Chapter 54 Who is the true master of the ancient town's mortise and tenon joints...?
Lu Xiaoqi then realized just how incredible the "holographic virtual experience hall" was.
If an SSR character card can fulfill a wish, it can extract one's own memories and place them inside for visitors to experience. So, does this mean that after Yuwen Kai fulfills his wish, he can see Yang Guang? And Empress Xiao, Zhang Lihua... and maybe even a young Li Erfeng!
If it were Zhao Feiyan's memories, would she be able to see the court music and dance of the Han Dynasty? Perhaps she would also see another peerless femme fatale, Zhao Hede, and Wang Mang, who is suspected to be a time traveler.
If Su Jun can also successfully become an SSR, will he be able to see people like Su Shi and Wang Anshi?
Lu Xiaoqi's breathing became heavier.
She wants more historical figures; she wants to see the Epang Palace, Yang Guifei, and Empress Wu Zetian!
So she almost immediately chose "yes".
The system immediately displayed a progress bar: "The three memories left by Li Bing have been imported into the virtual experience hall. The relevant holographic images are being generated. The current progress is 5%."
Lu Xiaoqi was a little disappointed; she had thought she could watch it now.
"Can I see it when I get back to Qinghe Ancient Town?"
System: "Player, you can only do so after the holographic virtual experience center is officially completed."
"Alright..." Lu Xiaoqi sighed. Her First Emperor! She would only be able to see him again in a few months.
"By the way, how many memories can be extracted from an SSR character? Does it have no effect on them?" She was worried that after the memories were extracted, Yuwen Kai and the others might suffer some irreversible damage to their brains, which would be a loss.
System: "Players, please rest assured, it will not cause them any damage."
It's less about extracting memories and more about copying them.
"In addition, each SSR character can give a maximum of three memories. Not every memory can be copied. It needs to be complete and clear, which means that the character needs to have a deep impression of it. Finally, the character himself/herself must also give permission to copy it."
Lu Xiaoqi nodded; it sounded reasonable.
Then she would wait for the day the holographic virtual experience center was completed! Her anticipation for the opening grew even stronger.
There were several system notifications, and Lu Xiaoqi started looking at the others.
First, she obtained her first fragment of the Heart of Architecture. In the system space, it was a shimmering, gem-like fragment, otherwise unremarkable. She guessed that she might need to collect all three fragments to see its attributes and functions, but the remaining two fragments could only be obtained after Yuwen Kai and Zhao Feiyan's wishes were fulfilled, which seemed like a long way off.
Let's ignore it for now. Lu Xiaoqi turned her attention to another notification.
[Congratulations, player! You have achieved a new accomplishment: Future Era Wishing Machine +1. You are now entitled to one chance to draw a system treasure box.]
[After upgrading the Wishing Machine to +10, you will receive one more chance to draw a treasure box.]
This must be the reward she received for fulfilling her wish to get her first SSR character. Lu Xiaoqi asked the system, and sure enough, it was just as she expected.
System: "Does the player want to wait until they return to Qinghe Ancient Town before drawing again?"
It knew she had saved up several chances to draw cards, planning to pull a big one all at once, and probably at the same location as last time. It has to be said, the player has a bit of superstition involved.
Lu Xiaoqi was conflicted. She really wanted to know what kind of blind box she would get. Her curiosity was getting the better of her, so she returned to Qinghe Ancient Town.
"Draw now!" she said decisively, then added, "Besides, that location is only good for drawing character cards, not necessarily for drawing blind boxes."
It sounds more like convincing yourself.
system:......
"Draw it now!" Lu Xiaoqi clicked the "select draw" button.
A spinning wheel-like object appeared in the space, divided into many fan-shaped sections, each labeled with a different item, but all were blurred, and she couldn't see the specific details. The pointer began to spin rapidly, faster and faster, until it finally pointed to one of the sections. The light in that section brightened, and the other sections quickly disappeared.
"Congratulations, player! You have drawn a building modification card, which has been placed in your card slot. You can go and check it."
Building renovation card?
Is it a special card like the one in the holographic experience center?
