Chapter 194 Butterfly

Hearing Chen Qi's words, Chen Heng immediately went back to the house to get the blueprint.

Although Chen Heng was not good at painting, the control he had developed from years of practice was enough for him to draw some simple and intuitive lines on paper. He himself did not seek beauty, but only wanted to restore the original object as much as possible. The moment the blueprint was completed, it was in line with Chen Heng's thoughts.

When Chen Qi held the two paintings and looked at them in front of the oil lamp. He was also secretly amazed by the things on Chen Heng's paper. Chen Qi was an old carpenter and found that the tricks were not complicated at first glance. Chen Qi said somewhat strangely: "Heng'er, this thing is the business you said?"

As a father, Chen Qi really didn't see that this thing could make a fortune in the future.

"Yeah." Chen Heng nodded and asked, "Dad, can you make this thing?"

"What can't be made? It still has two wheels." Chen Qi first held up a drawing, looked at it halfway and asked, "You want people to sit directly in the shed? What will the front rely on to pull it? With this bar in the middle, you can't hitch a horse?"

Hearing Chen Qi say that it was no problem, Chen Heng immediately introduced: "Dad, this is called a rickshaw."

Next, Chen Heng detailed the benefits of rickshaws. Nowadays, there are not many ways for people to travel in Yangzhou City. Rich families have their own cars and sedan chairs. These people are definitely not the target customers. Ordinary people will only choose horse-drawn carriages and ox-drawn carts when they go far away. On weekdays, they still walk. .

There are car dealerships in the city, but each carriage is expensive. Horses, mules, donkeys, etc. are rare, not to mention the carriages that are more expensive than them. Poor families who have a little money will buy a cow for themselves to travel on weekdays. During the busy farming season, it can also be used to cultivate land and transport goods.

Chen Heng thought that his father would be able to discover this vast market after he said this.

As a result, Chen Qi asked back, "Then what?"

Seeing that his father still didn't understand and couldn't figure out the relationship between the two.

Chen Heng thought about it, since it didn't make sense to talk about it, he changed to a simpler way of saying it, "Dad, look, when we went to send my second brother this morning, it took me two quarters of an hour to walk from the headmaster's house to the outside of the city. If I find a carriage, it will cost half a tael of silver. If I find a sedan chair bearer in the city... it will cost one or two cents for just two people to carry it."

"Dad, if it were you, would you walk or spend money?"

Hearing his son's question, Chen Qi immediately shook his head, "Why spend this money in vain? You have hands and feet, so walk more, which is good for your health."

"Then if a rickshaw only costs three or five cents to take us to the city gate, and the time is about the same as that of a sedan chair bearer, would you take it?"

The half of Chen Qi's face illuminated by the oil lamp was full of surprise and astonishment. Before he could speak, Gu on the side became interested. Two years ago, after buying a shop in Qiupu Street, several rounds of training and hospitality greatly changed Gu's consumption concept. "It only takes three or five cents to save a walk. That's a great thing. Business must be very good." Hearing his mother say this, Chen Heng looked at Chen Qi with a little pride, as if to say: Dad, you see, mom has better vision than you. At this time, Chen Qi also understood. After thinking about it, it seemed that there was no problem. He asked again: "Heng'er, what can Dad do? I don't know how to do business." "Don't worry about things outside. The child will arrange it. You just need to be a supervisor in the workshop." It is naturally not Chen Qi's turn to plan the overall situation. Chen Heng just wants an attitude from the other party. "Okay." Chen Qi nodded and agreed without hesitation. His son has considered this, and as a father, he can't waste Heng'er's thoughts. He took another blueprint and took advantage of Chen Heng chatting with Gu to look at it under the oil lamp for a long time before saying, "Hengre, what are these two wheels called?"

"This." Chen Heng was chatting with Gu and tilted his head when he heard it. "This is called a bicycle."

This is what Chen Heng prepared for the people in Yangzhou City. Now every household has more spare money. With the continued expansion of Yangzhou City, more convenient travel methods are also something that the people have not yet realized, but are imminent.

As long as Chen Qiken nods, Chen Heng will take these two things to Uncle Lin tomorrow to have a good talk.

"Eh——" Chen Qi made a strange sound, and took a closer look at the drawing, and then said, "Heng'er, I've seen this thing of yours. It's not a bicycle, it's Huang's two-wheeled vehicle."

