Chapter 238 Quyuanli (minor repair)
Shen Ning went out to feed the pigs. Not long after she went out with the food bucket, she hurried back, "Sister-in-law, Hu Zi and his family are back."
Tiger.
The Lu family's eldest son?
Yes, it has been two months since Lu Erlang and Lu Sanlang went out to pick people up, right?
Sang Luo raised her eyes and asked, "Are all the people back?"
Shen Ning nodded: "Yes, yes."
Wang Chunniang is gone. Shen Ning knew this two years ago. She mentioned everything, including the few people left in the eldest branch of the Lu family.
When Sang Luo heard that everyone was together, she nodded and said, "That's good."
No more.
Sang Luo held the charcoal pencil in her hand and continued to work carefully on the draft in her hand.
It was a manuscript of "Curved Plow".
They lived in the mountains for several years. In the first year, they had no time to take care of anything. All the work in the fields was done by Old Man Chen and his colleagues with the only tools they had. The land was not big, but there were many people. They didn't have a plow at all, and there was no need to bother with it.
After moving to the village outside the village, Sang Luo no longer had to worry about farming in the valley. Chen Lie, Chen An and Shen Jin took care of it.
Until they left the mountain and it was spring plowing day today, several families dug out the plows that the Wang family had left in the village from the tool shed. Sang Luo went out for a walk and saw Chen Lie and the others working.
Human-powered plow.
That’s right, it’s treating people like cattle.
There was only one ox in the farm, so each family took turns using it. Chen Lie, relying on his great strength, wanted to help Zhao Da and Zhao Si save some energy, so the time for their family to use the plow was put at the back, after he entered the provincial school.
There are nine households in a village. The weakest are the three brothers Shen Jin. Each family takes care of them. This ox has been used by Shen Jin's family all day long. Zhao Si taught them how to hold the plow early in the morning. Brothers Shen Jin and Shen An learned together.
Sang Luo looked at the fields of all the families except Shen Jin, where everyone was pulling the plows manually. For a modern person who was used to modern mechanical operations, the shock she felt was incomprehensible to anyone.
If you look at them a few more times, you will naturally notice the difference in the plows.
Straight-beam plow.
The knowledge points learned while studying come to mind vividly, but they are cumbersome, laborious and difficult to turn around.
But to be honest, she only has a vague idea of what the curved plow looks like from what she learned in the textbooks. However, when she lived in the mountains for a few years, where high technology was not common and the elderly people in the mountains still used cows and plows, she had seen them several times and could still remember them if she thought about it carefully.
Right now I am trying to restore what is deep in my memory.
It's quite difficult, but I learned it when I was in school and know some specific principles. Plus, I've seen the real thing in my early years, so I can draw a rough outline with some effort. It's just that the more detailed parts still need to be confirmed.
Sang Luo stopped writing and said to Shen Ning, "Aning, tell your elder brother to bring back a plow from home for me to see when he comes back for lunch."
Chen Ning knew that her sister-in-law had been thinking about plowing tools this morning. Although she didn't know what she was thinking about since there was a plow at home, she still agreed readily and went closer to Sang Luo to take a look. Looking at the half-drawn picture, it was obviously different from the plows she usually saw. It seemed... better looking?
Apart from this, Chen Ning couldn't see anything else. She asked Sang Luo what she wanted to eat for lunch, and then stopped bothering her. She turned around and went to the field to pass on a message to her eldest brother.
…
Chen Lie came back at noon and carried back the plow he had used in the morning. Knowing that it was Sang Luo who wanted to check it, he asked him to wash off the yellow mud on the plow with water from the ditch.
Sang Luo had originally put the matter aside and was drawing the floor plan of her house. When she heard the noise and came out of the house, she became excited when she saw the straight-beam plow. She took out the drawing of the curved-beam plow for comparison, and after changing a few details, she handed it to Chen Lie directly: "Why don't you try making one with wood? If it's more expensive to plane the wood, you can make it smaller first."
Chen Lie looked at the blueprint in his hand and finally understood why Sang Luo asked him to bring back the plow he used at home. After studying it for a long time, he could not see any point except that it would be more beautiful.
“What’s the difference between this and the one we use now?”
A'Luo wouldn't do anything meaningless, so Chen Lie asked directly.
