The Daily Life of Farming and Raising Children in Ancient Mountain Residences

Chapter 239: Great Victory

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month in the fourth year of the Wuding era was a good day. It marked the beginning of the lunar month at the governorural school and the evening when Shen Lie was to collect the blade from the blacksmith’s shop.

As dusk approached, a group of people returned from the governorural school. Shen Lie stopped midway to the blacksmith’s shop to pick up the blade. He had just received the forged item from the blacksmith, verified it was correct, and paid the remaining amount. Before he could leave the blacksmith’s shop, he heard a series of gongs from outside.

“Great victory! Great victory! The Da Qi has unified!”

In the first month, even the blacksmiths, who were bare-chested and working, put down their iron tongs and hammers with a clatter and hurried out to the street.

“His Majesty led the army to annihilate the Chen Kingdom. Our Da Qi is now unified!”

“Has King Qi won?” Wei Qinghe and others, waiting outside the blacksmith’s shop, were filled with joy. They were all subjects of the Da Qi and had been hoping for its unification.

“King Qi has won!”

“Our Emperor has won!”

People on the street stopped to celebrate, full of joy, and began spreading the news.

Officials with bronze gongs emerged from the governorural office, announcing the victory in all directions: East Market, West Market, and outside the city.

Shen Lie did not delay. He said, “Let’s go, we should return quickly.”

The victory report would need to be delivered to the surrounding villages as well.

…

As Shen Lie had expected, the news soon spread outside the city. When they returned to Daxing Village, the officials who reported the victory had already made their rounds in the village.

After years of chaos, no one hoped more for the unification of the Da Qi than the common people. In Zhou Village, people were so delighted that they called several villagers to the mountains to cut bamboo and set off firecrackers.

Sang Luo instinctively placed her hand on her abdomen, her eyes filled with joy. Just then, Shen Lie and Shen An returned with the newly made blade heads. Realizing something, she turned and went back inside to retrieve the final draft of the plow design she had redrawn earlier and handed it to Shen Lie.

“Take the plow and this drawing to the governorural Office. It’s spring plowing time, and everyone will need this. Governor Zeng is an upright person who values practical matters and puts the people first. He will not engage in any duplicity, and it will be quickest for him to promote it. The timing is fortunate, coinciding with His Majesty’s great victory. If Governor Zeng is inclined, it would be a good way to celebrate the victory with this plow, and it will repay the favor of those who helped us with that book.”

Shen Lie’s heart skipped a beat, but he did not take the drawing.

Having plowed fields since his teenage years, Shen Lie knew well the advantages of Sang Luo’s new plow and understood that this seemingly insignificant farming tool was truly beneficial to the country and the people. Unlike paper-making, it did not interfere with anyone’s interests. Such a contribution deserved to be recognized by Sang Luo herself.

“Ah Luo, this plow is your creation, so it is right that you deliver it yourself. The office is closed now, so don’t go today. Tomorrow morning, when the county office opens, I’ll accompany you. You can take both the drawing and the plow to the governorural Office.”

A woman should not hide behind others or anyone else, especially when it is her achievement. Shen Lie’s original intention for attending the governorural school was to acknowledge her extraordinary talent and to give her a broad space to demonstrate it. If he were to overshadow Sang Luo’s brilliance, all his efforts would be in vain.

Shen An and Shen Ning understood the situation and nodded in agreement.

“Yes, sister-in-law, this is your creation. It’s right to let the governor know and for the people who will use the plow to know that it was made by you.”

After studying for several years, Shen An had developed a sense of awareness. He sensed that if the plow became widely known, it could be an opportunity for his sister-in-law to gain recognition as a woman of great talent.

Shen Ning’s eyes also sparkled with excitement: “Sister-in-law, go ahead. The court only recruits men for officials and scholars. Why should women be any less? It’s a chance to show them that there are real Zhuge Liang among women!”

The enthusiasm in Shen Ning’s final remark made Sang Luo smile: “What kind of Zhuge Liang am I?”

