The spinning wheel was already a product that was ahead of the times. It would not do any good to make a better one.
One step ahead was a genius, ten steps ahead was a lunatic.
No one wanted to be with a lunatic.
It was good to have more trump cards in hand.
The structure of this spinning wheel was not complicated. Even if the carpenter did not reveal it, it would be copied by others sooner or later.
When someone imitated it, it was not too late to eliminate and upgrade it.
After the shop assistant packed the hemp skin, Qin Feng and the others went to the grain store again and bought a few bags of grain.
There was no other way. The family had to feed dozens of people now, and the food was consumed very quickly.
Afraid that he would be pestered by the bailiff again, Qin Feng left the county government with the few of them without even eating after buying the things.
In fact, Qin Feng was overthinking things. It was not until two hours after they left the county government that the bailiff was released by the Grand Master.
When they reached the entrance of the county government, Qin Feng and Liu Tie were nowhere to be seen.
"Where are the two people who were talking to me just now?"
The bailiff grabbed the guard and asked.
"Constable Zhang, they left as soon as you left." The servant replied.
"Damn it!"
The bailiff wanted to slap himself.
Such a good opportunity had slipped away from him again.
"By the way, do you know why they came to the county government?" The bailiff asked.
"I think he's here to handle the account closing documents." The servant replied.
The bailiff turned around and ran into the yamen.
...
When he returned to Haijiao Village, the carpenter had just left when he sent over five spinning wheel parts. Zhang Mancang was assembling them.
A group of women surrounded the door, waiting, but no one dared to enter.
Because Tang Dongdong had said that if anyone dared to peek at Man Cang working, they would never come to the workshop again.
Therefore, the women didn't even dig for wild vegetables now. They guarded the entrance of the blacksmith shop all day long. As long as the warehouse was filled with one, it would immediately be snatched away by the women.
Qin Feng glanced at the straw shed. It was already filled with more than 20 spinning wheels. There was no room for Tang Dongdong and Runniang's beds. They moved back to the east room and squeezed together with Little E.
It was still the end of spring, so it was not a big problem. If it was the hot summer, with so many people crowded together, let alone work, they might get a heatstroke if they did nothing.
Some women had already suggested bringing the spinning wheel back, but Tang Dongdong had sternly refused.
The spinning wheel was now the apple of her eye. She would rather make it slower than to let it spread.
The workshop had to be expanded.
However, Qin Feng didn't want to build another straw shed.
It was not safe for the rain to leak in the summer and the wind to leak in the winter.
Since he had decided to stay for a long time, Qin Feng hoped that the house would be sturdier.
Forget about the buildings, they should at least get a few tile-roofed houses, right?
However, Haijiao Village did not have a brick kiln, and the nearby villages and even Jinchuan County did not seem to have a brick kiln.
He couldn't possibly build a brick kiln just to build a few houses, right?
Wait a minute!
Since he didn't have one, why couldn't he build a brick kiln?
This was definitely a profitable business.
Anyway, it was not difficult to dig an earthen kiln.
Thinking of this, Qin Feng was immediately filled with enthusiasm.
The spring plowing had ended, and the men were now idle at home.
Qin Feng waved his arm, and all the men in the village gathered over.
No matter what, it was the economic foundation that determined the status of the family. In the past, when they were farming, the men were the main laborers, so the men were the ones who made the decisions in the family.
Ever since the textile workshop started, the old ladies in the family could also earn money. Moreover, they could earn 30 copper coins a month, which was more than what men could earn by farming. All of them began to be cocky. They even dared not wait for men to eat in the morning and said that they were in a hurry to work.
The day before yesterday, Sixth Brother had beaten Sixth Sister-in-law up because of this matter. In the end, not only was Sixth Sister-in-law late for work, but her arm was also injured and her spinning speed was too slow. Tang Dongdong had sent her back and selected a substitute woman to replace Sixth Sister-in-law.
The usually cowardly Sixth Sister-in-law almost went all out with Sixth Brother after she went back. Her parents-in-law, who usually sided with their son, also stood on Sixth Sister-in-law's side this time. The old man chased Sixth Brother for a few miles with a hoe.
Third Aunt was the worst. It was said that she didn't even wash clothes anymore. Last night, when Buttface got up to pee, he saw Third Uncle come back from the river with a basin of clothes in the middle of the night, as if he was a thief.
The women became more and more arrogant. Although the men hated them to the core, they could not do anything about it.
All of them were squatting lazily in the corner, sighing.
When they heard that the village chief had come to inform Qin Feng that he was going to recruit more workers, and that they were going to recruit male workers this time, the men immediately came back to life. They ran to Qin Feng's house one by one, afraid that they would not get their turn if they were slow.
When they heard Qin Feng say that he would provide them with two meals a day and two copper coins, these farmers were so touched that they almost shed tears.
He had finally made a comeback.
This old woman only earns one copper coin a day, but I can earn two!
That afternoon, the men carried their tools to the wasteland by the river.
This was the place Qin Feng had chosen after wandering around for a long time. The soil nearby was the most suitable for making bricks.
A group of people dug the soil and dug the kiln in the designated place, another group went to the back of the mountain to cut wood to make firewood for the cart and bricks, and the last group made bricks under Qin Feng's guidance.
Without the machines of the later generations, everything could only be done by manpower.
He dug out mud from the river, poured water on it, and kneaded it back and forth with a hoe. Then, he pressed it down with a mold made of wood, and square bricks were made.
After the clay bricks were made, they could not be used immediately. They needed to be placed in an open space to dry.
When the brick kiln was almost done, it could be used.
The men who were holding back their anger worked especially hard. Qin Feng originally thought that it would take about seven days to dig the brick kiln, but who knew that it only took five days to complete it.
The conditions were limited. This earthen kiln was very primitive, but for the backward Great Kang, it was already very advanced. At the very least, it would not be a problem to make ordinary red bricks.
Firewood was already prepared. Qin Feng instructed the villagers to move piles of bricks into the kiln. Then, the kiln door was blocked, and thick smoke came out from the chimney at the top.
To turn the soft mud into solid bricks, it required more than eight hundred degrees of heat for three days and three nights.
The firewood had a low heat value, and it was a new kiln. Qin Feng estimated that it would take longer.
They were even prepared to scrap the first kiln brick.
Other than firing the bricks, they also had to spray water to cool the kiln. The entire process would take more than ten days or even longer.
Qin Feng could only arrange for the villagers to continue making bricks while waiting patiently.
However, before the bricks could be burned out, a group of uninvited guests came to the village.
The dozen or so people were all riding tall warhorses. The leader was a young man in a green robe, followed by a group of burly men in helmets and armor.
Each of them had a ferocious expression, and several of them had scars on their faces.
A few children were playing at the entrance of the village. When they saw this group of people coming over, they were all scared and ran back.
"The bandits are here!"