37 Chapter 37
◎Mr. Sai◎
The English word for inspiration is pronounced Yanshipilichun, and it is very likely that Mr. Huang, like her, came from hundreds of years later!
This speculation made Cheng Xi both excited and nervous.
She wanted to take the test a step further.
"Madam Cheng," Zheng Lizheng rushed forward, "didn't you say a few days ago that you had some thoughts about drawing water from the well in the field? Now that the Lord is here, you can report the truth."
County Magistrate Huang asked, "Where do you draw water from the well?"
Zheng Lizheng replied, "We have several acres of land, all relying on one well. Drawing water manually is too time-consuming and labor-intensive. Madam Cheng suggested we could use the wind to help."
Cheng Mu said, "Please come to my humble abode."
So everyone went to Cheng Mi's house.
After Cheng Mu arranged for everyone to sit down and served tea, she went to the side room to get the blueprints.
Her mind was now entirely focused on how to test County Magistrate Huang. He had thrown out an English word, and she wondered whether she should try other words to see if he had some knowledge of foreign languages.
But which word?
Cheng Xi poked her head with her finger, anxiously pulling out some words. The word she wanted to choose had to be exactly the same as Yan Shi Pi Li Chun, and it would be best if she had two or three. But which one could fit the current situation and come out naturally?
She had been lingering in the room for quite a while. She drew aside the curtain and looked towards the eight-immortals table in the main hall. Zheng Lizheng was chatting happily with Lord Huang, who nodded from time to time.
He was smiling and had a kind expression. After dealing with him a few times, it seemed that Mr. Huang had a gentle temperament.
He is thin and has fair skin. He was able to research and develop steam engines. Besides being elegant, he also has a toughness.
She knew nothing about Mr. Huang's hometown or native place. His wife died last year, and considering his age, he should have children.
Suddenly, a magnified face appeared before his eyes. Mu Yun frowned and asked, "What are you looking at, sister-in-law?"
Cheng Mu was startled and pulled him into the side room and quickly closed the door.
Mu Yun asked, "Are you peeking at Master Huang?"
Cheng Mu was so anxious that she quickly covered his mouth.
She pressed forward, her two hands raised simultaneously, one covering his mouth and the other grabbing his face, and said anxiously, "Don't talk nonsense, I'm thinking about something."
The hot air sprayed on his cheeks, and Mu Yun froze.
Cheng Mu pinched the soft flesh on his face, which had a hint of baby fat, as if to punish him. "Let me ask you, I said that I suddenly built a water-pumping windmill after eating a fruit called Yanshipilichun. What do you think?"
"Very, very impressive..." Mu Yun tilted his head, shook off her hand, and stepped back two steps. "It's not surprising what my sister-in-law can do."
"Is this where you're focusing your attention?" Cheng Mu lowered her eyes in thought.
Mu Yun exhaled twice without leaving a trace.
After reading the blueprint, County Magistrate Huang passed it to Li Zheng.
County Magistrate Huang, with admiration in his eyes, asked Cheng Mu, "The principle of this windmill also comes from the water pumps and bellows of the ancients, right?"
At that moment, Cheng Mu suddenly had an idea. She said, "It would be wonderful if I could have the chance to eat the fruit that you, my lord, are eating. My master taught me the principles of this windmill. To be honest, my lord, all the experience I have about farming is from my master."
"Your master?" County Magistrate Huang was indeed very interested and looked at her closely. "What's your master's name and where is he now?"
Zheng Lizheng looked up from the blueprint.
Mr. Zhao leaned forward and asked, "Is the master that Boss Cheng mentioned the agronomist who gave you the wheat seeds?" Mr. Zhao still remembered that when she first came to Zhaojia Village, she said that she had a fortuitous encounter. Those wheat seeds were given by an agronomist. They were drought-resistant and alkali-resistant, and could yield one stone per mu.
