Chapter 208 Earth Dragon
In September, the north wind blew through Jincheng and it was a little chilly.
Hulu Village is surrounded by mountains. The wind is not strong, but it is extremely cold.
A few days ago, every household was busy making adobe bricks and digging foundations, but today the village was quiet, except for Shen Qing's house on the other side of the river, which was bustling with activity.
Every household put down their work and gathered in front of Shen Qing's house, watching the craftsmen invited by the village chief and others yesterday busy checking the foundation, all with a look of curiosity.
"Hey, what are they looking at?" Granny Qin asked in confusion, standing at the front.
The surrounding villagers shook their heads in unison; they didn't understand either.
Craftsman Li, the leader of the craftsmen, wiped the sweat from his forehead, turned to the villagers and explained with a smile: "We are looking at how to arrange the underground smoke duct and where to choose the ground opening."
The people in the village had never seen an earth dragon before, let alone an earth dragon. They had rarely seen a kang. At this moment, they looked at each other, obviously even more confused.
But what's the purpose of a long mouth? If you don't understand, just ask. Everyone started asking at once: "Can this ground dragon really warm the whole house?"
"How can it warm up the whole house? It burns wood, but if it burns wood, people won't get burned in the house, right?
Even if my body isn't hot, my feet are, and I can't stay here if my feet are hot."
"Don't worry about whether your feet are burning or not! If you want to burn your feet, where will the fire start? It's such a big house, you can't hollow out the bottom and put firewood in it.
You can’t burn it.”
"It's good to burn, but who will do it? To keep the house warm, someone has to be there all the time. In the dead of winter, no matter who's burning firewood outside, it's cold and tiring, isn't it?"
.....
Shen Qing felt her head buzzing, as if hundreds of honey bees were surrounding her in three dimensions.
She knew that the people from her own village were all curious and had no intention of asking about the craftsmanship, but she was worried that the six craftsmen would be suspicious, so Shen Qing looked over.
The six craftsmen were still smiling, and Craftsman Li even introduced them with a bit of pride and familiarity: "No, no!
Your worries are unnecessary. In fact, this floor heater is the same as a kang. It does not involve directly piling firewood underneath to make a fire. It would be so hot that people would not be able to sleep there.
When you heard me say that it was the flue, you will understand that it is the smoke, that is, the heat from the combustion, that is evenly distributed in the house along the winding and staggered flues we arranged, making every room warm!
In addition, the kang for burning wood is not under the house, but outside. It does not need to be kept burning all the time. The rich and powerful, such as the princes and high officials in the palace, use charcoal, which is long-lasting. You have a lot of wood here, so it would be best if you have a carpenter's plane. You can plane the wood chips and pile them up layer by layer inside, and then put the big firewood on top.
Then sprinkle a little water on each layer, the main purpose is to prevent it from burning too fast, cover it with a lid, there is a hole on the lid, if you want it to be warmer, turn the hole bigger, if it is too hot, turn the hole smaller, let it burn slowly inside, one pile can burn the whole winter without adding firewood!
Next year, you just need to clean out the ashes and repeat the process. Isn’t it convenient, hassle-free and comfortable? "
Craftsman Li was speaking to Shen Qing's family. In fact, he was mainly speaking to the people in the village, so as to avoid telling them one by one later.
In addition, people in the city dare not build ground dragons. Firstly, it is a waste of firewood, and secondly, it costs a lot of money to buy firewood.
People living in the mountains are the least likely to worry about this problem, as they are surrounded by mountains, and there are no trees, but there are so many of them that they are endless!
If he had said it in more detail, if other people were also willing to get into earth dragons, they could have made more money, right?
The labor cost of building a ground dragon is much higher than that of building a kang!
Shen Qing only had theoretical knowledge but no practical knowledge, and the other people in the family knew nothing at all. When he heard what Master Li said, he felt relieved - it would be so much easier if he didn't have to keep adding firewood.
Hearing that planed wood chips were the best, Guan the carpenter in the crowd immediately said, "I have wood chips from carpentry work that have piled up halfway in the woodshed. I can't use them all. Why do you need to plan them yourself?
I'll move it over to you when the earth dragon is ready, and I'll keep it for you every year!"
Jiang Xiangnan and Jiang Xiangbei immediately responded with thanks: "Thank you, Uncle Guan!"
Carpenter Guan waved his hand and said awkwardly, "What's there to thank me for? It's just something I did for a living."
The most capable second brother in their family has been helping him with work. It is equivalent to sharing Xiangxi's work as brothers. He is already very embarrassed. Now that Muhua is put to use, he is happier than them!
Hearing the words 'carpentry work', Craftsman Li immediately knew that the man in front of him was a carpenter, and asked in surprise: "You must have no shortage of wood at home, have you ever thought about making a ground dragon?
This way my hands won’t get cold when I work at home in the winter!”
Guan Li's heart skipped a beat when she heard this and she looked up at her father.
Carpenter Guan was a little moved when he heard that his hands would not be frozen, not for himself but for Guan Xiaoshan. He had poor legs and feet, and usually relied on his hands to support himself when he used crutches. If it was too cold, it would be even more inconvenient for Xiaoshan to move.
He hesitated for a moment and asked, "What does it take to make an earth dragon?"
When the crowd heard Carpenter Guan's question, they all pricked up their ears.
The whole house is warm and there is no need to add firewood all winter. Who wouldn’t be tempted by this?
If it doesn't cost much, can they also make a...
Seeing Carpenter Guan asking, the six craftsmen became excited and introduced enthusiastically: "These flues are similar to the ditches in the fields. You should know what they look like when they are connected in all directions, right?
Then, the left and right sides of these ditches and ridges need to be built. Expensive jade, copper, and iron are not worth mentioning; the most affordable is rough bricks. Use bricks to build up the three sides of each flue, and then cover the top with long stone slabs!
"It won't cost too much, just the extra bricks and long stone slabs. Oh, and the house is big, so the labor cost is about four or five times more than building a kang."
After hearing this, not only did Guan the carpenter immediately give up the idea, but everyone else also gave up completely!
Bricks for the stove and kang had to be sourced, and tiles were only available after selling the astragalus. Now, bricks and long stone slabs were needed for the floor. It’s not that the floor was not suitable, it’s that they were not suitable!
And the wages have increased four or five times, that is, one penny has become four or five pennies, and one tael has become four or five taels. This is absolutely unacceptable. Although they have some silver in their hands, they don't know what the market will be like in the future, so they can't spend it indiscriminately.
"No, no, we don't need it. A kang is good enough. I heard from Boss Lei that the room isn't too cold with a kang, and it's even warmer on the kang."
"Yes, a little bit of cold is no big deal. I don't have anything to do in winter. I just need to stay indoors every day and not get cold. I don't need to be too warm."
Carpenter Guan had given up on the earth dragon, and thinking of Guan Xiaoshan, he asked, "I heard there's also a fire wall?"
Craftsman Li and the others knew from what the villagers said and the look on Carpenter Guan's face that they would definitely not install a ground dragon. But when they heard him ask about the fire wall, the extinguished flames rekindled!
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