Chapter 134 Married Up
After the coming-of-age ceremony, the entire Qin family entered a busy state of wedding preparations. The wedding date was set for the spring of next year, at which time Dai Li would leave the Qin family and marry into the Junhou family.
The servants in the manor were busy, and Qin Shaozong would sometimes spend the entire day at the manor, going back to check on the progress of the repairs.
With several younger children needing to go to school, Qin Hongying often took Shi Rongyue out to visit her old confidante from Yuyang County, paving the way for her daughter's future success.
The one who was the most idle in the household was actually Dai Li.
After staying at home for two more days, Dai Li couldn't stand it any longer and took Nian Xia and Bi Po out for a stroll. She left at dawn and was gone all day, only returning as the sun was setting.
Winter days are short and nights are long. I returned in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and the sky that was just painted as beautifully as an oil painting had already turned completely dark.
The room was lit, the candlelight flickering, bright and warm, as if it could dispel all the gloom.
"Madam is back?" Qin Shaozong was unusually early to return than Dai Li today. "Did you have a good time out?"
Dai Li casually said it was alright, and then sat on the soft chair in a daze, without even taking off the gold and jade hair ornaments that she always complained were too heavy.
Having served Dai Li for some time, Nian Xia knew that her mistress didn't like wearing gold and jade ornaments when she wasn't going out. Just as she was about to walk towards Dai Li, she saw the master wave her hand, indicating that she didn't need to serve her here.
Nianxia understood, curtsied, and withdrew.
Qin Shaozong sat down next to Dai Li and reached out to help her remove the gold hair ornament with inlaid glass cloud and phoenix patterns from her hair. “Madam, your expression doesn’t seem like you said it was ‘okay’.”
He had almost never done anything like this before. When the hairpin came off his dark hair, it accidentally snagged a strand of hair. Dai Li felt a sharp pain on her scalp, followed by a faint "snap" sound.
It looks like something is broken.
Dai Li turned her head to look at the golden-haired woman with her black hair wrapped around her temples, and then looked at the man in front of her.
Qin Shaozong: "..."
Qin Shaozong coughed lightly, "Practice makes perfect. Next time I guarantee it will come back empty-handed."
"My lord, you should stay out of the way." Dai Li slapped away his outstretched hand and took off her hair ornaments herself.
"Madam doesn't seem to be in a good mood today," he asked from the side.
Dai Li paused slightly and said something completely unrelated, "Qin Changgeng, are there any places in Yuyang that are run by government agencies and responsible for sheltering beggars?"
He said, “Madam, are you talking about beggars? No. The beggars in the county find their own places to stay. In winter, they mostly live in dilapidated houses, and in summer they rest in the fish ponds piled up in the market. They are driven away by the fishmongers when they start their business in the morning. There are many recruitment jobs in the county led by the government. They are mostly manual labor. Although the money is not much, those who do it are not so poor that they cannot even save up a copper coin to live in a thatched hut.”
Aside from those who are too old or ill to work, most of the people who continue begging are simply suffering from laziness.
Yuyang County has a population of over 400,000. With the same rice feeding all sorts of people, it's impossible that there isn't a single beggar.
"Did you see any beggars when you went out today, Madam? Winters in the north are cold and harsh. If those beggars stay outside all winter, it's hard to say how many will be left." He said calmly.
Out of the corner of her eye, Dai Li noticed that the person's hands were clasped together and then slightly separated, constantly moving, and she didn't know what he was doing.
She turned her head and saw that he was holding a long, thin strand of hair in his hand. As the last knot was tightened, the two strands of hair, which had been folded several times, were tied together.
Dai Li: "...What are you doing?"
He said matter-of-factly, "We've tied our hair together. It's rare to receive such a precious gift today, so it's not good to waste it. Your husband can use it to practice first."
“I did see beggars,” Dai Li answered his initial question, adding, “Today I wandered around the county and saw many pigsties, some of which were built by wealthy farmers.”
The so-called "pigsty" is a pigsty with a toilet.
These pigsties with toilets are generally divided into two parts: the upper part is a place for urination, which is made of wooden steps, and the lower part is used for raising pigs.
Human excrement falls down and is fed to pigs, while pig excrement is collected and used as fertilizer for crops.
