Chapter 627 - Chapter 627: Chapter 614: Water Gun (1/2)

Chapter 627: Chapter 614: Water Gun

Having apprehended a man with ill intentions and removed a potential threat to the weaving workshop, while also obtaining a very practical blueprint in the process, Zhuang Qingning felt wholly satisfied with today’s outcomes.

Indeed, it was a good day.

With these thoughts in mind, Zhuang Qingning went to bed and closed his eyes.

After working late into the night and in an excellent mood, Zhuang Qingning quickly drifted off into a sweet sleep.

The next day, the news of Cao Jiande’s failed attempt to set the weaving workshop on fire and his subsequent arrest spread throughout the county town.

The people in the county town were filled with righteous indignation at such behavior.

Autumn was a dry season and nights were often windy. If a fire did break out, it would not only affect the weaving workshop but also the nearby shops and houses. If the fire got out of control, it could potentially ravage half the county town.

Everyone’s hard-earned livelihoods depended on their properties. If everything was destroyed by a fire, they would not be able to make ends meet in the future.

Moreover, ever since Zhuang’s weaving workshop opened, the price of the quality cloth it produced was much cheaper than that of the cloth imported from Songjiang. This reduction in clothing cost was a godsend for everyone, and they genuinely appreciated the workshop. If the workshop didn’t exist, wouldn’t they have to buy more expensive cloth elsewhere?

All in all, people were extremely furious with Cao Jiande’s act. They felt that he had a malicious heart.

Some of the outraged locals even threw rotten vegetable leaves and bad eggs into Cao Jiande’s courtyard and onto the sign at Cao’s Cloth Store.

Once someone took the lead, others followed suit. They retaliated with stinking eggs, blood, stones, and even urine buckets…

After several days, Cao Jiande’s store and house were in total disarray.

Cao Jiande’s wife, Mrs. Zheng, couldn’t bear the humiliation and decided to pack up and take their children and valuables to her parents’ house for shelter.

As for Cao Jiande, because of his failed arson attempt, he was sentenced to labor and sent to work on the river embankment.

With that, the drama concerning Zhuang’s weaving workshop came to a temporary end.

However, this incident had made Zhuang’s weaving workshop more famous than before, and the orders from customers coming to the workshop had doubled.

Zhuang Yutian and Mrs. Meng became busier than ever before.

During this time, Zhuang Qingning was also extremely busy making the bamboo water gun according to the blueprint.

The incident with Cao Jiande and Ge Wu had reminded Zhuang Qingning that in an era with insufficient fire-fighting facilities, having a water gun in each household could help reduce the damage caused by fires to some extent.

The water gun was simple enough in theory. A straight and thick bamboo pipe could function as a water gun if a hole was drilled in one end and a suitable handle and plug were attached at the other. The water gun would then allow water to be drawn in and squirt out.

But it was also complex. The selection of bamboo, the size of the drill hole, the material and size of the plug, all had to be tested to create the most suitable water gun.