Chapter 108: The Heirloom

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At night, perhaps the heavens had grown weary of blowing, for the wind had notably softened. Wang Ge sat by the stove with his second uncle, while Huan Zhen, the brothers Tie Feng, Lu Wu, and Shi Su gathered around another stove.

Wang Erlang took a sip of hot water and quietly continued recounting the events following the day they beat up Jia Sanniang: "You don’t know, the Jia household’s lazy lot produce dung far fouler than the diligent ones. After venting anger on that wicked woman, A Zhu hurried to boil water, and I washed A Peng. Alas, it was done in the storeroom, which stank so badly that even our cows avoided it these past two days. No choice—I led the cattle to my own room."

Wang Ge laughed heartily and asked, "Did the Jia family say anything afterward?"

"At first, they didn't. They thought beating their Sanniang was the end of it. But Hutou said… no way!" Wang Erlang lowered his voice, mimicking Wang Xing’s tone and manner: "One thing is one thing. Their family punishing Sanniang is their own business, done to save face and out of necessity. But if that’s the case, does it mean Cousin Peng was smeared with dung for nothing? At least they ought to compensate him with new clothes, plus the firewood and water used to wash away the filth. The dung is too foul, so at least two full buckets of water should be carried. Third Uncle, you have to go and speak up!"

Wang Ge was amused by his uncle’s imitation and covered his mouth to stifle his laughter. "Did Third Uncle go?"

Wang Erlang exhaled a long sigh of frustration. "He went, but just stepped out of the hospital before coming right back. He told Hutou to repeat what he said to the Jia family. Hutou repeated it exactly. Third Uncle took about ten steps out again, then returned, saying he forgot everything and asked Hutou to say it again. Then your eldest aunt chased Third Uncle out with a broom. Yet until nightfall, no one from the Jia family showed up. Third Uncle did come back, saying he spoke to them as Hutou instructed, then went to see that brat A Zhu. As for why the Jia family didn’t send anyone, he had no idea."

Wang Erlang’s anger grew, pounding his leg and raising his voice: "Hubao, tell me, is Third Uncle lying? Did he just pass by the Jia family’s gate? Isn’t A Peng his own son? How can he be so careless? That brat’s heart is rotten through and through, yet Third Uncle loves him even more? Is Third Uncle sick?"

Huan Zhen and the others glanced at the uncle and nephew.

Wang Ge knew he couldn’t take that bait and simply said, "Poor A Peng."

"I’m even more miserable—you don’t know how foul he smelled!"

Wang Ge’s eyes curved into a smile, praising, "Second Uncle is the finest gentleman under heaven, just as good as Grandfather and my father."

"Hehe." Wang Erlang happily scratched his head, warmed by the words. "Ah, I’ve been going on so long—A Ge, how’s studying in Nanshan? Have you been treated badly?"

"Other than being far from home, it’s quite good. Second Uncle, I made some tools." She took out dozens of wooden blocks carved with the “Jiujuezhang” characters—far more precious than the two hundred-some coins she had earned. Arranging them in order on the character tray, she pointed at each block and recited: "Jiujueqi gu differs from the rest, listing the names and characters of all things…"

Though Wang Erlang could not understand the words, he was willing to listen for no particular reason—simply willing. When his niece finished, tears involuntarily welled in his eyes. "Hubao, you have real skill, carving every character back to life."

Wang Ge read the “Jiujuezhang” softly, neither too high nor too low, not hiding the meaning from Huan Zhen.

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Huan Zhen, well aware of this master craftsman’s skill, came closer and asked, "Reversed characters? Did you also make the tray holding the blocks?"

"Yes. It’s called a character tray."

"Hmm. During Qin times, there were wooden stamps used to imprint a forty-character edict on pottery measuring vessels. Master Wang’s work… is it modeled after multi-character wooden stamps?"

"Exactly."

What Huan Zhen spoke of was essentially the origin of movable type printing technology theory. After unifying the country’s weights and measures, Emperor Qin Shi Huang used ten square blocks bearing four-character positive reliefs to stamp a row of forty characters on the outer wall of a cylindrical ceramic vessel, then fired it.

