Chapter 214 - Chapter 214: Chapter 210: New-style Loom_1 (1/2)
Chapter 214: Chapter 210: New-style Loom_1
Translator: 549690339
A few days later, the weather suddenly became muggy, followed by light rain.
The rain grew heavier and it went on for three days straight before it stopped.
Most of the villagers had already dried their golden and silver fungus, packed them in cloth bags, and stored them in bamboo buckets.
By November, drum signals from the county called upon every household to send one person for mandatory labor service.
The service was to repair the city walls and clean the rivers running through the county, estimated to last about a month.
Jiang Sanlang organized a village meeting and told the villagers, “Steward Zhou will be coming over these few days to buy fungus, so prepare the golden ears you intend to sell by weighing them exactly. Don’t mix in any spoiled or moldy ones to avoid disputes.”
The last time they sold golden fungus, a few households had mixed in moldy ones which caused friction when discovered by Zhou Mao.
If it weren’t for his intervention, Zhou Mao wouldn’t have bought any fungus from those households.
Chen Yin said, “Third brother, rest assured, our golden ears selected are top-notch, absolutely no spoilage.”
Chen Zhu also said, “Same here in my household.”
The rest of the villagers also pledged to avoid such situations this time.
After discussing the golden ears, Jiang Sanlang went on to discuss the cotton and its seeds.
“For cotton and its seeds, save enough for your own households, and sell a portion to the county government. Later, Sun Licheng will come to our village to weigh and purchase them.”
This year, their Dongchen Village became the focus of the county magistrate. During cotton harvest, a trusted adviser Mr. Liao from Mingfu was sent for an inspection, and 20,000 jin of cotton seeds and cotton was prearranged.
All these cotton and its seeds have to be sent to the prefecture city, and from there the city will hand them to the Ministry of Revenue. So, this quantity must be met.
“But the 20,000 jin of cotton seeds don’t seem to be a big deal. It’ll be enough if every household contributes a few hundred jins.”
“That’s right, Sanlang, rest assured, there won’t be any mistakes even if you hadn’t mentioned it.”
“We’ve set aside our cotton and seeds, prepared to sell 800 jin to the county government.”
“Yes, yes! We’re doing the same thing!” The villagers chimed in their agreement.
This year’s cotton and seeds were not as tight as last year’s, each household planted over twenty acres.
Jiang Sanlang and his two brothers planted even more. They planted forty acres each on the South Slope. The harvested cotton could fill several rooms.
Fortunately, Yingbao provided the blueprint for a cotton ginning machine. Jiang Sanlang had a very skilled carpenter from the town produce it. The machine was fast and convenient to use.
Jiang Sanlang didn’t keep this to himself. He shared the cotton ginning machine with the other villagers, freeing them from the tedious process of manually ginning the cotton.
So, when Jiang Sanlang asked them to sell a portion of their cotton and seeds to the county government, the villagers readily agreed.
After all, the price offered by the county government was not as high as the merchants from outside. If the villagers sell more to the government, they would lose the same amount of money.
Having given instructions on cotton and its seeds, Jiang Sanlang started to register the names of those who would be going for labor service. This list would then be handed over to Sun Licheng, who would report to the county government.
The next day, Jiang Sanlang, leading a group of villagers and carrying tools, headed towards the county city.
It was over a hundred miles from Chuanhe Town to the county city. They estimated that it would take two days on foot.
Though Yingbao felt sorry for her father, there was nothing she could do. She could only give him some pills, and a couple of bottles of body-strengthening tonic for him to sip when he felt tired.
The day after the villagers set off for forced labor, Zhou Mao arrived in Dongchen Village with two horse carts.
He first went to Jiang Sanlang’s house, sat in the hall, and chatted with Old Man Jiang.
When he saw the premium golden ears Jiang family brought out, he was a bit surprised, “Why is it only 20 jin?”
Old Man Jiang stroked his beard and laughed, “Isn’t it always around 20 jin each time?”
“But I heard you clearly last time. You said that the quantity you planted this time is more than usual.” Zhou Mao looked suspiciously at Old Man Jiang: “Don’t tell me you sold it to others?”