He sent Zhao Gang, Hua Niang, and the others away.
Fang Er sat before the sewing machine, his mind tirelessly working through the design.
Gradually, a prototype began to take shape.
Once decided, he started the actual construction.
A small, circular bobbin with a hook was made.
Next came the bobbin case that held the bobbin and the mechanism to control its rotation.
After winding thread evenly onto the circular bobbin, the sewing machine now had two threads.
The thread on the needle above, Fang Er called the upper thread, meaning the thread that sewed on the surface of the fabric.
The thread on the circular bobbin was underneath the fabric, so it was called the lower thread.
After individually crafting and installing each component onto the sewing machine, wΑp.kanshu伍.net
Fang Er stepped on the pedal again.
The needle above pierced the fabric, carrying the upper thread.
The bobbin below caught the upper thread.
As the needle retracted, at the moment the machine needle rose, due to the resistance of the fabric, the thread on the needle formed a pear-shaped loop beneath the material.
The circular bobbin rotated at this instant, its hook catching the loop, preventing the upper thread from retracting.
As the bobbin rotated, pulled by the tension of the upper thread, it caught the lower thread, forming a lockstitch.
After sewing a few stitches rapidly.
Indeed!
Uniform stitches appeared on the fabric.
Fang Er cut the thread and folded the fabric in half.
He placed it under the machine needle again and stepped on the pedal.
Swish swish swish swish.
The sound of the machine needle frictionally passing through the fabric rang out continuously.
When he stopped.
Fang Er pulled the fabric back and tugged at it with his hand.
The two layers of fabric were now securely sewn together!
Hahahahaha!
Fang Er, beaming with joy, took the fabric and walked out of the workshop.
Hua Niang was still waiting outside, curiously looking at the fabric Fang Er held.
She walked over.
"My Lord, has it been successful?"
Fang Er handed her the fabric.
"Look, this is what the machine sewed."
Hua Niang took it and examined the stitches from all angles.
Instantly, she was stunned!
Her eyes, like little stars, stared at Fang Er as she said,
"This stitch work, this density, is even more uniform than hand-sewing. My Lord, you are simply too amazing!"
"Uh."
Fang Er shivered.
"Sister, you're over thirty, and you're looking at me, a young man, like this. Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
He quickly said,
"Um, Hua Niang, go to the manor and gather some nimble-fingered women. I'll teach you how to use this later."
Hua Niang gave a soft "Oh," and left, clutching the piece of fabric.
Watching her sway her hips, Fang Er shivered again.
"My goodness!"
"Thirty and like a wolf?"
Shaking his head, he called Zhao Gang back.
He pointed to the various parts of the sewing machine and explained them to him.
As he spoke, he drew diagrams on paper.
Finally, he said,
"This is called a sewing machine. We need to make at least a hundred of them!"
Zhao Gang's forehead began to sweat.
The pressure was immense!
Seeing his expression, Fang Er knew what he was thinking.
That massive arms order had just been issued, and now another hundred sewing machines were needed.
Looking at the current artisans, it might not even be possible to finish them by the end of the year.
He patted Zhao Gang's shoulder.
"Don't worry, more artisans will be coming from the Ministry of Works. You can just manage the distribution."
These words finally gave Zhao Gang some confidence.
"My Lord, rest assured, with that, it will definitely be fine."
"I will definitely produce them as quickly as possible."
With a sample machine and blueprints, it wouldn't be a problem for Zhao Gang to build a sewing machine at his current skill level.
Fang Er then returned to his residence with peace of mind.
The following days.
He stayed at home and diligently wrote teaching materials.
He couldn't help it; it was a tough job!
The artisans under him had a foundation, but they lacked much theoretical support.
They were working purely based on experience.
Arithmetic and Pinyin were already done.
Now, he was preparing materials for Physics and Chemistry.
As the saying goes, "Learn mathematics, physics, and chemistry, and you can travel anywhere without fear."
Only by raising their knowledge level could more talented individuals emerge to help share his burden.
The textbooks could be compiled gradually by grade level.
Fang Er first wrote a note and sent it to Xue Zhiqian at the printing house.
When Xue Zhiqian saw the note, his admiration for Fang Er increased to a new height!
The note wasn't long, only a few lines.
He only understood it through guesswork.
But the meaning was definitely correct!
"Dictionary: Compile common characters into a book, provide annotations and pronunciations, sort them according to Pinyin, and then typeset and print!"
That's right!
This was the Da Tang version of a dictionary!
What was this?
This was something that would make him famous, a name that would resonate throughout Da Tang!
No one had ever thought of compiling all the characters.
Once this dictionary was compiled, the difficulty of studying for scholars would be further reduced!
With Pinyin as a foundation and the dictionary as an aid.
It could be said that once one learned Pinyin, they could read any book!
With the help of the dictionary, they could understand any book!
From then on, the history of noble families controlling knowledge would cease to exist!
Thinking of this, Xue Zhiqian's hands trembled.
He carefully folded the note, put it away.
He mounted his horse and galloped to the academy.
By this time, the students had finished their day's studies.
Only Ma Tongyuan, Zhang Zhimin, and a few other teachers remained in the lecture hall.
Xue Zhiqian dismounted at the entrance of the lecture hall.
He didn't even bother to tie his horse, rushing into the hall.
As he ran, he shouted.
"Brother Ma, Brother Zhang!"
"Brother Li, Brother Zhao, Brother Yang, Brother Zhao, Brother Liu!"
The few people who were tidying up the students' homework inside heard the commotion and hurried out.
Seeing Xue Zhiqian drenched in sweat, Ma Tongyuan stepped forward to ask.
"Brother Xue, what's the matter that's so urgent?"
"Quick, come inside and tell me."
Xue Zhiqian, however, stopped at the entrance and took out the note.
He said with great excitement,
"Look at this. This is what Marquis just instructed me to do."
Ma Tongyuan took the note and read it carefully.
Then, with a look of joy, he handed it to the others.
He then said,
"From today onwards, the eight of us from the academy will take turns overseeing it."
"Everyone else should go to the printing house and do their utmost to get this dictionary that the Marquis commissioned out as soon as possible!"
Zhang Zhimin said,
"No! With just the few of us, such an important matter might take a very long time to complete!"
"I'll go and contact some more friends. I'm sure once word of this dictionary gets out, they won't refuse!"
As soon as he said this, the others nodded repeatedly.
"Yes! Find helpers! Let's take this opportunity to expand our academy's team again!"
"Let's all write letters, but they must be to trustworthy people with strong moral character. We must not rush and do a bad job!"
The eight men split up and acted.
In the end, letters after letters were placed in Song Zhimin's hands.
It was a whole bag of letters!