The threshing machine had only been in the village for a day when the village heads from every settlement came running to the Village Head’s home to complain.
“Every household is harvesting rice, and two threshing machines are far from enough. Last night, Niu Laosan and Niu Datou in our village nearly came to blows. Village Head, how about you go to the county office and ask for two more?”
Another village head pointed at the scratch marks on his face.
“I got these yesterday fighting over the threshing machine. Every family has three or four mu of fields, and they won’t stand for having to wait for dozens of days.”
“…”
Five of them babbled on all at once, crowding in front of the Village Head, forcing him to step back until his back hit the wall before he raised his hand to stop them.
He bellowed, “All of you, shut up!”
Spittle sprayed across the faces of the five village heads, some of it even flying into their mouths.
In an instant, all five mouths snapped shut, and the room fell into an eerie silence.
The Village Head took a deep breath and sighed. “Having two machines is already a blessing. You should be grateful. People in other places don’t have even one—they still thresh by hand, beating the grain with their hands.”
His brow furrowed tightly, the wrinkles between his eyebrows like two small hills.
“If you can’t manage in time, just cut the rice and bring it back first. When your turn comes, then you can thresh it slowly.”
One of the village heads said, “Slowly? When will that ever happen? Everyone’s waiting to dry the grain and sell it for money.”
The Village Head’s face darkened as he roared, “If you can’t wait, then thresh it by hand. There are hundreds of villages in Suining City—if every one of them wanted two more machines, think of the chaos.”
“If you think it’s too slow, then pool your own money and go buy them at the county office.”
The five men were struck silent.
Twenty coppers per mu was cheap enough, but no one could afford a threshing machine costing twenty silver taels.
After great effort, the Village Head managed to shoo the village heads away. He then sat on a long bench in the main hall, pondering for a long time.
He stood up, walked outside, and faced the still-high sun, puffing out three breaths of frustration.
Finally, he said to his son in resignation, “Harness the ox cart and take me to the county office.”
What the Village Head didn’t expect was that when he arrived at the county office, he ran into two other Village Heads.
As the three of them crossed the threshold, they heard someone inside already pressing a clerk for threshing machines.
The three exchanged glances, and in an instant, they charged forward as if their feet were on fire.
“Sir, our town is also short…”
Two quarters of an hour later, Shi Simian took the compiled data and found Song Qiming.
“Sir, the Village Heads from seven or eight townships all say two threshing machines aren’t enough—they want more.”
Having anticipated high demand for rentals, the county office had already ordered the craftsmen to work through the night to produce more, but now they had no surplus.
Song Qiming looked at the list, noting the quantities each village had requested and the final total.
“How many threshing machines are left in the warehouse?”
Shi Simian replied, “We sold three hundred eighty today. There are one hundred twenty left. If we send them to the villages, there’ll be none left to sell.”
Song Qiming said without hesitation, “Harvest season is urgent. Rent out these hundred twenty to the people first.”
“Also, immediately gather all the craftsmen in the city to work overnight and improve efficiency.”
Shi Simian’s face grew even more distressed.
“The harvest season only lasts a few days. If we rent out so many, how will we recover the cost?”
“Originally, fifty households were sharing one machine. Adding two more drops it to twenty-five per machine. If we store them after this year and use them next year, it’ll take years to recoup the cost. It’s really not worth it.”
Tapping his fingers repeatedly on the desk, Song Qiming thought of a solution.
He looked up at Shi Simian. “After the harvest, sell the rented threshing machines at half price. If one family can’t afford it, encourage a village to pool funds and buy one collectively. Divided among households, it won’t be much money.”
Shi Simian’s lips parted slightly, his throat clogged for a moment before he nodded.
“Your subordinate obeys. But it’d be best to announce this only after the harvest; otherwise, no one will buy now.”
Song Qiming nodded. “I’m leaving this to you. Production must be ramped up by tonight. Surplus machines should be sent to the four counties of Songhe, Yunzhu.”
“No need for rentals—sell them directly.”
Shi Simian nodded again, this time slowly. As he left, his steps felt unsteady, as if floating.
