New Plow Test

Inside the Lu Family's small courtyard, Lu Mingyuan dragged the newly assembled hand-pulled plow and began testing. The result was that he plowed the less than three-tenths of a mu vegetable patch in his yard over and over again.

Fortunately, he planned to start planting vegetables at the end of March, otherwise, all his previous work would have been in vain.

This testing process wasn't simply pulling the plow back and forth to till the soil. Occasionally, he would tap and adjust the connection point between the plowshare and the elm wood pole.

After each adjustment, Lu Mingyuan would carefully gauge the force required for the hand-pulled plow and the plowing depth, observing any differences.

From this, it was clear that this was no ordinary hand-pulled plow.

Originally, in Lu Mingyuan's design, he had added a clever mechanism at the junction of the plowshare and the elm wood pole. Through this mechanism, he could control the angle between the plowshare and the elm wood pole, thereby controlling the plowing depth, which in turn affected the quality of the plowing and the effort required.

In other words, with this mechanism, the plowshare could be adjusted up and down, provided the elm wood pole remained fixed.

Since the length of the elm wood pole was fixed, and the height on both sides was also relatively fixed, the elm wood pole could be considered stationary. Therefore, simply adjusting the plowshare up and down could regulate the plowing depth.

It should be noted that this mechanism was implemented through a series of intricate mortise-and-tenon joints, making it relatively complex and prone to issues. If too much force was applied, it would surely break.

Unfortunately, given the current situation, pure steel was difficult to process and relatively expensive, which is why Lu Mingyuan had to opt for wood.

Actually, if conditions allowed, Lu Mingyuan would have preferred to design this mechanism in a screw shape.

But there was no way around it; screws hadn't appeared yet, wooden screws weren't sturdy enough, and steel screws were difficult to process. Moreover, Lu Mingyuan didn't want to attract attention, so he could only implement it through wooden mortise-and-tenon joints.

Although this made the craftsmanship more complex, the underlying technology and ideas were not too advanced. Therefore, even if it was made, he wouldn't be in much danger; at most, it would be considered an innovative idea.

At most, people would say, "Why didn't I think of that?" instead of, "Is this person cheating?"

Who would have thought he would recreate the ancient hand-pulled plow?

Besides the adjustable depth, the hand-pulled plow designed by Lu Mingyuan could also adjust the angle of the plowshare relative to the elm wood pole in the horizontal plane, meaning left and right adjustments.

With this, the plowshare, or rather the plow blade, could be freely adjusted in all four directions: up, down, left, and right.

This greatly increased the flexibility of the hand-pulled plow.

With greater flexibility, Lu Mingyuan could conduct multiple tests to find the most labor-saving and convenient structure, which could be useful when constructing supernatural powers in the future.

If it weren't for this, Lu Mingyuan wouldn't have spent so much effort and incorporated so many mechanisms into this small hand-pulled plow.

After all, generally speaking, the more parts a tool has and the more intricate it is, the more likely it is to malfunction.

Not to mention the wooden mechanism in Lu Mingyuan's hand; it would probably last only three to four days. Once its time was up, it would have completed its mission and could retire.

In the vegetable patch, Lu Mingyuan patiently tested each item, one by one.

Jing Zhi, on the other hand, stood quietly by throughout the entire process. Sometimes she would look at Lu Mingyuan, sometimes at the soil turned over by the plow, her eyes shining with excitement and eagerness to try, but she had no intention of disturbing him.

Only when Lu Mingyuan's testing came to a pause did Jing Zhi speak up and ask, "Mingyuan, I have a question for you. You said that hand-pulled plows existed in ancient times but were eventually replaced by animal-powered plows. But I see you plowing quite well with the hand-pulled plow, no worse than the plows I've seen. So why were they eliminated? It doesn't make sense."

Hearing this, Lu Mingyuan didn't rush to explain. Instead, he handed the plow he was holding to Jing Zhi, letting her try it out.

"Well, Ah Zhi, you try pulling it too and experience it."

Jing Zhi was stunned for a moment, then eagerly took the plow, her fighting spirit ignited.

Honestly, she had wanted to try it for a long time. But seeing Lu Mingyuan doing important work, she didn't want to bother him. Now that he offered, she wouldn't refuse.

Besides, how could she, Jing Zhi, miss out on something so fun?

After a while, Lu Mingyuan stared with wide eyes at Jing Zhi, who was still enthusiastically engaged, finding it hard to comprehend.

Other people's girlfriends would rather laze around than do farm work, but why was his getting more energetic the more she worked? And she was already sweating, yet she didn't seem tired?

