When Chen Jingke got up the next morning, he took Wu Shu to the backyard and first visited the printing workshop.
Looking at the busy craftsmen and the rows of lead alloy blocks, she couldn't help but feel shocked. This scene was so impactful.
"My original purpose in Pinyin was to index word blocks, and arrange the word blocks in different grids according to the order of pronunciation letters."
"Which word you need to use, just search it according to the order of pinyin...look at the first letter first, then the second letter, and the third letter..."
"The words with homophones are found based on the strokes. Those with fewer strokes are placed on top of the grid, and those with more strokes are placed on the bottom... You can find it just by looking at the character."
"Later I realized that this method can reduce the difficulty of learning characters. It was an unexpected surprise."
This is actually not a lie. The original motivation for Pinyin was indeed to facilitate the indexing of word blocks, but he knew the true function of Pinyin from the beginning.
What I say now is just to make the motivation for inventing Pinyin appear more substantial.
Wu Shu still exclaimed: "I am more and more impressed by Zhenren's talent."
Chen Jingke felt proud, and said humbly: "It's just a little cleverness."
I visited the printing workshop and watched the printing process with my own eyes. Seeing pages of blank paper turned into books, the process gave people a very sense of accomplishment.
In order to save paper, Chen Jingke did not use the large fonts of the past. Each block is only six millimeters, which is roughly equivalent to the size 3 font of the previous life.
The reason why the font is not made smaller is that the strokes of many traditional Chinese characters are too complex. If the character block is too small, it will be printed as a mass of ink dots.
The six-millimeter font takes into account space utilization and handwriting clarity. This is the best ratio they obtained through repeated experiments.
If you want to further reduce the font size, you must either improve your technology or streamline the text structure.
Improving technology is not something that can be done in a short period of time. Simplified Chinese characters are a bigger project and will inevitably arouse strong opposition, so he did not do it.
After visiting the printing workshop, the two went to the dictionary compilation office on the other side. Yihe and others were notified in advance and were already waiting here.
Seeing him coming in with such a beautiful woman, many people's eyes were straightened. However, these people were very discerning. They knew Wu Shu's status was unusual just by looking at his clothes, and they didn't dare to look further.
When he pointed out that Wu Shu was the legitimate daughter of Duke Ying, everyone calmed down. Their identities were so different that they did not dare to have any unrealistic ideas.
But when Chen Jingke announced that she would join the dictionary compilation team, everyone was still very happy. After all, it was good to just look at such a beautiful woman.
Only Yihe looked ashamed and quietly hid behind the crowd.
Although Chen Jingke had never studied management, he knew what had happened, so he called her out alone and said:
"Don't think too much about it. Madam Wu was invited by me to be your husband. You will still be responsible for the compilation of the dictionary from now on."
Yihe was confused, how could it be her turn to make the decision when the legitimate daughter of a nobleman was there, not to mention that the lady seemed to be better than her in every aspect.
Chen Jingke knew what she was thinking and said patiently: "Dictionary compilation is no more complicated than pinyin notation, and requires higher knowledge. Your knowledge is still slightly insufficient." Gu Tan
"It will take a lot of energy and time for just a few of you to complete this work, and many errors will inevitably occur."
"You also know the meaning of this dictionary, and you should be clear about the consequences if a low-level mistake is made. As the chief editor, I am responsible for the dictionary, and even more responsible for everyone."
"Wu Niangzi has been taught by famous teachers since she was a child. She is very knowledgeable. It is impossible to invite her. That is to say, her mother is seriously ill and needs to live in the temple for treatment, so I can invite her here."
"She may leave at any time. Don't waste this opportunity. It's up to you how much you can learn before she leaves."
Yihe was both excited and ashamed, and said: "I'm sorry, Master, I...I'm not jealous..."
Chen Jingke interrupted her and said seriously: "No need to apologize. Remember that you are the leader of our team and one of our own. She was just invited to help."
Yihe nodded repeatedly and said: "Yes, I remember. I will definitely ask Mrs. Wu for advice in the future, and I promise not to disappoint you."
Chen Jingke smiled and said: "That's good. We just need to know this matter in private. Don't say it in front of her, so as not to embarrass her face."
Yihe said: "Don't worry, I know what to do."
Chen Jingke thought for a while and added a few words: "When the dictionary is compiled, all of us will be famous all over the world, and the shortcomings of your sisters' background will be made up for."
"With the prestige brought by Pinyin and the dictionary, even ordinary dignitaries and official families can be the head wives. Don't let all this be ruined by some random thoughts."
This is not nonsense. What many small dignitaries and official families with relatively low backgrounds need most is prestige and family heritage.
When the Yuyun Notes and Dictionary are published, these families will rush to marry them and raise them like treasures.
Yihe glanced at him and quickly lowered his head, saying unnaturally: "I just want to compile the dictionary as soon as possible, and I have no intention of thinking about anything else. Besides, I am still in my filial piety period, so I can't think about this."
Chen Jingke smiled and said: "You still have to think about it. Besides, don't worry about what will happen in the future. At least you must get the qualification first."
"It's completely different whether you have the qualifications or not. You are a smart person and you should be able to understand what I mean."
Yihe whispered: "I understand. Please rest assured, Master, I will study hard with Mrs. Wu and compile the dictionary as soon as possible."
"Well, let's go back, so that everyone doesn't get suspicious." Chen Jingke turned around and walked back without thinking too much.
Yihe glanced at his back, sighed heavily, and murmured: "Perhaps only a woman like Mrs. Wu can be worthy of a real person. Yihe, Yihe, it's time to wake up from your dream."
She originally thought she would feel uncomfortable, but after saying these words, she suddenly felt relaxed all over, as if a heavy shackles had been removed.
This change made her stunned, and she couldn't help but ask herself, is this really my true intention?
Chen Jingke didn't know this. He walked around a corner and found Wu Shu walking towards him. The two almost bumped into each other.
He was so frightened that he dodged and jumped a step, saying: "Mrs. Wu, what are you...why are you here?"
"Ah!" Wu Shu was frightened and covered his heart with his hands, exhaling softly. He glared at him angrily and said, "I saw you haven't come back for so long, so I came over to see you. I never thought..."