Chapter 49 The Light Bulb God Said, "Let There Be Light"
Mo Jingchun carried the braised duck home.
Her mother, Cai, had returned from the laundry shop and was sitting in the courtyard knitting a sweater.
Mo Jingchun slowed her pace and walked slowly behind Cai Shi. She peeked out from her mother's left and called out "Mother." When Cai Shi turned her head to the left, Mo Jingchun quickly took a big step to the right.
Cai looked at the empty space: "..."
The elderly mother gave a helpless smile. "How old are you?"
Mo Jingchun chuckled.
She put the braised duck into the kitchen and dragged a chair down to sit next to Cai.
Cai casually asked, "Does that thing called cotton really keep you warm?"
Mo Jingchun nodded. “Cotton can be used to make clothes, pants and quilts. It’s a great way to keep warm.” She paused. “However, the climate in Jinzhou is not very suitable for growing cotton, so the yield is limited. The embroidery workshop plans to use all of this year’s cotton to make quilts and sell them in limited quantities.”
Cai was surprised and asked, "Is it enough?"
Mo Jingchun shook his head, "That is definitely not enough. Our Anling County currently has a population of over 100,000."
Madam Cai couldn't help but worry, "What should we do then?"
Mo Jingchun said, "Minister Wu of the Ministry of Agriculture said that we could spend money to find people in the two neighboring states and ask them to help us grow cotton on their land."
Cai stopped knitting and looked at Mo Jingchun, asking, "Is this feasible?"
Mo Jingchun rested her chin on her left hand. "Zhu Youchuan pointed out that it's not enough to just spend money to invite the local people; we also need to spend money to bribe the local officials so that they will agree to lend us the land. Old Cheng said he was worried that the local officials would find out that our cotton was very good and then refuse to give us the harvested cotton."
Ning Huai'an felt that if they wanted to grow cotton with peace of mind, the best thing to do was to acquire land suitable for growing cotton.
Zhu Youchuan retorted that it was Sun Yannan's territory. Was Sun Yannan really that easy to defeat? He suggested that they focus on taking Jinzhou first.
Yun Youning said not to rush, let's focus on developing the economy first, and then march on Jinzhou when we are rich.
Recalling the scene at the meeting, Mo Jingchun casually rubbed his temples.
Looking at her daughter's bluish eyes, Madam Cai asked with concern, "Didn't you sleep well again last night?"
Mo Jingchun sighed, "It's alright, I slept for more than two hours, but I have a lot of work pressure."
She looked up at Madam Cai and said coquettishly, "Mother, the department where your daughter works is responsible for allocating land to everyone. Some people may inevitably have ulterior motives. Don't be fooled into accepting their things."
Upon hearing this, Cai rolled her eyes. "Your mother has eaten more salt than you have rice. Does she need you to teach her?"
Mo Jingchun smiled, "That's good. I don't want you to visit me in jail one day when I'm imprisoned for embezzlement."
Cai: "..."
The hour of Chou (1-3 AM).
Mo Jingchun yawned as she put on her clothes, went to the kitchen to get some cold water to wash her face, then quickly combed her hair before leaving the house.
The bright moon hangs high in the night sky, illuminating the way forward, thus saving the need for candles.
Taking advantage of the moonlight, Mo Jingchun headed straight for the administration building.
The night breeze blowing in my face dispelled the daytime heat and brought a touch of coolness.
"If only it were this cool during the day," Mo Jingchun couldn't help but sigh.
She walked for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before she encountered the night watchman, and she greeted him.
The night watchman was startled. "Xiao Mo? Where are you going so late at night?"
Mo Jingchun replied, "I'm going to the administration office to look at some books."
Night watchman: "?"
He was shocked. "You're reading so late?"
Mo Jingchun said, "I've been sleeping since 9 PM, for more than two hours." She'll go to the administration office to read for a while, and then sleep for another half hour before getting back to work.
The administrative building was completely empty.
Mo Jingchun used his memory to find his way into the judicial department's office area, took a solar-powered desk lamp from Zhu Youchuan's desk, and turned it on.
The white light instantly illuminated most of the room.
She was overjoyed and couldn't help but touch the lamp. "It's truly a magical tool, so useful!"
Mo Jingchun took the desk lamp and went to the large communal office.
She put down the lamp and picked up a book to read.
Half an hour later, footsteps came from outside the house, getting closer and closer.
Mo Jingchun looked up and saw a man and a woman push open the door and walk in.
The three people, with six eyes in total, made the young woman raise her hand and pat her chest. "Minister Mo, you startled me!"
The young man smiled and glanced at his younger sister, then asked Mo Jingchun, "Minister Mo, are you here to read books too?"
Mo Jingchun nodded, "Are you the same?"
The young man said, "Yes, Minister Zhu said the desk lamp could be used by everyone. My brother and I woke up and wanted to come and read some books."
A young woman walked over, tilting her head to examine the lamp. "No matter how many times I look at it, I still think this gadget is amazing."
Mo Jingchun smiled and said, "Wouldn't it be wonderful if one day we could all use it?"
The three sat around the table, and by the light of the desk lamp, one was reading a book, while the other was writing documents.
