Changning County.
When the villagers saw the Zhang family coming back, they all came over to say hello.
"Old Zhang, your trip to the capital city is a great opportunity for you to see the world. Are there many high-ranking officials in the capital city?"
"Is the capital city fun?"
Old man Zhang was smiling and felt very proud.
Who in the village has been to the capital? Whose family can be like them, where the whole family went to the capital for a tour. And their daughter is going to be an official in the capital.
Thinking that Zhang Hulan was going to be an official in the capital, Wang felt even more proud.
Zhang Hujun and Zhang Hubing were also asked by villagers about their life in the capital.
Zhang Hubing raised his chin to the sky and said, "Let me tell you, my sister is an official in the capital, and she was appointed by the emperor himself."
The villagers were all shocked when they heard this, "Hu Bing, are you telling the truth? Hu Lan is an official in the capital?"
"Of course."
Some villagers didn't believe it, "Then why did she come back?"
Zhang Hubing said, "It's because I came back to teach you how to make vermicelli. My sister asked the emperor for leave, and she will go to the capital to take up her post immediately after she teaches you."
"What kind of official position does she hold? Is she a high-ranking one?"
"My sister said it was a seventh-grade item."
"How high is the rank of seventh rank official?"
"It seems that he is as high-ranking as a county magistrate, but my sister is an official in the capital, and officials in the capital are not comparable to county magistrates."
All the villagers were in an uproar, and they all kept congratulating Old Man Zhang and Mrs. Wang.
Everyone envies the Zhang family, but it is only envy, not jealousy.
When one person's family conditions are better than another, the poorer one will feel envious.
But if you are much better than him and he has to look up to you, he won't be jealous.
The villagers all talked to Old Man Zhang and Wang. When Zhang Hulan came back, she called Zhao Guoliang aside and asked, "Uncle Lizheng, have you finished digging the lotus roots?"
"We've dug it all up, and cleaned it all, and are just waiting for you to come back."
"Okay, I'll teach you how to make vermicelli later." Zhang Hulan pointed at the vermicelli machine she had brought back and said, "Uncle Lizheng, this is what you need to make vermicelli. We need to install it. Call some people and let's go to Dagou."
These things will be used by the villagers in the future, so we have to teach them how to install and use them, so that if anything breaks they can fix it themselves.
When Zhao Guoliang went to call people, he learned that Zhang Hulan was an official in the capital. He was even more shocked than the villagers.
A woman actually became an official, and was appointed by the emperor himself. How much does the emperor value her?
Zhao Guoliang was truly happy for Zhang Hulan, but at the same time he felt a little disappointed.
Zhang Hulan went to the capital to become an official and no longer had time to take care of the village.
In the past two years, the villagers' lives have been getting better and better. He wanted Zhang Hulan to help everyone make more money. He also wanted to give the position of village head to Zhang Hulan, but he didn't expect that Zhang Hulan had already become an official in Beijing.
Zhao Guoliang called a few people, and then followed Zhang Hulan to the big ditch. Many people in the village also went to watch.
Zhang Hulan said to Zhao Guoliang at the foot of the mountain: "Uncle Lizheng, install the thing here, and have someone level the area."
Then Zhang Hulan pointed to the upstream of the gurgling ditch and said, "We need to repair the ditch and build a section of water trough to concentrate the water flow."
Zhao Guoliang and the villagers were a little confused. "Hu Lan, what are you going to use that thing for? Why do you put it here?"
Zhang Hulan explained: "The machine is driven by water, so no manpower is needed. People are just responsible for putting the lotus roots on it.
I asked the craftsmen from the Ministry of Works of the Imperial Court to make this thing, and I asked the Prime Minister to design it.”
When everyone heard that it was the Prime Minister who designed it, they were all shocked.
What is a chief minister? It was the prime minister in the past, a high-ranking official who was second only to the emperor.
"Hu Lan, you said this thing was designed for us by the Prime Minister?"
Zhang Hulan laughed and said, "Why would I lie to you? At that time, the Minister of Revenue took me to ask the Minister of Works for help in designing it. But the Minister of Works couldn't make it, so we finally asked the Prime Minister to help with the design."
The villagers' eyes changed when they looked at Zhang Hulan. They didn't expect that Zhang Hulan knew so many high-ranking officials, all of whom were the highest-ranking officials in the court. They all began to be a little afraid of Zhang Hulan.
Zhang Hulan said, "I'm telling you, everyone should follow my instructions and install the machine as soon as possible. I only have a month or so, as I have to return to Beijing to take up my post at the end of February, so everyone should study hard."
Ma suddenly spoke up, "Hu, Hu Lan, now can we no longer call you by your name? We have to call you Master Zhang?"
"Why call me Mr. Zhang? We are all in the village. It's better to call me by my name. It sounds more intimate."
"Yes, yes, we are from the same village, so it's friendly to call each other by our names."
Ma was full of admiration for Zhang Hulan, "Hulan, you are really amazing."
Ma sighed again and said, "Alas, you said before the New Year that you would take us out to play after we made some money. Now that you've gone to the capital, what are we going to do?"
Zhang Hulan said: "If I'm not in the village, you won't make money, right?
I will teach you how to make vermicelli. If you plant more this year, you can earn a lot of money next year.
After two or three years, every household will try to save up a hundred or eighty taels of silver, and then you can come to the capital to visit me. When you get to the capital, I will provide you with food and lodging.”
Ma's eyes lit up, "Hulan, can we really earn a hundred or eighty taels of silver in two or three years?"
"As long as everyone works hard, we can definitely do it."
Ma patted her chest and said, "Since Hu Lan said it's possible, then it must be possible. We must work hard and try to go to the capital to visit you as soon as possible."
The villagers were all very excited. Under Zhang Hulan's command, some were repairing sinks, some were digging pits, and some were repairing platforms.
It took three days to erect the waterwheel, then install the powder making machine, and then close the connecting gears, and the powder making machine started to work.
Zhang Hulan first demonstrated to everyone using her own lotus roots.
The villagers watched her throw the lotus roots into the funnel. After a whirring sound, the lotus roots were ground into a paste and fell into the wooden barrel below.
Zhang Hulan only got 300 kilograms of lotus roots. 200 kilograms of lotus roots can produce about 50 kilograms of starch, which is enough for food.
Then Zhang Hulan poured the crushed lotus root into the press. After filtering it once, she added water to the residue, stirred it and pressed it again, so that the starch inside could be filtered out.
The filtered slurry needs to settle for a day and a night. The next day, the water is poured out, and a thick layer of starch will be precipitated underneath.
Next, the starch needs to be dried before making vermicelli.
During this period, Zhang Hulan continued to stare at the villagers and started to beat the powder.
There was only one machine, and each family first bought two or three pounds of lotus roots so that each family could make some.
After beating it all at once, there weren’t enough wooden barrels or basins at home to hold them.
At present, women can do these jobs, but when it comes to making vermicelli, men will be needed.
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