Fang Er thought for a moment and said casually.
Two meters long, ten centimeters thick, with the five centimeters at both ends made square. Two are needed.
Then, get a steel plate, half a centimeter thick will suffice, one meter ninety wide, two meters long.
Zhao Gang nodded upon hearing this.
The Marquis can rest assured, there are steel plates ready. As for the steel pillars, the younger one will personally take people to make them.
While Zhao Gang went to get busy, Fang Er was not idle either.
He turned and entered his studio.
He didn't know how glass was made in modern society.
But he could think of some crude methods.
After sharpening the steel plate, he made four cutting knives, each one and a half meters long.
They were mounted on a steel frame, with the blades all facing the same direction.
This was the mold for cutting glass.
Glass, once cooled, was very hard, but glass that had just set was still in a semi-solid state, making it quite easy to process.
After finishing the knives, he made four clamps to be attached to the steel pillars.
The clamps were also connected to gears.
By the time Fang Er was done, Zhao Gang had also finished his part.
He had the craftsmen carry everything from the studio to the glass workshop.
The steel pillars were set up, one above and one below.
The steel plate was placed in the empty space in the middle.
After adjusting the remaining space to about one centimeter thick,
Two electric motors were brought in. After connecting the wires, they provided power to both steel pillars.
As the power was turned on, the steel pillars began to rotate, the upper one turning downwards, the lower one upwards.
The steel plate made a "chi chi" sound.
Fang Er turned off the power and asked Ma Qi, the foreman of the glass workshop, "Are there any glass batches ready to be fired?"
Ma Qi, with just one glance, understood the benefits of this device.
He quickly had people pour the newly refined molten glass onto the steel plate.
It was spread evenly into a long strip.
With the power turned back on, this time, with the glass solution filling the excess space, the steel plate was driven by the two rollers, and it began to move.
The molten glass was pressed into a uniform flat plate.
After the entire pressing process was completed, Fang Er had people lift the steel plate and place it under the mold.
Avoiding the irregular edges, the mold was pressed down, and a sheet of glass, one and a half meters in length and width, was formed.
The entire process from shaping to cutting, when calculated, could produce ten pieces of glass in fifteen minutes.
After cooling, they could be directly sent to the fields for the construction of greenhouses.
Seeing the speed, Ma Qi quickly instructed people to use all the other available furnaces, fully firing them and pouring in sand.
After instructing Zhao Gang to make a few more sets, Fang Er returned to the fields.
Only here, watching the farmers fix the pieces of glass onto the wooden frames, did Fang Er feel at ease.
Chai Yue appeared at some point, holding an oiled paper umbrella.
Fang Er walked over and helped tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
"Why have you come? It might start raining at any moment, don't get caught in it."
Chai Yue looked at Fang Er's actions, feeling a warmth in her heart.
"Yue'er has brought you an umbrella, here."
After speaking, she handed the umbrella in her hand to Fang Er.
Then, pointing to the greenhouse being built, she asked.
"Young Master, is it worth using so much precious glass to protect these cotton plants?"
Fang Er smiled.
"It's worth it! Let alone this glass, even if we spent all the money in the house, as long as it can protect these cotton plants, it's worth it!"
"And these greenhouses, we won't take them down after the rain passes."
"With these greenhouses, we can also grow crops and vegetables in the winter."
Chai Yue was somewhat surprised.
"How can we grow vegetables in winter? Won't they all freeze to death?"
Fang Er shook his head.
"Sunlight can penetrate from outside into this glass greenhouse, and once it enters, it cannot get out."
"So, in winter, it will be much warmer here than outside."
"If you like it, after the cotton is harvested, let people plant a patch of flowers."
"Then, we'll build two wooden houses inside, it will definitely be beautiful!"
Chai Yue seemed to imagine a scene where outside was a world of ice and snow, while inside the glass greenhouse, flowers of all colors were in full bloom.
Her eyes couldn't help but reveal a look of anticipation. Looking at Fang Er, she said.
"Young Master is so kind. Yue'er wants to plant peonies, as well as roses and orchids."
Fang Er placed Chai Yue's hand in his palm, and with his other finger, pointed to the greenhouse under construction.
"With such a large area, you can plant whatever you want."
"By then, even the Empress probably won't want to leave."
Suddenly, a few light coughs came from behind.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Then came a woman's voice.
"What bad things are you two young lovers saying about me?"
Turning around, they saw it was Empress Zhangsun.
This was awkward.
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
Since it rained yesterday, Empress Zhangsun had not left.
She had also stayed at the Fang residence that night.
Now that the weather had cleared, Empress Zhangsun, who had come out for a walk, happened to overhear Fang Er's words and spoke up.
Chai Yue's face flushed slightly, and she quickly withdrew her hand.
She walked over to Empress Zhangsun and, as if showing off, pointed to the greenhouse.
"Auntie, Young Master says that after the cotton is harvested, these greenhouses can be used to grow flowers."
"Imagine, with heavy snow falling outside, us enjoying the flowers inside, what a beautiful scene that would be!"
Empress Zhangsun showed no sign of surprise on her face.
She displayed the composure of a mother of a nation.
She playfully tapped Chai Yue's forehead with her finger.
"Alright, then don't forget to invite Auntie over to admire the flowers."
After speaking, as if feeling unwell, she covered her chest with her hand and coughed violently.
Chai Yue, seeing this, asked worriedly.
"Auntie, has your phlegm illness flared up again?"
Empress Zhangsun coughed for a while before finally calming down.
"It's nothing, just an old ailment. Whenever the weather changes, it tends to act up."
"Fortunately, Daoist Master Sun is here. I took my medicine before coming out."
Phlegm illness?
Upon hearing this, a name popped into Fang Er's mind.
Chronic bronchitis?
No.
It seems that historical records state that Empress Zhangsun passed away in the tenth year of Zhenguan.
This means she only has nine years of life left?
How could such a virtuous empress be left to her fate?
While they were chatting, Fang Er began to search within the system space.
The pharmacy had been drawn before, and at the time, he had casually exchanged everything without carefully checking what was available.
After searching, Fang Er was disappointed to find that apart from penicillin, there were no useful medicines.
He could only keep this matter in mind. If he were to obtain them in the future, he would give them to Empress Zhangsun.
Suddenly, a drop of rain fell on Fang Er's face.
He looked up at the sky.
The sun, which had only appeared for less than an hour, had once again hidden behind the dark clouds.
The drizzling rain had started again.
Fang Er quickly had the carriage brought over to send Chai Yue and Empress Zhangsun back to the Fang residence.
ps, I wrote this during my break this morning. I'll be going on a long trip this afternoon.