novelraw Chapter 745 - 740: People from the County Government Have Arrived
Chapter 745 - 740: People from the County Government Have Arrived
Today, in the Great Tang, a gentle rain began to fall.
An autumn rain brings a chill, and Lin Wanwan sat in the long-missed schoolhouse teaching the children; the sound of the wind, rain, and reading all entered her ears.
She, the honorary principal, had been away from the frontline of teaching for over half a year, and now back in the classroom, she felt somewhat unaccustomed.
The children were still lively and clean, not reverting to their previous sloppy appearance just because she was absent.
Within Lin Family Manor, there was a Village Lady Mansion, and the standards among the clan people had risen.
Everyone knew that Lin Wanwan was easygoing about everything else, but was strict when it came to hygiene, so they were very self-disciplined without any slack.
In the school, giving lessons and watching the children’s thirst for knowledge, Lin Wanwan’s heart unknowingly became tranquil.
Lin Wanwan’s base in the mountains had yet to be built, and the new people in the mansion were currently crammed into various servant quarters, including 21 heroines from the Starfall Organization sent by Xiao Chong.
After class, Lin Wanwan sat at the veranda, brewed a pot of tea, listening to the sound of the rain hitting the glazed tiles, and looking at the green hills and water in front, she felt that life was very comfortable.
Qingyu curled up on the mat beside her taking a nap, Xiao Yixun was playing with the scorpions and poisonous insects she raised, and in the corner, Master Heng Wu was plucking the strings of a konghou.
The sound of the zither and the rain harmonized, weaving a scene of deep autumn.
Today Lin Wanwan brewed a tea popular in later generations, without oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, or spices.
Listening to the konghou with the tea, even time seemed to slow down.
The eldest son of Lu Clan Leader was still living in the inverted room of Lin Wanwan’s mansion, his condition was stable, and the conservative treatment of his intestinal abscess was very successful.
If he continued to recover at this rate, he could return to Lu Family Manor tomorrow to recuperate, with some medicine prescribed for him to take home, the condition should not relapse.
If it weren’t raining today, Lin Wanwan had planned to enter the mountains to select a site, but now with the rain, she had no choice but to pass the time listening to the rain and reading.
As she was sipping tea, listening to music, and flipping through medical books, Lin Mengbo came over from next door.
"Wanwan, someone has come to the County Government to teach farming knowledge. People from Dafeng Village and Lu Family Manor have already been notified and are on their way here. Wanwan, do you need to inform the manor guests here?"
In Lin Wanwan’s fields, there were manor guests who depended on her, usually managed by Lin Zhentian.
However, the County Government sending people to teach farmers farming skills? What kind of new operation was this? Lin Wanwan couldn’t understand it.
So she stood up and said, "Thank you, Brother Mengbo, for informing me. I will have someone call the manor guests to come and listen. I wonder where the person will be giving the lecture on such a rainy day? I would like to listen too."
Lin Wanwan was really curious, previously Xiao Chong issued decrees and promoted grain, always calling the Village Chief to the County Government for teaching, now they’ve learned to send people to the countryside?
Isn’t this just like grassroots officials in remote areas in later generations, trying every means possible to lead the people out of poverty towards prosperity!
Lin Mengbo smiled and replied, "It’s in the workshop. There’s plenty of open space there, and lots of warehouses, so it’s quite convenient. This year, the County Government has already sent scholars twice to give us rough folks lessons. Xiao Mingfu even knows how to rot better fertilizers, which is why we had such a bountiful harvest this year."
"Oh, really? Then I must go listen."
Lin Wanwan felt very surprised.
She wasn’t surprised that Xiao Chong knew these things, after all, a comprehensive agricultural book like Essential Techniques for the People had been around since the Bei Wei, if a scholar was willing, they could naturally learn it.
But she was very surprised by Xiao Chong’s methods, that he could set aside his status to teach the common people such down-to-earth matters, which seemed contrary to his immortal-like image.
"Wanwan, if you’re interested, you can go over now, they say the first session is starting in a quarter of an hour."
Lin Wanwan, hearing this, immediately said to her three personal maids, Hong Yan, Ji Yue, and Cai Yun: "Let’s go to the workshop now to have a look."
"Madam, it’s raining outside, I’ll go get you a pair of wooden clogs and an oil-paper umbrella," Hong Yan curtsied and said.
"Alright." Lin Wanwan nodded in agreement.
Soon, the oil-paper umbrella and wooden clogs were brought over.
In Mao County, thick-soled wooden clogs were equivalent to rain shoes in later generations. The people from Japan learned this from the Tang people who frequently wore clogs in the Jiangnan Road area.
They walked into the workshop and saw the workers busy with enthusiasm, the rain couldn’t extinguish their passion for work.
Among these people, apart from two males fluffing cotton, the rest were all females.
If you were to ask where in the Mao County area women held the highest status, it would surely be the women of Lin Family Manor, who hold up half the sky.
The cotton cloth yet to be woven in the workshop had already been pre-ordered by merchants outside, this year’s income was secure.
In the months following the cotton harvest, during the agricultural downtime, the women of Lin Family Manor would be the main labor force at home.
For a long time, the biggest cash crop in rural areas was cotton, and it was the same in the Great Tang.
Economic strength determines family status, the weavers in the clan had a place to utilize their skills and were no longer considered weak labor.
With more work points earned, their stance at home naturally became straighter.
Women being able to work was the second major change Lin Wanwan brought to Lin Family Manor, after making it so that children, regardless of gender, could come to the school to study.
Lin Wanwan didn’t think much about these things.
At this moment, she mingled with the crowd, just wanting to hear what medicine the young gentleman from the Great Tang was selling.
Sitting below and listening for a while, Lin Wanwan quickly realized that the person sent by the County Government was indeed teaching the common people ways to get rid of poverty and achieve prosperity!
Lin Wanwan almost didn’t need to think, she knew it was Xiao Chong’s handiwork.
Because this person, at the moment, was talking about how to detox sprouted potatoes, and how to use corn cobs to brew sweet wine, things that were closely related to the people’s lives.
Although Lin Wanwan hadn’t read the knowledge in "Friend of Military and Civilian Dual-use Talent", she could guess just from potatoes and corn cobs alone.
Xiao Chong had only gotten the book for a few days, and he could already smartly select good content and send people to spread it to the countryside!
This efficiency was astonishing.
To be able to give orders and have them followed perfectly is an impressive feat.
No wonder Xiao Chong could gain real power in Mao County so quickly; this level of action was extraordinarily strong.
Both things were something that nearly every household in the countryside of Mao County had planted a little, and corn cobs were mostly used as firewood.
And now, the officials were telling them that this could be used to make wine!
Wine was a luxury, and Xiao Mingfu sent people to teach everyone how to turn waste into treasure for free!
It’s no wonder everyone was excited, many people began to fist pump, itching to try it out as soon as they got home.