Chapter 189 Struggle Conference
The surname Ran is not common. In the entire Hebo area, only Ran Zhongshi and his sister Ran Ying have this surname. Liang Qu naturally knew who the Lord Ran mentioned by the soldiers was.
"Did Lord Ran say anything was wrong?"
"I don't know, just let me come to ask you, sir."
Liang Qu raised his head and stared at the sun: "What day is today?"
The soldier pondered for a moment, then bowed and said, "To answer Sir Liang, it is the 24th."
Liang Qu understood.
The 24th should be the gathering that Ran Zhongshi had mentioned earlier.
At that time, they only said it was the end of the month, but didn't say the specific day.
"Hold on."
Liang Qu went into the house, changed into clean plain clothes, and followed the soldiers to Shangrao Pier, where a small boat had already been prepared.
The soldier jumped to the stern of the boat and rowed all the way to Pingyang Pier. Before they reached the shore, Liang Qu saw Ran Zhongshi sitting in a teahouse drinking tea.
Ran Zhongshi noticed Xiaozhou, reached under the table, and threw something towards Liangqu from dozens of meters away.
Liang Qu raised his hand to catch it, and the whole boat suddenly sank more than a foot.
What Ran Zhongshi threw over was actually a half-meter-long pure iron anchor, the shape of which was exactly the same as the drawing he gave.
Liang Qu stepped ashore holding the anchor, not understanding what it meant.
"What does this mean, Brother Ran?"
"Waiter, another pot of tea." Ran Zhongshi moved the stool and motioned Liang Qu to sit down. "A few days ago, I sent people to cast more than ten large anchors and nearly a hundred small anchors. I remember that your barge used anchors, so I brought one for you when I checked it."
Liang Qu lifted up his skirt and sat down, placing the anchor at his feet and joked.
"Brother Ran, please don't tell me that this anchor is a reward from the higher-ups?"
"Haha, of course not. Come, let me show you this."
Ran Zhongshi pulled out a thin document from his sleeve.
Liang Qu reached out to take it and flipped through the pages.
The document records the ground-gripping performance of the anchor each time it was anchored, as well as a comparison with the anchoring of a four-claw iron anchor. It is very detailed, and there is also a table at the end that carefully compares the advantages and disadvantages of this anchor and the four-claw iron anchor.
"Our people experimented for five days and dropped anchor a total of 327 times. 323 times, they were hooked into the mud and sand within a breath, and the remaining four times did not exceed five breaths.
And with the same size, your anchor’s grip is more than seven times that of a four-claw iron anchor.
In terms of efficiency, it is far superior to the four-claw iron anchor's thirty-seven times. Just as you said, there is no need for a fixed hook at all.
I can't figure out how Brother Liang did it. Why are two hooks more secure than four? Why don't you need a hook fixer? Why do your anchors get deeper and deeper, like they're growing in the ground? "
It's the magic of physics...
Liang Qu drank a sip of tea silently, thought for a while, dipped his finger in the tea, drew a simple diagram on the table, and marked two arrows.
“I’m not good at explaining it, but basically, the anchor only needs to rub against the river bottom, and on one side it will hold the boat, and on the other side it will have an extra force to push it down, which is equivalent to a natural hook.
So the anchor will be pulled deeper and deeper under pressure until the ground is too hard to press down, just like in the picture. I don’t know if I explained it clearly.”
Ran Zhongshi looked at the arrows, not quite understanding what they meant.
"Why is this so?"
"It's a matter of angle." Liang Qu picked up the anchor at his feet and held the arcs at both ends. "This anchor can actually be improved."
Ran Zhongshi was very surprised: "Can it be improved?"
Liang Qu nodded and pointed to the connection between the anchor claw and the crossbar.
"This can be made into a movable style, so that the anchor rod and the anchor claw can be separated to facilitate the rotation of the anchor. In fact, this is more suitable for large ships, and both sides of the anchor claw can be inserted into the ground. However, forging is not as simple as casting."
The anchor of Liangqu is integrated from top to bottom. As long as there is a mold, it can be cast by pouring molten iron. After demoulding, it can be slightly polished. It is very simple and any blacksmith shop can do it.
Adding a movable rod in the middle would be much more difficult and require higher materials, and it would not be possible for a blacksmith without some skills to make it.