Lu Xiaoqi immediately clicked on the card that was glowing silver-white, and the phantom of a circular building immediately jumped out. Lu Xiaoqi glanced at it and thought it looked a bit like a theater, with a stage and circular seats.
Below the phantom image is a dense text description.
[Note 1: This card can be used on existing buildings to modify them.]
[Note 2: This card has a usable area of 3000 square meters. It cannot be used beyond this area, nor can the existing building area be expanded.]
[Note 3: The transformation results for this card are limited; currently, only four modes are available: Theater, Museum, Library, and Art Gallery. After transformation, the building will possess special attributes.]
[Note 4: The modification time for this card is one to three months, which players can set freely. However, once modification begins, it cannot be paused or reverted.]
She read it aloud word by word, and the joy in her eyes grew stronger and stronger.
In other words, she could choose one of the existing buildings in Qinghe Ancient Town to be converted into a theater or museum, etc. This really solved her urgent problem!
theater!
Lu Xiaoqi didn't even need to discuss it with Yuwen Kai to arrive at the answer. She and Yuwen Kai had previously discussed making the opera house in Zone 2 bigger, turning it into a small theater, which led to the scene in Hangzhou where she sought out Qin Shaohua to commission a song and dance drama.
She was so happy that she rolled around on the bed, and even her attitude towards the system improved. She looked at the system with deep affection and said, "As expected, you understand what I really want."
The system asserted its innocence: "Players have misunderstood; I did not help players cheat."
The main issue is that players are currently too frugal; whatever they draw is a pleasant surprise and a great help to the ancient town.
Lu Xiaoqi: "...That's not wrong."
Besides theaters, she wants libraries, museums, and art galleries!
When is the next blind box draw?
System: "There is no specific timeframe for this. Generally, such opportunities only arise when new achievements are made or a new phase begins."
Lu Xiaoqi sighed and leaned back: "Then we'll just have to wait until the opening day."
Back in the ancient town, Su Jun and Song Wu Sao had just returned from Hangzhou.
When they saw Lu Xiaoqi return alone, everyone knew what had happened, but no one asked. They simply poured a cup of wine on the ground during their meal, bowed several times in the direction of Shu, and paid their respects to this respectable prefect.
These are people who have experienced life and death, and their attitude towards such matters is actually more open-minded than Lu Xiaoqi's.
After resuming her normal work routine, Lu Xiaoqi immediately went to find Yuwen Kai and told him that she had obtained a special card.
Yuwen Kai immediately took her to the theater in Zone Two.
This opera house was built by the original builders of Qinghe Ancient Town, modeled after ancient opera houses. It has a very antique feel, probably to create a certain atmosphere. I heard from others that there used to be some small performances here, such as acrobatics and opera, but business was not good later on, so they stopped, and the actors all scattered.
This opera house, along with the ancient town of Qinghe, remained silent for several years.
"It's too small, it can only seat about two hundred people at most." Lu Xiaoqi wrinkled her nose, quite dissatisfied. "And the stage is also quite small."
It's more suitable for shows with fewer people, but it's not enough for group dance shows with more people.
"It doesn't have to be able to seat one or two thousand people, but it should at least be able to accommodate four or five hundred people."
Small-scale performances can be held in teahouses or taverns, but since we have a theater, we should make good use of it.
After clarifying the applicable area of her renovation card, Yuwen Kai quickly made a decision: "Then let's include the two surrounding buildings. Two thousand square meters is unlikely, so the final area is estimated to be around one thousand to one hundred and fifty thousand square meters. I'll measure it in the next few days."
Having dealt with modern workers during this time, he has become proficient in using some of the current units of measurement.
The two were nitpicking the wording. Since the card said it applied to a building, the only solution was to demolish the adjacent house and build a small wall to "disguise" it as a building.
Lu Xiaoqi felt at ease leaving the matter to him.
Just as the two were discussing, a craftsman came running up from Qinghe Tower, panting: "Teacher Yuwen, there's a commotion in Qinghe Tower! You should go and take a look!"
Yuwen Kai's face darkened: "What's going on?"
He hurried back, and Lu Xiaoqi followed behind. When they arrived at Qinghe Tower, they saw that several groups of people had already gathered. In the center were Xiang Qi, Carpenter Li, and Xiang Dali, as well as a craftsman standing opposite them whom she did not recognize, presumably from another construction team.
