Chapter 362 The Caravan Returns
Sui Yu asked Ma Nongjian to send over five cotton plants infected with rust. She dug up a piece of radish from the small vegetable garden and planted the five diseased cotton plants.
Before planting the cotton plants, Sui Yu asked Erhei to dilute a large basin of wood ash water and place the cotton plants in it for a while to steep. Wood ash is alkaline and can kill pathogens to a certain extent.
When the cotton plants were being soaked, the clerk who had delivered them had not yet left. He asked, "Madam, what does this mean?"
"Wood ash has been burned, so it is clean and has no insect eggs. It can also be used to wash clothes, which shows that it has cleaning ability. I will try to see if it can kill the bacteria on the cotton plants." Sui Yu explained far-fetchedly. In fact, she had no idea in her mind. She only knew that wood ash was alkaline and could probably kill bacteria to a certain extent.
"There are no insects on the cotton leaves, and the roots of the cotton plants are not rotten. This disease is probably not related to insect pests or the amount of watering. It may be due to lack of fertilizer." Sui Yu added.
"Then why are some cotton plants in the same acre of land sick while others are healthy? And why is it that half of a piece of land is fertilized and the other half is not?" The clerk questioned her words.
Sui Yu spread his hands. "You should ask the landowner about this question, not me. As far as I know, if the landowner is unable to cultivate the wasteland, it is impossible to fertilize it. However, there is also a situation where manure is insufficient and only two or three ridges of land per acre are fertilized. You should know this better than me."
The clerk suddenly realized it and apologized, "I forgot to consider this."
Sui Yu also softened her tone. She explained, "Cotton has just been introduced to Dahan, and the various symptoms it's exhibiting are unfamiliar to us. We don't know where to begin, so to minimize losses, we can only pull them out and burn them. Right now, we can only eliminate irrelevant causes piece by piece. Crops require nothing more than soil, water, fertilizer, and light. So far, water and light are fine, so let's focus on soil and fertilizer. The cotton plants have already been transplanted, and the soil and fertilizer have both changed. The next step is observation and experimentation."
Xiaozai stood outside the vegetable garden holding Xiaohua, listening attentively. He thought carefully and asked, "If wood ash water can kill bacteria, can it also kill cotton worms?"
Sui Yu's heart moved, and he said, "I don't know either. You can try mixing it with wood ash water."
The cub nodded, and he said eagerly, "Mom, I will help you take care of these five sick cotton plants."
Sui Yu readily agreed.
After planting the cotton plants, Sui Yu shoveled some wood ash and piled it at the roots of three cotton plants, then watered them. He did not apply any fertilizer to the other two plants, and then observed them carefully.
Three days later, the newly sprouted cotton leaves of the five cotton plants had no rust spots. The boy was so excited that he wanted to go to the city to report the news to the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture, but Sui Yu suppressed him and asked him to observe for another five days.
Almost overnight, rust spots appeared on the newly sprouted cotton leaves of the cotton plants that had not been fertilized with grass fertilizer. At the same time, the cotton bolls were also covered with rust spots.
Three days later, the boy came into the house dejectedly, holding a shovel. He said listlessly, "Mom, the new cotton leaves of the cotton plants that were fertilized with grass have also become rusty."
Sui Yu said "Oh" and motioned him to come closer. She fanned him and said, "Even a sick person can't be cured completely by taking a single dose of medicine, let alone plants. They don't have doctors to check their pulses, and we don't even know if the fertilizer we apply is right for their condition. Be patient and observe them carefully. If it doesn't work, change the prescription. If the medicine doesn't work, try acupuncture or compresses. At the very least, give them time to fight the bacteria."
The boy took the palm-leaf fan and fanned his mother and sister, saying, "I went to the house on the other side of the river to check. The ground has been leveled. As you instructed, the workers have also paved a gravel path in the yard. The next step is to transplant the trees. After the trees are transplanted, we can move in."
Sui Yu nodded, "What has your uncle been busy with recently? He's still going out in such hot weather."
"Playing house." The kid chuckled, "He said it himself."
"What?" Sui Yu pressed Xiaohua's hand down, "Just sit still. Brother is tired. Don't let him hold you."
