Chapter 61

Soon, it was November.

The rice in Xiaxi Village was harvested one after another. One day after every family was busy threshing and storing the rice in the warehouse, Village Chief Wu came to visit Gu Ran in the cottage. Firstly, he told her that Uncle Wu had seen the drawings and agreed to do the project, and even got four young men from the village to help. Secondly, he reminded her that the villagers would have to pay taxes to the county government soon, and she had to start preparing.

"As for the 60% you got from your four plots of land, did you pay it from that?"

"yes!"

The yield of late rice per mu is less than that of early rice, only about two shi per mu. Four mu of land yields eight shi. Only 60% of these eight shi belong to her, which means she gets less than five shi, and the tax rate she has to pay is one tenth.

Assuming that ten mu of land yields two dan of grain per head, she would have to pay two dan of tax, leaving her with less than three dan.

But she was alone, and the remaining two stones were enough for her staple food for a year.

At this time, the benefit of a lone person eating to feed the whole family is reflected.

Otherwise, with only two stones left, how could a family possibly eat rice every day?

Village chief Wu made the decision and asked the families who cultivated Gu Ran's few acres of paddy fields to divide the harvested rice and send it to Gu's small house. Gu Ran agreed with Village chief Wu that he could take her with him when he went to the county government to pay grain tomorrow.

Before leaving, Gu Ran took the newly harvested late rice to Village Chief Wu's house to grind the husks and made some rice to taste.

From her personal taste point of view, it tastes much softer and more glutinous than the early rice harvested before, and it also has a good taste. If it is used to make porridge or rice milk and rice noodles, it will probably be very good.

So she put the two stone of late rice into the space grid, and when Village Chief Wu was not busy at home, she would go and grind the husks of the rest.

Gu Ran had experience of riding a donkey cart from the county town to Xiaxi Village. That was when he first settled in Yongchang County and was brought here by the head of the police. But this was the first time for Gu Ran to ride a donkey cart from Xiaxi Village along the mountain road to the county town.

After leaving the village entrance on a donkey cart, we headed north, with mountains along the way.

Fortunately, three or four households in Xiaxi Village agreed to pay taxes today. There were four or five donkey carts and many people, so they were not afraid of danger on the way.

Among the several households in Xiaxi Village, five or six have donkey carts. Moreover, each household in Xiaxi Village cultivates a lot of land and pays a lot of taxes and grain.

They were all from the same village. Those who didn't have donkey carts would pay some money to borrow the carts of those who had carts. Those who had carts would then stagger their tax payment times with them to make it easier for them to get around.

Gu Ran was a single-person householder, and Village Chief Wu usually took good care of her, so naturally he took her along.

After a bumpy ride to the county town, the group went straight to the government office to avoid any problems with the tax grain that they had transported so painstakingly from the village.

It was the late rice harvest season, and two long queues formed at the government office where taxes were paid. They were all farmers who had harvested the millet at home and wanted to pay the taxes first.

Yongchang County is a medium-sized county with more than ten villages under its jurisdiction. I am afraid that farmers paying taxes and grain have been coming in an endless stream during this period.

Gu Ran lined up next to Village Chief Wu, and from time to time he looked at the team in front of him to see if they were moving.

The tax payment was done in a large courtyard, with two teams, probably two groups of officials responsible for collecting grain.

Gu Ran waited for almost an hour before slowly approaching the gate of the courtyard. When it was Village Chief Wu's turn, Lin Dalang and Lin Erlang moved several bags of tax grain into the courtyard in several batches. Gu Ran leaned over and saw that apart from the soldiers, there were three officials in total. One was in charge of registration and verifying the hometowns of the families paying the tax grain, the number of households and acres of land in the family, and the amount of grain that should be paid. The other two were responsible for re-measuring the tax grain brought by the taxpayers using official measuring instruments.

After verification, the registration clerk will write down the quantity, stamp it with the official seal, and give the tax payment receipt to the farmer, and the tax is considered paid.

After Village Chief Wu got the tax payment receipt, it was Gu Ran's turn.

Lin Dalang and Lin Erlang helped her move the two stone tax grain into the courtyard and asked the clerk to recalculate it.

Gu Ran told the registration clerk her information and answered the clerk's questions. When the clerk looked through the roster of Xiaxi Village and saw Gu Ran's name, he noticed that she was a female household and glanced at her again.

