Gu Moran ignored her and continued drawing.
Elevated water tower.
Bamboo tube drainage.
The filter consists of four layers: coarse sand, fine sand, charcoal, and broken pottery.
The kitchen, bathroom, and pharmacy are separated.
Sewage is discharged through a hidden drain in the backyard.
A flushing well is set up every ten zhang (approximately 33 meters).
The wastewater was eventually diverted to compost pits outside the city, where it was treated with lime before being reused.
As Su Yao watched, the abacus beads started clicking again.
"Bamboo tubes are cheap."
"The wooden pagoda is more expensive, but the Prince's Palace can afford it."
"If we first try it out at the Prince's residence, and then extend it to Mixue Ice City, the Medicinal Cuisine Shop, and the Brocade Clothing Workshop, we can save a lot of manpower for carrying water."
Shen Ling'er's expression changed as she looked at the bathroom room marked separately on the map.
"This thing allows hot water to flow directly into the shower room?"
Gu Moran nodded.
"First, water is stored in a tall tower, then delivered through bamboo pipes, heated in the kitchen, and finally distributed to the bathhouses."
"Filtered water is cleaner, so it can be used for decocting medicine at the pharmacy."
Shen Ling'er immediately pressed Yun Shuyue to the side.
"Sit still and don't move."
She looked at Gu Moran, her tone becoming serious.
"Finish this drawing tonight."
Murong Xue peeked out and looked for a long time.
"So you won't have to carry buckets of water to take a bath anymore?"
Gu Moran hummed in agreement.
Murong Xue slammed her hand on the table.
"This is good!"
Xie Wanqing picked up another piece of paper and began to take notes.
"If this method can be applied to the city, inns, academies, and clinics will be more readily available, and the epidemic in Yi Prefecture City will be greatly reduced."
Liu Ruyan smiled.
"We can try Flower-Between Pavilion first."
"Girls hate carrying water in winter the most. If it's really useful, the news will spread faster than a storybook."
Looking at the people who had gathered around, Gu Moran suddenly felt that she had only just begun.
The ladies had already considered everything: business, people's livelihood, and reputation.
The approval document from the prefectural governor's office was personally delivered by Fang Bi.
The old steward, leaning on his cane and panting, entered the front courtyard of the old prince's mansion, where he was led into the study by Uncle Fu.
The study was small but tidy. Several stacks of documents were piled on the desk by the window, and a medicine bowl sat to the side. It was empty, with a ring of brown medicine stains hanging from the bottom.
Fang Bi placed the approval document on the table, took a sip of the hot tea offered by Uncle Fu, and caught his breath.
Gu Moran came out from the inner room, sat down at the desk, picked up the document, scanned it, and put it aside.
"Mr. Fang, you've gone to a lot of trouble by making this trip yourself."
Fang Bi repeatedly said it wasn't hard work, but his eyes were a little mischievous as he secretly glanced at the desk.
Several sketches lay in the corner of the desk, the ink still damp.
He was older, and his eyesight was not as good as that of a young person. He could only see dense lines on the sketch and a few symbols that he did not recognize.
Fang Bi was an old hand who had been running errands for decades, serving in the governor's mansion. He was quick-witted and spoke first upon entering, without asking questions or looking around.
He lowered his head and drank his tea, not taking it seriously.
After finishing discussing the submission of the official document, Gu Moran got up to go to the inner room to fetch something. The desk was empty for a moment, and Fang Bi's old eyes couldn't resist quietly moving towards the sketch.
In that one glance, he almost dropped his cane.
The sketch depicts a pool with a vertical pipe connected to its bottom. The pipe is lower than the pool's surface, and the sign next to it reads "Drop 30 feet".
Further down, there's a horizontal pipe with several horizontal lines drawn inside, and the words "Sand Layer," "Crushed Charcoal," and "Fine Gravel" written next to it. Below that, the pipe forks, branching into four or five thin lines extending in different directions, each end marked with a small square labeled "Water Inlet."
Fang Bi stared at the picture, his mind racing, but he couldn't figure it out.
We went around in circles again.
Suddenly, his eyes widened.
This is... a method by which water flows uphill?
No, it's not that water flows uphill, but rather that the water is pressurized by the drop in elevation, and then the pressurized water is channeled to various places using bamboo pipes.
The middle section, filled with sand and gravel, is used to filter the muddy water!
Fang Bi had met many capable people in his life. Water was always a headache in Yi Prefecture during droughts. In the height of summer, the river water was turbid, and every household in the city had to fetch water for drinking. Every year, there were illnesses, especially in the area south of the city near the dyehouse, where the river water was polluted and children often had diarrhea after drinking it.
If this image could be used...
He stared intently at those thin lines, looking at the sketch from left to right and then from right to left, trying to fit it into the topography of Yi Prefecture in his mind.
The west side of the city is higher than the east side, with a height difference of about two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters).
If a reservoir were dug at the West Mountain, spring water could be drawn into it, and then Gu Moran's bamboo pipe drop method could be used to pressurize the water through the sand and charcoal layer before sending it to various parts of the city...
Fang Bi's cane tapped on the ground.
This is not just about bringing water to one household.
This is the lifeblood of the entire Yi Prefecture.
Gu Moran came out from the inner room, holding a seal in her hand. She looked up and Fang Bi standing by the desk, his old face flushed red. He was leaning on the corner of the table with his cane, his eyes fixed on the sketch, not daring to breathe loudly.
He stood by the door for a moment, then walked over and casually pressed the sketch under another stack of documents.
"Mr. Fang, the tea has gone cold. Uncle Fu, please refill it."
Fang Bi snapped back to his senses, slammed his cane on the ground, almost losing his balance, and said repeatedly, "No, it's alright, no need to add more," but he didn't move his feet, his eyes still fixed on the stack of documents.
Gu Moran didn't stop him. She sat down at the desk, put the seal away, and casually asked, "What did the old gentleman see?"
Fang Bi's apple bobbed.
When he worked in the governor's office, the most important thing was to maintain a proper sense of propriety. He knew better than anyone what questions he should ask and what questions he shouldn't ask.
But he simply couldn't suppress what was happening today.
"Your Highness..." His voice was a little hoarse, "Those pipes on the map, are they for bringing water to the city?"
Gu Moran picked up a pen and casually drew a few strokes on another blank sheet of paper, neither confirming nor denying.
"Does the old gentleman look like him?"
Fang Bi held his breath for a long time, but finally couldn't hold it in any longer. He sat down in the chair and bowed deeply.
"Your Highness, may I ask another question on behalf of the Prefect?"
He pointed to the bottom of the stack of documents.
"If we could run a pipeline to the governor's mansion first, I'll take care of all the bamboo, wood, and stone needed."
Gu Moran up and glanced at him.
Fang Bi continued, "During droughts in Yi Prefecture, we've always relied on the well east of the city for water. Every year in August, the well water becomes so murky you can see the mud and sand. People in the southern part of the city get sick from drinking it every year. If Your Highness's method works—"
He paused here, a strange, indescribable look in his old eyes.
"Not just the governor's mansion, but the entire Yi Prefecture City can use it."
Gu Moran put down his pen.
He lowered his head, moved the stack of documents aside, and the sketch was revealed again.
Fang Bi held his breath.
Gu Moran took the sketch, spread it out in front of Fang Bi, and marked the box in the west of the city marked "water reservoir" with a pen.
"To implement this method, we first need to obtain approval for this section of land at the West Mountain to dig a pond."
Fang Bi's eyes lit up.
"Approving the land is just a matter of the governor's word."