The whale skeleton on the pier was replaced by a larger one. The original one had been dismantled into countless small pieces and ground into long and sharp sticks.
As a landing hunting team, Han Zhong and others have learned and mastered new methods. After a day's rest, they will take a boat to Lushun.
Back home, Han Zhong told his son that he was going on a mission and planned to send him to a distant relative's home to take care of him, but Han Shantong objected.
"Dad, I want to go to Aunt Zhen's house." Han Shantong put down his rice bowl and looked at his father expectantly, "She has a small family, is very quiet, and doesn't make any noise."
Han Zhong looked at his son with strange eyes. This brat likes to be quiet? He acts like a wild horse all day long. There is no place on the island that he dares not go or has never been to.
Han Shantong chuckled and said, "Dad, as you know, Uncle Li's family has a large population and is so busy all day long. Don't bother him."
After a pause, he added: "It's good to go to Aunt Zhen's house. We have food and she can cook. If the clothes are torn or dirty, she will mend and wash them."
Han Zhong rolled his eyes and said, "Then you go and tell her, if she is willing, I will ask her to take care of you."
"Okay, I'll talk about it right away." Han Shantong moved swiftly, as if he was well prepared and confident.
Han Zhong looked at the back of his son running out and shook his head helplessly.
This is not a big deal, as long as someone takes care of the child, a half-grown child is not a baby.
……………..
Guo Dajing walked across the gangplank and landed on land. He saw the whale skeleton hanging next to the pier and couldn't help but smile.
"This whale is twice as big as the original one." Lin Tianyou also looked over and clicked his tongue, "I couldn't believe the big fish weighing tens of thousands of kilograms before.
Guo Dajing smiled bitterly and said: "There is no way to rely on the sea to eat the sea. If Dongjiang Town wants to persist, it can only work hard and be self-reliant. Don't look at the big fish of tens of thousands of kilograms, divided into individual heads.
How many more can there be?”
Lin Tianyou nodded slightly and said: "Far away in the south of the Yangtze River, who knew that the soldiers fighting against the Japanese were working so hard that they had trouble even eating, so where did they get their fighting strength?"
"Not to mention Jiangnan, even the princes above the court do not feel the seriousness of the situation in Liaodong, nor do they know the hardships of the soldiers."
Guo Dajing was cold and disdainful, then he extended his hand and said, "Brother Lin, go back to the house first. My sister may be anxious to see you! Guo went to the military camp to see. If there is no urgent business, he should go home to rest."
"Have a rest, I'm going back to my hometown." Lin Tianyou cupped his hands and turned around to leave with his servants.
Guo Dajing took the reins, got on his horse, and, escorted by several soldiers, went straight to the military camp.
When I arrived at the military camp, I went to find Liu Xingzuo. This guy was quite reliable. He was sitting in the office looking at documents.
"Back!" Liu Xingzuo looked up and said, "Today, I am on duty for the last shift. You go home and have a good rest. Tomorrow, all official duties will be handed over to you."
Guo Dajing laughed, sat down in the chair, and said: "You have a conscience. Well, you and I will briefly talk about the important things, and then I will go home."
"You first." Liu Xingzuo raised his hand, picked up the pen, and made instructions or marks on the documents.
Guo Dajing nodded and briefly recounted the gains, or agreements, of Pi Dao and his party.
When Liu Xingzuo heard that Shen Shikui was selling whale meat, he couldn't help curling his lips, but he didn't say anything.
After Guo Dajing finished speaking, Liu Xingzuo explained his recent official duties. It was nothing major. The training was normal and the food was sufficient. The fishing fleet also caught two whale meat, which was a good harvest.
"Very good." Guo Dajing stood up and said, "Then I'll leave first and come back to hand over yesterday."
Liu Xingzuo waved his hand and said: "There are frozen fish and frozen meat in the warehouse. Take some back. Reunite with your family and eat something delicious."
Guo Dajing smiled and said, "No need. I was so eager to return home that I hurried home." After saying that, he waved his hand, pushed the door open and walked out.
Although it snowed for the first time, it was either melted or thin, which made Guo Dajing very disappointed. It seemed that if he wanted to teach the soldiers to ski, he would need a few more snows.
Everything can be dealt with tomorrow. Guo Dajing just wants to go home, have a good meal and have a good rest.
With everything done, he could finally relax and prepare for next year's war. Not only was Guanglu Island going to expand its army to four thousand, but he also had to supervise the training of the garrison troops on other islands.
