Touring the Ming Dynasty

Master Zhou closed his eyes and meditated for a while, then suddenly opened his eyes, looked at Duan Fei with piercing eyes, and said in a deep voice, "You said this thing can be magnified a thousand times?"

Duan Fei nodded affirmatively, and Master Zhou turned to the old shopkeeper and said, "Shopkeeper Zhang, if this thing is really useful, it will be of great benefit to us in carving small utensils. I want to make this thing as soon as possible with Master Liu." have a look."

Duan Fei shrugged, spread his hands and said, "But I don't have that much money."

Master Zhou smiled slightly and said: "If this thing is really useful, as long as you promise me one condition, I will give you the big convex mirror for free. If this thing is useless, I will only charge you 150 taels of silver for both things. how?"

"What conditions?" Duan Fei asked warily.

Master Zhou smiled and said: "That is to keep it as secret as possible, don't use this thing casually in front of others, and allow us Bao Daxiang to copy and use this thing at will."

"There are two conditions!" Duan Fei said quickly: "But I promise you, it's a deal, and it's hard to follow!"

Zhou Zhe said with a chuckle: "Master Liu, first help this young master to make that big convex mirror, this...microscope... I need to figure out its structure first, this thing was designed by young master, if young master is free You can give me some advice, or the two of you can go shopping on the street, the big convex mirror can be obtained in about an hour, and this microscope... I'm afraid it will take a few days."

Duan Fei shook his head and said, "No, I will have it before noon tomorrow, and I will do it with you, but the price will have to be reduced, and there are board and lodging issues for both of us..."

Zhou Zhe laughed and said, "Young master is really good at calculating, okay, all of these will be counted in my account, shopkeeper Zhang, please arrange board and lodging for them, can we start?"

Microscopes are indeed much more complicated than magnifying glasses. The specifications of each mirror are not independent and random. The diameter, thickness, curvature, light transmittance, and refraction angle of large and small lenses are all very particular. These knowledges that middle school students in the 21st century know make this era The most outstanding jeweler was puzzled, so Duan Fei had no choice but to teach him the basic physics of optics slowly. After he understood the knowledge, the redesigned microscope was simpler and more practical than the one drawn by Duan Fei. A few wooden boards set up the lenses one by one, plus an inclined lens barrel that can be lifted and slid, a primitive microscope was finally successfully developed!

The microscope is one of the greatest inventions in the history of world science. When it first appeared in the land of Ming Dynasty, it caused a small sensation in Bao Daxiang’s backyard. Everyone rushed to use the microscope to observe objects smaller than the tip of a needle. For the first time, they discovered that there are so many tiny creatures living in the clear water droplets. After seeing it, the old shopkeeper Zhang couldn't help but exclaimed: "No wonder the scriptures say that there are eighty-four thousand insects in a bowl of water in the Buddha's view". It's true!"

Shi Bin was also surprised, but he didn't quite understand the use of this thing. Duan Fei returned to Baoying County by boat with a magnifying glass and a microscope without spending any last penny.

After entering the city in the evening, I learned that Jiang Chang and Hei Houer had been beheaded for public display at noon. Although Jiang Chang wanted to appeal for a retrial according to Duan Fei's words, Mr. Min was worried that there would be trouble, so he beheaded them directly. The five of them The dead body was collected by Yan Butou.

Duan Fei and Shi Bin bought scented paper candles, and went back to the Yamen mortuary to worship the five of them. Yan Butou had already made arrangements. In the early morning of the second day, the entire Baoying County was shrouded in the sound of firecrackers. The line was three miles long, but only a group of brothers from the east of the city were sent to see Jiang Chang and others, which seemed extremely desolate.

After the funeral, Duan Fei came to He's house. County magistrate Min and a respected elder of He's family presided over the separation of the two brothers, He Shan and He Hai.

The situation is not good for He Hai. He is a concubine, and he has a bad reputation as a gangster. At first, almost everyone with the surname He opposed the immediate separation of the family. Some even thought that He Hai should be a boy in the He family's shop. Stay for a few years, if he performs well in a few years, then the eldest brother will decide to marry him a wife and divide up a small field or give him a small shop to run it, and it's over.

Gradually, the family separation discussion meeting turned into He Hai's criticism meeting. Duan Fei was already in a bad mood, and the more he listened to it, the more angry he became. He stood up abruptly, and shouted loudly: "Shut up!"

In an instant, all the noisy voices that were still boiling water just now disappeared, only Duan Fei's roar was left oscillating back and forth in the hall.

Duan Fei roared angrily: "Isn't the son born to the concubine a son? Which law of the Ming Dynasty stipulates that the concubine's son cannot share the family property equally with the concubine's son? How many of the elders here have no concubines, no concubine's children? Now that you have given birth to them and raised them, you must give them a fair chance, otherwise you should not marry so many women back home, and having a large family of children without raising or teaching them is nothing!"

