Chapter 156: The First Shovel

Is there an expression like "long live understanding"? Old Liu was now very close to reaching that standard.

After being stunned for a long time, Liu Yitiao finally came to his senses. He nodded at Old Liu and said very sincerely, "Thank you, Dad." After that, he picked up his chair and walked into the house.

"This child," Old Liu chuckled and shook his head, then picked up his chair and followed him inside.

"Dad won't stop you from digging a well, but there are still some things you need to listen to Dad about." Old Liu put down his chair, bent down to sit, and looked at Liu Yitiao seriously. "This time when you went to Chang'an, you were gone for a whole month, and there was hardly any news from you at home. Your father-in-law's family was even more worried sick. That brother-in-law of yours ran over to our house no less than ten times this past month. Now that you're back, you must find some time to visit their place, report that you're safe, and set their minds at ease."

"Mm, I know, Dad. I'll go to Xiaoxinzhuang tomorrow—no, I'll go tonight," Liu Yitiao agreed, nodding. That bookworm Zhang Chuwens must have run over so frequently because someone was constantly urging and pleading by his side. It meant someone cared about him and had him on their mind.

A sweet feeling involuntarily rose in Liu Yitiao's heart, just like the cozy warmth when Minmin used to call in the middle of the night on his business trips to say she missed him.

"Dad, I have some things to do this afternoon and won't have much free time. Later, I'll have to trouble you to help prepare some gifts for me to take to my father-in-law and the others tonight. Make sure they are generous ones, and it's best to bring a couple of bottles of good wine so I can share a couple of drinks with my father-in-law and brother-in-law," Liu Yitiao sat down and said to Old Liu.

"Mm-mm, that's a must. Just wait, Dad will go get them arranged for you right now, and I guarantee everything will be properly sorted." Old Liu was also a man of action. Impetuous and easily stirred, no sooner had he sat down in the chair than he stood right back up. After greeting Liu Yitiao and Madam Liu, he stepped out the door.

"Yitiao, what is your father off to do? Why is he in such a flurry? This old man," Madam Liu walked out of the inner room holding little Hui, looking at Old Liu's hurried retreating figure, and asked Liu Yitiao with some puzzlement.

"Hehe, Mom." Liu Yitiao stood up, helped Madam Liu sit down in a chair, and smiled. "I'm going to Xiaoxinzhuang this evening to pay my respects to my father-in-law and mother-in-law. See, no sooner had I finished saying it than Dad rushed off to buy gifts."

"Oh, is that so? That's only right." Madam Liu nodded upon hearing this. She put little Liu Hui down on the floor to let her play by herself, and then smiled at Liu Yitiao, saying, "You really should go pay a visit. Over this past month, your father-in-law's family has worried no small amount for you."

"Especially that girl Chuchu. Every time Mom went to the in-laws' place, Chuchu would pester Mom, asking around in a roundabout way for ages, terrified that you might encounter some accident out there. That girl is truly thoughtful. Even before crossing the threshold, she already knows how to care for someone. Entrusting you to her in the future sets Mom's mind at ease. You mustn't treat her unfairly, or Mom won't let you off—let alone your dad!"

Hearing the tone of Madam Liu's words, there was even a hint of coercion. A cold sweat couldn't help but well up on Liu Yitiao's forehead, and he nodded repeatedly in agreement, while inwardly pondering: Didn't they say that mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law are natural enemies? How come his dear mother was so fond of this future daughter-in-law? She seemed even more affectionate toward her than to her own biological son.

"Alright, Mom still needs to go to the silkworm room to tend to the mulberry silkworms, so I won't keep you company. You go ahead and get busy too." Madam Liu stood up, said a word to Liu Yitiao, and pulled little Liu Hui into the small silkworm room next to the kitchen. There were still tens of thousands of mulberry silkworms waiting for her to feed in there, and Madam Liu had been kept exceptionally busy lately.

Liu Yitiao got up and went into Liu Ertiao's study. He asked Liu Ertiao for some paper and a brush, and drew a diagram of a tool most suitable for digging wells right now—the shovel.

Yes, the shovel, an indispensable agricultural tool in modern farming labor.

Liu Yitiao had noticed long ago that in this era, it seemed there was no such thing as a shovel in existence. Usually, when people hoed the ground and turned the soil, they used a wooden-bodied, wooden-faced implement with an iron-rimmed cutting edge. It looked remarkably like a dustpan commonly used nowadays, and using it was exhausting work. If you tried to dig a well with it, you wouldn't hit water even after digging for two months.

Furthermore, the structure of a shovel is simple and its production is not complicated. Requiring only a wooden handle and an iron blade, the village blacksmith should be able to forge it quite easily. Liu Yitiao swung his brush and outlined the general silhouette of the shovel. This was much simpler than drawing the curved-mold plow diagram.

"Eldest Brother, what are you drawing? Why does it look so strange?" Liu Ertiao curiously crowded over, picked up the drawing paper on the desk, and looked at the large-headed shovel Liu Yitiao had drawn, turning it up, down, left, and right without understanding.

