Chapter 27 Submission
In the cramped carriage at night, a quilt separated them like the Chu River and Han border, and Song Luoning's mind was filled with Xiao Yu's words.
You can't judge a person's character based on just one incident. Is she implying something about herself?
What secret is this person hiding?
"My wife," Xiao Yu called out tentatively.
Song Luo Ning was stunned, unsure of what the other person wanted to do, but she couldn't give the impression that she was asleep.
He gave a soft "hmm".
Seeing that she was awake, Xiao Yu sat up and leaned against the carriage wall. It wasn't that she wanted to be in this position, but there was simply too little room for her to move around.
"My wife, I have something I want to tell you."
Song Luoning frowned.
The hazy moonlight shone through the car window onto Xiao Yu's thin shoulders, obscuring her expression.
Song Luoning lowered her eyes, slowly sat up, and faced her.
"What do you want to tell Luo Ning, my husband?" Song Luo Ning asked.
Xiao Yu pursed his lips, pondered for a moment, then took out a purse from his bosom and stuffed it over.
It was too dark inside the carriage. Song Luoning instinctively felt a weight in her palm, and there was a bulging object. Before she could figure out what it was, she heard Xiao Yu's low voice: "This is the money left over from building the house. I'm giving it to you, my wife, to keep. I'll earn even more money in the future, and I'll give it all to you, my wife."
What?
Song Luo Ning paused for a moment, thinking she had misheard. Although she couldn't see clearly in the dark, the feeling in her hand couldn't lie; it must be silver.
Song Luo frowned.
Doesn't this lecher love money the most? How could he possibly hand it over to me?
Song Luoning squinted, trying to discern something from Xiao Yu's face, but unfortunately, it was too dark in the car to see clearly at all.
However, it's not bad to let her keep it; at least that lecherous man won't do anything reckless.
Song Luoning put away the silver and asked softly, "Does my husband have any money left?" She needed to confirm whether that scoundrel really didn't have a single penny left.
“There are still some,” Xiao Yu said.
She kept ten taels of silver for herself to buy rice.
Upon hearing this, Song Luoning's brows immediately furrowed. Sure enough, that scoundrel wouldn't entrust all the silver to her for safekeeping.
She calmed herself down.
"My lord is always busy, and it's not safe to keep the money on him. Why don't you leave it all with me? You can come to me for it whenever you need it, how about that?" Her voice was gentle and generous, a true picture of a virtuous wife.
There's nothing wrong with it.
Xiao Yu touched the last taels of silver in his pocket, hesitating for a moment. To be honest, he felt really insecure in this strange world without a penny to his name. But since the young lady had said so, Xiao Yu gritted his teeth and handed over the last ten taels of silver he had.
"That's all." He paused, seemingly still conflicted, "I'll ask my wife for more money when I need it."
"Yes, my husband, don't worry. I'm just keeping it safe for you. You can ask me anytime you want to use it."
"Mmm." Xiao Yu's voice was low, her eyes filled with reluctance.
Song Luoning was momentarily dazed, not expecting Xiao Yu to hand over the silver to her for safekeeping so readily.
In the darkness, Xiao Yu's expression was not visible, so it was impossible to determine whether it was true or false.
Xiao Yu pursed his lips, still feeling a little reluctant, but he quickly realized that it was only right to hand over the money to his wife for safekeeping, and that he would still have to give the money he earned in the future to the young lady.
The young lady is right. I can just ask her for money when I need it.
As I was thinking, my mind slowly emptied, and I drifted off to sleep, having a dream.
In her dream, Xiao Yu's rice sold throughout Baisheng, and silver notes poured into her from all directions, making it hard for her to breathe.
What's wrong? I can't breathe!
"Hoo~" Xiao Yu suddenly woke up and sat up, panting heavily. The sky was just beginning to brighten. She could see clearly that the blanket between the two of them had somehow ended up on top of her, and just now it had covered her face.
The young lady changed from lying on her side to lying flat on her back, one leg draped over her abdomen, her loose hair partially obscuring her face, her blouse slightly open, revealing her fair collarbone, and further down...
Xiao Yu's breath hitched. She licked her lips, quickly looked away, and didn't dare to look any further. She quickly dressed and got off the carriage. The morning air was cool, and the contrast with her body heat made her shiver.
The burning sensation on her cheeks gradually returned to normal.
Xiao Yu washed her face, went into the kitchen to cook some porridge, and then went to the side yard to continue making parts. If she put in a little more effort, she could finish the earthen huller today. Yesterday, the huller basin, huller legs, huller carrying pole, scraper, and huller core were almost finished, and only needed to be glued together. As for the huller steamer, the most difficult part, the bamboo strips, was already completed. Xiao Yu planned to try weaving them herself, and if it didn't work, she would ask someone for help.
Unexpectedly, after a few attempts, the rice steamer was woven quite well, and soon the upper and lower rice steamers were completed.
The rising sun cast its glow over the courtyard. Xiao Yu got up, washed her hands, and woke up the young lady to eat breakfast together. After breakfast, Xiao Yu went to the side courtyard to get busy. She dug up some yellow clay, mixed it with lime, wood ash, and water, then filled it into the rice huller and tamped it down. The bamboo strips she had made earlier were used to make rice hulling teeth.
Before we knew it, most of the day had passed.
The workload was heavy, and Xiao Yu couldn't help but straighten up and shake her neck a few times.
Although I've been exercising for a while, my physical condition is really bad. Not only is my neck sore, but my back is also very sore.
Song Luoning was reading in the carriage when she heard knocking and banging sounds from time to time. Following the sounds, she came to the side courtyard where Xiao Yu was working.
