Chapter 184: Thresher

Chapter 184

"Li Yao, come take a look at what I've just made."

What was placed in the empty yard of the blacksmith's workshop was a two-meter-square lump of iron, composed of various shaped parts, looking very industrial.

This was made by Xia Xian, and could be considered the sixth generation of steam engine, having made huge progress compared to the beginning.

It's just still a little too big.

With this big lump, over a dozen lads simply couldn't lift it without leverage.

"Let's try firing it up."

"Okay."

At Xia Xian's direction, two apprentices quickly brought some lit coal and placed it into the furnace of the steam engine, then closed the iron door.

"It's about to start, pay attention everyone!"

With Xia Xian's command, the first to open was the air valve of the blower, blowing large amounts of air through the pipes into the furnace, making the fire inside roar.

After the coal in the furnace was burning strongly, another valve opened.

This was specially for sending fuel into the furnace. Under Li Yao's guidance, Xia Xian had already got people to grind the coal into powder and mix it with water into a paste, so that the coal powder wouldn't be directly blown into the flue, and the amount going in could be better controlled.

Now it seemed this method had already been quite successful, the two valves made by Xia Xian had initially achieved the effect of regulation.

As the fire in the furnace grew stronger and stronger, the water in the container boiled, and the high temperature steam through the pipes blew the blades inside the machine into rapid spins, which also spun the protruding shaft at high speeds.

"Not bad, it's already got some shape."

Having obtained Li Yao's approval, Xia Xian's heart finally relaxed a little. For this machine, he had racked his brains until he didn't know why it had to be so small.

"You'll know why later, but today I came to make something else."

Li Yao took out some blueprints. After looking through them, Xia Xian found them to be much simpler than he imagined.

"What's this one for?"

"Grain threshing machine."

Xia Xian: ???

"For threshing rice."

...

"Attention everyone, the rice is ripe, hurry to start harvesting!"

Early in the morning, Wang Jiafu's voice resounded through the entire He Wan village. As the village chief, he had the duty to remind and supervise the villagers to actively work the fields.

In fact there was no need for him to remind them, everyone had been waiting for this day.

"It's really that fast?"

Seeing the two continuously taking rice without stopping, finishing them clean in a few strokes, Wang Jiafu was truly shocked.

At this speed, as long as there were enough people harvesting, five to six acres a day was truly easy!

Most importantly, it wasn't as tiring!

If every family had one of these machines, the rice of the whole village could be finished harvesting in three days max!

No longer needing to worry that untimely rain would make the unharvested rice lay soaked on the ground like before.

"Li Yao, can this machine thresh wheat too?"

"Of course," said Li Yao, "wheat, barley, oats, it can thresh them all."

"How much does one cost?"

"Not expensive," said Li Yao, "for villagers buying it'd just be one or two taels of silver."

One or two taels of silver, able to save huge amounts of manpower, allow the whole family to relax for a season, or even two seasons. Most importantly, it was made of iron, buy it once and it can be used for a lifetime!

"I want to buy one for my family!"

"I want one too!"

...

Hearing the villagers eagerly wanting to buy the threshing machines, Li Yao said that actually one machine per family was unnecessary, it was enough for a few families to share one if they didn't have many people.

Hearing this reasoning, everyone thus looked for people to purchase together with.

In the end, just by this field, five threshing machines were sold.

With the threshing machines, no one hurried to harvest their own rice today either, each family sent out one person, and in one day completely finished harvesting Li Yao's dozen-some acres, even bringing it back home for her.

However, the yield of rice wasn't high. Even though Li Yao had used very scientific methods when planting, without fertilizer and improved seeds, after all it was lacking.

After calculating, each acre could harvest about 600 catties of unhusked rice.

Converted to milled rice, it was a bit over 400 catties.

Their family had 16 acres of paddy fields total, nearly 7000 catties of rice.

Although this yield was only one third compared to modern times, it was still enough to astonish the villagers.

For other families' fields, 300 catties of milled rice per acre was considered burning incense to the gods.

It was a pity that when Li Yao's family was transplanting seedlings, no one believed planting that way would have high yields, so no one learned from them. Now everyone's guts were green with regret.

But next year, they must plant like her family did.