Sang Luo pointed at the blueprint and briefly explained the differences between the two. Chen Lie didn't quite understand them at first, but gradually he figured out the benefits of this thing. He didn't even wait for dinner and called Chen An to go carry the wood.
I didn't try to save trouble by making it smaller. I just followed the drawing Sang Luo gave me and made the plow based on the height requirements of most people. I only dug out a crank, and Sang Luo saw it. She hesitated and said, "It may not be done in one go. I'm afraid it will need some changes."
Chen Lie didn't care: "It doesn't matter if I put in a little effort. It has to be the right size so that it can be tested easily."
In particular, Sangluo wanted to make improvements in labor saving and plow function.
Not daring to delay the work in the fields, he could only do it in his free time. At night, he lit a fire behind the house, and the first plow was completed at the end of the night of Hai.
It was already the second watch of the night, but the two brothers were so excited after seeing the finished product that they didn't even feel tired. Relying on the bright moonlight, they simply carried the wooden plow to their own field to try plowing.
After going down to the field and pulling the plow for a while, Shen An was surprised: "Brother, it's easier to hold the plow."
"It saves me the effort to pull the plow. If I change it to an iron plowshare, it will be even more useful."
The two brothers were a little excited, and they thought of what Sang Luo said about the easy turn, so they kept pulling forward, and when they reached the end, they tried to turn together. In the middle of the night, the two brothers laughed out loud in the field. Fortunately, the laughter was not loud, and the nearest Chen's house was still some distance away, so it didn't startle anyone.
"This is good, easy to turn!"
Shen An's eyes were full of surprise: "How did sister-in-law come up with this?"
Shen Lie also wanted to know, Sang Luo seemed to have endless potential.
“Try deep plowing.”
He made some adjustments to the plow and tried deep plowing, and finally went home feeling very satisfied.
His legs were covered with mud, so he washed them thoroughly and fell asleep in the second half of the night. He woke up early the next day. When Sang Luo woke up, he showed her the finished product and said that he and Shen An had tried it last night.
Sang Luo: ...
She looked at Chen Lie curiously: "What time did you go to bed last night?"
It’s the third watch of the night, maybe almost the fourth.
Is this something that can be said?
Seeing that Chen Lie just cleared his throat, Sang Luo roughly guessed what he meant. She didn't ask any more questions and turned to look at the wooden plow.
It's so similar to what I remember.
She read it several times and said to Shen Lie, "You and Xiao An go plow the land again and let me see."
This was a good thing. The two brothers didn't even eat breakfast. They carried the plow and went straight to the field. Chen Ning was cooking porridge in the pot. She turned down the fire and didn't even watch it. She just followed her sister-in-law and walked together.
It was just daybreak and there was no one in the fields yet, but every family in the village had gotten up. The land of the two branches of the Shen family was closest to the center, and Chen Lie carried the plow and went to the fields. Other families thought they were being diligent and did not take it to heart.
The two brothers had tried it before and were very familiar with it, demonstrating deep plowing, shallow plowing and turning.
Chen Lie said, “Replacing the blade with an iron one will save more effort.”
Sang Luo looked for a long time, but always felt that something was wrong. Her eyes fell on the traces of the soil being turned up, and she finally reacted.
Yes, when I used to see my neighbors plowing the fields in the mountains, they would turn the soil to both sides, but what she did was not like that.
He asked Chen Lie to carry the plow up again. After thinking for a long time, he remembered that there should be something like a baffle above the back of the plow. The broken soil was divided to both sides by the baffle.
Sang Luo no longer remembered what the accessory was called, but after giving Chen Lie a general description of it, Chen Lie carried the plow and went back to modify it.
This time he was modifying the plow, and Sang Luo was standing next to him, asking him to make the wooden blade of the plowshare sharper.
They carried it back to the field to try again. This time, Shen Lie and Shen An were pleasantly surprised to find that the modification saved much more effort than before.
Sang Luo looked at the turned over soil and finally a smile appeared on her face.
It overlaps with my memory.
"We will go into the city in a moment and remove the wooden blade and the wooden baffle to see if the blacksmith shop can make them in the same way."
As for the iron, it was naturally the blade of an old plow.
Chen Lie and Shen An carried a new plow and an old plow back, and they dismantled them quickly. Chen Lie originally wanted to go into the city by himself, but Sang Luo asked to go with him.
If for no other reason, she wanted to find the old doctor to take her pulse again.
