The newly built meat grinder stood there under the sun. It was a huge lump of iron, tall and solid, not only big in size, but also very heavy and hard to lift. Thus, the craftsmen felt that they could only tear down the wall if they wanted to move it inside. However, it was already mid-June, and the first batches of tomatoes and chili peppers would be harvested in less than half a month.
If the wall had to be torn down and rebuilt, it was very likely that the workshop would not be open in time to process these first few batches of sauces. Moreover, this was a seasonal industry, so if they were delayed by even a single day, there was no way to estimate the losses.
When Luo Xingchen realized the situation she didn’t have any solutions, so she rushed over to find Su Tang.
“My first thought was to just take the meat grinder apart, move the parts inside, and re-assemble it, but that doesn’t seem like a very good idea.” Luo Xingchen said.
In fact, the small manual meat grinders they currently had in production were really small and convenient. For people who understood them, they were easy to disassemble and reassemble.
However, when Luo Xingchen ordered the construction of this large meat grinder, the blacksmiths had been forced to change it quite a bit, starting by adding a huge chassis, in order to let it work with the power of the water wheel. And now it was indeed able to operate using hydro-power, but unexpected new problems had cropped up.
After thinking through the practicality of the matter, Luo Xingchen had quickly given up on her first idea. After all, their meat grinders were selling very well these days, and there were many eyes and mouths at this worksite. If she really ordered for the meat grinder to be dismantled and let all these people see its internal structure, it would make it much easier for their competitors to create imitations.
Of course, the main point was that even if they dismantled it, it would still be difficult to get it inside the workshop since some of the individual parts were too large to fit through the small door. Luo Xingchen really couldn’t think of any good solutions, so she could only depend on Su Tang.
Su Tang glanced at the massive black meat grinder, then looked at the building that had been built, and said directly, “Are the pulleys for the bucket elevator ready?”
Luo Xingchen replied directly, “En, we have two pulleys that can be used.”
Jiang Hong quickly ran off and then brought the pulleys over. Su Tang looked at them and the still open roof of the building, then nodded and said, “Okay, we won’t tear down the wall. We’ll just put it in from above.”
Not to mention the workers who were standing on the side, even Luo Xingchen and Jiang Hong had extremely shocked expressions when they heard this idea. A worker commented, “Is she talking nonsense? How can such a heavy thing be lifted up and put in from above?”
Luo Xingchen also felt that it was impossible. She said slowly, “Boss Su, I’m afraid you don’t understand. This thing takes nearly a dozen strong men to lift. This wall is so high… it can’t be done.”
The meat grinder was not only big, it was also very heavy. Luo Xingchen had been responsible for transporting it this far, so she understood this point best. It could be lifted a bit, but the building in front of them had walls that were more than two meters high, so it was nearly impossible to lift it inside.
“Since I said to do it, naturally it’s possible to do. Jiang Hong, go and buy some of the strongest hemp rope you can find, and then go and find some cattle and horses to rent.” Su Tang said to Jiang Hong.
Then she said to the craftsman who was standing next to him, “If I ask you to build this pillar up until it’s twice the height of the current wall, can you do it in an hour?”
The craftsman nodded and said, “En, it shouldn’t take more than an hour to do that.”
After all, Su Tang was just asking to have the already built pillar in the wall be extended upwards, so the base was already there and only needed to be built up.
Su Tang nodded. “Then let’s move everyone. Two hours from now, we’ll hoist this thing up and move it in!”
At first, Luo Xingchen couldn’t tell what Su Tang was trying to do, but now when she heard Su Tang say they could “hoist” it in, she also began to understand. She muttered, “You mean to hoist it with the pulleys?”
Su Tang nodded “Yes!”
“But that meat grinder is really very heavy, will it really be okay?” Luo Xingchen still felt Su Tang’s idea was a little too crazy.
Su Tang smiled and said directly, “You don’t have to believe in me, but you have to believe in science. If science says it can be done, it can be done!”
Alas, the people of this era didn’t properly understand the principle of leverage. Archimedes had said, give him a lever big enough and he could lift the whole earth!
Although that was clearly an exaggeration, the lever principle itself was an excellent tool for improving the efficiency of labor. Hoisting up this meat grinder was definitely achievable and probably wouldn’t even be too difficult. At the very least, it was much easier than tearing down the wall.
Because the things Su Tang needed were not too complicated, it only took about an hour and there were a few more cattle and horses standing around the workshop, and everyone watched as the little girl climbed up the newly heightened pillar.
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