RPAGF Chapter 231 Watermill
Chapter 231 Watermill
After finishing these tasks, Gao Mengli pulled Xue Ling to sit down inside and began to plan carefully:
"Sister Xue, the building materials are now being prepared, and our village will officially begin construction on your house tomorrow."
With the weather being good these past few days, the villagers and craftsmen have been able to work more efficiently.
The village hasn't been too busy lately; almost half the villagers and the bandits have gone to join the house-building team, and everyone is trying to finish building their new houses by early winter.
Upon hearing this, Xue Ling was filled with gratitude, and she bowed slightly.
“Sister Mengli, thanks to your and the villagers’ help, I don’t know how to repay this kindness.”
She had never seen this village, these people, this scenery outside of Pingyao.
Gao Mengli waved her hand, "Don't be so polite with me."
At this moment, Aunt Deng and Aunt Feng brought out a basin of dirty clothes, preparing to wash them by hand by the well in the courtyard.
Gao Mengli quickly went over to stop her, "Sisters, wait a minute."
Aunt Deng and Aunt Feng stopped and looked at Gao Mengli with a puzzled expression.
Gao Mengli waved to them:
"Come with me, I'll take you to the river to wash your clothes with a washing tub, so you don't have to do it by hand!"
Aunt Deng and Aunt Feng exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with curiosity.
Washing drum?
How could they not know?!
So he quickly picked up the basin and followed Gao Mengli.
Upon hearing this, Xue Ling realized it was an unfamiliar object and curiously followed along!
Fifth Aunt and Gu Jianqi were picking vegetables in the kitchen when they heard Gao Mengli talking about a washing machine in the yard. They were very curious and kept looking out the kitchen window.
Lin Xi chuckled:
"You guys come up and take a look. You don't need to do anything here. I'll have Ah Li handle it."
Go and take a look, so you'll know where it is, and it'll be easier to do laundry there in the future!
Fifth Aunt and Aunt Gu exchanged a glance, their faces beaming with joy. They hurriedly put down the vegetables in their hands and followed the others towards the river.
Upon arriving at the riverbank, one could see that the washing tub was made of wood, shaped like a huge round barrel, with a wooden trough connected to one side to draw in river water, and several planks of wood arranged in a staggered manner inside the barrel.
Gao Mengli put the dirty clothes into the bucket, and the river water flowed in along the wooden trough.
As the water flowed, the wooden planks inside the bucket began to rotate, causing the clothes to tumble around.
They didn't even ask for a cup of tea, yet they washed the clothes perfectly clean!
Aunt Deng's eyes were filled with surprise and joy:
"This is truly a rare item!"
It's so amazing! Dou Weiyi's biggest worry was that we came without any servants, fearing that we would get tired and have backaches from washing clothes.
"That's great, things will be much easier from now on!"
Aunt Feng chimed in, reaching out to touch the washing tub: "Yes, this is the first time we've ever seen clothes washed like this!"
Neither of their families had servants.
It was only after marrying Dou Weiyi that, in order to maintain the prestige of a county magistrate, she gritted her teeth and hired a maid and servants.
Washing clothes in the summer doesn't feel like much, but in the winter it's really freezing cold.
I had no idea what kind of hardship they had endured in the past!
Xue Ling listened quietly to their conversation with a smile. They felt that coming to settle down in the village was the right decision.
However, after they left the Dou residence, Dou Wei probably let the few maids and servants go home in order to save on their monthly allowance.
It has to be said that you can't have two different kinds of people sleeping on the same pillow.
Xue Ling guessed correctly the first time.
Dou Weiyi felt that as a man, he didn't need any servants or maids, so he sent them all away.
All that's left in the mansion is Ruan Dan, who serves as the steward, guard, cook, and, when necessary, a maid!
At this moment, he sat in the mansion, happily washing Dou Weiyi's clothes, thoroughly enjoying himself!
After all, Dou Weiyi paid him two monthly allowances!
Ruan Dan hummed an off-key tune as she skillfully rubbed clothes in the basin of water.
He had no idea that if he had been there to give Dou Weiyi a little "side breeze," the two of them might have been able to move to Wangyue Village.
Why bother washing clothes? It completely frees up your hands, making money so easy!
Gao Mengli pointed to the washing machine drum:
"This sink over here is painted red; it's for our family."
Others included villagers, outlaws, and workers at brick kilns.
From now on, you'll use this washing machine from my house!
After saying that, Gao Mengli pointed to a small washing machine drum next to her:
"This little bucket is specifically for washing socks and shoes!"
Their eyes lit up, and Xue Ling walked over and squatted down next to the small bucket, her face beaming with joy.
"You can even wash shoes?"
Gao Mengli nodded and chuckled:
"Of course, it's the same principle!"
After all, people are the foundation, and productivity can't be hampered by doing laundry!
