The next day, at Han Family Academy, Han Mingyue did not see Lin Xiyao arrive for school as usual.
I was very curious.
I guess it must be because Madam Lin is new to Donghai Town, so I want to spend more time with her.
However, without people to bicker with, Han Mingyue always felt empty inside.
Just as he was distracted, Master Yu caught him red-handed.
Master Yu held the ruler in his hand and tapped it lightly on the table. He said seriously, "Han Mingyue, tell me, what I just said makes sense? And where exactly does it make sense?"
Han Mingyue looked embarrassed; he didn't know what he was thinking just now.
He was completely lost in thought, and didn't hear a single word of what the Master was saying.
He quickly looked to Li Qimu and Gu Yanyu for help.
Who knew those two kids, sitting upright and proper, wouldn't even spare a glance for him? They really weren't loyal enough.
"Han Mingyue, you are to copy today's lesson twenty times and hand it in to me first thing tomorrow morning!" Master Yu said angrily.
Han Mingyue started to lose focus as soon as class began.
He tapped the ruler many times, but the boy's eyes started to wander again after a short while.
Han Mingyue pleaded with a forced smile, "Master, I didn't mean to! Could you please make me copy it twice less?"
Twenty times? Then I won't need to eat dinner tonight.
"Then do it thirty times!" Master Yu said sternly.
Upon hearing this, Han Mingyue looked utterly dejected, her head drooping instantly.
I dared not plead for him anymore.
When Gu Yun Chu and Li Qi Mu heard that Han Ming Yue had been punished, they both looked at him with sympathy.
Well, more than anything, it was schadenfreude.
......
After lunch, Gu Lili busied herself preparing to build the sheep pen and the canteen.
The fence here is almost finished; all that's left is to place sharp seashells on it.
These seashells were collected by the children in the village at Gu Lili's request; they cost one coin per pound.
In just one afternoon, the village's teenagers and some idle women collected two or three hundred pounds of seashells and piled them up in Gu Lili's yard.
Gu Lili didn't just let them pick out the sharp ones; she wanted them all.
The best-looking and high-quality pieces are selected for making mother-of-pearl inlay.
Yu Yirou was overjoyed as she looked at the dazzling array of seashells.
From now on, we will never have to worry about finding raw materials for mother-of-pearl inlay.
Gu Lili assigned some of the craftsmen to erect it on the wall, while the other group went to help her build a sheepfold.
This will also make the process faster.
Using Uncle Fa Cai's name, Gu Lili had him bring over a lot of steel bars.
The villagers were already used to Uncle Fortune producing strange and unusual items.
At the place where the sheepfold was to be built, Gu Lili took out the blueprints in her hand.
"Craftsman Qian, take a look. Can you understand it?"
The blueprints were drawn by Gu Lili last night, and Craftsman Qian took them and examined them carefully.
"Your Highness, do you mean you want to build a two-story house?" Craftsman Qian asked tentatively after carefully studying the blueprints for a while.
Gu Lili nodded; that was exactly what she thought.
The craftsman was somewhat puzzled, as second floors were usually only found in houses in town.
Even the house where Gu Lili and the others lived was only one story.
Could it be that Gu Lili intends to raise the sheep on the first floor and use the second floor to store hay for feeding the sheep in winter?
However, this is not quite right either, if the hay is stored on the second floor.
Carrying hay upstairs back and forth is time-consuming and laborious.
Besides, there's so much open space nearby; we could easily build a spot to store hay. There's no need to go to such lengths.
Craftsman Qian couldn't help but complain about Gu Lili in his heart.
Although she was a county princess, she was still a woman and her considerations were far too inadequate.
Although building a second floor could earn more money, if it was only for storing hay, Qian Gongjiang felt he still needed to persuade Gu Lili.
“Princess, it’s really going to a lot of trouble to use this second floor to store hay! It would be better to just build one floor; you can just put the hay in any shed you build.”
Gu Lili smiled inscrutably.
"Craftsman Qian, who told you I was going to use the second floor to store hay? I'm going to raise sheep on the second floor!"
Upon hearing this, Craftsman Qian found it even more absurd.
With the money to build a second floor, we could build two more sheep pens of the same size on the first floor.
"This is rather ridiculous," the craftsman muttered to himself.
If word gets out, people will laugh at us to death.
Gu Lili wasn't annoyed. Pointing to the steel bars that Uncle Facai had brought, she explained, "These iron bars will be used to build the floor of the second floor. The sheep will be on the second floor, and their droppings will naturally fall on the first floor."
This way, the sheep can live more comfortably and in a cleaner environment.
They won't end up sleeping on sheep droppings and urine because of delayed treatment.
This way, the sheep will get fewer diseases.
The underground area is used to store manure, so if sheep manure is needed, it can be taken directly from below, which is very convenient.
Gu Lili saw this at a friend's house before, and she thought that the person who came up with this idea was a genius.
That's why we've adopted this method today.
Upon hearing this, Craftsman Qian suddenly realized what was going on.
It turns out I was the one with shallow knowledge!
Gu Lili was able to become a county princess, so she must have some extraordinary abilities.
"Your Highness, I was just ignorant and naive. Please forgive me." Craftsman Qian quickly apologized for his rudeness.
Gu Lili waved her hand dismissively.
"It's alright, you can cover it up for now. If you have any questions, just ask me."
After Gu Lili finished speaking, she took Xiao Li'er and headed home.
Before I even got home, I could see several horse-drawn carriages parked at the gate in the distance.
Gu Lili guessed in her mind that it must be those merchants from Jiangdu who came to pick up the soap.
"Little Fox, go for a walk around here. I'll have your master take you hunting later!" Gu Lili squatted down and stroked Little Fox's head as she spoke.
The villagers were already used to seeing the little fox, but the merchants were different.
It would be bad if she took them in and scared them half to death.
Little Fox must have understood what Gu Lili said, and after enjoying a caress from Gu Lili, it headed towards the other side of the mountain.
Gu Lili also started walking home.
Before they even got home, they ran into Wei Yin.
"Wei Yin, go over there and take Little Fox hunting," Gu Lili said, pointing in the direction where Little Fox had disappeared.
Wei Yin came out for this very reason.
The sudden presence of strangers in his home made Wei Yin feel somewhat uncomfortable.
"Yes!" Wei Yin bowed and responded, then used his lightness skill to dash towards the place where Xiao Li'er had disappeared.
Gu Lili continued walking home.
There are seven carriages at the entrance.
One of the vehicles had a lantern with the character "Liu" on it. Gu Lili guessed that someone from the Liu family must have come, so Old Mrs. Li and Old Mr. Li would probably be heading to Jiangdu soon.
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