The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

"Zhongdi is really something. You come when you want to, but why bring anything?"

Heifu's sister is named "Huan". She is about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. She looks a bit like their mother, but her skin is darker. Although she is polite, she can't hide the joy in her eyes. She keeps turning the piece of fine gauze that Heifu gave her over and over again, and praises that the workmanship in the county town is better than that in the countryside.

"My brother got the reward by chance, how can I forget my sister? My sister should buy new clothes for herself and her husband."

Huan Jie laughed so hard that she couldn't close her mouth. She pinched the eight-foot-tall man who was quietly pouring water for Heifu and Zhong, and said angrily: "Look at my brother, how good at talking. Look at you, you didn't know to buy me a piece of cloth for a year or two. I was blind to marry you."

"Wife, the day before yesterday at the village market, you said you had enough clothes, but you refused to buy me."

The big man smiled and moved away honestly, not because he was afraid of pain, but because he was afraid that the sawdust and dust on his body would dirty his wife's hands.

This is Heifu's brother-in-law, named "Yuan". Although he also lives in Xiyangli, he is different from other families. He is a "craftsman". His family has been craftsmen for generations, doing carpentry and stonemasonry work. He makes a living by making stone tools and equipment for people in the village and repairing houses.

Although Qin did not have the bad habit of discriminating against craftsmen after the Han Dynasty, the countryside also had its own contempt chain: those with titles looked down on the gentry, the gentry looked down on the craftsmen, the craftsmen looked down on the merchants, the merchants looked down on the son-in-law, and the son-in-law could only look down on the slaves...

So when Huanjie wanted to marry Yu, her parents were 100% against it. However, love was very free in that era. In the end, the two of them did it first and then reported it. They did it in the haystack. When the child was about to be born, Heifu's family had no choice but to agree.

Heifu thought that his brother-in-law was a pretty good person. Although he was as silent as a stone and illiterate, he knew how to love his wife and daughter, and he had a good craft.

When Huanjie first married Yu, Yu often went to Heifu's house to work for free, making a lever, building a roof beam, and making a stone mortar for his family. He was really hardworking and never complained. Finally, the mother was moved and accepted this son-in-law. Every now and then, she let the two of them live with their children at home. Yuan also treated him like his own mother. When his mother was sick some time ago, he and Sister Huan often went home.

Unfortunately, even if the craftsman has good skills, he is trapped by the household registration these days. He can't leave the village and doesn't have much source of income. Looking at the small courtyard of my sister's husband's house, most of it is filled with wood and stone. The most valuable things are hammers, copper saws and the like. Life is quite tight.

Hei Fu didn't say much. When Sister Huan pulled Zhong to talk, he told his sister's husband the purpose of his visit.

"Do you want to make something similar to the jack?" When he mentioned his specialty, the taciturn Yuan suddenly became energetic. Most of the jacks for drawing water in the nearby villages were made by him.

"That's right."

Heifu held a wooden stick and drew on the ground: "Just like the jackhammer, a long piece of wood is installed on a fixed wooden frame, but the top of the wooden stick should be connected to a stone hammer, and a stone mortar is placed under the hammer head to connect to the pestle head. In this way, if you can step on the end of the wooden stick with your feet, you can drive the stone hammer up and down like drawing water, and repeatedly hit it in the stone mortar, so that it can be used to pound rice!"

Using feet instead of hands to move can save a lot of effort and improve efficiency. This is why "stepping on the pestle" got its name. Although it also takes effort to step on it, it is not as good as a millstone or a stone mill, but it is much better than simply pounding rice. The key point is that it is cheap and easy to promote.

This thing should have been born in the Han Dynasty and then quickly promoted. Every household can do without mills and grinding, but it cannot do without stepping on the pestle. You know, "pounding" as a torture for female prisoners gradually disappeared, which may be related to the invention of this thing.

"This is a good idea! In the future, when pounding rice, you don't need to lift the wooden pestle anymore, you can just step on it. A half-grown child can also step on it to pound rice!"

