Chapter 42

"Really? I'd like to try it." Zhou Du quickly picked up a piece of mutton and put it into his mouth. His eyes moved slightly, and without saying anything else, he stretched out his chopsticks and ate one bite after another.

When A'er saw the reactions of the two people, he followed Lin Shuge's example and took out a piece of meat and dipped it in sesame sauce, then put it in his mouth. He first tasted the fresh fragrance of the seasoning, and then the tender and smooth meat jumped into his mouth. The rich layers and the taste of the meat were perfectly combined without feeling abrupt.

Zhou Du was eating mutton hotpot while muttering, "Brother Huai Ting, you are so mean. Why didn't we have hotpot when we went to the hot spring last time?"

This time there are foreigners present and the event is so grand.

Lin Shuge used the serving chopsticks to pick up a piece of meat for him and said with a smile: "Erlang, eat more."

Even food can't stop you from eating.

Taran didn't care what they were up to. He just kept eating and secretly put these on his must-eat list when he came to Dayan.

Lin Shuge took out the prepared apricot peel tea and poured a cup for each person. After eating the hot pot, they felt very hot. So they had a cup of cool and thirst-quenching apricot peel tea and continued eating. This was the real enjoyment.

The meal was very lively. After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Taran and A'er said goodbye to them, saying that they had to go back to rest before going to Yandu.

Ale and Zhoudu were whispering something in front of them. Taran looked a little embarrassed. He hesitated for a moment and took out a piece of jade from his arms.

"Mr. Lin, thank you for your care during this period. After so many things happened, I already consider you a friend. I give you this jade. If there is anything I can do for you in the future, just ask. As long as I can do it, I will definitely help you."

Lin Shuge glanced at the jade. It was crystal clear and glittering, so he thought it must be a valuable item.

"Your Highness, this item is precious. I really cannot accept it." He declined.

Taran was a little anxious. "It's not something precious. I just picked it up when I was a kid. It's just an ordinary piece of jade. My father ordered a craftsman to polish it carefully and I have been carrying it with me ever since."

He paused, then continued: "It's just a gift between friends. Just to thank you for your hospitality today."

Seeing that he insisted, Lin Shuge had no choice but to take the jade and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."

Taran then showed a smile on his face, waved to Lin Shuge, and said goodbye with Ale.

Lin Shuge looked at their backs with a smile, believing that we would meet again if we were in the same boat.

Zhou Du nudged Lin Shuge with his elbow, "What did the little prince say to you?"

That Ale kept talking to him about all sorts of things and he had no choice but to listen.

"Nothing, just thanking me. Let's go, let's go back." Lin Shuge turned around and replied.

"Hey, wait a minute, what did you guys talk about? You guys talked for so long, I'm really curious."

"Then just be curious."

"Good boy, Lin Huaiting, just wait for me."

At the time of the spring equinox, all things come back to life, but spring comes later in the northwest, but the spring festival is a big event.

County Magistrate Li led Lin Shuge and others to personally go to the fields to cultivate the land, in order to encourage people to learn farming and sericulture. This was also considered a major event that all emperors since the founding of this dynasty had set an example for the people. It was said that "the emperor cultivated the land himself and offered rice and wine to worship God."

Agriculture was the foundation of the ancient society, and both the emperor and local officials attached great importance to it.

When they arrived at the place, the local administrative chief would lead the local bureaucrats to go to the fields to farm, and then offer sacrifices of three animals to the gods of land and grain, praying for a good harvest of grain this year.

In this era, iron plows and ox-drawn plowing were already very common, and officials of all dynasties attached great importance to the construction of water conservancy facilities. In view of the characteristics of drought and little rainfall in the northwest, a large number of canals were built to irrigate farmland.

Lin Shuge crushed a piece of soil and watched the farmers pulling the plow to plow the land. Farming was a very hard job. They planted in spring and harvested in autumn, facing the loess and back to the sky, but not much grain could be harvested in a year.

If the weather is good and the court does not impose too many exorbitant taxes, the people can still have enough food and clothing throughout the year.

If a natural disaster occurs and the fields fail to produce any crops, it would be a devastating disaster for the people.

After plowing the land, Lin Shuge took the triangular plow, which was a seed drill that appeared in this era. It could sow three ridges at the same time and complete the three tasks of digging furrows, sowing seeds and covering the soil at the same time.

The triangular plough forest library has also been seen in modern times, and some rural areas are also using it in modern times, so he knew how it was used after taking a look.

He pulled the cart in front, and Zhou Du helped from behind. After a while, they had sown three rows of seeds.

The sun was a bit strong today, so he and Zhou Du went to drink some water after work. County Magistrate Li was already standing nearby taking a rest.

Zhou Du fanned himself with his hands, "Every year at this time, I feel lucky that my family is relatively well-off and I don't have to do farm work."

Lin Shuge looked at the farmers who were still tilling the land and asked, "Erlang, how much millet can be harvested from one acre of land in a year?"

Zhou Du wiped his sweat and replied, "About three stones."

Three stone, less than two hundred kilograms.

"Let's go and help with the irrigation." Lin Shuge closed the bamboo tube, stood up and said.

"Hey, you've only rested for a short time, wait for me." Zhou Du quickly got up and caught up.

In the south, irrigation mostly uses a wheelbarrow, but this has not spread to the northwest, where water diversion irrigation is still used. Usually a canal is dug to divert stream water to irrigate farmland.

