Qin Official

"Brother Zhong, it's true that he comes as soon as he comes and doesn't bring anything with him."

Heifu's sister is named "Huan" and is in her mid-twenties. She looks somewhat like their mother, but her skin is darker. Although she was polite, she couldn't hide the joy in her eyes. She kept turning over the piece of fine grass cloth given by Hei Fu in her hand, and she also praised that the workmanship in the county was better than that in the countryside.

"My brother is lucky enough to get a reward, how can he forget about my sister? Let me buy some new clothes for myself and my sister-in-law."

Sister Huan smiled from ear to ear, pinched the eight-foot-old man beside him who was pouring water for Hei Fu and Zhong, and said angrily: "Look at my brother, you can talk more, and look at you again, a year and a half." You don’t even know how to buy me a piece of cloth, when I was blind and insisted on marrying you.”

"Wife, I was at the township market the day before yesterday, but you said you still had enough clothes to wear, but you refused to let me buy any."

The big man quickly moved away with an honest smile, not because he was afraid of pain, but because he was afraid that the sawdust and dust on his body would stain his wife's hands.

This is Hei Fu's brother-in-law, named "Cheng". Although he also lives in Sunset, he is different from other families in that he is a "craftsman". He has been a craftsman for generations, doing work such as carpentry and masonry. He makes a living by breaking stones and tools for the people in the village and repairing their houses.

Although the Qin State did not have the bad habit of discriminating against craftsmen after the Han Dynasty, the countryside also had its own chain of contempt: those with nobility looked down on the scholars, those who farmed the land looked down on the natives of the laborers, those with the native place of the laborers looked down on the merchants, and the merchants looked down on the sons-in-law. , the son-in-law can only look down on the concubine...

So when Sister Huan wanted to marry Citron, her parents disagreed a hundred times. However, love is very free in this era. In the end, the two of them came together and settled the matter in the haystack until the children were all grown up. The baby was about to give birth, and in desperation, the Heifu family could only agree.

Hei Fu felt that his sister-in-law was a pretty good person. Although he was as silent as a stone and illiterate, he cared about his wife and daughter and was very good at his craftsmanship.

When he first married Sister Huan, Citron often went to Hei Fu's house to work for free, making tangerines, erecting roof beams, and making stone mortars for his family. He was really hardworking and never complained. In the end, the mother was moved and recognized the son-in-law. Every now and then, the mother would also let the two of them take their children to live at home. Citron also treats her like his own mother. Not long ago, his mother fell ill, so he and Sister Huan often ran home.

It is a pity that no matter how good the craftsmen are these days, they are still trapped by their household registration, unable to leave the countryside, and do not have much financial resources. Looking at the small courtyard of my sister-in-law's house, most of it is filled with wood and stones. The most valuable items are hammers and copper saws. Life is quite tight.

Hei Fu did not hesitate, and while Sister Huan was talking sincerely, he made it clear to his sister-in-law the purpose of his visit.

"To make something similar to Jumei?" When he mentioned his specialty, the taciturn Citron suddenly became energetic. Most of the Jumei people who drew water in the nearby area came to him to do it.

"That's right."

Heifu held a wooden stick and began to draw on the ground: "Same as Juekai, a longer piece of wood is placed on a fixed wooden frame, but a stone hammer is attached to the top of the stick, and a stone mortar is placed under the hammer head. To connect the mortar. In this way, if you can step on the tail of the wooden stick with your feet, you can drive the stone hammer up and down like water, and repeatedly smash it into the stone mortar, so that it can be used to pound rice!"

Using your feet instead of your hands can save a lot of effort and improve efficiency. This is why "Taizu" got its name. Although it requires a lot of effort to trample, it is not as good as a roller or a stone mill, but it is much more advanced than simply pounding rice. The main point is that the cost is low and it is easy to promote.

This thing should have been born in the Han Dynasty, and then spread quickly. Every household can do without grinding and grinding, but it cannot do without treadmills. You should know that "beating" as a kind of torture for female prisoners gradually disappeared, which may have something to do with the invention of this thing.

"This is a good idea! From now on, you don't have to lift the wooden pestle to pound rice. You just have to step on it. A half-year-old child can also step on this to pound rice!"

