March came unknowingly, and Chen Jingke lived an unprecedentedly busy life.
Basically, I spent two days in Zixiao Temple, spending time with my family and doing some research on my own.
I spent two days running around the academy, teaching students, participating in various projects, going to the factory area to see the construction status, and worrying about railway construction.
Not to mention anything else, my horse riding skills have become more proficient, and my physical fitness has also improved significantly.
However, the results of the busy work were very fruitful. The loom was officially finalized and the speed was tentatively set at fifteen times.
Production drawings are currently being produced. Once the drawings are completed, production can be organized.
The progress of the train is very slow, or it has just started.
The laying speed of railways is also slow. The problem lies in the gravel. Mining, breaking and transporting it are too troublesome.
But the problem is not big, as long as the laying can be completed before the train is built.
The greatest results were achieved in the factory area, with various factories starting operations one after another.
Even steam engine workshops have begun to try to make parts.
In particular, the woodworking factory in Jingyunguan has produced finished manual shuttle looms and spinning wheels.
With the spinning wheel, it is natural to start poverty alleviation programs.
Chen Jingke did not go to the slums directly in the name of Zixiaoguan as before, but gave Niu San and others two days off.
No matter how good you say it, it's not as good as when these workers go home and show off.
Sure enough, when they went home and recounted their experiences over the past few days and the situation at the factory, the slums were abuzz.
Then more people began to regret why they didn't go.
Many people knew that Niu San was more important there, so they came to ask him to intercede and ask if they could be allowed to pass.
After the last lesson, the three Niu people became much calmer. They only said that they could help everyone and asked, but the rest said that they were helpless.
But before they could go back, representatives from the government office and the factory came the next day, bringing with them thousands of spinning wheels and hemp fibers.
The spinning wheels were rented to various families, and the hemp fiber could be given to them on credit, as long as they spun the hemp fiber into thread balls.
At that time, all you need to do is give Zixiaoguan the equivalent value of the yarn balls, and the excess will be sold to the factory at the market price.
How to describe it, it's like someone else bringing in a sheep, and the feed is also like giving it away for free.
All you have to do is feed the sheep and sell the lambs to the owner of the sheep.
This kind of pie-in-the-sky good thing almost knocked the people in the slums unconscious.
They would never have believed it before, but the changes in Niu San and the others were real.
You may not believe in Zixiao Temple or the Yamen, but you must believe in Niu San and the others.
This time no one was reserved anymore, every household came to apply for a spinning wheel.
Some families with more members may even want to buy a few more.
However, Chen Jingke’s major focus is on poverty alleviation, and it is natural that the rain and dew should be shared equally. Only after ensuring that every family has something, will an extra frame be allocated to families with a larger population.
Anyway, everyone is happy in the end.
The dead silence that had shrouded the slums all year round disappeared, and laughter entered every household.
The humming sound of the spinning wheel merged into a beautiful note that could be heard from far away.
Chinese people like to be lively. When the weather is nice, people will move their spinning wheels to the door and chat with their neighbors while spinning.
There are many topics, and opinions on trivial matters can keep everyone chatting happily for a long time.
However, the topics that appear most frequently in everyone’s mouth are:
How should I spend my money? The people living in Zixiao Temple are all good people. Sun Shenxian and Chen Zhenren are both living gods. When will the factory recruit workers?
Li Shimin, Li Chengqian, Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Ma Zhou, Wei Zheng and others were walking on the street in casual clothes.
Looking at the spinning wheels and listening to the hum and chatter, I felt filled with emotion.
Even if you have never been here before, you have heard about the situation here.
There is no need to doubt whether the rumors are wrong. The potholed streets, the houses made of wooden planks, and the tattered clothes are the best proof.
But this man's face was filled with a smile that was incompatible with the surrounding environment.
They naturally knew how this change came about, but it was precisely because they understood it that they were even more shocked.
After walking out of the slum, Li Shimin said to everyone: "What do you think, sir?"
Fang Xuanling sighed: "Chen Zhenren's talent puts me to shame."
Wei Zheng also said: "Yes, the slums that have been a headache for the court for so long and have been unable to do anything can be solved so easily in his hands. I am ashamed of myself."
Changsun Wuji said: "I am even more curious about the Chen family, how they did all this."
