The Favorite of the Sick and Weak Lady - Chapter 27

In the narrow carriage at night, a single quilt separated the two, creating a clear boundary. Song Luoning’s mind was filled with what Xiao Yu had said.

You can’t judge a person by a single event. Was she hinting at herself?

What secret was this person hiding?

“Miss?” Xiao Yu called out tentatively.

Song Luoning paused, unsure of what the other person wanted, but she couldn’t pretend to be asleep.

She gave a low “Mhm.”

Seeing that she was awake, Xiao Yu sat up and leaned her back against the carriage wall. It wasn’t the position she wanted, but there was too little space to move.

“Miss, there’s something I want to tell you.”

Song Luoning furrowed her brows.

The faint moonlight shone through the carriage window, falling on Xiao Yu’s thin shoulders, her expression unclear.

Song Luoning lowered her eyes, slowly sat up, and faced her.

“What do you want to tell me, husband?” Song Luoning asked.

Xiao Yu pursed her lips, pondered for a moment, then took a pouch from her怀 and handed it over.

It was too dark in the carriage. Song Luoning felt a heavy, lumpy object in her palm. Before she could figure out what it was, Xiao Yu’s hushed voice came to her ears: “This is the remaining silver from building the house. I’ll leave it with you to take care of. In the future, I’ll earn more money, and I’ll give it all to you.”

What?

Song Luoning was stunned, thinking she had misheard. Although she couldn’t see in the darkness, the feeling in her hand didn’t lie; it must be silver.

Song Luoning frowned.

Didn’t this scoundrel love money the most? How could she give it to her?

Song Luoning squinted, trying to discern something from Xiao Yu’s face, but it was too dark to see clearly.

Well, it’s not bad for her to keep it. At least this scoundrel wouldn’t mess around.

Song Luoning put the silver away and said gently, “Do you still have any money with you, husband?” She wanted to confirm that the scoundrel really had no money left.

“I still do,” Xiao Yu said.

She had kept ten taels of silver for herself to buy rice.

Upon hearing this, Song Luoning’s eyebrows immediately knitted together. As expected, that scoundrel wouldn’t hand over all the silver for her to keep.

She calmed her feelings.

“You’re busy, husband, and it’s not safe to carry money on you. Why not let me keep it all? You can come and get it from me when you need it,” she said, her voice gentle and magnanimous, like a perfect wife.

There was nothing to fault.

Xiao Yu touched the remaining silver in her pocket, a hint of hesitation in her eyes. To be honest, having no money in this unfamiliar world made her feel very insecure. But since the young miss had said so, Xiao Yu gritted her teeth and handed over the last ten taels of silver.

“This is all of it,” she said, pausing, as if still struggling: “I’ll come to you for it when I need to use money.”

“Mhm, don’t worry, husband. I’m just helping you keep it. You can tell me anytime you want to use it.”

“Mhm.” Xiao Yu’s voice was low, her eyes filled with reluctance.

Song Luoning hadn’t expected Xiao Yu to hand over the silver so readily. She was momentarily in a trance.

She couldn’t see Xiao Yu’s expression in the dark, so she couldn’t judge if it was genuine.

Xiao Yu pursed her lips, still feeling a bit reluctant, but quickly figured it out. It was only right that she gave the silver to her wife to keep. The money she earned in the future would still be given to the young miss.

The young miss is right. She would just get it from her when she needed it.

Thinking this, her mind slowly drifted, and she fell into a daze, dreaming.

In the dream, Xiao Yu’s rice was sold all over Bosheng, and banknotes came to her from all directions, suffocating her.

What’s going on? I can’t breathe!

“Hoo!” Xiao Yu sat up with a start, gasping for air. It was a faint light outside. She saw that the quilt that had been between them was now all on top of her. The quilt had even covered her face.

The young miss had also changed from lying on her side to lying diagonally, with one leg draped over her abdomen. Strands of hair were scattered across her face, and her shirt was slightly open, revealing her fair collarbone, and further down…

Xiao Yu’s breath hitched. She licked her lips, quickly averted her gaze, and didn’t dare to look further down. She quickly put on her clothes and got out of the carriage. The morning air was cool, and it caused a shiver to run through her body, contrasting with the heat she was feeling.

Her flushed cheeks slowly returned to normal.

Xiao Yu went to wash her face, started cooking porridge in the kitchen, then went to the side yard to continue making parts. If she worked hard, she could finish the tulong (rice huller) today. Yesterday, she had already mostly finished the huller basin, legs, carrying pole, scraper, and core; all that was left was to glue them together. As for the huller cylinder part, the hardest part—the bamboo strips—was already done. Xiao Yu planned to try weaving it herself and would find someone to help if it didn’t work.

Unexpectedly, after a few attempts, the huller cylinder also took shape, and the upper and lower cylinders were quickly completed.

The rising morning glow in the east sprinkled across the courtyard. Xiao Yu got up and washed her hands, woke the young miss for a meal, and after breakfast, she went back to the side yard to get busy. She dug some yellow clay, mixed it with lime and plant ash, added water, and then filled and compacted the mixture into the huller cylinder. The bamboo strips she had previously made were used to make the huller teeth.

Unconsciously, most of the day had passed.

The work was heavy, and Xiao Yu couldn’t help but straighten her back and shake her neck a few times.

Although she had been exercising for some time, this body’s foundation was too weak. Not only was her neck sore, but her back was also aching.

Song Luoning had been reading a book in the carriage. The sound of hammering and tapping would occasionally reach her ears. Following the sound, she came to the side yard where Xiao Yu was working.

