Chapter 391: Gift
Editor: Atlas Studios
Mu Yangling couldn’t help but laugh when she heard that. Half of the children in the nursery didn’t have names when they came, and another half had many sharing the same names. Therefore, after they began to recognize words, they started giving themselves names.
It was the same for Lin Ke1. He used to be called Sanzhu, but there were enough Sanzhus in the nursery to surround the nursery. Because he had chosen the craft of printing, he had to often carve type matrices. That was why he had come up with this name.
Lin Ke was sitting cross-legged on the ground, looking at the type matrices he had carved. Actually, he had tried three types of wood, but he had not succeeded. Thus, he had no choice but to look for Young Master Bowen.
Just as Lin Ke was worrying about whether Young Master Bowen would agree to help him get the materials, he heard a gentle female voice ask, “You’re Lin Ke?”
Lin Ke looked up and saw Mu Yangling standing not far away from him. He immediately got up and nodded uneasily. “Miss, I-I’m Lin Ke.”
Mu Yangling looked at the wooden type matrices on the ground. “Did you carve these?”
Lin Ke scratched his head in embarrassment. “Yes, they were ruined as soon as they were casted.”
Mu Yangling picked up a type matrix and pinched it. These wooden blocks were all carved from wood fragments left over from making furniture, so their temperature-bearing ability was indeed relatively low.
Mu Yangling didn’t know what kind of wood was required for the movable type printing technique, but she had heard of the tin type. However, the most famous one was clay type. After thinking for a moment, Mu Yangling said, “I’ll get someone to prepare more heat-resistant wood for you. Experiment with it with a few of your classmates. However, don’t tell anyone about this first. Just treat it as your usual homework.”
Other than Bowen and her, Teacher Liu was probably the only other person in the nursery who realized the impact of movable type printing.
Giddy with excitement, Lin Ke nodded repeatedly and said, “Miss, don’t worry. I will definitely work hard to verify that this printing method is useful.”
Naturally, Mu Yangling believed him. She asked someone to buy heat-resistant wood overnight.
Xiuhong was speechless. “Will this really work?”
Mu Yangling turned her head and said, “Even if it doesn’t work, this possibility is worth testing. Xiuhong, you should read more books. Ask Bowen, why is he willing to support Lin Ke without any guarantee of success.”
Xiuhong turned to look at Bowen.
Bowen looked up and said, “That’s because the spread of culture represents technological advancement. Cousin Xiuhong, with the invention of paper back then, many things in the world could be recorded. It’s also because of the invention of paper that non-nobles can afford to read. And only after the engraving and printing technique was invented did the Imperial Examination come about. If Lin Ke’s method works, not to mention anything else, the price of books will be much cheaper. With more people in the world who are educated, the power of the country will naturally increase.”
Smiling, Mu Yangling said, “It’s not that exaggerated. However, the spread of culture will indeed be much stronger.”
When Mu Yangling returned, she opened the history book about Emperor Shizong and realized that there was really no mention of the movable type printing technique. Could it be that he had forgotten?
Mu Yangling couldn’t find the reason and could only not think about it. She had already found the gift for Qi Xiuyuan’s wedding.
She had no intention of hiding the movable type printing technique. It wasn’t as if she could hide it either. Other than the bookstore, no one else would bother snatching this. Didn’t they say that after Bi Sheng invented the movable type printing technique, he wasn’t valued by the upper echelons? This caused the method of making the clay lettering mold to be lost and only the movable type printing technique itself to be passed down.
Although this was not the Northern Song Dynasty, Great Zhou was similar to the Song Dynasty. Perhaps the upper echelons here were the same as the upper echelons of the Northern Song Dynasty.
Two days later, through experiments, Lin Ke finally found two types of suitable wood. After casting them, the printed characters were still not ideal, but it was much better than previously where he could not even print them.
Mu Yangling nodded slightly and said, “Try the clay. Clay should work much better than wood.”
“Clay?” Confusion flashed across Lin Ke’s eyes. “Isn’t that used to make pottery?”
“Yes, there are limitations to the characters made of wood. Moreover, they will break after being used a few times. Clay doesn’t have the texture of wood. As long as it’s cast well, the lifespan of clay type matrices should be more than ten times longer than that made from wood.”
Lin Ke was eager to try. “But Miss, I don’t know how to fire clay.”
“You can sign up for a clay-firing course, or you can ask your fellow pottery-making classmates to help you.” Mu Yangling looked at Lin Ke in admiration and said, “Considering you’re only 12 this year, you still have a lot of time to study this.”
Lin Ke’s eyes sparkled, then he became worried again. “Will anyone use this printing method?”
“As long as you do it well, someone will definitely use it. Your name will even be recorded in history books in the future.”
Lin Ke’s eyes lit up, and he said firmly, “Miss, don’t worry. I’ll definitely work hard.”
“I want to send this printing technique to General Qi and let him promote it. I wonder if you’re willing. Of course, if this printing technique generates benefits which get passed to me, I’ll pass them all to you.”
Lin Ke’s face flushed red as he shook his head repeatedly and said, “Miss, this… this belongs to you and the nursery. Anyone can learn this.”
Mu Yangling smiled. “I know that anyone can learn it, but since you invented it, there has to be a reward.”
“Miss, it’s fine as long as you make the decision. I-I’ll listen to you.”
Mu Yangling took the type matrices from the second chapter of ‘The Analects’.
With this, Mu Yangling wrapped a red packet of 100 taels of silver and went to Qi Xiuyuan’s wedding banquet. Mu Yangling highly valued this, so when she handed it to Steward Zhu, she specially instructed him to let Qi Xiuyuan see it.
Steward Zhu was so busy that he forgot about it. Even if he didn’t forget, he wouldn’t harass his master with this on their wedding night. However, the next day, when Qi Xiuyuan brought Li Jinghua to meet the servants in the residence, Steward Zhu remembered.
However, the newlywed Qi Xiuyuan only played chess and chatted with his wife, and didn’t go to the study to deal with political matters. Steward Zhu didn’t know what was in the box, so he hesitated for a moment.
Seeing that Steward Zhu was still not going, Qi Xiuyuan asked with a smile, “Why are you still here? Was my red packet not fat enough?”
Steward Zhu yawned and said, “I really want to ask for another red packet, but I don’t know if you’re willing to give.”
Qi Xiuyuan threw a red packet at him and scolded jokingly, “Alright, you’re still fooling around in front of the lady of the house. Tell me, what’s the matter?”
“Master, it’s not a big deal. It’s just that when Miss Mu came yesterday, apart from the gift money, she specially gave me a box. She said that it was a special wedding gift for you and even instructed me to let you see it later. I don’t know what’s inside. I don’t know if it has delayed Miss Mu’s matters.” Steward Zhu knew that Eldest Young Master valued this future Fourth Young Madam very much.
“Oh?” Qi Xiuyuan couldn’t help but sit up straight and ask, “Where’s the box?”
“I’ve kept it alone. I’ll bring it over for you to see now.”
“Take it to the study. I happen to have some work to deal with.” Qi Xiuyuan turned to his wife and instructed softly, “Go back to your room and rest. I’ll come back to accompany you after I’m done with my work.”