Lin Shuge once visited a large waterwheel in the northwestern city of Lanzhou in modern times, which was built in the Ming Dynasty. The builders drew reference from the overturned carts seen in the south and diverted water from the Yellow River for irrigation.

While helping to dig the canal, Lin Shuge was thinking that a craftsman could try to make one.

His eyes swept over the farmers plowing the fields in the distance. As a liberal arts student, he could not build the large-scale farming machines used in the industrial society, but he could certainly build the curved plow that appeared in the Tang Dynasty.

"Let's go, stop looking. The adults asked us to go back soon." Zhou Du looked at Lin Shuge who was in deep thought and reminded him.

"Okay, right away." Lin Shuge was still immersed in the question of how to build a curved plow. He didn't hear what he said and responded casually.

Seeing that he said he was leaving but didn't move at all, Zhou Du raised his voice slightly.

"Lin Huaiting."

Lin Shuge was startled and glared at Zhou Du, "What's wrong?"

Zhou Du was speechless. "What are you talking about? What are you thinking about? You didn't even respond when I called you."

"I have something else to do." He threw the hoe in his hand to Zhou Du and ran to where County Magistrate Li was.

Zhou Du: “…”

County Magistrate Li is middle-aged and cannot work as hard as young people, so he stops to rest early.

In fact, in previous years everyone was just pretending to do it to set an example for the people, but this year, for some reason, the county officials were working so hard that he felt embarrassed to be lazy.

He looked up at the sun which had just reached overhead, and was just lamenting how difficult people's lives were, when he saw the person who had worked the hardest that day running towards him.

Um? Is this finally impossible?

He was just about to make a joke, but the young man still had to move more.

Unexpectedly, Lin Shuge saw it and said, "Sir, I want to make a few things."

Oh, he had another idea.

Magistrate Li asked calmly, "What are you going to build?"

"One is a tool for plowing the land, and the other is for irrigation, plowing the land..."

"What? You want to make farm tools?" County Magistrate Li looked at him in shock, his beard almost blown up.

"Yes, I have seen farmers plowing the land with iron plows, but they are straight plows. The plow I am talking about is called a curved plow. It has a plowshare installed on the original plowshare, which can turn and reverse. It is more convenient to use. You can use a wooden one first, and the old plowshare in front will do."

Magistrate Li suppressed his excitement and said expressionlessly, "I will report the iron plow to Envoy Wei later. The wooden one can be tried. Also, didn't you say there are irrigation tools?"

"Well, I've read in a book that there's plenty of water in the south, and irrigation mostly uses irrigation carts. We can try to modify them. One type is a wooden barrel cart, and the other is..." Lin Shuge carefully recalled the photos and objects he had seen before, and tried his best to describe them.

"Wait, let's go back first. I'll gather the craftsmen right away. You draw the blueprint first and take your time." County Magistrate Li almost jumped up. There are actually two types?

It seems that our Ganzhou is going to become famous again.

He hurriedly asked the county officials to summon the famous craftsmen in the county, and he and Lin Shuge walked and talked about how to make farm tools.

When Zhou Du finished his work and came over to look for someone, there was no sign of anyone.

Zhou Du: “…”

Can we still be friends?

After Lin Shuge returned, he drew the drawings of the curved plow and the barrel cart on paper. In fact, he could only remember the general idea, so it still depended on the craftsmen's performance.

Several craftsmen took the drawings, looked at them carefully, then looked at each other, but none of them said anything.

"What's wrong? Can you make it?" Lin Shuge asked.

One of the craftsmen had a dark complexion. He swallowed and said, "I can give the blueprint you drew a try, but I can't guarantee that I can make the same one."

Lin Shuge smiled and said, "It's okay, you guys just give it a try. If you can make it, the county magistrate will reward you handsomely."

County Magistrate Li was sitting nearby sipping tea and nearly spit out tea when he heard this.

Lin Shuge, you are using my position as an excuse to show off your power again.

The craftsmen didn't notice Magistrate Li's expression. They were all delighted when they heard the words. The dark-faced craftsman asked cautiously, "How long do you want me to wait for it to be made?"

"The sooner the better."

Now is the farming season. Although the winter wheat has already been planted, it can also be used when sowing this year.

There are also other crops. When people farm, they can save a lot of time and energy and work in workshops in the county town to supplement their family income.

"I understand." replied the craftsman.

Lin Shuge observed the expressions and movements of the craftsmen. It seemed that this craftsman was the leader, but he didn't care. As long as the farm tools could be made, it would be fine.

After the craftsmen had left, Magistrate Li spoke up, "Draw another blueprint and I'll have someone send it to the prefectural governor's office. This matter must be reported to Envoy Wei."

In this era, the county magistrate's office generally distributed farm tools to each county, and the people had to buy them from the government if they wanted them. After all, the iron refining technology was controlled by the government, and ordinary people had no idea about it.

"Thank you, sir." Lin Shuge said sincerely.

County Magistrate Li has always supported and adopted all the suggestions he put forward. Even though each suggestion could be used as a means to make profits, he let him make the decision.

If his immediate superior had not been Magistrate Li, he would definitely not have taken out those things if it had been those selfish county magistrates who exploited the people.

"Okay, I know what you want to do. I don't have any great abilities, but at least I have read the books of sages for many years, so I know how to benefit the people."

"It is a blessing for the people here to have you." Lin Shuge said with a smile.

"Stop flattering me and get to work."

County Magistrate Lin shook his head and said, "Huh? I won't fall for it."