She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 528 - 526 Important Matter

Chapter 528: Chapter 526 Important Matter

Ye Xinyan was only speaking offhand; Shi Yin was a senior craftsman who could instantly recognize the importance of Zhou Biyao in the Mechanical Workshop. How could she not know? During the production of the Chain Inversion Device, she merely provided an idea and the operating principle. Though she consulted with Wong Qiao about the details of various parts, when it came to specific tasks, she was still no match for Zhou Biyao.

So, the next morning, after breakfast, Ye Xinyan coaxed Qi Jiaer to go to school with sweet talk but still promised Zhou Biyao she would visit the workshop to watch the trial of the Chain Inversion Device.

Just after Chen Hour, Jiang Yifan arrived at the Qi family, initially paying respect to Madam Yin. After sitting for a short while, Ye Xinyan’s maid came to invite them to the workshop to observe the Chain Inversion Device being used to lift weights.

This trial was rather formal. Several chairs were placed in front of the workshop, and surrounded by four maidservants and two old women servants, Madam Yin sat in the central seat of honor. To her lower left sat Jiang Yifan, and to her right sat Ye Xinyan and Zhou Biyao.

Around the workshop stood all the craftsmen involved in mechanical production, including those sent by Jinrong on two occasions.

In the middle of the workshop, near the outside, a gantry frame with the Chain Inversion Device was erected. Below the device were two tightly wound iron chains wrapped around a bundle of iron bars.

Wong Qiao stepped forward, bowed to Madam Yin and Jiang Yifan, and said, "The Chain Inversion Device lifted a 200-pound weight yesterday. Today we are going to take it slow and have increased it to 500 pounds." He gestured to the bundle of iron bars behind him, "This is 460 pounds of iron bars, plus the chains at 40 pounds."

The subsequent lifting had no suspense. After a successful first attempt, they added another 200 pounds of iron bars, lifting a total of 700 pounds; then 900 pounds; and the final lift raised iron bars weighing 1,100 pounds.

Watching the heavy bundle of iron bars rise slowly but extremely steadily into midair, and then stop without moving the slightest bit, there was first a moment of silence in the crowd. Then someone let out a shout, which was followed by an explosion of cheering in the hitherto suppressed workshop.

Madam Yin sat there, nodding her head subconsciously, at a loss for words. She had just watched with her own eyes the men struggling to move the iron bars; lifting one bar alone was strenuous, let alone a whole bundle tied up like that - how heavy must it be? Yet one man pulling the chain was able to hoist it; it was unbelievable.

Du Dazhong eyed Wong Qiao and Ye Xinyan eagerly, hoping one of them would speak up and add more weight to test the ultimate lifting capacity of the Chain Inversion Device. He now felt that this device was a divine gift from heaven; there was nothing it couldn’t lift.

Ye Xinyan glanced at Jiang Yifan, stood up, and clapped her hands to quiet the noise in the workshop before saying, "Alright, that’s enough for today’s trial. Our Chain Inversion Device was originally made for use in the Construction Industry, where the bricks, stones, and timber typically transported weigh no more than a few hundred pounds each time."

"That’s all for this time. This is the first Chain Inversion Device our workshop has created; let’s keep it as a memento. Let all the masters work hard, and once we start producing Chain Inversion Devices in batches, then we will test to see just how much weight they can actually support."

After Ye Xinyan finished speaking, she looked at Jiang Yifan. Announcing a celebratory banquet was a matter of sentiment, better left to him. It would give Jiang Yifan face, and the craftsmen too.

The trial of the Chain Inversion Device took less than one Shichen. After Jiang Yifan said the expected words of encouragement and promised a lavish celebratory banquet on behalf of Magistrate Sir, Wong Qiao had the Chain Inversion Device lowered and placed it on a workbench.

The crowd once again gathered around the workbench to take a close look, inspecting it from all sides. Even Madam Yin and her astonished servants examined it carefully, wanting to see what was so miraculous about the device.

