Grasp the farming script in the famous book

Cotton fields in Tara.

As Roland predicted, the operation of large-scale harvesting machinery and automatic cotton pickers is becoming more and more proficient.

From the first few minutes of rest, to the continuous operation for an hour, and finally "as long as the cow is not tired, this machine does not need to rest".

Large bags of cotton mixed with various impurities are harvested "whole" from the fields.In the cotton fields that the huge machinery passed by, there were only bare cotton stalks left in the field.

According to Polk, the picking speed is almost as fast as that of Tara, who used to have more than 100 strong workers.

This black manservant who never liked to do farm work before, not only can work now, but he always likes to brag about it to outsiders-so that people will always think that he is doing Wei Xili's work, not just Just a cattleman.

Wei Xili remained silent while working.

His work is very important, he is like a helmsman who observes the course of the ship, whether the machine moves forward or backward is up to him alone.

But he found that his role was decreasing day by day——

This machine seems to have life, as if it can grow by itself:

It was just a rattling skeleton, but now it is gradually full of flesh and blood, full of wings, and can get rid of his controlling hands at any time and fly high - the woman who invented this machine seems to be the same.

Will's workload is much smaller now. In the past, he had to keep an eye on the machine and be on call for maintenance, but now there is basically no need for this—he just needs to lie down and doze off in the shade next to the cotton field.

Will was also the last Tara got up every day, and it was impossible for him not to fall asleep in bed when everyone else was up.

Pork needs to go to Will's bedroom and yell three times to get the snoring guy out of bed.

But in Tara, most people don't know: in the middle of the night, Will will hold a torch or an oil lamp, and stand by the machine, according to his daytime idea, replace some parts that are not strong enough, and those that are not suitable Parts are improved...

Roland often appeared beside Will and gave him advice.

Even two people will quarrel quietly because of disagreement.

At this time, Carleen would get up quietly, go to the kitchen to boil a pot of boiling water, make a pot of "Da Hong Pao" given to her by her sister, pour it into two small teacups, and hand it out of the Tara mansion quietly in the corridor.

People who quarreled would follow the scent of tea. After drinking the tea to refresh themselves, the two would look at each other and smile again. The smell of the little gun~drug just now has long since dissipated.

The news that Tara used "machinery" to harvest cotton spread like wildfire, and many people came to Tara to watch the excitement.

At such a time, Jia Le would come to the intersection of Tara Manor like a good man with a clear mind and point out: "Look, this is my Tara, the Tara I won from the poker table!"

The process of picking cotton by Tara is not a secret, and one can't help but watch it - people watch it with admiration.

In Jonesboro, however, rumors about Tara were circulating again.

"Tara's cotton contains a lot of impurities. You have never seen the big guy they pick cotton. They pick all the branches, leaves and bones."

"Everyone, Tara must be careful when she sells cotton. What you buy may not be cotton, but a bag of weeds!"

The worst rumor was of course Jonas, Tara's former supervisor. He hated Tara so much that he wished that the plantation would fall from now on and never recover.

Unexpectedly, after a few days, Tara's cotton was shipped out one after another and sent to Jonesboro Town.

The merchant who came to collect the cotton had a special mind and asked someone to open Tara's cotton bag to check——

The cotton picked by Tara is snow-white, with long fibers and less impurities, and its quality is actually better than those picked by other plantations.

After all, picking Tara's cotton from the fields was only the first step.

After the cotton was harvested, Roland took Mammy and others together to expose the cotton to the sun, and then threw the cotton into a big thing like a centrifuge for screening.

Cotton and other impurities have different densities, and this method can quickly separate cotton from other impurities.

After that, it is seed removal, and there is also a special seed removal machine for seed removal.

After these several treatments, all the long-staple cotton that is packaged and packaged is of the best quality. Now in Jonesboro, the snow-white cotton spread in front of the merchants is dazzling and lovely.

It was Ashley Welsh who drove the cotton to Jonesboro.He said loudly: "Everyone, this is really cotton picked by a machine!"

Wei Xili is following Roland's instructions to help her promote the machinery that Tara is using.

"Tara's cotton-picking workforce this season is just three people—three men, with a couple of women helping out."

"Huh—"

The people who watched the excitement all let out a sigh of emotion.

With three men, it is a dream to collect the entire cotton plantation, right?

"We have already collected two hundred bales of cotton, all of which are high-quality products, and there is nothing wrong with children."

The businessman who checked the cotton nodded and testified for Wei Xili.

