Chapter 44

Southern Township, Ganzhou County.

As winter turns to spring and the days get brighter, the farmers have already gone out to work in the fields.

Farmers rely on the weather for their livelihood, so every household gets up early and starts busy with spring plowing. In previous years, the whole family buried themselves in the loess, working from morning till night, and were so tired that they could not straighten their backs. But this year is very different.

I heard that the county government made a batch of these things and distributed them to farmers for free. According to people who have used them, plowing the fields is much easier.

However, because it has just been produced, the quantity is limited and not every household can have it.

Xiangli Gu came to Nanxiang early in the morning with several craftsmen. Because he was from Nanxiang, he was sent here by County Magistrate Lin.

He asked the head of the village to gather the villagers who were going to cultivate the land today. This land belonged to Anpingli, and most of the villagers were surnamed Zhang.

Zhang Lizheng saw Xiangli Gu. He had heard that the county government had made new farm tools, but he had not seen them yet. He asked tentatively, "Xiangli, how much can our village get?"

Xiang Ligu remained calm and said, "There are five townships in the county, and our township has been allocated 10 curved plows and one drum cart."

"There are only 10. Look at all the people. There won't be enough to share."

Xiang Ligu glanced at him and said, "Li Zheng, we have the fewest people in Nanxiang. The county government only wanted to give eight people. It was County Magistrate Lin who saw that I was from Nanxiang that gave me two more."

Moreover, the time was too short. To be able to produce so many, they had to work through several nights. They were sent here by County Magistrate Lin just after a day's rest.

Now he finally understood what County Magistrate Lin meant by that smile? When I saw him this morning, I actually laughed at him and said he looked like a panda.

He asked what a panda was, but County Magistrate Lin smiled and said nothing, pointing at his eyes. Other craftsmen smiled and gave him a mirror, and he saw that there was darkness under his eyes.

So, they produced so many in such a short time, and you still dare to complain that it’s not enough?

Seeing his firm attitude, Zhang Lizheng shook his head helplessly and asked the farmers in the village to carry the curved plow to the fields.

The soil in the northwest is mostly loess. A villager is pushing a curved plow to plow the land, with an ox pulling it in front. The plow is sharp and it brings up large pieces of soil when it goes down.

The villagers looked at the smaller but lighter and easier-to-use curved plow in amazement. In the distance, they heard other people shouting, "Dasheng, hurry up and plow the field. We need it after you finish plowing."

Zhang Dasheng immediately started plowing again and finished the plowing quickly. In the past, it took two people to lift the plow and change the direction. However, Zhang Dasheng found that this plow could turn around and change direction by itself as soon as he turned the plow handle. He was even more surprised.

He plowed for a long time, but when he looked back at the land he had plowed, it seemed to be larger and wider than before. Usually at this time he would have been too tired to straighten his back and had to rest for a while before continuing. But today he did not feel tired. Could it be that his strength had increased?

He looked at the curved plow in his hand. If it wasn't an illusion, that was the function of this plow.

In fact, the curved plow is more in line with the structure of the human body, which can reduce farmers' fatigue when plowing the land. The plow head is also wider, so the area that can be plowed at one time is wider.

After he finished plowing his own field, another villager immediately took over happily. He had long seen the benefits of this plow, but it was a pity that the draw gave Zhang Dasheng the first place, otherwise he would have been able to finish plowing most of his own field today.

After wiping the sweat off his forehead, Zhang Dasheng ran to the head of the village and said excitedly: "Head of the village, you are really useful. You can plow the land quickly and it is not tiring." It was a pity that a large piece of his land was not here, otherwise he could have plowed more.

He scratched his head and looked at Xiangli Gu, "Xiangli, can the county government make a few more? I want to buy one for my family." This way he wouldn't have to compete with others.

Xiang Ligu snorted coldly, "We can't make it now. After some time, County Magistrate Lin said that farmers can buy it in exchange for grain. Those who don't have money or grain can buy it on credit first and pay it back after the grain is produced this year."

This time, not only Zhang Dasheng, but also Zhang Lizheng and the villagers who were listening around with their ears perked up were ecstatic, with joy and excitement in their eyes.

Farmers rely on the crops grown in the fields to feed their families all year round. Their Nan Township is not like the other townships, which are close to the county town and where they can work in workshops to supplement their family income. They can only rely on growing more crops in the fields to support their families.

Xiang Ligu was pleased by the villagers' reaction. He said to Zhang Lizheng, "Call a few people, let's go to the field and try to load the drum."

Zhang Lizheng nodded repeatedly. He had long wanted to see the irrigator. It was said that it could irrigate crops directly without the need for human intervention.

The villagers nearby had already seen the effect of the curved plow. When they heard about this new type of farm tool, they volunteered to try it, saying that they were strong enough.

Zhang Lizheng picked out a few people who were strong and worked carefully, and the group of people walked towards the field in a heroic and high-spirited manner.

There is a river not far from the end of the field. When spring comes, the river water thaws and makes a tinkling sound. This is also the reason why Xiangli Valley chose this place.

Although this place is located in the northwest, it has meltwater from ice and snow, so it is not as dry as other places.