Maybe he can't go directly to the islands, but he can still gather in Lushun in advance for short-term intensive training and coordinated operations.
The water capacity of the bucket depends on the shortest piece of wood. Guo Dajing had to worry about the gap in combat power of the troops on other islands, which would affect the outcome of the entire battle.
Of course, gathering in advance meant a large consumption of food and supplies, but for the sake of victory, Guo Dajing thought it was worth it.
While his thoughts were racing, Guo Dajing had already entered the village. As soon as he jumped off his horse in front of the courtyard gate, the courtyard door opened a crack and Sun's wife poked her head out.
"My lord is back." Sister-in-law Sun shouted overjoyed, reaching out and pushing all the doors open.
Guo Dajing smiled and said hello. As soon as he led the horse into the yard, he saw Axiu coming out, as if she was waiting for him.
The smile from the heart and the gentle words made Guo Dajing feel warm in his heart. Whenever he got home, he always felt safe, comfortable, comfortable, and happy.
While Sun's sister-in-law was taking the horses to the stable, Guo Dajing gave his wife a strong hug, which made her laugh heartily despite her irritation.
……………….
The next day, Guo Dajing came to the military camp in high spirits and was not annoyed at being teased by Liu Xingzuo.
The handover of official duties went smoothly, and Liu Xingzuo still tried his best and did not leave any troublesome finishing work for Guo Dajing.
Nothing major has happened on the island in the past few days. Military training and workshop manufacturing are being carried out step by step, and the food in the warehouse is enough to stabilize people's hearts.
Guo Dajing took over the work, that is, looking at various data to determine where the progress was normal and where it was a bit slow.
How much work can there be on such a small island? The so-called "supervision of the military from above, and supervision of the people from below". After Guo Dajing smoothed it over, he had already arranged for capable people, and there was no need for him to do everything personally.
After simply handling the work at hand, Guo Dajing took two soldiers and went to the house to see the progress of lens grinding.
After entering the house, Guo Dajing did not go to the backyard to see the Lin brothers and sisters. He followed the sound directly to the room where the Gu family's father and daughter lived, and knocked on the door outside.
When time was short, Gu Sitong opened the door and saw Guo Dajing. He quickly bowed and saluted, saying, "I have met you, sir."
Guo Dajing waved his hand and stepped into the house.
Gu Yaner also stood up to greet her, and Guo Dajing waved her by as well. After sitting down, he asked: "How is it? Did your work go smoothly?"
Gu Sitong quickly took out a small box and held it in front of Guo Dajing.
Guo Dajing opened the box and found three telescopes inside, with wooden outer frames and similar shapes, smaller than the ones he bought from Xiyi.
Taking out one, Guo Dajing walked to the window, opened the window, and looked outside. The magnification was almost four times. The quality of the lens was good, and the focus was relatively straight.
"Not bad." Guo Dajing praised it and changed another one. After checking all three, he sat down again and said with a smile: "The quality of these three is very good. You have worked really hard."
Gu Sitong showed a gratified smile on his face, bowed and said: "Thank you for your praise, sir. This is the duty of a villain, and I'm afraid you might think that my father and daughter are too slow to work!"
Three racks and six slices, almost one slice per day, which is indeed not very fast. But fortunately, there is still plenty of time, and it will not be used until next year.
Guo Dajing glanced around and noticed that there were more jade processing equipment and tools in the room.
With just a cursory glance, Guo Dajing knew why the processing efficiency was low and the speed was slow. There were no electric motors at that time, and they relied on human pedals.
Moreover, the pedal uses a rope wrapped around it to rotate the abrasive tool, which is far different from the belt drive of the old-fashioned pedal sewing machines of later generations.
"You are busy, I am just curious, just take a look." Guo Dajing took the tea from Gu Yan'er and said with a smile: "There are specialties in the industry, and you are experts in grinding and processing jade."
"A craftsman earns a living and dare not call himself an expert." Gu Yan'er smiled bitterly, bowed down, sat down in front of the workbench, and started grinding again.
Gu Sitai also complained and continued working.
With Guo Dajing's identity and profession, he would not learn from his master. The father and daughter were not worried, but they just felt a little awkward.
I'm afraid the transparent crystal is not enough. Guo Dajing pondered and made an estimate, thinking that optical glass should be produced.
To increase the refractive index of glass, you need to add lead oxide. Or the simplest method is to stir it with a lead rod. Before leaving, Guo Dajing had already informed the glass workshop.
Transparent glass can already be made, and it shouldn't be difficult to make one with a high refractive index. The key is that you don't need a big piece, just being able to grind the lens is enough.
