amaotonovel Chapter 25 Is this official a poor student?
Chapter 25 Is this official a poor student?
When Limpy Wu arrived at the county government office with Zhang Wangshi and several women who were good at making steamed buns, Yang Shaofeng had already instructed the women in charge of cooking at the county government office to prepare flour, and even the wild vegetables used for the filling had been cleaned and prepared.
Upon seeing Yang Shaofeng, Zhang Wangshi and the other women immediately knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Greetings, Your Excellency! Your kindness is as vast as the sea, and we will never forget it!"
Yang Shaofeng smiled and waved his hand, then reached out to help him up: "You've come at the right time. I've been thinking about it and I'm planning to let you open a steamed bun shop. Firstly, it will be convenient for me and Brother Limpy Fifth to eat, and secondly, it will give you a livelihood."
Zhang Wangshi had always kept in mind what Limpy Wu had said earlier. When she heard Yang Shaofeng say that he wanted them to open a steamed bun shop, Zhang Wangshi respectfully kowtowed to Yang Shaofeng again and said, "I will obey your orders, sir."
Yang Shaofeng nodded, and after gesturing for Zhang Wangshi and the other women to stand up, he pointed to the flour and wild vegetables that had been prepared and said, "You all fled to Heshan to avoid disaster, so you probably don't have much money. If you want to make other kinds of buns, I'm afraid you don't have the capital to do so."
"These wild vegetables happen to be free to buy. Why don't you try making buns with them? As long as the taste isn't too bad, I and Brother Limpy Fifth will be happy to patronize your business."
"Besides, if the people in the county town are busy with farming, they often have to get up very early to cook, and they can only make do with a quick bite at noon. If you can open a steamed bun shop, it will be convenient for the people in the town."
"Furthermore, I have inquired and found that one pound of flour can make about a dozen buns. Currently, flour in Ningyang County costs about seven copper coins. If you ask the people in the city or your relatives to buy it, the price should be even lower."
"Based on the calculation that one pound of flour can make thirteen buns, and each bun sells for one coin, seven coins' worth of flour can make buns that can sell for thirteen coins."
"The extra six coins are the money you can earn on your own. If you spend them frugally, you should be able to save some. Even without the help of your family, you can stand on your own two feet."
"Once autumn comes, wild vegetables and such will be out of season, then we'll think of other solutions."
Listening to Yang Shaofeng's analysis, point by point, all of which were for the sake of how people like them could make a living, Zhang Wangshi's eyes reddened, and she knelt down to Yang Shaofeng again with a thud: "My lord, I was ungrateful yesterday and almost failed your kindness. I deserve to die!"
Yang Shaofeng smiled nonchalantly, offered a helping hand, and said, "I know your concerns, and I will not blame you. If you are truly afraid of disappointing my good intentions, then you should think carefully about how to make these wild vegetables into buns."
Madam Zhang gave a heavy "hmm," then wiped her eyes with her sleeve and said, "Don't worry, sir, we will do our best and will never slack off."
Yang Shaofeng nodded, signaling Zhang Wangshi and the other women to go and figure out how to make delicious buns from wild vegetables, while he himself turned and went to the study in the backyard of the county government office.
It's not enough to just have these women make steamed buns. After all, Ningyang County is only so big, and there are only about 700 people in the county. Moreover, most people would rather cook for themselves than go out to eat steamed buns. It would be good enough if Yang Shaofeng, Bo Wu and others could barely keep the steamed bun shop afloat.
If we really want to completely solve the livelihood problems of these women in the widow village, the most important thing is to find them more ways to make a living.
For example, Yang Shaofeng had previously envisioned a kerosene lighter made from a grinding wheel.
If they can successfully develop a kerosene lighter, it will not only solve the problems of the women in Widow Village, but also benefit all the people in the eight communities and sixteen villages of Ningyang County.
No, Ningyang County is no longer just eight communities and sixteen villages.
With the women of the widow village moving to the county seat, Ningyang County has now become eight communities and seventeen villages, and the population has suddenly increased by a staggering thirty-six.
Thinking of this, Yang Shaofeng couldn't help but smile and shake his head. Then he prepared his brush, ink, paper and inkstone and began to write and draw.
The working principle of a kerosene lighter is very simple: when in use, the grinding wheel is rotated to rub against the flint, and the sparks produced by the flint splash onto the kerosene-soaked match cord to ignite the kerosene. When not in use, it can be extinguished by simply blowing it out.
The kerosene problem is easy to solve, since the Zhongyuan Hall had already begun researching the uses of petroleum as early as the Song Dynasty.
In his Dream Pool Essays, Shen Kuo wrote: "There is petroleum in Fu County. It is said that Gao Nu County produces 'oil water', which is this... This substance will surely become very popular in the future. I am the first to produce it. Petroleum is abundant and inexhaustible in the earth, unlike pine wood which is sometimes exhausted."
The Ming Dynasty was not short of oil either, and there were even oil wells specifically for oil extraction in the future.
If we can really develop a kerosene lighter with a grinding wheel, we won't have to worry about running out of fuel anymore.
Moreover, there's a famous saying on the internet in later generations: horse farms easily breed Han soldiers, fertile fields easily breed Tang soldiers, silver mines easily breed Ming soldiers, and adding oil fields to the mix doesn't seem to be a problem.
After sketching and drawing for a while, Yang Shaofeng suddenly stopped writing, as if he had been frozen in place.
That stupid grinder lighter needs a spring!
Yang Shaofeng stared blankly at the various parts on the blueprints—oil hadn't stumped him, nor had any of the other parts, but a tiny, inconspicuous spring had stumped him.
Is this piece of junk made of steel, iron, or some other random stuff?
If it's made of steel, how does molten steel become a spring?
Should I first set up a blast furnace for steelmaking?
Then, how did they manage to build that broken blast furnace?
Even if we have a blast furnace, won't we still have to figure out how to make molds?
The more Yang Shaofeng, the magistrate, thought about it, the more confused he became, and he even felt as if the bald-headed brigade leader had possessed him.
As we all know, after a certain bald-headed captain established his power in a corner of the East China Sea, he always doubted that he was a weakling in combat. Now, even Magistrate Yang Shaofeng can't help but start to doubt that he is a poor student.
After thinking for a long time without coming up with a solution, Yang Shaofeng, the county magistrate, simply stopped thinking about it and went to the county government's kitchen after leaving the study.
When Yang Shaofeng arrived at the kitchen, he saw that Limpy Wu was holding a flint with a small ball of tinder on it in his right hand and rubbing it against a piece of iron in his left hand.
Then, just as the five-star general cured the bald-headed captain's anxiety, Limpy Five also cured Yang Shaofeng, the county magistrate.
Who says a lighter has to be lit with a flint?