Chapter 22: Eternal Trivial Matters

  The shortage of silver in the Qin mansion was seen and remembered by Qin Yu, who bid farewell to Qin Qiong when leaving the mansion, saying he would return to Yongnian for a few days as there were still some matters to be dealt with. Qin Qiong didn't ask much, only reminding him to come back early so as not to delay the wedding.

  The next day, Qin Yu set out with two family servants and headed for Yongnian.

  Although they will be living in Clear Wind Residence from now on, Yongnian's side has not only taken in refugees but also planted over a dozen acres of vegetables. No matter which aspect, Qin Yu needs to go and deal with it. Moreover, the children of Zhangjia Village have not finished their studies yet, so Qin Yu also needs to discuss the children's issues with the village head.

  Furthermore, the silver is insufficient, of course, mainly Qin Qiang's silver, otherwise the amount of ginseng would not be reduced, and Qin Yu naturally wants to seize the opportunity to make money.

  For now, brewing seems like the best option. Qin Yu has already found a brewer and will naturally bring him back to Chang'an.

  After three days of rushing, when Qin Yu arrived in Yongnian, he immediately returned to his mansion in Yongnian. However, Xiaotao, Xiaohong, and Wangcai were not there. Qin Yu had no choice but to head to the foot of Taihang Mountain, where the refugees built their houses and also where Wangcai and others worked.

  Qin Yu arrived at the place and saw two water wheels rotating, a mill gate built with two water wheels, logs being carried in by people, then cut firewood was carried out, loaded onto horse carts, smiled slightly, "Not bad."

  The mill can be considered a sideline, not only can it produce flour for itself, but also take it out to rent, although the price is small, it's still an income, Qin Yu generously left this income to the refugees.

  It's not that much, but it's enough to cover the cost of repairing the waterwheel, and there's still some left over. Qin Yu won't take this to heart, nor is it necessary, but in order to avoid any conflicts among the refugees because of this, a rule was made: the remaining money will be used after discussion by everyone, and does not belong to anyone individually.

  The refugees were naturally grateful, Qin Yu not only solved their land problem but also invested in building water carts, digging wells and building houses to solve the problem of food and clothing. One by one they called him a great philanthropist. Moreover, Qin Yu's reputation was indeed spread through the mouths of these refugees.

  In less than ten days, Qin Yu's reputation spread throughout the surrounding counties of Yongnian. This also attracted many refugees to come, otherwise Wangcai and others would not be so busy.

  At this moment, the well in the field has not been drilled yet, because it is temporarily not used for irrigation. The refugees are all building houses for themselves. Not far away, you can see a busy crowd of people, big and small, old and young, all busy moving things and building houses.

  Qin Yu was about to leave, but suddenly heard a loud shout, "Master, it's Master who has returned." It was a sharp-eyed refugee at the mill who saw Qin Yu and hastily shouted with excitement. In an instant, the refugees in the distance stopped their work one after another, looked over here, and then rushed over.

  The two little girls, Xiaotao and Xiaohong, ran the fastest. Of course, there were many refugees who were faster than them, but they intentionally or unintentionally stayed behind the two girls. Behind the two girls was Wangcai.

  Xiao Tao and Xiao Hong were dusty and tired, with a look of exhaustion on their faces. However, they looked at Qin Yu with an expression of extreme surprise and delight, their eyes revealing a deep longing and nostalgia. As soon as they arrived by Qin Yu's side, the two hastily paid their respects and then called out in unison, "Young Master."

  It was only natural for the two of them to be like this because of Qin Yu's kindness towards them, which they deeply remembered in their hearts. In this era, which master would be so approachable and have meals with maids, and even care about them?

  "Ah, you two have worked hard." Qin Yu smiled and said, lovingly touching the two little maids' heads.

  Two little girls have a lot to do, but it's not complicated. They need to run around and work hard, which is exhausting. After all, the labor of over 1,000 people needs to be recorded, and rations need to be distributed based on how much they've done. How can they not be tired?

  Xiao Tao and Xiao Hong suddenly felt that their efforts over the past few days had finally been recognized, and it was all worth it no matter how hard or tiring it was. They both revealed satisfied smiles.

  At this time, Wangcai stepped forward and knelt down to the ground with a "thud". Qin Yu was taken aback for a moment. At that moment, Wangcai spoke up, "Please forgive me, young master. A few days ago, some refugees came again, and I took it upon myself to let them stay."

  Xiao Tao and Xiao Hong's faces stiffened, but they had just forgotten this matter due to excitement. The two of them looked at Qin Yu with a mixture of anxiety and unease before kneeling down together, "Young Master, please forgive Father (Uncle)."

  Qin Yu's mouth opened wide, and for a moment he didn't react, but when he saw the crowd gathering around him, he immediately understood that there were absolutely more than a thousand people, and it was terrifying to think that there were at least three thousand people.

  The newly arrived refugees looked at Qin Yu with anxiety, after a few breaths, "whoosh" they all knelt down on the ground, regardless of whether they were original or new, after all, they were all refugees, and they understood each other's difficulties, still hoping that Qin Yu could take them in.

  "Everyone get up, I didn't say I wouldn't take you in." Qin Yu hastily shouted, he hadn't spoken earlier, only because he was momentarily stunned, adding a few thousand more people wasn't a big deal, it was just a matter of a few hundred taels of silver, which Qin Yu could afford.

  The refugees all let out a sigh of relief and then shouted loudly, "Thank you, sir!"