After only watching for a while and asking casual questions about life, Guo Dajing stood up and left, taking the three wooden-framed telescopes and the Western-made telescopes left behind for sample reference.
As soon as Guo Dajing left, Gu Yaner relaxed, exhaled a long breath, and said with a smile: "Master Guo is still very kind. I really don't think he is a fierce general who can kill more than a hundred prisoners!"
"The rumors may not be true." Gu Sitong came back and sat down, continuing to work, and said nonchalantly: "Besides, as a general, commanding troops is his duty, and he rarely goes into battle to kill the enemy himself."
Gu Yan'er pondered some truth, thought for a while, and said: "But he started as a soldier and rose to the rank of guerrilla in less than a year. Killing the enemy and making meritorious deeds cannot all be fake."
Gu Sitong paused at the work he was doing, nodded slightly, and said: "That's true. Not to mention killing more than a hundred Jianlu, there must be at least dozens. Well, he is a master who dares to fight to the death. Don't do it.
I was deceived by his apparent kindness."
Gu Yan'er chuckled and said, "What are you kidding us about? Isn't it nice to be friendly and easy to get along with on the surface? To say that life on this island is pretty good, simple, unpretentious, not so complicated and troublesome."
Knowing his daughter's temperament, Gu Sitong smiled and nodded in agreement, but thought in his heart: If you don't have to worry about food and clothing, living a simple life is really good. Unfortunately -
In fact, not only the people living on the island, but also the Lin family, who were very close to Guo Dajing, had little confidence in defeating the Jianlu and pacifying Liaodong.
In other words, they did not think that Jianlu could defeat the Ming Dynasty. But within a few years, or even more than ten years, Liaodong could maintain the status quo, which is something to be thankful for.
The so-called maintenance of the status quo, for the people, means living on the island without suffering from hunger and cold and being able to survive.
………………
Han Zhong bent down and lowered his head, walked into the cellar, and put down the grain he was carrying in the position indicated by Shuzhen.
"This boy has caused trouble for you." Han Zhong smiled awkwardly, cupped his hands towards Shuzhen, and said, "If there is anything else I need, I'll get it from home."
Shuzhen hurriedly shook her head and said: "That's enough, that's enough. Don't say anything troublesome. You brought so much food, it's us who benefited from it."
"The mountain boy is also a sensible child." Shuzhen said with a smile: "Carrying water and cutting firewood helped us a lot."
Han Zhong laughed, and he was very happy when others praised his son for being sensible.
Feeling that the room was not very warm, Han Zhong thought of the firewood he saw in the small courtyard outside. He felt that it was too big to split, so he turned around and went out.
Shuzhen thought Han Zhong was leaving, so she came out to see him off, but saw the man swinging his ax and starting to chop firewood.
"Brother Han, you don't have to do this." Shuzhen hurriedly stepped forward to stop her, but was blocked by Han Zhong with a smile.
A big man has strength. Shuzhen stood aside and felt a little at a loss. But when she saw the large piece of wood being chopped neatly and smoothly, she felt a little happy in her heart.
Seeing that she could no longer dissuade her, Shuzhen went into the house to boil water, and soon came out with a big bowl.
At this time, Han Zhong was already sweating, and white mist was rising above his head. He took off his cotton-padded clothes and only wore a jacket, but his movements of chopping firewood were still so powerful.
Shuzhen said hello, and Han Zhong just agreed, but was not in a hurry to drink water and was still wielding the axe.
Scanning her eyes, Shuzhen discovered that there was a hole in the cotton-padded coat that Han Zhong had put aside, exposing some cotton. After hesitating, she picked up the cotton-padded coat and turned around and entered the house.
After the chopped wood piled up a hill, Han Zhong stopped. As soon as the door opened, Shuzhen sent the cotton clothes out, and stacked the wood together with Han Zhong.
"The girl is still young. Let's light more fires and keep the room warm." Han Zhong looked at the little girl who followed him out and said with a smile: "I have gained some weight, but I am still thin. I need to eat more."
Shuzhen touched her daughter's head and said with a smile: "Listen to uncle!"
The little girl grinned twice and put her fingers in her mouth habitually.
Han Zhong was stunned for a moment when he saw this little move, but soon he smiled to himself, said hello, and turned around.
"Brother Han, please eat before you leave!" Shuzhen mustered up the courage and decided to express her gratitude in this way.
But the only response she received was that Han Zhong waved his hand without looking back, while his solid figure walked further and further away.