Xiao Yu was bent over, hammering away at a pile of wood chips. When he got tired, he straightened up and shook his head.
Song Luo Ning pursed her lips, her gaze falling on that tall, slender figure. After pondering for a long time, she turned and went to the kitchen. A moment later, she returned to the side courtyard, carrying a pot in one hand and a bowl in the other.
"Husband, take a rest and have some water," Song Luoning said gently.
"Hmm?" Xiao Yu turned her head, smiled at the person who came in, and took the water: "Thank you, my wife."
The young lady is such a kind person.
Song Luo Ning asked casually, "What are you doing, husband?"
She realized that this lecherous man had been tinkering with these things ever since she arrived in Chenjia Village, but he wouldn't tell her when she asked.
Feeling that she was being deliberately kept in the dark, Song Luoning felt somewhat displeased.
Xiao Yu thought about it and realized that she had misunderstood the young lady before, so she was unwilling to tell her. Now that she had cleared up the misunderstanding with the young lady, there was nothing she couldn't say.
So Xiao Yu moved a chair over and helped Song Luoning sit down.
"This is called a rice huller, and it's used to husk rice. Hulling by hand is too troublesome and laborious. This rice huller will save a lot of effort. After that, we'll make a winnowing fan, which can replace a winnowing basket, and then..."
Xiao Yu proceeded to explain his plan to Song Luoning.
As Song Luo Ning listened, her brows furrowed, and she was secretly surprised. Could this really be the idea of the person in front of her?
still......
Song Luoning remained expressionless, her gaze soft as she looked at Xiao Yu, trying to discern something from her face.
After a long while, having gained nothing, she finally smiled slightly, refilled Xiao Yu's bowl with water, and said gently, "What you've said, my husband, I've never heard of before. I wonder where you've heard it from?"
Can these really be made?
If all of these things that this lecherous man mentioned can be produced, it will be a groundbreaking achievement in the history of Persephone, saving a lot of labor in agriculture.
But from what this lecherous fellow said, he intended to use it to make money.
Um?
Where did you see that?
Xiao Yu was taken aback, then realized that the book "Kaigong Tianwu" did not exist in Baisheng's dynasty. Even if she told her, the young lady would not know. If the young lady pressed her for details, she could simply pretend to be ignorant.
"I stumbled upon it in a book called 'Tiangong Kaiwu' and thought I'd give it a try," Xiao Yu explained.
The Exploitation of the Works of Nature (Tiangong Kaiwu)?
Song Luoning frowned. She had never even heard of this book before. Could it be that this lecherous man made it up to deceive her?
On second thought, there are many talented people in the world, so it might be true. But since it has been compiled, why hasn't it been put into agricultural production?
Or is the author of this book a fraud?
We can't trust what this lecherous woman says right now, so let's just go along with her for now and see how things go after she does it.
I received a letter from my father yesterday, but she hasn't had a chance to reply yet. Maybe she can wait a couple more days.
Let's see if what this scoundrel says is true. If he can really make such a tool that benefits people's livelihood, we can report it to the court and it will benefit the people.
Song Luo Ning pondered for a moment, then said softly, "May I also take a look at the book my husband mentioned?"
As expected, they would ask. Fortunately, I was prepared. Xiao Yu scratched his head and said, "I forgot where I put it. It was a book I read a long time ago. I just wanted to try making it on a whim."
Song Luoning nodded, not pressing for further questions, and decided to wait and see.
Xiao Yu had no idea what Song Luo Ning was planning. After enthusiastically finishing her introduction, she was thirsty, but luckily the young lady poured herself another bowl of water.
After drinking the water, he went to the carriage to get Song Luoning a storybook, and then continued to work diligently.
Song Luoning looked at the storybook from the side, and sometimes her gaze would fall on Xiao Yu, who was focused on making it.
After a full day, the earthen huller was basically completed. As for whether it would be useful, we'd have to wait until it dried to find out.
The next day, they made a winnowing fan, which is basically a winnowing device. It relies on the handle to shake the fan blades to generate wind, separating the husks and grains. Finally, the outer membrane of the brown rice is rubbed off by a stone mortar to turn it into polished rice.
A few days later, after repeated experiments, the rice separation tool was finally completed.
Xiao Yu was so excited that she immediately shared the good news with Song Luoning.
Song Luoning looked up, a flash of surprise crossing her eyes, and asked, "Has my husband tried it?"
As expected of a young lady from a prominent family, she was much more composed than Xiao Yu when faced with problems.
Xiao Yu shook his head: "We don't have any rice at home. It's been a while since the rice harvest, so I'm thinking of buying some from the farmers first. Unhulled rice is easy to store, and I'm sure some farmers have some."
Song Luoning nodded: "What you say is right, my lord. I will go and get the silver for you right away." As she spoke, she went into the carriage, took out ten taels of silver, and handed it over.
Xiao Yu took the silver. The grain store sold 100 catties of brown rice for 600 wen, while paddy rice was cheaper, costing 100 catties for 300 wen. There was a difference of 300 wen, and that was for brown rice. If it were refined rice, it would cost at least the same as flour, 100 catties would cost 1,400 wen.
If you buy 100 catties of rice, remove the husks, and turn it into polished rice, you can earn at least 600 or 700 coins.
Excited just thinking about it, Xiao Yu couldn't wait to take the silver and drive the oxcart to collect rice from house to house. In two days, he collected a full thousand catties of rice.
The story spread throughout the village, where there was never a shortage of people who would gossip and enjoy watching the spectacle.
"Have you heard? That spendthrift Xiao Yu is harvesting rice again. What is she doing harvesting this?"
"Who would have thought? He's been building a new house and getting married lately..." she said sourly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com