Chapter 60 As Expected

"Alright, everyone, hurry up and water the fields. In the afternoon, if you have nothing to do, don't just stay at home beating your wives and children. Go to the coal cake workshop on the west side of the village. You can earn two pounds of rice, either glutinous or non-glutinous, whichever you prefer. If you don't want rice, you can take copper coins. If you don't want copper coins, finish your work and get out of here. I don't need any fools who work for free."

The scene erupted in laughter, and some of the women, while laughing, couldn't take their eyes off the short-haired doctor.

"Let's go, let's go, go sign up with Zhang Tietou!" someone shouted, and everyone rushed off, forgetting about the water they were supposed to carry.

Sun Guozhen found this strange and followed the crowd, walking slowly. Chen Xie approached, bowed, and said, "Greetings, sir. I am Chen Xie, styled Si Hua, the local landlord."

Sun Guozhen smiled and returned the bow, "You have good eyesight. I have taken your medicine and it cured my cold."

Chen Xie was clearly taken aback and then bowed deeply, "Greetings, Your Excellency!" Sun Guozhen was surprised, "What, Si Hua, are you an official? Or did you buy a title?"

This wasn't a random question. Ordinary people would call a county magistrate "sir" and kneel. If you didn't kneel, you must have a title or an official position. If you were a military officer, it was even more serious, and a third-rank military officer would kneel to a fourth-rank civil official according to the unwritten rules.

Chen Xie understood these rules but didn't have the habit of kneeling. Sun Guozhen asked, and Chen Xie replied with a forced smile, "I bought the position of a militia commander, appointed by the magistrate of Dengzhou."

Sun Guozhen couldn't help but laugh, without any real dissatisfaction. Chen Xie wasn't an ordinary person; he was a divine doctor, so he couldn't be treated like a commoner.

"This Magistrate Wang is quite shrewd. A mere militia commander can be appointed by a county magistrate. No need to pay, and he can make some silver." This was what Sun Guozhen thought, but he said, "I see. A militia commander isn't an official. Si Hua is no ordinary person, so there's no need to follow the usual rules. Let's go, I want to see what makes this cart so popular."

The cart Chen Xie mentioned was an advanced version of a wheelbarrow. Before they walked too far, they saw a couple pulling water. The woman carried a child on her back, pulling a rope in front of the cart, while the man pushed from behind. The cart carried eight aluminum buckets, with leaves inside to prevent the water from spilling.

Sun Guozhen said, "Is this the cart? I'm curious, why are these buckets so strange?"

Chen Xie thought, of course they are strange; they are aluminum buckets from the modern world. It would be strange if you didn't find them strange.

"The cart is still a wheelbarrow, but it has been slightly improved." Chen Xie ignored the aluminum bucket issue and stopped the couple, whose man was Zhang Erzhu, a simple farmer.

"Take a break, the sir from the city wants to see the cart." The couple quickly knelt and bowed. Sun Guozhen noticed two supports at the back of the cart, which kept it stable when stopped.

The principle was simple: three points determine a plane. Sun Guozhen didn't understand this, and Chen Xie didn't explain it.

"Stand up!" Sun Guozhen didn't pay much attention to the couple and walked around the cart, saying, "The wheel is wrapped in iron, and the rest seems the same."

Chen Xie smiled and stepped forward, "Please look here, the axle is made of fine steel and has a bearing. Just add some oil to the bearing daily, and it saves a lot of effort. Look here, this is a wooden frame for carrying water, with the buckets in the middle, preventing them from tipping over."

Sun Guozhen didn't understand this, but one of his guards did. He turned to the crowd, "Let someone try pushing it to see if it's different from a regular cart."

A guard stepped forward, "I'll try!" He grabbed the handle and lifted it easily. When he pushed, he found it didn't take much effort and exclaimed, "It's light, really light. One person can push it, so why two?"

This question was a bit silly. The couple looked at Chen Xie, who stepped forward and said, "Pushing it once is easy, but what about all morning? They start before dawn and push water until noon, finishing the fields by afternoon."

Sun Guozhen saw the guard's embarrassment and stepped forward, smiling, "Good! Good! Good! With this cart and deep wells, the drought is no longer a concern."

The cart continued on its way, and the group moved forward. Sun Guozhen had many thoughts. The buckets aside, where did the bearings, valves, and flexible hoses come from? They said Chen Si Hua returned from America; could these be American things?

