Coming out of the courtyard, Song Qi and Ouyang Xiu talked with great interest about the iron prison products they had just seen. All kinds of enamel products are to be sold back for their own use or given away, and the rest of the oil lamps, lighters, etc., also have to buy a few pieces. As for the honeycomb coal stove, I don't know if it is not sold locally, so it is best to buy a few promising styles from here to go back.

As for Yan Shu, his family is big and big, and he wants to buy a machine for making honeycomb coal in addition to the stove. The stove was bought, there was no need to buy briquettes outside. With a briquette-making machine, you can do it at home.

Du Zhongxiao looked at the sky and said to the four people: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the last place, mainly all kinds of iron farm tools. Now the iron supervisor can only rely on these goods to really make money. The ministers saw that if they agreed, they could let the people come and buy it after returning to the state. If there are more people who buy it, send a list, and the iron supervisor can also deliver it to them. ”

Yoo Sik said, "We're just about to see this. After the road was repaired a few days ago, the iron supervisor sent a set of farm tools to the people who came to work, and these people liked it very much. After going back, it was spread all over Manzhou, saying that it was a good farm tool made here by the iron supervisor, and the price was not expensive. ”

While speaking, Du Zhongxiao led everyone into the last compound. As soon as they entered the door, everyone was shocked by the dazzling array of goods placed here.

The daily necessities I just saw are actually not many types, that is, there are many kinds of enamel products, which occupy a relatively large area. It's different here, there are several sheds in the courtyard, and under the sheds, small products are placed on the shelves, and large ones are placed on the ground, neatly and neatly.

All the way through, from small pieces such as steel needles and nails, to kitchen knives, axes, hacksaws, etc., followed by a complete set of woodworking tools. Behind them are the sickles, hoes, shovels, and pickaxes that have been issued in front, and then there are miscellaneous iron tools such as iron pots.

Liu Zhi said to Yan Shu: "Xianggong, don't look at these iron tools as inconspicuous, but they are very easy to use and have great use for the people." ”

Yan Shu nodded again and again, he had also heard from his officials that these of the Iron Supervisor were much easier to use than before. In particular, shovels and shovels, which are used by those who do not plough the land, are also very convenient. It is much more convenient to dig ditches and control ditches in places.

When you get to the next shed, you will find a complete set of farm tools.

Starting with the plough that ploughs the ground, it is divided into several models and placed on the ground. This is followed by the rake that prepares the land, and then the cocoon that sows the seeds. The cocoon car of the iron supervision is different from the outside, with wheels, and the seed box has shea-wheels, which are driven by wheels to rotate and actively plant, instead of relying on the usual gravity of the seeds. The length of the sheave can be adjusted, so that the seeding rate can be controlled.

A few people have never seen this kind of cocoon car, and after asking Du Zhongxiao how to use it, Ouyang Xiu held the cocoon cart with both hands on a whim, and said: "If there are cows or horses pulled, and if it is well adjusted, I can also farm the land, no less than the old farmer." ”

Everyone laughed together. In fact, it is similar to the seeding machine of later generations, and most crops can be sown.

Behind are machines such as cultivators and soil cultivators. Du Zhongxiao followed the impression of the rotary tiller, a shaft loaded with several blades, with oxen or horses pulled, marching through the field. The power wheel drives the rotation to realize the function of loosening the soil and hoeing the grass. I was afraid that the power would not be enough, but I tried a few times, as long as it was adjusted shallower, it was actually feasible. The blade can break the crust of the soil, which is less effective than a manual hoe, but the efficiency is much faster.

Agriculture is the foundation of the world, and persuading farmers is an important job of local officials, even Yan Shu and Song Qi are no strangers to these. Every spring ploughing and autumn harvest season, the state and county officials would go to the fields to watch the peasants work and hold ceremonies.

The four of them were thrilled by the novelty of this small rotary tiller, and they all tried to turn it to see the blades stir up dust on the ground. The most labor-intensive part of farming is field management and harvesting. These two links have been solved, not only the labor intensity of farmers has been reduced, but also more land can be cultivated.

Behind the small rotary tiller is a waterwheel, which is the kind already used in the field work. Driven by animal power, the water is drawn out of the well and enters the mouth of the well. With such a waterwheel, irrigation can be guaranteed far from the river.

Seeing these familiar things, the atmosphere is much more lively. The four governors were so patient to visit the iron prison, and they were playing with the idea of farm tools. Being able to buy good and cheap farm tools for the people under his rule is a moral policy.

Behind the small rotary tiller, of course, is the harvesting machinery. In front of the guillotine, there was a strange machine. There are two large iron wheels in front, with a row of serrated teeth in the middle of the wheel, and the teeth are very large, like the fangs of a beast. Immediately adjacent to the serrations are two small wheels, one on the left and one on the right, with two long handles sticking out of the back.

