novelblue
Chapter 243 - 243 243 Post(2)_1
Chapter 243 - 243 243 Post(2)_1
?Chapter 243: Chapter 243 Post(2)_1 Chapter 243: Chapter 243 Post(2)_1 “A small tool used to crack open walnuts,” Lin Ziyin replied frankly. After all, they’re just tools. There’s no use hiding it from him.
“You are not focusing on what’s important,” Si Jinhan remarked disdainfully. “If you have time for such trivial matters, why not put more thought into inventing useful weaponry for the Prince? That way, you’d justify his and grandfather’s protection of you.”
“I’m just a village girl, creating weapons is beyond my expertise. You must have confused me with someone else,” Lin Ziyin responded dismissively.
Should she introduce firearms? No, of course not.
The destructive potential of firearms – as a modern woman, she was well aware of it. She didn’t want to introduce such devastating methods of death to these innocent villagers due to her involvement.
Therefore, she remained reticent. Whenever Si Jinhan dropped hints, she played dumb and used feigned ignorance to dodge his questions.
“Ziyin, here we are!” A loud voice broke off the heated exchange between the two of them.
“Shouldn’t you be calling her ‘Madam Lin’? Know your manners.” Another voice nagged the speaker.
“Yes, of course,” the man admitted his mistake.
“Third aunty, Granny Wu, Sixth Sister-in-law,” Lin Ziyin greeted warmly when she noticed the arrivals. They’re all villagers, and she couldn’t afford to be indifferent to them.
“Madam Lin, what can we help with?” the loudmouth asked.
Lin Ziyin looked up – the loudmouth was Wu’s daughter-in-law, a hearty, upright woman who loved to meddle but was popular in the village. She had lent a helping hand when tragedy struck the Lins.
While her relationship with her family wasn’t as close as it was with the Bai family, Lin Ziyin did not forget her kindness.
“Third aunty, be patient please,” Lin Ziyin, smiling, said as she stood up. “I invited you all here today with the goal of choosing a few from among you to work at the workshop.”
“Doing what?” Wu’s daughter-in-law was instantly aroused. Being able to work at the workshop was definitely a notch above farming.
“Patience, let Madam Lin finish,” Granny Wu scolded, agitated. Despite being younger than Wu’s daughter-in-law, the generational hierarchy meant that the younger woman was quite afraid of her.
“Darn my big mouth!” Seeing Lin Ziyin standing there with a smirk on her face, the bigmouth recoiled. She feared that such behavior would lead to her exclusion from workshop employment. She instantly adopted a more subdued stance and refrained from speaking further.
“I need those who are quick, detail-oriented, and clean. If you meet these criteria, you can stay,” Lin Ziyin stated flatly.
Upon hearing these requirements, Granny Wu and the others released a sigh of relief. These were not significantly difficult criteria to meet; they were country women who were used to toiling – slowness was an unlikely trait among them.
“Please sit and select the best seeds,” Lin Ziyin directed while pointing towards the long table.
Seeing that the table was already laden with numerous small sieves, winnowing baskets, long sticks, and a heap of seeds, the villagers rushed to secure a spot at the table.
The serious seed-picking process began.
Extracting the small seeds proved challenging and before long, everyone had grown frustrated. They lamented the laborious process, fearing that regardless of their industriousness, they wouldn’t have much to show at day’s end.
“It’s so tedious, Madam,” a young woman queried, “Can’t we use the winnowing baskets?”
Lin Ziyin nodded, “You’re free to use any tool.”
With her approval, everyone set to work with renewed energy.