Yuwen Kai, however, looked much more relaxed after seeing these people. He patted Lu Xiaoqi on the shoulder: "It's alright, I'll handle it."
"What's the commotion about?" he stepped forward.
The people who were arguing quieted down. Lu Xiaoqi nodded secretly, it seemed that Teacher Yuwen still had a lot of authority.
Upon seeing him approach, the unfamiliar craftsman opposite him quickly said, "Master Yuwen, we're not arguing. We just feel that Master Xiang's judgment is a bit off. After all, we're replacing the brackets now, and the exact nature of the mortise and tenon structure is still very important."
His words were quite sincere.
Xiang Qi snorted: "Kid, I've never made a mistake when it comes to mortise and tenon joints. After switching to glazed tiles, the weight of the entire eaves will increase, and with each layer adding up, it's natural to need to replace them with something more sturdy."
The craftsman opposite said, "But I've never heard of your bracket system before. If we confirm it, it will be even more reliable."
Lu Xiaoqi nodded in agreement; Xiang Qi's abilities were undeniable.
The two sides started arguing, and because she didn't understand much, she kept switching her mind, sometimes thinking one side was right and sometimes the other was right, making her seem like a fence-sitter. Just then, she saw Su Jun standing to the side and quickly went over to him.
"What are they arguing about?"
Su Jun actually knew the answer. The two huddled together and whispered among themselves.
It turns out that the ancient architecture industry in China is concentrated in a few places: Shanxi Province in the north and Zhejiang Province in the south. The construction teams that came this time were all from Zhejiang Province, or even from the same place, and they all knew each other.
When there are many people, it is inevitable that they will stick together.
These construction teams are quite well-known in the domestic ancient architecture circle. When they arrived at Qinghe Ancient Town, they found that the leaders here were actually people from Xiangjia Village who were unknown and whom they had never seen or heard of before, and they felt a little unconvinced.
Hearing this, Lu Xiaoqi interjected, "Didn't they see how Xiang's family behaved before?"
Su Jun: "Of course I've seen it, but they're not outsiders. They've managed to gain some fame in the industry, so they must have some skills."
She understood; her previous behavior toward her family had not been enough to make them submit.
He continued.
Some time ago, Yuwen Kai finalized the design of the new bracket system. The goal was to replace the incongruous bracket systems of Qinghe Tower with the authentic Tang Dynasty "touch-heart" style. The most crucial issue then became how to construct the mortise and tenon structure within the new bracket system.
During the Tang and Song dynasties, the main load-bearing structure relied on bracket sets.
However, the team currently focuses primarily on Ming and Qing dynasty dougong (bracket sets), and is relatively less familiar with Tang and Song dynasty dougong, especially the Tang dynasty's forms and structures. They tend to use the most traditional and basic mortise and tenon structure, which is also the most widely used style today. But Xiang Qi and Li the carpenter felt that this most basic structure was too simple, slightly inferior in load-bearing capacity, and also lacked aesthetic appeal.
They plan to try using a new mortise and tenon structure to build the "Heart-Stealing" structure.
So here's the problem.
Su Jun explained succinctly: "They think the structure conceived by the people of Xiangjia Village is impossible to complete because there are several kinds of mortise and tenon joints that are very difficult and can be said to have been lost."
They felt that the people from Xiangjia Village were bragging, or rather, they thought that the plan proposed by the people from Xiangjia Village was not practical and was just empty talk.
Lu Xiaoqi suddenly realized: "I see."
She couldn't help but glance at Su Jun: "You just got back yesterday, right? How do you know so much?"
Tsk tsk, she had long known that Young Master Su, despite his seemingly serious demeanor, actually loved gossiping and joining in the fun; he was just putting on an act.
Su Jun: ...If I had known, I wouldn't have said it.
In the center of the arena, Yuwen Kai understood their demands. He wasn't angry; he had long been aware of the subtle emotions between the two sides, and it was a good thing to be able to use this opportunity to his advantage.
“This is simple.” He put his hands behind his back and said in a deep voice, “We are all craftsmen, and we convince others with our skills. So, since Xiang Qi said that they can make a more structurally sound and aesthetically pleasing mortise and tenon joint, let’s make one and see if it works.”
