Chapter 11

Under this difficult encouragement, Wen Yi quietly accelerated the progress of restoring the waterwheel according to his memory.

A tipping wheel, also known as a keel water wheel, consists of large and small axles, water-displacing blades and chains. It can bring water from lower places into water troughs in higher places and irrigate the fields along the veins.

The chain was extremely labor-intensive to make. Roughly shaped like a tuning fork, it required drilling holes and rounding the grooved side. Countless amounts of wood were wasted, burned as firewood. By attaching the blades to the front of the wooden chain, the main body of the waterwheel was complete.

The axle is shaped like a roller with two handles on both sides, with a hole in the middle. The gear teeth are installed in the hole and then inserted into the frame nailed with wooden wedges. As it rotates, it will bring water into the water tank below and then flow along the channel to a higher place.

The other type of waterwheel was only a small model. The stream was slow and shallow, so even if it was made, it would not be used for the time being. Only a few toy-like things were made for Amu to play with.

However, if it is placed in a place with suitable water flow, it will become a challenge to the production method. After all, water power is more stable and long-lasting than human and animal power.

Wen Yi let his thoughts wander, occasionally glancing at the bamboo slips that Shan showed them and reading what was recorded in them.

In previous years, this time of year was the time when there was a shortage of food, and even the laborers in the family could only eat half full. But this year, they will not go hungry. At the beginning of spring, they began to collect some wild herbs or other edible plants, prepare or steam them, and store them for emergency use.

The silkworms that had been collected and hatched in the wild during the spring were eating more leaves at this time. Amu and the others were busy finding food for these wild silkworms in their free time. However, when they went out, they had to smear some pungent grass juice on their bodies to avoid insect bites, and they also had to be careful of various animals waking up from hibernation.

The general rule is that one-quarter of the land is planted with legumes, and three-quarters is planted with millet and other crops for rotation. The season for planting them should be the beginning of summer.

Because it was newly reclaimed land, Shu and others originally planned to plant corn or wheat, but at Shan's suggestion, they planted more beans, and Wen Yi also agreed.

The various wild vegetables that were planted in early spring and whose names cannot be told can be harvested now. A few are specially kept for seeds, and the rest are on everyone's table. Although pheasants and rabbits are gradually appearing, the oil content of the food is still far less.

Fat and protein intake is crucial, but at this time, pigs, cattle, and sheep were important sacrificial livestock and were difficult to find in the mountains. This is one of the reasons why legumes, despite the potential for bloating and other problems, were still a staple food for most people; they were one of the few sources of protein.

In this era, only the rich can learn martial arts. Unless ordinary people are gifted, their physical conditions alone cannot support fighting on the battlefield. It is the fat in the body, especially the abdomen, that resists the impact of cold weapons.

Shu still habitually adds fish bones or other calcium-containing powders when cooking. Although the three children live in the mountains, their bodies have become much stronger. However, in Wen Yi's opinion, they are still on the verge of malnutrition.

We still need to produce bean derivatives, even soybean oil.

The reason why soybean oil is no longer recommended for consumption is mainly due to the use of the extraction method. This method can greatly improve the efficiency of oil extraction, but solvent residue is unavoidable. In addition, soybean oil is prone to produce substances that are harmful to the body when exposed to high temperatures.

However, the only method currently available is pressing, and since the temperature required to heat the food is not high, it is not a problem. Furthermore, the remaining product can be used to feed livestock, and it can also be eaten by humans if necessary.

Qingping collected all the eggs Pu Wei had found and raised the hatchable ones in a plot of land near the stream. She clipped some of their feathers, covered them with a hemp net woven for the winter, and surrounded them with a thin fence to prevent them from escaping. She also built a warm shed of grass and wood inside for the little ones to rest.

Judging from the social environment and production process, oil crops such as peanuts and sesame should have existed at this time, but the seeds were in the hands of very few people, and the development of these crops was limited to direct consumption.

Wen Yi remembered that there were many economic crops in the remains of the slave society, but these crops were not widely popularized until the later migration of diet. Therefore, most of the documents actually recorded the time when these crops were popularized rather than when they were introduced or appeared.

Back to the pressing of oil crops, it takes a long time to find various tools and suitable wooden chips and stones, and we also have to find a separate place to build a shed, otherwise the smell will be very difficult to block out.

Wen Yi recorded the steps on the rough paper in his hand and began to plan little by little what to start with.

When Amu came back from outside, he saw Wen Yi lying on a stone writing and drawing. He couldn't help but slow down his steps and carefully went around the house to get what he needed.

When she came out, she saw Wen Yi, who had been sitting upright, had slumped down on the mat on the stone, and greeted her weakly:

"Why is Amu back?"

Usually, after the afternoon sun is at its strongest, Amu and the others go to the fields to pull weeds and catch insects, or go to the mountains to pick things. Why are they back at this time today?

Amu waved the thin basket in his hand and said, "Let's go fishing."

Wen Yi reminded him to be careful, turned over again, took out a homemade fishhook from the box beside him and handed it over.

The stream water is still relatively shallow at this time, and they will not go to places where adults cannot see to play in the water. They only stay near the irrigation carts so that they can find someone in time if anything happens.

