Zhang Zhaoci said, "A few managers from your farm have come to inquire about your fertilizer factory, but they are not very satisfied with the price and said it would be best if the price could be lowered."

Xu Di sighed and said, "Mother, my prices are all based on costs. How am I supposed to lower the prices? I was just making assumptions."

Zhang Zhaoci said, "We're not in a hurry. It's just a little fertilizer. We'll use it on our own farm. We have so much land on the farm, it needs fertilizer everywhere, right? You want to grow vegetables, don't you? I heard that vegetables use the most fertilizer. We'll use it on our own land so that our crops and vegetables can grow well."

Sitting beside her, Granny Lu held a rice bowl. Listening to Zhang Zhaoci's constant attempts to comfort her eldest son, she sighed inwardly. These parents were truly different from other parents. Oh well, so be it. The family had plenty of money. She'd heard that the Zhang family's shipping business also had shares held by the Third Master's family. Before, they hadn't been able to connect, so the money was just sitting there. Now that they'd found someone, they were going to send all the money over. She'd heard it was a considerable sum a year. With money in the family, even if the children lost money on some ventures, it was still better than them squandering it all like those rich kids, frequenting brothels and indulging in debauchery.

Xu Di said, "It's just that people haven't realized this yet. They think that the farmyard manure they have is enough. They don't understand the principle that if you want to do a good job, you must first have the right tools. My fertilizer can not only strengthen crops, but also improve the soil structure and make the soil more fertile."

Speaking of his fertilizer factory, Xu Di had a lot of complaints. He originally thought that farmers would definitely buy the fertilizer produced by the factory, but as soon as they heard the price, they stopped insisting and passed on it directly. Who has that kind of spare money? With that money, they would rather buy a couple more pounds of salt and cut a couple more pounds of fatty meat to render some lard so that the whole family could eat more good food.

Xu Di has been running his fertilizer factory for over a year now, and the fertilizer he produces is piling up in the factory. Fortunately, the daily operation only requires personal wages and the cost of firewood for drying, which Xu Di can afford. Otherwise, he would have closed down long ago.

Xu Rao said, "New things don't always get accepted quickly. Don't rush it. Take it slow. Who knows, in a few years, your fertilizer factory might become famous all over the world?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Di chuckled and said, "Father, I dare not think that far ahead now. I just want to do a good job of cultivating the estate I have, and then I will study hard, take the imperial examination, and become a local official like you, so that I can benefit the people of this region."

Xu Rao stroked his chin with satisfaction and said, "My son has lofty ambitions. I hope you will be able to achieve what you have today."

Zhang Zhaoci gave Xu Di a thumbs up and said, "Good, good, good ambition."

Xu Zhi always takes a nap after lunch, while Xu Di went to his greenhouse. The vegetables in the greenhouse have grown enough to produce seeds, especially the spinach and coriander. After flowering, they are full of seeds. Xu Di felt very gratified. With enough seeds, he will be able to plant enough vegetables on the estate in a few days.

In the eyes of the many clerks in the county government, Xu Rao was a very gentle person, without any airs, and very considerate of his subordinates, so everyone usually completed the tasks he assigned very actively.

I heard that we need to arrange for people to go down to the villages to explain the methods of winter wheat planting, and also to survey the winter wheat planting situation in each village. Several people who have worked in the village for two years have volunteered to come and ask to bring people over.

Xu Rao had someone copy the large sheet of planting instructions that Xu Di had written down several times. After thinking for a while, he made two more copies on the largest sheet of paper so that they could be posted at the city gate and people could be sent over to explain them.

After Xu Rao's men went down, Clerk Li led his men to the city gate to post notices. When someone saw Clerk Li posting these notices, they asked what they meant. Clerk Li explained them to them. People heard that it was about winter wheat, and that corn could be intercropped with winter wheat in the future. Many people didn't know what corn was, so Clerk Li introduced corn to them. Gradually, more and more people gathered around the city gate.

They were all farmers who had spent their lives farming. After listening to Clerk Li's explanation, they knew how many benefits there were in planting winter wheat and corn. However, they didn't know what it was like to grow winter wheat. Some people said that someone in their village had tried planting it and said that it was growing quite well. Even with the heavy snow in the dead of winter, the wheat in the field hadn't frozen to death and was about to turn green again. They said that if things went well, they would plant it too. After all, it was all about growing grain, and the grain they grew was edible. So what difference did it make what they planted?

One person said this, and then more people followed with questions. Everyone crowded around the city gate, discussing it animatedly. Everyone had this herd mentality; if there was no one in a place, passersby wouldn't stop to look, but if there were people, they would follow and come to see. The more people gathered, the stronger the desire to go and see the excitement became.

Even as the city gates were about to close, they were still bustling with activity. Seeing this, Xu Rao regretted not having made this plan sooner. Thinking of the propaganda methods he had used before, he wondered if he could write some slogans in each village.

Xu Di's suggestions on spring field management of winter wheat were very timely.

It was their first time planting, and they had no experience in managing it. But if they didn't manage it, they couldn't bear to lose this season's worth of land. Who knew that the county magistrate would send someone over to explain to them how to manage it, and he explained it in great detail.

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!