The older child was troubled, "But if it's too big, I won't be able to push it."

Yin Lan guided him, "Do you really have to push it yourself? Is there anything I can do to help you?"

help?

The eldest son thought for a moment, and then, in the distance, a carriage sped toward them.

A brilliant idea flashed in Da Wa's mind, "Use horses!" But there were no horses in the village, so Da Wa immediately thought of, "Oxen!"

Yin Lan smiled knowingly. This kid is very clever. He can come up with a solution with just a little guidance.

Yin Lan smiled and told Da Wa to come up with his own solution, unaware that Chen Yourun had been looking in their direction for some time now.

His expression was initially serious, then surprised, and finally, as if he were amazed, his eyes lit up.

He looked at the carriage in the distance, then at the stones on the ground. Yes, a millstone could be ground with something, so why hadn't he thought of that?

The eldest child went over and told Liu Jing his idea. Liu Jing was very surprised, "This is a good idea!"

His gaze towards the eldest child changed. This kid was too clever. He could come up with such a clever way to do anything. Once this method was used, the work would be done much faster and with less manpower, meaning he could get greater results with less effort.

"Big brother, you're amazing."

Originally, Liu Jing was supposed to continue reading in the afternoon, but now he doesn't need to. Instead, he and Da Wa are going to find the stone.

Books should be read, but not just blindly. The best approach is to combine reading with practice, allowing them to complement each other.

Only Chen Yourun noticed this, which was beyond the capabilities of the eldest child; how could a child like him have thought of so much?

The person who was guiding us the whole time...

Chen Yourun took a deep look at his wife.

He kept his achievements and fame hidden.

Da Wa and Liu Jing went to find a round stone that was neither too big nor too small. However, the stone itself could not be perfectly round, so the two of them polished it to remove the uneven parts, and a small millstone was made.

The eldest child demonstrated on the ground covered with broken clay, pushing a stone to roll. The already dried clay on the ground immediately crumbled into dust as the stone rolled over it.

The men working there were all somewhat surprised. "Wow, this will make things much easier for us."

Yin Lan continued, "If we were to hire a craftsman to make one, we could drill a hole in the middle and thread a rope through it..."

The eldest child immediately added, "Then we'll put the rope around the cow, and we can lead it around without even putting in any effort. We just need to cut some grass to feed it."

Those present suddenly realized, "Yes, why didn't they think of that?"

Wow, this stuff is really good.

The older child was very proud after receiving the praise; he puffed out his chest and his tail practically flew to the sky.

Chen Yourun took a deep look at his wife.

Yin Lan was looking at Da Wa, a proud yet gentle smile on her small, beautiful face. It felt as if a feather had tickled his heart, again and again, making him feel a surge of emotion.

This house needs to be built as soon as possible.

With this small millstone, things progressed much faster.

Looking at the lively little thatched cottage, Liu Jing stroked his sparse beard and smiled. Such a warm and beautiful pastoral scene was truly delightful.

Having lived in the capital for so long, I never imagined that the most pleasant days of my life would be spent in this small village.

The men over there had finished crushing all the clay in no time. Next, it needed to be sieved. The sieves were readily available, and the men worked in pairs. One added dry clay to the sieve, while the other shook the sieve to remove large particles and impurities from the clay.

Other families don't have this step when building houses. Chen Yourun wants to build the best one. Although he can't afford a stone or brick house right now, even an earthen house would be good.

The clay is finer after being sieved, resulting in better quality adobe bricks.

By evening, all the clay had been sifted.

Inside, Yin Lan had almost finished preparing dinner.

After having a big lunch here, Grandma Chen felt embarrassed to eat here for free in the afternoon, and seeing that there wasn't much work to do, she left first.

Yin Lan also cooked something delicious for dinner, but she was afraid of causing public outrage, so although it was good, it wasn't as good as it was at noon.

I added some brown rice and old rice to the rice. I bought it before but haven't eaten it much. Actually, brown rice is very good for the stomach.

Yin Lan was going to let her child eat this occasionally anyway, and it was cheap, so no one would think she was going to eat the family dry.

In addition, there was steamed sweet potato, stir-fried winter bamboo shoots with meat, and stir-fried wild vegetables. There wasn't as much meat as at noon, but it was still considered top-notch food in the whole village.

These days, every household can enjoy a bite of wild boar meat. In the past, they wouldn't be able to eat a single bite all winter.

The other person was given an egg.

Yin Lan was worried that there might not be enough food, since she hadn't put in much meat and there weren't many vegetables to eat in winter.

Everyone at the table clicked their tongues in amazement. An egg! Good heavens.

Old Chen is living a life that's absolutely blissful.

The food was so good.

They were afraid of exploiting the other party, since the work itself wasn't much, and the kid had come up with such a clever idea.

He kept telling Yin Lan not to be so polite, that she was eating too well.

Yin Lan was relieved. "Alright, then we won't make such a big deal out of it tomorrow."

Outside, Erwa, who had been forgotten, returned alone looking miserable. His hands were sore in the afternoon, and he could barely straighten his back. He was exhausted, and as a result, he pulled out even fewer weeds than he had in the morning.

I could eat a steamed bun in the morning, but in the evening...

When he returned, he saw a feast of fish and meat on the table, along with fried eggs, his favorite. The aroma almost made Erwa faint from hunger.

Unfortunately, he knew there was no share for him.

Moreover, everyone is exaggerating how smart, capable, and amazing the child is.

Erwa worked himself to the bone all day, but not a single person praised him.

Not a single one!

Erwa's eyes suddenly reddened.

Yin Lan looked at the weeds she had pulled and gave Erwa a cornbread. Erwa knew that this was all he could take, so he quietly squatted down in the corner and ate it while wiping away his tears. His little face was already dirty and covered in dirt, and with the tears mixed in, he looked like a little kitten.

Yin Lan felt both sorry for him and amused by him.

Seeing Chen Yourun looking in that direction repeatedly, he was probably feeling sorry for her.

Fortunately, he didn't say or do anything, still trusted Yin Lan, and didn't interfere in her education.

If he interfered, Yin Lan would refuse to do it either, and would let him handle the child's education himself from now on. Fortunately, the two of them had reached this tacit understanding without prior discussion.