Chapter 760: The Disciple of the Mo Family (Part 2) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
Hearing that the other party could handle the money, Lin Feng didn't interfere much, but repeatedly reminded the other party of the precautions: "I'm next door. If you need anything, you can come to me, but don't wander around on your own to avoid causing unnecessary misunderstandings."
The queen smiled brightly and waved her little hand.
"Okay, I understand, thank you."
Because Luan Xin was away on military business, Lin Feng, as the Registrar of Longwu County, was also responsible for various affairs of the Registrar's Office of Sibao County. Even though this department was relatively quiet, the workload was doubled. Lin Feng worked in the office during the day and then stayed up late at night processing official documents delivered by express courier from the Registrar's Office of Longwu County. These were matters that ordinary clerks couldn't handle.
She had just sat down and read two books when a furtive dark figure appeared outside the door, pacing back and forth, occasionally standing on tiptoe and craning their neck. Lin Feng didn't look up and said, "It's late and the dew is heavy outside. Is there anything you need, Lady Bei?"
The dark figure outside the room scratched his head, his voice tinged with embarrassment: "Excuse me for disturbing you, is Ms. Lin resting?"
Lin Feng said, "Not yet, come in."
As soon as he finished speaking, the door creaked open from the outside.
When the Queen saw the tall stacks of books on Lin Feng's desk, she opened her mouth in surprise and pointed at the books: "You want to read all of these? Really—amazing!"
Lin Feng simply closed the book and put it down: "What is it?"
Perhaps it was Lin Feng's aura that was too intimidating, or perhaps it was the mountain of books that frightened her, but she sat down at the table with a slightly awkward expression, her calloused hands gripping the coarse cloth on her knees, and asked in a hesitant voice, "Does Your Majesty have any cotton here?"
Lin Feng said, "I don't have any here."
The queen's mood visibly turned sour.
“However, I can have some sent over.” Lin Feng raised his hand and made a gesture, his fingertips surging with literary energy, which transformed into a delicate bluebird. The bluebird perched on his finger, flapped its wings, and flew out through the crack in the window. “You can go back to your room and wait now. An official will send some over to you later. You can tell me if you need anything else.”
The Queen was so shocked by Lin Feng's move that she forgot to close her mouth; her mouth was so wide open that it could fit several quail eggs.
Lin Feng smiled and was about to speak to bring the lady back to her senses when she was startled and jumped up on the spot, stammering, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Mr. Lin. I didn't mean to admit my mistake. It's just that Mr. Lin is too beautiful."
It's really not her fault that she mistook the gender because she has poor eyesight.
She never imagined that there could be someone in this world who was even more handsome than Yun Yuanmou! At least Yun Yuanmou had the physique of an adult male, and no matter how handsome his face was, it still had some masculine features, but Lin Langjun in front of her really didn't look like that!
She called him "Lady Queen," and he accepted it without explanation.
Lin Feng: "..."
For some reason, she suddenly understood the subtle feelings of her lord being misunderstood as being the wrong person. But Lin Feng didn't explain, only a hint of cunning appeared in his smile as he magnanimously accepted the queen's apology: "You're the first person to say I'm beautiful."
Who doesn't like to be praised by outsiders?
Because of the exemplary conduct of his lord and teacher, Lin Feng always felt somewhat insecure about his appearance. The female ruler hurriedly waved her hands, trying to explain, "No, no, no, my lord, please don't say that!"
Lin Feng looks more like a girl than she does. If "he" isn't considered good-looking, then wouldn't she be as ugly as Wu Yan?
Just as the woman calmed herself, a sudden thought struck her, and a faint blush rose to her cheeks. She quickly got up and returned to her room. Although she was used to being unconventional, it was still too bold for a man and a woman to be alone in a room at this hour.
Fearing that delaying would tarnish Lin Feng's reputation.
Watching the queen's retreating figure as if fleeing, Lin Feng finally couldn't help but chuckle softly. She regained her composure and continued working late into the night.
Not long after, there was a knock on the door next door.
The night watchman, who had received a message from the bluebird, brought over a wooden box.
He said, "This is the cotton the Queen wanted."
The queen thanked him and accepted the wooden box. She then asked the clerk in a low voice, "Excuse me... is there a bathing place in the backyard of the government office?"
Clerk: "No, but we can send you hot water."
"Then—could you find me a few more logs?"
The clerk smiled and said, "Of course."
Lin Hu Cao instructed that the lady's needs should be met as much as possible. Although the clerk did not know why, she only asked for a bucket of hot water and a few pieces of round wood, which was easier to serve than the clerk had imagined.
