Shipin Dalizheng

Perhaps feeling that he had neglected Minister Qu, Rong Tang apologized, "There aren't so many rules in the countryside. Please don't blame me, sir."

Minister Qu laughed heartily. "Don't blame me, don't blame me. My ancestors were farmers, but they grew rice paddies in the south. If we had a good thing like the water dragon back then, we wouldn't be dying of drought or floods. Prince Rong has truly brought blessings to farmers all over the world."

Rong Tang readily put the credit on Tang Fuyun, "This is all undeserved credit. I don't understand the mechanical principles. I saw the blueprints from somewhere else, and I'm also very confused. If you want to talk about ability, it has to be Young Master Tang. He can understand things that others can't understand, and he can even build them. He is truly the lucky star of Dayue."

Minister Qu has never seen anyone push away credit. Tang Fuyun was able to build it, but that was just copying. Without the blueprint, nothing can be built. These two people are indispensable. Oh, how can I find a way to get closer to them...

As he was speaking, Rong Dashan came running over and said, "Prince Tang, the water truck is here, and there's a different big one, a round one."

When Rong Tang heard that the automatic water truck had arrived, he dropped his unfinished bowl and ran out. The rest of the people also quickly swallowed the last bit of rice and ran to the river.

There were quite a few people coming back from the Ministry of Works. In addition to the Sima family's father and sons, uncles and nephews, there were also many craftsmen, and the villagers from various villages were crowded together.

Rong Tang realized that having too many people was not a problem, so he ordered the villagers in each village to take away the water hose trucks they had ordered. He randomly asked one or two craftsmen to help direct the installation, and the rest of the people were responsible for handling this new round big thing.

More than twenty strong men from the village, plus five craftsmen, spent the entire afternoon installing and debugging the waterwheel. At dusk, the waterwheel finally started to turn on its own. The water in the barrel was scooped from the river, turned to the highest point, and flowed upside down into a specially built large bamboo tube and was transported to the ditch on the shore.

The craftsmen were overjoyed and hugged each other to celebrate. They had already found the hand-pulled or foot-operated water dragon carts that had appeared a few days ago incredible, but as long as they put in some thought, they could understand the principles behind them.

Today, this big guy is said to be able to work day and night without human power, which has overturned their cognition and is a groundbreaking thing.

Before it was shipped, even the craftsmen involved in the manufacturing made a bet. Nearly half of the craftsmen believed that it would not succeed, while the other half hoped that it would succeed.

Now that it has succeeded, it seems unreal to everyone as if they are in a dream.

One villager was very excited and said, "Since this is so labor-saving, shouldn't every village switch to this method, saving manpower for other things?"

Sima Xin was amused. "What are you thinking? This thing is very picky about where it's going. Without a rapid stream, there's no power, and without power, not a single drop of water can flow out. Most villages don't have this condition. Besides, a machine like this would cost over a hundred taels of silver. Are you sure you can afford it?"

The villagers from some unknown village shrank their heads and fell silent.

Minister Qu was standing to Rong Tang's left, and like everyone else, he wanted to hug Rong Tang and celebrate. Rong Tang keenly sensed his motives, turned around and pushed Tang Fuyun over, "Brother Tang, explain the principle to Lord Qu."

I have to say, Tang Fuyun was quite professional. From then on, he held Master Qu's hand and kept talking until nightfall...

After sending away the people from the Ministry of Works, a few sneaky figures caught the attention of the villagers. When they were caught and questioned, they were found to be from Dahong Village, but their surname was not Hong, but a random surname among the villagers.

When Village Chief Hong returned and explained the situation, he learned that buying a water truck for their village was six times more expensive than for other villages. Of course, they were unwilling to do so. Village Chief Hong could not raise the money, so the matter was left unresolved.

Later, some villagers spread word of Rong Shizi's offer: if they could drive out the families of Hong Xiucai and Hong Tongsheng, he would sell them the waterwheel at a lower price. But how could one drive someone out so easily? The Hong clan was proud of Hong Xiucai and Hong Tongsheng, and they couldn't bring themselves to say anything harsh, ultimately only offering a few words of advice behind their backs.

