Su An looked at Zhou Li, puzzled. "What's wrong?"
"Hehe...no, no, this is a very famous master craftsman, I admire him greatly!"
"Really!" Su An's eyes lit up even more. No wonder this craftsman looked so impressive; he was truly skilled!
She looked at Fu Zhun with delight, "What a timely help! Thank you, God of Wealth!"
Fu Zhun slightly curled the corners of his lips, nodded, and said nothing more.
"Alright, girl, let's leave the formalities for later. Tell your uncle about the cement in detail!" Lu Minghao interrupted, his excitement and curiosity from the journey already impossible to contain.
This uncle's enthusiasm got Su An pumped up too, and he immediately took Lu Ming to the foot of the mountain to look at the cement.
After the two left excitedly, Zhou Li stared at Fu Zhun in astonishment.
"Your Highness, are you trying to steal someone from the Emperor?!"
"Isn't this... a bit too much pampering for the young boss?"
Fu Zhun calmly sipped his tea and said slowly, "Lu Ming is a diligent researcher. He just came here because he was interested in cement."
Zhou Li's eyes twitched involuntarily, and he chuckled.
Your Highness, do you think I believe you?
“Lu Mingyuan is in the capital. If the prince hadn’t sent a message, would he have known about the cement?”
"So?" Fu Zhun lifted his eyelids slightly, glancing at him with an indifferent expression.
"Well, as long as the Princess is happy, that's all that matters."
Anyway, it's not me who will be targeted more by the emperor!
And just as Zhou Li had guessed.
Inside the imperial palace in the capital, Chu Yi smashed a table full of objects, his voice booming with rage: "That damned cripple managed to steal people from the palace today, he'll be able to empty the entire palace tomorrow!"
He was filled with rage, his eyes filled with malice, and he glared menacingly at Fu Hai.
"I can't wait any longer. Go and deliver a message. We must capture Su An for me right away. I'm going to keep her and make her a concubine. That will surely infuriate that cripple Fu Zhun!"
"Yes, yes!" Fu Hai replied fearfully.
Is Your Majesty going to wage war against the Prince of Zhenbei?!
At the foot of the mountain on the other side.
Su An talked at length to Lu Ming about the cement made from mortar and lime.
As a seasoned craftsman, Lu Ming understood the principle immediately after hearing a simple explanation.
He looked at Su An with a mixture of shock and admiration. "We craftsmen all recognize the so-called three-in-one soil material, but only you, little girl, were able to develop cement based on the properties of the material. You are truly remarkable!"
"Ugh—" Su An felt a little guilty after being praised.
This is all the wisdom of our ancestors.
"The current problem is that there is no suitable material to lay the cement evenly."
Looking at the dried, crooked cement road in front of him, Su An was at a loss.
"I do have some ideas right now. I want to make some tools that can help with paving roads." As he spoke, Su An took out two prepared blueprints.
"These are the prototype drawings of the tools I drew, namely a roller and a level. But it's just a rough shape, and I haven't done any specific research. Do you think it'll work?"
When Lu Ming saw the blueprint, his eyes widened and he took it to examine it with rapid breathing.
Su An was also somewhat at a loss, but he roughly drew out these two things: "The roller is used to compact the road surface, and the level is used to measure the smoothness of the road surface..."
"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!"
Lu Ming understood it almost immediately. His eyes lit up with enthusiasm, and he praised Su An several times before eagerly discussing it with her.
Su An was stunned by this man's excited spirit, and the two immediately threw themselves into the research.
Half a month later.
With the help of tools, a cement road for testing was successfully completed.
Lin Yong also had people pave the bluestone path.
Su An and Lu Ming made no attempt to hide their cement-making activities, and when the test began, most people came to watch with great interest.
"I have to say, this cement looked like mud a week ago, but now that it's dried, it's become hard and smooth."
"I think a cement road is fine for a few people to walk on, but it's made of mud after all. If there are too many people or horse-drawn carriages on it, wouldn't it be in danger of cracking at any time?"
"Is there even a need to compare? The bluestone slabs are definitely the clear winner!"
Crowds lined both paths, discussing the matter animatedly.
Lin Yong also observed the cement road for a moment, but ultimately shook his head in skepticism.
“Miss Su, your cement road is indeed smooth. Apart from being a bit plain, it is in no way inferior to the bluestone slabs.”
"But as for its load-bearing capacity... how do you plan to test it?"
Su An, feeling refreshed and full of confidence, stood on one side of the cement road and chuckled, saying, "Each of you send out an oxcart to carry 100 jin of stones across the road, then 500 jin, 1000 jin, and so on."
"When the time comes, it will be easy to tell which road surface will fail to bear the weight first."
"Good!" This method would ensure fairness in the test, so Lin Yong immediately waved for people to prepare.
Zhou Li looked around and whispered to Su An, teasingly, "Little boss, are you really that confident? If the test fails, you'll be embarrassed in front of everyone."
Su An couldn't help but chuckle and snort, "I wonder who will be shocked when the time comes."
If it were up to her alone, she might not have been so confident.
Ke Luming later improved the design, making it very close to modern cement.
Fu Zhun, standing on Su An's side, said with a smile in his dark eyes, "I believe you."
"..." Zhou Li silently walked over to Lin Yong, not wanting to win but still wanting to save face.
Two oxcarts were tested on two separate roads.
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