Chapter 149 Why have you lost so much weight?
After hearing Uncle Xu's words, Sang Zhixia felt inexplicably more at ease. On the way home, she even went up to him and chatted with him for a few minutes.
After hearing her thoughts, Uncle Xu subconsciously clicked his tongue.
"You mean to change the threshing bucket to be driven by running water? I've never seen anything like that before."
Sang Zhixia probably had a waterwheel model in his mind, which could be used to thresh grain and irrigate.
She thought for a moment and said, "If we can make it, then we've all seen it, right?"
"Third Uncle, think about it. One of our fields is right upriver from the river. The current is turbulent and fast. If we could use the force of the constantly rushing water to act on the threshing bucket, wouldn't we save a lot of effort?"
When the time comes, we can just turn that piece of wasteland into a threshing ground, bring all the rice harvested from other places over there, finish it all at once, and then send the rice back. Wouldn't that be great?
Uncle Xu hesitated and said, "Using the momentum of the water flow?"
"Is this feasible?"
"Why can't this be done?"
Sang Zhixia smiled and said, "Water and wind, whatever the heaven and earth create should be used if it can be used. As long as you use it well, you can save a lot of energy."
Uncle Xu held his aching waist and was very moved.
He doesn't want to admit that he is old.
But it’s really tiring to exert effort.
Sang Zhixia thought for a moment and asked tentatively, "Uncle San, have you ever made a waterwheel?"
Uncle Xu blinked blankly: "Waterwheel?"
"Yes, a waterwheel."
At this time, farmers relied on only two irrigation methods. One was to dig canals to divert water directly from the water source, which was relatively close to the source. The other method was manual irrigation, which was more suitable.
The former is too dependent on location, and requires both favorable timing and favorable location, which are difficult to meet all the requirements.
The latter is not so picky about the location, but it still requires a lot of effort.
Simply put: it delays things, wastes energy, and makes it difficult to scale up.
Sang Zhixia had wanted to talk about the waterwheel irrigation for a long time. Seeing that Uncle Xu probably understood what she meant, she simply broke down and mashed up everything she thought of and poured it into his ears.
Uncle Xu became excited as he listened, and his breathing became faster.
"If it can be done as you say, then irrigation and threshing will no longer be a hassle!"
Sang Zhixia clapped her hands decisively: "That's exactly what I meant."
Try to dig channels across the scattered land and use water wheels installed upstream of the water source to divert water into the channels.
With this layer of protection, even when the weather is dry, as long as the water source is not dry, there is no need to worry about irrigation. At least it can ensure that the land will never lack water, and the crops will not die of drought due to untimely irrigation.
The most important thing is that with water wheels driving the water upstream, a steady stream of irrigation water will be distributed from the source to all the places where the canals have been opened, so there is no need for people to go out of their way to flow the water.
Uncle Xu thought about it in his mind, slapped his thigh and said, "I think it's feasible!"
"Come on, let's go home and try it!"
Xu Yu's outstretched hand fell into nothing.
He watched Uncle Xu excitedly striding home with Sang Zhixia, and laughed in silence as he grabbed the basket filled with several sickles.
After coming back and being busy all day, he didn't even find a chance to say a few words!
Xu Wenxiu didn't know he was feeling disappointed. Looking at his slightly darker face, she felt both distressed and relieved. "Yu'er, how long can you stay at home this time? Are you going out again?"
Without waiting for Xu Yu's answer, she sighed and said, "Why don't you just stay at home and help out?"
"Xia Xia has hired a lot of people to open up wasteland recently. There are more than 100 acres of land waiting to be cultivated at home. There is so much work at home. What will you do if you run away?"
Even if you can pay someone to do it, what about the effort of keeping an eye on it?
Xu Wenxiu thought of how busy Sang Zhixia had been recently and couldn't help but frown. "When you're not home, Xia Xia is so busy running around that she can't even take care of anything. How will she be able to handle this? She's already thin, and she's lost even more weight from being so busy!"
When Xu Yu heard about the hundred acres of land, a dark light flashed in his eyes. He was silent for a long time before nodding: "I know."