Yuan is an expert. His eyes lit up immediately and he slapped his thigh and said, "Zhongdi, how did you come up with this idea!"

Heifu evaded the question and said, "I heard the sound of pounding rice and fetching water when I was sleeping in the morning. I dreamed about these two things together. When I woke up, I thought it might be feasible, so I wanted to ask my brother-in-law if he could do it."

Yuan smiled and said, "This is easy. I can make it for you in two or three days after I find all the materials."

"I wonder how much it will cost..."

Yuan's face suddenly darkened when he heard Heifu mention money. He stood up and said, "We are a family. Why are you asking me for money? Are you still treating me as an outsider?" His voice was so loud that Zhong and Huanjie, who were standing beside him, jumped.

Seeing her husband's stubborn temper coming back, Sister Huan quickly pinched him again and scolded him: "Talk to my brother nicely, why are you yelling? Sit down!"

Yuan listened to his wife and sat down again, but he was still angry.

"It's my fault."

Heifu had to bow and apologize, and said with a smile: "I also know that my brother-in-law is not that kind of person. In fact, I want to make this thing because I think my mother, sister-in-law Qiu, and my sister are too tired from pounding rice every day, and I want them to save some energy and spend less time. Why don't you make two, one for each of the two families. If you need to chop trees and break stones, just call me and Jing."

"You see, it's still my second brother who knows how to care for my sister. You should learn from him."

Sister Huan smiled and deliberately bumped her elbow twice. Only then did her face relax and nodded: "If this can be done, it will naturally be a good thing. Heifu rest assured, I can make it in two or three days."

"Brother-in-law, don't tell others about the treading pestle. If others ask, just say you are making a lever."

Before leaving here, Heifu repeatedly told Yuan and Sister Huan that this matter should be kept secret for the time being.

Because although the treading pestle was not invented until the Han Dynasty, it is simpler than the stone mill, cheaper to make, and can be imitated with just a few glances.

At this time, Zhong also understood what Heifu wanted to make, and kept praising him for his thoughtfulness.

In fact, Zhong didn't know that the reason why Heifu wanted to make the treading pestle was not only to let the women in the family do less hard work, but also because he had a vague idea in his mind that it might make a profit for his family. But whether it can be done, he still has to ask legal experts, so for the time being, let's cherish it.

My sister-in-law's house is in the north of the village. This is the end of the sunset. Outside the wall, there are large tracts of fields. Since they are here, Zhong asked Heifu to go and see the 100 acres of public land that he was allocated.

After leaving the village gate, they walked eastward for nearly a mile along the paths that bordered the fields of each family. The terrain gradually rose and got closer and closer to the mountains and forests.

Zhong sighed with some shame: "I am incompetent. Although your house is not far from home, I failed to get the best land for you. This land is too high and difficult to draw water. Rice cannot be grown, only millet can be grown."

"It doesn't matter." Heifu smiled and said: "If I can successfully become a pavilion chief, I will probably be in Huyang Pavilion and have no time to take care of the fields."

"You can't say that."

Zhong looked at it more long-term: "You are a pavilion chief with an annual salary of 72 shi, but if you hire someone to farm this hundred acres of land, even if you sow seeds everywhere, the worst harvest is 180 shi a year, and you can at least get half of it. Excluding the rent and taxes paid to the government, it is almost catching up with the annual salary of the pavilion chief."

"Brother, you make sense."

Heifu thought about it and it was right. Even if he didn't farm, it would be good to hire someone to farm. There are still hired farmers who have no land and can only sell their labor these days. Alas, I just don't know where the hired farmer named Chen She is now? Heifu really wants to invite him to help him farm, sit on the ridge, and talk about the land and the ambitions of the sparrows and swans...

While talking, Zhong stopped and pointed forward and said: "This piece of land is your land."

Heifu looked around according to Zhong's gestures and couldn't help but take a breath! He cursed in his heart!

"It's so big!"

The newly reclaimed land in front of him was as big as five or six football fields at a glance!

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