“Speaking of which, Third Brother, your tea must be very expensive. It does have a very unique flavor. In this hot weather, it leaves a cool and sweet feeling in your throat after drinking it,” Zhou Lai Niu said, taking a big gulp and smacking his lips.
Old Zhou chuckled, "It's not some expensive tea. My daughter and daughter-in-law found it while they were gathering pig feed on the mountain. My daughter-in-law said it was a medicinal herb that could clear heat, reduce internal fire, and promote the production of body fluids, so they picked some to brew for themselves."
Upon hearing this, the old man's eyes lit up immediately. "So it was picked wild! That's a good thing. May I ask what kind of herb it is? May I take a look?"
Old Zhou chuckled and said modestly, "I'll ask my daughter-in-law later. She left it after we picked it, and I didn't bother with it. It's only because you said it was good that I realized how good it was. I didn't think so before."
In reality, all he knew was that it was a leaf given to him by his daughter-in-law, and he only guessed where it came from.
The old man nodded. It seemed that the daughter-in-law of this family was quite capable, as she could paint chairs and also knew about herbs.
Soon, Zhou Lin returned with the blueprint and respectfully handed it to the old man. "Master, my sister-in-law is giving my brother acupuncture and will be here soon."
"Oh, okay!" The old man's eyes hadn't left the blueprints since he saw them, so he just gave a perfunctory reply to what he was saying.
"This is called a wheelchair? It looks like a picture I've seen before. That thing is called a 'Suyu' or a 'four-wheeled vehicle,' but the one I saw had four wheels. This one is much simpler; calling it a wheelchair is quite fitting." The old man said as he looked at it.
Just then, Li Mai pushed the door open and came in. Hearing the old man's words, she smiled and said, "Sir, you are right. The principle behind wheelchairs is the same as that of sedan chairs; both are for the convenience of people with mobility impairments."
The old man looked up and sized up Li Mai a few times.
"Hmm, I have seen pictures of this before, but I didn't have any actual manufacturing diagrams, so I didn't think about it. Come here, little girl, can you tell me how to make this chair stable so that people who sit on it won't fall over?"
Upon hearing this, Li Mai moved closer and explained it to him in detail, using a chair on the ground to illustrate the general idea.
Seeing that the old man seemed to understand, Li Mai smiled and said, "I've heard that you are skilled in ingenious mechanisms. I'd like to add some mechanisms to this as well, so that the person sitting in it can control the wheelchair to move forward without anyone's help, and can raise the chair by themselves when they need to reach something high up. I wonder if you can do that?"
"Of course, while meeting these two requirements, the stability of the wheelchair must also be maintained to prevent the person sitting in it from falling," Li Mai added after finishing her sentence.
The old man's eyes lit up. "You mean, we need to add a mechanism underneath so the chair can move?"
Li Mai smiled apologetically, "Can you do that?"
The convenience of wheelchairs in later generations is due to the integration of modern mechanics and high technology. One wonders if ancient mechanisms could have achieved that level of sophistication.
"We can try, we can try!" The old man was already thinking about which mechanism could meet her requirements.
Wooden gears seem like a good option? What else would I need? Wooden clip-on slide rails might also be useful...
"So, are you sure you want to take this order, sir?" Li Mai knew he would accept it from the old man's infatuated look.
"Okay, I'll take it!" The old man stopped muttering, made up his mind, and prepared to take on the job.
“I require delivery within one month, and the price is fifty taels,” Li Mai said softly.
cough!
Old Man Zhou was startled by his own saliva. Fifty taels? My wife is being too generous! We probably can't come up with fifty taels right now.
Clearly, the old man hadn't expected her to offer such a high price.
Li Mai said with a smile, "As long as the old man can make the two functions I requested, I will pay this price. At the same time, I also have a request."
The old man nodded. "Go on."
“My second brother also loves ingenious mechanisms. This time, when making this wheelchair for my husband, let him work on it with you, sir. Also, if you encounter any difficulties while working on it, you can ask my second brother anytime, and I will provide additional diagrams to help you answer your questions,” Li Mai said with a smile.
The old man glanced at Zhou Lin, chuckled twice, and glared at Li Mai, "Little girl, do you want this old man to train talent for your family?"
Li Mai smiled and said, "Sir, please don't say that. I think you definitely can't finish it by yourself. You'll need help. My second brother is with you, so I can keep track of the progress and lend a hand when you encounter difficulties!"
"Furthermore, when the wheelchair is completed, I will give you the copyright of that drawing. You think, such a masterpiece, once you finish it, will probably be unique in the world. When more and more people come to you to make this wheelchair, the price will rise even higher. At that time, you will definitely thank the Zhou family and Li Mai."
After Li Mai finished speaking, she looked at him with a smile.
When Zhou Lin heard his sister-in-law's plan for him, his palms were sweating with excitement. After looking at his sister-in-law with gratitude, he nervously looked at the old man.
Zhou Lai Niu also looked nervously at his master. He would be overjoyed if his apprentice could receive guidance from his master. Zhou Lin was indeed quite talented, even more so than him. He had followed his master for many years, yet he still couldn't grasp the tricks of wooden mechanisms.
“Master, if you ask me, Zhou Quan’s wife already said she’s giving you the blueprints. I think even if you don’t earn money from this craftsmanship, you could still take Zhou Lin under your wing to help you. My apprentice is much smarter than me.” Seeing that the old man didn’t speak, Zhou Lai Niu added.
After he finished speaking, Li Mai couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Is this apprentice sure he's not trying to sabotage his master?
The old man also understood, and glared at him. This brat was the dumbest and most naive of his apprentices, but he was lucky to have such a talented apprentice as Zhou Lin.
He also liked Zhou Lin, his grand-disciple, and he was just thinking about whether to take Zhou Lin over and make him his youngest disciple.
Since this dim-witted apprentice doesn't protect his master, then don't blame me for taking him away from him.
Therefore, the old man pondered for a moment and said, "Young man, since you also say that Xiao Linzi has a talent for mechanical arts, then your master will ask you to take him over as your junior brother and personally teach him mechanical arts."
"Huh?" Everyone in the room was dumbfounded.
Zhou Lainiu's vision went black. "No! Master, he is your grand-disciple. You can teach him too."
"No, if you can't teach him mechanical arts, then let him become my apprentice, and I'll teach him. What, you have a problem with that?" The old man glared at him, his imposing aura rising.
Zhou Lainiu had spent the first half of his life afraid of his master's glare, so he quickly and timidly said, "I have no objection. It is his blessing to be able to learn from my master."
After saying that, he quickly winked at Zhou Lin, "Little Lin, come and pay your respects to your master!"
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