After checking the number of acres of land and confirming that the tax grain was correct, Gu Ran also got the tax payment receipt with the official seal. She walked out of the courtyard and saw Village Chief Wu and his family waiting for her outside by the donkey cart.

Gu Ran walked quickly to their side and said, "Village chief, I have paid the taxes." He raised the receipt in his hand.

"It's all done. What are you going to do next? Are you going back to the village with us?"

"Since we're already in the county, I'm going to go buy some things first. Village Chief Wu, if you have anything to do, please leave first!"

"That's fine. Then be careful."

After parting ways with Village Chief Wu's family, Gu Ran calculated his consumption during this period and decided to replenish some sugar, salt, soybean oil and other essential cooking seasonings, and then go to the pharmacy to buy some medicinal herbs for autumn and winter tonic. Then he wanted to buy some cakes and candies, as well as special foods made in other people's pubs and restaurants.

After eating too much of what I cook myself, sometimes I also want to try what the great chefs make!

She used to love going out to restaurants and trying out all kinds of delicious food from all over the world!

Not long after Gu Ran walked out of the government office, he saw farmers carrying tax grain on their shoulders or pulling tax grain on ox carts to the government office. He even passed them several times.

After Gu Ran avoided them, he did not rush to buy things, but planned to go to the tea shop first to ask about the origin of the tea he picked in Dayu Lin.

As she turned into the tea shop lane, a mule cart came towards her. The two men driving the mule cart were stunned as they passed her. Then they said to the man driving the mule cart in front, "Uncle Ying, we think we saw that shrew."

"Who?" Uncle Ying asked impatiently as he was cracking the whip to drive the cart.

"Well...what's her name?"

"It seems, his last name is Gu."

"Yes, yes, Gu Er Niang, Uncle Ying, we saw Gu Er Niang."

One of the men who was protecting the items on the mule cart said viciously, "She's alone. Uncle Ying, should we teach her a lesson? Avenge Aunt Shan?"

Ever since Shan Yi's knee was broken by Gu Ran, she has been detained in the prison of Quzhou government office by officials.

Quzhou is far away from Jianzhou, and Uncle Ying and others are not allowed to leave the exile area without permission. Even they themselves are probably unwilling to go back to Quzhou just for an accomplice. However, they heard that other exiles who were also exiled to the same place talked about a thief who had her legs broken and died in the Quzhou prison. After asking, they learned that their accomplice was gone.

At the beginning, Uncle Ying and others had mixed feelings.

After all, they were comrades who had been through life and death together, and there was some friendship between them. It was hard not to feel sad for what happened to Aunt Shan.

However, they are now also criminals, and because they are bandits, the place of exile is more barbaric than that of ordinary prisoners. They can hardly protect themselves and can only hope to survive first.

After they worked honestly for several months, the supervisory officials gradually relaxed their control over them.

Therefore, they found a job in the place where they were exiled, working as security guards in a tea garden.

The climate here is very suitable for the growth of tea trees, and there is a great demand for tea in the Great Sheng Dynasty, so the tea from Fujian is also sold well everywhere.

Some time ago, the autumn tea was picked and the Yongchang County Tea Shop ordered a batch of autumn tea from the tea garden, so they asked them to deliver it on a mule cart.

Just then, they were coming out of the tea shop and about to leave when they happened to meet Gu Ran who was also coming to the tea shop.

When I saw Gu Ran, I thought of Aunt Shan’s death.

In their eyes, Aunt Shan's death was caused by Gu Er Niang.

If they hadn't met Gu Er Niang, it would have been fine, but God was merciful and made them meet her. They bullied their accomplices, and it wasn't easy for them to get away with it.

Uncle Ying pulled the reins and stopped the mule cart, but he didn't move, as if he was weighing something.

"Uncle Ying?" the other two urged.

"Go and see what she's doing. Keep an eye on her. When she comes out, blow a whistle for us. When the opportunity arises, we'll tie this bitch up." Uncle Ying said finally, "I damn well don't believe she can handle the three of us!"

"Okay, I'll go check it out."

At this time, Gu Ran was taking out the leaves she had picked from the three tea trees, separating them into piles, and letting the owner of the tea shop inspect them.

She heard that tea leaves must be picked at the tender tips first, so she picked the tender leaves.

The tea shop owner looked at the three piles of tea one by one and shook his head: "This kind of tea is oil tea, which cannot be used for making tea. As for the other two kinds, they are ordinary green teas. They are of low quality and worthless."

