roccoschili Chapter 87 0085 [A New World of Physics]
Chapter 87 0085 [A New World of Physics]
Chapter 87 0085 [A New World of Physics]
Shen Kuo followed Xu Lai into the Yu residence, only to find himself being taken to the kitchen.
Xu Lai opened the kitchen doors and windows, selected coal to start a fire, and boiled water to prepare a meal.
Seeing this, Shen Kuo asked in surprise, "Does Xingzhi usually cook for himself?"
Xu Lai explained, "The homeowner's entire family was sent away to serve as officials, leaving only two young boys to study at the Imperial Academy. They often ate out, and I also ate lunch at the Imperial Academy, so I simply dismissed the cook."
Now, apart from Xu Lai and the two young masters of the Yu family, there is only an old gatekeeper and a cleaning lady left in the entire mansion.
The cleaning lady was also responsible for boiling water, but she wasn't a good cook. Only the old gatekeeper would eat the food she made.
Xu Lai often cooks for himself.
The two young masters of the Yu family either ate the meals cooked by Xu or ordered takeout directly.
Seeing Xu Lai constantly busy, Shen Kuo couldn't help but ask, "How can I help?"
"Wash this little whitehead clean," Xu said.
Xiaobaitou is a type of loose-leaf cabbage, which cannot wrap its leaves like a true cabbage. Similar vegetables in Kaifeng include Dabaitou, Huangyacai, and Xiasongcai, among others.
Shen Kuo found it quite novel; it was the first time he had ever washed vegetables himself.
As they were talking, Xu Lai kneaded the dough again, then tore off pieces and put them into boiling water. This stuff was somewhat similar to a sheet of noodles.
Xu Lai cooked three bowls of steamed buns, adding not only vegetables but also some pickled vegetables, followed by lard, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and salt. He then ladled out a few spoonfuls of meat sauce, which he had prepared yesterday.
"It smells so good!"
The aroma of the meat sauce immediately whetted Shen Kuo's appetite.
"Brother Cunzhong, please eat first. I'll be right back." Xu Lai carried a bowl of steamed buns to the gatehouse.
The old gatekeeper chuckled and said, "I've been waiting for you, young master."
Xu Lai asked, "Did Aunt Sun go home again?"
The old gatekeeper said, "She said she had something to do at home and asked for half a day off."
Xu Lai said no more.
Ever since their master left Tokyo, these servants have started to slack off. The cook was dismissed by Yu Shuying because she frequently took leave.
Of course, the main reason was that Yu Shuying reduced the cook's wages due to a decrease in workload. The cook secretly found a part-time job outside, which is why she was taking leave every few days.
This is a family matter, and Xu Lai is not in a position to interfere, nor is he comfortable discussing it openly with outsiders.
I guess that cleaning lady has already secretly found a part-time job.
"Young master, this is truly amazing," the old doorman complimented. "If you opened a shop in Tokyo, customers would definitely have to queue up."
Xu Lai laughed and said, "It's not cheap; I've put some good stuff inside."
The old gatekeeper said, "Young master, once you've finished eating, leave the pots and pans there. I'll wash them in a bit."
"Then eat slowly."
Xu Lai returned to the kitchen and led Shen Kuo to the dining room.
While eating the noodles, Shen Kuo asked curiously, "How are the seasonings for this dish made? Could you tell me a little about it?"
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Xu said, "I bought dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked them, and then diced them. I bought pine nuts, washed them, roasted them in a pan until fragrant, and then ground them into powder. I bought pork with a good balance of fat and lean meat and chopped it. I stir-fried all of these ingredients with minced ginger, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns, oil, and salt in a pan until cooked."
"No wonder it tastes so delicious." Shen Kuo silently noted it down, planning to make it himself in the future.
With mushrooms and nuts, how could it not smell delicious?
As the two were eating, Yu Shuying and his nephew Yu Sigong returned.
Yu Shuying also complained, "I told you to go home early, but you insisted on staying, and we missed Xingzhi's meal."
"Third Uncle, you can't wrong an innocent person. You've been dawdling all day," Yu Sigong said.
The two of them were singing in unison, so Xu Lai had no choice but to go back to the kitchen, knead the dough again, and cook a bowl for each of them.
There's nothing I can do; I'm staying at someone else's house, so I'll just consider it rent.
