is a little more valuable, because it involves the acoustic part of physics, for example, it can be seen from the flowing fragments that Song Yingxing wrote that "after the length of a string is taut and shortened by what proportion, the pitch can be increased by five degrees (Gong Shang Jiao Zhengyu one round, corresponding to an octave in the West)", and there are many other naïve acoustic studies.

Of course, it must be admitted that the ancient Chinese civilization was not superior in this regard. Because the ancients did not like to use mathematical tools to study art accurately and quantitatively, they only liked to generalize and generalize the Tao and ignore the arts.

In contrast, the ancient Greek mathematician Pythagoras summed up the mathematical ratio between chord length change and pitch change in the 6th century BC. (The craftsmanship of ancient Chinese tuners is very good, or even better, but it is only based on experience and feel, and no one summarizes the mathematical principles of acoustics)

Although Song Yingxing was 2,000 years later than Pythagoras, he made up for this unappreciated shortcoming, and part of his content was also borrowed from Western mathematical ideas translated by Xu Guangqi.

To put it bluntly, these two volumes are more unorthodox than the industry and handicraft industry involved in the first three volumes, and they are purely entertainment industry, similar to the service and soundtrack technology of the later film industry, which is so unpopular.

Therefore, if the first three volumes of "Heavenly Creations" will only be criticized by a very few very rigid defenders as "strange and obscene", then if the last two volumes are printed, according to the degree of social openness at that time, I am afraid that enlightened people will spray "strange and obscene skills".

After all, in the 21st century, there are still many people who spray entertainment technology to "serve the drama", let alone the 17th century?

are all serving the advocacy and excellent actors, this is not "lewd" coincidence, what else is "obscene" coincidence?

However, no matter what psychological burden others have, all this does not exist in a frank gentleman like Shen Shuren.

What's wrong with researching the techniques used by the advocates? Those scholars and doctors who are "all in the right dynasty", which one of them does not drill into the land of Qinhuai fireworks?

Listen to music every day, and no one is allowed to study acoustic physics?

Song Yingxing was moved, but he also did not forget to remind Shen Shuren of this: "Shen Daotai, the old man does not allow the price you offered, and the old man knows that you are lifting me." However, this excellent technique is promoted by you, and I am afraid that it will be inconvenient for your reputation......"

Shen Shuren responded domineeringly: "I'm afraid of a bird? I was ambitious when I was young, I became famous, I had all the fame that should be examined, and I was fearless for a long time. At the right time, it will be able to salvage two volumes of scientific works that should have been lost, who else can I be? When you return to Daye, you will have someone bring you the silver, and I will give me the rest. ”

Song Yingxing's family was pinched to death, and they also had a deeper understanding of Shen Daotai's righteousness and brightness.

……

The group soon returned to Daye Iron Mountain, and Shen Shuren gave the Song family very preferential treatment, and found a big mansion for Song Yingxing to care for, so that he could draw drawings every day to do calculations and do some research, and he didn't have to go to the mines and iron factories to inspect in person, after all, he was old.

The "copyright fee" of 10,000 taels of silver was also given as soon as he said it, and on the day after he moved in, Shen Shuren directly asked the family to send the silver of Baihuahua over.

Song Yingxing has been an official for six years, and only then did he save up 3,000 taels of engraved books. Now he suddenly received 10,000 taels, with his original routine of being an official without corruption, I am afraid that he will have to be an official for 20 years to save so much money.

The money was in place, and they fully felt respected, and the Song family was like being beaten with chicken blood, and they quickly devoted themselves to the state of trying to serve Shen Daotai.

In just a few days after that, Shen Shuren was still worried about some technical details such as blast furnace refractory brick materials and coke technology. After Song Yingxing came, although he couldn't give him the answer directly, he was able to help study it together and provided a lot of detailed ideas.

Shen Shuren can provide the general direction, but he can't provide the detailed principle, and conspire with Song Yingxing to make up for the shortcomings, and the work efficiency has been improved several times at once.

In just ten days, Song Yingxing came up with the first technological innovation that made him worth the ticket price-

Shen Shuren was not very good at chemistry in his previous life, and the mainstream science and technology history books he read in his previous life would only say that he wanted to "study refractory bricks", but Shen Shuren didn't know what the specific chemical composition ratio of refractory bricks was.

Song Yingxing is a native of Jiangxi, and he pondered and firing together for a few days, and suddenly had a flash of inspiration, suggesting that Shen Shuren spend some more money and heavy money to go to his hometown in Jiangxi, and find some craftsmen in Jingdezhen who are good at firing high-temperature kilns, and summarize and investigate together.

"Shen Daotai, the old man has lived in Jiangxi for most of his life, and he has also studied and observed the kiln, and some porcelain clay is mixed with ordinary brick soil, which can make the refractory of the kiln stronger, so it is better for us to follow this idea and continue to match."

Being reminded like this, Shen Shuren also realized that some burnt brick clay containing aluminate and bauxite components seemed to have a higher temperature resistance.

With the details of the way forward, he also waved his pen, approved the silver, and asked Song Yingxing to build a laboratory if he wanted to build a laboratory, buy machines and materials casually, and leave accounts. If you want to go to Jingdezhen to ask the kiln master to do experiments, you can also spend as much as you want, don't be afraid to spend money.

Song Yingxing was greatly encouraged, and in the following December, in a month, he helped Shen Shuren figure out several technical difficulties.