After the seedlings are planted in the fields, it won’t be long before the dryland summer harvest begins again.
There were several heavy snowfalls last winter, which covered the wheat fields thickly. Thanks to God's blessing, the wheat is growing particularly well this year. I just went around the village and saw that the wheat ears in every household's fields were full. I think the harvest will be good. .
But when the harvest is done, it still needs someone to harvest it!
Nowadays, there is a potato farm and a winery, and most of the young people in the village work there. Although they work in the morning and afternoon, they still spend less time in the fields.
When it comes to cutting wheat, the wife and children at home can help, and the work can be done slowly at most. But the work of threshing requires real effort to pull the mill, and except for young men, women cannot do it.
The village chief was very worried.
When the wheat is harvested from the field, you have to scramble for time to thresh and dry it. If you are unlucky and encounter rain, the harvest will be ruined, and it will be difficult for the grain collector to explain it!
What a sorrow! It’s also a sorrow even if the days get better!
Zhuang Keqing didn't know that the village chief had new worries. He only went back and forth to Daxing Village with Shen Ling every three days to be a good student.
"Dad, why don't you ask Miss Zhuang if she has any good ideas?"
Li You looked worriedly at the few strands of sparse beard under his father's chin.
But you can't pull it anymore, otherwise you'll be bald.
The village chief glanced at his useless eldest son and snorted, "You ask others for help with everything, why can't you use your own brain?"
Li You was speechless at his father's harsh words.
You've been pulling at your beard ten days ago. You've been thinking about it for so long, but you haven't figured out a way to do it. Instead, you can see that your chin is much smoother.
Just hold on, I think it’s your mouth that’s tougher or your beard that’s tougher!
Two days later, the village chief pulled off his beard, but he still couldn't think of any solution. He had to find his son and asked him to go to the banker's house and find the girl to talk to him.
"You mean you're worried about the summer harvest?"
When Zhuang Keqing saw the village chief's bare chin, he could hardly hold back his smile and asked seriously.
"Yes, now all the young people in the village are working in the workshops, but we can't delay things in the fields."
The village chief nodded, stretched out his hand and stroked his jaw out of habit, but only touched a handful of air. He immediately lost all dignity and lowered his voice a little, "The main problem is the threshing."
"Threshing problem?"
Zhuang Keqing can figure it out with just a few clicks.
In the past, Liu Zhuzhu, the neighbor next door, used to help with threshing in her family. It was not until Dahei came to the family last year that she stopped asking for help.
This work is indeed energy-consuming. The stone roller is so big and heavy that if you pull it around for an entire afternoon, you may not be able to remove an acre of land. If you can make a machine...
Zhuang Keqing lost her voice as she pondered. The village chief looked at her appearance and did not dare to disturb her. He just waited silently.
I'm afraid this girl already has some ideas.
Indeed, when he talked about threshing, Zhuang Keqing thought of the electric thresher he had seen when he went to the farmhouse in the past.
It is roughly in the shape of a drum, with a grain collector installed at the bottom. After it rotates, you can stretch the straw inward and the straw and grains will be separated naturally, which is fast and good.
Although the threshing machines of later generations are electric, the principle remains unchanged.
"Grandpa, village chief, please allow me to go back and discuss with Aling. I will come back to see you in a few days."
With something on his mind, Zhuang Keqing had no intention of chatting. He greeted the village chief and left.
"Dad, I say Miss Zhuang must have a way!"
Li You turned to look at the girl's leaving figure, then turned back to tease his father, "Do you feel sorry for the beard?"
The village chief was so angry that he almost took off his shoes and recalled his childhood life to this unfilial son.
As expected, Zhuang Keqing took the village chief's matter to heart. As soon as he got home, he got into the house and discussed the design of the threshing machine with Shen Ling.
"Aling, can you understand what I said?"
She only vaguely remembered the general appearance of the machine, but she was so stumbling when describing it that she didn't even know what she was talking about.
"Yeah, I understand."
Unexpectedly, Shen Ling responded lightly, turned around, took out a piece of paper, licked the ink with the tip of his pen, and drew an outline effortlessly.
Without waiting for Zhuang Keqing to express surprise and admiration, he said again,
"If the roller here wants to separate the ears of grain and the straw, it needs to add some protrusions on it."