As soon as the official left, the queen closed the door and opened the box. Inside was a box of cotton that hadn't yet been threshed. She picked up the plumpest clump, white and fluffy, and it felt quite nice to hold. She muttered to herself, "This is cotton? It doesn't even look good... It doesn't look like a flower, more like a cloud..."
Why not call it "Cotton Cloud"?
The Sibao County government was quite something; they were offering a hefty reward of fifty taels of silver for something like this! Just thinking about that amount made her eyes light up and her mouth water. That was fifty taels of silver, not fifty copper coins! Enough to last her a long time!
When she first saw the notice, she thought it would be incredibly difficult and was mentally prepared to fight tooth and nail for fifty taels.
The moment she saw the cotton, she had a clue.
"Hehe, isn't this just money I found for free?"
The queen tossed the ball of cotton up and down with great confidence.
Before long, several servants brought over hot water, quickly filling the bathtub to about sixty percent full. Seven or eight logs were also brought over. Each log was as thick as her thigh! The wood was hard and fine-grained, whitish throughout, and without a single wormhole.
The queen took a comfortable hot bath, then changed into clean nightgown, and tied her long hair up with two wooden chopsticks.
She opened the wooden box she was carrying.
It was filled with all sorts of carpentry tools, a dazzling array: chisels, planes, saws, rulers, shovels, long lines, ink lines… and even a very small, exquisite planer. This wooden box weighed at least a hundred pounds!
The queen stretched with her arms crossed, her knuckles cracking: "Try to finish it tonight, and collect your reward tomorrow!"
In no time, I sawed off a piece of wood of the appropriate length.
Fearing that others would steal her job and claim the reward first, the queen did not intend to carve a fine piece; she simply made a passable one to get by. She used mortise and tenon joints to assemble the roughly polished wood into the shape of a "door," and then made two round logs of the same diameter as pivots. The two pivots were placed close together, and together with the previous "door," they formed the approximate shape of a "latch."
The two pivots are longer than the wooden frame.
The ends of the two shafts are machined to create a gear-like structure, and a handle is added to the other end of one of the shafts.
After doing all this, the queen took out the cotton from the wooden box and adjusted the distance between the two rotating shafts according to the size of the cotton seeds.
Next, simply place the cotton that hasn't been spun out between the two rotating shafts and turn the shaft handles. The two shafts will then rotate in opposite directions along with the gears. Because the gap between the shafts is very small, the cotton that is rolled in will automatically separate into lint and seeds.
The queen was using it and adjusting it at the same time.
In no time, the ground was covered with cotton seeds.
She placed the cotton wool and cotton seeds in two boxes.
It was already late at night, and the lady didn't want to knock on the door next door, so she stretched and climbed into bed, rolled herself up in the blankets, and within moments, she could hear the soft snoring of someone fast asleep. She slept soundly until the sunlight streamed into the room through the window.
The queen woke up to the sound of flashing swords. She threw back the covers and carefully opened the window.
That young master Lin is practicing his swordplay in the courtyard.
She looked at it for a while before lowering the window.
As soon as the Queen came out dressed, Lin Feng sheathed his sword.
"But the noise is too loud and disturbs the Northern Lady?"
The queen shook her head: "No, no."
Lin Feng led her to the government canteen for breakfast. The food lined up in a row made her eyes widen. Lin Feng said, "Just tell the cook what you want to eat. It's all free here. Don't hold back, eat as much as you want."
The queen then asked for a little of everything.
result--
Looking at the food Lin Feng was carrying, she muttered, "The appetite of a scholar is no smaller than that of a martial artist..."
Lin Feng ate as much as she would eat in a whole day.
But she soon lost the energy to pay attention to these things.
The food in the canteen of the Household Department was so delicious! Compared to what she used to eat, it was inedible. The Queen focused solely on eating.
After a long while, she let out several burps.
"Hiccup—hiccup—hiccup—"
Lin Feng smiled gently as he got up to bring her a bowl of hot soup, saying softly, "Drink some to soothe your burps."
"Young Master Lin is such a good person!"
She accepted it with gratitude, held it, and drank it all in one gulp.
After finishing breakfast, Lin Feng was due to go to work. The Queen waved her hand and said, "You're busy, you're busy. I also have things to do."
She hurriedly ran to the backyard, grabbed the small cotton-removing machine, and rushed to the government office. Seeing the reward notice still on the notice board, she breathed a sigh of relief and tore it down. Upon seeing someone remove the notice, the clerk quickly stepped forward and respectfully asked, "Does Your Majesty wish to offer up farming tools?"
She laughed and said, "Yes!"
The clerk, seeing the simple contents of her arms, muttered to himself with suspicion, but showed no sign of it. Instead, he led her to see the head of the Household Revenue Department—Lin Feng, the Household Revenue Clerk. It was the first time the Queen had met an official of this rank, and she felt somewhat uneasy.
