In the morning, he went to pay his respects to his mother. His mother would also be here at this time every day. Shen Zhengyang came over and paid his respects to the two of them in a proper manner. He didn't even have breakfast and hurried out. A carriage was parked at the gate of the Shen Mansion. As soon as Young Master Shen came out, he got on the carriage with the help of the guards and left.
"What has Yang'er been busy with these days?" After his grandson left, Old Lady Shen asked.
Lady Shen paused, not knowing what Yang'er was busy with recently, and shook her head.
"Yang'er seems to be very happy these past two days. Is there something good that we don't know about? Bi'er, ask someone to ask him quietly, don't let Yang'er know." Old Madam Shen waved her hand, and didn't blame her daughter-in-law to pay attention to what her grandson does on weekdays. She knew that Yang'er didn't like people controlling him in everything. This grandson has grown up.
"Yes." The servant who received the order left.
"Our Shen family now has only this one seedling left. If I don't take good care of him, how can I have the face to meet the ancestors of the Shen family a hundred years later." Waving her hand, so that the little servant behind her didn't have to massage his shoulders, Old Madam Shen sighed and said, "This bone is getting worse day by day. I don't know how many years he can live."
"Grandma, you are going to live a hundred years, stop saying these things." Madam Shen said hurriedly.
Since he married into this family, his grandmother was a good person and was good to him. It was a pity that her husband died young, but fortunately, she was pregnant and gave birth to a boy. Now the boy has grown up, and he, the grandmother, has someone to rely on in this mansion. In
recent years, outsiders have only known that the Shen family is prosperous, but who knows that in the early years, facing a group of relatives who are as fierce as wolves and tigers, this huge Shen family also relied on them, an orphan and a widow, to survive. Now, the little aunt is favored in the palace, but who knows how long the favor can last? Therefore, they in the Shen family are even more low-key in their dealings with others.
Even Yang'er, his grandmother, did not want to force him to take the imperial examinations. She did not hope that her son would pass the imperial examinations and bring honor to the family. She only hoped that her son would live happily and do what he likes. On this point, he and his mother-in-law had the same idea. Now that Yang'er had grown up, they no longer restricted him and let him run outside all day long. As long as he didn't cause any trouble, with the current Shen Mansion, they could still protect Yang'er and ensure a smooth life.
Old Madam Shen shook her hands and did not continue talking about this issue. Instead, she remembered that there were few people serving in her grandson's room, so she thought that it was time for her grandson's wedding. "Yang'er is old enough now. When you are free on weekdays, you should go out for a walk more often and see which boy is good. Come back and report to me. We haven't had a wedding in our house for a long time. It's time to have one."
"Half a year has passed, and there's still no news about the pregnancy of the two people serving in Yang'er's room. If Yang'er doesn't like it, you can pick two more likable ones to go with him."
Both of them are disappointing!
He couldn't let the incense of the Shen family be cut off in his hands. He stuffed several servants into his son's room. Unfortunately, except for the daughter-in-law who gave birth to a grandson, the others were pregnant.
"Yes, I'll arrange it later." But as a mother, Mrs. Shen also knew that her son didn't like her mother putting people in his room. But since the mother-in-law had ordered it, he couldn't refuse. He could only arrange it first. If the son didn't like it, he could just leave.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law discussed the grandson's marriage in the room. Young Master Shen, who left, didn't know that his mother and mother were thinking about finding him a wife.
Young Master Shen had a group of craftsmen in his hands, and they quickly made a lot of small things with the drawings given to them. Two days later, after everyone's hard work, the first children's bicycle was made by the craftsmen.
Manager Qu, who had received the notice early in the morning, came with his third grandson. The child was so curious when he saw the new things that he couldn't stop wondering. He held his grandfather's hand, wanting to go over but not daring to, and called out in a low and anxious voice, "Grandpa, Grandpa." "Come on, little kid, try it." Cao Xiangnan squatted on the ground to check the small bicycle. Seeing that there was no problem, he waved to the cute little kid standing there, looked up and said to Manager Qu, "Manager Qu, this is your grandson, right? He looks so cute."
"Well, my third grandson. He knew there were new things and we just needed a child to try them out, so I brought my third grandson here." Manager Qu smiled when he saw others praising his grandson, and he was as happy as if others had praised him.
"Go ahead." Manager Qu let go of Sun'er's hand and let him pass.
"What's your name?"
"Xiao Qing'er."
"Xiao Qing'er, right? Do you like this little bike?"
"Yes."
"Then why don't you get on and sit on it?" Seeing the child nod, Cao Xiangnan carried the child up and explained to the child how to ride the little bicycle, "Put your hands here, um, that's right, control the front of the bike, put your two feet here, and step on it hard, don't be afraid... Look, the wheels will roll, and the bike will move, right?"
He held the child with one hand and the front of the bike with the other hand, helping the child to control it.
A bicycle has three wheels, so there is no need to worry about falling due to imbalance. Most children can do it, and it doesn't require any skills. It's easy to get started, but this front of the bike may take some practice to control well. After helping the child step on it a few times, Cao Xiangnan let go. The two wheels at the front and back rolled, and the child stepped on the pedals, and the car started to move by itself.