The last time I went back, it was still a short time ago, and the old doctor sounded uncertain, so he asked me to go back ten days later to take my pulse again.
This was not a big deal. The period had not come yet, so it was probably not a mistake. Sang Luo was not prepared to go to the doctor for another pulse check. But the baby in her belly had been too quiet these days. Zhou Ge had to rely on the sour jujube cakes she sent to eat. Sang Luo had vomited a lot in the first few days, but she seemed to enjoy everything she ate these days.
Of course, in order to take care of her, we didn’t do any meaty dishes at home these days.
It was her first time as a mother, so if the baby reacted too much, she would be worried. If there was almost no reaction, she would be even more worried. Sang Luo was still nervous, and she felt relieved only after going into the city.
…
When Chen Lie and Sang Luo were queuing up to enter the city, there were also many people carrying baskets from outside the city.
Sang Luo saw that most of the women entering the city were carrying baskets, and some of them contained freshly harvested vegetables. She knew that they should have settled outside the city at about the same time as them. According to the time, the leafy vegetables planted at that time could indeed be sent to the city to exchange for some silver or rice.
There was also someone carrying a small basket with six or seven eggs in it. Look at the heads, they must be pheasant eggs.
Sang Luo glanced at the other person. The woman seemed to recognize her and smiled as she called out, "Madam Sang, Master Chen, why did you go into the city so early?"
Sang Luo didn't recognize her, but she still smiled and nodded: "Good morning to you too."
"Good morning, good morning." The woman was very enthusiastic: "I saved a few eggs to go to the city to exchange for some money."
As he spoke, he took out two pheasant eggs from the basket and stuffed them into Sang Luo's pockets, saying with a smile, "Madam, take two back to eat."
Sang Luo had received food from strangers many times in the mountains during those years. She never expected to encounter such a thing again at the city gate after leaving the mountains. She quickly stepped back and shook her head to decline the offer: "Thank you very much, auntie. I'll keep it for my family to sell. I also raise pheasants at home, so I have eggs, too."
Chen Lie was also nervous, fearing that Sang Luo would be pushed, so he helped to stop the shove without leaving any trace.
Fortunately, although the woman was trying to stuff something into Sang Luo, she didn’t use too much force, and was blocked by Chen Lie, so it was difficult to stuff it in again. She smiled and said, “Madam, you are so polite.”
I want to give but I don’t know how.
Chen Lie remembered her. She was the second group of mountain people to be taken out, so he smiled and said, "You're welcome, Auntie. I really have some at home. You can keep it and exchange it for some money in the city later."
Hearing the couple talking so warmly, the woman was delighted: "Well, OK, you guys are coming to the city so early in the morning?"
The topic then changed.
The gate guard took a curious look.
Is there still anyone giving away free eggs these days?
…
Sang Luo entered the city from here, and through the back door of the governor's mansion, Concubine Fan came out for a stroll with two personal maids, followed by the nanny who was in charge of purchasing for the kitchen.
The nanny led two maids, each holding a basket, and was still trying to persuade Concubine Fan: "Madam, the East Market is full of people of all kinds, how can you go there?"
Concubine Fan smiled and said indifferently: "If you don't go there, how can you see the people's livelihood in Shezhou?"
"Then get a carriage at least."
"Watch from the car? What can you see there? Okay, let's go."
At the same time, Sang Luo and Shen Lie also entered the city.
With the restoration of order and the return of population, the streets of Shezhou have become much more lively than before. There are more people on the streets. After passing the East Market and going all the way inside, Sang Luo saw that there are seven or eight more shops open for business than before.
"The blacksmith shop is just ahead."
Sang Luo raised her eyes and saw the blacksmith shop, and also saw another group of people passing by the door of the blacksmith shop. The young woman walking in front was graceful and elegant. Her face matched the face of the young woman who lifted the curtain of the motorcade of the governor's wife entering the city more than ten days ago.
This is... the wife of the governor?
The daughter of Fan from Chen County traveled without a carriage or horses, and she also had no entourage. She only brought a few maids and servants. It seemed that the wife of this governor was indeed different.
The two of them walked closer and closer, and Sang Luo couldn't help but stop. When they passed each other, her eyes followed Fan.
Concubine Fan noticed that someone was staring at her, so she turned her head to look and saw that it was a young couple. The man was tall and handsome, and the woman was also very beautiful, especially her eyes, which were as crystal clear as lacquer and indescribably gentle and pure.