"This way, it's kept separate from clothes, which is both clean and hygienic, and they don't interfere with each other. It's a really good method."
Aunt Feng clapped her hands and exclaimed in admiration!
Several people were washing clothes by the river, and they were having a great time, wishing they could take out everything from their homes to wash!
Seeing that they were having a great time, Gao Mengli smiled and joined in.
Just then, she saw villagers carrying baskets on their backs crossing the wooden bridge over the river to step on something on the higher ground on the other side.
Out of curiosity, she instructed Xue Ling and the others to go to the other side.
When they arrived, they discovered that everyone was pounding rice.
The rice-pounding tool was simple yet practical: a thick log was raised high, with one end attached to a heavy stone.
Several villagers were rhythmically stomping on the other end of the log, and the stones rose and fell, hitting the rice in the stone mortar again and again.
Gao Mengli walked forward curiously, and an auntie greeted her with a smile: "Lin family, what brings you here?"
“I saw you coming from afar, so I came to check on you.”
It's no wonder she was curious, since the rice her family ate was all commercially available from the county town.
Moreover, during the autumn harvest, everyone would only come over to husk and thresh the remaining grain after paying their grain tax!
There are three stone mortars, so while the villagers are queuing up, they also help step on the poles.
Gao Mengli went up out of curiosity, stepped on it a couple of times, and then came down.
It's not only exhausting, but also tiring, I'm exhausted!
Gao Mengli couldn't help but mutter a few words: "These things are really hard to step on."
The aunt next to me smiled and nodded:
"Of course! It should have been the men in the family who did the stomping, but they were too busy, so we did it instead. It's not too strenuous for the two of us to do it together!"
If the men go out to work and earn money, the women can't be left behind!
After they finish pounding the rice, tidying up the land, and planting winter wheat, they still need to go to the garment workshop to have clothes made!
After listening to her aunt's words, Gao Mengli made up her mind and hurried home.
He took out the pen and paper that Da Niu used and started drawing in the study.
Looking at the prototype of the watermill, Gao Mengli nodded in satisfaction.
After drying the ink, I took it and ran to the old house next door!
"Hey, Mengli, where are you going? It's time to eat, don't wander off!"
Lin Xi was cooking when he saw Mengli run out again, so he quickly grabbed a spoon and ran out to tell her.
Gao Mengli's voice drifted from afar:
"I understand, I'll be back in a bit."
Lin Yong had just finished the order given to him by Dou Weiyi. At this moment, he was rubbing his back while sweeping the wood flowers all over the yard with a broom!
Previously, these wood flowers could only be burned as firewood. Now they must be carefully collected and soaked in water to make rough paper towels.
It ensures that not a single scrap is wasted.
Gao Mengli pushed open the courtyard gate and "swam" through the wood flowers:
"Dad, take a look at this watermill, do you think we can make it?"
Lin Yong put down the broom, took the blueprints handed to him by his eldest daughter-in-law, and studied them carefully for a long time, his eyes gradually flashing with "lightning":
"This item seems to have some merit, but whether it will actually work remains to be seen."
"Elder brother, what's this for?"
Gao Mengli pointed to the blueprints and explained to Lin Yong:
"This is a water mill, specially used for grinding rice!"
Dad, look at this. River water is drawn into a water tank from here, and the water in the tank falls from a certain height to impact the waterwheel.
As the waterwheel turns, the millstone connected to it rotates as well, thus grinding the grain. Adjusting its position can also thresh the grain.
In other words, it's a combined grinding and threshing machine!
If this thing comes out, all the donkeys in the production team will be freed!
Lin Yong's eyes grew brighter, and his rough fingers slowly moved along the lines on the drawing:
"This design is ingenious, and it's all made of wood. It's feasible!"
Gao Mengli nodded: "Yes, Dad, please finish making it as soon as possible and put it in the village for the villagers to use."
It's late autumn; if we wait any longer, the aunties won't have time to make winter clothes to send to the border guards.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yong's expression hardened, and he responded emphatically.
He carefully folded the blueprints and put them in his pocket: "Don't worry, eldest son, I'll get started right away."
Gao Mengli nodded, turned around, used her foot to pry open the wooden flowers covering half of her body, and then left the courtyard.
Lin Yong didn't even bother sweeping up the wood chips. He quickly climbed out of the pile of wood chips and hurried to the brick kiln to find someone to do the work.
"I don't know if the village chief is here, so I can have him lead his men to find a slope with a drop in water level and rest for a while."
Lin Yong muttered to himself as he ran, but fearing he would miss his target, he turned a corner and ran to the village entrance to find the village chief first.
Sure enough, it was a good thing he came to the village chief's house for a look.
Upon hearing this, the village chief realized it was a major event in the village and quickly went with Lin Yong to search for the person.