Dai Li: "As far as I know, you use the most manure here, followed by river mud, bean baskets, and silkworm droppings."
Qin Shaozong had never farmed, but the northern lands were full of soldiers and farmers. When there was no war, the soldiers were farmers and had to take up hoes and work in the fields.
He had often gone on inspections with his subordinates, so Qin Shaozong was not entirely ignorant about farming. “What you say is true, but the rivers in the north are not as plentiful as those in the south, and we use less river mud here.”
Qin Shaozong thought of how she had seemed lost in thought since returning to the manor, and then suddenly brought up the pigsty again. "What brilliant idea does Madam have?"
“In terms of crop varieties alone, wheat yields more than millet. Has Your Majesty ever considered that if fertilizers were used properly, the yields of different wheat varieties could be vastly different?” This was what Dai Li had been thinking about.
She had asked Bai Xiang then whether they had found Zhouzhou ten years ago or after the Great Famine. He didn't say for sure, but judging from his expression, she guessed it was after the Great Famine.
In other words, before this, Zhouzhou had either been a wanderer, relied on the charity of others, or been adopted by an unknown family for a year before joining the Qinglian Sect.
Perhaps it was because things were gradually settling down, with her son by her side and things getting better and better, that Dai Li began to have other thoughts for the first time:
When poor, one should cultivate one's own virtue; when successful, one should benefit all under heaven.
She used to review historical agricultural manuscripts at the publishing house, and a lot of the information in them could be used.
The earliest farming methods used by people were "slash-and-burn" and "water-plowing." The former involved burning away weeds before irrigating the fields; this method was commonly used in the Jiangnan region, which was rich in mountain forests and wetlands. The latter involved cutting down trees in the mountains in early spring, burning them before the spring rains, and then using the ashes as fertilizer before sowing the seeds while the soil was still warm. ①
This was the original way to increase the fertility of farmland.
As time flowed slowly, the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods arrived. At this time, "manure seeds," which were made by mixing seeds with human and animal excrement, appeared.
Human and animal excrement contains abundant nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and other elements. Although people at that time did not recognize these elements, it did not prevent them from knowing that crops grew very well in this way.
Later, during the Han Dynasty, people turned their attention to green manure. Green manure refers to the use of green plants as fertilizer, such as vetch and alfalfa, both of which can fix nitrogen and improve soil fertility.
Later, people focused on fertilizer formulation, application time, and methods to further increase grain yield.
Qin Shaozong, who had been sitting lazily to the side, straightened up upon hearing this. "The difference between heaven and earth? How big is that?"
Dai Li countered, "How many bushels of wheat can one acre of land here produce?"
Qin Shaozong: "About one shi (a unit of dry measure) per mu (a unit of land area)."
One stone is 120 jin.
Dai Li seemed thoughtful. "If everything goes smoothly, it should be able to increase by half."
Even though he had weathered many storms, Qin Shaozong couldn't help but show surprise at this moment, "So many?"
Increasing it by half means that, with the manpower, animal power, and land area remaining unchanged, half of the land is given away for free, and the extra half of the grain is no different from falling from the sky.
“This is nothing, on my end…” Dai Li paused, “Never mind, I won’t say anything more.”
"Why can't I tell you?" Qin Shaozong was itching to ask, and proactively inquired, "How much wheat can one acre of land in Peach Blossom Spring produce?"
Dai Li shook her head and sighed, "Believe me, it's better if you don't know. Otherwise, I'm afraid if I tell you, you'll be so anxious tonight that you'll stay up all night."
"Impossible," Qin Shaozong denied outright.
Dai Li put it another way, "Sometimes setting expectations too high isn't a good thing. For example, when I said I could increase the yield of one acre by half, you already thought it was a lot. However, if you knew how much the yield in Peach Blossom Spring was, you would definitely not be satisfied with only increasing it by half. Because after comparison, it really does seem pitifully small."
Her fair fingers grasped the end of the hairpin and slowly pulled it out of her hair. Dai Li continued, "But that's something I can't solve, because wheat yield is related to the wheat variety, soil moisture, temperature, and soil fertility, among other things. And the wheat variety is the most important of all."
