The village head of Zhangjia Village arrived early with two young men from the village. They were too embarrassed to knock on the Xu family's door, so they squatted down by the wall in front of the Xu family's house. It was Granny Zhao who came out and saw them. After asking them, she learned that they had come to see Xu Di.

Xu Di hosted Zhang Jiacun's group in a side room in the front yard.

After listening to the village head's explanation of the villagers' thoughts, Xu Di said, "Uncle Village Head, I have no objection to you leading the villagers to plant wheat with me, but let's make this clear first: I can't give you the seeds for free."

Upon hearing this, the village head quickly replied, "That's natural. However, we're a bit short on funds right now. We're thinking of planting this crop first, and then we'll come back to buy some seeds from you. But we'd really appreciate any guidance from the young master on how to care for them."

Xu Di said, "That's natural. We have people in our village who specialize in growing wheat. I'll ask them to help you grow it. Village head, I still suggest you divide the fields into plots and dig irrigation ditches to connect them to our fields. In a while, I'll build a waterwheel by the river to draw water directly into the ditches. That will make watering much easier for us."

The village head sighed and said, "Young master, building a waterwheel is a good idea, but I'm afraid that if the flow of our river becomes too weak, the waterwheel won't be very effective."

Upon hearing this, Xu Di knew that this was someone who knew about waterwheels, and quickly asked, "Uncle Village Head, judging from your tone, do you know how to make a waterwheel?"

The village head said, "When I was young, I learned the craft from an old carpenter. My master was a man who liked to travel around. I went with him to the south and saw this waterwheel. Because a waterwheel there broke down, my master, being an old carpenter, helped repair it. I was always helping out, so I really knew what the waterwheel was used for and how to use it."

Upon hearing this, Xu Di laughed and said, "It's just like someone handing you a pillow when you're sleepy. Village head, let's not worry about when the river will run dry. Let's set up the waterwheel first and use it as long as we can. Besides, your village rents land from my estate. If your harvest is good, I'll charge you a lower rent. If the crops don't grow well because the water isn't provided in time, how can we bear to see you go hungry?"

The village head knew that the landlord's family were kind people, so he said, "Young master, since that's the case, I'll go back and tell the villagers that when you plant wheat in the fall, we'll plant it together with you. As for the waterwheel, I'll come and help you whenever you need it."

Xu Di was overjoyed. After seeing the village head and his party off at the gate, he went back to continue looking at the drawing of the waterwheel he had made.

Xu Rao hasn't been feeling very happy lately.

Xu Rao has been here for over a year. At first, he was busy looking for projects that could help the people under his jurisdiction become wealthy, but later he decided to promote winter wheat.

When people are busy, they have fewer things to do. The winter wheat that was promoted last year has already been planted, and it is growing well after the spring. If the weather is favorable this year, we can expect a bumper harvest.

After Xu Rao had some free time, she realized that there were quite a few petty power struggles in the office.

The registrar's surname was Li. He was a very calm and steady person. He came from out of town and had been working in the county for more than ten years, serving three county magistrates. He was a well-known good-natured man.

The county magistrate's surname was Qian, and he was from Ganzhou, which belonged to Hexi. I heard that his family was a prominent family in Ganzhou. He came here the year before last. Because he was a local from Ganzhou, he looked down on officials who came from other places.

Xu Rao had been here for over a year, and Magistrate Qian had always been lukewarm towards him. However, when Xu Rao was vigorously promoting winter wheat some time ago, Magistrate Qian not only made excuses but also spread rumors about Xu Rao, saying that the young master from the capital didn't know what was important and that farming was not as simple as composing poetry. Xu Rao really didn't take Magistrate Qian's words to heart.

However, a couple of days ago, Wei Lang came over quietly and told Xu Rao that the prefect of Ganzhou had told others that Xu Rao was a fame-seeking opportunist. Being evaluated like this by his superior was a worrying prospect for someone in officialdom.

Xu Rao didn't care much. He was now on the Emperor's side. Not to mention anything else, the grain that Eunuch Zhao and his men took from Hexi was given as a reward by the palace before the New Year. They didn't make a fuss about it. The men who came with him last time talked to Xu Rao for a long time, asking him in detail about the management of winter wheat and the planting of corn. Xu Di had dragged Xu Rao along when planting these two things, so Xu Rao was of course familiar with them. In particular, after the wheat seedlings turned green in the spring, it was very important to use a stone roller to press down one side of the seedlings.

When Xu Rao was watching period dramas, she saw the male protagonist pulling a stone roller to press down wheat seedlings. Out of curiosity, she looked into why and learned that after wheat is sown in late autumn, it takes advantage of the summer heat to sprout and grow some roots. At this time, the wheat seedlings are not very tall. These small roots are to stabilize the plant, absorb water and nutrients from the soil, and have more nutrients to resist the cold. They are not to prepare for growing tall and large roots.

After spring arrives, the wheat seedlings turn green again. However, due to the sharp rise in temperature, the growth of the roots cannot keep up with the growth needs. Rolling the wheat with a stone roller can prevent it from growing too tall and also help to close the cracks, so that the cold air will not freeze the wheat roots during the late spring cold snap.

This knowledge is the accumulation of many generations. Even some people in the south are not very clear about it. After Xu Rao explained it to the visitor in detail, the man's eyes lit up. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that it really was true.

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