Wooden Oxen and Gliding Horses

What would normally take months or even years to build a tunnel was completed in ten days; a remarkably large tunnel was blasted out here.

Zhou Wanwan instructed them to dig while simultaneously tamping and leveling the walls, then plastering them with yellow mud mixed with chopped grass. This made the walls sturdy and neat, so that people could walk inside without bumping into anything or worrying about them collapsing.

The tunnel branched into several roads, with many side paths branching off from the main roads. At the end of these side paths were small rooms, which could be used for living or storing things.

It has many fine vents inside, leading to the grass on the mountain, so the air can circulate and it won't feel stuffy, and you don't have to worry about the smoke not dissipating.

Zhou Wanwan ordered them to move all the food, weapons, and medicinal herbs they had obtained from the mountain stronghold down to the village.

After that, they had them dig several extra-large water storage tanks inside, and the bottom and walls of the pits were completely sealed.

Then lay a layer of lime mixed with yellow mud, followed by several layers of bluestone slabs, leaving no gaps so that water cannot seep out.

A half-person-high stone wall was built around the pool to block the water, and a movable wooden board was placed on top to keep out dust and prevent dirt from falling in.

All six large reservoirs were filled with water. After finishing, Zhou Wanwan smiled and said, "This is like our second home now. If things really come to an end and we can't hold on any longer, we'll move in here, and nobody will be able to find us."

She couldn't even imagine how wonderful her life was, living here with the people of Liu Family Village amidst the chaos and war outside.

Zhou Wanwan frowned and thought for a moment before saying:

"There's still not enough food. After all, we have to feed the whole village, so we have to keep buying food secretly."

There can't be any entertainment, I need to build a big library.

This entire room has been transformed into a library, where children can come to read and learn to read.

The carpenter beside Zhou Wanwan asked, "So, how should we fight?"

Zhou Wanwan thought for a moment and said, "Make 20 tables, 100 chairs, and then make 20 bookshelves."

As Zhou Wanwan spoke and made plans, the craftsman was stunned. "You're going to put chairs and tables in here?"

Zhou Wanwan nodded and said:

"It wasn't just about placing chairs and tables; we also had to make wooden beds—dozens of them!"

I'm going to sleep in a bed anyway, and those kids need to sleep in beds too!

This project is indeed massive. Zhou Wanwan looked at him and said, "We really can't handle it all. How about this? Let's just outsource this to another village."

The master nodded and said:

"Not far from here, there is a village called Luban Village, where everyone makes a living by carpentry."

I learned my trade from them back then, why don't we give them the work?"

Zhou Wanwan looked at him and asked, "How many people are there in Luban Village in total?"

"There are about 200 people. The people of Luban Village are not only good at carpentry, but also at building houses. Everyone around here asks them to build a house."

They also made traps and forged weapons, whether it was repairing farm tools or making weapons.

"They're good at fine woodwork, building houses and sheds, digging ditches and building walls. They can do all kinds of work. They're skilled and reliable, and they can solve any problem you encounter," said Carpenter Liu.

Zhou Wanwan nodded and said, "How about this, you take me to see them. We have a lot of things to do, and I'd like to see if these carpenters are suitable."

The carpenter took her directly to Luban Village. Zhou Wanwan looked at the people of Luban Village and said, "Their appearance is quite strange, isn't it?"

The carpenter sighed and said:

There's a strange saying in Luban Village that it's cursed, and most of the villagers are born with deformities.

The most noticeable thing is the large bulge on their necks; some are smaller, while others are so big they hang down, looking rather frightening.

Some people have crooked faces and blank stares, making them look uglier than others.

Because of this appearance, most of the young men in the village cannot find wives, and girls from the surrounding villages are unwilling to marry into the village.

There was no other way; many families had to pool their money to buy wives from outside. Most of these wives were forced into it, crying and refusing to stay.

But once you get to this area, there's no way to escape..."

The village chief led a group of people over and said, "I heard you want to order tables and chairs. Our Luban Village may not have much else, but we have quite a lot of these commonly used household items. Shall I take you to see them?"

Zhou Wanwan didn't expect that Luban Village would have something ready-made. When she arrived at Luban Village, she found that the village actually had Wooden Oxen and Gliding Horses.

The Wooden Oxen and Gliding Horses were transportation tools invented by Zhuge Liang during the Three Kingdoms period. They looked like oxen and horses made of wood, and they could move on their own without being pulled by people or horses.

It was specifically designed for transporting grain along the Shu Road, saving a lot of manpower. It was a particularly impressive item at the time, but the craftsmanship was later lost, and very few people have ever seen a real one.

Zhou Wanwan had only heard of this thing in novels and never imagined that she would actually see it with her own eyes in such a small village.

The village chief suddenly stopped, staring intently at her, and said, "Young friend, you actually know about the Wooden Oxen and Gliding Horses?"

Zhou Wanwan chuckled and said, "You know a little bit. Your Luban Village is really amazing."

The village chief sighed and said:

"What's the use of being powerful? You always have to lose something. Look at the people in our village, they all look strange."

Nobody respected us at all, and nobody even wanted to hire us to do work.

Some people had already placed orders, but then cancelled them, leaving us with a lot of unsold inventory.

Zhou Wanwan saw a very large warehouse, filled with wooden tables and chairs, as well as all kinds of wooden beds.

Some of the wooden beds are very beautifully crafted, but unfortunately, nobody buys them.

Zhou Wanwan looked at all the wood in the warehouse and smiled, "How much would it cost if I bought everything in this warehouse?"

This statement completely stunned the Luban Village. He stammered, "It will cost more than 300 taels of silver! I'm not sure yet, I need to verify."

Zhou Wanwan looked at him and said, "Then give me a discount. If it weren't for your lower prices, I wouldn't have come here."

Luban Village was relatively reliable; after a while, the village chief came over and said, "The total is 362 taels, but since our two villages are next to each other, we definitely can't charge you too much. The minimum is 310 taels, what do you think..."

Zhou Wanwan looked at the entire warehouse of goods and nodded, saying, "Pay..."

She doesn't like haggling, but she's taken a liking to the Wooden Oxen and Gliding Horses: "I wonder if this Wooden Oxen and Gliding Horses is for sale?"

"We won't sell the Wooden Oxen and Gliding Horses, because there are only five in the village. We often need to go up the mountain to cut wood, so we need these." The village chief said very firmly.

Zhou Wanwan said with a half-smile:

"I think this thing is great, I really like it, how about this!"

I can cure illnesses. Your illness must be very serious, right, in Luban Village?

"But I can cure diseases. Your Luban Village is indeed afflicted with a very common disease, but I can cure it. Would you like to give it a try?"