Chapter 325: Agricultural Official Arrives
"Sir, it's right in front, where there are houses."
The people riding on the camels straightened their backs and raised their heads to look. Down the river, where the houses stood, there were people everywhere, and numerous camels were wandering leisurely. The sound of chickens crowing and dogs barking made the scene very lively.
"It is the season when caravans enter and leave the border. Manager Yu's guesthouse is large, has many rooms, and the houses are clean. At least 70% of the merchants passing through Dunhuang will choose to stay here for a few nights or a few days." said Wang Nongjian.
Geng Zhongcheng stroked his beard and said, "This shopkeeper Yu is a capable man."
"Yes, she is a very capable woman."
The attendant, who was two steps behind, looked at the crops on both sides of the road. The winter wheat inside the Great Wall was now fragrant with flowers, and the spring wheat in Dunhuang had just sprouted out of the soil. In the earth-yellow fields, the tender green buds were thin and delicate, and the leaves had not even grown out yet.
After another half mile, the green carpet of wheat fields came to an end. Zhongcheng Geng and the four attendants noticed thick-leaved plants planted every other step. Their dark green stems and leaves, their roots a hand's height floating in the spring breeze, were clearly planted before the beans and wheat.
"What kind of crop is this?" asked Geng Zhongcheng, who already had a guess in his mind.
Wang Nongjian was not sure either. He had never seen a cotton plant after it was planted, and he had no idea how it could have grown so big when the spring planting season was not yet over.
"It's a cotton seedling." He took a gamble, and the leaves were similar to the leaves of the cotton plant when it was in the process of producing bolls.
Upon hearing this, Zhongcheng Geng stopped his camel, and the attendant behind him landed first and took a few steps forward to help him get off the camel.
"Hey—who are you? Cotton thieves?" A merchant brushing his camel by the river noticed someone walking down the cotton field and immediately shouted, "Get out of the field! I'm calling the master. Ding Quan, someone's stealing cotton! Go catch them!"
The one who acted before the humans was the dog. A big black dog with shiny black fur and fat body came running over barking. If Zhao Xiping had not arrived in time and scolded the dog, the dog would have tasted human blood.
Wang Nongjian was so frightened that his heart was trembling. He looked at the big dog with a ferocious face and said, "Captain Zhao, there are so many people coming and going here, why don't you tie up the dog?"
"We rely on it to patrol and catch thieves. To be honest, our cotton seedlings have been planted for less than half a month, and three waves of thieves have already come." Zhao Xiping explained. He looked to the side, glanced at the people who were still staring at the cotton seedlings, and then looked at Wang Nongjian.
"This is Geng Zhongcheng, an official under the Grand Minister of Agriculture. The Emperor learned of the cotton issue and sent Geng Zhongcheng to inspect it," Wang Nongjian introduced. "The other four are Geng Zhongcheng's attendants."
Zhao Xiping didn't understand the positions and ranks of officials at court. Seeing Wang Nongjian's attitude, he bowed and said, "Greetings, Geng Zhongcheng. You've come all the way from Chang'an and must have been exhausted. Why don't you come home with me and rest for a while?"
Geng Zhongcheng nodded. "Is this Captain Zhao? Every place has its own unique characteristics. The landscape inside and outside the Great Wall is different, and the people raised there are also completely different. Captain Zhao is tall and strong, with the majestic demeanor of a Northwestern military commander."
Zhao Xiping was speechless. How should he respond to the compliment?
"The cotton seedlings have been planted for more than half a month?" Geng Zhongcheng saw his embarrassment, smiled slightly, turned around and asked about the cotton seedlings.
"Yes, on April 17th, my wife set about arranging the maids to transplant the cotton seedlings. With the help of the merchants who stayed there, we finished planting 41 acres of land in ten days."
Geng Zhongcheng calculated the days and found that it was only twenty days since the cotton was planted. He turned around and looked at the wheat field. It had probably been planted for a month and the stems and leaves of the plants were much worse than those of the cotton.
"Cotton grows much faster than wheat after it's planted?" Geng Zhongcheng asked again, "How can it grow this big in just twenty days?"
