Chapter 91: Visitors from Xiahe Village
Someone leaked the news, but the whole village suddenly knew that Qin Yao was going to support Liu Ji to go back to the academy to study.
The villagers were talking about it, and the men were jealous and envious of Liu Ji for having such a good thing happen to him.
The women couldn't understand why Qin Yao was so nice to Liu Ji, this bastard.
Of course, there were also people who laughed at the couple's wild idea that they could pass the imperial examination just by studying hard. Many people studied hard until they were in their seventies or eighties and still couldn't even pass the imperial examination. They regarded this as a joke.
The Liu family's old house was in an uproar. Old man Liu and his three sons discussed the matter for a long time. On the contrary, He and Qiu, who was pregnant with a big belly, took the opportunity to go to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables and came to Qin Yao's water mill to find her.
"Sister-in-law, is what's being said outside true or false? Do you really want to support the third child to continue his studies? What do you want? If he was willing to work hard, he wouldn't be like this a long time ago!" He asked anxiously.
Mrs. Qiu was also anxious, but she was more stable. She found a place to sit down first, then she held her stomach and said in a steady tone:
"Let's not talk about the cost of studying. There are only two adults in the family. Now that the third child is gone, how can you finish the work in the fields by yourself?"
"Yes, we all know that you are strong, but no matter how strong we are, no one says that the strong person has to do everything. Sister-in-law, don't be stupid, or you will lose more than you gain."
Qin Yao was repairing the stone mill in the water mill. The mill had been running at a high intensity for a long time, and the grooves had been worn out a bit. It had to be re-polished before it could be used properly.
Two people came out of nowhere and told her these words. She felt a little nervous, "Does everyone know about this?"
He and Qiu nodded, "All the women in the village know that you are stupid!"
Qin Yao's heart was shaken for a moment, but she quickly calmed down. She kept moving her hands, motioning Qiu to sit further away to avoid accidental injury, and said calmly:
"Our whole family has already decided on this matter. Everyone knows Liu Ji's personality. It is absolutely impossible to expect him to make a living by digging in the fields. So after thinking about it, I still think it is better to let him go to school. Maybe he can get some unexpected gains."
As he spoke, he saw his two sisters-in-law standing up out of worry. He smiled at them and said, "I know what you are worried about. I have my own way to deal with him."
He didn't quite believe it, "Really?"
What she was most worried about was that the third child would go out and fool around, and then let Qin Yao down, and the family would definitely break up.
This is what Mrs. Qiu was worried about. She had finally seen the third child behave himself and the family was more relaxed, and no one wanted to go back to the way things were.
With my third brother and sister-in-law around, the two families can live in harmony, how wonderful it is.
Qin Yao could certainly see the little thoughts of her two sisters-in-law. It was not wrong for many people to think too much about her, but it could not be said that they had no real concern for her.
Human nature is complex, and Qin Yao fully understands this. If she were He or Qiu, she would also be worried.
After all, in a clan society, blood ties cannot be broken off, and Liu Ji's trouble-making behavior will indeed affect his relatives.
But on the other hand, if he gets better, his relatives can also enjoy the benefits he brings.
This is what Qin Yao said to her two sisters-in-law, and they almost believed her lies. They imagined that if Liu Ji achieved fame, they would become the sisters-in-law of the scholar.
Seeing that the two were dizzy, Qin Yao quickly sent them away and asked them to go back to the old house to talk to them, telling them not to try to persuade her because she had made up her mind.
Just as we saw off the two sisters-in-law, two people from other villages came to the village entrance.
One of them looked familiar. Someone recognized him and thought he was from Xiahe Village who often hung out with Liu Laosan. His name seemed to be Shunzi or something.
Qin Yao re-carved the patterns on the millstone, and then some villagers came to grind grain. The two of them nodded and greeted each other, then went about their business.
Qin Yao did not go home, but planned to go for a walk in the fields first. Just as she crossed the bridge, she heard an excited shout:
"Sister-in-law! Sister-in-law is my Shunzi!"
Qin Yao looked up when she heard the voice and saw Shunzi leading a strange young man running towards her excitedly.
The strange man was a few steps behind, and Shunzi stepped forward first and told Qin Yao the identity of the man.
It turned out to be Wang Yu, the son of the village chief of Xiahe Village.
Qin Yao smiled and nodded, greeting the other party.
The man on the other side smiled at her and pointed to the shed on the other side of the river in surprise, "Is that your water mill?"
Qin Yao nodded, "Yes." Glancing at Shunzi winking at her, she smiled and said, "Want to go over and take a look?"
Wang Yu said okay and walked away.
Shunzi followed Qin Yao and whispered to her that the villagers in Xiahe Village knew that there was a water mill in Liujia Village that was particularly useful, so they planned to pool their money to build one together, so they came to Qin Yao to learn from her.
Qin Yao raised her eyebrows. This was a big business.
When Wang Yu arrived at the mill, there were villagers using the mill there. He saw that the water mill was turning by itself, much faster than a person could grind it. People only needed to watch from the side and did not have to do anything with it. He felt both curious and envious.
The villager looked at Qin Yao strangely, and Qin Yao explained: "He is from Xiahe Village. The village also wants to build a water mill, so he came to take a look."
When the villagers heard this, they realized what was going on. They smiled enthusiastically and asked Wang Yu to come closer to see how useful the mill was.
"Madam Qin's mill is so big and fast that it can grind a load of grain in less than half an hour!"
Wang Yu asked in surprise, "You can grind a load of rice in less than half an hour?"
The villagers laughed and replied: "It is absolutely true. Anyone who tries to trick you is not a human being."
Just looking at this millstone, it is bigger than others, and it can definitely grind more grain than others.
Xiahe Village is a rich place, Qin Yao does not want to miss it, so she leads Wang Yu to the waterwheel and says to him:
"Look at this water, the drop is not that big, but it has such a strong power."
"I often go to Xiahe Village. The middle section of the river has a height difference of one or two meters. If we build a water mill directly at that location, the power will be much greater than mine. It will be no problem to use two mills and one roller at the same time."
The whole village is building it together, and Xiahe Village has a large population, so how can just one water mill be enough?
Qin Yao actively recommended that Xiahe Village make good use of the natural river channel and build a large mill in one step.
She was exaggerating, describing a water mill as a fairy's workshop. Wang Yu couldn't stand it and asked excitedly:
"How much money would it cost to build such a comprehensive mill?"
Qin Yao calculated in her mind and said with a false embarrassment: "It's hard to say. The loss of materials is different between an experienced worker and a novice. Even if Carpenter Liu from our village and I come in person, it will cost at least fifteen taels."
When Shunzi heard the price, he took a deep breath.
However, Wang Yu's expression did not show much shock, and he seemed to be able to bear it.
After all, it was a joint venture. There were more people in Xiahe Village and they were richer than other villages. There were 65 households, and each household would get a little more than two cents of silver, which they thought was acceptable.
However, she still asked, if their village asked her and Carpenter Liu to be their instructors, paid them a little, and then had the people of Xiahe Village do the work, how much would it cost?
(End of this chapter)