Chapter 175: 116 Drunkenness (First Watch)_2


    Xiao Ling didn’t offer any exnation 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 dered 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 vige school wasn’t, so Gu Xiaoshun was in town taking care of the children and Gu Jiao was at home working.


    As Xiao Ling 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, “Ling? And this must be… Schr Feng?”


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


    “Luo Lizheng”, Xiao Ling greeted.


    Luo Lizheng chuckled while scratching his head.


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


    Luo Lizheng was baffled at first, thenughed frankly, “Schr 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 Ling’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 Ling, her steps faltered.


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


    Her dumbstruck expression was somewhat adorably nk.


    Xiao Ling senses a tremor in his chest but managed to maintain hisposure.


    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 nced at Xiao Ling, the corner of her lips curling unconsciously, “Howe 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 Ling replied nonchntly.


    Gu Jiao: “Oh.”


    Luo Lizhengughed, “We were just speaking about you. Schr 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 vige.


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


    Xiao Ling nced 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 mentionedst time, I have asked the vige 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, Por, 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 Ling and Fen Lin and wished them sess in their provincial exams.


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


    Gu Jiao exined, “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 methodborious, 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 Jiaomissioned was simr. It can separate the unripe grains, good grains, as well as rice and husks. The winnowing cart was not only more efficient andbor-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 vigers, he was thoroughly convinced of her capabilities and goodwill.