Chapter 138

In the dim morning light, Lin Shuge opened his eyes from his sleep, and his confused mind instantly became clear. He had to go check on the potato planting situation today, so he had to go there early.

But the arm around the waist was too noticeable, so Lin Shuge had to forcefully pry Xie Chen's arms apart, and then reach out for the clothes through Xie Chen. Unfortunately, he couldn't get them after trying for a long time, so he had to get up and get out of bed.

"Where are you going, brother?" Xie Chen asked in a hoarse voice, his voice filled with sleep.

"Did you forget that we have to go to Pingxiang today? Get up quickly." Lin Shuge urged while putting on his clothes. Xie Chen put his arms around him and put his chin on his shoulder. "It's still early. Sleep a little longer."

"It's late. It's all your fault for making trouble last night." Lin Shuge put on his underwear and wanted to tear off the big hands around his waist. Unexpectedly, the hot hands gently stroked him through the fabric. The temperature of the palms was transmitted to his skin through the clothes. Lin Shuge suddenly remembered the joy of last night and his face was embarrassed.

Xie Chen kissed his neck gently, "Brother has been so busy lately that he has no time to care about me."

Lin Shuge felt a little tickled by his kiss and tilted his head, "Aren't you busy too? How about we go hunting after we finish the spring ploughing?"

Xie Chen nodded with his eyes closed, and begged for many sweet things before letting Lin Shuge go. After washing up, the two of them rode their horses directly towards Pingxiang.

Pingxiang has been very busy in the past few months. The soldiers have clear division of labor. Some are reclaiming wasteland, some are carrying miscellaneous items, and some are making fertilizer. When Lin Shuge and his companions arrived, they first smelled an indescribable odor.

The millet seeds had already been planted, but potatoes were a precious commodity, so the soldiers did not dare to make a decision and kept waiting for Lin Shuge to come over.

The land selected in Pingxiang for planting potatoes had been cultivated and was very flat, with dry and dense soil. The soldiers had spread wood ash on the land a month ago. Later, Lin Shuge asked the soldiers to spread the fermented fertilizer on the land. Now it was just right for planting potatoes.

Lin Shuge saw that ridges had been built on the ground. He squatted down and picked up a handful of soil. The soil in the northwest was just right for growing potatoes. He picked up a sprouted potato and planted it in a hole more than half a foot in diameter. Then he covered it with soil and one potato was planted. Lin Shuge also instructed the soldiers to pay attention to the distance between the seedlings, and then let the soldiers work together.

Xie Chen was watching curiously and asked, "Why is there a one and a half foot gap?"

Lin Shuge directly ordered the soldiers to make wooden rulers of the same length. The soldiers used the rulers to measure the planting depth and the spacing between plants, which was obviously much faster.

"Because if you plant too densely, the plants will compete for nutrients in the soil, and if you plant too sparsely, it will be wasted." Lin Shuge walked with him between the ridges of the field. Seeing that everyone around was busy farming, he poked Xie Chen in the chest and scolded him with a smile: "If you don't work hard, you won't be able to tell the difference between the five grains."

"Brother, you are wrong to blame me. Am I not diligent enough every day? I also got my share of grains, but I just never planted the land."

"That's not good. If you retire in the future and you haven't farmed the land, we will starve to death." Lin Shuge couldn't help laughing when he thought about growing old with Xie Chen.

"You won't starve to death. At worst I can work as a farmhand for someone else and I can always support you and me." Seeing that he was smiling, Xie Chen also said.

"Didn't you sell it to our family? Why do you want to go to someone else's house?"

"Oh, that's perfect. My brother will support me in the future, and I will just do my best to serve him..."

Lin Shuge quickly interrupted his nonsense. There were so many people around, why was he talking nonsense? He hurriedly pulled Xie Chen towards Moshui Township.

The household registration of the people in the original county has been completed, and because their residence is in the Moshui Valley, the place was named Moshui Township.

The terrain here is flat and belongs to the river valley area. When Lin Shuge and his companions arrived, the people were busy with spring ploughing. Most of the time, several people in a family would work together. After one person plowed the land with a curved plow, another would follow behind and sow seeds with a harrow.

With the help of the harrow and the curved plow, a row of land was planted in a short time. Although it was hard work, people all had smiles on their faces.

As soon as Lin Shuge came over, Mu Yuanzhou in the distance hurried over and said, "Greetings, gentlemen."

"No need to be so polite. How is the spring farming going?" Lin Shuge asked him.

"Everything is going well. The plows and harrows that the lord had the craftsmen deliver are very useful. The people are finding it easy to use and are no longer complaining like they did in the beginning." Mu Yuanzhou's face was red from the sun. Lin Shuge saw that although he looked a lot darker, he looked much more energetic than when he first came to Qingquan.

"Sir, some people have bought cattle and sheep from the Qiang people, saying that there is abundant grass and water here, and they want to learn how to graze. The Qiang people also want to learn how to farm like the people of Dayan. I dare not lend them the curved plow, but I let them learn to make hoes and the like by themselves. Wooden hoes or stone hoes can always be used." Mu Yuanzhou was a little cautious.

Lin Shuge looked at him, without encouragement or blame, he just patted his shoulder and said, "You put your heart into it."

The Qiang people have just been conquered, and we don't know what they will be like in the future. We want to wait until they are slightly assimilated in the next few years before teaching them these things. Otherwise, it will be very troublesome to pass on the ironware. Lin Shuge thought about the history of the Qiang people rebelling and surrendering, surrendering and rebelling for more than a hundred years in the previous dynasty, and there is still a long way to go.