"Mr. Wei, the cotton produced by Tara is the highest quality cotton, how much does Tara have? How much do we want?"

"This is impossible!" After hearing what the cotton merchant said, the onlookers exclaimed together.

Two hundred bales of cotton, three men—this must be a dream.

"Nothing is impossible."

Wei Xili looked up at a figure in the distance.

"That guy named Jonas Wilkerson threatened all the hired workers in the town, telling them not to take over the work of Tara Manor. So there are only three of us, facing the whole plantation..."

Jonas was in the distance, staring at this side with an unkind expression.Due to the pressure of public opinion, he could only lower the brim of his hat.

"Ashley, how did you do it?"

Someone asked aloud that recently, like Tara, there are really many plantations that lack labor.

"So, everyone, if you have any doubts, please go to Tara Manor and take a look. See Tara's method, maybe it can help you."

The Wei family was originally a prominent family, and the "Twelve Oaks" manor had been operating here for many years, and it was not destroyed until the defeat of the war.

Wei Xili's words really worked. After hearing this, many people said they would go to Tara to have a look.

Ashley breathed a sigh of relief, sold the cotton he had brought in, collected the money, and prepared to drive the empty ox cart back to Tara.

At this time, a man wearing a hat suddenly came up, stopped Wei Xili, and said with a sneer, "Do you finally understand how much power she has?"

Wei Xili was taken aback for a moment before he recognized the face under the brim of his hat: "Mr. Bai..."

Only then did he understand what the other party said, and quickly said: "You are talking about Mrs. Han... I always understood, and I have always... revered her."

Ruide laughed loudly, suddenly stretched out a fist, and punched Wei Xili's chest——

Ruide didn't use his strength, and Wei Xili was no longer as frail as before, but he still swayed and took a step back.

"But her ability hinders your 'little self-esteem', Mr. Wei?"

Bai Ruide's tone was full of ridicule.

Wei Xili was furious immediately: "Scarlett is just like my sister, how could I feel... jealous of her?"

"Then why do you need to ask people around to find a job and want to move your family away from Tara?"

Asking this sentence was like punching Ashley directly, making him stretch out his hand to cover his heart, and he couldn't even speak.

It's really... really scary, this Captain Bai actually knows this...even this.

"Tara...Tara is not my home...my home is in Atlanta..."

He explained in vain.

Rhett laughed, shook his head and said, "No, Atlanta is your wife's home."

Yes, Ashley's home was Twelve Oaks that had burned down, and Atlanta was Melanie's home.

"You clearly know that Scarlett hasn't settled everything down yet, and she especially needs reliable people. But you still choose to leave Tara at this time—Mr. Wei, your dignity as a southern man is truly Is it that important?"

Wei Xili blushed and clenched his fists, wanting to explain but had no words.

Only Rhett laughed: "However, you may have helped me, so I still want to say thank you."

The man raised his hat with his hand, and then walked away, leaving the stunned Wei Xili in place.

"Oh, yes, I am indeed jealous of Scarlett."

Wei Xili thought dejectedly: Ruide helped him recognize the reality.

He watched Tara complete one thing after another, which was impossible for ordinary people-and he couldn't do it either.

While admiring him, he will gradually feel uncomfortable.

Scarlett, Scarlett, in his heart, she was just a little girl with a good-looking appearance and an arrogant heart! ——Why has she become such a strong woman, yet he is still standing still?

Maybe Rhett was right, he really shouldn't leave now - it's not morally justifiable.

When Tara was in the most difficult period, the couple had been staying with Tara, but when the difficulties were over, he thought about it again.

Wei Xili left with a sigh, as if he had failed to sell Tara's cotton at all.

Tara was a different story entirely.

The cotton in the field has almost been harvested, and even a small piece was specially reserved for demonstration purposes-but the "big guy" automatic cotton picker is no longer on display, only those who really want to purchase this kind of machine Roland "reluctantly" let Polk and Will demonstrate it.

Because this large-scale machine has already had an owner, Roland has already negotiated cooperation with an agricultural machinery manufacturer under the help of Ruide. Get a certain percentage of share.

Besides that, smaller agricultural machines have been on display: cotton sifters, seed removers...even planters.

Of greatest interest are the cotton sifters: the women of Tara methodically throw the cotton they pluck into the sifters, and then show the fibers of the sifted cotton to their visiting guests.

These guests are not necessarily businessmen who want to cooperate. Some of them are just neighbors. After hearing about Tara's current situation, they came to watch the excitement.