"No, we started breeding in mid-to-late February and it lasted for a month. After the seedlings emerged, they grew in the tarpaulin shed for another month. The cotton planted in these acres of land you see were the first to be bred, and it has been fifty days since the seedlings emerged," Zhao Xiping explained.
Geng Zhongcheng's bewilderment grew. He saw the large black dog leading the way wag its tail and suddenly turn westward through the cotton fields. He looked in the direction it was headed, and diagonally ahead, west of the river, he saw several white shadows appear in a field. He almost instantly concluded that the bulge, resembling a tarpaulin covering, must be the tarpaulin tent Captain Zhao had mentioned.
"Those seeds were planted in mid-March and sprouted at the end of March. They were moved out of the tarpaulin shed in the past two days and are now being prepared for transplanting to the field." Before he finished speaking, Zhao Xiping saw Geng Zhongcheng turn and follow Dahei, with Wang Nongjian following closely behind, so he followed too.
When the maids saw that the visitor did not stand up, they called out "Sir" and then lowered their heads to continue with their work.
Zhao Xiping sent Ding Quan into the city to look for Sui Yu, and then asked him to go to the training ground to ask for leave.
Geng Zhongcheng and Wang Nongjian both squatted down to look at the cotton seedlings. They reached out to check the temperature in the oilcloth tent, and then looked at the vigorously growing cotton seedlings. They both asked the reason for this way of growing seedlings.
"This was my wife's idea. Her name is Sui Yu. She heard that Sindhu has a hot climate, while Dunhuang's summer comes late. To get the cotton to germinate and grow as quickly as possible, she built this tarpaulin tent. The sun shines in during the day, which not only keeps out the cold wind but also creates temperatures similar to April and May in February and March." Zhao Xiping declared that all this was Sui Yu's work, but he only explained so much. "She didn't know you were coming today, so after lunch she went to my sister's house in the city. I've sent someone to look for her. She should be back in half an hour. When she returns, you can ask her anything you want."
Geng Zhongcheng nodded. He watched as the maid used a shovel to pry up the cotton clumps and put them into the dung basket. When the basket was full, someone came over to take them away to transplant them. He followed and watched the maid transplant the cotton seedlings.
The sun was setting, and the evening glow was emerging. There was the sound of hooves on the road east of the river. Zhao Xiping looked over and said, "It's Sui Yu coming back."
Sui Yu jumped off the camel nimbly and strode over on the wooden planks that spanned the river. Before she even stepped onto the ground, her powerful voice was carried by the wind into people's ears.
"Official Wang Nong, you're finally back. I hadn't heard from you in ages. I was worried you'd met with an accident on your way to Chang'an last winter, so I even asked the caravan heading east to inquire about you."
"Thank you for your concern. We had a smooth journey, but the roads were difficult in winter. We arrived in Chang'an at the end of the year, and we didn't present the cotton to the emperor until the beginning of the new year." Wang Nongjian explained with a smile, "Shopkeeper Yu, the emperor attaches great importance to the cotton matter. He arranged for Geng Zhongcheng to come and inspect it. We rushed all the way and set off at the end of February. We didn't arrive in Dunhuang until today, and we still didn't catch up with the cotton breeding and seedling raising. Can you explain it to us? Geng Zhongcheng and I are very curious."
Geng Zhongcheng also came over. He took a look at Sui Yu. His eyes were clear and bright, and it was obvious that he was a man with great ideas.
"Shopkeeper Yu, I've heard a lot about you." He greeted warmly.
"How are you, Lord Zhongcheng?" Sui Yu greeted him. "You've come all this way, and I'm so sorry for the hard work."
"This trip was well worth it. The Hexi trade route is flourishing, and talented people are emerging. If I hadn't made this trip, I would have died without knowing that there was a way to use oilcloth to breed seeds and seedlings. Shopkeeper Yu is a heroine, brave and intelligent." Geng Zhongcheng pointed backward, then retracted his hand and looked at Sui Yu again, saying, "I'm fortunate to have seen quilts and cotton cloth made of cotton, as well as the cotton-padded clothes worn by Wang Nongjian. I want to express my gratitude to Shopkeeper Yu on behalf of the people of the Han Dynasty. Cotton can be introduced into our country from outside the Great Wall and take root in our territory. It is good for the country and even better for the common people. With cotton, our people will have cloth to cover themselves in the summer and cotton to keep out the cold in the winter. In ten years, no one will freeze to death or suffer frostbite in winter."
