Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 712 The Formidable Ancestor

Engineer Wang walked over with his hands behind his back: "Boss, you're here? Is everything alright inside? If you see anything wrong, point it out quickly, and I'll have the workers fix it."

Xiao Wei introduced the two men: "This is Engineer Wang, and this is Boss Han, who sells machinery and equipment. He's here to check the site and prepare the machines we'll be using. After he takes the measurements, he'll see if there are any modifications needed."

Han San said, "No need to change anything, it's fine. We're not in precision manufacturing. Whether the product is good or not depends entirely on the people. The equipment is just so-so. A privately owned oven can produce good products. I'm just making money off the rich."

Engineer Wang smiled and said, "What Xiao Han said is true and makes sense. Back then, we didn't have any of this equipment. We still ate bread and baked fruit, used sheet metal welded together, built with bricks, and burned wood and coal. I've seen all kinds of stoves. This is so advanced now, it's incomparable."

Xiao Wei said, "It can burn wood and coal? Like a barbecue grill?"

Han San said, "Of course! You haven't seen them? I have. I even have an old-fashioned wood-burning oven. Let me tell you, those old-fashioned tools really tested the craftsman's skills; ordinary people couldn't handle them."

Engineer Wang said, "Now it's more efficient, cleaner, and more hygienic, and the food used to taste better."

Han San took out a cigarette, lit it for Wang Gong, and handed one to Xiao Wei, saying, "What's wrong? You look down on the past? Let me tell you, I'm not a very good student, but I like old things like history books. Our ancestors were amazing."

Engineer Wang chuckled and said, "Now we talk about equipment, but in the past we talked about craftsmanship. Times have changed, and many things have been lost."

Han San lit a cigarette and said to Xiao Wei, "Do you know what barbecue is? We have verifiable evidence of barbecue dating back to the Western Han Dynasty, with special ovens and grills for meat skewers. In fact, it's even earlier. Everyone says that it was originally boiled. What did ordinary people boil? They all grilled it."

You know Fuxi, right? He also had a name called Paoxi. Do you understand what that means? He was the first person to cook animal meat. "Xi" means wild animal, a wild animal that grows in the mountains and forests, while "sheng" refers to domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, and sheep.

Have you ever seen sneakers from the Song Dynasty? You know Gao Qiu, right? High-top leather shoes with studs on the soles, round-headed iron studs. The grip was amazing. Modern sneakers are all based on what our ancestors did.

Wang nodded and said, "That's right." He pointed to the leather shoes on Xiao Wei's feet: "These kinds of leather shoes are made by wrapping a whole piece of leather up and then sewing a piece of leather on top. They're very popular now, aren't they fashionable? Back in the Warring States period, all the officials wore these. They were called leather shoes, and the workmanship and style were exactly the same."

Xiao Wei looked down at his shoes: "Really? You're not kidding me?"

Engineer Wang crossed his arms and took a drag of his cigarette: "Why are you trying to fool me? Go back and ask your wife, and see if I'm right."

Han San said, "Broadening your horizons, huh? Let me tell you, there are many things you haven't seen before. Have you ever heard of calipers from the Eastern Han Dynasty? They are exactly the same as the vernier calipers we use in our factory now, except that they are not as precise."

Also, nowadays, it's fashionable for women to carry handbags. They get all excited when they hear a foreign brand. Do you know where handbags were invented? The Tang Dynasty! Back then, women all carried handbags and shoulder bags when they went out. The styles and patterns were unlike anything you'd ever seen before—absolutely trendy, and they wouldn't look out of place even today.

Xiao Wei thought for a moment and said, "Are you two just kidding me? You're making it sound so real."

Engineer Wang shook his head and said with a smile, "I'm not kidding you, it's true. Little Han knows a lot, he's a thoughtful person."

Han San said, "This year, the popular women's outfits are suspender dresses and capri pants, you know? That was the standard attire for women going out in the summer before the Sui Dynasty. Back then, there was also a kind of undergarment, which was similar to the bra we have now, but worn on the outside. Wasn't that fashionable?"

Now, we're just picking up old things and repackaging them—it's still the same old stuff. What were foreign countries doing back then? They learned all these things from us. What did they have? Only in modern times, with guns and cannons, did they become aggressive. We, on the other hand, have passed down our skills generation after generation, and we've lost our offensive capabilities.

Wang squatted down and said, "I've seen a kind of carriage from before the Han Dynasty. That carriage had a function: every mile it traveled, a wooden figure on it would ring a bell or beat a drum." He picked up a small piece of broken brick and drew on the ground, "Like this, people would sit inside and know how far they had traveled by listening to the sound of the bell and drum."

Xiao Wei was a little confused: "What's this? A taxi? A taxi?"

Wang threw down the brick and said, "Yes, a taxi. This car is for measuring distances. It measures how far you are from one place to another. I think the only time we can see this car now is during the Han Dynasty. There must have been this car before that. If you look at history books, there are mileage records in the Qin Dynasty. How did they measure it?"

Mileage, journey, a mile or a stage. In ancient times, when seeing someone off, we would say we were going to the next stage, which meant how many times the bell had rung. Our ancestors were truly amazing; otherwise, how could they have been ahead of the world for thousands of years? It's only in modern times that they've fallen behind, become complacent.

Han San said, "The Japanese use wooden boxes for eating, divided into compartments, to hold different dishes and such. We're learning from that now, and many canteens use those kinds of plates. Those were invented in the Han Dynasty. Back then, when the emperor invited his ministers to dinner, it was a separate meal system. They would use those plates to divide the dishes and serve them to the ministers one by one. During the Three Kingdoms period, the army used those for meals. The only difference is that we don't use wood; we use ceramic."

"Boss, the measurements are done here." Han San's worker came over and handed the notebook to Han San.

Han San took the notebook and said to Xiao Wei, "How was it? Did you learn anything? Have you ever seen a glass from the Warring States period? It's exactly the same as the drinking cup we use now. We've been using ovens for thousands of years."

Wang Gong stood up, threw his cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out, saying, "Back then, there was no glass, it was made of crystal. The workmanship was quite good, but it wasn't as sturdy as glass. Ovens started to decline from the Southern Song Dynasty onwards. By then, people were already cooking. When it comes to eating, we were the best in the world; no one else could compare. After the Song Dynasty, ovens became a minor feature."

Han San looked at the drawings the worker had made and asked, "These are the ones you told me about yesterday, right? Nothing's changed, is there?"

Xiao Wei was still squatting on the ground studying the carriage that Wang Gong had drawn. He stood up and said, "No, it's just those kinds of things anyway, you know what I mean."

Han San said, "So you're using electricity for all the steaming? If you ask me, you might as well just install a big boiler. Can the heating in this building even reach it?"

Engineer Wang said, "We built a pump house underground. The heating system is pressurized through the pump house, and now we're worried that the temperature won't be high enough."

Xiao Wei said, "We'll discuss it with the heating company later. We're not far from the large boiler, so it should be fine." The heating in this area is supplied by the large boiler from Institute 606, and it is indeed not far away.

After thinking for a moment, Engineer Wang said, "Otherwise, if you're willing, I can install underfloor heating for you, then it will definitely be warm."

Han San asked Xiao Wei, "What are your plans for the entire upstairs floor?"

Xiao Wei said, "Just grind it, aren't all floors terrazzo these days? What else can you do?"

(End of this chapter)