Cheng Mu groaned inwardly. She had only been testing Master Huang with one question after another and had no intention of discussing her so-called master with everyone. However, she acted serious and said, "It was just an unexpected encounter. I didn't know how good Master was before, and he deliberately concealed things. I only knew that he told me to call him Mr. Sai. His last name was Sai, and his given name was Sai... Sai something."
What is Saisi? Is there an agronomist in our dynasty with this name?
Cheng Mu secretly observed Mr. Huang's expression and asked, "Have you heard of Mr. Sai?"
County Magistrate Huang's eyes flashed, and he slowly uttered three words, "Sains?"
Zheng Lizheng and Mr. Zhao looked at each other. Lord Huang also knew this person?
County Magistrate Huang shook his head and covered it up, "The Mr. Sai I know is called Saiins. He is from the West. He should not be the agricultural expert you are talking about."
Zheng Lizheng was surprised, "Master Huang knows Westerners?"
Cheng Mu chuckled, "Does this Western Mr. Sai have a good friend called Mr. De?"
County Magistrate Huang remained expressionless, "Democratic."
Zheng Lizheng glanced at the two of them with suspicion, he suspected they were playing a guessing game.
Zheng Lizheng said disdainfully, "A Westerner is actually a master of agronomy? Is Western agronomy better than ours?"
Cheng Mu's heart tightened, and she quickly said, "My master is not a Westerner. He uses a pseudonym. The person Mr. Huang and I were talking about was Mr. Sainz from the West. They are not the same person."
She argued nervously, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief after she finished.
Huang Xiancheng, who was sitting at the top of the table, smiled, then turned his gaze and asked Zheng Lizheng, "How about this water pumping windmill?"
Zheng Lizheng showed the blueprint to Mr. Zhao Baye for review and shared his opinions with Mr. Huang.
The code matched! Cheng Xi's heart was pounding, and she had many questions to ask County Magistrate Huang.
It's a pity that we didn't have the chance to be alone together.
Whenever County Magistrate Huang comes here, Li Zheng will definitely accompany him, and Mr. Zhao will not be absent either.
After County Magistrate Huang finished talking with them about the water-pumping windmill, he was about to leave. Carpenter Wang handed the steam engine to Zhao Datian to operate, and they had to hurry back to Puyang City.
Cheng Xi went with everyone to see someone off to the village entrance, but she didn't even have a chance to say a word for a long time.
County Magistrate Huang asked everyone to stay and called Cheng Mu's name. "Boss Cheng, please send someone to tell me how the wheat harvest is going."
Was this a reminder that she could communicate through letters? Regardless of whether it was appropriate or not, Cheng Xi agreed first.
The wheat harvest was slightly better than usual, though the time savings weren't significant; it took almost four or five days to harvest the entire 40 mu of land. However, a significant reduction in labor was required; there was no need for dusty threshing in the drying yard. The combine harvester took in the wheat ears and spit out the stalks and grains, requiring only a few people to carry them back from the field. No extra labor was needed; the five of Saohu were sufficient to carry out the work.
The wheat grains are dried in the drying yard for two days and then stored in the warehouse.
The wheat straw is bundled in the field, piled up after being brought back, and covered with a straw raincoat to protect it from rain.
Cheng Mu asked Mu Yun to record the harvest and other things, but there was no time to report to County Magistrate Huang.
Next we have to prepare the land and plant corn, which will be very busy.
It was not until the end of May that I really had some free time.
The famous matchmaker Ms. Bai in the area came to our house.
"My dear sister, this is a great joyous occasion," Bai said, grabbing Yu's hand affectionately. "A daughter of a family is sought after by hundreds of families. If I were to count the families of your daughter Gui'er, I wouldn't be able to count them on both hands."
Yu had been worried about Gui'er's marriage since she came to Guishui last year. Although she was a country girl, she couldn't just go to anyone's house to propose marriage if she liked him. She had planned to wait for a year to see if anyone would come to propose marriage.
