After the pig-slaughtering feast at the Liangshan Regiment Ceremony, the wounded soldiers finally got a couple of days of rest.
The elderly people in each household cut willow branches and reeds from the riverbank and continued to busy themselves weaving baskets and new kang mats.
Firstly, the elderly can't stay idle and always need to find some small tasks to do.
Secondly, a large number of baskets are needed when picking fruit in the orchard.
In the second village, every new house needs a kang mat for its large kang (heated brick bed).
Rarely, the Marquis wasn't busy these past two days, so after lunch, when the light rain stopped, the Marquis and Jiayin strolled around the Li family's courtyard.
Previously, Grandma Li and Tao Hongying had already made dried noodles once.
I wrote down the specific steps and the amount of ingredients clearly.
At this moment, the veterans gathered together, listening to Tao Hongying explain the steps, and even teaching them step by step.
But the men were clumsy and incompetent; when more than a hundred people tried to learn, it was like ducks trying to hear thunder—they simply couldn't understand it.
Tao Hongying's mouth was dry from talking, and seeing this, she was somewhat discouraged.
The Marquis frowned and asked Jiayin in a low voice, "Fu Niu'er, do you think we should give them a different business?"
Jiayin was also troubled. After considering all aspects, the dried noodle business was the simplest and most effective way to make money!
"Godfather, let me think about it some more and see if there is a better way."
The Marquis ruffled the chubby girl's hair, feeling sorry for her.
After all, even the adults had no other choice, and the idea of making dried noodles was Fu Niu'er's.
He then added, "It's okay if you can't figure it out. If all else fails, your godfather will go to your royal uncle and rob two more royal estates so they can farm the land."
"No, Godfather!" Jiayin was soft-hearted and couldn't bear to part with him.
After all, these wounded soldiers had already planned to settle down, and moving them to another place would probably destroy their hope of starting a new life.
"Let me think about it some more, I'm sure I'll come up with a good idea!" Jiayin leaned on the windowsill and peeked into the room.
The little fox joined in the fun and squeezed onto the windowsill.
Jiayin simply used it as a cushion to avoid burping her chin on the windowsill.
Several wounded soldiers were sitting by the window, also looking troubled, sighing.
"I'm so clumsy, my hands are like bear paws, I can't even knead noodles properly."
"Me too, once my eyes can see it, my hands can't keep up."
"I'm alright, I think kneading noodles is quite simple, it's just that fermenting the dough is quite troublesome."
"You're really wrong. It's easy to leaven dough, but it's troublesome to roll out noodles."
The group started arguing, and each of them clearly felt they were right.
But this reminded Jiayin, who was eavesdropping!
Everyone has their own area of expertise, so let's divide the work!
"Godfather, I understand! I've got a plan!"
She ran over, took her godfather's hand, squatted down, and then picked up a stone and started drawing on the ground.
“Godfather, look, making noodles involves several steps. If everyone learns together, they will have to learn from beginning to end. Why don’t we learn them separately?”
"For example, if you like making dough, then you should make dough. If you keep making dough, you'll naturally become proficient quickly. If you're in charge of kneading noodles, then you should knead noodles. If you keep kneading noodles, you'll naturally become more skilled!"
"This way, each person only needs to learn one step, which makes learning and doing faster. When all the steps are combined, it becomes easier."
The Marquis's eyes lit up when he heard this. He took the stone, drew some simple lines on it, and finally smiled. "This method is worth a try. It might really solve a big problem."
Jiayin proudly raised her chin and said, "Godfather, don't worry, this is called assembly line operation. It's not just for noodle workshops; all workshops can be arranged like this in the future!"
Just then, Li Lao Er came out of the house and, upon hearing this, asked, "What new ideas does my Fu Niu have now?"
Jiayin quickly pulled her second uncle forward and explained it carefully, finally saying, "For example, when Grandma and the others make shoes, there are four steps: pasting the soles, sewing the soles, binding the edges, and sewing the uppers. It's easy for one person to paste the soles for ten pairs of shoes a day, or to sew the soles for ten pairs of shoes."
"But four people, working together, can make ten pairs of shoes a day. If each person is responsible for everything from start to finish, they can only make one pair a day at most, for a total of four pairs. In other words, assembly line production can more than double the efficiency!"
Li Lao Er nodded repeatedly and said to the Marquis, "My lord, aren't we going to collect a batch of shoes for the relief agency to sew tomorrow? We can try out this assembly line first!"
The Marquis also remembered this matter, "I almost forgot about it, let's give it a try first!"
Hearing that her mother's voice was hoarse, Jiayin quickly ran into the house, grabbed her mother's hand and said, "Mom, Godfather has come up with a good idea. It's easy to teach these uncles. Let's stop the lesson today and teach them again in a few days."
Before Tao Hongying could respond, the wounded soldiers had already started shouting with joy.
"Really? The Marquis has come up with a great idea?!"
"That's great! I'm such a blockhead, I just can't get it."
"Me too, I'm so sorry, General's wife, after talking for so long, my mind is still a complete mess."
Tao Hongying was afraid they would lose confidence, so she quickly said, "Perhaps we taught too much today, so it's normal that you can't learn it all. When you have free time, think about it and it will be easier for us next time."
Everyone thanked them and then dispersed.
Tao Hongying hugged the earthenware bowl and drank two bowls of water in one go, which made Li Laosi feel sorry for her. He whispered, "Should we go to Doctor Zhang's to ask for some medicine? I'm afraid your throat will hurt when you wake up tomorrow morning."
Tao Hongying smiled and glared at him, then replied, "No need, you're not injured. Just drink more water and you'll be fine!"
"Then I'll boil some water for you. I remember we have some honey at home, I'll make you a bowl of it." Li Laosi said as he went to get busy.
Tao Hongying was worried that he wasn't familiar with the area, so she followed behind and gave instructions.
Jiayin, this daughter, has been completely relegated to the background.
Having been stuffed with dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection), I could only take the little fox to find my grandma.
Fortunately, she'll always be her grandmother's darling...
The next morning, Li Lao Er went out with the Marquis.
Around noon, Li Lao Er hired more than a dozen horse-drawn carriages and carried a large amount of cloth and cotton to the relief office.
Of course, curious people would ask.
Thus, the news spread that the Marquis of Xinting had distributed the cotton shoes needed by the army to the relief department for sewing.
Some people said this was a good idea, as it provided cotton-padded shoes for the soldiers to wear through the winter, and also provided work for the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled in the relief department, enabling them to support themselves.
Some say that the Marquis of Xinting had a close personal relationship with the Earl of Zhongshan, which constitutes favoritism and a bend in the law.
Of course, most people don't have time to care...
Since the official notices had been issued several days ago, their children and grandchildren now had to go to the Ministry of War's stall at the city gate to register and be added to the roster.
Once the roster is complete, anyone who tries to change it will be considered a deserter and will be beheaded!
In other words, there isn't much time left for each company to operate.
But the Emperor wouldn't budge. Even the Empress's own brother received a calling card, and the old Marquis of Jiangning fell ill from worry, but the Emperor still didn't change his mind!
For a moment, everyone was plunged into despair.
Those who had previously remained calm, believing the emperor would rescind the decree, could no longer sit still...
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