A Good Country Wife-Chapter 685 - 678_1

"That’s right, Erhu’s wife, the water wheel you mentioned is going to cost a fair amount of silver coin to have the carpenter build. Even though it’s your family’s carpenter doing the work, both the timber and labor are expenses. Since it’s for the sake of the village, we can’t just pretend not to know and unfairly benefit from your family. Just tell us how much you’ve spent, and I’ll distribute the cost among everyone." The village chief, a wise man who was indebted to Lin Yue, took the initiative to mention it when he saw that Lin Yue had not brought up the matter of money.

Lin Yue waved her hand dismissively, her main concern was to keep the secret within her family from being exposed, not entirely for the sake of the village. Furthermore, building the water wheel only required some timber and manpower, with no need for particularly valuable wood. All it took was cutting down some trees from the forest; it wouldn’t cost any silver at all. She did not care about such a small sum of money, but to the village folks, even a small amount of silver was hard to come by. After all, with the water disasters and the soaring grain prices, life was incredibly tough.

"I know Uncle Youfu is looking out for me, but times are hard this year, and it’s not easy for everyone to get by. The project just needed manpower, so we can do without the silver coin. When the time comes, a bit of hard work from everyone will suffice."

"Erhu’s wife is truly kind-hearted, considering the hardships everyone is enduring. We’re all grateful. Alright, let’s settle it this way then. If there’s a need for everyone to chip in, just give your orders, Erhu’s wife. If anyone dares to shirk their duties or pull any tricks, I’ll be the first to not let them off the hook."

The construction of the water wheel wasn’t complicated, and with a few carpenters collaborating and working overtime as per Lin Yue’s instructions, it only took a few days to get it done. Under the village chief’s leadership, everyone in the village pitched in and fulfilled Lin Yue’s requirements. Thus, once the water wheel was installed and adjusted, it quickly became functional. The villagers were overjoyed, grinning from ear to ear, as crowds gathered around the water wheel to marvel at this innovative creation.

"This is simply miraculous, it’s just a wooden ring, and yet it can transport water! Erhu’s wife’s mind is exceptionally brilliant, how did she come up with such an amazing invention?"

"Yeah, with this water wheel in our village, we won’t have to worry about irrigation anymore, it’s really a great thing."

"Our crops are saved now. Even if it doesn’t rain, we don’t have to fear that they’ll wither and die. Erhu’s wife is our savior. Whenever we face difficulties, she’s the one who helps us find a solution. She truly has the heart of a Bodhisattva."

The villagers chatted excitedly around the water wheel, their words filled with joy, happiness, and gratitude. Some passersby from neighboring villages also came over upon seeing the crowd and discovered this curious spectacle. Upon hearing from the Zhao Family villagers about the function of the water wheel, they took careful mental notes to share with their own villages upon return. Consequently, the neighboring villages started coming to the Zhao Family village to seek Lin Yue’s guidance for commissioning their own water wheels.

Lin Yue did not charge her own villagers and even paid some expenses out of her own pocket, out of village camaraderie. But the other villages were a different story; Lin Yue wasn’t foolish enough to build them water wheels for free. Considering everyone had a tough time making ends meet, she didn’t charge them excessively, quoting a reasonable price, which left those people feeling grateful.

The villagers initially approached the matter with caution, suspecting that Lin Yue would demand a high price when the time came, and they would have to bargain. To their surprise, Lin Yue offered the lowest price right off the bat, much lower than what they had anticipated. As a result, Lin Yue inadvertently gained a reputation for generosity, a pleasant, unexpected gain.

Once the drought issue was resolved, Ceng Lu’s side still wasn’t settled. Those people continued to linger outside the residence, so Lin Yue simply closed the door and focused on her embroidery, not venturing outside, which made Ceng Lu less likely to find an opportunity.

"Madam, Madam, bad news! The young masters have been kidnapped by mountain bandits. They say it’s the bandits from Longhu Mountain. They demand that you bring a silver note of five thousand taels and go to this address in person to pay the ransom." A panicked servant rushed in without announcement, abandoning all propriety, a clear sign of extreme distress,

Lin Yue, noticing that this servant was the one she had dispatched to the city to drive the carriage for Dalang and his brothers because he was particularly clever and stable, chose him out of many others. Now the servant stood before her with a face full of panic and fear.

Hearing the content of the servant’s message, Lin Yue was startled, her complexion changed, and then she felt puzzled. "What happened?! You said Dalang and his brothers have been kidnapped by bandits from Longhu Mountain, and that I should personally bring a silver note to redeem them?"

Lin Yue found this ridiculous and unreal. Had someone else captured Dalang and his brothers, Lin Yue might suspect business rivals, but the servant claimed that the kidnappers were bandits from Longhu Mountain. How could that be possible?

Not to mention that she had a good relationship with the bandits from Longhu Mountain, in addition to having conducted business with them and helped solve the gang’s livelihood issues, which made them treat Lin Yue with warm respect. Others might be unaware, but Lin Yue knew very well in her heart. She kept her favorable relationship with Longhu Village hidden from the Court for fear of provoking trouble, so only a few trusted and close individuals were in the loop.

Considering that Longhu Mountain, at the very quickest, was two or three days’ journey away, and it was highly improbable for its people to travel such a long distance to kidnap someone. Moreover, given Lin Yue’s rapport with the bandits there, it wouldn’t make sense. Clearly, someone uninformed about the actual situation was misusing the name of Longhu Mountain to abduct Dalang and his brothers.

Seeing the disbelief in Lin Yue’s eyes, the servant passed her a letter from the bandits. "Madam, this is the letter left by the bandits; they instructed me to hand it to you."

Lin Yue took the letter, opened it, and indeed found the written threats demanding her personal delivery of the ransom, along with the bold letters at the end claiming to be the "heroes of Longhu Mountain."

"Madam, is there something wrong?" The servant noticed Lin Yue’s contemplative expression and, recalling the incident, started to sense something amiss himself. He had been too flustered and concerned for the young masters’ safety to think it through at the time.

"When Dalang and his brothers were taken, you were present. Do you think those men seemed like bandits?"

After pondering for a moment, the servant shook his head. "I don’t know what bandits should look like, so I can’t say if they resembled them. They were all wearing headscarves and covering their faces, though. The leader, despite having his face covered, seemed somewhat familiar to me. I’m not sure where I might have seen him, but even his accent sounded familiar to me."