After the beginning of spring, every household was busy with farm work. Now they were finally free. Mrs. Bai came and told her five stories in one breath.
"My dear sister, none of the others are worthy of Gui'er. Let me first introduce you to five families. You can choose from these five. I tell you, each of them is a good man and a perfect match for Gui'er."
Yu saw Cheng Mu leading Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi to the front of the house and asked hesitantly, "Are these people really interested in Gui'er, or are they... coming for Madam Cheng?"
Mrs. Bai looked incredulous and slapped the back of her hand repeatedly, "Sister, what are you talking about? You and Madam Cheng can be separated? Because of Madam Cheng, Gui'er's market is so good. This is a good thing. Why do you insist on splitting it up?"
Yu's only concern was this. To be honest, "I'm afraid some people might harbor bad intentions and cause trouble for Madam Cheng."
Mrs. Bai coughed and raised her hand to stroke her temples. "My dear sister, marriage is a matter of good relations between two families. Everyone in this village knows each other. You can ask around the families I mentioned to you. If any of them is not sincere in their concern for the child's marriage, you are here to destroy my reputation."
Her eyes rolled around, and she lowered her voice and leaned closer to say, "If you're worried that Madam Cheng won't be satisfied, why don't you ask her to help you make an assessment? Madam Cheng is someone with a lot of experience, much better than you and me."
After Bai left, Yu was about to talk to Cheng Mu about this matter when Gui'er just came back from outside.
When Mrs. Bai came, she looked her up and down openly, and Gui'er didn't know how to be shy, so Mrs. Yu sent her to the field to pick some alfalfa for cooking.
Gui'er handed her a basket of alfalfa. Yu Shi didn't have the heart to care about the vegetables. "Mother has something to say to Madam Cheng. You take Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi to play in the drying yard."
"Mom, what's the matter? You want to send me away again? Who is that auntie who just came? Is she a relative of ours?"
"No. Why are you joining in the fun when the adults are talking? If I tell you to leave, then leave."
Gui'er pouted. She wasn't stupid. Her mother was obviously hiding something from her. Now she had a strong fist. If that was a relative who came to extort money, she would teach her a lesson.
She walked slowly holding Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi's hands, and looked back to see that her mother and Madam Cheng had gone into the house.
Gui'er stopped immediately, opened her arms, and held Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi in each hand. "Let's play hide-and-seek, Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi, don't make a sound. Let's hide so that Mom can't find us, okay?"
Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi love this game very much. Their two little faces are smiling brightly, their little hands are covering their mouths, and they nod like chicks pecking at rice.
"Sh-"
Gui'er quietly approached her home. She thought they had gone into the side rooms, but she found they were talking in the main hall.
She quickly stopped and stuck to the wall.
Inside the room, Yu was just finishing up explaining the situation of the five people to Cheng Mu and asked her, "What do you think, Madam Cheng?"
Cheng Mu said, "It doesn't matter what I think. This is Gui'er's lifelong event. She must be satisfied first. You should tell her directly and arrange for them to meet the one she likes. In the countryside, people are not so particular. If they like someone, they can go to more places."
Gui'er thought to herself, "Oh no! Her mother had already made sure everything was going well for her. So that meant the auntie who came earlier was a matchmaker! No wonder she was pulling her around and asking all sorts of questions."
Under her arm, Xiao Qi remained motionless, drooling profusely. Xiao Liu felt very uncomfortable being squeezed. She whispered, "Auntie, has Mom discovered us?"
Gui'er shook twice to appease him, and just as she made a "hush" sound, she looked up and saw her mother Yu leaning against the door and glaring at her.
"Mother!" Gui'er put Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi down, not at all embarrassed by being discovered, and protested dissatisfiedly, "You want to secretly marry me off to someone else?"
"Mom!" Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi ran happily to hold Cheng Mu's hands. Xiaoliu looked up and asked, "Are we hiding well?"
Cheng Mu replied that she was fine and said to Yu and the others, "Come in and talk."
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