Gu Ran felt regretful, and then relieved.

Yes, how can it be so good that you can pick good tea so easily?

So Gu Ran then asked the shopkeeper how to pick tea leaves. If it was ordinary tea, could he ask them to roast it? If so, how much silver would it cost?

The shopkeeper explained how to pick tea leaves. As for roasting, he smiled and said, "We buy processed tea leaves in our tea shop. We don't hire people to roast them ourselves. If you want to hire someone to help you roast these tea leaves, you have to ask the people in the tea garden."

That's the reason.

So she shuffled the three piles of tea leaves, intending to put them away, but her movements were very slow. While packing the tea leaves, she lowered her head, slightly turned her face, and glanced at the figure beside the tea shop's door.

Frequently going in and out of Dayu Forest these days has trained Gu Ran to be alert and pay attention to the surrounding environment at all times. Soon after she entered the tea shop, she noticed that there was a malicious gaze behind her, staring at her from time to time.

who?

Is he following me or the tea shop?

Gu Ran put away the tea leaves and walked out of the tea shop pretending to be calm. After taking a few steps, he noticed someone following him.

It turns out that the target is myself!

Why is he following me? To seek wealth?

But she was usually very careful not to show off her wealth. Today she went to the government office to pay taxes, and she didn't even take out her purse. How could the person who was following her know that she had money on her?

Seeing that she is dressed like a peasant woman, she doesn't look like a lady from a rich family, right?

Seeking sex? That's even more impossible.

The original owner's health had been severely damaged. She had been nursing her for so long, and only recently had she begun to recover slightly, but her complexion was still sickly, and she hadn't dressed up. There were so many prettier women on the street, so why had he chosen her? Was he so discerning?

Then, considering what Shen Erlang said about seeing someone following him into Dayu Forest, and that he personally collected the remains of one of them, he couldn't help but wonder, are they from the same group of people?

Gu Ran still had to go to the market to buy things. Coincidentally, there were many people at the market, so he went to the other end of the market.

Unexpectedly, after she walked for a while, she heard someone whistling behind her, and Gu Ran stopped immediately.

When on the road to exile, the officers who were escorting him would blow whistles to inform the prisoners or their colleagues what to do. Could this whistle that sounded for no reason be the person who was following him notifying his accomplices?

Or maybe she had accomplices. If she went to a crowded place in the market, it would be easier for them to take advantage of the situation and do something bad.

I'm alone...

Gu Ran changed his mind immediately and walked towards the residential area where there were fewer people.

First, lure out their accomplices and see who is watching her from behind and why. Then, she can just find an empty alley. She can hide in the workshop first without arousing anyone's suspicion.

When Gu Ran left the commercial district and walked into a less crowded neighborhood, he heard three pairs of footsteps coming from afar.

Three people.

Gu Ran continued walking forward for a while, and when he saw a small, unmanned path around the corner, he suddenly stopped and quickly turned back.

Uncle Ying and the others who were following quietly at a distance from behind thought that Gu Ran was unaware, so they followed him without worry, just waiting to rush to a section of the road with fewer people ahead. However, when they saw Gu Ran suddenly turn around, the three people who were walking were startled and stopped in their tracks.

This stop exposed the fact that the people following them were the three of them.

Did Gu Ran also see clearly who they were?

Seeing their stunned expressions, they wanted to pounce on him but also wanted to find a place to hide. Gu Ran laughed: "Oh, who was I thinking it was? Turns out it's you bandits!"

"Who did you call a bandit?"

"If I'm not a bandit, why are you following me? Aren't you just looking to rob me?" Gu Ran sneered, "Or do you want to avenge Aunt Shan? Oh, by the way, speaking of Aunt Shan, I wonder how she is doing now? Can she stand up?"

"Mrs. Gu, do you still want to talk about Aunt Shan?"

"That's right, it's all your fault. Otherwise, how could Auntie Shan die?"

Is that bitch dead?

Gu Ran put his hands on his hips and laughed mockingly, "Is everything my fault? It's obviously Auntie Shan who's useless, okay? You guys are a bunch of cowards. You didn't dare to stand up for Auntie Shan back then, and now that she's dead, you dare to come after me for revenge. Aren't you ashamed?"

"Asshole!" Uncle Ying, who had been silent just now, was enraged. He threw his hands and said, "You bitch, you'll know who will be embarrassed soon." Then he said to his two accomplices, "Catch her for me."

