Chapter 39 Silver State Plow
"What did you say?"
"Sir, don't joke!"
The group of people were startled, and then the whole place was in an uproar.
Cao Zhen even laughed bitterly: "We all know that you are a talented young master, but you don't understand farming..."
Liu Zheng smiled: "I don't understand?"
"What do you know?"
"If the straight-beam plow is burned, what will the farmers use?"
"You dandy boy, just open your mouth. Do you know how many people will not have enough to eat next year because of your words?"
The carpenters also looked at Liu Zheng coldly and spoke rudely.
Indeed, the straight-beam plow has helped mankind a lot in farming over the past thousand years. It is a typical agricultural tool that uses animal power to represent human power, and it is also the crystallization of human wisdom in the history of farming.
Liu Zheng's words naturally made people think that he was just an uneducated young man.
How do you know about farming?
Liu Zheng shook his head and laughed, "Mr. Cao, it doesn't mean that we can't plough the fields without the straight-beam plow. What I mean is that we can use more advanced tools!"
"joke!"
"More advanced?"
"Don't you understand?"
The carpenter couldn't bear it any longer. Several people picked up the tools beside them and looked at Liu Zheng with unfriendly eyes.
Cao Zhen pleaded, "Master Liu, please don't delay the work of the craftsmen. Many tenant farmers have left this year, and our Cao family has to speed up the production..."
"You do not trust me?"
Liu Zheng said calmly: "What if I can really do it?"
He looked at Cao Zhen with a smile.
This made Cao Zhen shudder all over. Mr. Liu's reputation as a "scoundrel" had spread throughout Yinzhou. Originally, the Cao and Wang families were still upset that the Zheng family had taken away the sales rights of the vanishing creams and perfumes, but after hearing that the Zheng family could only get 20% of the profits, they were actually gloating.
but now……
Seeing Liu Zheng's gleaming eyes, Cao Zhen coughed and said, "Sir, are you serious?"
Liu Zheng nodded: "Farming is a big deal, how can we take it lightly? How about this, if I can really make more advanced tools..."
Cao Zhen seemed to know what Liu Zheng was thinking, and quickly said, "It can't be less than 30%, the Cao family must be at least 30%!"
Liu Zheng was stunned for a moment, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Is it necessary to be so defensive against myself? It seems that Zheng Yueru really portrayed herself as a complete profiteer.
He smiled bitterly and said, "Mr. Cao is wrong..."
"What I mean is that this is about farming, and it should benefit the people! Our county magistrate's office does not want any of the profits, and will give all of them to the Cao family. However, after the Cao family starts mass production, they cannot ask for an exorbitant price. At least the price should be cheaper than the current straight-beam plow!"
Everyone was stunned when they heard it.
Now, even the carpenters who had been cursing shut up.
Don’t want any profit?
Give benefits to the people?
For a moment, everyone looked at Liu Zheng differently.
Cao Zhen was stunned for a moment, then he clasped his fists and bowed deeply: "Young Master, you have great ambitions, and I, Cao Zhen, am shortsighted! Since you are like this, then my Cao family also promises that if such agricultural tools are really produced , the Cao family will not make a penny, how about it?"
Liu Zheng was quite surprised.
Everyone also praised it as a great virtue.
Even so, most people still didn't believe that Liu Zheng had the ability to overturn the straight-beam plow that had been passed down for more than a thousand years. Especially the carpenters, although they no longer cursed, they still felt a little resentful towards Liu Zheng.
We carpenters haven't come up with anything more advanced.
You, a young man, can do that?
So when Liu Zheng called out, the carpenters in the Cao family carpentry workshop all volunteered.
There was another clatter, and everyone followed Liu Zheng back to the carpenter's workshop. Liu Zheng thought for a moment and asked Cao Zhen to help prepare paper and pen. It was still a bit difficult to draw with this ancient brush. So Liu Zheng had already made a pencil that belonged to him in the divine workshop...
Wipe, wipe, wipe.
He drew an exquisite blueprint, and he kept trying to search the memories of later generations. After several revisions, the blueprint was finally completed.
Everyone was shocked.
"Mr. Liu, is this a pen?"
"This painting skill is quite amazing!"
"What kind of painting is this?"
A group of people exclaimed.
Liu Zheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He called a few carpenters and asked, "Can you understand it?"
The carpenters nodded in confusion.
Liu Zheng's drawing was quite intuitive and as detailed as possible. He had depicted every component of the new farm tool in detail in a graphical form. Even the uneducated carpenters nodded in agreement.
"Very good, let's split up and make them!"
The thing has not been assembled yet and no one knows what it is.
But when the carpenters saw this figure, their eyes lit up. Because what Liu Zheng wanted to build was actually similar to a straight-beam plow! But it was a super-improved version of the straight-beam plow, that is, a curved-beam plow!
The curved plow was originally invented by the working people of China in the Tang Dynasty. The biggest difference between the curved plow and the straight-beam plow that had dominated farming tools for a long time is that the straight and long beam was changed to a curved and short beam, and a freely rotating plow disc was installed on the beam head. This not only made the plow frame smaller and lighter, but also facilitated turning and turning, was flexible to operate, and saved manpower and animal power.
