EES - Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Thus, a crowd gathered along the field ridges of Taqiu Village. All the able-bodied men summoned by the village head pitched in to assemble and join those wooden pieces together.

Li Li was among those called to help with the construction.

Unlike the others, however, Li Li was also the village carpenter. Years ago, he had apprenticed under a master woodworker and picked up some skills. Though he no longer made a living from woodworking, whenever anyone in the village needed furniture repaired or custom items built, they came to him.

Therefore, when Li Li first encountered this tool known as an irrigation waterwheel and began fitting the mortise-and-tenon joints according to the instructions, he quickly noticed that every joint mechanism was remarkably straightforward. It relied entirely on basic techniques, with none of the flashy complexity. Even someone like him, whose craftsmanship was rudimentary rather than refined, could easily replicate the connection structure of each component.

But that was only the assembly technique. The individual components of the waterwheel were clearly cut to optimal lengths through meticulous calculation.

"Sir, is this small gear mounted directly onto the large gear?" Li Li asked tentatively, holding up a small gear.

The agricultural extension officer answered in a mild tone. After taking a closer look at which gear Li Li held, he shook his head. "No, this one is installed last. It goes right here."

The officer pointed to the hand-crank handle.

With the combined effort of several able-bodied men, a massive structure rose beside the fields. The lower end of the circular drum featured semicircular bamboo tubes dipping into the water. The agricultural extension officer took a pot of tung oil from the donkey cart and brushed it onto the waterwheel's gear joints. He then stepped aside slightly so the farmers could see clearly. "If rainfall is sufficient during normal times, this waterwheel can be left idle. There is a locking latch over by the trough. To activate it, you only need a few people to manually turn it until it starts spinning."

The county magistrate, assistant magistrate, and all the farmers suddenly understood, gazing up at the waterwheel in awe.

"So it's a tool like this," the county magistrate murmured, stroking his beard. "Before it was assembled, I couldn't imagine what it looked like. But now that it's standing here, it feels as though I've already seen something exactly like it in my mind..."

"What are you saying, Your Excellency?" the assistant magistrate beside him turned around, puzzled.

"Haha, nothing much." County Magistrate Wang laughed it off.

Li Li shared the exact same impression as Magistrate Wang.

The moment he saw the waterwheel take shape, clarity struck him. A thought surfaced in his mind: So it can be built like this. The vague blueprint in his head instantly snapped into sharp focus.

In truth, the irrigation waterwheel was originally an agricultural tool invented by ancient laborers for farming and irrigation. Although historical divergences had caused slight discrepancies, preventing these tools from appearing in this era yet, the gap between their absence and their creation was merely a single spark of inspiration.

Li Li volunteered alongside several other able-bodied men to push the crank, setting the massive waterwheel turning slowly. Once the water-filled bamboo tubes reached the top, their weight would drive the roller to spin continuously, requiring no further human effort.

Everyone held their breath, watching with focused eyes as the water lifted by the bamboo tubes finally trickled slowly into the irrigation ditch and onward to the fields. The moment the water successfully entered the channel, many couldn't help but cheer.

"Good... wonderful!" The Taqiu Village head watched the slowly rotating waterwheel, tears of joy welling in his eyes. "It's perfect! Our harvest is saved!"

The county magistrate let out a deep sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his brow, and broke into a smile. He warmly grasped the agricultural extension officer's hands with both of his, shaking them up and down. "The court truly brought an excellent tool this year! Officer, I recall you also brought another item called... the curved-shaft plough? Tell me how it's used; it must be incredibly useful too! By the way, didn't you mention earlier that we should gather craftsmen to build more of these tools? I'll visit every village under my jurisdiction tomorrow, and I'll have craftsmen ready for you the day after. Tell me... did you bring the blueprints?"

"I brought them! I brought them!" The agricultural extension officer smiled awkwardly but politely, feeling the heavy sweat on his hands.

The farmers' joyful, sweat-streaked smiles under the scorching sun deeply moved the young official, who was leaving Qiong'an for the first time in his capacity as an agricultural extension officer. Especially when some farmers, seeing the water drawn up, eagerly threw themselves onto the earth to feel its dampness with their hands, a profound sense of accomplishment and responsibility swelled within the young officer's heart.

These were scenes he never witnessed back in Qiong'an.

This is what truly matters. What difference is there between my past days and wasting my life? The young agricultural extension officer's heart stirred, unable to stop himself from thinking it.

Before his post was changed and he was assigned to the Bureau of Agriculture as an agricultural extension officer, he had actually been a deputy director in one of the Six Ministries. Deeply influenced by bureaucratic culture, he spent his days drifting through duty shifts like his colleagues, losing track of time without knowing what he was even doing.

In just a few years, he had forgotten the vigor he felt when he placed second in the Palace Examination and the ambitious dreams of building a great career. He had been assimilated into a mere slacker.