Seeing that this machine was weird, he had never seen it before, and Song Qi asked, "Yun Ju, what is this for?" Look at it here, it should be harvesting grain. Look at the saw in front, can you still cut rice and wheat? ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "Yes, this is used to cut rice and wheat, which is much faster than using a sickle." ”

Several people were amused when they heard this, and they gathered around and said, "How do you cut rice and wheat with this thing?" Tell me about it. ”

Du Zhongxiao stepped forward and pointed to an iron wheel in front of him and said: "Walking with an ox or a horse, this big iron wheel rotates, and it swings back and forth with this row of cutters, like scissors." And the wheat in front of them was cut down and spread on it. The above one will turn and send the spread of rice and wheat to the side. Followed by people, all you have to do is bale the rice and wheat that has been cut down. ”

Ouyang Xiu smiled when he heard this: "It's so magical! There was still this way of harvesting rice and wheat. If this machine were used, wouldn't one man be able to cut many acres? At harvest time, it is much better when it is windy and rainy, which can easily spoil the grain. It's just that it looks weird, and I don't know if it can be used. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "This is a new production this year, but I tried it with last year's wheat straw and straw, and it didn't go to the ground." ”

This is Du Zhongxiao's whim, according to the appearance of the harvester in his memory, he made a cutter and made such a harvester. After the high-carbon steel is quenched, it is the qualified steel for cutting knives, riveted on the tool holder, and the eccentric wheel is used next to it to rotate into reciprocating motion, and a simple header is made. Du Zhongxiao is not sure whether the power wheel driven by cattle and horses can make the cutter work smoothly. The season is not right, and there is no way to go to the field to experiment, so people can only find wheat straw and replant it in the ground, and try it little by little. When the wheat is harvested, he goes to a nearby field and tries to harvest it.

If this harvester is completed, the most important bottleneck of farm work will be solved. The use of harvesters not only improves efficiency, but also allows you to harvest grain as soon as possible in the most critical double rush season, so as to plant the next crop. By shortening the harvest time, the rice-wheat rotation area can be greatly pushed northward. At present, the rice-wheat rotation is mainly concentrated in the two Zhejiang and Huai, because it is relatively warm there, and the time for rice harvesting and wheat sowing is relatively long, and the harvest and sowing are not delayed. The time is shortened, and many areas in the Central Plains that were originally unable to catch up can also be held twice a year.

Du Zhongxiao didn't know that in history, the harvester started from a horse, and the structure was basically the same. He just simplified the harvester in his impression as much as possible, made it look like this, and pushed it back, back to the way the harvester was at the beginning. The steam engine ushered in the industrial revolution, which promoted the development of the steel industry. Back to agriculture, a large number of agricultural machinery appeared in the steam age.

A small rotary tiller, a horse-drawn harvester, made the four governors very excited. Originally, the farm tools they wanted to buy from the iron supervisor were just hoes and sickles, but they didn't want to have such a strange thing. If it is used well, farmers all over the world will benefit.

After harvesting, it is naturally cut, and separating the ears of wheat from the wheat stalks can save countless efforts. The guillotine of the iron supervisor looked cold and cold, and it was a little scary. The entire blade is made of steel, not as shabby as in some places as a piece of wood wrapped in iron.

Behind is the rice threshing machine. The human pedaling drove the iron teeth in a large wooden bucket to rotate and take out the grains on the rice straw that stretched in. There is also a fan underneath that blows the broken grass to the side and the rice falls into the utensils below.

Now threshing is the same kind of fight, beating by manpower, and then cleaning with the help of wind. Here, iron teeth are used instead of beating, which is obviously much less labor. What's more special is the fan below, several blades rotate and blow out the wind, which is extremely convenient.

This is a by-product of the steam engine used for blast blast furnace blast blast in the iron supervisor. Without a steaming machine, Du Zhongxiao can't remember the rotating fan, and he still uses the bellows when he uses manpower. With a steam engine, it is naturally more suitable for a fan with rotating blades. This idea can be used in many places.

Behind the threshing machine, there is a rice mill. At this time, the rice is scooped out, or with water power, or with manpower, and it is actually very convenient to eat and scoop it at any time. Millet can be stored for a long time, but rice cannot, and for families, this machine is actually of little use. However, the iron prison has a large population, and it is too cumbersome for the canteen to rely on manpower to make rice, so this machine was made. The same is done by human pedals, and rice is milled with a set of iron rollers. This machine also has a use, that is, it can be carried in the army, and it is much more convenient to make rice as military food.

According to Du Zhongxiao's idea, a wheat thresher will be made. Unfortunately, according to the structure in my impression, I tried many times, but it was always unsuccessful. Even after the threshing is done, only the threshing from the ears of wheat is very large, and it cannot be used at all. Maybe you have to wait until later, to make a large steam engine to drive, one at a time, before you can use it.

The farm tools on display here cover everything from plowing to harvesting, including field management. If there are employees who are willing to invest in the capital and buy a set of machines here, they can build a farm. In fact, the Iron Supervisor used these agricultural tools to build an experimental farm of more than 2,000 acres nearby, specifically to test the use of various agricultural tools and make corresponding improvements. For the iron superintendent, it is necessary to make money from these for a long time.

After reading it from beginning to end, the four Zhizhou stood in the middle, looking at the neat farm tools in the shed, and were speechless for a while.