"Alright, we'll follow you then." Wu Zhenggui now mostly deferred to Song Nianchu's decisions.
"Aunt Wu, I’ll go back home with Uncle Zhenggui first. You take charge here with the others," Song Nianchu called out to Aunt Wu.
"Don’t worry, I’ve got this," Aunt Wu replied.
"Good." Song Nianchu turned and left with Wu Zhenggui.
The five families who had drawn lots in the square were still waiting, unsure of what they were supposed to do.
The two women had already been taken to the kitchen by Wu Zhenggui, so why were they left behind?
Anxiety gnawed at them—after all, this was about earning full work points.
When they saw Wu Zhenggui returning with Song Nianchu, they immediately rushed forward.
"Village Chief, you still haven’t told us what we’re supposed to do."
"Yeah, we’ve been waiting here for a while now. Hurry up and explain."
"Exactly, the sooner we know, the sooner we can get to work."
"..."
"Enough, I’m back now. Quiet down," Wu Zhenggui raised his hand, and the crowd fell silent.
But their eyes remained fixed on him, burning with anticipation.
"Each of your five households, pick someone who can make decisions and come with me," Wu Zhenggui instructed.
At his words, the heads of each household stepped forward.
"Good, follow me." Wu Zhenggui nodded.
Unlike cooking, which anyone could do, operating the net-weaving machine required strength.
The group of burly men trailed behind Wu Zhenggui and Song Nianchu as they headed to Song Nianchu’s home.
When they pushed open the gate, the courtyard was already packed with people.
Adding a few more made it feel like there was barely any standing room left.
It wasn’t that the yard was small—it was just that piles of wood took up most of the space.
"Nianchu, what are you doing here? Why is everything such a mess?" one of the men asked.
"You’ll see in a moment." Song Nianchu turned to Mu Shi'an and called out, "Shi'an, bring one of the machines over."
"Got it." Mu Shi'an, who had been busy, stopped what he was doing and signaled the helpers to carry a net-weaving machine over.
"What is this thing? Looks a bit like a loom," someone muttered in confusion.
"Yes, it’s similar to a loom. It’s called a net-weaving machine," Song Nianchu explained.
"A net-weaving machine? What’s that?" The men exchanged puzzled glances.
"Shi'an, show them how it works." Song Nianchu gave Mu Shi'an a meaningful look.
"Alright." For testing purposes, Mu Shi'an always kept some old fishing line in his pocket.
As the men watched him thread the line through the machine, press the pedals a few times, and transform the strands into a fully woven net, their eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. Some even rubbed their eyes, wondering if hunger had made them hallucinate.
"No need to doubt it. This machine is called a net-weaver because it helps us make fishing nets," Song Nianchu said firmly, reading their disbelief.
"There’s really such a machine? I’ve only heard about automatic net-weavers in big cities. Our village has one too?" Their faces were a mix of awe and skepticism.
"Of course! And you’ll get to use them."
"Us… really?"
"Yes, all of you." Song Nianchu nodded.
"So… our job is to weave nets with these machines?" The quickest among them had already caught on.
"Exactly!" Song Nianchu gave an approving smile.
"With this thing, who knows how many nets we can make in a day!" The five men were practically vibrating with excitement.
"Shi'an, explain the machine to them first. I’ll go inside to prepare something." Seeing how captivated they were, Song Nianchu left the rest to Mu Shi'an.
"Understood." Mu Shi'an nodded as usual.
The moment Song Nianchu left, the five men crowded around Mu Shi'an.
"Nianchu’s man, did you make this?"
Mu Shi'an paused at the title.
Nianchu’s man?
He didn’t mind that at all.
"Yes," he confirmed.
"Figures, coming from Jing City—you city folks are sharp. Our Nianchu really lucked out," they laughed heartily.
"I’m the lucky one." Mu Shi'an glanced toward where Song Nianchu had gone.
"Hah, you’re both treasures, absolute treasures! Now, how do we work this thing? Can you teach us?" Their focus quickly returned to the machine.
Mastering it meant never worrying about slow net-making again.
"Before using it, you need to understand its structure…" The moment Mu Shi'an shifted into teacher mode, his demeanor turned steady and authoritative.
After he meticulously explained the machine’s mechanics and guided them through the weaving process, Song Nianchu finally reappeared, holding several sheets of paper.
Seeing the villagers’ wide-eyed fascination, a shrewd glint flashed in her eyes.
"Do you all know how to use the machine now?" she asked.
"Yes, yes! Your man explained everything perfectly," they chorused.
"And do you want to use it to weave nets?"
"Of course!" they answered in unison.
"Then take a look at this contract." She handed them the papers.
"Con… what?" They blinked, baffled.
The pages were covered in dense writing, most of which they couldn’t read.
"Nianchu, what is this? We don’t understand any of it," they admitted sheepishly.
"It’s a contract. It means we’re leasing the machines to the village, but we’ll take a ten percent cut of the profits," she clarified.
"Oh, so it’s an agreement!" They nodded in realization.
"Right, you can think of it that way."
"No problem! A machine this good is worth paying for. How do we sign? Name or thumbprint?" They were already eager, especially since the village would cover the cost, not them.
"Not so fast—there are a few more terms to go over," Song Nianchu said, exasperated.
"Then hurry up and explain!" they urged.
"Since the machines are leased to the village, and the village assigns them to you, you only have the right to use them, not own them."
"That means you’re responsible for keeping them in good condition. If they’re damaged, you’ll have to compensate," she stated.
"Wait… what if it breaks on its own?" Their enthusiasm dimmed slightly at the mention of repayment.
This thing looks incredibly valuable—if it gets damaged, the work points they've earned might not even cover the cost of repairing it.
