Chapter 148: Calculate
"Your paddy fields haven't been cultivated yet?" Lu Zhaoshi looked at the pond. Only half of the wasteland around it had been hoed.
"It's almost done! The lime kiln test was successful, and lime will be produced in large quantities in the future. We will set aside a special period of time for every household to dry the compost, plow the land, spread the compost, release water to nourish the paddy fields, and wait for the spring of next year." Su Ying said the subsequent arrangements.
Several ponds were dug, and each pond covers a large area of land around it, which is not only convenient for growing paddy fields, but also for obtaining water nearby when irrigating dry land.
"Aying, the interval between the two rice seasons is short. I remember you only have two or three oxen. Can you handle it?" Hu Erlang reminded.
He had never been to the fields, but he had seen a lot and knew that harvesting was a physical job.
Sowing and harvesting are the most tiring times for farmers. Sowing again in the second season means that harvesting and sowing will be done together, which is too much for anyone to handle.
"Don't worry, we will buy more oxen, and we also have a pedal thresher. The prototype is already ready. Uncle Wang and his team will take the time to make one these days. If there is no problem, we can make a few more as a backup for use when threshing next year."
"A foot-operated thresher? Could you please tell me about it?" Wei Shutong had an idea.
"Yes, you can. Just install a pedal outside the threshing bucket and a roller with spikes inside the bucket. The large and small gears connect the inner and outer parts. When threshing, you step on the pedal and place the ears of grain on the roller and use the spikes to thresh them. This way it is much easier." Su Ying explained simply and clearly.
"Hiss!" Several officials present gasped in shock. What kind of genius was this! To come up with such a heaven-defying artifact?
"Girl, do you have a real picture?" Wei Shutong's eyes were burning, like a wolf staring at its prey.
"Yes, but the details haven't been finalized. We are just thinking about it. There may be some modifications after the actual product is made and tested." Su Ying knew that Wei Shutong was no ordinary person.
He asked carefully and requested for the blueprints, but Lu Zhaoshi did not stop him, which only showed that he was higher than the governor.
As long as it can benefit the people, Su Ying doesn't mind giving it away generously.
I am not the inventor. Instead of making a fortune from it, I would rather popularize it.
"It's okay, girls, you can draw your current draft!" Wei Shutong said anxiously.
"Sir, the drawing is fine, but I have a request!" Su Ying was not sure where Wei Shutong came from.
She didn't mind him taking credit for it, what she was afraid of was that it would be shelved or used to make a fortune without benefiting the people.
The ones who really need this are the farmers!
Wei Shutong and Li Boyan were from the capital, born into powerful families, and did not have the same social circle as the Su family.
Wei Shutong and his men hid their identities and knew the Su family's background, but the Su family did not know their background.
"Please speak!" Wei Shutong thought Su Ying wanted to ask for money.
He was considering whether to mention the Su family in the memorial. Even if it didn't reduce their guilt, he could at least give them some material rewards.
"You must ensure that this thing is used by farmers, and the selling price must not exceed two strings of coins!" These were Su Ying's only two requirements.
"Is that all?" Wei Shutong was surprised.
"That's all! Farmers suffer, and this product is meant to reduce their workload. If it ultimately can't be used by farmers, or if the price is too high, then it loses its original meaning, and it doesn't matter whether it's ever released."
"Little girl, you are so noble!" Wei Shutong did not expect that the Su family would be exiled here without changing their original intention.
They had discussed the locust control issue in private, but now the aftermath of the locust plague was showing in the capital, and many crops were completely destroyed.
Only the village where Su Bucheng organized locust extermination had some harvest.
Everyone knew the truth, but no one dared to approach Tian Khan and tell him about it.
Even when mentioning the losses in Chang'an County, the credit for the few villages that had harvests had to go to Tian Khan.
It was because his kindness moved God that Chang'an County suffered the least from the disaster.
They wavered between believing in the locust god and doing practical work. They were not ordinary people, but educated aristocratic children who had read books and received education. They had a certain degree of judgment, but there were some things that they could not expose.