But apart from the Hongs, the villagers with other surnames were unwilling to accept this. They weren't surnamed Hong, and they didn't need the Hong scholar or student, so why should they be implicated? So a dozen households discussed it and tried to talk some good words. These villagers kept begging, hoping Rong Tang would sell them one at a lower price.

Rong Tang asked about their situation. Dahong Village had over thirty scattered families with different surnames, and together they were on par with the Hongs. He immediately had an idea, "I can sell it to you at a lower price, but there are some conditions. The Hongs are not allowed to use it. If they do, I'll have them taken back immediately."

The villagers agreed. Rong Tang saw that with the automatic water truck, the simple hand-pulled model was no longer needed, so he ordered it to be dismantled and a new one to be sent to Dahong Village for installation. The total price was seventy taels. Even this made the villagers feel both happy and worried.

The good news is that they have a waterwheel and the price is not expensive. The bad news is that although it is not expensive, it is also very expensive. The combined price of the more than 30 households has to be paid by each family with two taels of silver.

Rong Tang acted like a good guy now. "Don't be afraid. You can owe me money first and pay it in installments. If the workshop has arranged the labor force of the seven villages and there are any extra positions, we can arrange for you to work there."

The villagers were very grateful. They paid a down payment of 20 taels, signed the repayment agreement and left.

There are still six of them, all of which are foot-operated models. There is also one that Mayor Gao bought for someone unknown. The news has spread, but he hasn't come to take it away yet.

It was not until dark that Mayor Gao arrived with dozens of villagers.

Mayor Gao rode on his donkey, cursing as he walked, "Damn it! I was just going out for a drink, and you're all looking for me like the sky's falling. I've already given you money, how can Prince Rong withhold it? You good-for-nothings."

The leader looked like the village chief, with his head hung down listening to the lecture.

Seeing Rong Tang still wandering by the river, Mayor Gao dismounted and laughed dryly, "Prince Rong, excuse me for laughing. This is from Gaojia Village. They feel that someone surnamed Gao has offended you. They have a village headman, but they couldn't get your fast horse to sign a contract for growing sorghum. They were afraid that you wouldn't sell them a water truck, so they asked me to be their middleman. I told you, Prince Rong, you're not that stingy. We're from the same town, how could you show favoritism? Pull it back quickly; it's all ready to be loaded with water."

Rong Tang was certainly not such a petty person. (Village Chief Hong: We don't accept it) He asked the villagers to help the Gao villagers load the ox carts, and then sent two craftsmen to guide the installation.

After finishing, Rong Tang called Mayor Gao aside and said, "I didn't say that other villages can't grow sugar sorghum next year. I just need to give them a heads up in advance to see if they have enough seeds."

Mayor Gao was delighted. "You are so kind, my prince. I will go to each village tomorrow and ask if there are any willing to plant. I will count them and give them to you."

It would be great if the whole town was willing to plant, so that his political achievements would be greater. After saying that the matter was settled, Mayor Gao happily returned to the town in the dark.

The next morning, the villagers who took turns watering the fields by the river came to the compound and called him, saying that there were villagers from far away who also wanted to buy a water truck and asked if he could sell them one at a low price.

After washing up, Rong Tang went to the river with him. He saw Rong Dajiang talking to a dozen villagers across the river. He didn't know what they were talking about, but Rong Dajiang just shook his head and said, "No, it's too little. It's too much to pay."

Just don't agree.

Rong Tang walked over and asked, "What's the matter, Uncle Dajiang?"

The dozen or so villagers turned to look at him together. Their dark, thin, and withered faces made Rong Tang feel like he had re-entered Guanyin Village. They were all hunched over, with numb expressions.

When more than a dozen villagers saw him, they all knelt down because of his majestic demeanor, which was undoubtedly the legendary Prince Rong.

"Prince Rong, help me."