The three men pounced on Gu Ran like hungry tigers out of a cage.

Gu Ran turned around and ran quickly into the narrow path. After running in, he did not hide in the workshop, but ran out of the narrow path and ran to another street.

"Mrs. Gu, if you have the guts, don't run away!"

"Stop right there!"

The two people in the narrow path rushed out and said, "Wait and see how we deal with you!"

When he saw that Gu Ran had really stopped running, he grinned: "Can't run anymore? You bitch, you dare to harm our people, I'll teach you a lesson..."

Gu Ran sneered and rushed towards the two nearest clerks with swords.

"Come here, officers! They are bandits, bullying people in broad daylight!"

The two bandits were stunned, and Uncle Ying, who finally rushed out of the narrow path, was also stunned.

"Sir, they are bandits, they want to rob the woman."

When she saw this narrow path, Gu Ran recognized it as the path leading to the government-designated tax-paying compound. She immediately gave up her plan to hide in the workshop and planned to lead people here and ask the officials to help her.

Because there were many farmers paying taxes today, the government arranged a number of officials to patrol nearby to maintain public order. Gu Ran also noticed this while queuing.

Rather than hiding in the workshop and escaping the disaster, but having to keep them as a hidden danger in the future, which might cause trouble for me, since I have a godsend opportunity, I might as well get rid of them all at once.

Now everyone saw that she, a weak woman, was being chased and scolded by three big men. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, they couldn't deny it even if they wanted to.

"Bandit? How dare you!"

Sure enough, the official who had just heard them cursing quickly stepped forward, and each of them tripped the two people in front to the ground with a kick, and arrested them in one go.

Uncle Ying, who was behind, saw that the situation was not good, so he immediately retreated into the narrow path and fled. The two clerks quickly chased after him.

"Sir, it's a misunderstanding, it's a misunderstanding."

The two bandits were stunned when the situation took a sudden turn for the worse and were pinned to the ground, struggling desperately.

"Did we see it with our own eyes, or was it a misunderstanding?"

"Since it's a misunderstanding, you can explain it to our officer later."

Coincidentally, one of the main officers responsible for patrolling this street today is Master Wu.

"Gu Erniang, what's wrong with you?"

"Master Wu, please understand. I came to the government office today to pay taxes, and then I wanted to go to the porridge shop at the port to see how Uncle He was doing his business. However, these bandits ran out on the way and said they wanted to teach me a lesson, so I had no choice but to run back to the government office and seek shelter from the government." Gu Ran wiped her tears and cried while taking out the tax payment certificate she had just received to show Master Wu.

Young Master Wu saw that it was indeed Gu Erniang's official receipt for paying the winter grain tax. He half-believed her words, then looked at the two unfamiliar bandits with suspicion, "But, our Yongchang County has a clean government, and we've never heard of bandits appearing."

"Sir, we are not bandits. We are law-abiding citizens."

The captured bandit was anxious, "Gu Erniang, you are a criminal, don't fool the officials with your words."

"Yes, we are not bandits."

This Gu Er Niang is really vicious. It turns out that she deliberately led them to this street.

They keep talking about bandits, which makes people misunderstand and dislike them, doesn't it?

However, they are exiles still under government surveillance. If their crimes are proven, will they still have a chance to survive?

It cannot be admitted, it absolutely cannot be admitted.

"Then isn't it true that you beat and scolded me, wanting to punish me?" Gu Erniang asked back, "Three grown men ran all the way from that street to this one, wanting to take me back and teach me a lesson. Many people here heard it. Master Wu, I absolutely didn't lie."

"Is it true?" Little Master Wu asked the two bandits.

“This, this, this…”

The bandit looked at the people gathered around them not far away and started to stutter. Another bandit argued, "We didn't... do it on purpose."

The bandit hesitated, and Master Wu understood about 60% of it. He turned to the official and asked, "Is it true?"

"It's true, we saw it."

"They rushed over from nowhere, touched her and swore at her!"

"Yes, yes, we saw it too." The farmers who had been queuing to pay their grain gathered around to watch the excitement and testified: "There were indeed three of them, and one escaped."

"If they were alright, the other guy wouldn't have run away when he saw the officers."

"Isn't that just a guilty conscience?"

"There's definitely a problem."