Before, when Su Bucheng was dismissed, he just thought it was bad luck and that he had offended the Khan of Heaven. He was more ridiculed and mocked the unknown Magistrate Su.
The reality during the autumn harvest made them realize that Chang'an seemed to have missed a good county magistrate.
Now seeing this Huanggou Village, Wei Shutong felt deeply saddened to find that every unique person came from the Su family. Such a talent was more than qualified to be a county magistrate, and was more than qualified to be a governor.
Just because he came from a poor family, his official career ended at the fifth-rank magistrate of Chang'an County. Even if he had not eradicated the locusts, it would have been extremely difficult for him to be promoted further.
"Girl, just draw it boldly. Don't worry, the state government will reward you and give ten threshers to Huanggou Village. How about that?" Lu Zhaoshi encouraged.
He has no control over what the special envoy does, but he must give encouragement within his authority.
The promotion of this thing in Wuzhou not only improved the labor force of farmers, but also contributed to his own political achievements. Lu Zhaoshi could clearly calculate this.
"Thank you very much, sir! I would like to thank you for your kindness on behalf of the people of Huanggou Village!" Su Ying did not expect that the governor would be so generous.
"Oh, what's there to thank me for! The piglets I promised you last time haven't been delivered yet! They should arrive tomorrow, you guys arrange someone to pick them up at the intersection! We've collected a hundred of them, and they've all been castrated." Lu Zhaoshi said with a smile.
"Really? That's great!" Su Ying thought that the governor had forgotten and was too embarrassed to ask.
The villagers waited and waited, and asked Su Ying several times. Finally, no one asked anymore, and thought of going to the town or county to buy it during the market at the end of the year.
Unexpectedly, the governor gave them a surprise and gathered a hundred of them!
A family can have at least three pigs, and they can be slaughtered in more than a year. In the meantime, they can give birth to one or two litters of piglets. Then there will be pigs to slaughter every year, and there is no need to go into the mountains to hunt!
"Sir, how much is it? We will bring the money to make the transaction tomorrow!" Su Ying asked.
"Didn't I say I'd give you three months of credit?" Lu Zhaoshi asked, "Do you have enough money?"
"Well, it definitely wasn't enough before, but now it should be enough!" Su Ying said confidently.
I sold so much vermicelli before, and today I bought some tea oil and honey, so I should have some money left over.
That night, they had dinner at the village chief's house. Su Ying, Zheng Niangzi, Yang Chunhua, and the two sisters-in-law of the Yang family were busy at the kitchen.
Wei Shutong and several others had a heated discussion with the drawings of the foot-operated thresher, and several professionals including Wang Sanlang and Zheng Silang were invited to participate.
"In fact, according to Ah Ying's idea, if these are cast with iron, the production will save time and labor, but the amount of iron consumed will be high!" Wang Sanlang said, pointing to the large and small gears.
It's a pity that this little iron production can't withstand such consumption.
"In fact, the improved technology of lime kilns can be considered for use in iron smelting furnaces. Perhaps the iron smelting capacity can be greatly increased!" Su Laoer, who had been silent all the time, expressed his thoughts.
When Su Ying explained the structure of the lime kiln and the reason for the enlarged blower, Su Laoer thought of the iron smelting furnace. Comparing the supervisor's iron smelting furnace with this lime kiln, it was simply unbearable and too backward.
"Hey, this is a good idea!" Wei Shutong and Lu Zhaoshi said in unison.
What Wei Shutong thought of was to report to Tian Khan and ask him to improve the iron smelting furnace of Jiangzuojian.
Lu Zhaoshi was thinking about the several iron mines under his jurisdiction. If this method was adopted, the iron supply under his jurisdiction would increase greatly, and the iron consumption for agricultural tools could be greatly guaranteed.
In the early Tang Dynasty, except for the northwest region, the policy of allowing private mining by the people and the state to collect taxes was implemented.
It was not until the middle of the Tang Dynasty that Han Si, the Minister of Revenue during the reign of Emperor Dezong of Tang, suggested: "The benefits of mountains and lakes should belong to the king."
Since then, officials such as the Salt and Iron Commissioner were established to manage official mining and smelting industries, and private mining and smelting were strictly prohibited.
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