Duke of Zhenguan

When Li Shimin was about to personally pull the plow, the craftsman behind him who was holding the plow was so frightened that he knelt down on the ground with a thud.

Li Shimin sighed helplessly, his gaze sweeping across the crowd before finally settling on Lin Chuan:

"Lin Chuan, you help with the plow!"

"Here you go!"

Under the watchful eyes of all the ministers, Lin Chuan steeled himself and walked over to lift the plow.

Li Shimin put the plow rope over his shoulder, slowly exerted his strength, and pulled the plow forward.

Lin Chuan was afraid that the plowshare was too low and Li Shimin, who was pulling the plow in front, would not be able to pull it, so he carefully pressed down on the plowshare from behind.

Fortunately, the soil in the small garden wasn't very compacted, and the plow didn't press the soil too deeply, so Li Shimin could pull it relatively easily.

After pulling for several meters, Li Shimin was slightly sweating. Looking at the deep furrow dug by the plow behind him, he nodded in satisfaction and called out to the craftsman:

"Try using the old plow instead!"

Soon, the craftsman came over carrying a straight-shafted plow.

Li Shimin put the rope around his shoulder, waved his hand to let Lin Chuan continue holding the plow, and huffed and puffed as he pulled the plow forward.

But after walking only ten steps or so, he stopped, panting, and waved to Changsun Wuji in the group:

"Auxiliary machine, you give it a try!"

Changsun Wuji nodded, quickly walked over, took the rope, and put it on his shoulder.

Lin Chuan was still plowing the field.

After trying both plows, the already somewhat overweight Changsun Wuji was covered in sweat, but his face was full of joy. He cupped his hands towards Li Shimin and said:

"Your Majesty, this will save at least 30% of your effort!"

"Haha, I think so too!"

Li Shimin looked at the curved plow and laughed heartily.

After speaking, he looked at Lin Chuan, who was standing obediently to the side, and asked:

Does this item have a name?

Lin Chuan subconsciously shook his head; it was just a plow...

But he quickly realized what was happening, and hurriedly cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Li Shimin, saying:

"This humble subject dares to ask Your Majesty to bestow a name upon it!"

Upon hearing this, the gazes of everyone present towards Lin Chuan suddenly turned appreciative; what a brilliant flattery!

Li Shimin nodded and said to everyone:

"How about we call it the Zhenguan Plow?"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

At this point, no fool would stand up to object; everyone responded in unison.

"Lord Pei, spring plowing is about to begin. The Zhenguan plow is of great use to the people. We must arrange for people to send the blueprints to all prefectures and counties as soon as possible, and order them to promote its widespread use!" Li Shimin said in a deep voice to Pei Ju, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

"Your subject obeys the decree!"

Pei Ju bowed and replied.

Li Shimin then turned his gaze to the group of ministers and asked with a smile:

"Lin Chuan has rendered great service to the nation, and I believe he should be rewarded with the title of County Baron. What do you gentlemen think?"

While the others hesitated, Cheng Yaojin was the first to step forward and loudly proclaimed:

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Fang Xuanling, Changsun Wuji, Du Ruhui, and others stepped forward:

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"..."

Agriculture is the foundation of a nation, and the effectiveness of the curved plow was personally verified by Li Shimin and Changsun Wuji, leaving no room for doubt.

With the support of trusted ministers such as Fang Xuanling and Cheng Yaojin, no one objected to Li Shimin bestowing a title upon Lin Chuan.

The appearance of the waterwheel had already delighted Li Shimin, but the Zhenguan Plow made him even more overjoyed. After rewarding Lin Chuan, the meritorious official, he ordered someone to take the Zhenguan Plow back to the palace.

He couldn't wait to share the Zhenguan Plow with his father and empress.

"Congratulations, Young Master Lin!"

After Li Shimin left, Yan Lide congratulated Lin Chuan with a smile.

He was naturally envious and somewhat resentful. As the Junior Director of the Imperial Workshops, his title was only that of a baron, and that was only because he benefited from the new emperor's ascension to the throne. Who knows when it might be taken back?

Lin Chuan's title was far too easy to obtain.

The other craftsmen also offered their congratulations, their feelings towards Lin Chuan being pure envy.