Everyone faces the same problem: insufficient manpower.

Since the emancipation of the black slaves, the cost of hiring people to pick cotton has been much higher, and most people have to do it themselves from morning to night.

Seeing the women in Tara, sitting comfortably on the terrace, shaking the machine by hand, the cotton was automatically separated from the impurities—the neighbors felt that their eyes would pop out.

"No... I can't be the master."

Melanie shook her head well-tempered, "There is no way I can lend you these machines."

"You also know that these things are all registered as patents, and they have cooperated with outside businessmen. If the partner finds that Scarlett authorized it privately, they will be held accountable."

Melanie brought out the arguments she had discussed with Roland long ago.

"If you really need it, you can talk to Scarlett that you need to rent..."

When it comes to "renting", the former neighbors and friends immediately split up - those who really need to mechanically start calculating how to use the money in their pockets, and those who want to "prostitute for free" say goodbye silently.

"You can rent on credit..."

The prostitute turned around in surprise: No, we don't want to leave...

"Half of it can be credited, and the rest will be paid off within six months..."

Whoring Party: Farewell!This time it's true.

"This is what Scarlett asked of herself before. When we were the poorest, the seventeen people had only a few cents in their pockets, but Scarlett never owed more than half a year."

"If you don't believe me, ask the stores in Atlanta and Jonesboro."

The rest of the people took another half farewell.

Those who actually walked into Roland's office and offered to rent or even pay on credit saw that these machines were useful, and really wanted to own one of these machines to reduce the pressure of work.

Roland readily agreed to their request.

After all the guests had left, Roland specially came to Melanie's side and gave her high fives——

"Merry, well done!"

This was a strategy she and Melanie had agreed upon in advance.She and Melanie sang "Bad Face" and "Red Face" - Melanie was an outsider and could say a lot; while Roland was the master, she was responsible for sticking to the bottom line that should be kept.

Melanie and Carreen were sitting in rattan chairs on the veranda basking in the sun.

Melanie was tired from talking a lot, but she was in good spirits, and she was just as refreshed to see Roland's progress.

Carreen, on the other hand, remained silent.There was a big basket beside the women, and Carleen and Melanie were taking out the cotton branches in it, and carefully tearing off the remaining cotton fibers.

This is where mechanical cotton picking is inferior to human hands. No matter how advanced the machinery is, it is impossible to pick the last bit of cotton wool from the cotton branches like human hands.

Although these cotton fibers are not much, they will be sent to Mammy's spinning wheel later, and a small ball of cotton thread can be spun out; if they are sent to the loom, they may be able to weave a small dress for Bo or Wade.

Most of the remaining cotton branches have been dried, and they can be used as fuel when thrown into the stove. They are used to smoke food, such as dried sweet potatoes, cured meat and sausages, which also have a very special taste.

These are the waste materials sifted by the cotton sieving machine, and it’s okay to throw them away; but the women are reluctant to part with the little cotton wool, so they use it as manual work and do it slowly—fortunately, there is no time pressure, and they can even do it. Consider this a pastime.

Roland suddenly felt Melanie's hand drop little by little.

She looked at Melanie inquiringly, and Melanie nodded her head.

Roland hurriedly invited Mammy to take Melanie back to her bedroom.

Ever since Bo was born, Melanie's body has been weak.She was originally small and thin, with the figure of a teenager.Mammy could lift her up easily.

Roland hurriedly asked Polk to ask the doctor to come and see Melanie—but all of this, illness, seeing a doctor... But Melanie didn't want Ashley to know.

"Men think they know everything, but they don't know anything," Roland thought.

She received some letters, one of which was from Baidie, which mentioned that the last time she saw Ruide, she heard from Ruide that Wei Xili was "looking for a job" in Atlanta.

Roland felt her eyebrows twitch when she read the letter. She closed her eyes, covered her heart with her hands, and tried her best to suppress the sorrow that surged up in her heart.

She told herself: It is impossible for emotion to overcome reason.

This is true.

but--

If she hadn't been implanted with the "worship of good students" towards Wei Xili, she would definitely jump up and scold Wei Xili for "treating Wei Xili as a donkey's liver and lungs" after reading this letter.

Roland could even hear himself saying to the infatuated "Scarlett": Don't be stupid, don't be worth it for such a man, other people's husbands——

But the attachment in my heart is still clear.

She couldn't stay at Tara any longer.

Roland gritted his teeth, knowing that it was time for her to make a decision.

By chance she had another letter at hand, addressed to "New Orleans-Louisiana."