Ordinary people couldn't afford mulberry silk. Besides silk and satin, the only fabric available was linen, which made it expensive, costing over 200 coins per piece. For those in the interior of the Great Wall, after paying the grain tax, the remaining food rations wouldn't necessarily sell for 100 coins, making it difficult for many to afford linen clothing. In the hot summer, people could go out shirtless in their trousers. In the winter, those without winter clothing could only stay indoors, using hay as blankets and burying themselves in bed. If someone froze to death on a snowy day, those with family could bury them in time, but if they were alone and elderly, their bodies would stink until spring before anyone discovered them.
Sui Yu had come out of a pile of suffering. She understood what Geng Zhongcheng meant. Seeing that he was wholeheartedly thinking about the people, she breathed a sigh of relief. He was a good official.
"It is my luck to be able to benefit the people and to let this dynasty know my name." Sui Yu said sincerely.
Geng Zhongcheng looked at her deeply and said, "I will convey your intention to the emperor."
Sui Yu:?
She quickly realized he was trying to take credit for her. She grinned unabashedly, silently acquiescing and letting him misunderstand.
After the greetings, Sui Yu, under the gorgeous sunset, explained to the two agricultural officials the uses of mud and oilcloth, as well as the growing period of cotton, how many days it takes to germinate, when the seedlings emerge, how long it takes to bloom, and how long it takes to bear fruit.
But seeing is believing. At this point, Zhongcheng Geng and his four attendants stayed in the guest house. Although they were said to be living in the guest house, they were actually living in the cotton fields. They ran to the fields as soon as they opened their eyes, followed the maids and merchants to water the cotton, pulled weeds in the fields, and followed Sui Yu to pinch the tops of the cotton after it bloomed.
"Why do we need to pinch the top?" asked Geng Zhongcheng.
"If you pinch off the top bud, it will not grow upwards, and the fertilizer will be supplied to the cotton branches and flowers. The cotton branches will grow stronger, the flowers will bloom more, and more cotton bolls can be produced," Sui Yu explained.
Geng Zhongcheng understood that this was the same as planting fruit trees.
"If there are too many cotton bolls, do we need to pinch off some of them?" He drew inferences from one example.
Sui Yu nodded repeatedly, "Yes, but we have to pinch off the buds before the cotton bolls are formed. Only two or three branches can be left on the main branch. If there are more than that, we have to pinch off the buds to prevent them from growing to the point of forming cotton bolls."
The sound of camel bells echoed in the distance, and Sui Yu's large black dog suddenly perked up, listening intently and wagging its tail. Seeing its reaction, Sui Yu said happily, "My caravan has returned. Geng Zhongcheng, you figure it out first. I have to go greet them."
"Ah? Good." Zhongcheng Geng looked in the direction of the camel bell sound. After Sui Yu ran away with the dog, he asked the attendants, "Can you tell the difference in the camel bell sounds?"
The four attendants all waved their hands.
"Could it be that Shopkeeper Yu still has some special abilities?" He was puzzled, and then said with regret, "It's a pity that she's a girl. Otherwise, with this ability, she could have made great contributions as a scout on the battlefield."
Sui Yu walked a mile with Dahei and met the caravan led by Zhang Shun. She stopped, but the big black dog was still running. Afraid of being trampled by the camel, it jumped into the wheat field and ran along the edge.
Sui Yu glanced at it in confusion, without having time to think about it. She hurriedly welcomed the returning caravan with the most enthusiastic attitude, talking to the servants one by one and greeting everyone.
"Sister? Our caravan is back?" Sui Liang caught up on a chestnut horse, followed by the five children of the Zhao family.
Sui Yu suddenly realized that Dahei came to welcome Sui Liang.
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