The new craftsmen looked at each other, and one of them said, "Even if Master Xiang can make it, it doesn't necessarily mean that its load-bearing capacity will be better than that of ordinary straight tenons."
He wasn't just arguing for the sake of arguing.
The core function of mortise and tenon joints in bracket sets is load-bearing. In one of his previous cases, a project used glued laminated timber and simplified mortise and tenon joints for the bracket sets, and a few years later the eaves sank by more than ten centimeters.
Therefore, the choice of mortise and tenon joint structure is extremely important as it affects the quality of the entire project.
Yuwen Kai smiled and said, "That's not difficult. You can make one based on your own design, and then test which one has a better load-bearing capacity, right?"
The onlookers were all nodding in agreement.
Liu Chan, squeezed in the crowd, grinned from ear to ear and couldn't help but shout, "This is great! I support it!"
He wasn't just looking for trouble; he simply wanted to gather material.
Xiang Qi nodded: "We have no objections."
He represents the entire Xiangjia Village.
The new craftsmen exchanged glances and nodded, "Okay, we'll do as you say."
After the excitement subsided and the crowd dispersed, they all returned to their places. Although there were some disagreements, they still had to get their work done.
Among the newly arrived construction team, the young craftsmen were even more ambitious, and they were constantly discussing in private:
"I don't believe they can win."
"That's right. The mantis head tenon and the zongzi corner tenon are fine, they're just difficult to make, but our master craftsmen can do them. But the thousand-petal lotus heart tenon and the scale beam tenon are things I've never even heard of."
"Made up, right?"
Suddenly someone blurted out, "What if...they actually built it and won?"
Wouldn't that be incredibly embarrassing?
The group of people looked at each other in bewilderment.
The old craftsman, who had been quietly working and listening nearby, stopped, slapped him on the head, and said irritably, "What can we do? Of course we have to give in! You bunch of brats, so arrogant, never thinking straight, all you care about is saving face!"
Can you eat face?
"For us craftsmen, face is worthless; our skills are what truly matter. If someone is better than you, then you should accept it, follow them closely, and learn from them, understand?"
After being reprimanded like that, the young craftsmen all lowered their heads and said, "We understand!"
The day of the competition and testing arrived quickly.
Lu Xiaoqi was having a meeting with the finance manager, the administration manager, and Chen Yingying—there were more and more workers in Qinghe Ancient Town, and more and more new employees were being recruited, which led to more and more logistical problems.
The cafeteria needs expansion. Where should the expansion take place? Should we build a new dormitory building or rent existing buildings nearby and renovate them? Should employees who don't live in the dormitory or eat in the cafeteria receive subsidies...?
Lu Xiaoqi listened attentively at first, but later she secretly drew little ducks, rabbits and stick figures in her notebook.
I haven't drawn in a long time, so my skills have gotten rusty.
Chen Yingying coughed heavily, and immediately slammed her notebook shut. Only after doing so did she realize, "Wait, I'm the boss, not a student."
He had just said a few words in a pretentious manner when there was a knock on the conference room door. It was Su Jun.
"Excuse me." He smiled reservedly at the others, then said to Lu Xiaoqi, "The competition over there is about to begin. Aren't you going to watch?"
Lu Xiaoqi felt that at that moment, he was practically radiating holy light.
"Go!" She immediately closed the notebook, stood up excitedly, and then felt that she should restrain herself, at least not appear too excited in front of these people. So she imitated Su Jun's earlier restraint, "Then I'll go to Qinghe Tower first. You guys discuss these things yourselves, and then give me a plan later."
Before coming to the meeting, Lu Xiaoqi secretly told Su Jun that if she hadn't come out in an hour, he should definitely ask her to come and rescue her.
"I won't thank you enough, I'll treat you to milk tea later." After closing the meeting room door, she could practically jump around as she walked. "If I sit any longer, my butt will go numb."
Upon hearing a vulgar word, Su Jun nearly choked, his handsome face flushing red. He looked helplessly at the figure in front of him, opening his mouth but unsure what to say. Finally, he could only mutter:
"You can run away from the monk, but you can't run away from the temple."