Xiao Yu was bent over, hammering at a pile of wooden pieces, and when she got tired, she would straighten up and shake her head.

Song Luoning pursed her lips, her gaze falling on that slender back. She pondered for a long time, then turned and went to the kitchen. A moment later, she returned to the side yard, with a pot in one hand and a bowl in the other.

“Husband, take a break and drink some water,” Song Luoning said softly.

“Huh?” Xiao Yu turned her head, and a smile appeared on her face as she saw the person. She took the water. “Thank you, Miss.”

The young miss is so kind.

Song Luoning asked casually, “What are you making, husband?”

She had already figured it out. Since she had arrived in Chenjia Village, this scoundrel had been tinkering with these things and refused to say what they were. Thinking of this, Song Luoning felt a little displeased.

Xiao Yu thought for a moment. Before, she had misunderstood the young miss, so she was unwilling to tell her. Now that she had cleared up the misunderstanding with the young miss, there was nothing to hide.

So, Xiao Yu moved a chair over and helped Song Luoning sit down.

“This is called a tulong. It’s used to hull rice. It’s too much trouble and effort to do it by hand. With this tulong, it will be much easier. Later, I’ll also make a yangshan (winnowing fan), which can replace the winnowing basket, and after that…”

Xiao Yu chattered on, explaining her plans to Song Luoning.

As she listened, Song Luoning’s eyebrows furrowed, and she was secretly surprised. Was this idea really from the person in front of her?

Or…

Song Luoning’s expression remained calm. She looked gently at Xiao Yu, trying to see something on her face.

After a long time, she found nothing, and finally, she smiled faintly and refilled the bowl for Xiao Yu. She said softly, “I have never heard of what you’re talking about, husband. Where did you see it?”

Can these things really be made?

If what this scoundrel said could all be made, it would be a creation in Bosheng’s history, and a lot of labor could be saved in agriculture.

But it sounded like this scoundrel wanted to use it to make money.

Huh?

Where did she see it?

Xiao Yu was stunned. She then remembered that the book Tiangong Kaiwu did not exist in this dynasty. Even if she said it, the young miss wouldn’t know. If the young miss pressed her, she could just play dumb.

“I saw it by chance in a book called Tiangong Kaiwu. I was just thinking of making it and giving it a try,” Xiao Yu explained.

Tiangong Kaiwu?

Song Luoning frowned. She had never heard of this book before. Could this scoundrel be making it up to deceive her?

Then she thought, there were many talented people in the world; maybe it was true. But if it was, why hadn’t it been put into agricultural production?

Or was the person who wrote this book a fraud?

For now, this scoundrel’s words can’t be trusted. She would just go along with her and see what happens after she makes it.

She had received a letter from her father yesterday, and she hadn’t had time to reply. Maybe she could wait two more days.

She would just see if what this scoundrel said was true. If she could really create such a tool that benefited the people, reporting it to the court would also be a blessing for the common people.

Song Luoning pondered for a moment and said softly, “Can you let me see this book you’re talking about, husband?”

As expected, she would ask. Thankfully, she was already prepared. Xiao Yu scratched her head: “I forgot where I threw it. I read it a long time ago. It was just a temporary idea to try to make it.”

Song Luoning nodded, didn’t press the matter, and just watched.

Xiao Yu had no idea what Song Luoning was planning. After she finished her excited explanation, she was thirsty. Fortunately, the young miss had poured her another bowl of water.

After drinking the water, she went to the carriage to get a storybook for Song Luoning, and then she went back to her work.

Song Luoning sat by the side reading the storybook, her gaze occasionally falling on Xiao Yu. Xiao Yu, on the other hand, was focused on her work.

The whole day passed. The tulong was basically finished. As for whether it would work, she would have to wait until it dried.

The next day, she began making the yangshan. To put it simply, this yangshan was a winnowing machine. It relied on a handle that moved a fan to generate wind to separate the husks from the grains. Finally, a stone mortar would be used to grind off the outer layer of the brown rice to make polished rice.

A few more days passed, and after repeated experiments, the rice separation tools were finally complete.

Xiao Yu was overjoyed and shared the good news with Song Luoning immediately.

Song Luoning looked up, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. She asked, “Have you tried it, husband?”

This is what a young miss from a big family is like; she’s so much more composed than Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu shook her head. “There’s no rice at home, and it’s still a while until the rice harvest. I thought I would go and collect some from the farmers first. Unhulled rice is easy to store, so there must be some in the farmers’ homes.”

Song Luoning nodded. “What you said is right, husband. I’ll go get you some silver now.” She then went into the carriage, took out ten taels of silver, and handed it over.

Xiao Yu took the silver. At the grain store, brown rice sold for 600 wen per 100 catties, while unhulled rice was even cheaper, at 300 wen for 100 catties. There was a difference of 300 wen. This was for brown rice. If it was polished rice, it would be at least the same price as flour, which would be 1400 wen for 100 catties.

She could probably make 600 to 700 wen from hulling 100 catties of unhulled rice into polished rice.

Just thinking about it made Xiao Yu excited. She couldn’t wait to take the silver, drive the ox cart, and go door-to-door to collect rice. After two days, she had collected a full 1,000 catties of unhulled rice.

The news spread throughout the village. The village was never short of people who liked to gossip.

“Have you heard? That good-for-nothing Xiao Yu is buying rice again. What is she buying it for?”

“Who knows? She’s been building a new house and getting a wife recently…” The tone was filled with envy.

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