Zhou Qiu stared at the river that was being dug not far away in a daze.

Qin Li's eyes were even more rounded.

This was the third day they left Hulao. What they saw was a project site that dug the canal. What surprised them was naturally not the project itself and the workers who were working hard, but a big guy making a rumbling sound on the bank embankment. A guy with bare arms and black all over would pick up a big shovel from time to time and add a large shovel to the stove. The steam coming out of the huge boiler made the big guy look foggy.

They didn't know what this big guy was, but they saw a long piece of felt tape rotating on the rollers, continuously transporting the soil excavated from the river.

The workers at the bottom waved hoes and shovels, digging desperately, and sent the soil and stones to the felt belt, and then easily transported them from the river channel. On the river bank, there were already piles of soil and stones like small hills, while others pushed carts and transported the sand and stones away.

"What is this thing?" Zhou Qiu said in a trembling voice. Qin Li also looked at Yin Fu, and he wanted to know the answer more than Zhou Qiu.

"Hey, this thing is used here too?" Yin Fu widened his eyes, and his face was full of surprise.

"What is this?" Qin Li asked unconsciously.

Yin Fu looked at him and did not blame the guard for his rudeness. To be honest, he was quite surprised now because it was the first time he saw this thing, and before, he had only heard of it.

"Who is so powerful that he can actually get this thing out?" He jumped out of the carriage and looked around. He soon saw a person who was quite luxurious in clothes and incompatible with this construction site. His eyes suddenly lit up, "It turned out to be Chen Pinggui."

He walked towards the man with a big smile. The man obviously saw him and also came forward with a big smile: "Shopkeeper Yin, is this gust of wind blowing you?"

"Brother Chen, you are the big boss, why are you personally taking charge of the construction site? You don't need to do this job, right? Shouldn't you be in Huzhu and get more projects from the Canal Corporation?" Zhou Qiu laughed.

"It's not for this thing." Chen Pinggui pointed to the big guy in smoke behind him.

"It's still Brother Chen who has the ability, and the latest guy from Tiangong Department can also get it out. By the way, I remember, you have a relative in Tiangong Department responsible for logistics affairs, and this way is he taking?"

"I didn't go there, they came to me, but I still have to pay." Chen Pinggui smiled and said, "We can't afford to offend the people of Tiangong Bureau. We rented this guy for 10,000 taels of silver."

"They came to the door, but you actually paid for it?" Yin Fu was puzzled.

"They said they wanted to verify the machine on the spot. But they refused to use it for nothing. At first, they were just spending money to buy personal favors. Tiangong Bureau, who knows when they would ask them for help? You also know that those who do engineering like us will never let go of the opportunity to get along with them." Chen Pinggui smiled and flowers bloomed on his face.

"Depending on your appearance, you seem to have made a profit." Yin Fu said: "It's not just about handing over to the Tiangong Department, right?"

"Of course." Chen Pinggui pointed to the rumbling machine: "The work done by one person is worth more than a hundred people. If this continues, the completion period of my project will be greatly advanced, and the money saved is far more than 10,000 taels of silver. Hahaha."

"Isn't it just to transport soil?"

"Then you underestimate it. He can not only transport soil, but also do other things." Chen Pinggui smiled and said, "The river channel has been dug out. We still need to build river embankments. The canal company has strict requirements and needs to build stone embankments. This thing can also help polish stones! Even if a big stone is encountered in the river channel, he can easily crush it, which saves me a lot of effort! Yes, Brother Zhou, it is rare to meet. I will open your eyes today, brother."

"Just to feast your eyes." Yin Fu smiled and said, "I just vaguely heard of it before. If you see a real guy, you have to watch it well." He turned to Zhou Qiu and said, "Brother Zhou, in fact, I will take you to Qinghe to see the weaving factory, which has a lot to do with this thing. Now you can take a look, so as not to see where you are when you are shocked."

Zhou Qiu smiled bitterly and said, "Brother Yin, to be honest, I am about to lose my teeth now."

"What are these?" Chen Pinggui looked at Zhou Qiu and his group.

"This brother Zhou Qiuzhou is a great businessman in Qi State and has been my partner for many years. This time I went to Qinghe with me to see the new weaving factory there."

"It turns out that it is Brother Zhou, I'm lucky to meet you!" Chen Pinggui didn't think that Zhou Qiushi's people would be so kind to others. He is a businessman who has many friends and many ways to think: "In the future, Brother Zhou will introduce more projects in Qi State!"

