Chapter 96 Understanding the Third Brother
The Liu family members in the courtyard had already heard the noise. Qin Yao walked into the open door, and Zhang greeted her in the hall.
"Come and sit down. Why are you out in the middle of the day? Why don't you stay home and rest for a while?"
Qin Yao has always been a person who keeps things to herself. Carpenter Liu is responsible for the waterwheel, while she is responsible for making two large stone mills and a stone roller. It is indeed difficult for one person to keep busy.
When he came to the main room, he did not sit down. Instead, he leaned on the shoulder pole in his hand and explained his purpose.
"Carpenter Liu and I want to build a water mill for Xiahe Village. I'm short of a few people. Big brother, second brother, little brother, are you free to come with me to make a stone mill these days?"
Qin Yao added: "35 cents per person per day, no meals included, it's hard work, I just want to ask if someone in my family needs it, so I came here to ask you first, if you don't have time, I'll look for someone else."
There are also several cousins from my uncle's family. Last time when her family built a house, they were particularly willing to work hard.
The three brothers were still feeling embarrassed, but He and Qiu had already revealed surprised smiles.
He said, "It's empty. There's not much work to do in the fields right now. Let your elder brother go with you!"
Qiu then gently pushed Liu Zhong's arm. Liu Zhong scratched his head and said a little embarrassedly: "I'll go too."
Needless to say, Liu Fei had already gone into the utility room to get a shoulder pole and a hammer. He stood in the yard fully equipped and asked loudly, "Third sister-in-law, where are we going to carry the stones?"
Old man Liu had just realized the high salary of 35 wen a day and said hurriedly,
"We are all brothers. Why talk about salary? Just give them three bowls of rice."
Liu Bo and Liu Zhong also said, "It's fine as long as we have food to eat." Their wives almost pinched their tender arms until they were swollen.
Qin Yao looked at Old Man Liu with amusement, "Dad, brothers should settle accounts clearly. Time is tight, so we will get busy now. Today's wages will be calculated as half a day's wages."
After saying this, he asked his eldest and second brothers to pick up their tools and left with the three laborers.
Liu Fei was as happy as a fool. "Third sister-in-law, although I may not look strong, I am very strong. You don't have to feel sorry for me. I will definitely use my strength to work for you."
Liu Zhong was still feeling embarrassed for questioning Qin Yao's rice-growing method last time, so Qin Yao took the initiative to ask him, "Second brother, do you know where there are the most large rocks around here?"
Liu Zhong heaved a sigh of relief and pointed to the mountain in the distance. "It's hard to find a big one in the river. We have to dig it in the mountain."
"Okay, you know you can lead the way." Qin Yao readily gave up the front position.
Liu Zhong strode ahead, and Liu Bo walked side by side with him. The two discussed going to that mountain.
Getting the stones is actually the easiest thing, but the difficult part is how to transport them back, so the closer to the main road the better.
Liu Bo paid more attention to details and asked Qin Yao, "The place where we get the stones is not far from Xiahe Village. It would be more troublesome to move them back to our village. Why don't we get the stones, build a shed on the side of the road and grind them on the spot, and then directly transport them to Xiahe Village, which would save some trouble."
Moreover, the stones are heavy, so there is no need to worry about them being moved away if placed on the roadside.
Who would have the time and energy to steal a millstone? Not only is it heavy, but people who don't need it also think it takes up too much space.
This was Qin Yao's plan from the beginning. When she heard Liu Bo's proposal, she nodded in agreement.
Walk from Liujia Village towards Xiahe Village for more than half an hour, and you will reach the place where stones are collected.
It is a rocky mountain with no grass growing on it and the bottom is covered with broken rocks that have fallen due to wind and rain.
There are obvious traces of excavation on the stone wall. This is where several nearby villages often come to get stones.
The quality of the stone is acceptable and is sufficient for making grinding wheels.
Qin Yao needs two grinding wheels with a diameter of 80 cm and a cylindrical stone mill with a diameter of 60 cm and a length of one meter.
The four of them spent an entire afternoon selecting materials, marking out several areas where they would be best to start using the colorful powder stones from the riverside.
There is no time to chisel stones today. After selecting the materials, Liu Bo and Liu Fei cut down the trees. Qin Yao was responsible for moving them to the main road. Together with Liu Zhong, they built a simple tree shed to provide shelter from the sun and rain.
After finishing the work shed, the four of them returned home as the sun set.
They each rested for a night. At dawn the next day, Liu Fei ran to Qin Yao's door and knocked, waking Qin Yao up.
Seeing the young man's enthusiasm, Qin Yao ate the meat pie Liu Ji had made last night, holding a small ceramic jar filled with steamed buns and vegetables, and shook her head and sighed, "He's really energetic."
He and Qiu got up early in the morning, made breakfast for the three brothers, and prepared lunch for them.
However, the rice bowls of the three people combined are not worth the small pottery jar in Qin Yao's hand.
In the past, when everyone ate together, they only saw Qin Yao eating one bowl after another, and did not feel the difference in the amount of food very intuitively.
When I saw that small ceramic jar today, my eyes widened.
"Don't look at me like that. Is it exaggerated?" Qin Yao raised her eyebrows and asked suspiciously, holding her lunch - a small ceramic jar.
The three Liu Bo brothers nodded in unison. It was really exaggerated, okay?
But when they arrived at the destination and started working, they saw Qin Yao holding a pickaxe and hammering down more than ten centimeters with one hammer. They felt that it was reasonable for her to eat so much.
All day long, the valley was filled with the "clang clang clang" sound of metal striking stone, which sounded quite rhythmic.
Every time Qin Yao looked up and saw the three Liu brothers working hard with their arms bulging with muscles, she couldn't help but wonder, they have the same father, why are their sons so different?
Could it be that Liu Ji was picked up?
No, there is absolutely no possibility. Although the four brothers do not have the same mother, Old Man Liu has strong genes and they all look very similar.
Maybe Liu Ji looked more like his mother, so his facial features were particularly superior.
Looking closely, Liu Bo and Liu Zhong both look good, while Liu Fei is a little less so, but if you take him alone, he is also a handsome guy.
Although Qin Yao's mind was full of random thoughts, it did not affect her work efficiency. She first chiseled down a huge rock, and then went to help Liu Fei.
The young man looks lean and is quite strong, but chiseling stone mainly depends on skills. He is just too young and easily impetuous, and he even made himself angry while knocking the stone.
Fortunately, with the help of Qin Yao, we slowly found the right rhythm, and before the sun set, we chiseled out a relatively complete boulder.
The stone that Liu Bo and Liu Zhong were chiseling together was quite large. It took them a whole day to finish only half of it. If they worked for another day tomorrow, they would be able to chisel it down.
It took the four men two days to carve out a large stone, two medium stones, and a smaller one.
Only three are needed, with one extra as a spare just in case.
There were four heavy boulders in total, with two logs as the base and one log as a traction rod. The stones were lifted up and rolled to the roadside one section at a time with logs, and finally hoisted onto the road with ropes.
This process is much easier than chiseling stone because of the presence of the strong man Qin Yao.
She could even lift the smaller spare boulder, weighing nearly a thousand pounds, by herself, and throw it directly onto the road at a brisk pace.
The three Liu brothers were stunned and could not come back to their senses for a long time.
Suddenly I understand why the third child has become so obedient.
(End of this chapter)