  "But this rule can't be changed, is it? Idle people are not needed here. We can also open up farmland in the mountains, but for now, let's focus on building a good house. It's almost autumn, and living in a house is much better than being exposed to the elements. So, let's all work together!" Qin Yu raised his hand to signal the refugees to be quiet, before shouting out with a serious face.

  The refugees naturally heard clearly and understood Qin Yu's rules. One by one, they revealed happy smiles and shouted loudly, "Thank you, sir!"

  "Cough cough, don't call me old master anymore, if you must shout, shout young master, I'm not that old yet." Qin Yu coughed a few times before speaking.

  "Thank you, young master." The refugees hastily changed their tune, each one beaming with smiles.

  Qin Yu saw Wang Cai, Xiao Tao and Xiao Hong still kneeling on the ground, and hastily opened his mouth to say, "Get up, I don't blame you, this is a life-saving merit, how can I blame you?"

  "Thank you, young master." Wang Cai, Xiao Tao and Xiao Hong said in unison, having obtained Qin Yu's promise, Wang Cai finally breathed a sigh of relief.

  Cai Langzhong suddenly appeared from somewhere, with fresh blood still on his hands. Qin Yu took one look and knew that Cai Langzhong had gone to conduct another experiment.

  The refugees retreated from Zhai Lang's place, making way for a large area with a mixture of respect and fear on their faces.

  "Good day, young master." Cai Langzhong said with great respect.

  "Uh-huh, you'll stay here for now. With more people around, we need to pay extra attention to hygiene or it's easy to get infectious diseases like dysentery." Qin Yu nodded and said.

  "Don't worry, young master, I've been keeping an eye on things, nothing will go wrong." Cai Langzhong said with a serious expression.

  Cai Langzhong was so respectful, yet Qin Yu had told him some medical precautions and explained the causes of infectious diseases to Cai Langzhong. Although it was quite superficial, Cai Langzhong treasured it like a precious gem and had already considered Qin Yu as his mentor in his heart, wanting to become his apprentice. However, Qin Yu was after all just an amateur and insisted on not accepting Cai Langzhong.

  During this period, Cai Lang's medical skills made rapid progress, and the experiments were earth-shattering. Unfortunately, there was little progress, but Cai Lang was still receiving Qin Yu's salary and regarded Qin Yu as his mentor, doing things with all his heart and soul.

  Qin Yu inquired about the recent situation and then left some silver with Wang Cai to buy some grain. With more people, there was not enough food, and since they had all been taken in, how could they let the refugees go hungry?

  Qin Yu specially instructed Wangcai that after the house was built, he must dig more wells. Although his memory is vague, it seems that some years of the Tang Dynasty were severely drought-stricken. In order to avoid not having enough water at that time, these wells are a must-dig, and not only dig, but also dig more.

  The sweet potatoes and potatoes grown in the Taihang Mountains are taken care of by a special person, and Qin Yu has already informed the person in charge of taking care of the sweet potatoes and potatoes. However, to prevent the sweet potatoes and potatoes from being spread too early before Li Shimin spreads them, Qin Yu also repeatedly instructed that they must not be leaked out.

  Sweet potatoes and potatoes will take a year or two to form a scale, and it's estimated that it will take three or four years for them to spread throughout the Tang Dynasty. By then, ordinary people will hardly go hungry unless taxes are too heavy.

  Three corns' outer skin has withered, and whether the later ripening is successful or not can only be known after planting them. When Qin Yu was ready to return to Chang'an, he brought the corn along with a box containing modern clothes, leaving it in Yongnian wasn't an option either.

  It's worth mentioning that the waterwheel and curved plow were discovered by the county magistrate, who wanted to call in Qin Yu's carpenters and blacksmiths to make some for Duo Duo, mainly the curved plow. After all, this is a matter of great benefit to the country and the people. However, these techniques all originated from Qin Yu, so no carpenter or blacksmith dared to respond, not even the county magistrate.

  For this reason, the county magistrate was furious, but there's nothing he could do. After all, Qin Yu is the maternal uncle of the Cheng family. At this moment, the county magistrate still didn't know that Qin Yu had acknowledged his ancestors and returned to his roots. If he knew, he would be even more afraid.

  In fact, not only the county magistrate but also the wealthy families in Yongnian discovered the wonders of the curved-share plow. Especially Cui Wen, many carpenters here came from Cui Wen. Unfortunately, these carpenters refused to help persuade Zhang Tiejiang and even dissuaded him from making curved-share plows for others.

  It's actually very simple, Qin Yu is easy-going with people, understands technology, and pays a salary, so this group of craftsmen have made up their minds to follow Qin Yu. No matter how much money others offer, they can't buy recognition, equality, Zhang Tiejiang is the same, so this curved plow is not even worth fighting for.

  Many people came to steal the curved shaft plow, of course, the waterwheel was too big and couldn't be stolen, but the curved shaft plow could. However, it was beaten by many refugees, who thought that this was Qin Yu's thing and their treasure, how could they let others steal it?

  Qin Yu learned of the news and couldn't help but smile, hastily bringing the drawings to Zhangjiacun, planning to print thousands and tens of thousands of copies, spreading them throughout the Tang Dynasty. This would not only benefit the country and its people, but also allow craftsmen to earn extra money, and he himself could gain some reputation.

  Qin Yu didn't want to be spied on by so many people, and the curved plow wasn't some high-tech thing; once someone else got their hands on one, it was basically the same as telling them how to make it, so he might as well just take it out openly.