"The first batch of silkworms hatched in spring have made cocoons, and my uncle has gone out to collect the cocoons." The boy waved the fan vigorously, grabbed Xiaohua's fat fingers and bit them lightly, then threw the fan away and ran away.
Xiaohua was so angry that she screamed "Ahhh". She raised her hand and put it under her mother's nose, wanting her to see.
"Ah? What's wrong? You sucked your fingers again?" Sui Yu pretended to be dumbfounded. She wiped her saliva with a handkerchief and said, "Stop sucking your fingers. Come, let Mommy kiss you. Xiaohua is cute, and Xiaohua's fingers are cute too."
Xiaohua was fooled. She happily swung her legs and fiddled with her fat fingers.
In the evening, the scorching sun set and it became much cooler outside. Sui Yu went out with Xiaohua in her arms and met Sui Liang, who was sweating profusely and carrying a bulging cloth bag.
"Sister, Xiaohua." Sui Liang called out.
"What are you doing outside in this hot weather? You didn't even take a nap, and you just left without a meal." Sui Yu looked at him suspiciously, his eyes falling on the cloth bag, and said, "Are you really going to collect silkworm cocoons?"
Sui Liang hid his smile and said, "I have a little idea to make money, I want to give it a try."
"Okay, do you need money? Sister supports you." Sui Yu was surprised. It was rare for Sui Liang to be interested in something.
Sui Liang waved his hand, "I'm not short of money, I have money in my hands."
Sui Yu made way and said, "Go in."
Afterwards, she took Xiaohua to see the five diseased cotton plants. She found Xiaozai and Dazhuang sitting under the mulberry tree fiddling with something. When she got closer, she saw several bottles and jars placed beside their legs. The pottery bowls were filled with grass paste, and the jars were filled with worms, silkworms and cotton worms.
Sui Yu just watched without saying anything. She sat at the roots of the mulberry tree and enjoyed the breeze.
"Little guy, did you touch my tung oil?" Sui Liang walked out quickly and asked. When his eyes met Sui Yu, he swallowed the rest of his words.
"I took a small spoonful," the cub replied, "and left the rest untouched."
Sui Yu looked at the uncle and nephew, then she looked away and snorted. She wanted to see what tricks the uncle and nephew could come up with.
After the grass paste was pounded, the boy went to the kitchen and picked up a handful of peppercorns to continue pounding. At the end, he asked Sui Yu for the key to the warehouse. He went in and grabbed a handful of mugwort to soak in water.
As night fell, Dazhuang walked into the small vegetable garden carrying an oil lamp. Xiaozai brought over the wood ash water, mulberry leaf water, persimmon leaf water, pepper water, mugwort water, soybean oil, and tung oil that he had prepared in the afternoon. The cotton leaves of the five diseased cotton plants were brushed one by one with these strange-smelling waters. Regardless of whether it was useful or not, the grass flies and mosquitoes were first smoked away.
Sui Yu quietly watched Sui Liang and the little guy busying themselves with their work. Days passed, and at the end of the month, white fluffs bloomed in the cotton fields, and the cotton was ready to be harvested.
When the first basket of cotton was brought back, Sui Liang first took away ten pounds of cotton petals. He only wanted cotton lint and not cotton seeds. After taking the cotton lint, he stayed in the empty guest house every day to tinker with it.
"Master, we are busy picking cotton and have no energy to catch insects. I will ask for helpers tomorrow." Erhei found Sui Yu to ask for instructions.
Sui Yu thought of the cotton fields in the hands of the cotton growers. A cotton grower took care of four or five acres of land. He had to pick cotton, break cotton, and dry cotton. The three tasks of picking, breaking cotton, and drying cotton could take up all the time of the cotton growers. I'm afraid they would have no energy to catch insects.
"Okay, the wages are still the same, and two meals a day are provided." Sui Yu nodded. "How many helpers do you want this time?"
"Fifty."
"Okay, I'll ask Sister Cui to prepare food for fifty more people," said Sui Yu.