Halfway there, the village chief frowned and tugged at Lin Yong's sleeve. "Brother Lin, do you see smoke coming out of the mountains?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Yong looked in the direction the village chief pointed and saw wisps of smoke rising from the mountains.
But the smoke disappeared after a short while.
The village chief and Lin Yong exchanged a glance.
Could it be that a timber thief started a fire in the mountains and also stole coal? Otherwise, the fire that was painstakingly lit wouldn't have been extinguished in less than half a cup of tea.
The two were greatly alarmed; it seemed that thieves had broken into the mountains.
The two of them ran as fast as they could towards the kiln site without even taking a breath.
Upon arriving at the location, the village chief hurriedly shouted to the crowd:
"The outlaws and villagers grabbed their weapons; thieves have broken into the Lin family's back mountain!"
Upon hearing this, everyone was first stunned, then flew into a rage.
He then grabbed shovels, hoes, sticks, broken knives, hammers, and all sorts of other tools, and followed the village chief and Lin Yong up the mountain.
The closer you get to the location, the more obvious the human presence becomes.
The village chief frowned as he looked at the area blocked off by piles of weeds, then turned to the crowd and gestured for them to be quiet.
Everyone tiptoed and slowly made their way over.
They quietly approached the weeds and, sure enough, saw a dozen or so strong men building a small kiln with a fire going on. Next to them was a stove, burning the very coal they used for their kiln!
The village chief and Lin Yong exchanged a glance, then were shocked.
These people are actually stealing coal in broad daylight! Judging from the style of that kiln, it's supposed to be used for burning charcoal!
The village chief immediately nodded to the crowd behind him, and the bandits and villagers gripped their "weapons" tightly once more!
As the village chief's hand fell from mid-air.
The crowd swarmed forward and attacked the man dressed in dark indigo who was sitting by the stove warming himself.
After all, he was the only one dressed differently from the others. To catch the thief, you must first catch the leader. This person must be the boss!
The village chief roared, "Thieves! How dare you steal from our Wangyue Village! You'd better die!"
The man sitting on the ground was startled by the sound and quickly turned his head.
He looked at the hoe, sickle, and broken sword that were aimed at him, densely surrounding him.
Just half an inch away, and I could have turned him into a hedgehog.
After seeing the person's face clearly, both sides froze, not moving an inch.
"Lord Dou? What are you doing here?" Lin Yong exclaimed in surprise.
Dou Weiyi's lips twitched as she looked at the "murder weapon" in front of her.
He stretched out his index finger and gently pulled out the broken sword from his forehead.
The village chief was a little embarrassed and quickly coughed.
Everyone came to their senses, and the "weapon" fell to the ground in shock.
Just now, they almost killed a high-ranking official of the imperial court, their benefactor.
He remained calm in front of Dou Weiyi, but inside he was panicking.
Seeing that the threat was over, he breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
He was already feeling guilty for doing something wrong, and just now, he was almost scared to death!
He coughed, quickly got up from the ground, glanced at the embarrassed crowd, and didn't know how to explain himself.
After all, the matter was too big, so big that he had become "lonely and isolated," which is why he dared to take a gamble.
To avoid being noticed, they set off before dawn, heading towards the other side of the mountain, and had only been here a short time, having climbed and waded through streams.
They were discovered in less than an hour.
So why did he get up so early?!
Sigh, all that effort was for nothing.
Just then, a simple-minded blacksmith, grinning from ear to ear, hurriedly came running from behind a large rock, carrying a red-hot piece of iron.
"Sir, it's been tested, there really is iron in it!"
Everyone turned to look at him upon hearing the sound, and then to look at the red-hot iron block he was holding.
Er Lengzi noticed the two groups facing off and finally realized something was wrong.
He loosened his grip, and the iron block he was holding fell to the ground with a hissing sound, raising a puff of white smoke...
Dou Weiyi: ...
village head:……
Lin Yong: ...
Village Chief Lin Yong: Good heavens, are their bread and butter being secretly blacksmithed?!
Dou Weiyi: Good heavens, we've been completely exposed! What was the point of traveling for the past few hours?
For a moment, an eerie silence fell over the room, broken only by the hissing sound of the falling iron and the rising wisps of white smoke.
Dou Weiyi coughed lightly, breaking the deadlock: "Since you've all seen it, I won't hide it anymore..."
Just as he was about to continue speaking, Lin Yong grabbed him and the village chief covered his mouth.
The village chief nodded hurriedly: "Sir, please don't say that, we know, we understand, we won't say anything!"
Lin Yong quickly nodded in agreement:
"Yes, yes, sir, please don't say it out loud."
My heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys still want to stay in my body; they don't want to leave!
We will certainly keep quiet, sir! Our loyalty is as clear as heaven and earth, and as the sun and moon bear witness!