Qin Feng's small courtyard was filled with women, fighting to be the first to sign up.
Anyway, the carpenter would send more spinning wheels over. By then, it would probably not be enough even if all the women in the village came.
Tang Dongdong didn't pick and choose. According to the principle of first come, first served, she left the first twenty people who came to register.
Although the women who came from behind were unwilling, no one said anything.
Who asked him to be late?
Tang Dongdong called the selected twenty people to the courtyard and began to arrange their shifts.
Ten people during the day, ten people at night, and they would change shifts every ten days.
This was the method Qin Feng taught her.
After they were assigned to different classes, the ten women on the day shift went into the straw shed and started working.
The women who weren't selected and those who were assigned to the night shift didn't leave either. They surrounded the area and watched curiously.
In front of the spinning wheel near the corner sat a little girl called Xiao Bei. She was only ten years old this year. Perhaps she had never spun thread before, so her movements were rusty and she always made mistakes.
She was already very anxious, but the surrounding women were still teasing and mocking her, making the little girl sweat.
" Brother Feng, Xiao Bei doesn't know how to spin yet. Why don't you let me do it? I promise I'll be faster than Xiao Bei."
A village woman in her twenties asked with a smile when she saw Qin Feng enter.
When Xiao Bei heard that, he cried." Brother Feng, don't chase me away. I need to earn money to buy medicine for my mother. Trust me, I'll definitely learn it…I…I don't have to eat at your house…"
" Alright, Xiaobei. Third Sister-in-law was just teasing you."
"When you need to eat, just eat properly. As long as you do your job well, I won't chase you away," said Qin Feng.
He also knew about the situation in Xiao Bei's family. A few years ago, his father had died on the battlefield. Although his mother was young, she was always sick.
Children from poor families would be able to take care of their families early. In the future, a ten-year-old child would still be in primary school. A child who occasionally did housework would be considered diligent.
However, Xiao Bei had been collecting firewood and working in the fields since he was seven or eight years old.
Qin Feng had seen her carry a bundle of firewood that was bigger than her body more than once, and she came down from the back of the mountain step by step.
Spinning was considered a skilled job, and there was no technical difficulty. Qin Feng was willing to give Xiao Bei a chance to support himself and his mother.
"Thank you, Brother Feng! Don't worry, I definitely won't slack off."
Xiao Bei wiped his tears and immediately started working.
" Third Sister-in-law, don't just stand around here. Hurry up and go back. The new spinning wheel will be ready in a few days and everyone can come."
Qin Feng noticed that the surrounding women still wanted to speak and immediately started to chase them away.
After all, they still had to find work under Qin Feng in the future. When the women saw that Qin Feng was a little angry, they all left with anticipation.
Guan Hanyan was in charge of the day shift, Tang Dongdong was in charge of the night shift, and Runniang and Xiao'e were in charge of cooking.
This was what they had discussed.
Run Niang was very satisfied with this arrangement. She had been busy since early in the morning. She stewed a pheasant until it was rotten. She didn't use any other spices to season it. She just sprinkled some salt and it was fragrant.
The rich aroma of pheasant was mixed with the fragrance of millet rice.
The women in the shed cherished this opportunity to work. Smelling the fragrance from the kitchen, they worked even harder.
They thought that it would be good enough to have wild vegetable porridge for lunch. Who knew that there would be meat?
One pheasant was naturally not enough for more than ten people to eat. He left the drumstick for the youngest, Little E and Little North, while the others poured a spoonful of meat soup and gave one or two pieces of chicken meat. The group of women were extremely touched.
Qin Feng saw Xiao Bei secretly wrap the chicken drumstick with leaves and stuff it into his arms, but he did not point it out. He only scooped an extra piece of chicken wing for her when she was scooping up the second bowl.
Zhang Liang had only sent a few pheasants, so he couldn't eat them all at once. He changed his dinner to oatmeal and wild vegetables.
This had already made those women who were not chosen jealous. They all urged Qin Feng to quickly make a new spinning wheel.
When the sky turned dark, Qin Feng carried a ladder and lit the oil lamps on the pillars one by one.
The shed was made of straw, and it was filled with flammable materials such as hemp thread. Once a fire broke out, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Therefore, Qin Feng nailed the oil lamp high up on the pillar to prevent others from accidentally knocking it over.
Although he had to climb a ladder every time he filled the oil and turned on and off the lights, Qin Feng was willing to go through more trouble than leave a safety hazard.
Before he left, he did not forget to tell Tang Dongdong." If you accidentally catch fire, you must bring everyone out as soon as possible. Don't worry about what's inside, understand?"
"Don't worry, I know."
Tang Dongdong pushed Qin Feng out of the shed." Go back to sleep. Sister Hanyan is still waiting for you."
The women who were working all smiled ambiguously.
If he went back to sleep with his wife, who could say anything?
He laughed in vain.
According to Tang Dongdong's plan, he was going to use these ten spinning wheels as the foundation and slowly add them after earning money.
However, Qin Feng still had more than ten taels of silver in his hands. The firewood in the mountains was cheap, and the wages of the carpenters were also cheap. Qin Feng was too lazy to waste time, so he instructed the carpenters to continue working.
In the next few days, the carpenters sent over more than ten spinning wheel parts one after another. The village women who were not selected the first time also began to work one after another.
Qin Feng's small courtyard became the most lively place in the village. The squeaking sound of the spinning wheel did not stop from day to night until dawn.
In the first few days after Zhang Liang got the crossbow, he had a good harvest every day. He had killed nine hares and seven pheasants in one day, which made the villagers envious.
However, in the past two to three days, the number of items that could be obtained every day had decreased.
When he came back today, he only managed to kill a pheasant.
Hunter Chen Laoliu was even more unlucky, returning empty-handed for three consecutive days.
Qin Feng knew that Zhang Liang hunted too frequently. The wild rabbits and pheasants in the old forest near the back mountain must have sensed the danger and escaped.
If he continued to hunt, he would have to go deeper into the forest.
Zhang Liang had the same plan, but Qin Feng stopped him.
"Brother Liang, it doesn't matter if we go to the old forest at the back of the mountain. If we go further in, we will reach the primeval forest. Not only are there ferocious beasts everywhere, but there is also miasma. This thing is a hundred times more powerful than a tiger. Once trapped by the miasma, you will definitely die."
"Don't go again. What if something happens to you? What will happen to the whole family?" Qin Feng advised.
He wasn't a saint, and besides helping the Zhang family because of Guan Hanyan, he also had the intention of getting help for himself.
For the future, Qin Feng had made several plans. No matter which plan, Zhang Liang had a place in it.
Making a crossbow for Zhang Liang was to improve his family's life, so that he wouldn't be tied up in everything he did.
However, Qin Feng didn't want him to be a hunter forever, and he didn't want him to risk his life to go to the primeval forest.
In those deep mountains and forests, the fallen leaves accumulated over the years were thicker than a person's. After being corroded by the rain, it would form miasma over time.
This kind of miasma was usually very large. Once trapped, no one could save them.
" I naturally understand the logic. If I go into the forest, I won't be able to come out for ten days to half a month. I don't want to go if I can avoid it."
"But other than hunting, what else can I do?" Zhang Liang sighed.