Alright, once you join the Fang family, you are one of us! Pillar, get the money. Two taels of silver for each person, as a settling-in allowance. Starting tomorrow, you begin working!
Fang Er waved his hand grandly, distributing the money!
The crowd had never seen such a display. Money in hand before any work was even done.
They looked at each other, disbelieving.
Pillar opened the pack on his back, revealing piles of gleaming silver.
Silver ingots, each worth one tael.
Two for everyone.
Only when everyone had received their silver did they truly believe it!
After living for so many years, most of these people were seeing silver for the first time.
They picked up the silver, bit it, and seeing the teeth marks, they excitedly knelt down: "Thank you, young master!"
Seeing this, the others quickly knelt down to express their gratitude.
The entire courtyard was suddenly filled with kneeling figures, leaving only the bald man and the three old men standing awkwardly before Fang Er.
Fang Er felt a headache coming on. This was like a funeral procession!
"Everyone get up. I just told you not to kneel! Have you already forgotten?"
Old Ma Tou saw Fang Er's slightly annoyed expression, then took Liu Si's walking stick and fiercely struck a man beside him.
Everyone quickly got up and bowed repeatedly to Fang Er.
"Alright, everyone go. Come back tomorrow to gather, and I'll assign tasks to you."
Fang Er waved his hand helplessly at the crowd.
Once most of them had left, Old Ma Tou, along with four young men, walked up to Fang Er and said, "Young master, you've just arrived at this estate and are unfamiliar with many people and matters. These young men can stay by your side. They can run errands for you. This bald one is Zhao Hu, Zhao Neng's son. This short one is Liu Meng, Liu Si's son. The other two, the thinner one is Old Man's family's, named Ma Chao. The fatter one is Sun Zhou. These four know everything about this estate, big and small. Keep them close for service."
Fang Er nodded: "Alright, let them stay. Er Gou, take Zhao Hu and Ma Chao back to the city to bring the things we usually use. We'll be living here from now on."
"Yes, young master."
After speaking, Gouzi left with Zhao Hu and Ma Chao.
The three old men also bid farewell and left.
Fang Er sat on a stone stool, looking at Liu Meng and Sun Zhou, and asked them about matters concerning the estate.
Through the two of them, Fang Er learned about the lives of the impoverished commoners in this era.
No wonder they were helpless when drought struck and the crops failed.
There were practically no ditches or wells!
Even the few ditches that existed were quite shallow. Once the water level at the source dropped, the water could no longer be diverted.
Normally, water was carried from the river. It was fine for drinking, but useless for irrigating fields!
This was almost a vicious cycle!
A little drought was enough to cause problems.
People carried water, but households had no surplus grain! Without enough to eat, they couldn't work!
Carrying water to irrigate fields was a labor-intensive task!
But if they didn't carry water, the crops would fail!
Relying on heaven for food, this was utterly unreliable!
Fang Er, with Pillar and the two of them, rode horses around the fields of the estate for a few laps.
The place wasn't too far from the Longshou Canal, but the water level in the Longshou Canal was too low, and it couldn't be diverted.
"Who among you is a good swimmer?"
Fang Er asked.
Sun Zhou jumped off his horse, rubbing the sore skin of his inner thighs from the saddle, and grinned, "Young master, I'm a good swimmer."
"Go, see how deep the water in this canal is."
Fang Er pointed at the Longshou Canal with his horsewhip.
Xiao Qing was also present, so Sun Zhou didn't dare to undress. He directly jumped in.
The Longshou Canal was about twenty meters wide. When he reached the middle, Sun Zhou held his breath and dived in.
He surfaced shortly after, shouting to Fang Er, "Young master, in the middle, it's about two of me deep."
"Alright, come up."
Fang Er had a rough idea.
Sun Zhou was about 1.6 meters tall, so two of him would be around three meters deep.
"Young master, the water in this canal used to be four or five of me deep in previous years! Back then, as long as a sluice gate was opened on the canal, the water could irrigate the crops. Now there's too little water, and it can't be diverted!" Sun Zhou wiped the water droplets from his face as he emerged from the Longshou Canal.
"Let's go home. Young master has a plan!"
The group returned to the estate.
Fang Er found some timber in the backyard and asked Sun Zhou to find the carpenter's tools in the village.
After spending a day, by the time Gouzi returned with Zhao Hu and the others from the city, Fang Er had already built a small waterwheel.
Looking at the three-meter-tall waterwheel standing in the courtyard, everyone was unsure what it was.
Xiao Qing asked curiously, "Young master, what is this used for?"
"This is a magical artifact for diverting water, called a waterwheel. Tomorrow, I'll let you witness its marvel."
Fang Er looked at his masterpiece with satisfaction.
Making this wasn't difficult. The main point was that the bearing had to be sturdy, otherwise, it would easily fall apart from the powerful kinetic energy.
Fang Er found a nanmu log in the backyard, made some adjustments, and used it.
The nanmu log was shaped into a smooth cylinder, with a semi-circular groove carved in the middle. The remaining piece was carved into spheres using a very sharp screwdriver, serving as rolling balls.
The waterwheel had two impellers. After placing the rolling balls on the bearing, the two impellers perfectly held the rolling balls in between.
Not a single iron nail was used; it was all mortise and tenon joinery.
Although simple, it should work for a while. When materials become available, a better one will be made.
The next morning, the able-bodied men gathered in front of the new Fang Mansion. After washing up, Fang Er, with Xiao Qing, went to the kitchen, where four or five middle-aged women were busy.
Seeing Fang Er enter, one of the older women knelt on the ground, her voice trembling with emotion, "Young master, thank you for your great kindness! My boy has grown so much, and today he can finally eat meat!"
Xiao Qing quickly helped her up: "You are not allowed to kneel anymore. Young master does not like it."
Fang Er looked at the stacked steamer baskets in the kitchen and the meat broth simmering in the pot. He then said to the woman, "No need to thank me. Life will get better and better. Go outside and call everyone in to eat."
The woman nodded repeatedly, tears of joy streaming down her face as she went out to call people.
Fang Er had arranged this the previous night. He had found five women from the estate to prepare steamed buns overnight and slaughter a sheep. They had simmered it all night, and the meat in the pot had become incredibly tender. Bones tumbled in the pot, and the milky white broth emitted an alluring aroma.
This woman, named Hua Niang, was the eldest daughter-in-law of Old Ma Tou. Her eldest son had died of illness a few years ago, but she had stayed to look after the Old Ma family. Hearing that Fang Er needed a kitchen, she had voluntarily come to help. Among the young men was her son, who was only fifteen years old, not much younger than his uncle Ma Chao.