Lu Yuan’s gentle consideration made Aunt Song adore him. He was the man who had given her the tenderness she deserved.
They stayed in the factory office until afternoon, having missed lunch.
By now, both of their stomachs were starting to rumble.
Lu Yuan and Aunt Song had no choice but to check the factory cafeteria, but none of the standard als were left.
They had to arrange for the cafeteria to cook sothing specially for them, and the two had a simple al there.
The cafeteria chef had already gone out to buy ingredients for the evening al.
So, Song iqin had to cook herself. This was the first ti she had done so since she was married.
Song iqin was not only presentable in public but also skilled in the kitchen—abilities she had learned at her family ho before her marriage.
After their simple al at the factory cafeteria, Lu Yuan and Aunt Song prepared to head to the County Yan.
He needed to stop by the County Yan before dinner.
’What a busy day.’
Lu Yuan led Aunt Song to the County Yan. He didn’t really understand the official business conducted there.
Before he transmigrated, Lu Yuan had never been exposed to any of this; he was a complete novice.
Fortunately, there were capable people in the County Yan to handle Taiping City’s affairs, so the city’s official business wasn’t being neglected.
Lu Yuan sat in the County Yan as a formality, listening to his subordinates report on all the various matters, big and small, in Taiping City.
Listening to it all gave Lu Yuan a headache. ’I’m really not cut out for this,’ he thought.
But since he was the County Magistrate of Taiping City, he still had an obligation to handle these matters.
A subordinate also reported, "With the weather warming up, the people are about to begin the wheat harvest. It’s going to be a busy ti for them."
’Jeez, not long ago it was threshing and storing the corn, and now it’s harvesting and drying the wheat.’
’The common folk are quite busy all year round.’
The corn thresher he had invented back in the Imperial Capital had only just begun production and use within the capital’s vicinity.
It was primarily being used by the Court; it had not yet beco widespread among the populace.
This was only Lu Yuan’s second day back in Taiping City, and he was already planning to put the corn thresher into production, establishing a complete assembly line for it.
It wasn’t that he was in a rush to do it in the next few days.
The ti for threshing this year’s corn was almost over, but he could still start producing the machines now.
Next year, when the new corn was dried and ready for threshing, the corn threshers produced by then could be taken directly to the market and sold.
’For a high-demand product like this, it’s best to plan ahead and start production early.’
As Lu Yuan listened to the reports from his subordinates at the County Yan, he realized it wasn’t just his mother-in-law who needed a wheat harvester.
The entire Taiping City needed one, and in the near future, the entire Divine Ling Empire would need this kind of machine.
Lu Yuan had a plan.
’Since I don’t have the ti to manage all the tedious affairs of Taiping City, I might as well not do it. I’ll just leave it to my subordinates.’
’I’ll just focus on solving the common problems the people are currently facing.’
As for trivial matters—like Xu the Fifth borrowing a winnowing basket from Zhang the Fourth’s family and not returning it, or Brother Chen encroaching on Wang Xiaosan’s land...
...those could be handled by the Governnt Office Officials. Lu Yuan just needed to make sure those Officials didn’t engage in corruption.
Lu Yuan decided to go back and start building the wheat harvester right away. He wanted to get a few machines built and ready for use before the wheat was fully ripe.
At the very least, the people of Taiping City would be able to use wheat harvesters.
That would count as doing a real service for the people. His tenure as County Magistrate would be far better than his great-grandfather’s, who was known for his corruption and extortion.
Lu Yuan and Aunt Song left the County Yan and returned to the Zhao Mansion just before dinner.
Lu Yuan had dinner with his three won.
Gu Gaoxu and his aunt, Gu Ziye, ate together, but not with Lu Yuan.
After dinner, Lu Yuan politely declined the two aunts’ enthusiastic invitations.
He had already given both Aunt Zhao and Aunt Song a "taste" last night and this morning.
Although Lu Yuan was in peak physical condition, he couldn’t just keep indulging in the land of soft pleasures.
Tonight, he had to start inventing the wheat harvester.
Lu Yuan was worried his skills wouldn’t be up to the task and he’d delay the wheat harvest, so he decided to start researching and building it as soon as possible.
This wheat harvester was no small gadget; it was huge.
It was definitely too big to be assembled in a room.
He could probably assemble it in the courtyard, where there was enough space.
But he feared that even if he built it in the courtyard, he wouldn’t be able to get the wheat harvester out through the main gate of the Zhao Mansion.
Lu Yuan thought of a good place: the factory.
Lots of goods moved in and out of the factory every day, and the factory gate was both grand and wide.
Lu Yuan could easily find an empty spot in the factory grounds to assemble the wheat harvester.
Whatever materials he needed, he could just pull them from his System Space.
Lu Yuan had discovered that his system could also be used as a storage space.
He had made a habit of collecting useful materials he ca across and tossing them all into the System Space, just in case he needed them later.
No sooner said than done!
Lu Yuan told his wife to sleep with the two aunts while he went to the factory to work on the wheat harvester.
Su Liyan nodded and reminded him, "I know you’re anxious to build that wheat harvester, but please try not to stay up all night, okay? If you get tired, co back and rest."
Lu Yuan stroked his wife’s head and said, "Don’t worry. If I get tired, I’ll just sleep in the factory office. Aunt Song has a room there, and it’s quite comfortable for sleeping."
"Oh, so you’ve already slept in Aunt Song’s office," Su Liyan replied quickly, chuckling mischievously.
However, Su Liyan was only half right.
Lu Yuan and Aunt Song had indeed "slept" in the factory office, but not on the bed. They had "slept" on the desk.
Lu Yuan chuckled, tacitly acknowledging his wife’s joke.
Lu Yuan arrived at the factory grounds alone. There were few people there at night. Aside from the security patrol and the old man guarding the gate, the area was very quiet.
On a sumr night, Lu Yuan didn’t feel cold. A gentle breeze brought a hint of coolness.
But Lu Yuan paid no mind to that and began assembling the wheat harvester.
The wheat harvester had a lot of parts. He assembled it piece by piece, following the instructions written in *Craftsmanship*.
’This book really has everything,’ he thought. ’It’s so thick, it seems to describe every product under the sun.’
Among the missing components, Lu Yuan could craft most of them by hand, while a few required secondary processing.
Having cultivated the *Holy Body*, Lu Yuan possessed inexhaustible strength. Shaping copper and iron with his bare hands was now as easy as flipping his palm.
Lu Yuan had only practiced the *Holy Body* superficially; he hadn’t delved deep into its cultivation.
Lu Yuan had far too many trivial matters to deal with, and his studies were all over the place.
Being a jack of all trades was, in fact, being a master of none.
If Lu Yuan could just settle down and focus on cultivating any one of the various Secret Manuals the system had given him, with his talent, he could beco a mighty expert in that specific field.
Take Gu Gaoxu, for example, who focused solely on the *True Martial* manual Lu Yuan had given him.
Gu Gaoxu’s Martial Arts had improved by leaps and bounds, to the point where he was nearly on par with Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan had never considered what level he might reach if he focused on just one Secret Manual, or at least prioritized one for a while.
’Right now, I’m not truly proficient in anything. Maybe I should try focusing on one Secret Manual in the future.’
Lu Yuan cross-referenced *Craftsmanship* with his own understanding, repeatedly assembling and disassembling the parts.
After a full night of assembly, a prototype of the wheat harvester began to take shape.
Lu Yuan looked at the wheat harvester with satisfaction. ’If this machine has any minor bugs, I’ll just fine-tune them later.’
After working all night, Lu Yuan was tired. He decided to head back to Aunt Song’s office to sleep...
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