Chapter 244 Harvest

"Father, how did you calculate so accurately that you knew it was time to harvest wheat today?" Su Ying asked.

"Your brother mailed me an abacus with a letter attached, mentioning that the wheat has matured in the past few days. The temple minister happened to be there, so he hurried over!" Su Bucheng replied.

Dou Jing had just arrived in Wuzhou and came specifically for this batch of wheat.

Measuring the yield per mu to see the final result is one reason, but the most important thing is to harvest this batch of wheat.

The same soil, the same newly reclaimed wasteland, the same careful cultivation, and the comparison of the first crop yields after composting and fertilizing the soil.

Guessing that this batch of wheat would be targeted and worried about being divided up, the group traveled overnight and it only took them a little over a day to get from Wuzhou to Huanggou Village in Wu County.

Su Ying smiled, thinking that she was short-sighted and shallow, and thought things were too simple.

In officialdom, one must not only be practical but also be able to seize opportunities to perform, otherwise, one will always be fit to be a slave.

"Old man, the total is 282 kilograms!" Hu Zi counted the beads and announced the result.

"Hu Zi, are you really careful?" Old man Yang grabbed his grandson's hand tremblingly.

"Hiss!" Everyone present stood up in shock.

I thought the output would be high, but I never thought it would be so high!

Sinong Temple has counted the average per-acre wheat yield in many places. After drying, it fluctuates around 150 jin, the highest has been over 180 jin, and the lowest is only about 120 jin.

The estimated yield per mu of this land, based on a 30% increase, is only 210 kilograms. This 282 kilograms, after drying, will be at least 240 kilograms!

"Hu Zi, try calculating again. You must be right, right?" Old Man Yang didn't believe it.

Hu Zi looked at everyone's expressions and suspected that he had calculated wrong, so he added the recorded weight again.

"Aunt, that's right! It's 282 pounds!" Hu Zi confirmed again.

Su Bucheng didn't say anything. He believed there should be so many. After all, they were just cut and not dried yet.

After drying and removing the moisture, it weighs at least 240 kilograms. Even so, it is shocking enough, after all, this is newly reclaimed land.

"Weigh it again!" Dou Jing ordered. This report to the Khan must not be taken lightly.

This time, several planting experts took charge of the work personally. They shook the baskets clean and filled them with wheat. Two of them passed a shoulder pole through the scale bar and lifted the rope on their shoulders. One person hung the weight to weigh the wheat, and the other counted the wheat.

There were many people around, holding their breath for fear that their breathing would affect the accuracy of the scale.

"282 kilograms!" The expert fiddled with the abacus for a while and came up with the answer.

"That's great!" Everyone was happy and congratulated each other.

Then we summarized the output of other lands, and found that the output of the seventeen acres of land was obviously different.

The yield of nine acres of fertile land is mostly more than 250 kilograms, with the highest being 282 kilograms.

The normal yield of eight mu of land is 200 jin, and the highest is 210 jin.

Now we just have to wait for it to dry and see what the final yield will be.

The villagers were carrying threshing machines, beaming with joy, guessing and estimating how much the harvest would be.

Dou Jing stroked his beautiful beard and praised Hu Zi with a smile, "This counting is really too slow, but this kid's abacus is pretty good!"

When Hu Zi heard this, stars sparkled in his eyes. He felt proud to receive the praise from the temple minister for a long time.

"Is this an abacus? Is it used for counting?" Lin Chongzhi had never seen one before. He only heard that it was used by the Imperial Observatory to calculate complicated data.

"Yes, this thing is really convenient for counting and accounting!" Dou Jing nodded.

He had seen the abacus sent to Su Bucheng and Su Laosan. The strange formulas were similar to the operating rules of the Imperial Observatory.

One has to marvel at the genius of Magistrate Su's eldest daughter, who applies this to her daily life.

Just now I saw Hu Zi using the abacus very skillfully. He could get the number right after he reported it, which was much faster than using counting sticks.

This is just a simple three-digit number. The more complex the number, the faster the calculation will be.

"This abacus can be promoted vigorously. When collecting taxes and grain, the household department is very busy. If the abacus is adopted, the workload can be greatly reduced! Lord Hu, you have made money again!" Lu Zhaoshi smiled.

"Your Excellency, these children will soon follow the household officials to various villages to help collect taxes and compile accounts." County Magistrate Hu replied hurriedly.

"Haha, now County Magistrate Hu has also learned his lesson and doesn't even let the children go." Lu Zhaoshi joked.

"Sir, I have no choice. There are too many things to do. These days, the road is being built, and everyone in the county government, except for those on duty, is at the construction site.

Using the dolls was also a last resort, and the clerks used counting sticks, but it was unknown when they would be collected.

"Why not take the children with you? This will both train them and speed up the process. After collecting the taxes, we can then teach the clerks in the Household Department how to use an abacus!" Hu Sansi explained.

"Haha! Not bad, Lord Hu's idea is good!" Lu Zhaoshi praised.

"Sir!" Upon hearing this, Lin Chongzhi pulled County Magistrate Hu aside.

"Can you spare me some manpower? You know, Tong County has been scoured from top to bottom, and we're really short of manpower. Now that tax collection is imminent, we're in a critical situation!"

After Lin Chongzhi finished speaking, he bowed again and begged.

It is not fair to dig into the master's family, but the time for collecting taxes is tight and we cannot afford to delay, so we have to be shameless.

"Well, Chongzhi, it's not that I don't want to help you. These kids are students of the Huanggou Village School. They were taught abacus by Aying. It would be better for you to ask Aying for help instead of me!" County Magistrate Hu pointed at Su Ying.

Su Ying took the initiative to help him out of his urgent need. Chongzhi was his good friend, but he was not in a position to agree directly, so Su Ying had to do him a favor.

"Thank you, sir!" Lin Chongzhi thanked Magistrate Hu and turned to bow to Su Ying, "Miss Su!"

Su Ying covered her mouth and smiled at County Magistrate Hu. He was indeed a kind man.

"Lin County Magistrate, please stand up quickly! We will help, we will definitely help! We will assign some people to accompany you to Tong County! After that, we will give you lessons and help you set up the Household Department." Su Ying promised.

"Thank you, young lady! I am very grateful!" Lin Chongzhi expressed his sincere gratitude.

With so many people helping, the Su family harvested the wheat in one day.

Only wheat stubbles were left in the field. Su Ying discussed with her father that they should plow the field over the next few days while the whole family was together.

The wheat piles are either exposed to the wind and sun at the edge of the field to decompose into beneficial organic matter and nutrients, thereby improving soil fertility.

Or plow the land and mix the wheat stumps with the soil to promote the decomposition of organic matter and improve the soil structure.

Or cut the wheat stumps into pieces and return them to the fields to improve soil fertility and water retention capacity and promote crop growth.

After plowing, let the land dry for a few days, and then a few days later, when the summer solstice comes, soybeans and mung beans can be planted.

Planting soybeans can effectively repair the soil, improve soil fertility, and increase soil nitrogen content, which has a good promoting effect on the growth of subsequent crops.

However, the yield of soybeans is relatively low and is suitable for planting in smaller areas.

Planting mung beans also has a significant promoting effect on soil fertility and nitrogen content, and the yield is higher than that of soybeans, but attention should be paid to diseases such as anthracnose and gray mold.

Soybeans prefer warm temperatures and short days, so it is not advisable to sow them too early, as they will bloom prematurely and grow vigorously.

If the growth is not controlled in time, it will lead to insufficient nutritional growth, reduced soybean flowering and podding rates, and affected yields.

After a few months, soybeans and mung beans are harvested, and the next round of winter wheat planting begins.