Chapter 8: First Benefit Its Tools

  "Third Brother is back!" Chen Gouzhi's six-year-old son, Chen Jixing, exclaimed excitedly as he rode on the wooden horse made by Lin Chunhong, which could rock back and forth.

  "You stinky kid, you only see Third Brother, but didn't see Uncle Zhou?" Zhou Wang pretended to be jealous and scolded.

  Chen Jixing pouted and said in a milky voice: "Uncle Zhou spanked me last time, it still hurts today!"

  Lin Chunhong and Zhou Wang burst out laughing. At this time, Xiaofeng and her mother, Chunhong's mother, and Chen Jixing's mother came out of the house, saw the two return, overjoyed, and busied themselves cooking some good dishes.

  Xiao Feng saw Lin Chunhong carrying a sack on his back and hurried over to help him take it down.

  Lin Chunhong hastily said: "No, this thing is heavy, let me put it down slowly."

  After putting down the sack, Lin Chunhong took out an iron thing. This thing had an iron wheel, which was installed in an iron box. The iron wheel could rotate freely, and there was a U-shaped iron rod on the outside of the iron box, which was also installed on the axle of the rotating wheel. It was obviously a pulley. As soon as he returned to Yiling, Lin Chunhong entrusted the blacksmith to make this thing, and several others were being made, waiting for him to pick them up in a few days. Chen Jixing saw this strange thing and curiously surrounded it, turning around and touching it with his hand from time to time.

  "What is this thing? What's the use of being heavy?" Little Phoenix asked.

  "This thing is going to be useful, it can change the whole world." Lin Chunhong joked.

  Xiao Feng rolled her eyes, with an obvious look of disbelief.

  "Don't you believe it? Think about it, with this thing, Xing Er can draw a bucket of water from the well. Can't it change the world?"

  "You're bragging! Be careful not to burst your own bubble!" Little Feng said.

  Chen Jixing heard that he could draw water from the well, and curiously asked: "Third brother, I can lift an empty bucket with the windlass, but not water. Mother doesn't let me play by the well, or I'll get spanked."

  Lin Chunhong stroked Chen Jixing's head and said, "Children shouldn't play by the well, you must listen to your mother."

  After finishing, Lin Chunhong and Zhou Wang installed the pulley on the windlass. A bucket of water was hung on the U-shaped iron piece of the pulley. They said to Chen Jixing: "Xinger, you turn the windlass and try it out, see if you can lift the bucket of water?"

  Chen Jixing listened and excitedly turned the millstone, turning faster and faster, laughing happily.

  Only to see the water bucket being slowly lifted up, Xiaofeng was shocked and stared blankly.

  Lin Chunhong smiled complacently and said: "How's that?"

  Little Phoenix saw Lin Chunhong's pleased appearance, and said disdainfully: "The pulley is turning so fast that it's almost flying up, but the water bucket has only risen a little bit. What's the use of this thing?"

  "Things in the world are like this, with gains come losses." Zhou Wang's words were always so philosophical that they gave Lin Chunhong an urge to take notes.

  Chen Jixing's mother went out to fetch something and happened to see Chen Jixing playing with a spinning top, so she pretended to hit him. Xinger quickly hid behind Linlin Chunhong's back and explained: "It was Third Brother who told me to spin it."

  Xing Er's mother looked at Lin Chunhong with a questioning gaze, and Chunhong nodded and said: "Xing Er, stop hiding. From now on, you're not allowed to play by the well anymore, got it?"

  Xing Er's mother was the woman rescued from the bandit lair that year. Since then, she had devoted herself to living with Chen Gouzi and later gave birth to a son. Life was quite comfortable for them. Who would have thought that Chen Gouzi would die in battle, leaving behind this unfortunate mother-son pair? Zhou Wang and Lin Chunhong took good care of the mother-son duo, especially spoiling Xing Er rotten.

  "Brother and sister, it's time for Xing Er to ask a teacher to teach him to read and write. Chun Hong, you go and find a teacher for Xing Er tomorrow." Zhou Wang said.

  Lin Chunhong nodded and added: "Don't forget to exercise your muscles too."