Ran Zhongshi was thoughtful and kept what Liang Qu said in mind.
"Brother Liang is truly a genius. He can even think of such an anchor!"
"Just some clever tricks."
"That's wrong. If that's the case, who wouldn't want this kind of 'cleverness'?" Ran Zhongshi shook his head and took back the document. "A good anchor is extremely important to the river. According to what Brother Xu said, Brother Liang may be able to make another great contribution!"
"Achieve another great achievement?"
Liang Qu suspected that he had heard it wrong.
The reason why he reported the new anchor to the River and Bore Bureau instead of going to the county government to win another invention award was because he thought the reward from the River and Bore Bureau would be larger.
After all, the two have different levels of importance.
I thought it was good enough to get some money to spend, but I never expected that I could make another great contribution.
Fengbu County fought hard to earn two dollars, and just drew a blueprint...
The surprise came too suddenly. "It would be difficult for ordinary people to gain great merit with this matter, but Brother Liang is different after all.
You are young, and youth is your greatest asset, so people will naturally be more willing to give you a chance."
What is great merit?
Great achievements are resources and nourishment on the road of martial arts!
Everyone wants resources, but resources are not like crops in the fields. They are planted every year, grow every year, and become more luxuriant year by year with good weather and good harvests.
Ran Zhongshi was sure that if a 70- or 80-year-old warrior took out such an anchor, even if the effect was better, he would never be able to achieve great success.
What’s the use of giving supplies to an old man?
It's just that you can live a few more years.
There will definitely be no unfair treatment, but there will never be preferential treatment.
Who would focus on training a person with one foot in the ground?
"Thank you, Brother Ran, Brother Xu!"
“Brother Liang, don’t be in a hurry to thank me.”
Ran Zhongshi immediately poured a basin of cold water on him.
“We can’t decide on the great merit ourselves, otherwise Brother Xu would have decided it for you directly.
Whether it will work depends on the higher level, so you should keep a normal mind, so as not to ruin your mood if it doesn’t work out.”
"Brother Ran is right."
Liang Qu understood that the truth was correct and suppressed his excitement.
Indeed, it is not a good idea to open champagne at halftime.
"Brother Ran asked me to come here today just to talk about the anchor?"
"Of course not. Remember the small meeting I told you about before? There is no fixed time for the small meeting. Not everyone is free on weekdays.
You never know who will be busy taking on a task, but basically I come on the day at the end of every month when the most people are present.
It just so happens that everyone is here today, and there is only half an hour left before the start, so I sent someone to call you over in advance and talk about the anchor."
Liang Qu understood.
Ran Zhongshi looked at the height of the sun and dropped a piece of silver.
"It's almost time, come with me."
"Anchor..."
"Leave the anchor here, and we'll find someone to take it back later."
After following Ran Zhongshi for a few steps, Liang Qu boarded a small boat from the pier. The boatman was a strong middle-aged man.
Ran Zhongshi made a few gestures, the man nodded, and started rowing the boat.
"Brother Ran, this is..."
Ran Zhongshi pointed to his ears.
"He can't hear."
Liang Qu's eyes flickered.
He looked at the middle-aged man, and the man turned his head and smiled.
Coincidence or intentional secrecy?
There was silence.
The long oars paddled the water, and the two-story pleasure boat was quietly moored on the lake.
With carved beams and painted buildings, it is spacious and stable, and more magnificent than the pleasure boat of the leader of the Whale Gang.
In this situation, Liang Qu couldn't help but have wild thoughts.
What will it be like to attend a gathering of three generations for the first time?
Extravagance and debauchery?
A pool of wine and a forest of meat?
No, no, that's too depraved.
What if I really want to take him out to play? Wouldn’t it be bad to refuse?
Ship to...
"Damn it! That old guy is one level higher than me. I failed to stop him, and a great achievement slipped away from me for nothing!"
"Haha, you're talking about a great achievement. You're only one level higher than me, and you dare to hope for a great achievement? Aren't you ashamed of holding it in your hand?"
"Ke Wenbin, what are you barking about? Last time at the meeting, you said you were going to drive out of the third bridge. How is it going? Have you driven out yet?"
(End of this chapter)