Chen Heng was still thinking, and he couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this, and said with some disbelief: "Dad, what are you talking about?"

"Two-wheeled vehicle! Huang's also made one." Chen Qi pointed with his hand, "It looks similar to what you drew. It's just that the front of the vehicle is bent. When he made it, we carpenters went to his house to see it."

The more Chen Heng listened, the more shocked he was. He hurriedly asked: "Dad, who is this Huang you are talking about? Where does he live?"

"He, his name is Huang Luzhuang, and he lives in Yazi Hutong in the north of the city."

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Yazi Hutong was not originally called this name, because it was close to the government office. Small vendors in the city don't like to come, and girls don't dare to come, which makes the residents laugh at themselves and say that they live in a dumb alley.

The housing prices here are also very cheap, only slightly more expensive than the noisy east of the city. When Chen Heng and Xinda arrived, the morning light shone diagonally into the street. There were only a few shops scattered around the streets and alleys. Compared with other places in Yangzhou, it was indeed much quieter.

I asked the residents in the neighborhood about Huang Luzhuang's house. Soon, a kind person led them to an old and dilapidated house.

"This is Mr. Huang's home."

After thanking the guide, Chen Heng took Xinda around the house. The house in the north of the city was built earlier, but the appearance of this house looks older than the neighbor's house.

A simple fence wall encloses a small vegetable plot in the yard. The season is not good, and nothing grows in the field. Chen Heng and Xinda knocked on the gate and shouted twice, but there was no response from the house.

I don't know if he is not at home. Chen Heng waited all night, how could he go back so easily. He directly pulled Xinda to open the gate, walked outside the bungalow, and looked around.

"Second brother, Mr. Huang is at home. I think he is still sleeping in the house." Xinda was also very courageous. He looked at the window for a while and waved to Chen Heng.

Chen Heng came up to take a look, and seeing that the other party was still sleeping, he simply said: "Don't wake him up yet, let's wait until he wakes up."

"Eh?!" Xinda was surprised. He had met many people with his brother in the past two years. This was the first time he saw him being so patient and polite to a stranger.

Seeing that there was no place to sit in the yard, Chen Heng pulled Xinda to sit on the doorstep. With nothing to do at the moment, he couldn't help but think of the life of Huang Luzhuang introduced by Chen Qi last night.

Huang Luzhuang's ancestors had some money, and he went to school for a few years when he was a child. It is said that he is a child prodigy with photographic memory. The age when he passed the examination was about the same as Chen Heng.

But later, Huang's father did business with others, and was cheated of all his wealth by his good friend. The other party got the money and ran away to all corners of the world. The Huang family suffered a great change, and the family situation plummeted.

The family couldn't afford to continue to support Huang Luzhuang's studies, so they sent him to a carpenter's shop as an apprentice, so that he could learn some skills to make a living.

Unfortunately, Huang Luzhuang was still a bookworm. After he finished his studies, he often used the money he earned to buy books, and occasionally borrowed money to buy some foreign gadgets.

In Chen Qi's story, Huang Luzhuang was a taciturn nerd who didn't understand the world. In addition to being very good at arithmetic, he mostly stayed at home to make things. Now he is in his twenties and has not even married.

"He is a good person. But unfortunately he is a weirdo."

Recalling Chen Qi's expression when he said this, Chen Heng became more curious about Huang Luzhuang who was sleeping in the house. Fortunately, he had nothing to do today, so he still had time and patience to wait slowly.

This wait lasted until the sun was three poles high and it was close to lunch when the owner got up in the house. Chen Heng quickly pulled Xinda up, and just after he tidied up his clothes, he ran into Huang Luzhuang who came out with a wooden bucket and was ready to fetch water.

Huang Luzhuang was about 27 or 28 years old. He didn't even wear a Confucian scarf on his head. He just used a wooden hairpin to fix it in his hair. He was wearing a blue robe that was washed to a pale color and had many patches on it.

He looked very bad, with signs of staying up late for a long time. His face was sallow and there was a strong black color under his eye bags. This appearance, coupled with Huang Luzhuang's thin figure. Anyone who saw him would call Huang Luzhuang a down-and-out scholar.

