minions live

Chapter 106 Prosperity Together

After hastily eating the meal, Li Hezhu didn't have time to think about why Ren Ning didn't take the initiative to propose marriage.

She hurried back to the study and continued to read the tall books on the table.

After checking, her brows almost pinched mosquitoes to death.

Guangxin County has three crops a year, theoretically enough food.

However, theory is theory, and the actual grain output is not high.Even if you cook three times a year, many places will still be left out.

In addition, her grandfather took in a lot of retired and wounded soldiers and arranged them to work in the farm below.These wounded soldiers were not lazy, but they lacked arms and legs, and no matter how hardworking they were, their efficiency was not high.

The output is not enough, but there are many people to support.Li Hezhu had no choice but to move his owner to Buxizhuang, but after racking his brains, he was still a little overwhelmed.

"If only a caravan came!" She sighed silently.

Guangxin County has a unique geography, and some specialty products are very popular in the north.For example, various tropical fruits to eat, various trees for building houses, and even mosquito repellent powder or detoxification powder (yao).

The mosquitoes, ants and snakes here are big and numerous. In order to survive, the mosquito coils and snake medicine used by Guangxin people are the best in the world.

Even the mosquito repellent powder that Ren Ning brought over from the imperial capital also originated here.

It's just that the situation in the south is uneasy. Most caravans only dare to go to Baihua County to purchase medicinal materials or fishery products, and then turn back to the north in a hurry.

Obviously Guangxin County is next door, but not many caravans dare to come over.

Just after lunch the next day, Wu Tong rushed into the study with her skirt in hand.

"Girl," she pointed back to the front yard, out of breath, "Mr. Ren just came back from going out in the morning. Now please go over and say that we have something important to discuss."

Li Hezhu was refreshed, and quickly asked someone to dress up, "What are you doing out in the morning, Mr. Ren?"

"The servant girl is not very clear," Wutong guessed, "Maybe he is going to invite a matchmaker."

There are no parents around the young couple, so it is easier to talk about a lot of things with a matchmaker as an intermediary.

Li Hezhu was noncommittal, and asked the maids to dress up before Shi Shiran went to the guest courtyard in front.

In the guest courtyard, Ren Ning set up a large pot, beside which were the natural rubber he cut back, and a pot of pungent yellow substance.

"Is this sulfur?" Lei Erjiao put it under his nose and sniffed carefully.

The hot climate here in Guangxin is not good.Regardless of adults or children, all kinds of scabies and malignant sores are prone to occur in the hidden places under the armpits, which are not only itchy and painful, but also contagious, making people miserable.

However, as long as it is fumigated with sulfur for a few days, it can almost be cured.In addition to the bad smell, the treatment effect is good, but it is miraculous.

"It's indeed sulfur. I just went out to buy it this morning." Ren Ning handed Lei Er a piece of wood, "Carve out the sole of a foot."

On the way to send the spirit back to his hometown, the boy had nothing to do. He once carved a lifelike wooden figure, and finally gave it to a three or four-year-old girl as a toy.

Lei Er nodded and stretched out his hand, "Your saber."

Apart from the binoculars on Ren Ning, what Lei Er envied the most was this saber that cuts iron like mud.

When he was in the fortress, he once went to the forging camp to find someone to help him build one.

It's just that I don't know what's going on, although the construction battalion has used several weapons, but Lei Er always feels that those weapons look like gods, and they faintly lack a sense of aura.

Ren Ning gave him the saber.

Lei Er couldn't put it down and played with it for a while, "Can ordinary feet be enough? Or do you have any special requirements?"

Ren Ning shook his head: "There is no requirement, as long as the carving is similar to your foot."

Lei Er stopped talking and began to carve the wood creakingly.

When Li Hezhu walked into the guest courtyard with Wutong, what he saw was such a scene.

Among the three men, Lei Er was carving wood carvings, Ren Ning was preparing the powder, and Xiao Gang was preparing to light a fire under the stove.

Wood carving?

Are you carving a wild goose?
It was too late to start work at this time.

But better late than never.The girl comforted herself like this.

cough!
Li Hezhu coughed lightly, "Young Master Ren, what are you doing?"