  Xing Er's mother opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to say something but not daring to. This woman was quite attractive, although she didn't wear makeup, she naturally showed off her simplicity and elegance to the extreme, fitting the phrase "clear water produces lotus flowers, natural without carving". She had always been afraid of Lin De Wen, Zhou Wang and others, and when she met them, she didn't even dare to speak.

  "Auntie, just say what you want to say, we're all family." Lin Chunhong said.

  "Xing Er's mother plucked up the courage to say: 'I want Xing Er to just read books and recognize characters, not learn martial arts anymore. His father... his father... if he hadn't learned martial arts, it wouldn't have...' She said halfway, then couldn't continue, and big teardrops rolled down from her eyes."

  "Alas, it's all because of the way of the world. What does it have to do with learning martial arts? However, since you won't let Xing'er learn, I'll just let it be. May everything go smoothly and peacefully." Zhou Wang sighed.

  "Xing'er invites you, Mr., this program..." Xinger's mother said with difficulty.

  "Don't worry about this, with me and Chun Hong here, you won't have to worry about money." Zhou Wang said, pulling out a five-tael silver ingot from his bosom and handing it to Xing Er's mother, "Use this money first, don't mistreat Xing Er."

  Everyone was together eating, not yet finished with the meal, still sitting at the table, listening to Zhou Wang and Lin Chunhong tell some stories about cutting wood. At this time, from outside came several people's voices, "Excuse me, is Master Zhou and Young Master Lin at home?"

  Several women all retreated into the inner room, while Zhou Wang and Lin Chunhong welcomed the newcomers into the hall. It turned out that they were a few laborers who had heard that Lin Chunhong and his group had made money by cutting wood in the deep mountains, so they came to visit in admiration, also wanting to follow them into the mountains to cut wood. Lin Chunhong and Zhou Wang did not promise on the spot, only saying that they would consider it carefully.

  It's like this, these past few days there have been several waves of people coming over. Zhou Wang and Lin Chunhong were also delighted in their hearts, never thinking that the sense of smell of these people would be so keen. Zhou Wang and Lin Chunhong discussed: "To say that we really are short-handed, the mountain has many trees, can't cut them all down, transporting them out is also a good sale, none of these things need to be worried about."

  "It's just that principle, but also can't be too much, the tools are not enough, we can't manage it." Lin Chunhong took a sip of tea and said.

  "No matter whether it's felling or transporting, I think eight people per group is just right. Adding two more groups shouldn't be a problem, and there are enough tools. Managing them won't be difficult either. But in the next few days, we're going to add more than thirty people. How are we going to choose?" Zhou Wang tapped his fingers together as he calculated.

  "Absolutely must not use city slickers, only rustic and honest villagers will do." Lin Chunhong muttered to himself.

  Zhou Wang was taken aback and said: "Why do I feel like I've heard these few sentences before?"

  "In 'Ji Xiao Xin Shu' by Grandfather Qi."

  "Are you choosing a bitter power or a strong soldier?"

  "Even coolies and soldiers are chosen, you see, Uncle Zhou, your eye for soldiers is the most poisonous, so take more responsibility for this matter."

  "I think we still need to hire two more wives specifically for cooking. What did they eat on the mountain for two months? His mother's rice was not even cooked a few times."

  "Haha, Uncle Zhou, you've really hit the nail on the head. The food on the mountain is simply worse than dog shit."

  "After some thought, Zhou Wang furrowed his brow and said: 'It's been a long time, not eating vegetables won't do, everyone's lips are all cracked and it's easy to get sick.'"

  "This is a problem... How about this, Uncle Zhou? Why don't we form a hunting team, with you in charge. We'll recruit three women to cook and gather wild vegetables. You lead five or six people to hunt, mainly to supplement our meat supply. Hunting is just an excuse, the key is that you teach these five or six people the ways of military tactics. It's best if they can read and write, train them according to your old standard as a sentry officer. If we can't find enough, it's better to have fewer but better ones."

  "This little guy is getting more and more out of line... Heaven knows what he wants to do... How are the wages for these few people calculated?"

  "Three old women can get by on one or two silver coins a month, and the hunters will be paid according to their average wages."

