Compared with the intimidating puppets used for guarding the manor and for sword training, these peaceful farming puppets did not appear human; they were more similar to a small cart, running back and forth on the field while wearing a buffalo head carved from wood, looking very innocent.

This was the first batch of farming puppets sent out by the Imperial Court, having their initial test run in Nanjing.

Back when Ge Pang Xiao still lived in Yanhui Town, he had already harbored an extraordinary interest in Shen Yi's piles of broken copper and iron. His eyes shone brightly as he watched the puppets.

Liao Ran tapped the table to pull the attention of Chang Geng and the others back on him. After a year, Chang Geng was able to understand his sign language; the monk no longer had to write one word at a time.

"I have seen these farming puppets in the Western countries overseas; just one puppet can easily take care of one acre of land. Although it still requires to be run on a small amount of Ziliujin, coals are enough to support most of its working mechanisms after several upgrades and improvements. The cost has been reduced by a large amount; it is said that one puppet is even more economical than a Chang Ming lamp."

Ge Pang Xiao: "That's a good thing. Does it mean that from now on, farmers will no longer need to wake up early and stay up late to work anymore?"

The puppets undergoing the test run were assigned to Nanjing by the Imperial Court. The squires could register their names and bring one back. They were also responsible for the subsequent maintenance of the puppets. If the tenants wished to continue doing the planting themselves, they were free to do so; if not, they could give up the land they rented to the puppets. When the harvesting season arrived in the coming year, the rent would be increased by 10% to compensate for the burning coals and the small amount of Ziliujin the puppets used.

In the first year, very few people did it, for they had to pay an increased amount of rent. But as the second year came, this plan became more and more widespread. People had come to recognize that this thing's working power was a lot greater than a human's. The rent was increased, but the amount of food they were able to keep for themselves was a lot more than before; in addition, they no longer had to work in the early morning. Such a good thing as this, who wouldn't want to join in?

Thus, this was the reason for the empty fields in Jiangnan, not a single farmer could be seen.

Liao Ran smiled and said nothing.