Chen Heng thought about it in his heart and took the initiative to greet him: "Brother Huang, I am Chen Heng, from Chen's Carpenter Shop."

Seeing the visitor introduce himself, Huang Luzhuang, who had just woken up not long ago, tilted his head to think about it, and then recalled the family of Chen's Carpenter Shop. He whispered: "Oh, it's Brother Chen's child." Huang Luzhuang put down the wooden barrel, returned the greeting, and asked again, "But is there a problem at home?"

Huang Luzhuang's face showed a little anxiety, and his eyebrows unconsciously wrinkled, revealing deep "chuan"-shaped stripes. This made him look much older than his young age.

"No, no." Chen Heng waved his hands repeatedly, afraid that the other party would worry, and said, "I just heard about Brother Huang's story last night, so I came here to see him today."

Heard about me? See you? Huang Luzhuang was very surprised by such words. He looked Chen Heng up and down, then moved the wooden barrel to the corner of the door and nodded, "Come in."

The three of them walked into the house, and only two of them were sitting. The house was indeed a bit messy, and Huang Luzhuang tried his best to clean up the things next to the seats to create a comfortable environment for the guests.

Chen Heng took advantage of a moment of free time to secretly look at the place where the lobby, study, and dining table were integrated. There was a dining table behind him and a bookshelf in front of him, with various books on it. Chen Heng took a closer look and found that they were all related to arithmetic.

Huang Luzhuang took out a set of tea sets from the drawer under the bookshelf. When he came back, he had already brought a pot of tea. After finishing these trivial matters, he sat opposite the two guests and asked what they wanted.

While pouring tea for Xinda, Chen Heng gave the former a look, and he smiled and held the teacup and said, "I heard from my family that Brother Huang built a two-wheeled vehicle? If it is convenient, can I take a look?"

Huang Luzhuang's face was already smiling when he heard this. He didn't expect that the other party came for this, and said a little embarrassedly: "It's just a weird thing, I made it for fun."

Many carpenters in the city knew about this, and they also knew that Huang Luzhuang had a pair of skillful hands and a good brain, and could often do things that were different from ordinary people.

"It's okay, it's okay, I just like strange things." Chen Heng smiled, raised his hand and made a gesture of invitation, he was indeed a little impatient.

Huang Luzhuang didn't refuse, although he didn't talk much, he was both graceful and cultured. He didn't feel abrupt and presumptuous because of Chen Heng's young age and sudden visit. Instead, on the way to the warehouse, he took the initiative to talk about the two-wheeled vehicle he had built.

When Chen Heng saw the real thing, to be honest, he was still shocked. This car is naturally far inferior to the bicycles of later generations. But in terms of structure and design concept, it is already very prominent and advanced.

It is still a two-wheeled main body, three feet long, and it looks like it can only seat one person. Chen Heng walked around the front of the car and found that the handlebars were the kind of hand-cranked type. Huang Luzhuang installed a transmission gear on the right side of the front of the car to complete the transmission of force.

"Really... it's really amazing." Chen Heng praised sincerely, and couldn't help asking, "Brother Huang, can I ride it?"

"I will fall down." Huang Luzhuang frowned, a little confused about why the child of the senior family has such a special liking for a car.

Chen Heng immediately patted his chest and said, "Brother Huang, don't worry, I'm very good at riding this." He was indeed very good. When he was in high school in his previous life, he relied on it to go to and from school.

Seeing that the other party was so confident, Huang Luzhuang had to nod and agree. The two pushed the car into the yard. Chen Heng tested the hardness of the wooden wheels and found that they were easy to sink into the soil. He suggested pushing it to the street to try.

When the short ride was over, Chen Heng shook his sore hands, "Okay, it's fun to ride, but it's too troublesome." He stood in front of Huang Luzhuang excitedly, "Brother Huang, can you tell me what you thought when you built this car?"

Unexpectedly, Chen Heng was willing to listen to this, and Huang Luzhuang suddenly became interested in chatting. He talked about his design ideas, and Chen Heng mostly listened, only occasionally expressing his own opinions. After the other party finished speaking, Chen Heng added: "Brother Huang, have you ever thought about it. Put this hand-cranked thing..." Chen Heng made a shaking thing, "Put it on your feet, will it save a lot of effort?"

