Chapter 15: A Favor

Song Jinbao and his sons returned home early that evening, before Zhao Qiao’e had even started the fire for the rice porridge.

Zhao Qiao’e was puzzled. “Why are you back so early?”

Song Jinbao put down his bucket and carrying pole. “We’ve done enough for today. We’ll continue tomorrow.”

Song Jinsheng glanced at Song Yuntang’s room. “Mother, is Tang’er home?”

Zhao Qiao’e, tending the fire, didn’t look up. “She’s resting in her room.”

The three men breathed a sigh of relief. Resting was good; resting was safer than running around.

Noticing their expressions, Zhao Qiao’e frowned. “Why are you suddenly asking about Tang’er?”

Song Jinyuan, not wanting his mother to worry, spoke first. “Nothing, just worried that after Huang Heyu’s commotion this morning, our sister might be upset.”

Song Yuntang came out of her room.

“Don’t worry, Huang Heyu’s matter doesn’t affect me.” She looked at Song Jinsheng. “Second brother, are you free? I want to go to the carpenter’s house at the village entrance.”

“Sure, I’ll go with you.”

Song Jinsheng didn’t ask what she was going for and took Song Yuntang out.

They arrived at Song Ma Zi’s house and Song Jinsheng knocked.

“Ma Zi ge^[1]Brother Ma Zi, are you home?”

“Who is it?”

A woman’s voice came from inside.

A woman opened the door—Cui Shi, Song Ma Zi’s mother, who had raised him alone after her husband’s early death.  At only forty-something, her hair was already half-white.

“It’s Jinsheng.  Is there something you need from Ma Zi?”

“Auntie, it’s not me, it’s my sister Tang’er. She needs Ma Zi for something.” Song Jinsheng said, looking at Song Yuntang.

Song Yuntang stated concisely, “I’m here to commission some carpentry work from Ma Zi ge.”

Song Ma Zi, busy in the kitchen, seemed to have heard the commotion.

“Mother, is someone looking for me?”

Cui Shi replied, “Jinsheng’s sister is here to commission some carpentry work. Go attend to her; I’ll handle the kitchen.”

“Okay, coming.” Song Ma Zi took off his apron and came out of the kitchen. “Jinsheng, Yuntang meimei, come in.”

Though Song Ma Zi’s face was pockmarked, his features were fairly well-proportioned.  Without the pockmarks and with his carpentry skills, he would have been a highly sought-after bachelor three or four years ago.

After pouring tea for both, Ma Zi looked at Song Yuntang. “Yuntang meimei, what do you want to commission?”

Song Yuntang took out the drawing hidden in her sleeve.

“I want to commission a waterwheel.”

“A waterwheel?”

This was not yet common in the Great Xia Dynasty.  Song Ma Zi, being a carpenter, had never heard of it.

Song Yuntang nodded. “It’s a tool for irrigating farmland during droughts, saving time and effort compared to carrying water.”

Pointing at the drawing, she explained to Song Ma Zi, “This is the axle supporting the waterwheel, about ten feet high.  Around it are twenty-four wooden spokes extending outwards. Each spoke’s end has a bucket and a scraper.”

“When it rotates, the buckets fill with water and lift it to a height of six to nine feet. When it reaches the top, the buckets tilt naturally, and the water flows into the trough below, ultimately flowing into the fields through channels.”

Such a thing was desperately needed by farming families!

It wasn’t just needed during droughts. In previous years, during droughts, everyone relied on manual labor. With this waterwheel, wouldn’t it be much easier?

Rongshu Village was close to the Jing Shui River, with a sufficient water source. With a waterwheel, it would be even more convenient!

Song Ma Zi looked at Song Yuntang in astonishment. “Yuntang meimei, how did you come up with this?”

Song Yuntang touched her nose and began to fabricate.

“I went to the fields and Jing Shui River today and spent the afternoon drawing at home.”

Song Jinsheng looked at her in surprise. So, Tang’er went to the Jing Shui River not to check the water depth but to figure out how to irrigate the fields.

He felt a pang of guilt. She had gone out in the scorching sun to lighten their burden, yet she said nothing and was misunderstood. It was wrong.

Song Ma Zi looked at the drawing and pointed to a spot.

“What is this for?”

“When there’s no water flow, you can use manpower to turn the waterwheel.  People would stand here.” Song Yuntang continued, “This waterwheel is quite heavy.  It might need to be assembled by the Jing Shui River after all the parts are ready. For safety, the assembler should be able to swim.”

Song Ma Zi waved his hand. “That’s a minor issue. Most men in Rongshu Village can swim.  The waterwheel is a big project. If Jinsheng helps, it will shorten the construction time.”

Song Jinsheng nodded. “No problem.”

He secretly looked forward to seeing the villagers’ reactions when they saw the waterwheel his sister designed. Would they still view her the same way?

“What’s the fastest completion time?” This was Song Yuntang’s main concern.

Song Ma Zi pondered for a moment. “To make the waterwheel last longer, it needs several coats of tung oil for preservation.  At the very least, it’ll take half a month.”

It was all manual labor, so the longer time was understandable.

They finally agreed that Song Yuntang would provide the wood and tung oil, and the drawing would be payment for the waterwheel.

Even at a friend’s price, a waterwheel would cost at least five or six taels of silver.

Five or six taels was a lot of money; the Song family couldn’t possibly afford it.  Song Yuntang wasn’t doing this to make money, so she gave the drawing to Song Ma Zi as a favor.

Furthermore, Song Ma Zi promised to give Song Yuntang 300 coins as a commission for each waterwheel he made.  Getting money was good, so Song Yuntang readily agreed.

…

After settling the waterwheel matter, Song Yuntang and Song Jinsheng returned home.

In the kitchen, Zhao Shi’s porridge was ready.

The aroma from the kitchen made Song Yuntang’s stomach growl.

Zhao Qiao’e came out with a large bowl of porridge. “Tang’er, are you hungry?  Go get a bowl.”

“Okay.”

Song Yuntang got eight bowls and chopsticks.

Dinner included not only porridge but also a large bowl of egg drop soup with the leftover vegetables.

The egg drop and vegetables were mainly for Liu Shi and the two younger brothers.  The others only had a small bowl of slightly salty soup and a negligible amount of egg drop.

But having some salty soup was better than nothing.

Song Yuntang drank half a bowl of egg drop soup and a bowl of porridge.  The liquid filled her stomach, relieving her hunger, but she still felt unsatisfied.

But she had been like this for the past two days.  She would endure until breakfast tomorrow.

…