"Make shoes!" Ren Ning raised his head and smiled, "Miss Li is here!"

"The smell here is a bit unpleasant, the girl can sit in a ventilated place first. We will finish our work soon."

For shoes?

Everyone, including Lei Er and Xiao Gang, glanced in amazement at the thousand-ply cloth shoes or animal skin shoes under their feet.

Li Hezhu gritted her silver teeth even more.

These people may lack something, at least shoes will not be missing.

Ren Ning explained, "There is a lot of rain and mud here in Guangxin, and cloth shoes and wooden shoes are hard to use. But because of the hot weather, animal leather shoes look like fire, so I am going to buy a pair of rubber shoes."

"Rubber shoes?" Several people looked at each other, "I've never heard of them."

Ren Ning laughed.

"So please pay attention, girl, and be careful not to let the craftsmanship spread to the outside world. This kind of shoes is light and does not hurt the shoes, waterproof in rainy days and warm in winter. No matter the hot south or the cold north, there is a lot to do. In the future, it is guaranteed to be popular throughout the entire empire and even the mainland."

He glanced at Li Hezhu, who was suspicious at first, "At that time, Miss Li won't have to worry about money or food in the village."

In the past in Yanzhen Fortress, as long as Li Hezhu's marriage was not mentioned, Ren Ning could still chat with the veterans guarding the tomb, but he knew the situation of Tieguai Li's hometown.

Li Hezhu was not the only one who was short of money, the Second Young Master Xiao who was beside him also cheered up and worked hard to light the fire.

The current Xiao Gang is 100% convinced of Ren Ning.

Ren Ning mixed the ratio of natural rubber and sulfur, put them in a cauldron and roasted them over high heat. After a while, the two were heated and melted, and they became liquid again and fused together.

The cooked rubber is ready.

"How long will it take to carve the soles of the feet?" Ren Ning asked.

"Soon." As soon as Lei Er heard about making shoes, he knew that there was no need to make them too finely, so he roughly carved a shape.

It's hard to wait for him to fix it.

"It's time to turn off the fire!"

After Ren Ning finished speaking, he picked up the pot and poured the vulcanized rubber inside into a square box larger than the sole of his foot.He took the wooden sole of Lei's second hand, pressed it into the hot glue, and waited.

Half an hour later, the rubber finally cooled and solidified, and after removing the wooden sole and the box underneath, a shoe that could be stretched into appeared in front of everyone.

After all, the soles of the feet were carved out in a hurry, and they didn't fit very well.Moreover, the periphery has not been trimmed, and it is very square and ugly.But it is obvious that it can be used as shoes. In addition, throwing it into the water and then shaking it out twice makes it drip and not stick.

Lei Er tried it on, "It's really waterproof, and it's as light as cloth shoes. I just don't know if this kind of shoes are durable?"

The appearance and pattern are not a problem, and if it is repaired by others, it will be as beautiful as it is then.The main thing is performance, not to mention animal leather shoes, as long as they can be as durable as cloth shoes, then this kind of shoes will have a lot to do.

Ren Ning smiled: "I can assure you that it is more durable than cloth shoes, similar to animal leather shoes. But it is much cheaper than animal skins."

No one cares about the rubber forest outside, and the materials are almost free.Animal skins are not cheap, and large quantities of cattle, sheep and livestock have to be brought back from Xiliang every year to be used.

Xiao Gang hurried over to try it on, he laughed and said, "If it's true what Brother Ren said, then we're going to be prosperous."

Ren Ning didn't speak.

He mixed the raw materials again, melted them and cooled them down, and when the temperature was about the same, he soaked a piece of cloth in it.It took a while to get it out.

"The cloth is waterproof when dried and can be made into a raincoat."

"Raincoat?" The others were at a loss.

Ren Ning nodded, and put it another way, "It's the coir raincoat."

"There is a lot of rain here in Guangxin. The coir raincoat that I usually wear is heavy and bloated, and it is not waterproof."

"This kind of cloth just happens to be used. It is very good to make raincoats whether it is sold to the common people or the army. Leaving aside the civilians, at least we don't have to worry about the bloated coir raincoats that make us run slowly, or get wet and get sick."

(End of this chapter)