Duke of Zhenguan

Chapter 98 Difficulty

Being kicked out of the house was something Lin Chuan had expected, and he wasn't too discouraged after leaving the Yan family.

Yan Xiangshi is currently angry. Once he calms down and sees the punctuation marks, his anger should have subsided considerably. He can come back then.

The next morning, Lin Chuan got up early, which was unusual for him. After breakfast, he took his people to the Gewu Research Institute.

Upon arriving at the Gewu Institute, I saw a middle-aged man standing at the main gate with a worried expression.

Lin Chuan was speechless. This middle-aged man was Lu Zhen, the Left Registrar of the Imperial Workshop. Yan Lide was quick-witted to have sent him here.

Since Gongshu Qi was able to make a visit, it must have some connection with Lu Town. Lin Chuan didn't keep a cold face and asked with a smile, "Did Lu Lu personally come to supervise the construction of the Academy of Natural Sciences?"

"Young Master Lin, I have come on the orders of Supervisor Yan to discuss the matter of the water-powered forging hammer with you!" Lu Zhen replied awkwardly, bowing with his hands clasped.

"Rest assured, Lu Lu, this is His Majesty's decree, and the Institute of Gewu will fully cooperate."

"However, the imperial court does not pay salaries to the Institute of Physics, so it is no problem to ask the Institute of Physics to help build water-powered forging hammers. But the materials need to be transported by the Imperial Workshop, and the Imperial Workshop has to pay for each one built!" Lin Chuan said with a smile.

"Huh? Young Master Lin, you want money again?"

Lu Zhen was stunned. It was only natural that the materials would be produced by the supervisor, so why did he have to pay for them?

"Recorder Lu, the Institute of Physics was built by His Majesty with funds from his own private treasury. It is His Majesty's private property and has nothing to do with the court. If the Directorate of Works wants water-powered forging hammers, they naturally have to pay! We can't let the Institute of Physics work for nothing, can we?" Lin Chuan asked.

"this----"

Lu Zhen was speechless. Helplessly, he cupped his hands towards Lin Chuan and said, "Young Master Lin, I cannot make this decision either—"

"It's alright, Clerk Lu, go back and discuss it with Supervisor Yan. I'll just tell Steward Li, and Clerk Lu can just go directly to Steward Li!" Lin Chuan said with a smile.

After seeing Lu Zhen off, Lin Chuan went straight to the First Research Institute. Gongshu Qi was leading the Gongshu family in researching ballistae. Upon seeing Lin Chuan enter, the group bowed to him, saying, "Young Master Lin!"

"Young Master Lin!"

"6

Now, the Gongshu family has quite a lot of faith in Lin Chuan, not only because of the ball bearings he made, but also because Lin Chuan often enlightens them with just a simple sentence.

Just like the ballista they were researching, the original ballista required a horse or three or four people to draw the bowstring. Lin Chuan mentioned that they should try to assemble pulleys on it.

If successful, one person can easily draw the ballista!

Regarding bearings, Lin Chuan suggested they try replacing ball bearings with cylindrical roller bearings. They discovered that cylindrical roller bearings were more suitable for making large components, such as waterwheels.

And planetary gears—

What they didn't know was that Lin Chuan also felt like he had struck gold. The Gongshu family had always been proud of their mechanical and construction techniques, and Lin Chuan discovered that as long as he opened his mouth, the Gongshu family could make the things.

He and the Gongshu family were a match made in heaven!

After returning the gifts to everyone, Lin Chuan smiled and said to Gongshu Qi, "Mr. Gongshu, the Imperial Workshop needs water-powered forging hammers, and there may be quite a few. I have already told them that they will transport the materials themselves and will have to pay for them."

Twenty percent of the money they paid went to the First Research Lab as a commission. You and Gongshu Dalang should discuss how much would be appropriate, and then talk to Manager Li about it and have him handle it!