Occasionally, we'll discuss knowledge we don't understand from the books.
At the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), a few more people arrived one after another. Seeing that there were already people in the main office, they smiled at each other.
We're so in sync!
He Qinglan sat on the roof of the administration building, looking at the administrative staff reading books in the room opposite, and she felt a little emotional.
If you all work so hard and so many people share one desk lamp, you'll all become nearsighted in no time.
With such a heavy workload and only two to three hours of sleep a day, my health will probably collapse when I'm in my forties or fifties.
She curled the corners of her lips into a smile. Fine, considering you're all under my command...
With a snap of her fingers, a light shone from the ceiling of the opposite room, illuminating the entire office.
This is much brighter than the little desk lamp that Zhu Youchuan sponsored!
The people inside gasped in surprise.
But they also knew very well that this must have been a gift from the goddess!
They all expressed their gratitude to the goddess.
He Qinglan said softly, "From now on, this lamp will be lit every day from 7 PM to 11 PM, so you can study and work during this time."
She paused, then continued, "Get some rest and take care of yourself."
Although I didn't know where the goddess was, her usual cool voice rang clearly in my ears.
The people inside were both surprised and delighted.
"Thank you, Goddess!"
"Thank you for your grace, Goddess!"
"As expected of a goddess, she can truly make the night as bright as day!"
"God really can give light to mortals!"
"We will definitely work even harder to repay the goddess's great kindness!"
"The goddess actually told us to rest early. The goddess saw our hard work and dedication!"
"Ahhh, I'd give my life for the goddess!"
...
He Qinglan: "..."
She leaped lightly off the roof.
The news spread like wildfire throughout the entire administration building early the next morning.
Everyone was shocked.
And it's unbelievable.
They stood in the middle of the office, looking up at the transparent sphere hanging in the air. Although it looked different from Zhu Youchuan's desk lamp, they could tell it was the same object.
Some people regretted not coming in the early morning!
"It's alright, it's alright, you can see it the same way tonight." The administrative staff here in the early morning offered a hypocritical reassurance, "The goddess said it will light up at the hour of Xu (7-9 PM)."
Cheng Hui stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the light bulb.
He couldn't help but imagine what kind of world the goddess had obtained these things from.
How many such divine objects are there in that world?
I really want to go see it!
“If you’re curious, you can ask the goddess,” Zhang Yiwen’s voice suddenly came from behind.
Cheng Hui turned to look at him.
Zhang Yiwen stared intently at the light bulb in the air. "I also want to know why it can light up, and whether it's possible for us to create such a magical device."
The goddess was never stingy with her teachings.
"If only I could hang one of these in my home someday..."
"No way, don't even think about it."
The goddess decisively rejected Zhang Yiwen's fantasy.
"Two industrial revolutions and one enlightenment movement—it would take more than a hundred years for electric lights to come on in this world. In a hundred years, you'll be nothing but bones in your grave."
Zhang Yiwen: "..."
He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "More than a hundred years..."
He then perked up and looked at He Qinglan expectantly, "You mean, although my generation won't see it, as long as we persevere in that...that industrial revolution, and continue for two or three generations, our descendants will be able to hang electric lights in their homes?"
He Qinglan, without any hesitation, painted a rosy picture for him, "Not bad."
She gave him an encouraging look, "If you're interested, go find Zhu Youchuan. He has a history book from another world that tells how the people in that world started from scratch and installed electric lights in every household in the rural areas."
Zhang Yiwen was dumbfounded.
Cheng Hui could not even imagine it.
Can ordinary rural homes really have lights all over them?
This...this...
Wait a minute, Cheng Hui hesitated slightly, "Electric light?" He hesitated before speaking, "You mean, the magic lamp uses... electricity?"
Zhang Yi was astonished, "People from another world can use lightning?"
Lightning!
The two glanced at each other subconsciously, then looked at He Qinglan together.
Cheng Hui said, "I know you gave Ji Zhou (Zhu Youchuan) two sets of divine books. Didn't those divine books say that ordinary people could be on equal footing with royalty? They even talked about how to use lightning?"
Zhang Yiwen: "..."
Huh? On equal footing? What kind of books are you reading?
He Qinglan: "No, I gave Zhu Youchuan a history book. The history book only talks about such a process. As for what this process is like, you have to look at math and physics books, but with your current level, you won't understand it."
Cheng Hui: "..."
Zhang Yiwen: "..."
He Qinglan: "Go read a history book." At least she could paint a rosy picture for herself, a goal to strive for in the future.
After seeing Cheng Hui and Zhang Yiwen off, Qiu Tang went inside. "Goddess."
He Qinglan had already changed into a white T-shirt and washed jeans. She held out her hand to Qiu Tang and said, "Let's go."
Qiu Tang's pupils dilated in shock: Huh?
She stammered, "Where...where are you going?"
Why so suddenly?
He Qinglan took two steps forward, grabbed Qiu Tang by the collar, and put her on his back. Qiu Tang subconsciously held onto He Qinglan's shoulders.
He Qinglan said, "Go to the east and save the people who are about to die in the flood."
Qiu Tang: "!!!"
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Author's Note: [Let me see]
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