Mu Yuanzhou took a long time to react and realized that Lin Shuge agreed. He was suddenly filled with joy. He was about to say something to Lin Shuge, but when he turned around and saw Xie Chen's eyes, he immediately calmed down.

"The potatoes and cotton that your Excellency mentioned have been planted. Madam Chen is over there. I will take you to see them." Mu Yuanzhou said respectfully.

The land chosen by Mu Yuanzhou looks good. Cotton planting requires water irrigation, so there must be a water source nearby. Moshui Township is the perfect place.

Although Mu Yuanzhou had told many of the people here that this kind of grain would have a higher yield and that the cotton could be made into clothes and sold for money, most of them still did not dare to take the risk with their food. Only a very small number of people bought seeds from Mu Yuanzhou and prepared to go back and give it a try. Therefore, this piece of land was called an experimental field by Lin Shuge.

Most of the people working in the fields were experienced and employed farmers, who, together with a few officials, formed the grassroots organization of the entire experimental field.

"Sir, we have almost finished planting. Please come and inspect it." Chen Yuanrong came over and saluted. His voice was clear and his face was as beautiful as a flower.

"Mrs. Chen seems to be feeling very comfortable here. Your father asked me to tell you something: it's your mother's birthday. I hope you don't forget it." Lin Shuge said jokingly.

"Oh, my father is always like this. How could I forget my mother's birthday?"

Lin Shuge smiled without saying anything, and walked in the fields with Xie Chen. The soil was a little moist, probably because it had just been watered.

"Sir, there is a commoner in Yuan County named Lu Fu. He bought some seeds from me, and I taught him the planting method you mentioned. He heard that the experimental field here needs a clerk to record the growth of crops every day, so he recommended himself to me. I saw that he was well-spoken and careful in his work, so I wanted to recommend him to you." Mu Yuanzhou hesitated for a long time before speaking to Lin Shuge.

"Call him over. If it's really as you said, he could be of use."

"Yes, sir."

Mu Yuanzhou looked at him gratefully, lifted his robe and ran to the side.

"Brother, do you really want to see me?" Xie Chen asked.

"Anyway, there's nothing to do right now, so it doesn't hurt to meet him. If he's just seeking fame, that's fine, but if he really has knowledge, he can be used to help me farm." Lin Shuge said.

When Mu Yuanzhou brought his men over, Lin Shuge was squatting on the edge of the field burying the soil with his hands, and Xie Chen was helping him.

"Sir, Lu Fu is here." Mu Yuanzhou paused slightly after seeing the two's actions.

"Are you Lu Fu? What talents do you have that make me appoint you as a county official?" Lin Shuge stood up and patted the dirt on his hands.

"I have seen that your Excellency has been encouraging people to cultivate agriculture and sericulture. Everything you have done is beneficial to the people. Agriculture is the foundation of the country. Although I am not as proficient in agriculture as those who have been farming for many years, I have deduced something from your Excellency's special notification to the people about planting new grains."

"Oh, what's the matter?" Lin Shuge looked at him with a smile.

Lu Fu swallowed his saliva, pondered for a moment and said: "Your Excellency told the people about various matters related to planting new grains. I can see a few points from it. First, the grains you obtained should be extremely rare, but the people are cautious and dare not take risks. Second, these grains should be planted here for the first time. Your Excellency needs to know the various situations after planting the new grains, so he recruited experienced farmers and literate officials. Third, although I don't know the habits of the new grains and how to plant them, according to my observation, this plant likes dryness and sunlight, and does not like too high temperatures or too wet soil."

Lin Shuge was amazed by the talents of this era. "It's not surprising that you can think of the first two points, but how did you think of the third point?"

"When the master ordered people to choose a site, I found that the soil here is drier than other places, and the sun shines longer here every day." Lu Fu said calmly.

Lin Shuge looked him up and down with sharp eyes, and suddenly laughed out loud, "Very good, you are very good, you should stay here and grow new crops for me. By the way, make a daily record of the growth of the new crops and send someone to inform me every few days. If there is a good harvest this year, I will reward you handsomely."

"Thank you, sir." Lu Fu bowed to the ground.

"Okay, get up." Lin Shuge helped him up. "This thing is related to the food and clothing of the people. You must be careful and not be careless." He couldn't help but give him a few more instructions.

"Zhongxuan, let's go check on the cotton planting. And peppers, we must plant more this year."

Lu Fu watched the two of them walk away together and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"I've told you before, Lord Lin loves talents. If you have real ability, he will use you." Mu Yuanzhou saw that he was confident just now, but now he felt scared.

"Thank you for the recommendation, sir. Everyone says that Lord Lin has a gentle temperament, but common people like us will always be nervous when we see officials. But sir, how was my performance just now?" Lu Fu asked.

"Of course you are good. You are neither humble nor arrogant, and you answer questions fluently. I admire you a lot. Well, since the adults have asked you to stay here, get to work quickly." Mu Yuanzhou patted his shoulder.

"Yes, sir."

After Mu Yuanzhou saw him off, he saw that the potatoes were almost planted, so he returned to the room where he usually worked temporarily. When he pushed the door open, someone asked in surprise, "Brother, are you done?"

Mu Yuanzhou touched his head and said, "Now that I'm done, is there anything you don't understand about today's lessons? A new kind of food has appeared in the county recently. I'll take you to try it when I'm done with this."