It can be said that in the history of Chinese farming, the emergence of the curved plow represented the true maturity of farming tools.
So, this is Liu Zheng’s first step in transforming farming tools!
To give a simple example, the application efficiency of a curved plow can be even three times higher than that of a straight plow!
This is quite scary.
Click, click.
People were also watching and talking about it from time to time.
Everyone was guessing what this Young Master Liu was going to come up with. Many people were actually waiting to see the joke, and Cao Zhen was naturally one of them.
A full half hour passed.
It took several carpenters to complete the parts in their hands.
“It’s ready to assemble!”
Liu Zheng said excitedly.
The carpenter quickly assembled the curved plow. At this moment, Liu Zheng had to admire the ancient carpenters, whose craftsmanship was so exquisite that it could be called supernatural. Just this craftsmanship was much better than those carpenters in later generations.
"alright!"
Thus, the world's first curved plow appeared before people.
The crowd buzzed and gathered around.
"Master Liu, what is this?"
"It seems so different!"
"But, will this work?"
It looked like a real thing, but because it was much lighter than a straight-beam plow, people were skeptical of it. In people's minds, this kind of tillage tool must be very heavy to be able to plow the land.
"Is it possible?"
Liu Zheng laughed: "Just try it and you'll know."
Everyone was very excited and came to the field in Cao's backyard again. Liu Zheng ordered the carpenter to pull the ox up.
Cao Zhen was stunned and exclaimed, "Master Liu, why is there only one cow?"
Everyone was also surprised.
Each time a straight-beam plow is used, it requires two oxen to pull it.
Liu Zheng didn't answer them at all. He picked up the whip and cracked it, and the ox pulled the curved plow and started plowing.
Click, click.
This time, everyone was stunned.
All the doubts stopped in an instant.
There is no other reason.
A cow pulling this curved plow is not as strenuous as the straight plow just now. And... because this curved plow has a plowshare and a plowshare saddle, whether it is pushed by a person or pulled by a cow, the plowshare can be pointed downwards and the plowshare will be deeply buried in the soil. If the plowshare is lifted and the plowshare is pointed upwards, the plowshare will be shallowly buried in the soil. The plowshare, plowshare and plowshare of the curved plow are organically combined to meet the different requirements of deep or shallow plowing, and the depth of the cultivated land can be standardized, which is convenient for intensive cultivation. The plowshare saddle can not only break up the soil, but also push the plowed soil to one side, reducing the resistance of the plow forward.
The curved plow has a complete structure, is light and labor-saving, and can perfectly achieve deep plowing!
It can be said that this is the most advanced plow in ancient times!
"this……"
"Oh My God!"
"What kind of plow is this?"
People were stunned.
Cao Zhen also rubbed his eyes hard, unable to believe it.
The carpenters were also very excited. They were full of admiration for Liu Zheng and clasped their fists together: "Young Master, you are truly a talented person. If this plow can be mass-produced, it will surely double Yinzhou's annual income!"
Double!
These are all conservative estimates. According to Liu Zheng's calculations, he wants it to be at least tripled.
Yinzhou is now undergoing large-scale reclamation. What it lacks is not land, but labor!
The power provided by the curved plow will be three times that of the straight plow!
In that case, why isn't the harvest three times as much?
Liu Zheng laughed and said, "Mr. Cao, how about this Yinzhou plow?"
Cao Zhen had nothing to say, and clasped his fists and said, "Young Master, please think twice. If this plow is for sale, it will definitely sell well!"
Liu Zheng shook his head decisively: "I said I won't take a penny, and that means I won't take a penny!"
Cao Zhen also said: "Sir, what you did today is a great deed. It will surely make the people of the world ashamed!"
"In the future, our Cao family will follow your lead!"
"The Yinzhou plow will definitely sell for less than the straight-beam plow!"
The crowd cheered loudly.
Liu Zheng laughed, feeling very happy. He wanted to make money, but he had never thought about suppressing the farmers' money too much.
Soon, he signed an agreement with the Cao family.
This is not a money-making agreement, but a low-price agreement promised by the Cao family! In the agreement, Liu Zheng specifically stated that from today until the spring plowing season, the Cao family must rush to produce tens of thousands of "Yinzhou plows" and sell them to Yinzhou farmers at cost price. In addition, in the short term, the "Yinzhou plows" are absolutely not allowed to flow out of Yinzhou.
The Cao family had no objection to this.
Of course, Liu Zheng knew that as Yinzhou became more and more prosperous, more and more people came here to trade and travel, and it was absolutely inevitable that the Quyuan Plow would flow out.
In this era, is there any protection for intellectual property rights?
That's why Liu Zhen named the curved plow "Yinzhou Plow". Since there's no way to resist, just enjoy it. When the "Yinzhou Plow" spreads all over the world, who doesn't know about Yinzhou Beach and who doesn't know about the young master of the Liu family?
Liu Zheng also worked hard for the construction of this city.
A few days later, when the first batch of one thousand Yinzhou plows were put on the market.
Liu Zheng then realized that he had oversimplified the matter.
