In the evening, Little E finally ate the long-craved rice again.
The little girl devoured a large bowl in one go, not counting the meat soup. If Jin Feng hadn’t worried about her overeating, she could probably have eaten another half bowl.
“Dear, I’ve put you through so much…”
Guan Xiaorou escorted Jin Feng to the workshop entrance, her face full of guilt. “I married you and brought my family’s troubles with me…”
There was only one bed at home, clearly not enough for three people.
Although the east wing had been tidied up, there was no bed. Letting Little E sleep on a door plank was out of the question, so Jin Feng had to sleep in the workshop for the time being.
“Silly girl, what are you talking about? We’re family, there’s no such thing as trouble.”
Jin Feng ruffled Guan Xiaorou’s hair. “Besides, Little E is so well-behaved.”
In this world, there were too many pitiful people. Jin Feng couldn’t help everyone, but Guan Xiaorou was his wife. He couldn’t just watch her sister starve without lending a hand.
Sleeping in the workshop wasn’t a long-term solution. There were no carpenters in West River Bay, so Jin Feng called on Zhang Liang and Man Cang. They went to town, bought half a cart of wooden planks and a set of carpentry tools, and he got to work himself.
With Jin Feng’s skills, it took only one day to build a small bed.
Then he started making a spinning wheel for Guan Xiaorou.
It was delicate work, and with backward tools, progress was slow.
“Hasn’t Jin Feng stopped going hunting for days?”
“Yeah, I saw him tinkering with wood at home.”
“A few days ago, I thought he’d changed his ways. Who knew, now that he has some money, he’s back to being lazy.”
“Didn’t Xie Guang steal his money?”
“He stole most of it, but Jin Feng still had a few strings of copper coins.”
“That’s not a small amount.”
“How long can a few strings of coins last? If he keeps idling, what will he eat?”
…
The village women had hoped Jin Feng would go to the back hills to give them courage, but after waiting days without seeing him, they came over and found him doing carpentry at home. Naturally, they started gossiping again.
Even Lin Yunfang couldn’t stand it. A few days later, seeing Jin Feng still hadn’t gone out, she couldn’t help but visit to persuade Guan Xiaorou.
“Xiaorou, the village is starting to talk. Tell your husband not to idle at home…”
“Cousin, he’s not idling. He made me a spinning wheel, and it’s amazing. I can spin in one day what used to take five.”
Guan Xiaorou said excitedly.
In those days, with no factories, aside from farming, the only income for rural families came from women spinning thread in their spare time.
Hearing that Jin Feng’s spinning wheel could do five days’ work in one, Lin Yunfang followed Guan Xiaorou into the east room.
The spinning wheels in Da Kang were usually the ancient hand-cranked kind, with just one spindle. You had to crank the wheel with one hand and spin the thread with the other, which was not only cumbersome but painfully slow.
Jin Feng’s spinning wheel was foot-powered, freeing up both hands and adding four spindles. The spinning speed soared, and it was far less tiring.
Watching Guan Xiaorou spin a large ball of thread in mere moments, Lin Yunfang’s eyes practically sparkled.
Forgetting her original purpose, she exclaimed in awe, “Xiaorou, this spins so fast. Your husband is so clever. How did he come up with it?”
If she had a spinning wheel like that, she wouldn’t need to dig wild vegetables. With a few women in the family taking turns spinning, it would be enough to feed everyone.
From that day on, Jin Feng’s house became lively again.
All the village women came to see Guan Xiaorou’s new spinning wheel.
When they saw it was truly several times faster than the old ones, they went wild, begging Jin Feng to make them one too.
But Jin Feng refused them all.
What a joke. It took days to make one spinning wheel, with several blisters on his hands for just one. How could he have time to make one for every woman in the village?
Unable to persuade Jin Feng, the women settled for the next best thing. When Guan Xiaorou wasn’t using it, they brought their thread to have a go.
Guan Xiaorou suddenly became the most popular person in the village.
Even Little E became someone to curry favour with. Every woman who saw her would call her charming.
One gave a handful of wild vegetables, another a handful of wild fruit.
Little E was overjoyed.
The news soon reached Guan Family Bay, even drawing Guan Xiaorou’s best friend, Tang Dongdong.
After watching Guan Xiaorou’s demonstration, Tang Dongdong nearly jumped with excitement. “Xiaorou, this is a treasure. How can you let people see it so casually?”
“They’re just neighbours. What’s wrong with letting them look?”
“What’s wrong? This is a treasure that could be passed down for generations, you know?”
Tang Dongdong, throwing caution to the wind, slapped her thigh and asked, “Where’s your husband?”
“He’s busy over there.”
Guan Xiaorou pointed to the blacksmith’s shop.
Tang Dongdong didn’t hesitate, pulling Guan Xiaorou along.
“That… that spinning wheel, was it your idea?”
Tang Dongdong had meant to call Jin Feng brother-in-law but stopped herself.
“Yeah, what about it?”
Jin Feng put down the iron block in his hand, smiling.
“Have you told anyone else about it?”
Tang Dongdong pressed.
“No?”
“So, this is the only spinning wheel like it in the world?”
“Probably,” Jin Feng said. “What are you getting at?”
“I’m saying, how about you sell that spinning wheel to me?”
Tang Dongdong said, “I’ll offer ten taels of silver, no, fifty taels. On the condition that you forget about this spinning wheel and don’t make another for anyone else.”
“Do you even have that much money?”
Jin Feng asked curiously.
Fifty taels of silver wasn’t a small sum. Didn’t Guan Xiaorou say this girl was nearly reduced to joining a bridal escort?
“I don’t have that much now, but if you lend me the spinning wheel, I’ll bring the silver in a month.”
Tang Dongdong said confidently, “I can write you an IOU.”
“Are you planning to take this spinning wheel to the city to borrow money or find someone to partner up for a weaving workshop?”
With that, Jin Feng understood.
This was just like modern-day financing.
Make a product, then sell it or find investors to fund production.
This mindset was common in the modern world, but for Tang Dongdong to think of it surprised Jin Feng and piqued his curiosity.
This wasn’t your average city girl.
When making the spinning wheel, he’d also considered starting a weaving factory, but it could disrupt the entire industry and involve too many complications. After much thought, Jin Feng felt the timing wasn’t right and set the idea aside.
“You thought of that too?”
Tang Dongdong was surprised that Jin Feng had guessed her plan. “If you know this spinning wheel could fetch a fortune in the city, why let people see it so casually? If someone copies it, it won’t be worth much.”
“If they copy it, so be it. I’ll just improve it again.”
Jin Feng said nonchalantly.
The spinning wheel was made to keep Guan Xiaorou occupied, with only the most basic improvements. Compared to modern looms, it was as slow as a snail.
If Jin Feng wanted, he could tweak it further and boost efficiency by dozens of times.
“This spinning wheel can be improved even more?”
Tang Dongdong’s eyes widened in shock.