"Young Master Lin, isn't it a bit inappropriate to let the Imperial Workshop pay for it? Besides, the key to this thing is Young Master Lin's ingenious idea. It's not complicated to make. Director Yan of the Imperial Workshop is also a master of construction. He can definitely make it after taking a look at it—" Gongshuqi asked with his hands clasped.

"Don't worry, Mr. Gongshu. Although our Gewu Research Institute is not an official government agency, it was His Majesty who funded its construction. Supervisor Yan is not a new official; he won't make a mistake!" Lin Chuan said confidently.

"I will have my eldest son take men to do it right away. Young Master Lin, could you lend me some of your colleagues from the Duke of Cheng's mansion for a few days?"

"Gongshu Qi asked."

"I'll have Xu Laosan tell them to listen to you, but they should also get a share of the commission!" Lin Chuan nodded.

"Of course!"

After arranging things at the Gewu Research Institute, Lin Chuan left.

Not long after Lin Chuan left, Lu Zhen returned to the Gewu Research Institute with Yan Lide's latest instructions.

Gongshuqi had just finalized the price with Steward Li when he saw that it was still Luzhen who came, so he simply handed the matter over to Steward Li.

Since it's a job that might offend people, let Manager Li handle it.

Meanwhile, Lin Chuan went home for a meal, then shamelessly went to the Yan family's house, but couldn't even get inside.

The gatekeeper told him helplessly that Yan Xiangshi had instructed that the Yan family did not welcome him.

59

I'm still angry.

Back home, Er Ya hurried to greet him and asked in a low voice, "Brother, have you seen Sister Yan?"

Lin Chuan shook his head, looked at Er Ya who had a gossipy look on her face, and suddenly smiled. He said to Er Ya, "Er Ya, go see Yan Liu Niangzi and find out what's going on for me!"

"Brother, I'm afraid Lord Yan won't let me in—" Er Ya said awkwardly.

"Give it a try!" Lin Chuan urged.

"Then I'll give it a try—" Er Ya nodded.

After Er Ya brought Wang Xiaoliu to the Yan family, the gatekeeper went to inquire, and Yan Liu Niangzi's maid personally went to the door to welcome the two in.

In Yan Xiangshi's study, Yan Shigu and Yan Xiangshi, who were on leave at home, were leading a group of younger members of the Yan family in studying punctuation marks, their eyes red.

For these well-read people, punctuation marks are not very important.

However, punctuation marks are very important for school children who are still in the early stages of learning.

In the view of high-ranking officials like Yan Shigu, besides its educational role, punctuation marks obviously play a greater role in official business. Clear paragraph markings in various official documents can undoubtedly reduce a lot of unnecessary ambiguity.

After Lin Chuan left last night, Yan Xiangshi called his granddaughter to his side and questioned her, but he was not so angry about what Lin Chuan had done.

After all, this was originally a misunderstanding. If Lin Chuan hadn't been engaged to the Cheng family, Yan Xiangshi would definitely have agreed.

However, it's definitely not acceptable for a daughter of the Yan family to become a concubine. Even if Lin Chuan were just a minor count, or even if he were to enter the palace as a concubine, Prime Minister Yan wouldn't care.

He wanted to persuade his granddaughter, but unexpectedly she suddenly took out a history book that she had just copied and showed it to him.

Upon seeing Yan Xiangshi's face, he immediately became restless and sent someone to invite his elder brother Yan Shigu and a group of his nephews and nieces over, so that Yan Liu Niangzi could explain the situation in detail.

A group of people studied it all night, and the next morning they even sent someone to the palace to ask for leave.

As evening approached, the research finally came to an end. Yan Xiangshi had just carefully blew away the ink from the notes on his desk and put them away when Yan Liu Niangzi came to the study and curtsied, saying, "Grandpa, Uncle, and all my esteemed relatives! The meal is ready!"

Yan Xiangshi looked at his obedient granddaughter and cursed bitterly, "She's really not a human being!"

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