At the village entrance, they saw a house surrounded by dozens of villagers, likely those who came to collect the carts.

"Si Hua, why do you need so much coal?" Sun Guozhen couldn't help but ask. Chen Xie smiled, "Your Excellency will see soon enough."

Sun Guozhen soon saw a shed with brick and stone walls on three sides and one open side. Villagers were busy mixing mud, coal, and water, adding a bit of wood chips, and pouring the mixture into a mold. After pressing it flat with a wooden board, they flipped the mold to reveal a coal cake with many small holes.

Chen Xie stepped forward, "This is called a honeycomb coal cake." He pointed to a coal stove, "Your Excellency, look. The honeycomb coal burns continuously in this stove. Farmers use straw for fuel, but city dwellers don't have this convenience. This stove is small and portable, with a chimney to prevent the toxic fumes from staying indoors."

Sun Guozhen quickly lost interest. He was concerned about the drought, not the fuel. He didn't stay long and didn't care about Chen Xie's business.

"Si Hua, it's the time of year when food is scarce, and there's no rain. I want to help the people, but the treasury is empty. I can only hope the gentry of Dengzhou will be generous. I believe, in such a great act of kindness, Si Hua will not lag behind." Sun Guozhen was direct in asking Chen Xie to donate money and grain.

"Xie will not fall behind!" Chen Xie gave a vague answer. What does "not fall behind" mean? If others donate, I will too. Expecting me to donate more doesn't seem reasonable.

This answer was within Sun Guozhen's expectations, but it was still a face-saving gesture for the governor. Chen Xie wasn't a long-standing local landlord; he was a returnee from abroad. How much could he have? Besides, he had already solved the problems in Zhangjia Village. What more could be expected?

"If all the gentry and large landowners were like this, the drought in Dengzhou and Laizhou would not be a concern." Sun Guozhen could only sigh, not expecting much from the upcoming fundraising efforts.

He left Zhangjia Village in a hurry, seeing nothing but a different kind of landlord and a divine doctor. How to solve the drought in Dengzhou and Laizhou depended on the local officials' capabilities. Regardless, Chen Xie left a good impression on Sun Guozhen, at least as a landlord willing to help the locals. Chen Xie wasn't yet considered a gentry.

Sun Guozhen left without even having lunch, which surprised Chen Xie. Watching him leave hurriedly, Chen Xie felt a bit helpless. The governor came to find a solution to the drought, but what he saw wasn't suitable for widespread implementation in the region. Chen Xie's help with the disaster was voluntary. Could other landlords and gentry do the same? Clearly, they couldn't.

Sun Guozhen's worries were not Chen Xie's concern. Chen Xie's actions in Zhangjia Village were to build his reputation. In this era, a good reputation was crucial. When Chen Xie became the most renowned landlord in Dengzhou, doing things would be much easier.

After returning from the modern world, Chen Xie focused on the construction of Zhangjia Village. The school's construction was slower than expected. Without modern machinery, efficiency was low. Even with cement, it only helped a little.

According to Wen Bajin's estimate, the school wouldn't be ready until July. This had to be put on hold. Chen Xie turned to supervising Zhang Tietou and having people build a water reservoir. After half a month of work, the upgraded wheelbarrow and the reservoir were completed. The reservoir was no small matter. Historically, the Chongzhen era saw continuous droughts for seventeen years, getting worse each year. It couldn't be taken lightly. The wheelbarrow's importance would be evident in future wars. For now, it gave Zhang Tietou a chance to expand his business. The wheelbarrow and coal stove were two profitable ventures, and Zhang Tietou had already recruited over thirty skilled workers. The divine doctor owned 40% of the business, so settling these people in Zhangjia Village was easy, just a matter of building some shelters.

With a full meal, finding workers wasn't a problem in the Ming Dynasty.

Zhang Tietou was now a small capitalist, thanks to Chen Xie's support. His business expanded rapidly after the New Year. Similarly, people like Wen Bajin, with skills and abilities, also saw their wealth grow rapidly due to Chen Xie.

Magistrate Wang Ting of Dengzhou invited the gentry and large landowners to a gathering at the government office. As expected, Chen Xie received an invitation. He rode into Dengzhou City at night and met Zhang Yao to discuss the matter.

Zhang Yao was dismissive, "This is nothing unusual. Local officials always do this. When there's a disaster, they report it to the court with great fanfare. They ask for money and grain from the court and demand donations from the people. After all the collection, very little actually reaches the disaster victims."

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