She never worked this hard when doing chores.

Moreover, while Miss Jing of the Jing Family wasn't exactly pampered, she wasn't this down-to-earth either.

Is she deliberately trying to impress me? Lu Mingyuan thought narcissistically. Then he shook his head. His Ah Zhi wouldn't do that; there must be another reason.

After observing for a while longer, Lu Mingyuan finally concluded in his heart that this little girl must have mistaken the hand-pulled plow for a toy. Otherwise, her behavior was inexplicable.

By this time, Jing Zhi had already pulled the plow back and forth several times in the five-meter-long vegetable patch.

Seeing that she intended to continue, Lu Mingyuan, standing nearby, quickly stopped her. He didn't want his wife to get exhausted, and besides, he was here.

"Stop for a moment. How does it feel?"

Jing Zhi wiped the sweat from her forehead, rubbed her hands, and replied cheerfully, "It's fine, I can handle it. It feels very interesting."

"Interesting?"

Hearing this, Lu Mingyuan sighed inwardly. You're really here to play a game.

Honestly, Lu Mingyuan, having lived two lives, had never heard of anyone treating plowing as a game.

His wife was truly a remarkable person.

Suddenly, Lu Mingyuan seemed to recall something. He took Jing Zhi's hand, opened it, and looked at her palms, which were already red. Lu Mingyuan carefully blew a few breaths onto her palms, then softly asked, "How is it? Does it hurt?"

Uh... hurt? What hurt?

Jing Zhi frowned slightly, a little confused. But then, her pretty face flushed slightly, and she said softly, "It doesn't hurt."

"It really doesn't hurt?"

"It really doesn't hurt."

Seeing Lu Mingyuan's disbelieving look, Jing Zhi raised her voice slightly, indicating that she was telling the truth and that it really didn't hurt.

Hearing this, Lu Mingyuan muttered to himself.

It doesn't hurt?

That shouldn't be the case.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Mingyuan lightly stroked Jing Zhi's palm with his index finger.

Then, he heard Jing Zhi gasp from the corner of her mouth.

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!

"It hurts... it stings."

Along with the scream, Jing Zhi instinctively pulled her hand back. Fortunately, Lu Mingyuan increased his grip, preventing her from escaping.

At this, Lu Mingyuan said, "Now you know it hurts. Come, blow on it. It won't hurt after a blow."

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Afterward, Lu Mingyuan carefully examined Jing Zhi's small hand. Well, there were only a few red spots.

"It's fine, it'll be better in a while. Luckily, there are no blisters, or it would take several days."

He paused slightly before continuing, "Now you know why hand-pulled plows were eliminated.

This one I've improved is both labor-saving and less prone to blisters.

If it weren't improved, after working for a while, your hands would be covered in blisters, and it would hurt terribly to the touch. If you tied it to your waist with a rope, it would probably be the same.

So, it's not just about saving labor; hurting your hands and waist are also big problems."

Speaking of this, Lu Mingyuan remembered his past life, wearing gloves and pulling a hand-plow in the cornfield to fertilize.

The more he worked, the more uncomfortable he became, the weaker he got. In the end, he was just enduring it, forcing himself to persevere.

But there was work to be done in the fields, and he couldn't just stop. Sigh!

"So that's how it is! There is indeed that problem."

Hearing Lu Mingyuan's explanation, Jing Zhi nodded slightly. Then she pondered for a moment and said, "But that's not right. I felt quite relaxed just now. As for the problem of blisters on my hands, you can pad something. Some cotton cloth would suffice, or you could just wear gloves. There are plenty of ways. How could it be eliminated?"

These were indeed easy to solve, but there were other factors, Lu Mingyuan thought to himself, "You felt very relaxed just now?"

Jing Zhi nodded. It was indeed very relaxed. She hadn't used much strength at all, which was why she had been playing so happily and joyfully.

If it were tiring, she would have stopped long ago. Besides, Mingyuan had only asked her to try it, not to actually work.

Lu Mingyuan rolled his eyes at this, but he still gave an explanation: "Hey, my dear Miss Jing, your husband has already plowed that vegetable patch eight hundred times. Of course, you feel relaxed.

In fact, if it were the first time, the effort required would be about four or five times what it is now. At that point, it wouldn't be a question of whether you could pull it, but whether my wooden plow could withstand it. For this experiment, I dug up the entire vegetable patch this morning, so I could use this plow."

"Is that so?"

Jing Zhi tilted her head and thought. The vegetable patch did look like it had been dug when she arrived. So, it was no wonder the hand-plow was eliminated.

