The Princess of Northern Land
Chapter 353: A Brand New Machine (7)_1

Chapter 353: Chapter 353: A Brand New Machine (7)_1

"What is this?" Because Lin Changshu and the old man had been busy, one in the bean product workshop and the other constantly overseeing the shipment in the greenhouse, they had never set foot in the yard where Lin Ziyin was assembling her machines. They were taken aback when they suddenly saw the lump of metal that had been put together.

"This is a hand-pushed weeder that also serves to till the soil," Lin Ziyin answered with a smile, demonstrating it on the spot for them. "Grandfather, older brother, look, one person can easily weed seven or eight acres in one morning."

"It really works." Witnessing the outcomes firsthand, Lin Changshu and the old man’s interest was piqued. As farmers themselves, they knew very well the laboriousness of farming. The most land one can typically weed in a day is just over an acre. They had never imagined that this weeder made weeding and tilling so easy without damaging the roots of plants.

"This is a manual multi-functional seeder. A person can plant five or six acres of beans or corns in a day with ease. It’s not tiring and the crops it sows are evenly spaced, both in rows and between plants," Lin Ziyin had Lin Changshu try it himself.

"It really is quite easy." Delighted, Lin Changshu handed over the seeder for the old man to try it out.

"These are all great things."

"I’ve also made some adjustments to the water wheel. It can now be powered by the water falling from the dam in the river, making future watering a lot easier," Lin Ziyin said with a smile.

"Good, they are all good." The old man, full of joy in his heart, ran his hands over the variety of mini tools.

"What is this big lump of iron?" Lin Changshu was unable to figure out the strange-looking tractor’s function after staring at it for a long time.

"This is a steam propelled Tie Niu (Iron Bull). It can plow fields and do the work of ten oxen in a single day. Plus, it never gets tired," Lin Ziyin said, climbing into the driver’s seat. "However, it needs a special kind of fuel which the prince hasn’t sent over yet, so it’s not operational for now."

"It has no mouth. How does it eat?" The old man was astounded.

"How would it not have one?" Lin Ziyin replied, chuckling as she swung open the hatch up front, "Isn’t this its mouth?"

The old man and Lin Changshu climbed up to have a closer look but couldn’t figure out why the large hole was supposedly the bull’s mouth. Unable to fully comprehend it, they simply decided to spare Lin Ziyin their confusion and stopped questioning further.

Lin Ziyin was not a capitalist. When Lin Changshu and the old man mentioned taking a holiday, she immediately began to regret. She had ignorantly mixed up the past with the present. There were no refrigerators or online shopping in ancient times. In her workshop, workers only had two days off per month. Since they were always busy with work, they didn’t have much time to buy New Year goods. Fortunately, there were still three days left until the New Year, so if they got the next day off, the villagers would have two days to prepare for the New Year.

"Grandfather, stating from tomorrow afternoon, all workshops will be closed. Notify everyone to finish their ongoing work. We will pay them their wages and bonuses in the morning. We will also deliver some New Year goods to them," Lin Ziyin said, patting her forehead.

"Alright, I’ll notify everyone right away." The old man cheerfully departed.

Some eager workers were overjoyed to hear that they would get the next day off. That night, many of them voluntarily worked overtime. As the main production in the Lin Family’s workshop was food, the workshops that had prepared excessive raw materials didn’t want to create waste by failing to finish their work on time.

Lin Ziyin was very generous indeed. Not only had she paid the working villagers their full wages, but she also rewarded them with year-end bonuses based on each workshop’s profitability. The bonuses varied in size depending on the shares held.

The highest bonus received by workers in the oil workshop and vinegar factory was as much as five taels of silver.

The New Year goods she handed out were also plentiful. Each person received twenty eggs and six catties of tofu. Furthermore, every household received a roast duck, six catties of meat, a chicken, two pounds each of leek and bean sprouts, and two white jade cakes. Even if the workers didn’t buy any New Year goods, they could still have a very prosperous New Year.

The village workers having holiday meant that the academy would also be closed.

The holiday-making children ran around the village like wild, clamoring to accompany the adults to the market to buy New Year goods.

With money at hand, the villagers naturally did not skimp on their children. They jointly approached Lin Ziyin, borrowing the cattle and mule carts from the Lin Family and Lou Zheng’s households for a collective trip to the market.

Lin Ziyin was not stingy at all. Apart from keeping one mule cart for Lin Changshu couple to send gifts to both families, she lent out all the carts.

While the people of Shili Village were enthusiastically preparing for the Lunar New Year, Prince Chu Suifeng’s recent days in Feng City were not going so well.

The capital’s last batch of grain and military wages didn’t arrive on time. The Emperor dismissed their situation with just an imperial edict, excusing it due to the drought in Daqin and reduced crop yield in many places.

"Daqin has vast lands. Every time there’s a drought or flood somewhere, the court uses it as an excuse to deduct grains and military wages from Feng City. They’re clearly deliberately making life difficult for the prince," a soldier fumed indignantly in the study room.