The others immediately shut up.
Everyone knows that Chen Jingke is from the Chen family, but no one dares to ask where this branch has gone or what they have done.
There were rumors that other branches of the Chen family who stayed in the Central Plains wanted to build relationships with Chen Jingke and gain benefits.
But for some unknown reason, those people did not appear in the capital, and no one mentioned such a topic again.
Everyone is not a fool. Although there is no definite evidence, they all know that the emperor must have taken action.
The purpose is not difficult to guess, which is to prevent others from coming into contact with him and inquiring into the secrets of their branch.
So everyone has a tacit understanding and never discusses this matter.
Changsun Wuji has a special status, so he can say with emotion, "Whoever doesn't take this wisely will be in trouble."
Seeing that the scene became deserted for a while, Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian, who had been silent, and said:
"Chengqian, what are you thinking about, why don't you speak?"
Li Chengqian thought about it for a while and said, "I was thinking about some of the issues Jing Ke told me. I had no idea before. I was touched when I saw the changes in the slums."
Li Shimin said curiously: "Oh, I wonder what question he asked you?"
Everyone else also looked over.
Li Chengqian said: "We talked about the slums that day. I said it was the court's negligence, but Jing Ke said there was something wrong with the whole world."
Li Shimin frowned and said, "Is there something wrong with the whole world?"
Others are not much better. If someone else said this, they would have started spraying.
But the other party was Chen Jingke, and even if they were not convinced, they still wanted to know what the other party had in mind.
Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Yes, that's what he said, and he also asked me a few questions."
"What is a state? What is a people? How does state power arise?"
"What powers does the state have and what responsibilities does it bear? What rights do the people enjoy and what obligations do they bear?"
"In the relationship between the state and the people, are the rights and obligations obtained by the people equivalent?"
"Emperor... well, what is the government and what are its powers and obligations?"
"What are the military, scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, and what roles do they play?"
"He told me that if you can figure this out, you will know something is wrong with the world."
Everyone was shocked. These problems go straight to the core of the country.
Then they also showed thoughtful expressions, and the more they thought about it, the harder it became to answer this question.
As mentioned before, many problems are taken for granted by everyone, and they have never thought about why.
Now someone suddenly asked this question, and they realized that these supposed answers could not answer these questions.
Li Shimin was naturally thinking too, but also had no answer, so he asked: "Did he tell you the answer?"
Li Chengqian shook his head and said: "No, he told me that there are no fixed answers to these questions. People with different identities and different periods have different answers."
"His answer is not necessarily correct, it's just that he thinks it is correct."
"So he asked me to find the answer myself, and then he told me his answer for comparison."
"I have been thinking about this question these days, but I have never found a suitable answer."
"I was touched when I saw the changes in the slums today."
Li Shimin asked with great interest: "How do you feel?"
Others also wanted to see what the prince had gained.
Li Chengqian said seriously: "Jing Ke is right, there is really a problem in this world."
The others were stunned for a moment, and immediately understood what he meant, and then everyone fell silent.
Li Chengqian's meaning is very simple. Are slums really that difficult for the court to solve?
In fact, it is not difficult and there are many ways.
For example, move the people here out of Chang'an, allocate them some land, and let them become self-cultivating farmers.
But no one did it, because in everyone's eyes these people were redundant, and their life and death did not matter at all.
No one wants to spend a little thought on these people, thinking it is a waste.
Compared with Chen Jingke's behavior, this kind of understanding is indeed abnormal.
But this idea has existed for thousands of years and has been deeply rooted in people's hearts.
Naturally, they were unwilling to admit that there was a problem, but in the face of Chen Jingke's actions, they did not know how to refute, so they could only remain silent.
In the end, Li Shimin broke the silence and said: "These questions from Jing Ke are very interesting. You might as well think about it carefully and write me a breakdown when you go back."
Others said one after another: "Here."
At this time, Li Shimin asked again: "Where has Chen Jingke gone? Why can't he see other people lately?"
Li Chengqian smiled and said: "Mrs. Wu is about to give birth, how can he still have the mind to run around? He has never stepped out of the gate of Zixiao Temple in the past few days."
Li Shimin smiled and said, "Oh? It's a happy event that Sun Zhenren's grandson is born. Please pay more attention and tell me as soon as there is news."
