The two soon arrived at the village carpenter's shop, where the carpenter was working with two apprentices. Upon seeing them approaching, he put down his work and came over to greet them.
The carpenter spotted Zhao Xiaoshan immediately, and when he recognized the scholar, he was filled with surprise.
Zhao Xian noticed the carpenter's surprise, but he ignored it and directly explained his purpose.
"I need a water-fetching tool. Can you see if you can make it?"
What kind of water-fetching tool?
The carpenter was overjoyed to have work to do. As long as there was work, he could earn money. Although his family had enough to eat during this period, their quality of life had declined considerably.
"Give me a pen, and I'll draw it for you."
The carpenter took out a charcoal pencil and a piece of wood, and Zhao Xian quickly drew the blueprints for the waterwheel, even marking the dimensions of each component.
This drawing is so professional. My own drawing skills are nowhere near those of a scholar. It seems that the scholar is indeed quite learned, even his drawings are so good.
"How long can this water-fetching tool be ready at the earliest? I need it urgently."
"I'll have two apprentices help, but it will take at least an hour. I wonder if this thing will actually be able to fetch water?"
"This is called a waterwheel, specifically used for farmland irrigation. I bought this blueprint for five taels of silver. You must not leak this blueprint, or you will be in legal trouble."
Zhao Xian knew that once a product was launched, many people would imitate it. The reason he said this was to let the carpenter know the risks involved, so that he would not dare to make waterwheels easily, and even if he did, he would have to get his permission, so that he could make a profit.
“Of course I know that, but I won’t disclose it. If anyone else wants to make the same type of product, they will definitely get your permission first,” the carpenter quickly replied.
He knew that the scholar was knowledgeable and experienced, and that he couldn't afford to be sued if he made water-fetching tools for others.
"You can provide the materials. How much would you like to know?"
The carpenter frowned, calculated for a moment, then looked up and said:
"The cost of materials and labor will be two hundred coins."
"Alright, two hundred coins it is. I'll come back to pick up the goods in an hour, and the payment will be settled."
"Alright, I'll make it now." After saying that, the carpenter called his two apprentices over to help.
"Xiaoshan, you stay here and help out. I'll go raise the money." Zhao Xian said and left.
Zhao Xiaoshan blinked. Two hundred coins was a huge sum of money in his mind. Where was his brother going to get that money? But he wasn't worried at all. Since his brother had asked him to stay and help, he figured he could just listen to him.
Zhao Xian left quickly. When he came, he saw many women and children picking wild mushrooms on the grass on both sides of the embankment. They must have picked quite a few by now, and he planned to buy them.
The system sells ground mushrooms for 30 coins per catty. If you buy six or seven catties, you can basically earn 200 coins.
He spent ten coins to buy twenty steamed buns in the system, and then walked towards the grassy area by the embankment.
The steamed buns in the system are much larger than those sold in town, making the exchange of steamed buns for ground mushrooms quite attractive.
The two little girls who were picking wild mushrooms in the morning were also there. They saw Zhao Xian carrying steamed buns and walking towards them from afar, and they were stunned for a moment.
They became excited when they discovered that the visitor was a scholar.
"Scholar, we still have some wild mushrooms, can we trade them for your steamed buns?"
"Okay, the same price as this morning, one pound of wild mushrooms for one steamed bun."
"But we only picked a little over a pound, which isn't enough to buy two steamed buns." The two sisters were a little disappointed.
"Here are two steamed buns for you. Keep picking, and come back to exchange them for more when you have enough for a pound."
The two sisters quickly wrapped up the mushrooms and handed them to Zhao Xian. Zhao Xian weighed them and estimated that they weighed about 1.7 or 1.8 jin, which was enough. He then took out two steamed buns and handed them to the older little girl.
The little girl took the steamed bun and broke off half of it for her younger sister.
"Er Ya, I'll take the steamed buns home first. You continue picking mushrooms. I'll be right back."
"Okay, sis." After saying that, the younger sister took a big bite of the half-eaten steamed bun.
[Fresh ground mushrooms, 30 coins per pound, are they for sale?]
"no"
Zhao Xian doesn't plan to sell them now; he intends to buy more ground mushrooms to sell together.
The scene of the two sisters exchanging wild mushrooms for steamed buns was clearly seen by the other wild mushroom pickers. The steamed buns were huge, so exchanging wild mushrooms for steamed buns was a great deal.
"Scholar, we also have ground mushrooms, could you exchange them for some steamed buns?"
"Of course, one pound of wild mushrooms for one steamed bun. Take your time, one at a time," Zhao Xian said with a smile.
Most people picked about one or two pounds of ground mushrooms, which they exchanged for one or two steamed buns, and some even exchanged for three steamed buns.
Some people were drooling as they looked at the steamed buns in their hands, but they just couldn't bear to take a bite.
Several people had just arrived and hadn't picked many mushrooms, not even enough to exchange for a steamed bun. Seeing that the scholar's steamed buns were dwindling, they became very anxious.
"You can continue picking ground mushrooms. I'll bring some steamed buns over later to exchange for the ground mushrooms you have."
Zhao Xian's words excited them. Since the scholar would be returning soon, they were no longer in a hurry.
The women quickly dispersed and continued picking ground mushrooms.
Ground mushrooms usually appear after heavy rain. If the weather continues to clear up, the ground mushrooms will dry out quickly and eventually disappear.
For Zhao Xian, buying and selling ground mushrooms through the system would quickly raise the money he urgently needed.
At this moment, an old woman walked over shakily. She was Xu Liushi from the village. She was over eighty years old, had no children, and was all alone. She survived only by relying on the help of her neighbors.
An elderly woman in her eighties would be considered very old in ancient times, so Zhao Xian quickly stepped forward to support her, fearing she might fall.
"Grandma, you're out picking mushrooms too."
“My wife hasn’t eaten for two days. She’ll starve to death if she doesn’t eat something soon, but I only picked a small handful of wild mushrooms. It’s not enough to exchange for a steamed bun.”
As Xu Liu spoke, she kept her eyes on the steamed bun in Zhao Xian's hand.
Zhao Xian looked at the steamed buns in his hand; there were two left. He quickly handed the two buns to the old lady.
"Grandma, take both of these steamed buns. Keep the wild mushrooms you picked for your soup."
The old lady took the steamed bun, licked it with her tongue, but couldn't bear to eat it.
“What a good man! Everyone says that scholars are heartless and selfish, but that’s not true at all. He’s so good to me, an old woman. How could he be that kind of person?”
Zhao Xian was speechless. He hadn't expected the original owner of this body to have such a bad reputation in the village. It seemed he needed to change his image, since he would still have to live in this village in the future.
Seeing that the old lady had left, he continued to pick wild mushrooms in the meadow. Since there was no one around, he decided to sell the mushrooms.
These ground mushrooms weighed a total of sixteen catties, and he exchanged them for 480 copper coins. He put the copper coins into several pockets, and his body felt heavy.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