After hearing what the farmer next to him said, Gu Ran's originally somewhat uneasy heart immediately calmed down.

These people are so nice, their customs are simple and friendly!

Then she pulled Little Master Wu aside and explained, "Little Master Wu, I won't hide it from you. Actually, I was exiled here because of my husband's family. They were originally bandits, and we were exiled together, also to Jianzhou. After I came here, I just wanted to live a peaceful life and make a living by making roasted grass jelly to support myself. You know this, Little Master Wu."

Little Master Wu, who had seen Gu Ran setting up a stall and eaten her roasted grass jelly, nodded.

The business of burning grass jelly was getting better and better by Gu Er Niang, and she was now cooperating with the porridge shop. He had also tasted the burning grass jelly with taro balls they were selling, and she was indeed not lying.

"I'm living a good life, but they're not. It seems these bandits, after hearing that their exiled comrades had died, were also having a hard time. Seeing me today, they took out their anger on me. Master Wu, you must take good care of them. These bandits have committed countless evil deeds, and their nature is hard to change. They're so arrogant now, and if something bad happens again, they might go back to their old ways and engage in banditry again. Then it would be too late."

"I understand. I will report this matter truthfully to the county magistrate." Little Master Wu nodded.

Seeing Master Wu and several officers taking the two dejected bandits away, Gu Ran felt relieved.

Unfortunately, Uncle Eagle ran away.

But, regardless of whether he ran away or not, his two accomplices were arrested and registered at the Yongchang County Court.

Young Master Wu said that the two men were from the next county and would inform the government office of the next county about this matter. By then, the county government office where they settled would also know about their bullying behavior and would probably give them new sentences.

And Uncle Ying naturally couldn't escape either.

If he doesn't go back to the next county and surrender himself, he will be considered a fugitive.

The government will not easily tolerate fugitives.

If he wants to cause trouble for her again, he has to solve his own big trouble first.

Therefore, the government will handle the matter of the bandits, and Gu Ran will continue to tinker with the affairs of his own windmill house.

After paying the winter tax, farming in Xiaxi Village comes to an end. No more corn, wheat or rice will be planted as staple food to allow the rice fields to recuperate. Instead, only some frost-resistant spring vegetables are planted in the fields, such as Persian cabbage, cabbage, coriander, late eggplant, etc., which can be harvested in early spring.

Therefore, in Fujian, people can eat fresh fruits and vegetables all year round and there is no need to stockpile large amounts of food for the winter.

The villagers only grow vegetables, so there is a lot of free manpower.

On the sixth day of this month, Village Chief Wu brought Uncle Wu San to visit Gu Ran to discuss the upcoming construction of the windmill tower.

After getting the blueprints of the tower, Uncle Wu thought about it carefully. When he contacted Gu Ran, he found out that it was only to support a windmill that was said to dispel miasma, and not to be used for living. However, he still expressed his concerns about the tower's insufficient load-bearing capacity.

After all, there were very few buildings of such height in the Great Sheng Dynasty, and they had never built such a tower themselves, and they were not even sure whether the bricks were strong enough.

However, a solution was also given.

Since it is not for living, a piece of wood can be used as the main load-bearing material in the middle of the high house, and the stairs to the top of the high house are built around this wooden beam and rotated upwards. As for what Gu Ran said, the small windmill outside the house under the tower should be set in the gap of the stairs leaning against the wooden beam, leaving a manual rotation space on this floor.

I have to say that Uncle Wu's ideas are more reliable than mine.

With his modification, it has a main beam and stairs spiraling upwards, which looks somewhat like a lighthouse and is indeed more stable.

Experienced craftsmen are amazing.

After Gu Ran agreed, she began to calculate the money to buy bricks and beams. She had saved up a lot for this purpose, so she gave ten taels of silver first, and made sure that Uncle Wu San chose a reliable brick kiln and wood to build the tall house as sturdy as possible.

Uncle Wu San received the money for buying bricks, and also accepted the two taels of wages given by Gu Ranxian, and went to work.

The next day, he brought people to investigate the scene.

Gu Ran planned to build the windmill house in one of the acres of land in her family. A hundred meters ahead was the Dayu Forest, and opposite it was her small house.

The whole house is a cylindrical trapezoid, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, with an area of ​​about 20 square meters.

While Uncle Wu was leading his men to start digging the foundation, Master Huang had already completed the large and small windmills, wooden gears, and related items, and notified Gu Ran to go and receive them.