The plow was the wisdom of her predecessors from another time and space; she was merely the one who transported it here. Thus, Sang Luo had not thought much beyond that the local people needed it. Her intention was simple.

Although she hadn’t expected much from Shen Lie’s trip and knew he would probably acknowledge that the plow was her creation, seeing the seriousness on the faces of the siblings, especially Shen Ning’s bright eyes, made Sang Luo think about it. Why should women be inferior to men?

She reasoned that if the opportunity for learning were equal, the girls in the village would be as capable as the boys.

Even though her going or not going made little difference, from the perspective of enhancing the reputation and influence of women, starting from small matters and from her own achievements was also good.

“Alright, let’s do as An Ning suggested. Let the world know about the capabilities of women.”

…

With the decision made, Shen Lie put away the drawing, said a few words to Sang Luo, and then left for the Zhou family. Not only the Zhou family but every household in the village was visited, except for the newly settled Lu Dalang, who had the most remote land and was hesitant to go out. Even the Shuanzhu brothers, who were talking at his grandparents’ house, came over.

This visit attracted many people. Even Wei Qinghe and Wang Yunzheng came out to watch. Though it was still light, the new plow was assembled and carried to the fields. The entire village was in an uproar, though this excitement was confined to Daxing Village.

A group of farmers took turns pulling and adjusting the plow. It took at least half an hour to clean and return the new plow.

Yes, carried back.

Even though it was something that could be carried by one person, everyone was so excited that Zhou Dalang and Shi Erlang carried it back together.

They were reluctant to leave even after touching the new plow. They had almost wiped off all the mud and water spots from it.

Chen Youtian, who was skilled in carpentry, asked Sang Luo, “Ah Luo, since we are sending it to the office tomorrow, can I start working on the wooden parts at home tonight? I want to get ahead and remove the blade head from the old plow and take it to the blacksmith’s shop for a new blade tomorrow.”

It was clear that the blacksmith’s shop would be very busy the next day.

Sang Luo smiled and said, “The plow was meant for everyone to use, so you can do as you wish.”

The Shen family was lively for a long time, discussing how to present the plow the next day, with each person offering suggestions.

Zhou Cunzheng said, “Tomorrow we need to carry a burden and also strike a gong. The governorural office has given each village a gong. I’ll come and strike the gong.”

“One burden won’t be enough,” Shi Erlang said. “We need two. We should bring both the new and old plows to compare them. How would Governor Zeng recognize the old plow otherwise?”

“This is reasonable.” Everyone nodded in agreement. Zhou Cunzheng said, “Tomorrow morning, everyone should get up early and prepare two wooden poles to carry the burdens. Four strong men carrying them should make quite an impressive display.”

Thinking about the scene, everyone started to laugh. Mrs. Lu said, “We should tie a red cloth on the new plow, for festive cheer.”

Mrs. Xu smiled and added, “We’ll use red silk. I have some; I’ll bring it tomorrow.”

The preparations, including carrying burdens, tying red silk, and striking gongs, made Old Man Chen a bit anxious. “Isn’t this too ostentatious?”

Shopkeeper Xu quickly reassured him, “It’s not ostentatious, Uncle. How can this be considered showy? At this moment, such an auspicious event, it’s a way to bring joy to the court, to please His Majesty, to add to Governor Zeng’s achievements, and to bring blessings to the people. It should be celebrated with great festivity.”

Wei Qinghe also agreed, “Yes, this is something both the government and the Emperor would be happy to see.”

The Da Qi had just defeated the Chen Kingdom. To have the people present a new plow as a celebration means what? It shows that the Emperor has won the people’s hearts and the support of heaven! Those with sharp pens could even write that the will of heaven was embodied in the current Emperor.

After discussing these details, Mrs. Gan said, “Let’s have everyone from our village who can go join in tomorrow. But we should organize a procession, right?”

