It was bright when we arrived, and by the time we arrived at Xiaowang Village, it was already three o'clock in the morning.
Two ox carts and ten donkeys loaded with goods immediately attracted the attention of many farmers.
Children followed in groups, laughing and watching the fun.
Yesterday came and went so quickly that Uncle Fu didn't have time to observe it carefully.
Today, I saw that although the villagers in Xiaowang Village were also sallow, skinny, and dressed in rags, they had an indescribable energy compared to the neighboring villages.
Even children seem to be more lively and agile.
What he doesn't know is that as long as poor people feel that their lives are headed, they will glow with strength.
As for the villagers in other villages, even if the weather is smooth and the fields are harvested, they cannot be happy when they think of the heavy debts and various exorbitant taxes and levies on them.
How can the spirit, energy and spirit be the same?
On the grain field halfway up the mountain, Han Zhen was directing three people to drill holes in a log.
These three people are the only three carpenters in the village.
Rows of staggered holes were drilled into the log. After the holes were drilled, they inserted half-foot-long bamboo strips into the holes.
Soon, the logs were filled with rows of bamboo sticks, looking like a large mace.
Then a B-shaped rocker was inserted into one end of the log, and a simple wooden roller was completed.
"It's almost done. Let's assemble it and give it a try."
Under Han Zhen's command, three carpenters lifted the roller and installed it on a wooden frame.
Han Zhen held the handle and shook it hard a few times.
The roller immediately began to rotate and made a creaking sound.
A carpenter picked up a pile of straw and moved it over.
I saw the bamboo strips on the roller constantly beating on the wheat stalks, knocking off all the wheat ears on them.
"It's done!"
When the other two people saw this, they suddenly looked happy.
That's right, what they made was a simple thresher.
Science and technology are primary productive forces!
Han Zhen always kept this in mind.
In the past, after the villagers harvested wheat, they spread it on the threshing floor and beat it with flails to make the grains fall off.
This method is not only time-consuming, but also extremely laborious.
Moreover, there is only one threshing field in the village, and it is often necessary to wait until one family has finished threshing wheat before it is the next family's turn.
In previous years, during the wheat harvest, various quarrels and conflicts would inevitably occur in order to compete for the grain fields.
Now that there is a threshing machine, a woman and a child can easily complete the threshing in one or two hours.
Not only wheat, but also rice, sorghum, soybeans and other grains can be threshed with a thresher.
By buying more cattle and donkeys and leasing them to the villagers at very low prices, the strong men can be completely freed from the fields to work or join the army.
After trying it for a while, Han Zhen stopped his movements and frowned: "The shaking is too jerky and laborious, so the roller needs to be improved and optimized."
A carpenter scratched his head and said, "I'll think of another way."
"Alang!"
Fang Sansan ran all the way to the barn on his short legs and said, "The two men came again yesterday, and they brought a lot of donkeys with them."
Hearing this, Han Zhen ordered the three carpenters: "Improve the roller, and then the hand-cranked blower I just mentioned. You can go back and study it yourself. Whoever makes it first can ask me to receive a five-guan reward!"
Five Guan reward?
For a moment, the eyes of the three carpenters lit up, and then they looked at their colleagues around them warily.
Seeing this, Han Zhen smiled slightly, turned around and walked towards the house.
Lie flat?
Roll it up for me!
Han Zhen has never underestimated the wisdom of the ancients, they were just limited and had limited vision.
So all it takes is a little inspiration and direction, and they can figure it out themselves.
…
Back at the house, Ma Sangou and others were unloading the goods.
As baskets of copper coins were unloaded from the bullock cart, Chef Shen and others were filled with excitement.
After exchanging pleasantries with Uncle Fu, he led him all the way to the study room in the backyard.
Uncle Fu picked up the tea cup and took a sip, and then said: "Little Langjun, the cattle and donkeys have been delivered, and the money to purchase these animals has been deducted from the payment."
"What I want is ten oxen and twenty donkeys." Han Zhen tapped the table lightly.