On the emperor's desk, a slacker like him would naturally have been filtered out and dealt with during the first round of purifying the chaff. However, when An Lin was clearing out personnel, she found this man's stats acceptable, his ambition low, his past records free of major blunders, and investigations showed no corruption. Coupled with the fact that the previous agricultural extension officers at the Bureau of Agriculture had all been dismissed by An Lin, leaving the bureau severely understaffed, the emperor had simply reassigned him there first, granting him a small chance.

And so, after planting fields for a few months at the Bureau of Agriculture, the agricultural extension officer of Liangxiang emerged with substantial changes.

The events unfolding in Liangxiang were simultaneously occurring across other prefectures, commands, and counties.

In particular, where some counties showed early signs of drought, the agricultural extension officers arrived and either adapted to local conditions to work with county offices on strategies like tapping groundwater for emergency relief, dug diversion channels from main river stems, or submitted requests to construct small irrigation dams, all paired with waterwheel irrigation...

Facing such frequent local emergencies, the results of officials' intense internal competition at the central government finally manifested. Information from the provinces was processed with unprecedented efficiency. Whether dispatching personnel, allocating funds, or establishing mutual aid channels between prefectures and counties, the expenditure was significantly less than recorded in previous years.

This was a coordinated campaign between the center and the localities.

The farmers knew nothing of these bureaucratic shifts. They only rejoiced that the summer floods and droughts were being resolved. "It's so good since the new emperor ascended the throne. He specially sent people with new farm tools to solve our most troubling water shortage. In past years, half the rice crop would die during severe droughts. Our harvest will surely be much better this year!"

"It's all thanks to a wise ruler ascending the throne!"

For common folk, a ruler who could protect their harvest against Heaven's whims was already considered wise.

Li Li's family said exactly the same thing.

"The county magistrate and that agricultural extension officer said the waterwheel will stop if the water level drops too low. The village head announced we should build a shed near the wheel, with each household taking turns to stand guard. I have more free time than you two, so let me take the rotation for our family," Li Li's mother said.

"The sun is too harsh. One person alone can't endure it. Third brother and Mother should each take shorter shifts. When Ali and I return from work, we can cover some hours too," Li Li's eldest brother said, swallowing a bite of flatbread with vegetable soup.

Li Li said nothing, merely nodding in agreement, his expression somewhat distracted.

"Ali, what are you thinking about? Eat quickly. We still need to clear the bowls afterward." As everyone finished eating and prepared to head to work, his mother finally noticed his distraction and urged him with bowl and chopsticks in hand. Li Li hurriedly drained the soup from his bowl and stuffed the rest of the bread into his mouth in a few bites.

"What's on your mind?" his eldest brother asked.

"Brother, I'm thinking... maybe I can build that waterwheel myself." Li Li hesitated slightly before speaking. "Yesterday, the agricultural extension officer mentioned that it would be best to link two waterwheels together near our village's irrigation channel to draw more water into the fields. And that curved-shaft plough, if we had it, even our sister could cultivate two mu while plowing... But the officer only brought one waterwheel and one plough. Now the waterwheel has landed in our village, while other villages are still worrying about water shortages."

Li Li's eldest brother gave him a long look. "These are imperial assets. How can you just make them freely?"

"That's why I plan to go to the county town tomorrow to ask the county magistrate." Li Li did not give up despite his brother's words. "You're right, brother. Although I roughly understand how the structures connect, the dimensions and sizes were likely carefully measured by many people. Figuring it out on my own could take forever... It's impossible to ship an entire waterwheel like this from Qiong'an. Plus, its craftsmanship is straightforward. I figure the most likely scenario is that they'll mass-produce them locally."

Seeing that Li Li had a clear plan, his eldest brother stopped pressing. "All right. Tomorrow when you go to the county town, go with Datou from the village head's family. I'll tell the village head later to arrange a donkey cart for you tomorrow."

Li Li's eyes lit up. "Thank you, brother!"

By the next day, when Li Li went to the county town intending to inquire at the county office, he had not even walked inside before spotting a notice posted at the entrance.

The notice detailed the recruitment of craftsmen to manufacture irrigation waterwheels and curved-shaft ploughs.

The county office would cover the construction of one waterwheel and one plough per village, but the timber, bamboo, and other materials required for the waterwheels would need to be supplied by each village itself. Furthermore, craftsmen who participated in building the waterwheels and ploughs could, once construction ended and they learned the manufacturing methods, privately accept commissions to produce these tools. For every tool sold, they would pay taxes at the One-Fifteenth Tax Rate standard.

In reality, Li Li was illiterate. He only learned the contents of the notice by asking the yamen guards stationed at the gate.

But upon hearing that he could sell tools and pay taxes at the One-Fifteenth Tax Rate, he stepped inside without hesitation.

Besides Li Li, many craftsmen summoned by the county magistrate were already waiting inside the office. They circled an arm-width model of the waterwheel, examining it from all angles and discussing how certain parts should be constructed.

The county magistrate was explaining the tasks to the craftsmen, and Li Li listened attentively.

Halfway through the briefing, the agricultural extension officer hurried over and called out, "Are there enough craftsmen? The timber has been delivered. Come quickly and get started!"

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