Xiangli Gu directed the farmers to install the drum cart. The stream water hit the wheels, causing the drum cart to rotate. The water entered the trough and then entered the field. The land where the seeds had just been sown was instantly moistened. Following the dug channels, a large area of ​​land was irrigated in a short while.

Except for Xiang Li Gu and the craftsman, everyone else gasped.

What kind of magical thing is this? It can irrigate crops without any people.

Xiang Li Gu took a charcoal pencil and a notebook and wrote something quickly. This was what County Magistrate Lin asked them to remember. Any problems in the operation of each drum car should be recorded.

Zhang Lizheng rubbed his rough hands excitedly, "This god... No, can there only be one barrel cart in a township?"

It would be nice if we had more of these good things.

Xiang Li Gu wrote the last stroke expressionlessly, "Each piece of wood for these five frames took us craftsmen many days to polish and assemble by hand. It's easy for you to say that."

Zhang Lizheng also felt guilty. He stared at the water wheel without blinking, happily thinking about the good harvest of the entire farmland, and was overjoyed.

A villager stared at it for a while and couldn't help but reached out to touch it, but was slapped on the back of the head by the emperor. "Touch? What are you touching? What if you break it?"

He said to the villagers seriously, "Each family should send one person to watch over it in turns. It would be bad if someone with bad intentions came and damaged it for us."

The villagers nodded. They certainly wouldn't dare to touch such a good thing, but they could never be sure if someone with bad intentions would covet their carts and try to sabotage them.

Xiang Li Gu put away the paper and pen and said to Zhang Lizheng, "I have to go back to the county government and report to Lin Xiancheng. If you have any questions, come to me again."

Zhang Lizheng nodded and said, "Look at the other person's fortune-telling. He also needs to have a skill. Look, if he is not favored by County Magistrate Lin, he will speak in a very rigid manner and even report to County Magistrate Lin."

He thought silently, turned around and saw his son standing next to the drum watching the fun, and slapped him. What were he looking at? He had to go back and think about whether there was anyone in the village who had a skill. How about sending his son over to learn for a few days?

The other villagers had just seen this scene, and they all had different thoughts, with this idea popping up in their minds.

In the county government office, Lin Shuge was reading the official documents reported by various townships. The curved plows and barrel carts had already been distributed and used, and each township reported that they were easy to use but there were too few of them. It seemed that the craftsmen had to be asked to make more.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up and saw that it was Xiang Li Gu. "You've come just in time. The craftsmen have worked hard during this period. I will report to the county magistrate to give you an extra month's salary."

When he heard that he would be paid an extra month's salary, Xiang Li Gu's dark face showed a hint of joy, but his skin was too dark for others to see.

"Thank you, sir."

"But you will have to work harder recently. I have asked the officials to go to various places to recruit a group of craftsmen. You can rest then."

Xiang Li Gu still had the same expression, "Thank you, sir."

Lin Shuge put down the document and stood up. "Aren't you afraid that they will catch up with you?"

He stared at Xiang Li Gu's face, trying to find any expression in it.

Xiang Li Gu said seriously: "It is for the benefit of the people, even if we come from behind, it doesn't matter. Besides, this batch of farm tools was originally your idea. We just made them according to your drawings. It's not worth mentioning."

Lin Shuge thought to himself: He is indeed a descendant of Mohist school.

As the two were talking, Zhou Du walked in from outside and Xiang Ligu saluted him.

Zhou Du waved his hand and said to Lin Shuge, "I just reported some recent cases to the county magistrate. He said that the county governor's office and several other counties will send people over."

He kept it a secret, glanced at Xiangli Gu, and smiled at Lin Shuge, "Guess what they are here for?"

Dingyuan County has five counties under its jurisdiction, and Ganzhou County is just one of them.

The county magistrate's office and other counties will all come. They have never been in such a hurry to come for papermaking and cashmere matters in the past, so the only thing left is farming.

"Want to learn how to make a curved plow and a wheelbarrow?"

Zhou Du snorted, "The county magistrate told you that? How boring."

"No, I guessed."

If so many people come, the county will have to be busy, and since they are people coming from the county magistrate's office, they have to be served carefully.

However, in order to learn how to make a curved plow and a barrel cart, Lin Shuge looked towards Xiangli Valley.

Xiang Li Gu suddenly felt a chill on his back. He looked up and saw Lin Shuge's eyes, and felt like a thorn in his back.

Zhou Du was still beside him and asked, "What did you guess? You guessed so accurately."

Lin Shuge ignored him and walked up to Xiangli Gu. "Xiangli, you just heard that the county governor's office and other counties want to send people to learn from us. This is a matter of honor for Governor Gan. You should take the other craftsmen and teach them well. Make sure they learn how to make and use it."

Xiang Li Gu's eyelids twitched, and he said speechlessly: "I know, I will definitely not let you down."

Lin Shuge finally saw the expression he wanted on his face, and said with a smile: "I really didn't make a mistake in choosing him. Xiangli is indeed very useful."

Zhou Du looked at the smile on Lin Shuge's lips and put on his outer robe silently. Why did he still feel a little cold in spring? He silently held his outer robe tightly and started to do his work.