Uncle Fu shook his head and said with a bitter smile: "Young man, you must also understand my difficulty. Ten oxen are too many. I can only give you five at most. The remaining oxen and donkeys will be sent in batches."
"Five heads, just five heads."
Han Zhen smiled slightly and did not worry too much about this matter.
Once you get started, are you still worried that you won't be able to buy it in the future?
Many things are like this, only zero times and countless times.
"Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Lang."
Uncle Fu smiled and cupped his hands, feeling that Han Er had a pretty good personality and was not difficult to get along with.
"It will be like this from now on. The payment for the goods will be settled one at a time, and the raw materials will be delivered together with the payment. The mountains are high and the roads are far away, so I don't have to suffer the consequences of running in both directions."
Hearing this, Uncle Fu asked, "I wonder what raw materials Xiao Langjun needs?"
Han Zhen reported: "Sugar, coarse salt, pig iron, saltpeter, and sulfur!"
Saltpeter and sulfur are understandable, and should be the secret recipe for refining refined salt.
But pig iron...
Seeing the strange look in Uncle Fu's eyes, Han Zhen asked knowingly, "What doubts do you have, father-in-law?"
"Other materials are easy to get. I wonder how much pig iron the young man needs?"
"Two hundred pounds each time is enough."
Pig iron was strictly controlled by the government, so Han Zhen did not dare to ask for more, not to mention whether Changzhi County would agree to ask for more. Even if he agreed, he would not be able to get it.
Although it is only two hundred kilograms each time, it is better than the steady flow of water.
Hearing this amount, Uncle Fu couldn't help but feel relieved. He was afraid that Han Zhenshi would open his mouth and talk about it.
In the Northern Song Dynasty, there were not only private salt, but also private iron.
But unlike private salt, private iron is sold secretly by officials from various subway supervisors.
Two hundred pounds of pig iron is relatively easy to obtain without attracting attention.
After the negotiation was completed, Han Zhen was in a good mood. He stood up and said, "Come and take a look at the goods."
"I still can't trust Xiao Langjun."
After saying this, Uncle Fu had already stood up.
The two came to the small warehouse. Han Zhen pointed to the sugar and refined salt packed in sacks and said, "They are all here. Let me check them out."
Fu Bo stepped forward and opened a smaller cloth bag.
What hits your eyes is soft and powdery white icing sugar. You stretch out a handful of it with your fingers and put it into your mouth.
A sweetness suddenly spreads on the tip of the tongue.
A hint of enjoyment flashed in Fu Bo's eyes, and then he nodded with satisfaction.
Seeing this scene, Han Zhen looked slightly strange.
A dark room, two men, a bag of white powder...
In a daze, there is a sense of confusion like drug trafficking in later movies.
Fu Bo inspected it very carefully, opening every bag of refined salt and tasting it himself.
After all, Changzhi County lost all of its wealth in this transaction.
After checking everything, Uncle Fu smiled with satisfaction and said: "Young man is so lucky. With this skill of turning stone into gold, I am afraid that future generations will not have to worry about it."
Han Zhen said modestly: "Just earn some hard-earned money."
At this moment, Uncle Fu seemed to remember something and suddenly said: "By the way, I heard a piece of news when I came here. A few days ago, the gangster Han Er broke into the county government office and killed officials in rebellion."
Han Zhen's expression remained unchanged, and he waited for the next step with a half-smile.
"Then Han Er has now fled into the mountains, so you should be careful."
Uncle Fu said while observing Han Zhen's expression.
Seeing that he looked calm from beginning to end, he couldn't help but secretly thought, it was indeed as his Alang said, he had underestimated this boy.
Han Zhen smiled slightly: "Thank you, father-in-law, for reminding me."
The meaning of the other party's words was obvious. The bandit leader who killed Guan and the rebels had fled into the mountains, and Xiaowang Village was still the same Xiaowang Village.
It was Han Er who killed officials and rebelled. What does it have to do with Han Zhen?