When she saw who it was, she was dumbfounded.
She exclaimed in surprise, "Young Master Lin? You are the Registrar of Household Affairs?"
Lin Feng smiled gently: "Yes, it's me. I just heard from the clerk that you took down the notice at the entrance of the government office. I was wondering which capable person could solve this urgent problem. I never expected it to be the Northern Queen. Is the thing in the Queen's arms what you want to hand over?"
Because it was someone she knew, Bei Nujun's nervousness vanished instantly.
She said confidently, "Yes, that's it."
At the same time, the good cotton fibers and cotton seeds that have been separated are displayed.
"Would you please demonstrate this yourself, Your Majesty?"
"Okay, that's easy!"
Lin Feng raised his hand, and the clerk, quick-witted as ever, went down and brought over a box of cotton. Because this cotton-removing machine was so small and exquisite, Lin Feng and she had to sit on the ground during the demonstration. She watched intently as the cotton fibers and seeds separated very easily under the rotation of the machine's shaft. The more Lin Feng watched, the brighter his eyes became, and he clapped his hands in praise with excitement.
"The Queen is wise and ingenious; this item is truly a divine artifact!"
Lin Feng's praise made the Queen a little shy, and she quickly said modestly, "You don't deserve it, you don't deserve it, this thing is too simple."
It was so simple that she could do it when she was three or four years old.
She felt somewhat embarrassed to exchange such a simple thing for fifty taels of silver, and always felt unworthy of it.
Because of this sense of guilt, she said softly, "Due to the tight schedule, the product is rather rough. If Chief Scribe Wakabayashi is willing to wait and give me another day, I can improve it further. But—is one unit enough?"
Lin Feng shook his head: "One is certainly not enough."
The more of these simple cotton-removing machines the better.
Most importantly—
Lin Feng looked at the cotton-removing machine and said, "It's too small."
"Size isn't a problem, but if we make it bigger, turning the shaft will be more difficult. I'll have to modify it further to make it easier to operate." Quantity is even less of a problem.
This simple toy can be made by any experienced craftsman, and it is very easy to imitate.
Even so, Lin Feng still treasured it.
He raised his hand to signal the clerk to bring the reward money.
The lady used immense self-control to avoid becoming obsessed with money and making a fool of herself. Lin Feng, seemingly oblivious to her subtle expression, asked enthusiastically, "Last night I heard you say you came to Xiaocheng to find a master foundry. Do you know where this person lives?"
"This... I don't know. I only know that the person's surname is 'Bai'." Xiaocheng is so big, it's not easy to find someone.
The queen was most worried that the other party was not in Xiaocheng.
If that's the case, wouldn't I have made a wasted trip?
Lin Feng's expression twisted for a moment, seemingly surprised by the coincidence, but this was exactly what she wanted: "As far as I know, the surname 'Bai' is not very common. But I happen to know someone with the surname Bai, whose given name is Bai Su and courtesy name is Shao Xuan, and he also happens to be skilled in forging. He is most likely the person you are looking for."
The queen's eyes lit up: "Where is the master?"
Lin Feng laughed and said, "Unfortunately, I've gone out to fight a war."
Female Jun: "???"
This answer was beyond her expectations.
"The Grandmaster has gone out to fight? When will he return?"
Or rather, will they be able to come back alive?
"I don't know the exact time..." Lin Feng estimated the intelligence from the front lines in his mind and smiled, "but it should be soon."
The queen patted her chest and said with relief, "That's good."
She didn't want to make a wasted trip.
"If Your Majesty has nowhere to stay, why not stay at the government office? When Shao Xuan returns in triumph, I will be able to introduce you to him as soon as possible," Lin Feng said, seizing the opportunity to invite Your Majesty.
The latter agreed without much thought.
The food in the government canteen was incredibly tempting.
"Then—I'll take my leave!"
The thought of being able to eat like this for a while made her feel cheerful, and her affection for Lin Feng increased even more.
Lin Feng continued to probe indirectly: "Your Majesty solved the problem that had troubled us for so many days in just one night. You are truly a force to be reckoned with and worthy of our respect. I wonder if it is a family secret or if you have studied under a famous teacher? If it is convenient, I would really like to visit you and ask for your guidance."
Seeing Lin Feng's serious demeanor, the Queen was puzzled.
Are the little gadgets I made on the spot really that good?
He said, "It can be considered a succession of our sect, but my teacher has passed away for many years, and I am the only successor left in the sect."
(_)
My head has been throbbing for two days. The antigen arrived, the good news is I didn't test positive, the bad news is I'm still not better, I suspect it's from the air conditioning. Even worse news is several people in my neighborhood group have tested positive again… Holy crap.
(End of this chapter)
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