Huang Luzhuang frowned subconsciously, and at the moment of thought, ecstasy appeared on his face, "This is good, this method is good. The strength of the feet is indeed greater than that of the hands." He rubbed his hands excitedly, as if he wanted to do it immediately, but there were guests in front of him, so he could only accompany awkwardly.

Chen Heng saw this and wanted to laugh. The two continued to discuss, and the topic later could not help but turn to arithmetic.

Perhaps it was a question, perhaps it was a test. Chen Heng asked several difficult questions in a row, and Huang Luzhuang closed his eyes and thought, and in a flash, he reported the answer. Finding that Chen Heng also liked mathematics, Huang Luzhuang showed him his collection.

The rows of bookshelves were mostly arithmetic books collected by Huang Luzhuang from all over the country. From easy to difficult, the types were complete. It seemed to hint at Huang Luzhuang's learning path. Chen Heng flipped through several books, and when he got to the deep end, even he had to stop and think for a long time, and there were also places he couldn't answer.

This Huang Luzhuang is really a genius in mathematics. No matter what kind of difficult problem it is, he can write the solution process and answer next to it. Chen Heng flipped through the books one by one, and finally said with a sincere heart: "Brother Huang, since you have such a lot of skills, why are you confined to this place?!"

Chen Heng really wanted to be a talent. If he didn't find a place to give such a person a good place, it would be a waste of talent to let him concentrate on learning arithmetic! ! !

"Ah?!" Huang Luzhuang tilted his head, squinted slightly, and said after showing a serious expression of thinking, "I think it's pretty good now."

Chen Heng had no choice but to remember this in his heart. The two of them discussed the arithmetic for a long time, and didn't notice the passage of time for a while. It was not until Xinda came back with the food box that they realized that half an hour had passed.

Afraid that their own decisions would affect the host's mood. Chen Heng half-jokingly said, "Let me treat you to a meal first. I need to ask Brother Huang for something later. I'm acting on my own initiative, please forgive me. Next time, I'll be a quiet and elegant visitor, and I'll have to have a meal with you."

When it comes to mundane matters, Huang Luzhuang is a little shy. He knows that Chen Heng is kind and is afraid of spending money. He can only say, "Thank you for your help."

At the table, Chen Heng really mentioned something. Although it was a temporary reason, it seems to be for this reason.

"I think Brother Huang has the talent to invent things. I have a few looms in my hand. I want to ask Brother Huang to help me."

There are so many looms in Qiupu Street. If Brother Huang can really make improvements, it will save countless lives and have great merits.

"Okay." Huang Luzhuang nodded. This is a small matter. He felt that he and Chen Heng had a good chat today, and it was really nothing to help.

Taking advantage of the meal, Chen Heng pointed to the various things in the house and asked Huang Luzhuang about the uses of these inventions. Mechanical objects such as dragon tail car and waterfall water, among which there is even the original thermometer of Dayong.

Seeing this thing, it can really change due to the temperature change of the outside world. Chen Heng almost worshipped the down-and-out scholar in front of him as a god. How could this be a carpenter? This is a great inventor who has not yet spread his reputation!

I can't figure it out, it's really hard to figure it out. Why has such a person never been heard of in Yangzhou?

Chen Heng was helpless. But he took into account the friendship between each other, after all, it was just established. The friendship between gentlemen is as light as water, thinking that there will be times to deal with each other in the future. After Chen Heng had dinner, he took Xinda back to Qiupu Street first, preparing to find someone to arrange the matter of inviting Huang Luzhuang.

But it would be better if he didn't show up. As soon as he showed up, he was caught by Baoqin. Chen Heng was still looking for Zhao Zhushi everywhere, and Baoqin had led Chunyan to block him in the middle of the road.

"Brother, what have you been doing these days?" Baoqin's face was full of anger. Since this little girl learned to dress like a man, she has become more and more reckless. She even dared to stop a man in the street.

Chen Heng didn't know why he had angered the young lady, and he was even more surprised and asked, "Second brother, did you do something wrong?"

Bao Qin curled her lips, "Brother, you still forgot about my matter."

"Ah?! Oh oh." Chen Heng laughed, and he finally remembered it.

There have been a lot of things at home these two days. I only slept for five hours yesterday, and my head can't stand it. I'll have a meal and make up for it first.