By the time all the ceremonies were over, it wasn’t far off from Noon. The last people remaining in front of the workbench were Jiang Yifan, Wong Qiao, Shi Yin, and a few individuals sent by Jinrong.

Jiang Yifan looked over the Chain Inversion Device again, turning it this way and that, but ultimately shook his head and exclaimed, "An outsider really can’t see the trick to it. I didn’t understand last time, how such a gadget could perform such a feat. Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it if someone told me."

Zhang Mian and Jiang Yifan knew each other and took turns speaking, "Yes, who could have imagined that such a thing could exist in this world? Ingenious devices can be made to this extent, probably already the ultimate, right?"

Shi Yin, however, scoffed at their remarks, "What are you saying? People always say that each generation is stronger than the last, and it’s the same with tools. As long as one is willing to put in the effort and has spiritual energy, there is no such thing as ultimate in this world."

Jiang Yifan thought of the era mentioned by Ye Xinyan and couldn’t help but nod. Yes, even Ah Yan didn’t say that their place was the ultimate, so how could such a small object be called ultimate?

Shi Yin flipped the Chain Inversion Device around and exclaimed, "It’s not too difficult to make this tool as long as there is enough time and manpower, it can always be figured out step by step. However, this ingenious thought is indeed rare." Saying this, he turned to Wong Qiao and asked, "Did Miss Ye and you come up with this Chain Inversion Device as well? Including the idea of swapping the movement distance of two iron chains, is that also your original creation?"

Wong Qiao scratched his head and replied, "It was mainly Ye Zi, it was Ye Zi who initiated the idea, saying that the pulley system couldn’t lift very heavy things. Then he said we needed a device that works on the same principle as the pulley system."

Shi Yin paused, remembering the pulley system he had seen at the Qi Family Workshop. He had seen pulleys before, but he had never thought of combining multiple pulleys to use them, nor had he considered that their use could save effort.

Shi Yin shook his head; this was what it meant to lack spiritual energy.

"Speaking of us craftsmen, what we lack the most is not skill, but rather, many things do not occur to us. Miss Ye’s spiritual energy is truly rare." After lamenting these few words, he asked Wong Qiao, "That Hoisting Machine, was it also Miss Ye’s idea? How is it coming along?"

Wong Qiao smiled, "Not bad, recently we hit a snag with the steering of the Hoisting Machine. I was thinking of asking you, Master Shi, but Ye Zi wouldn’t let me. Ye Zi said that the matters you’re dealing with here are more pressing and told me not to disturb you with trivial matters."

"More pressing matters?" Jiang Yifan turned to Shi Yin and asked, "Mr. Shi, what are you working on now?" More pressing? What could be more important than the Hoisting Machine and those few manual tools?

Shi Yin glanced at Jiang Yifan, knowing that he was Miss Ye’s ex-husband, just not understanding how the young man thought, letting go of such a good wife, why did he divorce?

"Miss Ye wants to make a type of fastener that can tightly secure two or more components together. I am currently leading a few people to come up with ideas to modify the lathe, specifically to make the two fasteners mentioned by Miss Ye."

Jiang Yifan was puzzled, as this was not his area of expertise, and he simply did not understand.

Seeing Jiang Yifan’s confusion, Shi Yin explained, "Don’t we want to build a wooden track? It’s for securing the track and the railroad ties. I think, these yin yang screw threads can be made in various sizes and can be convenient for many applications."

When Jiang Yifan heard it pertained to the track, he promptly bowed to Shi Yin and said, "Indeed, it’s an important matter, thank you for your hard work, Mr. Shi."

By the latter part of the Shen Hour in the afternoon, the food had been reheated twice, and several new appetizing dishes had been added to each table. The celebration banquet in the dining hall continued, with the craftsmen still full of enthusiasm, gathering in their groups to discuss the workshop and their own brilliant futures.

Jiang Yifan had already been talking with Ye Xinyan in the reception hall for quite a while.