Xu Wenxiu said dissatisfiedly: "What's the use of just knowing? You have to take this matter to heart!"
Xu Yu sighed and said okay.
"Don't worry, Mom. I know what's going on."
Xu Wenxiu was still muttering softly. Xu Yu listened with one ear and ignored it with the other, but deep in his heart he felt a sharp pain.
Zhizhi is not an ambitious person.
She suddenly started to open up new land and breed so drastically...
Xu Yu frowned and said nothing all the way. When he entered the house, he saw Uncle Xu and Sang Zhixia setting up an oil lamp and using brushes and ink on the table, trying to draw.
Sang Zhixia picked up her pen and sketched out a rough shape, explaining, "This is probably the shape of a waterwheel."
"It's best to set it up where the riverbank is sloped, so that there's a natural impact from the up and down flow, which will naturally drive the waterwheel."
She then extended a circle at the edge and pointed at it, saying, "As the waterwheel in the river rotates, it not only draws water out, but also transfers the driving force to this improved threshing bucket. As long as the river water continues to flow, the threshing bucket will rotate on its own. We just need to put the harvested rice ears in, and when it's almost spun, we can release the threshed rice from the bottom."
"If the threshing bucket is not in use, the waterwheel can be removed and used solely for irrigation, killing two birds with one stone."
Her painting skills are really not good, and the patterns she draws on paper can only roughly show vague shapes.
However, Sang Zhixia explained very seriously, word by word, and even took a few palm-sized wooden boards and laid them on the ground for Uncle Xu to see.
Xu Yu was listening quietly behind her without saying a word.
The old man also came over silently.
Several people gathered together. Uncle Xu, who was squatting on the ground, had a flash of understanding in his eyes and suddenly jumped up excitedly.
"I understand!"
"I understand what you said!"
Sang Zhixia looked up at him with shining eyes: "Uncle San, can you do that?"
Uncle Xu said without hesitation: "Of course! You've explained it in such detail, what can't be done?!"
His voice was trembling with excitement, and he kept rubbing his hands and saying, "My niece, if this waterwheel and threshing bucket thing we've been talking about is really built, it will not only benefit our family, but it will also benefit the country and the people!"
If you change one place, you can change it everywhere.
Although this thing is only used half of the year in the freezing northwest, what if it is placed somewhere else?
What if it was in the south of the Yangtze River where it is spring all year round?
The money and manpower that can be saved are countless, which is a blessing for the farmers!
Sang Zhixia didn't think that far and just smiled when she heard it.
"I'm just offering an idea. Whether it can benefit the public depends on Uncle San's carpentry skills."
"What's so difficult about this?"
Uncle Xu's face flushed with excitement as he said, "I've been repairing houses and carving wood at the Ministry of Works for over ten years. Isn't this the day I've been waiting for?"
"Just wait, I will definitely be able to make this thing!"
Sang Zhixia breathed a sigh of relief, and just as she was about to stand up by supporting her knees, a big hand appeared in front of her.
Xu Yu extended his palm to her: "Hmm?"
Sang Zhixia pulled his hand and stood up. Just as she was about to turn around and say a few more words to Uncle Xu, Xu Yu grabbed her shoulder.
"It's not too late to talk later if you have anything to say. Go change your clothes and get ready for dinner."
Sang Zhixia wanted to say there was no rush, but she lost control of her feet.
Relying on his unstoppable brute force, Xu Yu pushed her straight into the west shed.
Sang Zhixia stood still with difficulty, and before she could push the man away, Xu Yu's big hand slid down to her waist, pinched it with a little force, and lifted her up, lifting her up and sitting her on a waist-high cabinet.
Xu Yu's hands were still on his waist, and the overheated temperature in his palms was like sparks, burning through his clothes and into his skin.
Sang Zhixia's ears turned red involuntarily, and she frowned, pretending to be calm: "What's going on?"
"Let me down."
Xu Yu, unmoved, measured her waist with his palm, slid his hands onto the sides of the cabinet to support himself, took a step forward and encircled Sang Zhixia, who was trying to break free. He lowered his head, breathing heavily, his eyes darkening as he said, "You've lost weight."
"I was just away from home for three months, how come I lost so much weight?"
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