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Wang Jinhe’s worker smiled and spoke, “Mr. Luo, our master asked me to come and demonstrate how to do it for you. It’s still early; shall we go straight there?”
“That sounds good.”
For the trial, they used only one threshing machine, leaving the rest at the nearby estate.
After cutting the rice, the worker carried a large bundle of rice and walked over. With a clattering sound, Mr. Luo hurriedly ran over to see. Seeing all the rice falling down, joy filled his eyes.
Turning around, he noticed that after the worker flipped it twice, the rice was completely clean, with no residue left.
“This thing is easy to operate and fast. You can divide your people into four groups: one for cutting, one for threshing, and another for bagging and transporting the threshed rice back to the estate for drying. During drying, there might be some rice leaves; just use a rake to clean it. Our 70 acres of rice are now thoroughly cleaned, and with two more sunny days, we can store it,” the estate worker explained to Mr. Luo how they allocated manpower.
The nearby estate worker nodded while listening, “Alright, you guys should also give it a try. If you don’t understand something, ask someone while they’re still here.”
“Sounds good.”
All the estate workers tried it and found it really made things much easier. The speed was impressive, and they no longer needed to use a roller to thresh, saving a lot of effort.
“This thing from our master is really handy.” After trying it out, all the workers happily exclaimed, “This year, we won’t have to watch the rice soak in water.”
Seeing so much rice soaked and sprouted because they couldn’t finish harvesting was heartbreaking for them.
“Alright, tomorrow we’ll start the autumn harvest. Everyone work hard for a month, and after finishing the rice harvest, I’ll give you all red envelopes,” Mr. Luo announced.
“Sounds good.”
“Let’s bring the threshing machines back for now and use them again tomorrow morning.”
“You guys go on with your business; it’s still early. We’ll start harvesting now.”
“Alright, everyone worked hard today,” Mr. Luo wasn’t the type to be unkind despite being wealthy. Similar to Mr. Zhang, he treated his estate workers well. Needless to say, their wages were fair, and during holidays, they would receive gifts. Every spring planting and autumn harvest, they would each receive a red envelope. Although the amount wasn’t substantial, around one or two hundred wen, it was considered sufficient for the estate workers. Consequently, they never slacked off during work, especially during the busy farming seasons.
“Thank you for today. Take this.” Mr. Luo handed a pouch to the estate worker.
The estate worker quickly waved his hand and said, “I can’t accept this. I didn’t do much; I just showed them how. Besides, Master Luo is a friend of our master, and I can’t take money for that.”
The day after they finished harvesting the rice, they received red envelopes from the master, and they were already preparing winter clothes for them. This was just a small favor; how could they accept money?
“Thank you so much.”
“Mr. Luo, no need to be polite. I’ll head back now.”
“Alright.”
Mr. Luo happily returned home with his son. “Son, you did well in this matter. However, I plan to visit Uncle Yang and Uncle Song tomorrow. They have more rice than our family and need this. I’m thinking of pooling money together with them to buy the blueprints. We can make a few and keep them for next year, then we won’t have to worry.”
“Dad, I heard from Jingyu that the threshing machine from Xiao He has already been submitted. It’s said that the governor personally delivered it to the city. It will definitely become popular. Is it necessary for you to spend money on this now?”
“Why wouldn’t it be necessary? How long will it take for it to become widespread? What will Uncle Yang and Uncle Song do this year? Even if we spend a thousand taels to buy it, we still don’t consider it a loss. The three of our families together lose over ten thousand taels of silver each year. This thousand taels is a small amount. We spend it now and can save a lot in the future. Besides, if we all contribute, each family only needs to pitch in two hundred taels. Isn’t that more cost-effective than having our rice soaked?” Mr. Luo felt that his son’s perspective was too short-sighted.
“Also, as you mentioned, the machine has already been delivered. The governor and county magistrate here are not greedy for merit. Once the emperor knows about it, there will surely be rewards. It’s necessary for us to establish a good relationship with them and can also add another connection for you,” Mr. Luo was truly concerned for his son.
“Dad, my relationship with Jingyu is already good. There’s no need for this,” Luo Su understood that his father was looking out for him, but he still felt awkward.
“I know your relationship is good. Making it even better won’t hurt. Do you agree? It’s not bad for the two families to interact more, right? I heard their vegetables are also well-grown. Maybe we can buy some when we visit.”
“Dad, I’m telling you, the vegetables at Jingyu’s house are really good.” He fell in love with them after just one meal.
“Really? Then tomorrow, I’ll go to Uncle Yang’s with you, and we can buy some vegetables together.”
“Dad, actually, I want some eggs from their house. They taste better than the ones we buy outside. But Jingyu said their eggs are not many, probably it will take another month or two before they have some to sell. Every time Jingyu brings the tea eggs her sister makes, I can eat several of them.” Just thinking about the taste made Luo Su crave them.
“Tomorrow, I’ll ask if they have any. If they do, I’ll buy some for you. I’ll have the cook make them for you to eat.” Mr. Luo had only one son, and his wife had passed away a few years ago due to illness. He wanted to accumulate more connections for his son and leave him with more things, just in case something happened to him, leaving his son alone.
“Still, Dad treats me well. Dad, if you want to remarry, as long as the person treats you well, I don’t mind,” Luo Su looked at Mr. Luo and said.
“No need, your dad is living well now. You don’t have to worry about it,” Mr. Luo glanced at his son without much kindness. He had a good relationship with his wife, and after her passing, he just wanted to take care of his son well. He didn’t want to think about anything else.
Luo Su still felt a bit sorry for his father, but seeing his firm stance, he didn’t continue the topic. Instead, he changed the subject, “Dad, the day after tomorrow, I’m going to Jingyu’s estate to hang out. I see there are a lot of fruits there. I’ll pick some for you.”
“Alright, have a good time. I’ll give you some money when you come back.”
“Dad, there’s no need to spend money when we go to the estate. Besides, I still have the money you gave me last time.”
“And there’s more? Why are you so frugal with money now? Last time, I only gave you five hundred taels, and there’s still some left?”
Luo Su scratched his nose a bit awkwardly, “Since I got to know Jingyu, we’ve both gotten used to not spending money unnecessarily. It was only after that I realized how much money I used to burn through.”
Mr. Luo’s eyes got a bit teary; his son had become sensible.