The two young masters Yu were somewhat conscientious, and they helped wash the vegetables with smiles, adding coal to the stove from time to time.
Shen Kuo also put down his bowl and came to pay his respects.
Xu Lai introduced, "This is Shen Kuo, Shen Cunzhong, a newly appointed Jinshi this year, who is staying in the capital to await further selection. Brother Cunzhong, this is the third son of Minister Yu's family—"
The three greeted each other.
Before long, everyone returned to the dining room.
The two bowls of steamed buns had gone cold, so Xu ladled in two bowls of hot soup.
As Yu Shuying ate, he said, "Xingzhi, I went to a banquet at noon today, and some people there were talking about your poem. They all want to visit you. Are you free on your day off?"
"I have already made an appointment with Mr. Xu to study at Mr. Ouyang's house together," Xu said.
Yu Shuying said, "Then forget it, let's reschedule for another day."
Yu Shuying and his nephew Yu Sigong did not associate with only scoundrels. Their circle consisted mostly of sons of nobles and high-ranking officials. They had their own circle, and none of them were interested in taking the imperial examinations. Instead, they relied on connections and seniority to slowly climb the ranks.
There were people like Shen Kuo who, even after becoming a county clerk, resigned to study for the imperial examinations. However, this was not common.
Yu Sigong wolfed down his food, patted his belly, and said, "The meat and wine at noon weren't as good as this bowl of dumplings."
Xu Lai smiled, knowing that the other party was complimenting the chef.
After finishing their noodles and chatting for a while, the old gatekeeper came over to collect the bowls, and everyone dispersed.
Xu Lai invited Shen Kuo to his bedroom, then went to the stove to fetch some unburnt coal, returned to the bedroom, opened the window to let in fresh air, and lit the charcoal brazier to keep warm.
By the light of the oil lamp, Xu Lai picked up his pen and completed Shen Kuo's incomplete manuscripts.
Shen Kuo studied the manuscript slowly and quickly mastered the new concepts of decimals, fractions, negative numbers, and equations.
"Xingzhi's 'New Method of Mathematics' offers a completely new approach that enlightens people!" Shen Kuo exclaimed repeatedly.
Xu Lai asked, "Earlier in the kitchen, Brother Cunzhong said he had experience in water conservancy?"
Shen Kuo laughed and said, "I'm just participating."
That's definitely just being modest.
Shen Kuo had already been granted an official position through hereditary privilege twelve years earlier.
At that time, the problem of redundant officials was not so serious. Shen Kuo was directly appointed as the chief clerk of Shuyang County and participated in the management of the Shu River and the irrigation of farmland on both banks.
After the project was completed, he resigned from his official post and began to study.
Two years ago, his brother oversaw the reconstruction of the Wanchun Dike in Wuhu. Because of his experience in water management, Shen Kuo not only offered advice and suggestions but also participated in the entire planning and construction process, and compiled the design and data of the entire project into written form.
The fact that he can systematically organize his thoughts into written form demonstrates that he is capable enough to plan small-scale water conservancy projects.
Although Shen Kuo passed the imperial examination this year, he only ranked fifth, and according to the system, he should indeed remain in office for another year.
However, even if he doesn't bribe anyone, he'll still get the best possible placement after his term ends, most likely as a staff officer in a prefecture. The rank is the same as a registrar or county lieutenant, but the future prospects are definitely better.
Furthermore, his previous term as chief clerk will be counted towards his years of service, and he will be exempt from the civil service examination if he completes the required years of service.
They get promoted much faster than ordinary third or fourth-class Jinshi graduates!
As they talked, they began to discuss water conservancy.
Shen Kuo recounted his past experiences in flood control, while Xu Lai spoke of his encounters while surveying Pujian Mountain.
"Is there really such a thing as seizing a river?" Shen Kuo asked in surprise.
Xu Lai drew a diagram: "These types of river captures initially consist of two rivers flowing side by side across a mountain ridge. One of the rivers continuously erodes and washes away at the mountain ridge, eventually carving a hole through it—"
Shen Kuo fell into deep thought. He seemed to have seen similar terrain before, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it.
Shen Kuo followed his father as an official from a young age, surveying the terrain in various prefectures and counties. Later, he followed his brother as an official, and they still spent their free time traveling to the mountains and fields.
