noffsinger Chapter 1199 Foot-operated Rice Threshing Machine
Chapter 1199 Foot-operated Rice Threshing Machine
After the group from Luming Academy left, Shen Zheng and Jiang Zhiming took a carriage towards the government office.
The hustle and bustle of the city drifted into the carriage through a thin curtain. Compared to the past, Liuyang Prefecture seemed unchanged today, but Shen Zheng seemed to hear the sound of the foundation of people's livelihood being eroded.
Having been in the Great Zhou for over a year, she had long since grown accustomed to the slow pace of life and the warmth of the cooking fires. She had assumed that the conflicts in an imperial society were mostly about power struggles and the struggle for basic necessities, but she never imagined that the "poison" she so deeply loathed had quietly infiltrated the scholar class.
The road ahead is fraught with difficulties.
Shen Zheng didn't consider herself a warrior, but she had personally witnessed a dynasty being devoured by poisonous creatures and teetering on the brink of collapse. Therefore, she had to stand up today.
As long as she can protect the everyday life and peace of this city, she is willing to pay any price.
......
The carriage bumped and jolted its way back to the government office.
To Shen Zheng's disappointment, Huai Shaoyong had not regained consciousness and could not be interrogated.
Even the doctor who examined Huai Shaoyong said, "The poison in this child's body has penetrated deep into his muscles, his internal organs are severely depleted, his pulse is weak and sluggish, and his pulse is as loose as silk. He is comparable to a middle-aged person in his fifties or sixties. He is really very weak and sickly."
"..." Shen Zheng looked at Huai Shaoyong's tightly closed eyes and finally asked, "Is his life in danger?"
The doctor thought for a moment and said, “Although his life is not in immediate danger, his energy and spirit have been completely drained. Whether he can wake up and when he will wake up depends entirely on his own fate. Even if he wakes up, his body will be difficult to recover to its former state, and he may even have difficulty taking care of himself.”
Shen Zheng remained silent for a moment, then took a step and left.
When they reached the door, she turned back and said, "Doctor, I'm sorry to trouble you to stay here and watch over him. If anything really happens to him, I hope you can be a witness for the government."
Do your best, listen to destiny.
If even Heaven intends to take Huai Shaoyong away this time, Shen Zheng is unwilling to have a life taken away by the government.
The doctor glanced at Huai Shaoyong on the small bed, nodded in agreement, and began to sigh, "Such a young man, yet he's ruined his body like this. He really doesn't know how to cherish it..."
Shen Zheng left the room amidst the doctor's sighs.
Before long, Yi Mingli returned with constables and soldiers, bringing with him news that Shen Zheng hadn't expected.
“My lord, Huai Shaoyong’s parents are not at home.” Yi Mingli said, “According to the Huai family’s steward, about ten days ago, the Huai family’s silk shop in Linjiang Prefecture sent a message saying that a batch of fine silks in the shop was detained at the dock by the shipping company for ‘increased river security fees’ and they demanded a high ransom from the Huai family. That’s why the couple rushed over there.”
Shen Zheng paused upon hearing this.
Did I guess wrong before?
Suppressing her doubts, Shen Zheng pressed on, "Have they sent any messages back recently, indicating when they will return?"
Yi Mingli shook his head. Seeing Shen Zheng's brows furrowing, he quickly said, "But the steward said that the couple mentioned before they left that after dealing with the Linjiang matter, they might go to Yuanzhou to visit Huai Shaoyong."
Shen Zheng glanced at Yi Mingli: "Next time you report, put this kind of useful information first and then mention it together."
"This humble official has remembered..." Yi Mingli's face flashed with embarrassment, and he hurriedly changed the subject: "Sir, what should we do now? Should we immediately send people to Linjiang and Yuanzhou prefectures to bring back Huai Shaoyong's parents?"
Shen Zheng nodded: "Arrange for someone to go. After that, call Huo Tao and the others to the council hall."
To prevent the circulation of "spiritual powder" among the people as much as possible, it is not enough to just make a "three-point agreement" with the people.
......
The first person to arrive at the council hall was not Yi Mingli, nor was it Tongpan Huo Tao, but Xu Yunyan.
Xu Yunyan had already heard the whole story from Jiang Zhiming about today's events. He looked at Shen Zheng, who was sitting in the main seat with a solemn expression, and stood quietly outside the hall door for a moment before slowly stepping inside.
The soft footsteps pulled Shen Zheng back to reality. She composed herself and gestured for Xu Yunyan to sit down.
Xu Yunyan pulled out the chair at the head of the left and sat down. Instead of talking about today's events, he started talking about the autumn harvest: "Sir, the county soldiers reported today that the autumn harvest will begin in the villages of the county the day after tomorrow. The county soldiers will also go down to the villages to help the people harvest and dry the rice."
Shen Zheng was momentarily dazed upon hearing this, then suddenly remembered something, "I sent someone back the blueprints the other day... Did Old Qiao make the thing according to the blueprints?"
If Xu Yunyan hadn't mentioned the autumn harvest, Shen Zheng would have almost forgotten that a few days ago she had hand-drawn the blueprints for a foot-operated rice threshing machine and sent them back to Tong'an County, entrusting Old Qiao to make one and test it out.
This rice threshing machine has a simple structure and relatively simple parts. It can be driven by foot pedal, but its efficiency in threshing rice is more than five times higher than that of a flail.
In the early days, the rice yield per mu was only one or two hundred jin, and the ears of grain were sparse. People could easily thresh the rice by simply tapping it with a flail in a short time.
But things are different now.
The rice ears are full and heavy. If we still rely on the traditional flail and hand-pounding method, the threshing process alone will take up most of the people's time, which is a real pity. After all, drying the rice is the main part of the autumn harvest, and we should save as much time as possible before drying the rice.
"It's done." Seeing that Shen Zheng's complexion had improved a bit after mentioning Tong'an County, Xu Yunyan held on tightly to the words: "The county sergeant said that in just five days, Old Qiao and his craftsmen made eight rice threshing machines. If they hadn't run out of iron teeth, Old Qiao and his team could probably have made twenty."
Through Xu Yunyan's words, Shen Zheng seemed to see Qiao Lao's arrogant appearance.
"What's eight units to an old man? He could make eight hundred, no, eight thousand more!"
“Eight units are enough.” Shen Zheng smiled sincerely. “This year is just a trial. If the products work well, we will equip every village with them before the autumn harvest next year. Other counties in the prefecture will also receive some.”
"I'll do as you say, sir." Xu Yunyan laughed and added, "The other county governments have also sent people to deliver messages one after another. They will all start the autumn harvest in the next few days. The yamen runners in Baiyun County even said that Baiyun County is like a festival these days, very lively."
It's great to have a lively atmosphere.
Shen Zheng breathed a sigh of relief.
That's how ordinary people live: with grain in the fields, their hearts are at peace.
Perhaps she should learn from ordinary people, be more open-minded, and not worry too much.
"I hope that people can have a good New Year this year," Shen Zheng said.
"It will certainly be as you wish, sir."
"Knock knock knock—" There was a knock on the hall door.
Yi Mingli and the others stood outside the hall, cautiously saying, "My lord..."
"Come in and have a seat." Shen Zheng sat up straight, watching the officials enter one by one, until the very last one...
"Lord Shen, may I listen in?" Jiang Zhiming asked with a simple smile as he stood at the door.