The Prime Minister’s Darling

Chapter 175: 116 Drunkenness (First Watch)_2

Xiao Liulang didn’t offer any explanation and said: “Indeed, the Provincial City is further than the Prefecture City, it took over half a month of extra travel to get there.”

“I knew it!” Aunt Zhang declared in a tone suggesting she was very intelligent, “Alright, you must be missing Mistress Gu (Gu Jiao) after being away from home for so long, hurry home, she is there!”

Today Tianxiang Academy was on holiday but the village school wasn’t, so Gu Xiaoshun was in town taking care of the children and Gu Jiao was at home working.

As Xiao Liulang and Fen Lin entered the house, the first person they saw was not Gu Jiao, but a man dressed as a farmer.

Both of them were taken aback.

The man noticed the movement at the door, turned around, his eyes lit up, “Liulang? And this must be… Scholar Feng?”

Fen Lin was taken aback, “Eh…I am, but are you…”

“Luo Lizheng”, Xiao Liulang greeted.

Luo Lizheng chuckled while scratching his head.

Fen Lin’s face lit up, “So, you are the newly appointed village head, you’re a remarkable man! You’ve done everything from digging irrigation canals to building water wheels, revitalizing the entire village crops!”

Luo Lizheng was baffled at first, then laughed frankly, “Scholar Feng is mistaken, neither the irrigation canal digging nor the water wheel building was my doing!”

Fen Lin looked startled, “If not you, then who?”

A guess formed in Xiao Liulang’s mind, he instinctively cast his eyes towards the rear door of the hall, coincidentally Gu Jiao entered the hall wiping her hands at this moment.

Seeing Xiao Liulang, her steps faltered.

She knew the timetable of the provincial examination and roughly when the results would be announced. She estimated that Xiao Liulang would not return until after the announcement, yet, he returned so soon.

Her dumbstruck expression was somewhat adorably blank.

Xiao Liulang senses a tremor in his chest but managed to maintain his composure.

He calmly moved his gaze away and greeted Luo Lizheng once again.

Luo Lizheng was perplexed, hadn’t they already exchanged greetings a moment ago?

Gu Jiao glanced at Xiao Liulang, the corner of her lips curling unconsciously, “How come you’re back so soon? Didn’t you want to stay longer in the Provincial City to enjoy yourself?”

“There isn’t much in the Provincial City worth enjoying,” Xiao Liulang replied nonchalantly.

Gu Jiao: “Oh.”

Luo Lizheng laughed, “We were just speaking about you. Scholar Feng here asked me if I was the one who dug the canals and built the water wheel. Ha! Where would I get such skills?”

He turned to Fen Lin, “It was Mistress Gu!”

“What…?” Fen Lin looked dumbfounded.

Gu Jiao opened up a medicine field on the mountain, dug up a fish pond, and while introducing the waterfall water into the fish pond, she also dug a canal that flowed directly into the village.

Although the weather was dry and the waterfall on the mountain had decreased considerably, it was still enough to irrigate the village farms.

Xiao Liulang glanced deeply at Gu Jiao.

“No way! You’ve only been gone for two months and she’s already dug a fish pond?” Although Fen Lin knew about Gu Jiao buying the mountain, he didn’t expect her to work so efficiently.

Luo Lizheng turned to Gu Jiao and asked, “About the grain threshing and winnowing cart you mentioned last time, I have asked the village carpenter to make them. It isn’t done yet though, they wanted to ask you what kind of wood would be best to use?”

Gu Jiao thought for a moment and said, “Red Pine, Poplar, Toon, or Basswood can all work, they have high hardness and don’t warp easily.”

“Great! Then I will be on my way!” After saying this, Luo Lizheng looked at Xiao Liulang and Fen Lin and wished them success in their provincial exams.

“What’s this grain threshing and winnowing cart about?” Fen Lin asked curiously.

Gu Jiao explained, “It’s a cart that separates grain from the straw, and another one that sifts out the unripe grains, keeping only the normal ones.”

“There’s such a thing?” Fen Lin expressed doubt.

Although he has trouble distinguishing wheat fields from paddy fields, he is aware of the grain threshing process. It usually involves grabbing a sheaf of rice and striking it on the ground, not only is this method laborious, but it might not thoroughly separate the grain either. Any remaining grains on the straw have to be plucked off manually.

As a child, he would be paid half a copper coin for a day’s work of grain plucking.

As for separating the unripe grains and good grains, the procedure was usually to dry the grains in the sun, then on a windy day, winnow them. The good grains, being heavier, would fall to the ground while the lighter unripe ones would be carried away by the wind.

The process of threshing rice was also to separate the rice from the husk, using the winnowing method.

The principle of the winnowing cart Gu Jiao commissioned was similar. It can separate the unripe grains, good grains, as well as rice and husks. The winnowing cart was not only more efficient and labor-saving but also cleaner and more thorough.

Originally, Luo Lizheng had his doubts about the usefulness of such a device, but seeing how Gu Jiao dug the canals and built water wheels for the villagers, he was thoroughly convinced of her capabilities and goodwill.