Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 1260 - 643: A Sudden Inspiration_2

"Have you ever seen a gourd?" Lian Manman asked the three city children in front of her with a smile.

Shen Jin and Shen Qian both shook their heads honestly, only Shen Liu seemed not to have heard Lian Manman’s question.

Lian Manman nodded, looking as if she had expected this. These three city children probably had never fetched water themselves, nor had they ever scooped water from a large container to drink. They lived a life where everything was done for them.

Shen Liu was likely a little better than Shen Jin and Shen Qian, but his exposure to ordinary life was probably not very comprehensive either.

"Well, Xiao Qi, you should also tell Fifth Sister, Brother Xiao Jiu,... and..." Lian Manman smiled at Shen Liu’s profile, "we must also invite Sixth Master to correct us."

Shen Jin quickly glanced at Shen Liu, noticing that Shen Liu was calm and seemingly in a good mood, and was slightly surprised inside. Shen Liu, despite his young success, had a rigorous personality, and rarely did anyone dare to joke in front of him, let alone tease him. Yet Lian Manman was clearly teasing Shen Liu, who did not seem angry at all.

"...you have to wait for the gourds to grow..." Over there, Xiao Qi was already seriously explaining gourds and dippers to Shen Qian.

After the gourds are grown, you choose the ones with good shapes and place them on a rack or support them with something else. This way, the gourds can continue to grow for a while, without the fear of them falling to the ground and breaking due to the withering of the vine.

Once the gourds are dried and brittle, you scrape off the outer skin, then saw them in half at the top, and clean out the insides, thus getting two dippers. These can be used to scoop water, rice, or flour, and are very practical. Especially for scooping water, the longer you use a dipper, the prettier and more useful it gets. Farmer families rarely drank hot water during summer and would scoop cool water directly to drink with a dipper.

When using a dipper to scoop water, there is absolutely no strange smell, nor any harm to health, and sometimes the water even tastes fresher and sweeter.

At Thirty Mile Camp, farmer families not only used gourds to make water dippers but also used large-bellied gourds as containers. Again, they would let the gourds dry completely, scrape off the outer skin, and then carve a hole at the section of the gourd above. Through this hole, they would clean out all the insides of the gourd, and the hole itself could serve as a handle.

To do this, firstly the gourd’s shape must be suitable, and secondly, the craftsmanship must be excellent. Another simpler method is to cut off the upper section of the gourd directly. This way, the resulting container has no handle, but the cut-off section can serve as a lid for the container.

Farmers at Thirty Mile Camp generally used these gourd containers to store eggs. Because there is a thick soft skin inside the gourd, eggs placed inside generally do not break from common jolts and vibrations, and eggs stored in a gourd also have a relatively longer shelf life.

Xiao Qi’s story was interesting, and Shen Jin and Shen Qian found it novel. As they listened to Xiao Qi, Shen Qian called a servant over, gave him a few instructions, and sent him off.

When Xiao Qi finished speaking, the servant returned, holding a gourd in his hands.

"Manman, Xiao Qi, look, this is from my room." Shen Qian took the gourd and showed it to Lian Manman and Xiao Qi.

The gourd in Shen Qian’s hand was completely different in shape from those at Thirty Mile Camp. Its surface had clearly been treated specially, and even more beautiful was the pyrography on the gourd.

It was a picture of the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, with exquisite strokes, vividly portrayed.

Unlike the practical use of gourds by the farmer families, this gourd was an ornament, a work of art.

Lian Manman and Xiao Qi could not help but express their admiration.

"It seems I have one too, though it’s a bit smaller," Shen Jin said.

Gourds symbolize fortune, prosperity, and longevity, often processed into auspicious ornaments, with various pyrography, carvings, and other techniques aplenty.

"Wouldn’t it be more fascinating if the gourd could grow words and pictures by itself?" Lian Manman suddenly had an idea and said.

Shen Liu, Shen Jin, Shen Qian, and Xiao Qi all looked towards Lian Manman.

"Can you make a gourd grow words and pictures?" Shen Liu asked.

Lian Manman initially was just admiring the beautiful pyrographed gourd and suddenly remembered the square watermelon from her past life, so she blurted out this idea. Seeing everyone looking at her, and with Shen Liu asking this, Lian Manman slightly regretted it.

But, on second thought, it wasn’t a big deal.

"Of course, I can." Lian Manman smiled and said. Just like how she had seen molds used to cultivate square watermelons in her past life and techniques to imprint words on fruit, naturally, she could also let gourds grow with patterns and characters and even shape the gourds as she wanted.

Lian Manman briefly explained the principle.

"I’ve never tried it, just came up with the idea suddenly, not sure if it will work." Lian Manman said with a smile.

The principle is straightforward, and Lian Manman believed that with such a principle and idea, the skilled craftsmen of this era could certainly enhance and expand upon it.

In Nian Garden, Lian Manman’s initial concept was adopted to design a complete set of sewage pipes, and every main house in the courtyards was equipped with a flush toilet. Lian Manman credited Mr. Loo for this idea, but Shen Liu and Shen Qian vaguely knew the part Lian Manman played in it.

"It doesn’t matter; we can give it a try. We’ll find out by trying," Shen Qian was eager to give it a go.

Shen Jin also found it very interesting; she didn’t speak but had already begun to draw images in her mind based on Lian Manman’s concept.

"We can indeed give it a try." Shen Liu nodded, a serious expression on his face.

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Here’s the first update, asking for support with pink, genuine subscriptions, and recommendation tickets. (To be continued. If you liked this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to recommend, vote for monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation.)

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