boyutpedia Chapter 230 Ingenuity
Chapter 230 Ingenuity
Early the next morning, Zhou Mingzhi was called by her to the courtyard next door.
"Brother, I have something for you to do. If you do it successfully, it will save a lot of effort in threshing corn."
"Okay, tell me what I should do."
Zhou Mingshu took out the wooden board nails that he had prepared early in the morning, with lines drawn on them. Zhou Mingzhi just had to cut along the lines.
There was a whetstone next to it. Zhou Mingshu used a hammer to flatten the small nail, and then rubbed it back and forth on the whetstone. He could sharpen one in just quarters of an hour.
It's shiny and looks very sharp.
"Brother, fix the nail into the board, and then lift this section up a little, about the height of the corn kernel."
Zhou Mingzhi looked at the girl next to him with bright eyes. He didn't know what she was going to do just now, but now he understood.
Although this little tool is simple, it is very ingenious.
The corn passed through here, and the iron nail just hooked a row of corn kernels.
They just need to straighten the corn to prevent it from tilting, which requires only a little effort, and it is much faster than prying it with a awl.
"Okay, I get it."
Zhou Mingzhi smiled knowingly and hurried to make the tools.
Then they took the tools to the corn pile to experiment, and adjusted the height of the iron nails, and they all came back to life.
Mrs. Zhou tried it and found it very useful.
Even if you rub it back and forth without any pattern, the corn kernels can be peeled off.
The corn kernels left on the corn core can be picked off with your hands and will all fall off very quickly.
"Sure, sure. It works great. I was wondering what you two were doing. Turns out you were doing this. If you have nothing else to do, go make a few more. They're pretty useful."
"Don't let them go, I'll do it." Old Zhou put down the corn cone in his hand, patted his butt, stood up, and followed the two children to the next door.
With one more person added, the speed increased.
Zhou Mingzhi and Zhou Mingshu were grinding iron nails on one side, while Boss Zhou was hammering bamboo joints on the side.
By making more tools, the corn kernels can be husked faster.
At the end of the day, Zhou's family had five more tools.
Each person received a handful, and the rest of the people took turns rubbing the corn kernels. This made the process more than twice as fast, and everyone's hands didn't hurt as much.
The corn kernels that were rubbed off were packed into several sacks, and everyone was working hard.
"This thing is great! Didn't our county magistrate say that any ideas useful for farming can be reported to the county government, and if they pass the evaluation, you can get silver. So can our farm tools get silver as reward?"
Boss Zhou looked at the tools in his hand and smiled innocently. He wished he could accept the reward.
After dinner, Boss Zhou took the farm tools to the home of the village chief, Wang Fugui. Even if this thing didn't get any reward, it was still worth promoting.
If everyone has these handy farm tools, they can save a lot of effort in farm work.
Wang Fugui hasn't finished his meal yet. He is holding a bowl in his hand and slurping noodles.
Looking at Boss Zhou who was smiling innocently, and then looking at what he was holding in his hand, Wang Fugui secretly said that something was wrong.
This piece of wood can’t be a good thing.
Boss Zhou introduced the farm tools in his hand, pulled down a corn from the top of the wall to demonstrate on the spot, and let Wang Fugui's son Wang Yuquan try it out.
"Dad, this Shouren thing is really useful. If you don't believe me, try it."
Wang Yuquan and his brothers were at home with their wives, and their hands were sore from prying corn kernels. Now that they have a handy tool, they are naturally very happy.
"Let me try." Wang Fugui put down the bowl in his hand and tried the wooden Gada.
It was indeed as useful as he saw.
"Shouren, do you want to apply for that damn bounty?"
"Yes! I didn't want to get involved, but when I thought about how useful this thing really is, I couldn't help but let everyone try it."
"Okay, let's go to the county early tomorrow morning and ask the clerk if this wooden Gada is OK. Then leave it here for now. I'll use it later."
Wang Fugui smiled happily. He kept the thing and would use it to pry open the corn later.
The matter was settled, and Boss Zhou went home humming a little tune. If he could really get the reward, it would be another ten taels of silver.
Not only can you get a reward, but more importantly, it's honor!
It can also relieve the worries and difficulties of many people, which is a great thing and can accumulate blessings for the family!
"Boss, how is it? What did the village chief say?" Seeing her son come back, Old Lady Zhou asked him what happened.
"Okay. I'm going to the county town early tomorrow morning. I'm going to ask the county government. I'm going to leave the wooden planks I brought with me. The village chief said he wants to give it a try."
"Yeah, sure. You'll know if it works or not after you try it."
After dinner, it was still light.
The family sat in the yard and continued to pry corn kernels. Now the weather was not hot and the yard was cool, so they were all quite leisurely.
"Uncle, are you and the village chief going alone tomorrow?" Zhou Mingshu asked.
"Maybe, I'm not sure. Do any of you want to go for a stroll around the county?" Boss Zhou glanced around and could see that the children all wanted to go.
But there are many children in my family, so I can’t take them all with me.
"Forget it. Don't let the children follow us. The county government is not a casual place. Follow Zhui Jiaozi. Xiaolian and Lao Er will follow. The weather is getting cold now. Look around the city and grab some nice fabrics to make clothes for the children when you get home..."
After Mrs. Zhou gave her instructions, she went to the main room to get the money.
Thinking that things in the county town might be expensive, Old Mrs. Zhou took a few more.
"When you go to the county town, be more alert and don't let the village chief pay for lunch and tea. If it weren't for something happening at home, they would still be idle at home. Don't let them suffer in vain if they follow us to the county town."
"We know this, don't worry about it, mom."
Zhou Mingshu moved a lot of corn from the wooden rack, pulled off the corn leaves, and continued to pry the corn.
With the right tools at home and without much effort, everyone worked hard.
Especially Zhou Mingjie and Zhou Mingzhi.
The two brothers even competed to see who could do more and faster.
But Zhou Mingjie was no match for Zhou Mingzhi. He was always at a disadvantage and yet he was still unwilling to give up.
It's so hot that I'm covered in sticky sweat!
Zhou Mingshu and Zhou Mingqi pulled their bags, filled the basins with corn kernels, and then put them into the warehouse.
The little girl was not very strong, and it took two people working together to collect a sack of corn.
"It's so heavy. It must weigh at least 100 kilograms." Zhou Mingqi wiped the sweat from his forehead. He felt like his arm was about to be dislocated.
"Haha, it's light. This sack weighs two hundred kilograms." Zhou Mingshu moved his shoulders. Such a heavy weight was indeed a challenge.
"Two hundred kilograms!" Zhou Mingqi's eyes almost popped out. She had never lifted such a heavy object in her life.