"Chuck, chuckle... Grandpa, grandpa..." The little kid riding on the car giggled, probably because he found it novel.
"It's flying, it's flying..."
Seeing his grandson happy, Manager Qu also smiled. He didn't expect such a thing to be so small and unique. Everyone stood aside and watched. Even the carpenters who made this car were amazed when they saw this small car. If it wasn't made by them, they wouldn't believe that the car could be made to run just by using the strength of two feet.
"This, this is really... magical." If Shen Zhengyang hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't believe it would be true. This car didn't need to be pulled by a horse, and the child just stepped on the wheels and it moved by itself.
"Yes, it's simply amazing." Manager Qu has been a craftsman for half his life. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed that a car could run with just two wheels.
Cao Xiangnan, who was standing nearby, saw that the child could not turn the front of the bike, so he quickly strode over and helped the child turn the front of the bike around. At the same time, he reminded everyone, "This bike is relatively easy to control, but children probably don't know how to control the front of the bike when they start riding. An adult must be there to watch over them. Only when the child can fully control the bike can the child do it by himself."
In fact, the easiest bike to control is a two-wheeled bike, but the balance is difficult to control. Three wheels and four wheels have their own advantages, but in the end, a two-wheeled bike is the most convenient to use and is not easy to break. Cao Xiangnan shared this problem with the craftsmen here.
"How do you ride a two-wheeled bike?" someone asked.
"You'll get it if you practice more." Cao Xiangnan pointed at the front wheel of the bike and said, "With just one wheel, you can move by pedaling, not to mention a two-wheeled bicycle, which will be easier."
In the future, there are all kinds of vehicles. Bicycles with two wheels are still good, but vehicles with only one wheel that can be pedaled are the most challenging to balance.
He used to play with roller skates when he was in college, but it is not easy to play with them unless there is a professional to teach him. But it doesn't matter if he goes back and makes a few pairs for himself? It happened to be snowing in winter, so he went out to play in the snow.
After seeing the magic of this bike, Young Master Shen stood there thinking for a while and asked, "If it is made bigger, can adults ride it?"
"Yes!" Cao Xiangnan gave a positive answer with a confident smile on his face. He said, "It won't be so easy for adults to ride. There are many issues to consider, so now we will make these car toys for children first. I dare say that everyone will scramble for this car as soon as it comes out."
If a small bicycle like this is produced every two days, the productivity is too low, and it still needs to be improved.
This thing is unique to them, can the price be set higher?
When everyone heard that adults can also ride this bicycle, they all felt itchy.
"You can use your intelligence and try to make it. Maybe you can also make a bicycle that adults can ride?" Cao Xiangnan saw that everyone was hesitant to speak, and knew that they wanted to ask how to make a bicycle that adults can ride. He smiled and left this question to these craftsmen.
He has given a lot of drawings here, and sometimes he can't be relied on too much. Cao Xiangnan believes that the intelligence of the craftsmen of this era is definitely not lower than that of modern people.
"Zhengyang, Manager Qu, how about this, if someone comes up with new things in the future, or improves these toys, we will give some appropriate rewards?" Adhering to the principle that encouragement is motivation, Cao Xiangnan left room for these craftsmen to work hard, looking at Shen Zhengyang and Manager Qu and said.
"Okay!" Young Master Shen agreed immediately.
"Whether this thing is well made or not, it still needs to be evaluated, right? Then let's put it this way, if it can be rated as level one, it will be rewarded with one tael of silver, if it is rated as level two, it will be rewarded with three taels of silver, if it is rated as level three, it will be rewarded with five taels of silver, if it is rated as level four, it will be rewarded with seven taels of silver... If it reaches the highest level of ten, the reward is to be determined, and it will be determined according to the situation at that time." The higher the level, the higher the reward. Cao Xiangnan believes that it is easy to get one tael of silver as long as everyone exerts their intelligence. As for reaching the higher level later, it is not easy, but the bonus is getting higher and higher.
Even for workers in Nanyang, two taels of silver a month was considered a high wage, and one tael of silver was at least half a month's wages for many people.
Seeing Shen Zhengyang nod, Cao Xiangnan smiled and said to Manager Qu, "I'll write down the details and give them to Manager Qu later?"
This matter was settled.
It would be better to rely on the wisdom and ingenuity of all the craftsmen than on him alone to make this little gadget.
After the two of them got on the carriage, Shen Zhengyang asked about how the adult's bicycle was made. Cao Xiangnan thought about it and then told Shen Zhengyang about this question. The two people were in the carriage, one talking and the other nodding continuously.
In fact, Cao Xiangnan did not want to make a bicycle for adults. In this era of technological limitations, it is not easy to build a bicycle with iron. Moreover, this iron bicycle is heavy and difficult to ride. In later generations, when technology is advanced, the materials used in bicycles tend to be lighter and lighter. A good bicycle costs tens of thousands of yuan, which is not cheap.
But he forgot that in this world, as long as there is money, nothing is impossible. In the eyes of Master Shen, it is impossible to build such a car with iron.