Qin Shaozong nodded, "I understand what you've said, Madam. Just like the Ferghana horse, it endures hardship but also runs fast, unlike any other breed."
If horse breeds weren't important, he wouldn't have taken away 80% of the tens of thousands of superior horses from the Northern Kingdom after he subdued it.
Dai Li glanced at him.
Qin Shaozong laughed and said, "So please speak freely, Madam. If the grain yield increases by half, it will be enough to feed half the people of the North, and even the people of the world will benefit in the future. If this can be accomplished, there may no longer be widespread famine during severe droughts, and people will no longer need to resort to cannibalism. Madam's merit is immeasurable. As for the rest, just let me broaden my horizons."
He had always been very interested in her homeland, and seeing that Dai Li still didn't speak, he guessed to himself, "Could it be three bushels per mu?"
One stone here, three stones would be three times that.
More than half of it would have surprised him greatly; this three times was already Qin Shaozong's highest possible guess.
Dai Li shook her head. "No."
Qin Shaozong: "Could it be five stones?"
Dai Li removed all her headdresses, feeling relaxed as she got up to go to the main hall for dinner.
Qin Shaozong followed behind her, "Madam..."
Seeing that he wouldn't give up until he got an answer, Dai Li said as she walked, "In Peach Blossom Spring, an average of one mu of land yields about eight shi, and the best soil and wheat seeds can even yield more than fourteen shi."
The footsteps following behind suddenly stopped.
Dai Li turned around and, unsurprisingly, saw him standing there, his brown eyes overflowing with shock.
Dai Li chuckled softly, ignored him, and continued walking forward.
Everyone present at the dinner noticed that Qin Shaozong was distracted. The man, who usually drank some millet wine with every meal, didn't touch his glass at all today. He just stared at the rice in his bowl, lost in thought, and ignored Qin Hongying's words.
After the meal, Dai Li got up to leave, and he stood up and followed her.
The two left the main hall one after the other.
Qin Qinian watched the two figures as they walked away. "Father was quite taciturn just now. Could it be that he was tired from running around all day?"
Qin Hongying laughed as soon as she finished speaking, "If your father heard you say that, he would definitely drag you to the training ground again and give you a good scolding."
Qin Qinian immediately shrank his neck.
Qin Yuance laughed and said, "Every day is getting shorter, and the spring of next year is getting closer and closer. I guess Uncle is probably thinking about tomorrow's progress. By the way, the teacher will not be teaching tomorrow. If you are curious, why don't you come back with Uncle?"
"No, we already have plans for tomorrow and we're busy," Qin Qinian said without hesitation.
He said "we," but if the other person is not present, he would usually use "they."
"Who are you traveling with? Is it Yanzhou?" Qin Hongying ruled out Qin Yunce who was asking the question and could only think of Qin Yanzhou.
Qin Qinian: "Yes, and..."
He suddenly paused, his voice taking a sharp turn, "Xue Nu will also go out for a stroll and wander around the county."
Shi Rongyue breathed a sigh of relief, took a small step forward, moved out of her mother's blind spot, and stood back beside her mother.
Qin Hongying seemed to sense something and turned to look at her daughter, only to see that the little girl was well-behaved and still quiet.
She couldn't see it, but Qin Yanzhou and Qin Yunce did. Just now, Shi Rongyue clearly and quickly waved her small hand, her hand almost leaving afterimages.
"It's good for young people to get out and about more," Qin Hongying suddenly changed the subject. "How about you take Rongrong out with you?"
Qin Qinian: "Huh?"
Qin Hongying thought he was unwilling, "I took Rongrong out to meet an old friend a few days ago. The young lady, who is about the same age, has not known her for long, so it is inevitable that she would be reserved when they went out together. But you and Rongrong are different. You grew up together since childhood, which is incomparable to others. She will be more comfortable going out with you."
Qin Qinian immediately said, "Auntie is right."
Having received a satisfactory answer, Qin Hongying left contentedly.
As soon as she left, Qin Qinian said, "Isn't this like two different paths that eventually lead to the same destination?"
"Different paths, same destination." Qin Yanzhou couldn't stand it anymore.
Qin Qinian slapped his forehead, "Ah, right, different paths lead to the same destination."