Meanwhile, Ma Nongjian brought Hu Ansui to Supervisor Hu, begging him to arrange for another 500 slaves to work the fields. With the cotton harvest approaching, the farmers were no longer able to catch the bollworms. After only three or five days of delay, the bollworms had swelled in numbers, completely destroying the bolls.
Supervisor Hu naturally would not stand in the way of this matter, and the laborers who built the roads, the slaves who reclaimed the wasteland, and the redundant cattle breeders were all transferred there.
"Madam, the General's Mansion is finished. Please come with me to inspect it." One morning, an official went to the Changgui Guest House. He explained, "Superintendent Ma Nong asked the Supervisor for slaves to work the fields. Supervisor Hu sent 500 people, but he still felt it was not enough and asked for another 500. Well, we're running low on slaves, and since the house here is finished, I'm going to send these workers to the fields to catch insects."
Sui Yu did not feel embarrassed. She followed the officials to take a walk around the house. The gravel road had been paved, the trees had been planted, and the mud piles in the corners had been shoveled away. They could live there after the tables, chairs, and beds were moved in.
"The house is well built. I'm not dissatisfied with it." Sui Yu said without finding fault. "Thank you for your hard work these days. It just so happens that the cotton harvest is good. Master Du from the weaving workshop gave me two quilts made from this year's new cotton. You can take them back to honor your elders."
The official showed his delight and said, "Thank you, Madam."
Sui Yu asked A Shui and Da Zhuang to get the quilt. She glanced at the workers who were packing up their tools and said nothing more.
The officials left with the quilts and a group of laborers. Sui Yu locked the door of the house and planned to move in on an auspicious day after Zhao Xiping came back.
"Mom..." the cub waved excitedly, "Mom, come and see, the bolls on these five diseased cotton plants have also begun to bloom, and the rust spots on the cotton leaves have decreased a lot."
In fact, the cotton leaves were almost bald because of his torture. Five cotton plants could not even have twenty leaves, but the rust spots on the cotton leaves were indeed much less, and there was almost no rust spots on the new cotton leaves.
Sui Yu wasn't sure if the cotton plant had survived on its own due to its fertility, or if the cub's torment had cured it. However, in front of the child, she praised him, "You are so determined. I had given up, but you saved these five cotton plants. When the General returns, I will commend you for your achievements."
The boy was very proud. He said jokingly, "Thank you, Madam."
Sui Yu suppressed the corners of his mouth and asked, "What cured the rust on the cotton plants?"
The kid hesitated, he wasn't sure either.
"Write down your plan, and when your father returns, have him report it to the court."
The boy felt increasingly guilty. He lowered his eyes, his mind racing, and said modestly, "No, okay? One success might be a fluke. If the cotton plants get rusty again next year, I'll try my method again and see which juice works best."
"Write down everything you used this year so you don't forget it next year," Sui Yu instructed him.
"I know, I've got it in mind." The kid ran into the house and brought out a roll of linen. "Mom, look."
Sui Yu unfolded the linen cloth, took a look at it, then folded it up again in an instant and said, "You got the wrong one. This belongs to your uncle, right?"
The boy was shocked. He quickly unfolded it and took a look. It was indeed his uncle's notes.
He put it back in its place in a panic and took out his notes.
"Mom, can you please keep this a secret? Don't tell my uncle. My uncle wants to give you a surprise." The boy begged.
Sui Yu nodded, "Okay, I'll keep it a secret for you."
"Have you guessed what my uncle is doing?"
Sui Yu denied it.
The boy's notes were written in a messy manner, but they did contain his own observations and thoughts. Sui Yu read them once and asked him to keep them.
"Can wood ash water kill cotton bugs?" she asked.
The kid shook his head. "The big bugs can't be killed. Besides, after the cotton bolls have opened, the wood ash water can't be used anymore. If it gets spilled on the cotton, it'll stain it."
"You can try sprinkling it on the soil at the roots of the cotton plants to prevent the eggs from hatching," Sui Yu suggested.
"Then I'll give it a try." The kid immediately took note. He muttered, "Farming is difficult. There are so many tricks involved. If only the crops could talk."
Suddenly, the sound of camel bells echoed in the wind. Sui Yu listened carefully and asked, "Which caravan is entering the pass so early?"
