More than half an hour later, all the people using the rice transplanter had become skilled workers.

After a day of inspections by Zhang Deshui and Han Shunde, the team completed their work.

Zhang Songshu and Han Youliang's group planted rice on six mu of land.

Even the smallest group of two people completed the task of transplanting rice seedlings on four acres of land.

During the meal, they sparred with each other, one by one rubbing their hands together, and issued a challenge to Zhang Songshu, saying that the official competition would begin the next day.

The next day, five more rice transplanters were added.

Du Yanqing, the Vice Minister of Revenue, Pang, and the middle-aged official all rolled up their trousers and got off the ground.

At first, the three of them were in a lot of trouble.

After gradually getting used to it, the speed increased.

Three people completed the task of transplanting rice seedlings in one mu of paddy field in one morning.

However, the rice seedlings in only half an acre of land were all leaning and not arranged in rows.

Zhang Deshui was angry but there was nothing he could do. He quickly went down into the field and replanted the seedlings that he couldn't stand.

Later, they firmly stopped the three of them from going into the paddy field, took the rice transplanter from them, and distributed it to other people.

Five days later, the rice transplanting task in more than 1,100 mu of paddy fields in Taohuayuan was successfully completed.

The adults and children were all exhausted, and they were all tanned dark by the sun.

But their spirits improved day by day.

These past two days, the cafeteria has been cooking different dishes for everyone.

It is essential to ensure that everyone receives one boiled egg every day.

No matter what kind of food it is, everyone can get enough to eat.

Xuan Shen led the training camp members to hunt in the mountains every day and brought a batch of wild game to the main canteen.

Bai Houpu and the others brought over some herbs to soothe the body, and brewed a soup for both adults and children to drink to relieve their fatigue.

The young men using the rice transplanter could never surpass the speed of Zhang Songshu and Han Youliang's group.

The two of them completed the task of transplanting rice seedlings in 18 mu (approximately 1.2 hectares) of paddy fields in a single day at their fastest pace.

Han Shunde said he would record this achievement and see if anyone could break it next year.

After resting for two days, Li Lanzhen brought up the theory of "ecological breeding and planting" again at the village committee meeting.

Everyone was confused and waited for her to explain.

The prince stared at Li Lanzhen with shining eyes, as if she were a gold ingot.

Su Beisheng gripped the brush tightly, ready to record at any moment.

Du Yanqing, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and two others also pricked up their ears, ready to listen carefully and take notes.

"Our rice paddies have been planted now, and in about half a month, we will be able to plant fish fry in them."

About 200 fish are released per acre.

As the fish fry grow, they gradually eliminate the flying insects in the rice paddies and the insects at the bottom of the water.

Fish excrement nourishes the rice seedlings in the paddy fields, providing nutrients for rice growth.

Zhang Deshui suddenly realized what was going on and slammed his hand on the table.

"No wonder, Lanzhen, you said you wanted to raise the paddy field ridges by half."

At the time, I was wondering to myself, "Who would raise the embankment of their paddy field so high?"

So you wanted to keep fish in there!

Also, the ditch between the two paddy fields is very deep and wide. Is it because they plan to drive all the fish in the paddy fields into the ditch when the rice is being dried and fertilized?

"Great! Brilliant! This is an excellent idea!"

After listening to Li Lanzhen and Zhang Deshui's explanations, everyone understood immediately that this was how ecological farming and planting were done!

Han Shunde quickly continued, picking up where he left off.

“Okay, then let’s catch a batch of small fish fry early and raise them, and release them into the rice paddies in half a month.”

Li Lanzhen saw that they all understood and were so eager to put it into practice.

He smiled and looked at everyone, saying, "We can call this fish 'rice flower fish.' If the experiment is successful this year and the rice flower fish has delicious meat, we can also sell it."

"We could turn Peach Blossom Spring into a salted fish paradise, and then it would be called 'Peach Blossom Spring, Rice Paddy Fish'."

"Ha ha ha ha."

After hearing Li Lanzhen's words, everyone burst into laughter.

Han Shunde nodded and said, "Now that the rice has been planted, we need to keep an eye on the temperature. Rice can be grown in Peach Blossom Spring now."

The ground outside Peach Blossom Spring had just thawed, and the wild grass was just sprouting.

We're afraid of a sudden cold snap in spring, a drop in temperature, which would catch us off guard.

Zhang Deshui stopped smiling and nodded in agreement.

"I've made preparations for this in advance. If the temperature drops at night, I'll quickly gather fire pits around the paddy fields and start a fire."

Smoke can also block or isolate cold air from harming rice seedlings.

After the village committee meeting ended, Li Lanzhen wanted to go back to her own yard. She felt a little tired and wanted to go home to rest.

Once inside the courtyard, I sat under the pomegranate tree, where the pomegranate blossoms were a vibrant, fiery red.

Her mood brightened, and she poured herself a bowl of tea, sat down, and slowly drank it.

"Bang bang bang!"

There was a knock on the courtyard gate.

Too lazy to stand up and look, she just shouted loudly.

"Who is it? Come in."

"Auntie, I'm bothering you again."

"Oh, it's the Crown Prince. No problem, please come in and sit down."

After the Crown Prince and Su Beisheng entered, they were followed by Du Yanqing, the Vice Minister of Revenue.

Li Lanzhen stood up and asked them to sit down.

Su Beisheng hurriedly poured tea for the Crown Prince and Du Yanqing, and also added half a bowl of water for Li Lanzhen.

Li Lanzhen thought to herself that this person had come to discuss farm tools and planting methods with her.

Sure enough, after drinking half a bowl of water, the Crown Prince smiled and said to Li Lanzhen.

"Auntie, I've come here to discuss something with you."

Li Lanzhen looked at him without speaking, gesturing for him to continue.

"Auntie, could we promote the iron plowshare from Peach Blossom Spring, the rice seedling raising and transplanting technique, the rice transplanter, and the pictures of these techniques and agricultural tools nationwide?"

Li Lanzhen said without hesitation, "Of course! These are made to improve the efficiency of agricultural production, free up more labor, and make farming less strenuous for ordinary people."

However, there is a fear that these methods and blueprints might fall into the hands of certain greedy officials in the imperial court.

Profiting from this only increases the burden on ordinary people!

The prince quickly shook his head, "Auntie, that's impossible."

The imperial court has also taken this into consideration, so now there is a solution, do you think it is feasible?

Methods for making iron plowshares and rice transplanters.

The imperial court will select a group of people from various prefectures and counties to come to Youzhou for intensive study.

We still need to ask Li Xishui and the others to come over and give the professor a pointer.

"Okay, so how will these farm tools be sold? Who will manage them? And what will the price be?"

If the imperial court had the Ministry of Revenue oversee this matter from top to bottom, and the silver from the sales was directly handed over to the national treasury, that would have been acceptable.

If these methods fall into the hands of certain individuals, I will not allow them to leave this idyllic place.