"This is called a shovel, a farming tool for hoeing the ground and..." Liu Yitiao reached out to take back the drawing paper, carefully flattened it out, and explained to Liu Ertiao, "Its function is similar to a traditional tool, but it's a hundred times easier to use. When necessary, it can even replace a plow for turning the soil."

Seeing that Liu Ertiao still wore a puzzled expression, Liu Yitiao put away the paper, tucked it into his bosom, and said to him, "It's hard to understand these things just by looking at pictures. Once Uncle He at the east end of the village crafts it, you'll understand as soon as you use it once. Right, I'm going to find Uncle He now. We have to start digging the well tomorrow, and we won't get anywhere without a good tool. If we rely solely on old-fashioned digging, by the time we hit water, the day lilies will have gotten cold."

"Day lilies? What are those?" Liu Ertiao asked once more.

"Uh, nothing, nothing, just a new vegetable in Chang'an City," Liu Yitiao hurriedly glossed over it with a vague explanation. "You study hard at home. The provincial examination is in three months, so prepare well. Eldest Brother has to go out for a bit, so keep an eye on things around the house."

"Mm, I know, Eldest Brother." Liu Ertiao acknowledged and saw Liu Yitiao out of the study.

Returning to the courtyard, Liu Yitiao gave a word to Madam Liu, then led Wuhen out.

At Blacksmith He's house, Liu Yitiao took out the drawing paper, handed it to Uncle He, and said, "Uncle He, see if you can help me forge this item? I have urgent use for it here."

Uncle He took the paper, glanced over it with a sweeping gaze, and asked Liu Yitiao curiously, "Yitiao, what is this? Is it a kind of shovel?"

"Uncle He truly has a discerning eye," Liu Yitiao said to Uncle He. "This is a new type of digging tool called a 'shovel.' Its function is similar to a traditional scoop, but the entire face must be forged from raw iron. I wonder if Uncle He can craft it?"

"No problem!" Uncle He said easily. "It's just a strange tool with such a simple structure; this old man only needs to hammer it up and down a couple of times, and it will take shape. However, little Yitiao, are you sure you want it made entirely of raw iron? The manufacturing cost won't be low. Each one will take at least half a jin of raw iron, which is equivalent to twenty plow blades. The cost of the raw iron alone will be no less than a hundred wen."

"I am aware of this, little brother. As long as Uncle He can craft it, the price is not an issue." Liu Yitiao pulled a string of copper coins from his bosom, handed them to Uncle He, and said, "Here is the deposit I am advancing. I must trouble Uncle He to forge thirty of them for me. I wonder when they will be ready for delivery?"

Uncle He reached out, accepted the coins, and smiled warmly as he said to Liu Yitiao, "This job is simple. Come pick them up tomorrow afternoon."

"Then I must trouble Uncle He." Liu Yitiao cupped his hands in salute to Uncle He, but he showed no intention of leaving. He stood up and said to Uncle He, "Before that, I wonder if Uncle He could forge one piece first so I can inspect it? Otherwise, if the shovels Uncle He makes tomorrow differ from what I have in mind, it wouldn't be ideal."

"Mm-mm, that is only right. Since little brother Yitiao has paid the deposit, this old man ought to let you inspect the goods first." Uncle He stood up and said to Liu Yitiao, "Please follow this old man, little brother Yitiao."

Uncle He led Liu Yitiao to his forging workshop, stoked the furnace, and told Liu Yitiao, "Yitiao, stand aside for now and don't get too close, lest the flames from the furnace scorch you. When it's nearly formed, you can raise any requirements you have, and Uncle He will certainly not disappoint you."

With that, Uncle He gently pushed Liu Yitiao back a bit, picked up a pair of tongs to clamp a piece of raw iron, placed it into the furnace, and began to hammer it piece by piece.

After hammering for roughly a little less than an hour, the rudimentary shape of a shovel emerged. This Uncle He's craftsmanship was truly no joke.

"Uncle He, this shovel needs to be thinner at the front and thicker at the back. A groove must be left on the socket, and remember to leave a small hole at the very tail end, plus..." Seeing that the shovel was taking shape, Liu Yitiao began explaining the detailed construction to Uncle He.

Thus, through modifications and adjustments, after about another quarter of an hour, the first pointed shovel head meeting Liu Yitiao's exact requirements was finally officially completed.

Uncle He clamped the shovel head and gently placed it into cold water, sending up a puff of white steam.

After letting it cool for a moment, Uncle He clamped the shovel back out and looked at Liu Yitiao, saying, "Yitiao, is this the 'shovel' you wanted? Mm, it certainly looks much better than ordinary tools, and it should be quite nice to use. It's just a pity that it's constructed entirely of iron."

"Hehe, Uncle He doesn't need to trouble himself over that. As the saying goes, 'A worker must first sharpen his tools if he is to do his work well.' Please trouble Uncle He to forge another twenty-nine pieces in the exact style of this one." Liu Yitiao held what could be considered the very first shovel of the Tang Dynasty with satisfaction, looking it over up and down. Although it felt a bit crude, here, this counted as a formidable tool.