Chapter 274: Efficiency is Ten Times Higher
Speaking of the pedal thresher, Chao Chao couldn't help but move forward so that the people of Daqi could see more clearly.
Seeing this, Jian Yunsang simply picked her up.
Then the guide smiled and said, "This thresher was developed in the 1970s. It has a wooden drum with iron teeth and gear pedals on both sides, which are connected by a crankshaft. Two people standing side by side pedal to drive the drum, and the threshing capacity can reach three acres per day."
Three acres? ?
The people of Daqi opened their eyes wide and their breathing quickened.
Wouldn't three mu be six times more than a threshing bucket? Some families with less land can complete all the threshing in one or two days.
The farmers of Daqi stared at the thresher in front of them with shining eyes, and their eyes clearly conveyed one message - they want it!
The narrator continued, "Not only has the threshing capacity increased significantly, but the labor intensity has also been greatly reduced. It does not require strong laborers, and a cooperative model of children holding the stalks and adults stepping on the thresher can be fully realized. It can even reduce the loss of throwing to less than 5%, and the threshing rate is as high as more than 90%. Therefore, this type of thresher was very popular in the 1970s and 1980s."
The people of Daqi became more and more excited as they listened. How great it would be if they also had such convenient farm tools.
While listening, Jian Yunsang held Chao Chao and walked around the thresher twice so that the people of Daqi could see more carefully.
However, the people of Daqi gradually calmed down from their initial excitement, and then felt a little lost.
The roller is embedded with iron teeth. It is iron. Iron is such a precious thing. Even if the imperial court really made it, they... probably can't afford it.
They were so surprised at the daily threshing volume that they didn't even pay attention to the word "iron teeth".
Nowadays, the price of an iron hoe is eight hundred coins, not to mention such a large thresher, which would probably cost at least a dozen taels.
Many farmers may only have a dozen taels of silver left after taking out all their assets.
Do you have to use all your money to buy a piece of farm equipment? It would be better to use your labor to do the work.
Emperor Jingxuan also looked a little solemn. The iron teeth were okay, but what was really difficult to popularize was the bearing in the middle, which looked heavy and substantial, a bit like the axle of a carriage wheel.
Of course, wealthy families can afford it, but it is a farm tool, and those who need it are ordinary people who are not well-off. If the price is set too high, they simply cannot afford it.
But just by looking at it with your own eyes, you can tell that the cost price is not low.
The officials in the hall were also discussing in low voices. After a long while, the Grand Tutor stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, can this bearing be replaced with something else?"
Yu Kangsheng sighed, "If that's the case, the shaft will definitely not be very fast, and it will require strong people to step on it to turn it. The efficiency is not high, and the threshing capacity will definitely not reach three acres a day. The people may not be able to use it."
That’s true, so this matter needs to be considered carefully.
Emperor Jingxuan wanted to hear if there were any better threshers in the future, but unfortunately, the narrator continued talking, which obviously only made him more envious.
The commentator said, "However, this type of pedal thresher was gradually phased out after the 1990s. Later diesel and gasoline threshers were introduced, which can thresh grains from ten to thirteen mu per day. Today's combine harvesters integrate harvesting, threshing and cleaning, and can handle more than fifty mu of grain per day. Technology is improving, and our lives are getting better and better."
The Daqi people took a deep breath, how much? ?
Fifty acres? ?
And that's 50 acres a day for harvesting, threshing and washing? This is too much.
If that were the case, ordinary people like them would not even need half a day to harvest all the rice.
They don't even need to worry about the weather, don't have to rush to harvest, and probably... don't need to expend any effort.
No wonder people in later generations seem to have it so easy, how come there are such easy-to-use machines?
Emperor Jingxuan didn't even want to say he was envious, and was stunned.
It seems that the development before the invention of the foot-operated thresher was very slow, and even if there was progress, the effect was still not significant. However, this process lasted for more than two thousand years.
However, after the invention of the foot-operated thresher, it seemed that a new thresher would be developed every ten or twenty years, and its effect would be ten times better.
This is too fast.
At this time, the commentator smiled and said, "Since the country has vigorously developed technology, in less than a hundred years, our country has changed rapidly. Take the thresher in front of us, for example. It took only 30 to 40 years from the pedal thresher to the combine harvester. It can be said to be very fast."
Emperor Jingxuan and his highness and all the officials held their breath for a moment. The technology developed in later generations was less than a hundred years? It took only thirty or forty years for the daily threshing capacity of the thresher to increase from three mu to fifty mu?
Jian Yunsang couldn't help laughing after hearing what the commentator said.
She knew without a doubt how regretful and envious the people of Daqi would be when they heard such data.
She took Chao Chao around twice and looked more carefully.
Seeing this, the narrator said speculatively, "If you want to know the internal structure, there are drawings here."
The people of Daqi were cheered up. There are also blueprints?
Jian Yunsang looked in the direction the guide pointed and indeed saw detailed drawings in a glass cabinet not far away.
She took Chaochao and Feifei over. The two little girls looked inside through the glass cabinet. Although they didn't understand, they were chattering about it. It looked like it was really happening.
Emperor Jingxuan asked hurriedly, "Did you write it down? Did you write it down?"
"Your Majesty, I have written it all down."
Emperor Jingxuan nodded repeatedly and said that the iron problem would be discussed later. The important thing was to remember the structure first.
Jian Yunsang guessed that the people from Daqi should have seen enough, so he walked inside with the two children.
There are quite a few small farm tools at the entrance, such as hoes, shoulder poles, winnowing baskets, wooden barrels, straw raincoats, bamboo hats, etc. These are not uncommon to the people of Daqi.
However, Chaochao and Feifei rarely saw this kind of thing, so Jian Yunsang still took them slowly and listened to the tour guide introduce them one by one.
The two little girls came here just to broaden their horizons. Feifei was originally in a low mood, but after listening to the commentator's introduction, her attention was gradually diverted.
Soon, several people walked to a stone statue.
The guide said, "This is Song Yingxing, an inventor from the Ming Dynasty. His book, The Exploitation of the Works of Nature, records different production technologies such as agriculture and handicrafts. It describes in detail the entire process from raw materials to finished products, and also has illustrations. If you are interested, you two children can take a look at it when you go back."
Heavenly Creations?
Ming Dynasty?
Emperor Jingxuan suddenly raised his head and asked, "Didn't they mention earlier that Daqi is equivalent to the Ming Dynasty in later generations?"
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