Wen Yi once gave these three young children a serious safety lesson after one of their children got lost. While they might have had ample experience dealing with snakes, they still needed to be extra cautious in places like water and deep mountains.

After Amu met up with the two children outside and left, Wen Yi tidied up his clothes and prepared to go out to look for a suitable stone.

Not only is it used to press the beans, but you also need a set of stone mills and stone grinders, otherwise it would be too tiring to cook every day.

Of course, I also have some selfish motives. A few days ago, many things from my past seemed to appear in my dreams. I had forgotten most of them when I woke up, but the taste of those noodles seemed to appear in my mouth.

Wheat already existed at this time, but with labor scarce, further processing would have significantly increased costs. Even millet is divided into three types based on the degree of hulling, with the finest millet yielding only about half the yield of the original millet.

What we usually eat is naturally the coarsest kind, but even so, it takes a long time to process these raw materials.

After deciding what to do next, Wen Yi decided to give herself a day off today. After being busy for so long, it was time to lie in the yard and bask in the sun.

But it seemed that every time she had the idea of ​​taking a break and relaxing, something would interrupt her leisure time.

"Hurry up, the things are on the stove. Ah Mu, go get them first, and ask Ah Yi to come over and help."

Shu saw a guy who seemed to be rolling down the mountain and was stopped by a tree. He waved to Amu who called him over and asked her to go get the things. He and Qingping would stay here first.

Amu nodded in response, then turned and ran into the yard.

They originally planned to go to the hillside to dig some earthworms first, but as soon as they arrived at this area, a strong smell of blood made the children very alert.

He subconsciously stepped back, and after confirming that there were no people or animals chasing him, he ran away and called Shu and Qingping who were weeding in the field.

Then several people saw this bloody figure in front of one of the trees.

Shu was initially perplexed. It was practically a cliff outside, and he had no idea how the man had gotten over it. And judging by the traces of the fall and the dried blood, he must have been in grave danger, yet he was still breathing.

After listening to Amu's story, Wen Yi asked her to have a good rest and calm down, while he packed all the useful things into a rattan basket and asked Amu to lead the way.

Although it might be a trouble, Wen Yi deduced from Amu's words that this person was seriously injured. If he found something wrong, it would still be in time to deal with it on the spot. Two fists cannot defeat many hands, let alone two fists that were severely injured and weakened.

Wen Yi took some time to pack her things. When she came over, everyone, big and small, had arrived except her and A Mu who led the way.

Perhaps the previous massacre of family and friends raised the threshold of psychological endurance, so no one felt uncomfortable when seeing this man's miserable condition.

Wen Yi handed the things she brought to Shan. This former village head also knew some knowledge of herbal medicine, some of which seemed magical to her, such as the bottle of ointment she took out. It was made by boiling the roots of several very similar grass crops in water, mixed with several unfamiliar plants, and applying it to the wound after cleaning. It felt cool.

This man was wearing a protective suit made of hard rattan pieces. Perhaps that was why he was still alive.

After carefully untying the knotted rope, several people worked together to take off the heavy coat that was soaked with blood. They saw that the man's body was covered with bruises and purples. They didn't know whether they were caused by injuries from bronze weapons or collisions.

The man's body was covered in scabby wounds, some still red and swollen. The most serious injury was his arm. Wen Yi and Shan worked together to push the abnormally twisted arm back to a normal angle. Then they used the wooden planks Wen Yi had brought to tie the arm up, wrapping it with hemp rope. They made sure it wasn't too loose to dislocate the bones, nor too tight to restrict blood flow.

After securing the man's limbs, it became clear that there was no way to carry him down. Wen Yi took a saw and went to the side to cut a few thick branches, which he tied into a simple wooden frame with the hemp rope he brought. Naturally, it was not as flexible as the single-piece frame, but the man was unconscious at this time and would not make any comments.

The items in the wicker basket were given to Amu and several others to carry separately. Li Zheng walked in front, while two of Wen Yi and his four companions carried the basket in front and back, and the other two were asked to find two shorter branches to support the basket at the bottom, forming a well shape.

After much effort, they carried the man to the stream, boiled the waste cloth in the pot, and hung it between branches to cool. Then they wiped off the dirt on the man's wounds and applied crushed herbs on them.

Although I don't know if it has much effect.

The man was moved to a temporary thatched hut, even though he was seen mumbling something in pain.

Wen Yi and the others studied the things on the man for a while. Apart from a few seals that they couldn't understand, there was nothing else related to his identity. So they gave up the investigation and took the blood-stained clothes and equipment to the stream to wash and dry them.

The next day, the man still hadn't woken up and even had a high fever. Wen Yi and the others took turns wiping his arms, thighs, underarms, and other parts of his body with boiled and cooled water to physically cool him down.

Half a day later, when everyone thought that the man could not be saved, Wen Yi vaguely heard a hoarse voice nearby.

"water……"

She subconsciously raised her head, and after confirming that the person was really awake, she carefully moved the ceramic bowl over and watched her greedily absorb the water, even choking and coughing because she drank too quickly.

Her limbs were tied with wooden branches and hemp ropes. The pain made her body numb, but fortunately she still had feeling.