  "Average wage? Isn't it five taels of silver per month?"

  "I'm going to change the way I pay wages, so that no one can cheat. It's like this, …"

  "You're so clever, how can we not work hard?"

  "It's all thanks to Uncle Zhou's guidance!"

  "You want to get beaten up?"

  ……

  These days, Xiaofeng has been a bit restless and anxious, guessing that Lin Chunhong and his mother had mentioned her. Xiaofeng's guess was correct, Li Shi had indeed mentioned Xiaofeng, and it was about the most embarrassing thing for the eldest daughter. That evening, Lin Chunhong was writing and calculating under the oil lamp, wasting sheet after sheet of paper, while Li Shi sat beside him darning socks.

  "I said little three..."

  "Mom, can you stop calling me Xiao San? I'm almost 20 years old and still being called by my nickname?" Lin Chun Hong resented others for calling him Xiao San.

  "Alright, alright, don't mention it. Yes, at the age of 20, they should be starting their own families." Mrs. Li thought of her two deceased sons and regretted that not even a drop of their bloodline remained.

  "Home? Isn't it good enough that we're living here now? Do we still need to buy a house?" Lin Chunhong asked somewhat absent-mindedly.

  "I'm telling you about your daughter-in-law."

  Lin Chunhong smiled and said: "I'm just twenty, I want to find a wife?"

  "That's nothing! Look at San Shu's son across the street, he's only 19 and already has a kid!"

  It's true, in this generation men get married early, Lin Chunhong thought of this problem and was stunned.

  Mr. Li saw Lin Chunhong not speaking, leaned over and whispered: "How about Xiaofeng? She has also reached the age of marriage. Her appearance and character are not bad, the most valuable thing is that you grew up together, knowing each other's roots."

  "Little Phoenix?" Lin Chunhong thought of this lively and lovely girl, and couldn't help but feel a little flushed and excited.

  Lin Chunhong's unusual behavior did not escape Li's eyes. Li smiled and said, "See, Mother has hit your weak spot, hasn't she? Otherwise, tomorrow Mother will ask Chen Aunt to be the matchmaker, and soon you'll get what you want."

  Lin Chunhong collected his thoughts and said: "Xiaofeng is too young, still a child, why don't we wait a few more years?"

  "What's too small? Nowadays girls aren't all married at this age?" Mrs. Li was very displeased.

  "Listen to me, daughter. Let's talk about this in a few years. I'm busy right now." Lin Chunhong found it hard to imagine sharing a bed with a seventeen-year-old girl; after all, he wasn't a pervert.

  "What's more important than a lifelong event, I just can't figure it out. You're as stubborn as your father." Li said discontentedly to Lin Chunhong, not insisting, but only complaining.

  Lin Chunhong chuckled and said: "Mother, you were originally a wealthy young lady from a prominent family, why did you follow Father, a martial artist?"

  Li said: "Talk about your own business, why drag others into it? Watch me beat you up." After that, he pretended to hit Lin Chunhong.

  Lin Chunhong dodged and said, "I'm just curious."

  "Alas," Li sighed deeply and said, "I don't know how the Li family is doing in Liaodong. The roots of the Li family are in Liaodong after all. Your father was also a hero, if not for the turmoil, your father would have made a name for himself in Liaodong too. Never mind, let's not talk about it, the imperial court has already lost Liaodong."

  Lin Chunhong did not continue to ask, Jian Nu became the trend, the Chinese mainland is destined to have a disaster, Lin Chunhong was heartbroken.

  On this day, just as Xiaofeng was staring at the pulley in a daze, Li Chengzong carried a black sack and threw it into the yard. Xiaofeng came to her senses and couldn't help but get very angry, scolding: "Hey, Uncle, why did you carry so many dirty things into our yard?"

  Li Chengzong didn't care about Xiaofeng's scolding at all, and with a pretentious air of seniority, he lectured: "What does this little girl understand? This is good stuff, Master Zhou told me to put it here."

  Xiaofeng heard that it was Zhou Wang's order, so she no longer objected and used a stick to open the sack. Inside, everything was black, even darker than the bottom of a pot. Xiaofeng complained: "I don't understand what Father and Third Brother are doing more and more. One moment it's pulleys, the next it's this black stuff. What's going on?"

