The next day, Fang Er was woken up by suffocation.
Still groggy, someone blocked his nose. When he opened his eyes, he saw that it was his son, Fang Xin, who had poked two fingers into his nostrils. This was truly infuriating~~
Hahaha, good son, who did you learn this trick from~
He grabbed Fang Xin and put him on the bed, stuffing him into the quilt to play with.
Oh, my lord, please forgive me. This servant was bringing something for Xin'er to eat, and he accidentally ran in and disturbed you.
Xiao Mi quickly ran in from outside, holding a sausage in her hand, her face red as she explained.
Fang Er didn't blame her. He just pointed at the sausage and said, "Give Xin'er less of this. If he wants snacks, ask Baoju to get some minced meat."
As he spoke, he climbed out of bed.
Seeing this, Xiao Mi hurried over to help him get dressed and wash up.
When he came out of the room, the sun was already hanging high in the sky. He glanced at the time and realized it was already eleven o'clock.
Hiss! Hah!
He stretched, and suddenly saw a strange scene in the courtyard.
Da Jiao was tied to the corner of the wall, and Jin Mao Wangcai was lying beside it.
And the tiger cub that Wu Yong had sent earlier, now four months old, was standing on Wangcai's back, staring intently at Da Jiao, licking his lips from time to time.
The golden eagle, on the other hand, stood on the courtyard wall, its sharp eyes scanning the surroundings like a loyal guard.
Fang Er, with his mischievous feet, walked over and lightly kicked Da Jiao's butt, almost having a close encounter with its two grenades.
Mee~~
Da Jiao quickly jumped away, lowered its head, and stared at him unfriendly, looking ready to attack at any moment.
Damn egg thief, you're still eyeing Brother Jiao's treasure!
If it weren't for the chain, you'd see Brother Jiao butt your ass into eight pieces~
Hahahaha~~
Fang Er laughed heartily and walked towards the front courtyard.
In the courtyard, Chai Yue and Xiao Qing covered their mouths and giggled upon seeing this.
The Lord and Da Jiao seemed to be natural rivals, always up to something funny.
With the increasing number of craftsmen, the Duke of Anguo's mansion, which was originally expected to take three years to complete, now only had the landscaping of the first two courtyards left.
It was no longer appropriate for the construction sheds to remain in the mansion. Zhao Gang decided to allocate a new area at the workshop and rebuild it, calling it the Lathe Workshop.
Fang Er had Song Yingxing, Fang Yizhi, and others called over, and drove them to the workshop area.
The Lathe Workshop was located at the innermost part of the workshop. Zhao Gang was there with the craftsmen, adjusting the machine tools that had been moved. Seeing Fang Er arrive, he quickly led the craftsmen forward to pay their respects.
Your humble servant has met the Duke.
Fang Er nodded slightly, then pointed to Song Yingxing and the others behind him and introduced them one by one.
Song Yingxing and Fang Yizhi were given the titles of Master Craftsmen by him.
As for Sun Yunqiu, Jiao Xu, and Li Tianjing, they were Grand Craftsmen.
After hearing the introduction, Zhao Gang looked back and forth at the five people in shock. The Duke had only been away for two months, yet he had brought back two Master Craftsmen and three Grand Craftsmen. This was simply unbelievable!
He respectfully cupped his fists and bowed to them, saying, "Zhao Gang greets all Master Craftsmen and Grand Craftsmen!"
Song Yingxing and the others were somewhat bewildered. Master Craftsmen, Grand Craftsmen, what were those?
Seeing this, Fang Er smiled and explained to everyone, specifically emphasizing the concept of "craftsman" as a general term for professional talents other than scholars and warriors, not just blacksmiths or carpenters.
Upon hearing this, Song Yingxing's eyes widened: "Duke Fang, are you saying that Old Man and Brother Fang can secure titles and offspring in this Great Tang?"
Fang Er nodded affirmatively, "Of course, you all deserve it!"
"Good! Good! As expected of Emperor Taizong. This trip was worth it!" Song Yingxing exclaimed.
He wasn't happy for himself. He didn't care about official positions or wealth. He was happy that craftsmen were being so highly valued in the Great Tang!
Fang Yizhi and the others felt the same. With their extensive knowledge, they understood the influence of craftsmen on the country.
If scholars were the brain of the country, and warriors were its limbs.
Then craftsmen were equivalent to the internal organs of a country!
"Master Craftsman Song, let's go inside and take a look!"
Fang Er pulled Song Yingxing and strode into the Lathe Workshop.
In the shed, dozens of machine tools were neatly arranged.
He had the craftsmen return to their workstations to continue working, while he led everyone to tour the shed.
The principle of the machine tools was clear at a glance. What caught Song Yingxing and the others' attention the most were the electric motors that powered the machine tools, and the various types of cutting tools.
"Is this the electric motor you mentioned in your book?" Fang Yizhi stopped by a machine tool for a long time and asked, pointing to the electric motor on the machine tool.
Fang Er nodded and replied, "That's right. This thing can greatly improve the work efficiency of craftsmen. It used to take tens of days to manually forge a gun barrel, but now we can make a pile of them in a day."
"Can I take one apart to see what's inside?" Fang Yizhi asked expectantly, pointing to the electric motor.
"Hahaha, that's easy. Zhao Gang, have someone bring a new electric motor!" Fang Er casually instructed.
Fang Yizhi understood magnetism. His basic knowledge of physics contained relevant discussions.
Magnetic energy producing electricity, and conversely, electricity providing power, sparked his strong interest.
A brand new electric motor was brought over. There was no shortage of disassembly tools here. Fang Yizhi looked at the electric motor in front of him and immediately said to Fang Er.
"Duke Fang, please do as you please. I need to study this thing carefully~"
As he said this, his eyes were fixed on the electric motor, as passionate as a playful child seeing a novel toy.
"Then Master Craftsman Fang, please proceed. I'll take Master Craftsman Song to look around elsewhere~"
After cupping his fists and bidding farewell to Fang Yizhi, Fang Er took the others to another shed.
Everything here was refreshing to them. After a round of tours, only Zhao Gang remained by Fang Er's side. Song Yingxing and the others, like Fang Yizhi, stayed in the shed.
Exiting the shed, Fang Er walked to a roadside bench and sat down, discussing future development directions with Zhao Gang.
"Draw some personnel from the First Construction Company, and establish a research institute on the scale of the New Oriental Vocational School."
"In the future, all Grand Craftsmen and Master Craftsmen can enter the research institute and receive a dedicated studio."
"Each person will have four assistant quotas, which can be selected from the workshop, Shenyang Academy, or New Oriental."
"Research topics will be decided by yourselves. Once a direction is established, submit the estimated budget to me."
"Also, in three days, organize an assessment. It's time to select a batch of Grand Craftsmen."
Zhao Gang was overjoyed and quickly patted his chest, guaranteeing, "My Lord, I will definitely handle this matter properly!"
Upon returning home, Fang Er went to the East Factory courtyard and sent a telegram to Li Shimin, instructing Li Tai to return from Chang'an as soon as possible. Along with that, he also requested some items from Li Shimin.