The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 365 - 354: Lost (Additional 1000 updates in June)

Chapter 365: Chapter 354: Lost (Additional 1000 updates in June)

Zhou ErLang looked confused, "Didn’t you say that the blueprint was provided by you?"

"Yes, the one from the agricultural book," Manbao replied.

Zhou Dalang’s eyes sparkled as he asked, "Does that mean our family can also make one?"

Manbao nodded, waving her small hand dismissively, "Anyone can make it."

After teaching the carpenters, could he really stop them from making it for others?

What Old Zhou was most concerned about was, "Is it expensive to build?"

Manbao looked to Bai Shanbao, who turned to look at Daji.

Daji looked around and, realizing he had no one else to refer to, said, "The carpenters are not willing to come to the house. Please wait a moment, young master, I’ll go find the lad who brought back the plow."

"Because it’s the first time making this kind of plow, the carpenter pondered over it for a long time. We provided the wood, and on top of that, the labor cost was nine hundred wen."

Old Zhou and the others were taken aback. Wasn’t that rather expensive?

The steward continued, "However, he said before he left that if we want to make a second one, since he already knows how, and we provide the wood, the labor cost would only be eight hundred wen. If we order in bulk, seven hundred and fifty wen is also acceptable."

The look on Old Zhou’s face finally softened, as they usually paid around seven hundred wen for making plows.

He first turned to Old Master Bai, smiling as he asked, "Does Old Master Bai’s family want to replace their plows?"

Old Master Bai’s gaze flickered. He didn’t understand what was so good about the new plow compared to the old one since he knew of farming but never actually plowed the field himself, and naturally, didn’t know the difference.

But he knew Old Zhou.

In Qili Village, Old Zhou might not be the stingiest, but he was somewhat famous for it. More importantly, it was rare for farming households to replace such large agricultural implements.

Because each would cost a great deal of money.

Yet, without much hesitation, Old Zhou was asking him this question, which clearly indicated that the plow must be truly superior—so much that even a frugal Zhou family, with not much surplus, was tempted.

Thus, Old Master Bai nodded with a smile, "I am planning to replace some plows, probably around ten or so."

Even though he was certain the plow was a quality item, he decided to be cautious and buy ten first to test them out. If they worked well, he’d purchase more.

Old Zhou, standing nearby with a beaming smile, said, "Then our family will join Old Master Bai and place an order as well, we’ll take one of the new plows."

Manbao shouted from the side, "We want four plows, so that makes five in total."

Old Zhou smacked her on the head and said, "Why do you need so many plows for nothing? The hundred plus acres you have are enough for two plows."

Manbao looked at Bai Shanbao, not convinced.

Bai Shanbao compromised and picked a middle ground, "Let’s buy two more then. That way we will have three in total."

Daji noted down these numbers to report back to the carpenter.

Old Master Bai suggested, "Since we’re ordering in such a large quantity, let’s have the carpenter come to our house to make them. It will be easier to transport the wood, and it will allow us to supervise the work."

Old Zhou nodded in complete agreement. Indeed, very important items like plows had to be closely watched to ensure peace of mind. But since a plow would take several days to finish, they couldn’t possibly go to the county town every day to oversee the work, could they?

Such a task was naturally suited for the Bai Family. Coincidentally, Bai Shanbao and Manbao were also very interested in carpentry. Therefore, when the old carpenter and his two sons arrived at the Bai Family’s house, they were warmly welcomed and surrounded by onlookers.

The startled carpenter and his sons, who were being welcomed, were slightly bewildered. Manbao asked him, "Is the plow difficult to make?"

"It’s manageable," the old carpenter replied hesitantly, "The blueprint given by the master was quite clear, and it came with measurements. It just took some effort to figure it out, but it wasn’t particularly difficult."

Manbao decided that she would bring another handful of soil to the poor graduate student later that evening.

Now that they had the plows, the next step was to plow the fields.

Manbao, Bai Shanbao, and Daji didn’t need to worry about it—Ms. Liu had already arranged for three oxen to be bought from outside, all of which were Limousin cattle.

Old Zhou looked on longingly and couldn’t help but mutter to Ms. Qian, "How can they afford to spend so much on the three kids?"

With that money, what couldn’t they do?

Ms. Qian glanced at him, "Haven’t you also given Manbao sixty acres?"

"Those forty acres of the mountain are of no use to us, and as for the twenty acres of farmland, apart from a few that are decent, the rest are thin land that we have barely tended to over the years. We just plow it once, dig a hole, throw the seeds in, and we barely weed it. The yield isn’t much, so it doesn’t matter if we give it away," Old Zhou rationalized.

He continued, "But look at the Bai Family, they provide the manpower and materials for the young master. We won’t talk about when it’s time to till the soil, but just look at now—they’re buying plows, buying oxen, and hiring day laborers. How much money are they spending each day?"

Thinking about it made Old Zhou’s heart ache.

Ms. Qian, with her eyes closed, retorted, "The money spent is not coming out of your pocket, so why the heartache?"

"But it’s my daughter spending the money," Old Zhou struggled to find a reason, "What if Manbao becomes spoiled there and starts spending extravagantly when she comes back?"

"Your daughter isn’t foolish. She knows the difference between the two families. Besides, she’s considerate. She won’t think like that," Ms. Qian reassured him.

Ms. Qian had now stopped taking her medication, and her health had improved quite a bit. It was just that there was no farm work to do in the winter, otherwise, she would be able to work in the fields too.

She said, "Alright, let’s go to sleep. Even your daughter knows the fields need to be turned over in winter. Aren’t you going to plan anything?"

"Let’s wait a few more days," Old Zhou responded, "We’ll turn the land over once the new plow arrives. And you know, the plow that Manbao brought out indeed works well. I tried it myself, and it really saves effort."

"If the Chief doesn’t send us a notice in a couple of days, we probably won’t need to fulfill corvée labor this year. Then we can take our time with the work in the fields," he added.

The Zhou Family had so much land, it was impossible to turn every single plot over, or else they would exhaust themselves to death. Hence, every year, the Zhou Family only turned over the richest parcels of land.

This year, they had sown wheat on twenty acres, which left them with even less to work on, so Old Zhou was not in a rush at all.

He was waiting to see if he had to fulfill corvée labor this year. If required, then the Eldest would go, and it would be time to take Sixth along to learn how to handle the plow.

As Old Zhou was thinking this, Manbao received a letter from Luojiang County.

The letter was brought by Zhou Wulang, who had gone to the county town to sell ginger. When he visited the county bureaucrat’s residence, a maidservant there gave him this letter for Manbao.

Manbao had been very busy all day and only now, sitting at the table by the light of an oil lamp, did she have time to read the letter.

The letter was from Second Miss Fu. She informed Manbao that her father had been appointed the Magistrate of Taining County and, before assuming his new post, needed to return to the capital to give his report of office. Additionally, as he had not been home for the New Year for several years, the Ministry of Personnel had granted him twenty days of New Year leave.

Including the time needed to report back to the capital, the Fu Family decided to set off from Luojiang County on the eighteenth of October to go to the capital first, and then to return home for the New Year.

With only three days left, Second Miss Fu hoped that Manbao could come to see her off.

Manbao felt a tinge of sorrow. Although she believed she and Second Sister Fu would meet again, she couldn’t help feeling uncertain about the future, unsure when they would reunite.

Even as she tried to be optimistic with her words, Manbao couldn’t help but feel a bit downhearted.