This habit of conducting field investigations later led him to deduce, through sedimentary fossils, that the Taihang Mountains area was once an ocean. He also used materials such as sawdust, soil, and wax to create 3D military maps of the border regions.
Even the word "petroleum" was coined by Shen Kuo. He also used petroleum to improve ink, making movable type printing more practical.
Of course, Shen Kuo was still very young at the time and had not yet conducted in-depth research on optics, acoustics, and magnetism.
His current main research areas are medicine, mathematics, geography, astronomy, and water conservancy.
As for the method of astronomical calculation, it was invented after he became an astronomer to facilitate astronomical calculations. The method of calculating the volume of gaps was invented later when he was in charge of engineering construction.
Xu Lai deliberately steered the conversation towards mulberry shears, which led to the introduction of the principle of leverage.
Shen Kuo had noticed this before, but he hadn't thought that a formula existed for it. For a moment, he felt a burning desire to invent a force gauge to verify the lever principle that Xu Lai had described.
"Xingzhi just said that the stillness and movement of all things in the world are related to whether they are subjected to force?" Shen Kuo was somewhat confused. "What force am I subjected to while sitting here?"
Xu Lai countered, "Why do all things fall?"
"Of course—" Shen Kuo paused, the words caught in his throat.
Xu Lai said, "Because the Earth has gravity."
Shen Kuo understood the word "Earth" almost instantly.
Because the universe is shaped like an egg, celestial bodies are round like bullets, and the earth is like the yolk, this was one of the three major cosmological models in ancient China. It was proposed as early as the Han Dynasty by Zhang Heng.
Shen Kuo, drawing inferences from this example, asked, "The Earth has gravity, so everything is attracted to it. Are celestial bodies like the sun, moon, and stars also attracted to the Earth, rotating without moving away?"
The term "celestial body" has existed since ancient times, and it refers to the sun, moon, and stars.
"I think so," Xu Lai said with a slight smile.
He then drew a diagram on the paper: "This square represents Brother Cunzhong. This horizontal line represents the stool. Brother Cunzhong is sitting on the stool at this moment, and is subject to the gravitational pull of the earth, which can also be understood as gravity, and I drew an arrow to represent it. Then the stool will also provide support, keeping Brother Cunzhong still. Gravity and support are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction."
Shen Kuo nodded subconsciously.
Xu Lai shoved Shen Kuo: "Brother Cunzhong, I pushed you, and your body tilted to the left. What forces did you experience?"
Shen Kuo drew an arrow: "I was pushed from right to left, so I tilted to the left."
"Anything else? Brother Cunzhong didn't just keep leaning to the left, he must have been subjected to some other force," Xu Lai asked again.
Shen Kuo thought for a moment and said, "I exerted force because I was about to fall."
Xu Lai prompted, "Brother Cunzhong, if you're floating in the air, can you still exert your strength freely?"
Shen Kuo suddenly realized: "I was sitting on the stool with my buttocks on the ground and my feet on the ground, using the stool and the ground for leverage."
"That's the resistance generated by friction, let's call it friction force for now," Xu said.
Shen Kuo clasped his hands together and rubbed them back and forth for a while, then nodded: "It is indeed friction. That's why axles need to be oiled regularly to reduce friction."
Staring at the mechanics diagram on the paper, Shen Kuo's imagination ran wild: "If there were a tabletop so smooth that there was no frictional resistance, and it was long enough—wouldn't it be possible to move along the tabletop with a gentle push? Or even move it from Tokyo to Hangzhou?"
"Indeed," Xu said, "but air also has resistance. Air is the invisible air around us. It is not easily noticed in normal times, but if you throw a piece of paper forward without folding it, the air resistance will become obvious."
Shen Kuo didn't say anything more, but sat there in a daze, thinking.
It was as if a door to a new world had been opened for him.
(Some readers say that Shen Kuo was a bad person, betraying Su Shi and selling out his friend for personal gain. The earliest relevant record is found in Li Tao's "Zizhi Tongjian Changbian" from the Southern Song Dynasty. Moreover, Li Tao specifically noted that this matter was an appendix and required further detailed verification, and the dates might not match up.)
(Shen Kuo went to Liangzhe in 1073 for investigation. If we infer from the records in the "Changbian" that he made false accusations against Su Shi in 1074, then the Wutai Poetry Case broke out in 1079, a full five or six years later, during which time Su Shi was even promoted. How could he have made the accusation?)
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