Citron is knowledgeable, his eyes suddenly lit up, he patted his thigh and said: "Brother Zhong, how did you come up with this idea!"

Heifu excused himself: "When I went to bed in the morning, I heard the sound of pounding rice and fetching water. I dreamed about these two things together. When I woke up, I thought it might be possible, so I wanted to ask my sister-in-law if I could make it."

Citron smiled and said, "This is simple. Once I get all the materials, I can make it for you in two or three days."

"I don't know how much it will cost..."

As soon as Hei Fu mentioned the money, Tong's face suddenly darkened. He stood up and said, "Family, what kind of money are you asking me for? Do you still treat me as an outsider?" The loud voice frightened Zhong He on the side. Sister Huan jumped.

Sister Huan saw that her husband's stubborn temper had relapsed, and she quickly pinched him again and cursed: "You talk to my brother, why are you yelling? Sit down!"

Citron listened to his wife's words and sat down again, but he was still angry.

"My little brother was wrong."

Mr. Hei Fu had to apologize and said with a smile: "I also know that my sister-in-law is not that kind of person. In fact, I want to make this thing because I feel that my mother, Sister Qiu, and my sister are too tired from pounding rice every day. I want to Let them save some effort and spend less time. My sister-in-law, why not make two, one for each side of the family. If you need to chop down trees and gravel, just call me and Jing."

"Look, my brother-in-law still knows that he feels sorry for my sister. You should learn from this."

With a smile on her face, Sister Huan deliberately bumped Citron twice with her elbows. Only then did Citron's face relax, and he nodded and said: "If this can be done, it is naturally a good thing. Don't worry, Mr. Hei, I can do it in three or two days."

"Sister-in-law, don't tell anyone about your work. If others ask, just say that you work for Jue."

Before leaving here, Heifu repeatedly told Citron and Sister Huan that this matter would be kept secret for the time being.

Although the treadmill was not invented until the Han Dynasty, it is simpler and cheaper than the stone mill, and can be copied with just a few glances.

By this time, Zhongya understood what Heifu wanted to do, and kept praising him for being really thoughtful.

In fact, Zhong didn't know that the reason why Heifu wanted to make a treadmill was not only to reduce the hard work for the female relatives at home, but also because he had a vague idea in his heart that it might be a way to make money for his family. But whether he can do it or not, he still has to ask legal experts, so for now, let’s keep it to ourselves.

My sister-in-law's home is in the north. It's the end of the sunset. Beyond the wall, there are large tracts of fields. Now that they were all here, Zhong made an appointment with Hei Fu to take a look at the 100 acres of public land he was assigned.

After leaving the inner gate, they walked eastward for nearly a mile along the road that bounded each family's fields. The terrain became higher and closer to the mountains and forests.

Zhong sighed with some shame: "Brother, I have no ability. Although your house is not far from home, I couldn't get the best land for you. This land is too high, it is difficult to draw water, and you can't grow rice. You can only Plant millet.”

"It doesn't matter." Hei Fu said with a smile: "If I can successfully become the director of the pavilion, I will probably be at Huyang Pavilion and have no time to take care of the fields."

"You can't say that."

Zhong takes a longer-term view: "As a pavilion chief, you will get a salary of 72 shi per year. But if you hire people to farm this hundred acres of land, even if you sow seeds all over the sky, you will get a harvest of 180 shi a year at worst. At least you can I can get half of it. Excluding the rent and taxes paid to the government, I can almost catch up with the annual salary of the pavilion chief."

"Brother is right."

Hei Fu was right when he thought about it. Even if he didn't farm the land himself, it would be a good idea to hire someone to farm the land. There were still farmhands who had no land these days and could only work hard. Alas, I just don’t know where the little farmhand named Chen She is now? Hei Fu really wants to invite him to help him farm the land, sit on the ridge, and talk about the land together, and the ambitions of the sparrows and the swans... …

While speaking, Zhong stopped and pointed forward: "This is your field."

Heifu looked left and right according to Zhong's gestures, and couldn't help but take a breath! I cursed in my heart: Damn it!

"It's so big!"

At a glance, the newly cultivated field in front of him was actually as big as five or six football fields!