The problem was that Master Zhou was worried that the wooden gears wouldn't be able to support the weight of a person, and that the gears were prone to breaking due to the need to adjust the height of the track.
This was the conclusion his master reached after repeated trials over the past two days, since the wheelchair had to support the weight of a man weighing over 100 pounds.
It might work a few times, but if used for a long time, his master felt that the wooden gears would break, even if the hardest wood was used.
Li Mai thought for a moment, "Does your master know any blacksmiths? We could try asking one to see if they can make the parts that are prone to breakage that he needs?"
Using iron? Zhou Lin was taken aback.
“Sister-in-law, using iron must be very expensive,” Zhou Lin asked.
His master didn't seem to have considered using iron either.
"Tomorrow, tell him to find a blacksmith and ask if he can make the things he wants. If he can, tell him roughly how much it will cost. If the cost of this wheelchair can be kept under one hundred taels, then continue making it," Li Mai said in a deep voice.
"I understand. I'll talk to my master about it tomorrow."
Zhou Lin felt that even if iron was used, it wouldn't cost a hundred taels. Suddenly, Zhou Lin realized that his sister-in-law was really good to his brother. For his brother's sake, his sister-in-law was willing to give up even a hundred taels.
When Zhou Lin heard about the major event that had happened at home that day, he was stunned. "Is this even possible?"
Is his family destined to receive such unexpected wealth?
That evening, after Li Mai and Zhou Quan returned to their room, Zhao Shi and Old Man Zhou came into their room carrying a money box and handed it to them.
“Xiaomai, Xiaoquan, keep these things here for now. I left thirty taels outside to buy an oxcart and for our household expenses. This small box contains those stones; keep them for now, and we'll ask someone who knows about stones later if they're worth anything,” Zhao said.
Zhou Quan nodded, "Okay, Mom, you just need to count them."
"What's the point of counting? There's only that much stuff. If you need silver for the wheat, just open the box and take it yourself." Old Zhou glanced at his son.
“That’s right, don’t be so formal. The money I have now was all earned from wheat!” Zhao Shi glanced at her son.
That brat, is he starting to act like a stranger now that he has a wife? He definitely said those words to them.
Zhou Quan smiled helplessly, "Father, Mother, you're overthinking it."
“Alright, anyway, you two keep these things safe. If we don’t need them for now, and after our parents pass away, you three brothers will definitely have to divide the family property. At that time, you two can decide how to divide it,” Old Man Zhou said.
“Dad, what are you talking about? You and Mom are only in your forties…” Zhou Quan sighed and covered his forehead.
Li Mai rested her chin on her hand, watching the family of three talk, and she found it quite interesting.
The two elders are the kind of people who plan ahead for every step they take.
When I gave these things to them today, I had already thought about what would happen next.
Of course, it would be better if these things could be used while they were still alive, so that everyone could enjoy them. If they couldn't use them, then it would be considered that they had made arrangements for their three sons' future.
They truly are the best parents in the world.
After the two elders returned, Li Mai looked at the two boxes, one large and one small, and asked Zhou Quan with a smile, "Where should we hide them? In the closet, or should we dig a cellar?"
"What do you think?" Zhou Quan didn't know where else such large boxes could be hidden besides the big wardrobe in front of him.
“I do have a secret place where no one can steal things. But only I can go there. When the family needs money, only I can retrieve it. Think about it. Are you comfortable with me hiding it?” Li Mai asked with a smile.
Zhou Quan quickly grabbed her hand and said seriously, "I'm entrusting my life and this broken body to you to do whatever you want with. These things are just external possessions. What's there to worry about?"
Li Mai chuckled. "Husband, would you like to think back to what you just said?"
"These things are external; I have no reason to worry about you or me."
“The previous sentence!” Li Mai stared at him with a smile.
Zhou Quan opened his mouth, but then silently closed it again. He didn't dare to look at Li Mai, but his face turned red. He had said those words in a hurry, and he never thought that when he thought about it carefully, those words were so ambiguous.
Li Mai's shoulders twitched, and she chuckled softly.
Zhou Quan met her smiling eyes and felt a tremor in his heart. Before he could even think it through, he had already pulled her tightly into his arms.
Zhou Quan was sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), while Li Mai had been standing in front of him. When he pulled and hugged her like that, Li Mai lost her balance and leaned against him.
Li Mai: ......
It was quite sudden!
This was their first proper hug, and Li Mai didn't dare to move.
Zhou Quan, who had impulsively hugged her, only now realized what he had done.
He was somewhat excited and a little trembling. He didn't regret hugging her, but he didn't dare to make any further moves.
After a long while, Li Mai slowly raised her arm and placed it behind his neck. She slowly raised her eyes and met his somewhat shy yet slightly dark gaze.
Li Mai wondered, how could a person's eyes be so captivating?
It seemed to be the first time he had ever hugged someone like this. She could sense a hint of naivety, a hint of possessiveness, and a hint of testing in his eyes.
This was the first time she had ever looked into a man's eyes so closely, and now she understood a little about what it felt like to fall in love with someone because of their eyes.
"wheat......"
Zhou Quan's Adam's apple bobbed a few times, unsure of what to say, but in the end, only a soft "her name" escaped from his lips.
Li Mai felt that if she continued to look into his eyes, she might fall for his increasingly tender gaze and then push him away without a second thought.
No, he's a patient!
Li Mai regained consciousness and suddenly raised her hand to cover his eyes.
Feeling her soft hand on his face, Zhou Quan hugged her even tighter.
But the next moment, Li Mai let go of his eyes, lowered her hands, and slowly pushed him away.
Zhou Quan paused, met her smiling eyes, and gave a shy smile in return, then lowered his head.
"Well, you lie down and rest for a while. I'll go get some water, and we'll wash up before we go to sleep," Li Mai said, turning around to take the wooden basin and leave.
After Zhou Quan stared blankly as she left, he slowly raised his hand to touch his eyes, a smile spreading across his lips.
Xiaomai didn't push him away when he hugged her, so does that mean Xiaomai didn't actually dislike him getting close to her?
At this moment, Zhou Quan's confidence increased greatly, as long as Xiaomai didn't hate him being near her.
However, when Zhou Quan turned his head, he realized that something seemed wrong.
Looking back, Zhou Quan finally realized something was wrong: where were the two wooden boxes, one big and one small, that his mother had sent over?
He was gone in the time it took to hug his wife?
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