Lin Chuan felt it was unreal that he had obtained the title so easily. After dealing with the officials from the Imperial Workshop, he strolled towards Lin's Noodle Shop in the West Market.

Since Li Shimin had given him both a noble title and an official position, it wouldn't be appropriate for his mother, Lady Li, and his younger sister, Er Ya, to stop working at the noodle shop.

It was noon when we arrived at the noodle shop. There weren't many people there. My cousin, Lin Shan, was clearing away the used dishes and chopsticks. When he saw Lin Chuan, he smiled and called out:

"Brother!"

Lin Chuan nodded and asked:

"Erlang, are there many people today?"

"There are fewer customers now! Brother, are you hungry? I'll go cook you a bowl of noodles!" Lin Shan said with a smile.

"You rest, I'll go ask Mother to cook!" Lin Chuan waved his hand.

Since Lin Chuan went to study at the Yan family's school, the noodle shop has been basically handed over to Lin Shan.

Although he was two years younger than Lin Chuan and a little less assertive, he was hardworking, quick-witted, and adept at interpersonal skills, and almost never made a mistake.

When they arrived at the kitchen, they couldn't find anyone. They went into the backyard and saw Li Shi and Er Ya washing dishes with wood ash.

Although the weather was gradually warming up in February, the water drawn from the well was still bone-chillingly cold. Lin Chuan watched the two washing dishes with cold water and said with a wry smile:

"Mother, it's not like we can't afford charcoal. We can just heat up some water to wash!"

"Why are you back so early today, Dalang? Are you hungry? I'll cook you a bowl of noodles!" Li asked with a smile, without replying.

"Hungry!"

"I'll go cook it for you right away!" Mrs. Li said with a smile.

After quickly finishing a large bowl of noodles, Lin Chuan smiled and said to Li Shi:

"Mother, let Dalang watch the noodle shop. Let's go back first. I have something to tell you!"

"Perfect timing! I also have something to tell you, Dalang. I'll ask your Ninth Aunt to come over and help keep an eye on things when we get back. Let's go!" said Madam Li.

"Big Brother, please sit down!"

Back in the small courtyard in Tiechi Lane, Li smiled and said something to Lin Chuan before pulling Er Ya into the bedroom.

A moment later, the two men laboriously carried out a wooden box.

Lin Chuan quickly went to help, but it was incredibly heavy.

"Brother, this is the money I've earned these past few days. Including the money you made from selling your house, it's almost a hundred strings of cash!" Madam Li opened the box and said to Lin Chuan with a smile.

"You made so much money? You haven't given your share to Ninth Aunt and Twelfth Aunt yet?" Lin Chuan asked in surprise.

"I gave them a gift, and I even gave each family two extra strings of cash!"

Li smiled, pulled up a stool and sat down next to Lin Chuan, then continued:

"I plan to tear down our thatched house and rebuild it. I've found out all the details. We'll build three main rooms and four side rooms on the left and right, all made of blue bricks and tiles. Thirty strings of cash will be enough!"

Including the renovations and furniture, it'll cost at most forty strings of cash! What do you think, Brother?

"Why did you suddenly decide to fix the house?" Lin Chuan asked curiously.

"You know that your Aunt Tian has a cousin who married into Guangde Lane, right? Yesterday, your Aunt Tian told me that there's a young lady surnamed Xu next door to her cousin's house. She has a great personality, is pretty, and is only one year younger than you, so their zodiac signs are a good match!"

Didn't you say that you should make your own decisions about marriage? I was thinking of asking you first. Or should I ask your Aunt Tian to help me find out?

"Since you're getting married, the house will definitely need some repairs. Er Ya will soon be of marriageable age, and once the house is repaired, Er Ya will be able to find a good match!" Li said with a smile.

"Mother, there's no rush for the wedding. I have something to tell you first..." Lin Chuan said with a wry smile.

"What could be more important than marriage?" Madam Li gave her son a reproachful look.

"His Majesty the Emperor has bestowed upon me the title of Baron and a seventh-rank official position!" Lin Chuan said.

"Bang!"

In her excitement, Li tried to stand up, but tripped over a stool and fell heavily to the ground.