"I know, but even half a day's respite is good." Lu Xiaoqi chuckled and ran briskly down the steps at the gate.
She can handle specific tasks, but she absolutely dreads meetings.
Chen Yingying and the other two looked down through the blinds of the conference room and saw Su Jun and Lu Xiaoqi leaving the office building, one after the other.
It just so happened that Su Jun was wearing a black shirt and white pants today, while Lu Xiaoqi was dressed in all white. The two of them took quick steps down the stairs, their hair flying in the sunlight. Lu Xiaoqi turned around and said something, and you could see Su Jun slightly bending down, listening attentively, and then a slight smile appeared on his face.
The administrative supervisor couldn't help but smile: "It's good to be young. Even going out feels like eloping."
Chen Yingying looked over, a smile involuntarily spreading across her face. Although she knew that her boss and Assistant Su didn't have any special relationship, who wouldn't like to see a handsome man and a beautiful woman walking together?
Although she is single, that doesn't stop her from shipping couples and creating pairings.
She tapped the documents on the table, suddenly deciding she didn't want to stay there any longer, and suggested, "How about we go join the fun?"
The administrative supervisor immediately seconded, "Great, great, anyway, these things aren't urgent in these two hours."
The finance director nodded vigorously, indicating that he had wanted to go for a long time. He would regret missing out on such a lively event.
So, they followed Lu Xiaoqi's lead and headed to Qinghe Tower. On the way, they encountered several colleagues who were slacking off. The kind-hearted people pretended not to see them, only reminding them to go back to work after they finished watching.
When I got there, I found the building was bustling with activity. Several layers of people had already gathered there. Liu Chan from the self-media department and others were preparing to do a live broadcast with their equipment. It looked like a big event.
Lu Xiaoqi and Su Jun were naturally at the front.
She was somewhat surprised: "Professor Lin is here too?"
The person talking to Yuwen Kai was Professor Lin from the Department of Architecture at Qinghe University. Those young people wearing Qinghe University T-shirts and busy around must be Professor Lin's students.
Su Jun nodded: "Professor Lin was very enthusiastic after hearing the news. He said they could come and help with the load-bearing test and brought a lot of equipment early this morning."
Professor Lin was indeed very excited. He had always regretted not seeing many mortise and tenon elements at the last sacrificial ceremony. When he heard about this competition from his students who were interning in Qinghe Ancient Town, he immediately called Yuwen Kai to offer his help.
This time, they brought all the equipment from the laboratory, taking it very seriously.
You know, this is a mortise and tenon joint!
The essence of ancient architecture and craftsmanship.
The load-bearing capacity of mortise and tenon joints, and their unique advantages in "flexible vibration reduction," are well-known even in the international construction industry. Who knows, I might be able to make headlines this time.
Meanwhile, Liu Chan had already begun preparing for her live stream.
There are relatively few live streams on the video account for Qinghe Ancient Town, but each one has been quite successful. A few days ago, while Lu Xiaoqi and her friends were traveling, Liu Chan live streamed the glazed tiles being taken out of the kiln, glazing, and the second time they went into the kiln. We originally thought the next live stream would be the final take-off, but we didn't expect such a grand spectacle in the middle of it all.
He had already made an urgent preview a few days ago, editing the footage to create a tense atmosphere between the two craftsmen, as if something big was about to happen, which attracted a lot of attention. Therefore, as soon as the live stream started, fans immediately came in.
[Tense, is a fight about to break out?]
[Fight! Fight!]
Who is the true king of mortise and tenon joints in ancient towns? Welcome to the new July anime season!
Lu Xiaoqi also opened the live stream and saw many familiar IDs, such as "I'm just a carpenter," and even Li Nuan's ID, "Warm Breeze." She's been doing quite well lately.
After a dozen minutes of warm-up in the live stream, the craftsmen from both sides arrived.
Behind each of them was an object covered with a red cloth.
"Alright, let's begin!" Yuwen Kai said simply once everyone had arrived.
The craftsmen on both sides nodded, pulled off the red cloth behind them, revealing two dougong (bracket set) models that were somewhat similar but also quite different. These were their respective works from the past few days.
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