With the brush lightly, many hook-like things were added to the parts of the drawing roller.
"As for how to make it move..."
The young man's voice stopped at a crucial place, which made Zhuang Keqing a little anxious.
"Aling, please tell me how to make it move? Can you add a handle? Just like a stone mill?"
Looking up at the anxious girl with a pleading face, Shen Ling smiled slightly, the tenderness and doting in her eyes almost overflowing.
Zhuang Keqing bathed in that gaze and suddenly turned red from head to toe like a cooked shrimp.
Seeing her helpless look, Shen Ling chuckled lightly, his voice carrying a hint of the deep voice of a young man.
"A hand handle is a good idea, but the threshing machine I envision can be used by one person, so it's better to use a foot."
Still reluctant to give up, Shen Ling directly expressed his thoughts.
"Cooperate with your feet?"
An idea flashed in Zhuang Keqing's mind, "What A Ling said, could it be that he stepped on it with his feet?"
Indeed, compared to turning the handle with one hand and placing the straw with the other, it is indeed more efficient to operate with your feet.
"Ke'er is smart."
Shen Ling's tone was tactful and soft, with a lingering tone at the end, which was slightly mean-spirited, completely different from his gentle and clear eyes.
Zhuang Keqing's face turned red.
How could she be considered smart? She was just taking advantage of other people's wisdom, and she really deserved it.
With the rough outline and ideas in mind, the two of them moved much faster. In just one afternoon, the sketch of the threshing machine was completed.
"I'll go to the carpenter's place with you tomorrow. If he doesn't understand something, I can explain it to him face to face."
Shen Ling folded up the dried ink sketches, pressed them under the paperweight, and said lightly, but his tone could not refuse.
Zhuang Keqing was blocked when he wanted him to review his books at home tomorrow. He could only open his mouth and said dryly, "Okay."
Aling is much busier than himself now. Ever since Zhao Xiucai accepted him as his student, he has to assign strategies and six poems each at the end of each lecture. Just dealing with these requires a lot of time.
But now I not only delayed him for an afternoon, but also delayed him for another day tomorrow. If he couldn't complete those strategies, would Master Zhao be so angry that he would slap Aling's hand?
She heard that Master Zhao was very strict in teaching.
Shen Ling was so transparent. As soon as Zhuang Keqing lowered his head, he guessed that the other person was worried about him.
"Ke'er, it's okay. I've finished three of the policy essays, and the other two have been drafted. I'll finish them in time when I get back tomorrow."
He reached out and stroked the top of the girl's soft hair, and said a few words of comfort. It wasn't until Qin Manzhi called for dinner outside that the two of them left the house again.
…
Carpenter Qian has been a little busy lately.
Perhaps the busy farming season is approaching, and there is no big job like making furniture. All we can do is to store some wooden barrels every day, and wait for the market to go to the town to sell them.
Hearing that the brewery near Erli Village was hiring again, he was thinking about finding a part-time worker to supplement his family's income.
Just as I was thinking about it, someone shouted outside.
When he looked up, he saw a girl with slender eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes. Wasn't she the same girl who made him a toy waterwheel before?
This is business.
Carpenter Qian was overjoyed. He casually placed the work in his hands on the ground, stepped forward one step at a time, opened the courtyard door, and welcomed people in.
"Girl, long time no see. Do you want to make something today?"
The earnestness of the question was in line with Zhuang Keqing's wishes.
"Uncle's guess is correct. I came today because I have something new I want to show you."
As she spoke, she took out a few folded papers from her purse and handed them to Carpenter Qian.
"New stuff?"
After opening the stack of papers a few times, Carpenter Qian immediately saw the design of the threshing machine at the top.
"This is?"
Although he had doubts in his heart, he never said it out loud. After all, people came to him to make something. If he couldn't even understand the drawings, wouldn't he be ruining his own brand?
There were five pieces of paper in the stack, and Carpenter Qian patiently turned over them one by one, but the more he turned, the more frightened he became.
The first picture is the overall appearance of the machine, while the following pictures are disassembly drawings of each part. They are so meticulous that every part is clearly drawn.
He simply ran through these pictures in his mind and was able to piece together the working principles.