Li Chengqian said: "Here."
The same goes for others. The birth of Sun Simiao's grandson is a big event, and gifts must be given as soon as possible.
…
In Zixiao Temple, Chen Jingke carefully helped Wu Shu for a walk.
"Moderate walking is good for the body, and it will not be easy to lose strength during childbirth."
Wu Shu said helplessly: "You have said this so many times that I can hear it in my ears."
Chen Jingke smiled and said: "Isn't this just to express my concern, haha."
Wu Shu couldn't help laughing, and after a while he asked: "The spinning wheel should have been sent to the slums, right? I don't know how it is now."
Chen Jingke said: "I have been sending people to pay attention, and the results are very good. The people there are very active in their work."
Wu Shu said: "You must be very positive. You finally got a chance to turn around. How could you not seize it firmly? Your move is a great merit."
Chen Jingke gently touched her bulging belly and said with a smile, "This is a blessing for our child."
A kind smile appeared on Wu Shu's face and he said: "If you think about it this way, Aweng and Yeye have accumulated huge merits for him."
Chen Jingke said: "These merits are not for him alone. He will have younger brothers and sisters in the future, and they will have to share some of them."
"I don't know if it's a son or a daughter, but I still hope it's a son... Oops." Halfway through his words, Wu Shu suddenly covered his stomach and screamed:
"It hurts."
Chen Jingke was shocked and quickly supported her and said, "Are you tired? Please take a moment."
Wu Shu said: "No, I have a hunch that he is coming."
When Chen Jingke heard this, he didn't dare to delay, and quickly said to the Taoist boy waiting behind him: "Go and inform the master and the obstetrician that my wife is about to give birth."
The Taoist boy didn't dare to delay and ran towards the hospital.
Chen Jingke asked again with concern: "How are you now? Can you walk?"
Wu Shu nervously grabbed his hand and said, "It still hurts, but I can walk."
Chen Jingke said: "Then let's walk over slowly and I will support you."
It's not that he abused Wu Shu or anything, but that when a pregnant woman is about to give birth, walking properly can help open the cervix.
Not long after walking out, I saw Sun Simiao rushing over with a group of people. He asked from a distance: "How is it?"
Chen Jingke replied: "My stomach suddenly hurt while I was walking. Shuer said she had a premonition that the baby was coming."
Sun Simiao said quickly: "Let's go to the delivery room for a checkup... walk slowly and don't be in a hurry."
The group of people slowly arrived at the delivery room, where a specialized female obstetrician went in to examine her.
After a while, the female doctor came out with a happy face and said: "Congratulations, Master, it's time to give birth. The cervix has been opened by two fingers."
Sun Simiao also became happy and said: "Okay, okay, great... Ke'er, please help Shu'er to move around."
"Okay." Chen Jingke was also very happy. He walked to the delivery room and helped Wu Shu to walk slowly in the yard.
Over there, Sun Simiao had already sent someone to notify Mrs. Wu to come, and at the same time directed everyone to start preparing for the delivery.
The heir to Zixiaoguan was about to be born, and everyone moved to welcome him into the world.
Wu Shu once again mentioned the idea of having a son. Chen Jingke was not surprised at all. In this era, it would be strange if he did not want a son.
However, in order to relieve her psychological pressure, he comforted her: "I like all our children, but I actually prefer my daughter."
"My daughter is filial and considerate, and she is her parents' little cotton-padded jacket. My son is so naughty that he can make people's teeth itch."
Wu Shu's mood was indeed relieved a lot, but he still said: "But I still want a son. Master also wants a son. Everyone in Zixiaoguan hopes that he will be a son."
Chen Jingke said domineeringly: "No matter what they think, this child belongs to both of us, and of course our opinions are the most important."
In fact, he had already speculated that it was most likely a baby boy.
I don’t know when the rule was summarized. Generally, boys are born a few days earlier than the expected date of delivery, and girls are born a few days later than the expected date of delivery.
Wu Shu was only nine months pregnant, so the probability of the baby being a boy was higher.
The reason why this guess is not stated directly is because this rule is not 100% accurate and can only be used as a reference.
If they make a big deal about it being a boy, but if it turns out to be a girl, isn't it just a waste of joy?
More and more people are coming to the delivery room, waiting for the birth of their children.