Seeing the little girl's adorable head tilt, Lu Mingyuan's heart melted. He reached out and gently patted Jing Zhi's little head, returning her head-tilt with a head pat.

Jing Zhi, on the other hand, didn't try to dodge. Instead, with a flushed face, she let Lu Mingyuan do as he pleased.

A moment later, the ambiguous atmosphere finally completely dissipated.

At this point, Jing Zhi suddenly looked puzzled and asked, "Mingyuan, since you said this hand-plow has been eliminated, why are you still making it? And you even want to turn it into a supernatural power? What if no one buys it, then it'll be finished."

Although it was quite normal for a newly released supernatural power to have no buyers. Nowadays, supernatural powers without any special features or advantages simply couldn't stand out.

Even though the recent "Supernatural Power: Chicken and Rabbit in the Same Cage" had sold over a hundred million, in reality, sales in the single or double digits were the norm.

So Jing Zhi was a little worried that Lu Mingyuan's supernatural power would also blend into the crowd. Although his hand-plow was indeed innovative, it was useless. Who would buy something useless?

Regarding Jing Zhi's concern, Lu Mingyuan decided it was best to explain clearly. He pulled his wife to the stone table in the courtyard, poured them both a cup of tea, and then began to explain:

"Our current plows all use animal power, and the commonly used one is the curved-beam plow. So, I'll use the curved-beam plow as an example.

Because the curved-beam plow uses animal power, which is strong, it can plow harder ground and also plow deeper. This is its advantage.

But it's not without its drawbacks. Because it requires draft animals like oxen or mules, it's difficult to use in orchards.

Oxen simply cannot enter an orchard.

Take my second uncle's family, for example. They grow kiwi trees, and because oxen can't get in, my second uncle has to slowly hoe it by hand, which is very tiring."

"Using a hoe? That is indeed tiring."

Jing Zhi shuddered at the thought of using such a small hoe to finish those ten-odd mu of land, hoe by hoe.

Thinking of this, she sighed, "No wonder few people grow fruit trees. So it's because they are difficult to manage."

"There is this reason.

Of course, a hand-pulled plow isn't very useful at this time. The land in orchards is generally harder.

But if you're diligent, dig it over with a hoe first, and then use the hand-pulled plow to turn the soil again after a while, it will be fine."

"That would indeed work."

Jing Zhi nodded, feeling that Lu Mingyuan's idea was quite good. Although it was a bit tiring at first, and the plowing would need to be done more times, it was still better than before.

From this perspective, the hand-pulled plow was quite necessary.

At this moment, Lu Mingyuan continued to elaborate on his views: "Moreover, the hand-pulled plow is lighter and more portable, suitable for looser soil, sandy land. And when using it, you don't have to worry about stepping on the crops, so if you want to dig a ditch in the field, you can also use this to assist."

After speaking, Lu Mingyuan added mentally, it's actually best for fertilizing cornfields. But in this life, there's no chemical fertilizer yet, and farm manure is applied before planting, so this function is essentially useless.

However, if the area is small, like the vegetable patch in Lu Mingyuan's yard, a hand-pulled plow can still be used.

Of course, the current wooden one definitely won't work; it needs to be modified by Lu Mingyuan.

"In short, the curved-beam plow and the hand-pulled plow each have their own uses, limitations, and application scenarios.

I'm making this hand-pulled plow not to replace the curved-beam plow, but to supplement it. When everyone plows the land, they'll have an extra choice. Whichever plow is convenient, they can use that one. This isn't forced, and I can't force it, can I?"

"That's true!"

Hearing this, Jing Zhi also nodded in agreement. According to her Mingyuan, this hand-pulled plow was indeed useful. His hard work wouldn't be in vain.

Therefore, Jing Zhi had no intention of opposing Lu Mingyuan's idea of making this hand-pulled plow a divine ability.

She just needed to support him.

After making up her mind, Jing Zhi suddenly noticed a triangular plow blade on the ground, and next to it were a few wooden parts similar to the hand-pulled plow. She pointed a finger at the pile and asked Lu Mingyuan:

"Mingyuan, did you make another one?"

At this moment, Lu Mingyuan noticed the pile scattered on the ground. "Oh, this~ This is because I made two plow blades facing opposite directions, wanting to experiment which one had better soil-turning efficiency? More effort-saving?

Speaking of which, if you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten."

Saying that, Lu Mingyuan stood up, picked up the tools, and prepared to assemble, coincidentally starting his next test.