Unfortunately, this technology was not further developed.

Huan Zhen examined the character tray carefully. The first five columns contained seven-character lines of the “Jiujuezhang,” while the sixth column only had the four reversed characters “please pass this chapter.” Below the character “chapter,” three short blank blocks were squeezed in to firmly fix those four blocks in the tray.

From the seventh column onward, there were only two “three-character names” per column, separated by a blank short block.

The tray ended at the tenth column.

“Is that all?”

“Yes. Space is limited, so for now, only these are carved.”

Huan Zhen removed a short block, causing an entire column of characters to wobble along with the tray. Removing another block made another column move up and down.

Tie Lei, who had just come over, thought Master Wang had made some rare treasure. Seeing two columns scatter so easily, he clicked his tongue and shook his head: "If they’re not fixed, that won’t do. Master Wang must be careful aligning the blocks when printing. One mistake and it might become a completely different book, haha!"

Huan Zhen had just been thinking of something, and Tie Lei’s remark made him understand. "Please, Master Wang, enlighten us—what is this method of movable blocks called?"

Finally the question was asked. Wang Ge breathed out quietly and replied, "Movable type printing. Frequently used characters in texts can be carved into multiple blocks. After selecting these blocks, they’re arranged in columns; if a column is incomplete, blank blocks are used to fill the gap. Then ink is applied, and the characters are printed on paper. If made from durable woods like pear or walnut, the blocks can be reused."

"Printing a single book this way isn’t necessarily less laborious than handwriting... but..."

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Huan Langjun truly was clever! Wang Ge nodded in approval: "One day, when papermaking technology advances, a single tray of blocks could print ten, a hundred, or even a thousand copies! With enough character blocks, all the world’s classics could be printed."

The next morning, the uncle and nephew trudged home, heads drooping in low spirits. Their eyes occasionally met; Wang Erlang snorted sharply, "Family treasure—didn’t show it to your grandparents, so it’s gone. Humph! Let you show off."

Wang Ge lowered her head even more.

Who would have thought that Huan Langjun was so thick-skinned? He took the painstakingly made character tray, the carved blocks, even the blank ones, saying he’d borrow them to study for a few days. But who knew just how many days that ‘few’ meant?

Going in the opposite direction, Tie Feng had already mounted a swift horse carrying the entire character tray, racing to the county seat. The movable type printing method need not wait ten or even several decades to be tested. The Huan family had over ten paper workshops and hundreds of woodcarving craftsmen. Whether this method was practical and useful would soon become clear.

Far away in the Luoyang capital, the Directorate of Construction.

Several master craftsmen gathered at the center, surrounded by senior artisans. Recently, they had pooled their wisdom and sought broad counsel—even suggestions from ordinary craftsmen, like improved methods for setting up the compass needle, were accepted and tested.

Master Craftsman Sima said, "Currently, three methods remain in use: First, Master Wang Ge’s original water-floating compass needle method, which suffers from errors caused by any movement of the water’s surface; second, the suspended needle method, where the needle stands on a hard, smooth point and spins freely, aligning faster than the water-floating method, but the needle tends to fall off; third, the suspended silk method, where the needle is hung by a silkworm thread coated with wax in a windless place, pointing south or north, with the smallest directional error, though still vulnerable to wind."

Master Craftsman Huan said, "Everyone has worked hard through the entire New Year festival without returning home—truly commendable. Let’s set this matter aside for now and discuss it again after the Lantern Festival. Also, once Master Wang Ge’s gold craftsman badge is completed, it will be sent immediately to Kuaiji Commandery. Badges of low, middle, and high grades will be made; whichever grade she is awarded, she will receive it."

Master Craftsman Wang expressed envy: "Haha, that too can be considered a family treasure."

Master Craftsman Qian, always half-asleep, stroked his beard and reminded, "You all haven’t truly endured hardship. Better give her more money and silk. This craftsman’s family is poor; don’t let her misunderstand the importance of the gold badge and cut it up to use as currency."

(End of chapter)