The Host is Clearly A Scumbag (Quick Travel)

Even more excited than Sun Wei was Gao Jishi, the county magistrate of Chengchang County, who was also present at the scene.

Seeing the enormous wooden wheel spin rapidly under the force of the water, Gao Jishi's heart nearly soared with joy.

If the water-powered spinning wheel could be widely adopted, it would become a shining achievement under his governance. When evaluation time came, a top-grade rating would be all but guaranteed.

Just the thought of this made Gao Jishi so happy he could laugh in his dreams.

The Sun Family ran the largest cloth shop in Chengchang County, and given Sun Wei's seemingly close relationship with Mingting, Gao Jishi decided to designate the Sun Family as the pilot site for the water-powered spinning wheel's initial implementation.

Of course, as the inventor and designer of the spinning wheel, Mingting's benefits were also guaranteed.

Once the trial proved successful and confirmed that the water-powered spinning wheel was indeed suitable for use in areas with abundant water resources, Gao Jishi would report it to the imperial court for nationwide promotion.

By then, whether it was material rewards or other forms of recognition, Mingting would stand to gain greatly.

Finally, Gao Jishi consulted Mingting on the official name for the water-powered spinning wheel.

After some thought, Mingting decided to name the water-powered spinning wheel after his mother, He Gu.

Gao Jishi knew Mingting's life experience. He was adopted by He Gu as an orphan. Now that he achieved success, he could remember his mother's kindness. This filial piety was touching.

When Gao Jishi later reported to the court, he included this detail in his submission.

As a result, the 'He Gu Water-Powered Spinning Wheel' eventually became colloquially known as the 'Filial Piety Spinning Wheel'.

Once it was settled that the spinning wheel would undergo a three-month trial at the Sun family's cloth shop, Sun Wei presented Mingting with a banknote worth ten thousand taels of silver.

One shouldn't underestimate the significance of this three-month trial period. This would give the Sun Family a head start over competitors, establishing them as industry leaders.

Even if the spinning wheel were later promoted nationwide, whenever people mentioned the water-powered spinning wheel, their first thought would be of the Sun Family's cloth shop in Chengchang County.

This was essentially free advertising and a golden signboard.

Moreover, Mingting was only eleven years old and had already achieved such a feat. If they maintained a good relationship with him, wouldn't future inventions of his naturally benefit the Sun Family as well?

With this experience, Sun Wei was determined to follow Mingting.

In addition to the ten thousand taels of silver, he also gave Mingting a share of the Sun Family's cloth shop as equity.

Mingting didn't decline Sun Wei's material generosity.

He divided the equity into five portions, distributing them to He Gu, Jiang Xiao'e, Wang Zhi, Daya, and Xiaosong, keeping none for himself.

"If it weren't for Sister who saved my life regardless of her own safety, I would have drowned in the river long ago!"

"If it weren't for Mom adopting me, how could I have achieved what I have today?"

"Mom and Sister are my benefactors, and Brother-in-law and the children are my family. Do you mean to say that only you are allowed to care for me, while I can't honor Mom, repay Sister, or dote on my nephews?"

At first, He Gu adamantly refused to accept the shares, but after hearing Mingting's words, she finally relented and accepted the shares.

From then on, she would receive annual dividends from the cloth shop, earning silver without lifting a finger.

"Mom is truly a blessed woman… I'm already beginning to enjoy the fruits of my youngest son's success!"

He Gu's eyes reddened.

She planned to wait until Mingting passed the prefectural exams in April, and then go to Xiaohe Village to worship the ancestors and Jiang Xiucai.

Originally, He Gu had been unwilling to leave the village. It wasn't until the end of last year, after much persuasion from Mingting, that she finally agreed to move to town with the family.

Since Mingting lived at his teacher's home, he couldn't constantly keep an eye on Jiang Meimei.

He was really worried about He Gu and Jiang Xiao'e, fearing that his family might fall victim to the Female Lead's luck-draining ability, which would cause the tragedy of the original timeline to repeat itself.

In order to convince He Gu to move to the town, Mingting had earned some money by copying books, doing accounting work for others, and designing small inventions.

He pretended to be financially irresponsible, splurging on gifts for his family and even letting himself be swindled once, just so He Gu would make up her mind to follow him.

After all, her youngest son was still young, didn't know how to take care of himself, and was naive about the dangers of the world. If she, as his mother, didn't look out for him, who would?

Of the money Sun Wei gave, Mingting kept only a hundred taels for himself and handed the rest to He Gu.

When He Gu received this huge sum of money for the first time, her hands were trembling.

In all her years, she had never seen so much money at once!

He Gu was just a simple village woman. She could manage the family's small money, but she didn't know what to do with so much money.

In the end, it was Mingting's teacher's wife, Mrs. Su, who offered her advice.

Mrs. Su explained that since Mingting and Wang Zhi had embarked on the imperial examination path, they would continue advancing.

If they passed the provincial exams and became Juren, they would eventually go to the capital, so it would be wise to plan ahead. (T/N: Juren is those who passed the provincial examination, which is a higher level than Tongsheng, who only passed county/prefecture examination.)

Moreover, Xiaosong would also take the imperial exams when he grew up. If they could have a house in the capital, they would have a place to stay, which would be much more convenient for their life and study.

He Gu didn't fully understand these matters, but since it was for the children's benefit, she decided to follow Mrs. Su's advice.

However, given the high cost of living and property prices in the capital, this money might not be enough to buy a house at good location.

At best, they could buy a small house, or buy one in a less central area.

Su Hengzhong had friends in the capital, so Mrs. Su took the initiative to help take care of this matter.

After He Gu left, Mrs. Su immediately wrote to her close friend in the capital, asking for assistance in finding a suitable property.

Su Hengzhong was a little surprised by her enthusiasm to help.

"Madam, houses in the capital are expensive, and any vacant property would be snatched up immediately. We've been away from the capital for so long, so I am afraid we can't be of much help."

"In fact, Mingting and Wang Zhi can just stay in our house when they go to take the exams. There's no need for such trouble."

Seeing how oblivious Su Hengzhong was, Mrs. Su couldn't help but shoot him a glare.

"Master, let me ask you this. How does Mingting compare to the officials' children you have met in the capital?"

Su Hengzhong thought for a moment and concluded that Mingting far surpassed any of the young juniors he knew.

"With Mingting's current level, it is almost certain that he will pass the academy examination and became a Xiucai. And whether he can get the first place all depends on the examiner's preference." (T/N: Xiucai placed below Juren and above Tongsheng.)

In fact, Su Hengzhong privately believed his student had the makings of a Zhuangyuan. (T/N: Zhuangyuan is the title given to the scholar who achieved the highest score on highest level of the Imperial examination.)