Gu Ran assembled the large and small windmills at Master Huang's house to see if the finished product was feasible, but he didn't know whether it would be able to rotate after being installed.

As for the mechanical gear, it is thick and strong, and each tooth fits well after assembly. I tried to turn it and it can drive the sliding, so I guess there is no problem. As for the problem of easy wear, I will have to wait until I have money to replace it with a cast iron gear, or replace the gear with a new one regularly.

After Gu Ran counted the items, she handed over the last ten taels of silver to Master Huang. Master Huang asked his apprentice to find a donkey cart to help Gu Ran move the things back. He not only promised that if the things didn't turn or were useless after being installed, she could come back to him for repair at any time, but also asked her to come and inform him if they could be used. He wanted to see with his own eyes the windmill that he made that could move in the sky.

Gu Ran agreed immediately.

After the windmill house is built, we will have to ask Master Huang to help install this thing!

If he really wants to see it, after it is installed that day, if there is no wind, you can just manually turn the windmill a few times for him to see!

After the windmill components were moved back, they were placed in the corner of the patio.

Gu Ran was very happy thinking that the big windmill he was going to build was half completed and the other half would be done after Uncle Wu San, who was working outside, finished building the windmill house.

Because the wharf was closed, the porridge shop temporarily stopped operating. Gu Ran no longer had to go to the county town to deliver roasted grass jelly to Aunt He. She also did not go to the mountains, and focused on watching Uncle Wu San and others build the house.

Not only did they provide them with different kinds of food every day - there was rice cooked by the chef, and steamed buns bought from restaurants in the county town and Donglin Township that were taken directly from the space grid - they also served them hot tea from time to time.

Only if you treat them well can these craftsmen work for you well!

For example, today, after bringing back the windmill, she was in a good mood, so she personally cooked a meal of rice for the men who were busy outside, and also served it with a pot of meat soup and two dishes.

But the food couldn't be too good, so that the people who came to work wouldn't think that her family was too wealthy, so she only made simple dishes.

The broth is a simple radish and bone soup, with less meat and more bones.

A meat dish, meat with turnip slices.

Turnips are also fresh vegetables on the market at this time. Just peel them, wash them and slice them.

The weather is getting cold now, and building a house is hard work. Since we are all men, it would be better for us to eat some oily dishes.

So I took out the pork belly, sliced ​​it, marinated it with soy sauce and salt, put it in the pan to heat the oil, added the turnip and stir-fried it until cooked.

A vegetarian dish is cabbage with garlic sauce.

This is the most common vegetable in people's homes in winter. It is not only common in the south, but also in the north.

Also take a small bowl of pickled sour beans from the jar.

When Gu Ran walked outside the house to invite Uncle Wu and the others to dinner, the four people who came to build the house stopped their work, went to the stream to wash their hands, and then sat on the stone table and stone slabs under the osmanthus tree.

They all knew that Gu Ran lived alone, and they were all men, so to avoid suspicion, there was no need for them to stay indoors.

The weather was cold, so before serving the dishes, Gu Ran went into the house first and took out a tablecloth that Lin Ersao had prepared and spread it on the table. Then he placed the broth, one meat dish, one vegetable dish, and side dishes on the stone table. As for the full jar of rice, he placed it next to the table, and then brought them bowls and cups.

Looking at the hot meal, Uncle Wu and the other three villagers who were working there were very satisfied.

It’s not that it’s difficult for them to eat meat normally, but what they value is the sincerity of the owner who works for them.

During the days of building a house for Gu Er Niang, Gu Er Niang did not neglect them, and they had already formed a good impression of this new villager who had been in the village for more than half a year.

"Mrs. Gu, I've made you spend money again today."

"It's okay. You guys are building a house for me. How can you have the energy if you don't eat well?" Gu Ran said with a smile, "Just eat. There's no rush for that work. Take your time."

"Oh, okay!"

If it weren't for the fact that it was winter and the miasma in the miasma forest was less, no one in the village would dare to come to the fields here, let alone take on Gu Ran's job.

It was just that Gu Ran offered a high salary, and Village Chief Wu mediated with Uncle Wu, so they came.

Originally, they were very puzzled by such a tall and strange house, but considering that Gu Ran was so kind, provided them with food and drink, and a good salary, they did not ask too many questions.

When you work for someone else, you should do whatever your boss tells you to do!