"It's easy to say, it's easy to say!" Zhou Qiu bowed back and thought to himself that these major projects in our Qi State were led by the government, and the recruitment of the people was completed. Will there be a way to hire people like the Ming Dynasty? But it's a shameless favor, it's useless to not do it.

"Brother Yin, I heard that the weaving factory is still under a control state. Can you show it to you if you take Brother Zhou?" Chen Pinggui asked.

"You have started to use it publicly here, but I'm afraid that the control status will be lifted!" Yin Fu said with a smile: "But I can take Brother Zhou here, so I naturally have permission from my superiors."

"That's good, that's good."

"Brother Chen, what do you think is strange to show us?" Yin Fu reminded.

"It's going to be done soon!" Chen Pinggui turned around with a smile, walked to the big guy, and said something to the guys who were standing there, holding a small notebook and remembering a few words from time to time. The people turned around and looked at Yin Fu and others, turned around and began to get busy.

"Those are master craftsmen from the Tiangong Department. It seems that Chen Ping is expensive for 10,000 taels of silver. Not only did he rent this big guy, but he also rented these master craftsmen back. It's worth it, it's worth it."

"Brother Yin, what is this?" Zhou Qiu asked.

"Since you have already been publicly verified, I can tell you. In fact, I know a rough idea. This guy is called a steam engine. What is it for? In fact, it is used to provide strength. You have seen it. Those felt belts carry soil and do not require human or animal power. More importantly, the manpower is exhausted, and this guy can continue to work without stopping the fire of coal." Yin Fu said proudly: "This is the latest invention of our Daming Works Department."

"You mean, he is also the new type of loom factory?" Zhou Qiu said in a trembling voice.

"Of course." Yin Fu said. "Brother Zhou, you will see the specific situation when you arrive. Now I can't tell you why, because I haven't been there."

While speaking, several busy craftsmen over there had already adjusted the machine, and the machine that was bombarded again was equipped with iron-like iron rods. Several guys with big waists and round arms carried the thing and brought him to the side before a huge stone. With the roar of the machine, in front of everyone, the huge stone was broken into several pieces in a short time. Then, after another wave of stone powder flew, the stones were polished into square stone slabs. They were carried to the river embankment in the distance by some workers and began to be inlaid on the dam. With the help of cement, in a moment, the stone slabs became part of the river embankment.

"It's so amazing." Zhou Qiu's face was a little dull, "If it were manually polished, it would probably take several days to make a stone slab. This efficiency is too high."

"Of course, that's why I said, the cost of this ten thousand taels of silver is worth it. I originally wanted to get one, but they didn't agree at all." Chen Pinggui looked like he had taken a big advantage when he turned around. "Even if he spent another ten thousand taels of silver, the manpower, material resources, and construction period I saved were far more than ten thousand taels of silver. Brother Zhou, our labor costs in the Ming Dynasty have increased significantly in the past two years."

"It's the same. The shopkeepers and clerks in my place have increased their wages year by year, otherwise they will have to leave. It's not easy to train a good shopkeeper and clerk!" Yin Fu also looked bitter: "But there is no way. We have few people in the Ming Dynasty, but I heard that Chu Di will soon add a lot of manpower, and maybe we will come to find something to do."

"Brother Yin, you are familiar with people and have a wide connection. You are not like me who are stuck on the construction site all day long. If such a good thing is really happening, don't forget to notify me that those who come to make a living in Chu are much cheaper than those here, right?"

"It must be." Yin Fu said with a smile. He turned around and saw Zhou Qiu and his followers who were still dull. "Brother Zhou, it's almost done. Let's hurry. Before dark, if we can't get to the next stop, we can only sleep in the open."

"Okay, okay, go, go!" Zhou Qiu was a little distracted, and Qin Li's eyes seemed to be on the machine.

From Hulao to Qinghe, there were no track carts. Even though it was a cement-made road, they still arrived at their destination ten days later when they rode the cart.

The roar of machines here was much louder than the one they saw in Hulao. Round of black smoke rushed into the sky from rows of factories. When Yin Fu led Zhou Qiu and his group into the weaving factory, Yin Fu himself was also stunned.

In the long factory, rows of looms were making snaps, and the shuttles were whizzingly running, and cotton threads were intertwined by the shuttles.

There were a long row of looms, but there were only less than twenty workers in the entire factory. Where were they going back to patrol, they picked up some shuttles in their hands from time to time, and after picking up some of them, they put them back.
Chapter completed!