It was her own caravan. The Sui and Song caravans that had left the country in August last year had returned.
Song Xian and Lu Yaer brought the caravan directly to the north of the city. Sui Yu was shocked to see Song Xian. After a year, Song Xian looked much older. The white hair on his head was entangled with his black hair like meridians, making him look very listless.
"Sister Song, you've lost a lot of weight. I'm sorry to have troubled you on this trip out of quarantine." Sui Yu said with concern.
Song Xian smoothed her hair and said, "It's too hot walking in the desert in the summer. All the way from Loulan to Dunhuang, we just kept drinking water and didn't eat much, so it's inevitable that we'll lose weight. Did you give birth? Is it a girl or a boy?"
"It's a little girl. Her full name is Mingcan, and her nickname is Xiaohua." Sui Yu poured her a bowl of water and said, "Xiaohua is sleeping now. When she wakes up, I'll bring her out to show you. But there's nothing special about her. She looks about the same as her brother when he was a child."
"You are good at giving birth. Both of your children look like you." Song Xian smiled.
Lu Yaer came in after unloading the goods. She took out a beeswax bracelet and said, "This bracelet is for Xiaohua. It's a meeting gift for my sister."
Sui Yu exclaimed, "Such a valuable gift? Did Shopkeeper Song become rich this time?"
Lu Yaer nodded with a smile, "Thanks to Auntie, the quilt and cotton-padded jacket I brought out of the customs last year sold for a good price."
"You don't have to call me, just go and take a look at your goods." Song Xian said.
Sui Yu was in no hurry to go over. She sat down and asked, "Did you encounter anything dangerous on this trip?"
"We encountered robbers. After we left Loulan, we encountered robbers on the way to Yuli. They wanted our quilts." Lu Yaer said angrily.
"We attracted attention while selling goods in Loulan, and when we left Loulan, some thugs chased us," Song Xian said. "Luckily, our two caravans had more people, so we didn't suffer any losses in the fight. We fought and fled, and when we were near Yuli, we encountered an embassy, and then the bandits dispersed."
"Are you hurt?" Sui Yu asked.
"Three of my servants died, and two of yours were injured. They were Sancao and Qingshan. One injured his arm, and the other injured his back." Song Xian said, "Five of the thieves died, so I say we didn't suffer any loss."
"I'll go take a look." Sui Yu couldn't sit still any longer. "You two should go back to your room and rest after you've finished eating and drinking. The guest room you stayed in last year is still there, and your things are still in there."
Song Xian thanked him.
Sui Yu went out and heard a child crying next door. She turned on tiptoe and went into the yard. The crying stopped and the little boy came out holding Xiaohua.
"Come, let me hold you. Our caravan is back, go take a look." Sui Yu said. She touched Xiaohua's belly and asked, "Are you hungry? No? Then let's go see what the caravan brought back."
Entering the guesthouse, Sui Yu saw Qingshan. She looked him over and asked, "Did you hurt your back or your arm?"
"I injured my back. I was stabbed by a thief, but it healed long ago. It's not a big deal," Qingshan said.
"Go to the city to see the doctor someday. And Sancao, you should go to the city to see the doctor as well." Sui Yu reminded him, "What good things did you bring back? Let me take a look."
"Master, come and see, we have exchanged five boxes of jade jewelry." Xiao Chunhong said excitedly. She opened the jewelry box and the room was full of light.
"Is this the young master? She's so pretty." Xiaoxi took out a whole white fox fur from the fur box and said, "The young master is fair-skinned, so this fox fur suits her well."
Sui Yu saw tiger skin and red fox skin in the box. She squatted down and looked through them. She said, "The furs are in good condition."
"They are all good stuff. We exchanged them with Parthia merchants." Zhang Shun continued.
"Anything else?" Sui Yu asked.
Li Wu carefully opened a large wooden box and said, "This is a large piece of colored glaze. It's translucent and beautiful when placed on the window sills. The moment I saw it, I knew it would be perfect for our warehouse."
There are many windows in the warehouse, and these three pieces of glass are not enough, but they are very suitable for installing in the windows of the new house.
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