She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 526 - 524

Chapter 526: 524

Ye Xinyan pointed at the schematic of the clamping device, and said to Shi Yin, "If you imagine the ground as this kind of structure, wouldn’t it be able to exert a clamping force? Similarly, if you modify this idea a bit, it wouldn’t be hard to achieve a fastening effect."

Wouldn’t many things be much simpler if this thing existed in the world? Shi Yin quieted his heart, suppressing the awe and shock within.

"Even if this thing could act as a fastener, making them one by one would be incredibly difficult, especially getting the yin yang screw threads to mesh without gaps. And to talk about mass production, that would be even less possible," he said.

Although Shi Yin said this, he thought to himself that since Ye Xinyan had mentioned these ideas to him, she must already have some plans in mind. But could there really be a way to produce large quantities of identical-sized, tightly meshing yin yang screw threads?

Ye Xinyan picked up the drawing of the ancient foot-operated lathe again, pointing at the center part, and said, "I was wanting to discuss my thoughts with Master Shi. Look, could we add a spindle here, use gear transmission to rotate the workpiece, and control the feed rate? And over here, find a way to fix the hand-held cutting tool on the lathe, using a lead screw to control the movement range and cutting amount of the tool."

Shi Yin stared motionlessly at the drawing that he was very familiar with and that contained nothing new, yet he repeatedly pondered over Ye Xinyan’s words in his heart, imagining what components needed to be added to achieve the effects Miss Ye had described. Could this seemingly rational concept actually be realized?

Ye Xinyan quietly observed Shi Yin, not disturbing his contemplation.

If it were someone else, Ye Xinyan would just directly instruct what to do, no need for such extensive explanations. But Shi Yin was different; according to Jinrong, Shi Yin was the most outstanding mechanical artisan he had encountered, proficient in various craftsman skills. To solicit such a person’s earnest help, one naturally needed to speak clearly and try to answer any of his questions.

An artisan with such skills deserved the title of a master. If she were to simply tell this to someone else, that person probably wouldn’t understand, but Shi Yin, Ye Xinyan believed, would surely grasp her meaning. Indeed, judging by Shi Yin’s expression, he seemed to have understood.

After a long time, Shi Yin finally lifted his head, shifting his gaze away from the drawing of the simplest workbench.

Ye Xinyan asked, "Does Master Shi have any thoughts?"

Shi Yin did not answer Ye Xinyan’s question, but instead asked, "Miss Ye, how confident are you in making this thing work?"

Ye Xinyan shook her head and answered, "My confidence all comes from Wong Qiao. Although Wong Qiao started in construction, he is quite adept at these clever contrivances. Usually, I would have some ideas, tell Wong Qiao, then we discuss and see who has any good suggestions. The actual operation still depends on Wong Qiao, and indeed, he has the ability—so far, he’s been able to find ways to make anything we can think of."

Ye Xinyan also conveyed another meaning: it would be best to have Shi Yin’s help to speed up the process, but if not, she, along with Wong Qiao and the other craftsmen, would still be able to make the lathe.

Shi Yin thought about the Chain Inversion Device the Mechanical Workshop was currently making; if the Chain Inversion Device really worked as intended, that young man Wong Qiao indeed had the capability.

"After spending a few days here, I have seen Miss Ye’s proficiency in many matters. May I ask who was your mentor?" Shi Yin inquired.

Ye Xinyan answered cheerfully, "Before, I just had some novel ideas, but they were very vague. After Wong Qiao arrived, I began to learn from him about Construction Regulations. As I became exposed to various craftsmen’s skills, I eventually became what I am now."

Shi Yin looked quite disappointed, "Miss Ye, you mean to say you didn’t have some extraordinary encounter that led to your current skills?"

Ye Xinyan somewhat understood the meaning behind Shi Yin’s question, and she smiled, "After fleeing from home, I’ve had my share of hardships and began to find every possible way to stay fed and survive. Do these count?" She knew she had no thrilling adventures or master to speak of and suspected Shi Yin must be disappointed.

Upon hearing her words, Shi Yin was indeed greatly disappointed. "I had thought that you had an impressive master. If there were such a person, we could have a good discussion, and I would even be willing to become their disciple." Shaking his head, Shi Yin sighed, "It is indeed a case of the new replacing the old, and I am truly aged."

Ye Xinyan said with a smile, "Master Shi, you need not feel this way. My grandfather is ten years your senior and only two years ago resumed his former trade, yet he still enjoyed a great reputation for his skills. Craftsmanship doesn’t rely on age; once you and Wong Qiao work together, you’ll see that the younger generation can also exchange skills with you."

......

Shi Yin had not been involved in the lathe improvement for long when, with the effort of dozens of artisans, the first batch of parts for the Chain Inversion Device was completed, and the first significantly meaningful Chain Inversion Device was assembled.

With the Chain Inversion Device mounted on a sturdy gantry frame, Wong Qiao had someone pull the lifting hook of the device up and down a few times to ensure its smoothness before turning to Ye Xinyan, who was observing the effects, and said with a smile, "It works fine without a load. Shall we test its bearing capacity?"

Ye Xinyan looked at the excited artisans. If they did not test it, it was likely that none of them would be able to sleep well.

Ye Xinyan said, "Lord Jiang mentioned earlier that if the Chain Inversion Device was completed, we must inform him during the testing." As soon as Ye Xinyan’s voice fell, a collective sigh filled the workshop.

Shi Yin, mingling among the artisans, felt disappointed at the news that they could not test it today.

Even the usually composed Wong Qiao appeared to be itching to try, opening his mouth several times but ultimately saying nothing.

Zhou Biyao, who couldn’t stand idly by, leaned close to Ye Xinyan and whispered, "What if we first try lifting a lighter load? We need to let everyone see whether it can bear weight or not. If we don’t try it out before inviting Lord Jiang, and the Chain Inversion Device fails to lift during the test, not only Sister Qi but all of us in the workshop will lose face, won’t we?"

"You do think things through," Ye Xinyan glanced at her, then looked at the expectant gazes surrounding her. So many outstanding craftsmen had gathered together, working tirelessly for more than three months, watching as the machinery was fully assembled, they were naturally eager to see the results... It was a common sentiment.

Ye Xinyan took a couple of steps forward, turned to face the crowd, and said, "I understand everyone’s hard work over such a long time and your eagerness to see the results. Today, we can try lifting something that weighs one or two hundred pounds to check the smoothness of the Chain Inversion Device’s transmission and let everyone see the effect. For the actual experiment with a thousand pounds, we will select another time when we can do it together with Lord Jiang and formally test the effects of the Chain Inversion Device."

The artisans weren’t greedy; hearing Ye Xinyan’s words, that not only could they try it out today but also later witness the results with Magistrate Sir, and remembering the previous excitement of testing the wooden core Chain Inversion Device, they unanimously voiced their approval.

Ye Xinyan then said to Wong Qiao, "Let’s try it then, to satisfy everyone’s wish."

The heavy objects prepared by Du Dazhong were a basket of pig iron blanks. Wong Qiao tested their weight and looked at Ye Xinyan, "It’s about two hundred pounds or so." Saying this, he glared at Du Dazhong, who had taken advantage of the situation – Ye Zi said one or two hundred pounds, and he had brought just over two hundred.

Ye Xinyan nodded, "Then let’s go with two hundred pounds." This Chain Inversion Device, regardless of the outcome, was a lump of iron. A device of this size, in modern times, would have a rated lifting capacity of ten tons. If, after so many people had devoted so much effort, it couldn’t lift even two hundred pounds, then she, Ye Xinyan, would have no face to meet anyone.