When Cheng Dian approached them, followed by a small team carrying coal blocks, yellow clay, and a large iron barrel, he handed over an iron tool.
"Ou coal imprint!" Xiangbei suddenly looked up and quickly walked over to uncover the grass curtain covering the iron barrel. Sure enough, it was a three-eyed coal stove, and it looked exactly like its modern counterparts.
No wonder Chengdian, at such a young age, could lead a team on his own. It's impressive that he could accurately create a physical object based on a single blueprint.
"How is it? Any shortcomings? I followed the blueprint to make it. That thing you mentioned, the asbestos to be inserted between the furnace and the outer layer, is something I got from Chengyu's people. They said there are many rocks over at the North Camp that can be pulled into fibers."
"Exactly, that's it! In ancient times, someone made fire-resistant garments using it." Xiangbei speculated that Chengdian's mention of the North Camp was probably also in this volcanic geological zone, but she wasn't sure how far away it was from here.
"North Camp is on the other side of the volcanic crater, beyond the east shore near the boundary of Linsui County. However, there is no land route available except from the sea. The side connected to the mountain is inaccessible, with dark and sticky petroleum ponds scattered everywhere.
In the summer, wildfires often ignite, persisting for months without extinguishing. That area has many mineral layers and peculiar stones; there are people from Rain Tribe mining there." Confirming her speculation, Cheng Mo added.
However, this petroleum might be oil? She wondered when she could go and take a look.
"Yeah, look over there, these stones shine when exposed to light. Want half of them?" Cheng Dian opened a sachet containing seven or eight thumb-sized, uncut diamond specimens.
"Hard stones? Yes, they are indeed quite hard. By the way, Cheng Dian, how did the trial production of the hand-cranked circular saw go?" Xiangbei felt she could entrust him with more blueprints boldly, there was no worry about him not being able to produce them. What he needed was just an idea.
Dating back to the Three Kingdoms era with Zhuge Liang's invention of the wooden ox and horse and the exquisite mechanical devices during the Tang Dynasty, it demonstrated the ancient people's research and application capabilities in mechanics; one should not underestimate them.
"Do you know? I made a prototype the same day according to those two drawings. Coincidentally, Qiao, the boss of the North-South Trading House, came over to order some novel mechanical tools.
Speaking of which, these two saws are for him to produce pencils. After checking with Uncle Zhong, he directly had people make three sets for large-scale use.
The saw blade was forged by Old Tie using your charcoal refining method. He almost went crazy, tirelessly forging the sharp blades, taking breaks only to kneel before his family's ancestral tablet.
By the way, he also forged a shiny and sharp charcoal iron wire; he called it Golden Steel Wire.
I secured it on the hand-crank, and it cuts faster than that circular saw for cutting sales." Cheng Dian had been eager to share this news with Xiangbei. These days, he hadn't found a chance, and now he was excitedly talking about it.
"Steel wire, wire saw, Cheng Dian!" Xiangbei emphasized that one should not underestimate the wisdom of these ancient people.
How does that famous saying go? Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world!
With just one blueprint, they were able to produce the wire saw. She shouted, abruptly interrupting Cheng Dian, who was getting carried away, frightening him to hiccup.
"Don't be afraid, take it easy. Cheng Dian, you've made a great contribution! My lord, you must award him an outstanding medal! Cheng Dian, those hard stones in your hand, let's call them diamonds for now because there's no material they can't cut.
We'll take some diamond dust and forge it into the golden steel wire. It can cut those diamonds into regular gem shapes.
The debris during cutting, mixed with rosin or talcum powder, on a tough leather surface, can polish the diamond, making it shine with a more dazzling brilliance than any gemstone.
Moreover, adding this diamond dust to rosin or agate powder not only polishes various hard crystals, jade, and jewelry but can also precisely cut objects of various materials, such as glass, porcelain, coral, and many more.
Take your time to experiment. So, by adding diamond dust to the rapidly rotating saw blade, what kind of changes it can bring to future processing methods, you should be able to imagine, right?"
"This, this, my lord, please allow me to take my leave first!" Cheng Dian, immersed in the opened perspective by Xiangbei, couldn't extricate himself. Instinctively, he knelt and excused himself in front of Cheng Mo.
By now, his heart had already flown to the workshop. In his mind was a new world, unprecedented, created in his hands.