I heard that she was the wife of a marquis in the capital, and she probably knew much more than us common people. They had never seen a house like this, so they must be ignorant!

Uncle Wu San had heard from his niece that the windmill could dispel miasma, so naturally he had no objection.

So a group of people worked diligently and enthusiastically under his leadership.

Gu Ran turned around and found Lin Ersao, and asked her to come to the small house to help prepare food for the group of craftsmen. She might have to go to Dayu Lin several times recently.

"I'll be out in the morning and back in the afternoon, so I might not be able to make lunch for your third uncle and his family."

"You still want to go into Dayu Forest?" Mrs. Lin was surprised.

It’s so cold, what else could be inside?

Even in November and December, there are still so many things in the forest!

But Gu Ran went into the woods recently, not planning to go deep into the mountains, but to look for the lacquer tree forest.

The windmill components are all made of wood and have to be assembled outdoors, where they are easily damaged by wind and rain. She wants to coat them with a protective film to reduce some damage.

So she wanted to go and collect the sumac sap.

Lacquer tree sap is a very efficient natural paint. When applied to the surface of an object, it can form a protective film that can isolate water and dust. It is also extremely corrosion-resistant, so it is widely used in coatings such as furniture, motors, and components.

It is said that if the surface of a coffin is coated with lacquer tree sap, it will not rot even if it is buried underground for a hundred years.

If her windmill could be coated with lacquer tree sap, it would last for many years.

The sap of lacquer trees is poisonous, especially when the temperature is high. The evaporation rate is large and the toxicity of the sap will be even higher. That also means that the raw lacquer cut out is of the best quality.

Fortunately, the weather is getting colder now, and the original owner has no adverse reaction to lacquer tree.

Gu Ran quickly found the group of lacquer trees.

Raw lacquer is poisonous, and it is naturally not good to touch the juice with bare hands, so Gu Ran first took out gloves and put them on.

Because he had already considered cutting lacquer when he asked Master Huang to make the windmill, Gu Ran asked Mrs. Lin to make a few pairs of gloves for him in advance.

cloth.

The ductility is not good, but it is better than nothing.

Take out the bamboo tube containing the juice and fix it on the lacquer tree.

One side of the bamboo tube had already been processed, half of it was cylindrical, and the other half was thinned with a knife so that it could be embedded in the tree trunk.

Cut a hole in the lacquer tree trunk above the fixed bamboo tube, in the shape of an arrow pointing downward, so that the juice can flow from the tip of the arrow into the bamboo tube.

At first, the sap flowing out of the trunk is milky white, but as it flows into the bamboo tube and comes into contact with the air, it will slowly turn yellowish brown and eventually black.

Seeing sap oozing from the tree trunk, Gu Ran went to find three other lacquer trees and did the same thing.

The juice flows out very slowly and takes some time to collect.

So Gu Ran planned to go into the forest to cut lacquer in the next few days. While waiting, he would go to the bamboo forest to catch bamboo rats or do something else.

Gu Ran applied the raw lacquer he had cut that day to the windmill components that night, and then cleared a space in the patio to dry it out. This way, he could paint all the windmill parts step by step, and also know how much raw lacquer was needed to coat all the parts.

Days passed like this. Gu Ran was perfecting the windmill components in the cottage, while outside at the edge of the island forest, Uncle Wu Sanbo and the villagers were busy building the windmill tower. After about ten days, all the windmill components were painted and dried, and the windmill house outside was also completed.

The walls that Wu Sanbo used to build the tower were made of red bricks, so the windmill house appeared to be a red tower.

There is a door on the bottom floor of the Red Tower, which is usually locked and the key is given to Gu Ran.

After entering, there is a small space, and standing in the middle is naturally the main beam made of tree trunks that Uncle Wu San found.

The trunk is thick and tall. It took a lot of effort to erect it. A deep foundation was dug downwards, and the top floor was supported by a wooden frame and four long and thin trunks to determine the framework of the entire tower.

Then red bricks were used to surround the frame to build the outer wall of the tower.

Starting from the bottom level and going up around the main trunk, several whole tree trunks are used to form a layer, and then they are stacked up layer by layer.

Gu Ran walked up the stone steps, checked, and then went to Donglin Township to ask Master Huang to help assemble the windmill.

But when they saw the pitch-black windmill blades and gears, well, actually not that pitch-black, but dark brown, Master Huang and his apprentice were stunned.