  Just then Lin Chunhong returned home and asked: "What's that black thing? Oh, Uncle Li you've come? Please sit down quickly."

  "I won't sit anymore, I'll give you this thing and leave." After finishing speaking, Uncle Li pointed to the sack with his hand.

  "What's that?"

  "Rope, smoke-blackened rope."

  Lin Chunhong was surprised and asked: "Using smoke to fumigate the rope? What's the use of that?"

  "Heh heh, I accidentally discovered that after smoking the rope, it's durable and won't break easily." Li Shu said with a pleased smile.

  "What's with this?" Lin Chunhong picked up the rope with his hand, completely ignoring the dark as the bottom of a pot.

  Little Phoenix exclaimed: "Too dirty! You actually picked it up with your hands. I won't let you help me pick vegetables today!"

  "It's nothing, this is Uncle Li's treasure, ordinary people can't even touch it." Lin Chunhong flipped through it while pondering the reason, after a while, he estimated that the rope had been smoked with tobacco and then added carbon black, which made it wear-resistant.

  Lin Chunhong excitedly stood up, not caring about the black stuff on his hands, and shook Li Shu's hand vigorously, saying: "Uncle Li, you've helped me solve a big problem. I was worried that my savings were being spent too quickly, but you've brought charcoal in the snow."

  "There's still a big pile at home, all smoked, let's go carry them together when we leave."

  "How much does everything cost?"

  "Nothing is free; even a piece of string costs money."

  "That's how it is," Lin Chunhong took out ten taels of silver from his home and handed them to Li Shu, but Li Shu refused to accept them. However, Lin Chunhong was even more resolute, "With this method, in a year we'll save so much money! It's far more than just ten taels of silver, you'd better take it."

  Li Shu could not outdo Lin Chunhong, so he accepted the silver.

  Lin Chunhong said with a smile: "Uncle Li, what's valuable is not the rope, but the method. Don't tell others about this trick."

  Li Shu nodded and left, feeling that his footsteps were lighter today, as if he had become ten years younger.

  Xiaofeng saw Lin Chunhong give Li Shu ten taels of silver without hesitation, and she was very dissatisfied, constantly scolding Lin Chunhong. Lin Chunhong just listened silently, not paying attention to her. This made Xiaofeng even angrier. Xiaofeng wasn't the kind of girl who would nag or pester people, but she was used to considering things from Lin Chunhong's perspective and had already considered herself as one of Lin Chunhong's closest people without realizing it. It's also true that the closer people are, the more they quarrel.

  Lin Chunhong understood this point, and in his heart, he was also sweetly enjoying the scolding from Xiao Feng'er.

  "Am I talking to a dead man? Like a wooden stake, he's really gone mad, or why would he not care about ten taels of silver?" Little Phoenix couldn't help but give Lin Chunhong a loud slap on the head.

  Lin Chunhong immediately walked out of the silly smiling state, jumped to one side like a monkey, and then continued to maintain the silly smiling state.

  Little Phoenix was just about to pounce forward, continuing to display her Finger Spring Divine Art, when Zhou Wang, who had just walked into the courtyard, stopped her and said with a wronged tone: "Third Brother is bullying me!"

  "You hit and scolded him, and yet you say that Hong is bullying you. Go back and help your mother with cooking, I have things to discuss with your third brother."

  Xiao Feng stomped her foot and said, "You're all bullying me!" Then she went back into the inner room.

  "Uncle Zhou, have you found someone?"

  "It's easy to find laborers, but it's hard to find hunters. It took two days to find one, why must he be literate?" Zhou Wang said that he himself was literate, but he didn't think it was necessary for low-ranking military officers to be literate.

  "If you can read, you can avoid a lot of trouble. If you can't read and lead over a hundred people, it's barely manageable; if there are several thousand people, you'll have to grope in the dark. Moreover, as a commander, one must know geography; without knowing how to read, how can one read maps?"

  "Whatever, I'll listen to you. Who knows where you came up with these ideas? You're always thinking about things that aren't even real."

  "Those who lack long-term vision will have immediate worries!"