They began discussing how to arrange the procession. Naturally, Sang Luo would lead the way, with Shen Lie accompanying her, and Zhou Cunzheng would strike the gong, standing on the other side.

They debated the arrangement of the procession from the head to the middle to the end, making a lot of noise as they did. It was quite lively.

Sang Luo knew they were right. Both the Emperor and Governor Zeng would be pleased to see the people organizing something in line with the will of heaven. She just considered it as leading a flag at a school sports event.

…

On the morning of the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, after the evening’s news of the great victory, the familiar sound of gongs began, with the first gong ringing out at the entrance of Daxing Village.

“Villagers of Shezhou, in gratitude to the Emperor’s grace, we have changed from a straight plow to a curved plow, creating a new plow that is more labor-saving and convenient!”

“With the great victory of the court and the unification of the realm, we present this plow at the county office to celebrate the Emperor, the court, and the well-being of the people!”

With the sound of the gong and a loud announcement, Zhou Cunzheng called out, and the young and strong from Daxing Village joined in unison. They did not linger and proceeded directly to the Shezhou city gate.

The initial commotion had already drawn attention. The distance from Daxing Village to the city gate was not too far. When they were halfway there, Zhou Cunzheng struck the gong again and shouted out the announcement once more.

The city gate of Shezhou was bustling in the early morning with many people queued to enter. Moreover, fields along the main road already had farmers at work. Hearing the commotion, how could they not be curious?

Especially when the young and strong from Daxing Village announced that the plow was “more labor-saving and convenient,” who wouldn’t be interested?

Each village had only one ox, and everyone was used to working like oxen themselves. Hearing this, who wouldn’t care?

Farmers stopped their work and, leaving the fields, rushed up the embankment to the main road.

People waiting to enter the city also turned around to see what was happening.

“What’s going on?”

“They say they’ve made a labor-saving new plow?”

“A plow that’s labor-saving?”

“Let’s go and have a look.”

The line was abandoned, and everyone hurried down the dirt road leading to the city.

Sang Luo was right; many people entering and leaving the city gate recognized her. The farmers and vendors who were lining up to enter the city all looked surprised when they saw Sang Luo leading the procession: “It’s Mrs. Sang from Daxing Village! It’s Mrs. Sang!”

Some curious people not from the mountains asked, “Who is Mrs. Sang?”

“Mrs. Sang, a great benefactor, a living Bodhisattva! You don’t know, when we first escaped into the mountains…”

People began to talk about Sang Luo and the years spent in the mountains, with some already greeting her and the people from Daxing Village. Others were mingling with the crowd and asking Mrs. Chen and the others at the end of the procession for more information.

Originally, Daxing Village had only a few dozen people in its procession, but many villagers from outside the city had now joined, creating quite a lively scene.

The city guards, initially confused by the large group approaching, were instinctively preparing to stop them. But upon hearing that they were presenting a plow to the court as a celebration for the unification, and recognizing Shen Lie, who was wearing the scholar’s attire from the state academy and leading the group, they decided not to stop them.

One of the soldiers was sent back to the office to report. After confirming that Daxing Village had only brought the plow and no weapons, they smiled and made way, skipping the usual inspection.

With the group of several dozen people, plus the curious onlookers, moving toward the county office, the city’s residents also came out to watch the excitement.

At the governor’s residence, the city gate guards hurried back with the news. The newly arrived Zeng Sanlang received the message as he was entering the office.

“A plow?”

“Yes, they say it’s a new curved plow that’s more labor-saving and convenient.”

The guard, with a good memory, was about to repeat Daxing Village’s slogans. Zeng Sanlang, hearing the sound of the gong and the slogan, smiled and said, “Inform the Chief Official and the six departmental officials to come out and welcome them.”

He took large strides toward the door.

The Chief Official and the six officials had already heard the commotion and were coming out of the office.

The officials of the governor’s residence all came out to the front, creating quite a spectacle.

Zeng Sanlang suddenly remembered something and waved to Cheng An, saying in a low voice, “Go to the back yard and inform my wife.”