Where is the windmill he made?

What about this beautiful log windmill?

When Master Huang learned that the raw lacquer was applied for anti-corrosion purposes, he felt both understanding and sad.

He also tried his best to select wood with beautiful grain to make the blades, thinking that it would look good in the sky. But in the end, everything was painted black and nothing could be seen. It's really a sad story.

Gu Ran and they carried the blades and support shafts up the stairs step by step to the top of the tower, and took out the blades one by one and installed and fixed them on the horizontal shaft on the top floor.

I heard that the more blades a windmill has, the more wind it can block, so Gu Ran ordered a windmill with six blades.

Wu Sanbo and others at the foot of the tower looked up at the windmill taking shape on the tower, stunned.

"Uncle San, is this the windmill?"

"What are you using it for?"

"Haven't you heard? It's said to be able to blow away miasma."

"You're just bragging, aren't you? Such a weird thing can blow away the miasma?"

"This isn't strange. Master Huang said that the red-haired people's country also has windmills like this. I've even seen them!" Little Huang Wu, who had come with his father to watch the fun, was also under the tower. He took the wooden handicraft out of his pocket and said proudly, "I knew you were ignorant. Look!"

Uncle Wu and the others bent down and took a look: "Wow, it really looks like it."

"So we've made something from the Red Hair Country?"

"Then we're not that great!"

"No, this windmill has four blades. Didn't Gu Erniang install two more blades? Did Master Huang make a mistake?"

"What do you know? My father said this is called reform!" Huang Wuzi said fiercely.

"Oh, that's enough, Huang Wu, your father is awesome, your father is always right!"

As they were talking, Gu Ran and his team installed the big windmill, and then went down to assemble the small windmill. Finally, they pulled the brake traction rope and went down to the bottom floor to prepare to fit several gears together and then connect them up.

Uncle Wu San and others also came in to help. After a series of operations, they finally fixed the main structure.

Master Huang ran outside, looked up at the windmill, and immediately smiled with satisfaction.

"Hurry, hurry, Gu Er Niang, the windmill, the windmill is turning? Is it turning?"

Gu Ran also came out and looked up at the windmill. The blades were turning slightly, but very little, sometimes to the left and sometimes to the right.

"This isn't called turning, there's no wind!"

Just as Gu Rancai said there was no wind, a gust of wind came from the direction of Dayu Lin, and the windmill blades slowly turned in one direction. After a while, the windmill turned faster and faster.

"Quick, look, the windmill is really turning!"

Huang Wu pointed at the windmill and shouted.

Everyone in the house came out and looked at the spinning windmill, surprised and delighted, "It really works!"

"Okay, okay." Master Huang laughed happily.

Gu Ran also looked at the big windmill. He didn't feel relieved until the small windmill below started to turn. He also smiled and said, "Yes, it works."

"The big windmills and the small windmills are all turning!"

"why is that?"

"How can spinning dispel the miasma?"

Gu Ran then simply explained to them the principle of using the large windmill above to block the wind blowing the miasma and rotating it in the opposite direction to produce wind in the opposite direction.

"It's like this big windmill blows the wind in the opposite direction of the miasma forest?" Uncle Wu immediately understood. "The wind blows the miasma towards us, and the windmill blows it back?"

Gu Ran nodded.

Now the villagers understood.

"Oh, so that's what happened!"

"That might actually work."

"I don't care whether it works or not. This windmill is turning. It's really turning!" Master Huang looked at the windmill proudly.

Ha, he succeeded in making something for the red-haired man the first time. He is such a capable guy!

"Dad, Dad, let's go home and make one too." Huang Wu held up the small windmill in his hand and shouted, "I want a big windmill too."

"Alas, there's no miasma in our village, why install this windmill?"

Building a windmill costs a lot of money!

Master Huang shook his head and looked at the windmill for a few more seconds before reluctantly preparing to leave with his apprentice and son. "Second Mother Gu, if you need anything in the future, just come find me in Donglin Township!"

"Okay, then I'd like to thank Master Huang first."

They also proactively provide after-sales service. Master Huang is really amazing.

After the big windmill and the small windmill had been turning for a while and making sure that they were operating normally, Gu Ran climbed to the top floor again and tied up the traction rope that stopped the big windmill from turning with the wind.

The big windmill and the small windmill slowly stopped.

After this day, Xiaxi Village had a new windmill tower.