Chapter 213 Humming
At the Xiangping Blacksmith Shop, Lu Songli explained the purpose of his visit and then handed the blueprint in his hand to the young Tie Zhan.
Seeing that it was a new gadget, the young blacksmith was unsure and had to ask his father who was resting in the backyard to come out.
His father was also an old blacksmith. He looked at the blueprints Lu Songli had given him, pondered for a moment, and said to Lu Songli, "This thing requires a lot of iron. The labor cost plus the iron used is eight taels of silver. Do you want to do it?"
"Do it." Lu Songli didn't even blink. "How long will it take?"
Wu Ren hesitated to speak, as he felt that the price could be negotiated.
"This is a new thing. It will take about three days to make it." The old blacksmith felt that this needed to be made clear.
Lu Songli asked, "We'll pay you more money so you can work faster, okay?" If it took three days, they would have to turn the soil with their bare hands for three days, which was too tiring and unnecessary.
The old blacksmith said nothing.
The young blacksmith shook his head and said, "It won't be fast. I'm the only one in the shop now. My father is old and doesn't work as a blacksmith anymore." Besides, he has other work on hand.
"Ten taels." Lu Songli raised the price lightly.
At this time, the old blacksmith glanced at his son.
The young blacksmith gritted his teeth and said, "I'll try to finish it for you in two days." Can he put the other orders on the back burner?
"Fifteen taels."
The young blacksmith said, "Come and get it in a day!" At worst, he would not sleep!
"Twenty taels."
The young blacksmith was in a dilemma. He thought he couldn't do it. He really couldn't do it, even if he was paid more.
The old blacksmith at the side took over and said, "Come and get it in the evening."
"Dad, I can't." The son couldn't do it, not even with his broken hand. Young Tiezhan was about to cry.
The old blacksmith kicked him and said, "You idiot! Dad is here to help you!"
As the saying goes, if you don’t make money, you are a bastard!
"Call your uncle Wang, the old carpenter, and try to finish it in an afternoon." If I gave Uncle Wang two taels of silver for an afternoon's work, he'd probably come running over with joy. The key point was that the work wasn't difficult.
"Add another five taels, and give me fine iron." Lu Songli made another request.
"Okay." The old blacksmith was very straightforward. You have the money, so you have the final say.
At Lu Songli's suggestion, Lu Mingzhi obediently went to pay a deposit of ten taels.
Coming out of the blacksmith shop, Lu Songli looked at Wu Ren, "Wu Ren, have you learned it?"
Lü Mingzhi: What did he learn? Spend money? He can do that too.
Wu Ren seemed to be lost in thought.
"Some things are time-sensitive, and you have to spend money when it's time to do so."
“Money makes the world go round. In the business world, there is nothing that money can’t solve. If there is, it’s because you don’t have enough money.”
Lu Songli gave him some advice.
Wu Ren is smart and studious, humble and quick to learn. In short, he is good in every way, but his background limits his horizons, and he can be a bit petty at times.
In fact, the upper limit of today's example is still too low. If it were a big deal, it would definitely allow him to expand his horizons.
Lu Songli thought, he'll wait for the opportunity. But today's example gave him some inspiration, which was not bad.
In the evening, Lu Songli successfully got the curved plow. She nodded to them and left.
The young blacksmith and the old blacksmith were obviously tired. After handing the things to Lu Songli, they sat on the chairs and were too lazy to even say a word.
Lu Mingzhi and Wu Ren sent Lu Songli back in a carriage.
When they were almost there, Lu Mingzhi said reluctantly, "Second sister, we will be back to Chang'an soon."
They have been frantically buying land and property these past two days. Each of them bought ten to thirty to fifty acres of land in the same area. Once they finish these things, they will go back.
Thinking of returning to Chang'an, Lu Mingzhi felt both happy and reluctant.
Lu Songli waved her hand and said, "Then go back. Don't miss me too much."
Lu Mingzhi choked and thought, forget it, the nice sentimental atmosphere was completely ruined by his second sister.
Lu Songli knew they would soon be moving to Xiangping. A return trip would only take four months at most, so she couldn't be sad.
Wu Ren was the first to jump off the carriage and asked the soldier on duty, "Excuse me, is the steward Lin Zhonglin here?"
The guard didn't say he was there, nor did he say he wasn't. "What's the matter?"
"Nothing, I just went to the street and ate some delicious braised pork trotters, so I brought some for him. If he's not here, could you please pass it to him?" As Wu Ren spoke, he took out an oil-paper bag from the carriage. If you got closer, you could smell the aroma of the braised pork.
"Wait."
Lu Songli did not get out of the car and let Wu Ren deal with it.
Soon, Lin Zhong came over and heard hearty laughter.
Wu Ren walked up to him and exchanged a few words with him.
Lin Zhong glanced at their carriage, then waved his hand and their carriage was allowed to pass.
Lu Mingzhi and Wu Ren sent her home and then turned back without going in to bother her again.
At this time, it was almost dark and the Qin family had just returned from the fields.
When Qin Sheng got home, he found that she had not returned yet. He was a little worried and was walking out to look for her.
Seeing her struggling to carry the curved plow towards home, he hurried forward to take it.
In the yard, Qin Zhao saw him holding a strange-looking thing and asked, "What is this?"
Lv Songli explained, "It's a plowing tool. With it, we don't have to work so hard when turning the soil."
"Let me try." Qin Zhao was eager to try.
They had been turning the soil all day and were exhausted. Not only did their hands get blisters, but they even felt like their backs were a bit stiff. Only then did he realize that turning the soil wasn't an easy job.
The most amazing one is Xiaoliu, who can turn over six or seven acres of land a day. The second brother is the second best, who can also turn over five or six acres. He and the eldest brother are almost there, and can only turn over about four or five acres a day.
It was just a bit tiring. They started working before the sun stopped and continued until dark, sometimes working an hour longer than the other prisoners. But there was no other way, it was all for the women at home.
The original military settlement regulations stipulated that a male convict should plow three mu of land a day, which was the maximum amount of work, and many men could barely complete it. They were already quite impressive, not only completing their own tasks, but also taking on the tasks of the female relatives.
Qin Zhao fiddled with it for a while, but felt he wasn't getting the hang of it, so he brought it to Lu Songli and said, "It's quite sharp, but it's not easy to use."
Lu Songli was drinking the water Qin Sheng poured for her. Hearing this, she smiled and said, "Third brother, this is not how it's used. You'll know tomorrow."
At night, when they returned to the room and went to sleep, Qin Sheng hummed and moaned, and it was hard for Lu Songli not to notice.
"What’s wrong with you?"
"My hand hurts—" Qin Sheng thought for a moment and added, "My waist hurts—"
In fact, he didn't feel any pain anywhere. He was just imitating his third brother. I heard him complain several times in the evening.
Lu Songli asked him, "Then let me give you a massage?" Her massage technique is quite good.
I heard that he turned the soil the most today. If the amount of exercise exceeds the standard, the arms may swell and ache. Just press them to push away the accumulated lactic acid.
"Okay!" Qin Sheng was so happy when he heard it that he jumped up and quickly stripped himself down to his underpants, then lay down again.
The flying clothes are just like his high spirits...
Lu Songli raised an eyebrow. His movements were so quick, it didn't seem like his muscles were sore or stiff. Never mind, he worked so hard, so let's just consider it a reward.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