The attendees of this kind of occasion were all the prominent figures of the He clan, and the wealthy men in the family took concubines as a habit, and almost everyone had a share. After being scolded by Duan Fei for a while, everyone was speechless for a while.

Duan Fei continued to speak loudly: "A group of elders are thousands of years old together, and they bully He Hai, a child who just passed away. Don't you feel ashamed? I'll blush for you! No matter who you are, this is Brother He Shan and He Hai. How should the matter be divided between the county magistrate, Mr. Min will deal with it fairly. After the separation, even if He Hai loses all his family property, it has nothing to do with you. Whose benefit, do you want to take advantage of the chaos to catch some oil or water or please someone? Let me tell you, stop dreaming, He Hai is my brother, who dares to make things difficult for him? Concerned with you, Brother Afei from Baoying County will never stand by and let his brother suffer!"

"Ah, what a rascal from the east of the city, Ah Fei...how did he become an arrester?" Many people only recognized Duan Feilai at this time, who had a new look and a glamorous body. They exclaimed, and there was a lot of discussion, and the hall suddenly became noisy.

Lord Min yelled: "Sit down, Duan Fei, don't threaten everyone, this official will make his own judgment!"

Duan Fei took the opportunity to step down from the stage, and he said loudly: "Yes, my lord, I'm just angry that they bullied my brother in public. Of course I can say what they say. Unless they all shut up, I won't say it." Duan Fei Fei glanced over coldly, everyone bowed their heads awe-inspiringly wherever he went, and no one dared to look at him.

He Hai stood up and said gratefully: "Thank you, Brother Fei, for speaking for me. I believe Master Min and the elders of the clan present here will give me justice. In fact, my father has already agreed to the separation of the family when he was alive. It was because of this sister-in-law that she impatiently poisoned Daddy..."

"Don't mention that poisonous woman anymore. It's all my fault that I went out to do business all day long and didn't discipline her well..." He Shan was full of grief, remorse and remorse. Expose, I am afraid that he will be poisoned to death next.

The mention of this matter at this moment also made those who are loyal to the legitimate family feel fierce. No matter what, it was He Shan's daughter-in-law who poisoned his father-in-law for adultery and property. Speaking for himself, Duan Fei opened the door, and He Hai was not a gentle person, so he took the opportunity to mention this matter, so everything turned around.

The separation of the family was finally on the right track. He Xiong's land deeds, shops, and various movable and real properties were all on the table. It is not unknown that the He family is really rich. No wonder so many people came to join in the fun when talking about the separation.

It is relatively easy to divide cash and silver stored in Yinzhuang, but it is more difficult to estimate the value of real estate deeds and gold and silver jewelry. Sometimes it takes a long time to discuss the price of a calligraphy and painting.

At this time, He Hai made a decision that surprised even Duan Fei, let alone other people.

He Hai suggested to Master Min: "My lord, it will take a long time to divide the family like this, and it will inevitably delay everyone's business. Why don't you just set the lowest price that everyone agrees on for these hard-to-valuate things, and share the money with me according to the lowest price. , the things belong to the eldest brother, I wonder what the adults think?"

This method is indeed very fast, but He Hai will inevitably suffer, but since he proposed it himself, everyone has no objections, and He Shan accepts it after a few words. The next step is to divide the family property. Shi Shi has already divided up the property, and He Hai has been divided into several shops, real estate, land, and 3000 taels of cash.

He Hai couldn't help crying when he received the land title deed and the large bank note issued by Datong Bank. He paid his respects to his father's spiritual tablet enshrined in the hall, and said loudly, "Father, please forgive me for being unfilial!"

Everyone was wondering, He Hai wiped away his tears, stood up and looked around, cupped his fists and said: "My lords, my fellow elders, uncles and brothers, big brother, I plan to exchange these fields, real estate and shops in my hands for silver within three days, you guys You can buy it first. I will sell it to you at [-]% of the original price. You don’t want to see the property of the He family fall into the hands of outsiders? Then come and buy it. Anyway, I am a prodigal son, so you don’t have to persuade me to scold me. , except for leaving a house for my mother to live in, everything else is exchanged for silver, I want to go out and roam around like my father did back then, and I will never come back until I turn out to be a human!"

Hearing He Hai's resolute and firm tone, everyone saved a little saliva, even if they secretly scolded the prodigal son.

He Shan applauded brightly and said: "Okay, you have ambition, Haizi, brother, I misjudged you before, these properties were earned by my father back then, I bought them all, but just separated, almost all the cash is distributed to you." You, I need about half a month to raise money."

"Okay, I'll only charge [-]% if I buy it!" He Hai said, "I'm leaving the house in two days, and my brother will give me an IOU first..."