The one who just looked at me seemed to be this woman.
Concubine Fan could sense some kindness, so she smiled at Sang Luo, nodded slightly, then looked away and left.
"Is this the governor's wife?"
"It should be." Sang Luo smiled and said, "Let's go to the blacksmith shop."
…
East Market.
Fan was strolling inside with her servants and maids. There were not many shops, only six or seven, and most of them sold grain and groceries. There were quite a few small stalls, mostly run by women, carrying large and small baskets. Although there were not many goods, the place was quite popular.
Wandering around the market was a rather novel thing for Concubine Fan. She went from stall to stall, and when she saw a dish she liked, she signaled the nanny behind her to buy some.
A lady from a noble family, even when strolling around the vegetable stalls in the market, her temperament is very different from that of others, not to mention the six people in this group who are dressed luxuriously, especially the young woman walking in front. Even if she doesn't care about the ostentation, her whole demeanor makes people dare not look at her closely.
Other residents of Shezhou City who came out to the East Market to buy vegetables also subconsciously gave way to Fan when they saw her.
The women who were setting up stalls only saw Fan and his group visiting several stalls, and they realized that this was a big buyer. They were quite enthusiastic for a moment, but when the person got closer, they became uneasy and didn't know where to put their hands and feet. They could only subconsciously shout out the words they were already familiar with, and didn't dare to speak too loudly.
"Pheasant eggs, would you like to buy some pheasant eggs, ma'am?"
"Would you like some of the winter bamboo shoots that we dried at home?"
"Would you like to buy some freshly picked vegetables from the fields?"
"Konjac tofu, homemade konjac tofu, take a look."
Konjac tofu, this was something she had never heard of before, so Fan stopped in front of the stall.
The stall owner was an old woman in her fifties. When she saw the big customer stop in front of her stall, she was so excited that she couldn't speak clearly: "Would you like to buy some konjac tofu?"
"Konjac tofu?"
The old woman nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes."
Fan Fei Niang looked at the gray tofu and found it really looked like Li Qi's, except that it was gray and looked a little dirty. She asked the old woman, "Is it made from beans?"
The old woman waved her hands repeatedly: "No, no, this is made of wild taro."
"Made from wild taro? How can it be called tofu?"
"I'm not sure about this." The old woman was a little nervous, and afraid that the nobleman would blame her, so she explained a few more words, "We fled to the mountains a few years ago and had nothing to eat. Someone taught us how to make this. It was said that a kind-hearted lady taught us how to make it. That lady called it konjac tofu, and we all call it that."
"Mrs. Sang?" Mrs. Fan recalled the fellow villager who taught her how to grow yam a few days ago and raised her eyebrows. "Mrs. Sang, where is this?"
The woman shook her head: "I don't know it either. I've never seen it. The recipe was passed down orally in the mountains. We were told not to hide it after we learned it, and to teach it to the mountain folks who don't know it."
Fan's eyes flickered slightly, and after thinking for a moment, she asked, "Is it Miss Sang who taught you how to grow yam?"
The old woman's cloudy eyes brightened up: "Yes, yes, he also taught us to identify and plant yam. He said that it was also taught by Sang Luozi."
The old woman smiled with her wrinkled face when she said this: "Madam, you also know Madam Sang, right? Madam Sang is a good person."
Concubine Fan laughed and said, "I don't know it yet, but I've heard of it. Please, Auntie, we need six pieces of this konjac tofu."
The old woman was busy helping to pack the things with dry leaves. The maid behind Concubine Fan went to pay the money and asked how to make the things better. Only then did the group of six leave the stall.
…
There was an extra fresh dish at the governor's mansion at noon. It was called a fresh dish because Zeng Sanlang had never seen or eaten it before.
"What is this? Li Qi? Why is it gray?"
"It's konjac tofu. I bought it today at the East Market. I heard that my fellow villager taught me how to feed the mountain people." After telling her what she saw at the East Market, Concubine Fan smiled and said, "I don't know what kind of Shen Lie you are talking about, but I really want to meet this Miss Sang. If I have the chance, I'll go to Daxing Village."
When Concubine Fan said this, she never thought that she would see Sang Luo so soon. And it was not she who found the opportunity to go to Daxingzhuang, but Sang Luo who came to the provincial government office.
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