"What are you guys secretly plotting?" Qin Yunce looked at this one, then at that one.
"Well, it all started with the winter hunt..."
*
After returning to the main courtyard and digesting her food, Dai Li planned to go to sleep. The production of organic fertilizer would begin tomorrow, so she needed to go to bed early tonight.
Winter is cold, so Dai Li had a hot water bottle specially made to warm the bed. The copper hot water bottle was covered with a layer of fleece to slow down heat loss, and it could keep the bed warm all night.
The bed was warm and cozy, and Dai Li sighed contentedly before curling up in the blankets to go to sleep.
As for Qin Shaozong, let him do as he pleases.
Sometimes, this person would write one or two urgent letters before going to bed, which would be sent out early the next morning.
However, tonight, the man simply sat at his desk with a deep expression, without touching the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone that had been temporarily placed in the outer room.
After sitting for about fifteen minutes, he got up, went back to his room, took off his clothes, and got into bed.
Dai Li slept well; when he returned, she was already fast asleep, with one foot already out the door, ready to meet the Duke of Zhou (a figure in Chinese mythology associated with dreams).
By the time he lay down completely, she had already fallen asleep.
Dai Li was asleep, but Qin Shaozong was wide awake.
One mu (unit of land area) can produce up to fourteen shi (unit of dry measure) of wheat, with an average of eight shi. This is equivalent to fourteen times the yield over there, using the same amount of human and animal power.
No wonder she once said that every household in Peach Blossom Spring had surplus grain. This was not just ordinary surplus grain, but a reserve that could burst the granary.
Qin Shaozong thought of the famine nine years ago.
At that time, the entire Great Yan was shrouded in the shadow of famine, and the northern regions were no exception. Yuyang had a population of over 400,000, and the northern regions, unlike the fertile and prosperous Jiangnan region, were too preoccupied with their own survival and could only distribute grain within the city.
For those refugees who were blocked outside the city, relief was only provided once in a long while.
Some of the refugees were ragged and alone, some were emaciated and had families to support, and some were on their deathbeds. They chased after and begged passing carriages, hoping to get a bite of food from them.
However, one cannot simply distribute food when a procession passes by. Once the starving refugees receive the signal, they will swarm in as if possessed. If they are outnumbered and outgunned, they can easily be devoured.
During that period, corpses littered the fields outside the city, their bodies measured in swamps. Children's heads were detached from their neck bones, and their bellies and intestines, trampled by horses' hooves, stretched out in a sparse, winding pattern.
Qin Shaozong seemed to hear the incessant wailing again. He stretched out his long arm and pulled the woman beside him into his arms.
In the darkness, the brown eyes that gazed at the person in his arms seemed to be shining.
If the Great Yan could also be prosperous, then no matter if there was a severe drought or the two rivers flooded, the people would still have no worries about food and drink, and could still live and work in peace and contentment.
As Dai Li was sleeping, she suddenly felt a tight, uncomfortable feeling of constriction. She broke free from the sensation, wrapped herself in the blanket, and stepped on the hot water bottle to continue sleeping.
But as I was sleeping, I suddenly felt a void under my feet.
The warm source suddenly disappeared, and Dai Li, who was asleep, instinctively stretched out her feet to explore her surroundings.
She didn't find the hot water bottle; instead, she kicked a solid wall.
It was just as hot and cozy.
Dai Li shoved both feet in, stepping on the self-heating foot pad underneath.
Yeah, that feels good.
Dai Li slept soundly through the night without any dreams. But beside her, someone stayed awake until dawn.
...
When Dai Li woke up the next day, she found that her hot water bottle had rolled to the corner of the bed and fallen into the quilt, leaving only its round bottom sticking out.
She held the blanket and stared at the hot water bottle for a moment, inexplicably feeling that it shouldn't be there. However, this doubt was fleeting and didn't occupy her much of her attention.
After finishing her breakfast, Dai Li summoned Hu Bao and said, "Soldier Hu, I need two stones of wood ash, two stones of bone meal, and half a stone of lime. Please have someone prepare them for me."
Hu Bao asked in confusion, "Madam Dai, is there a specific type of bone powder you're referring to?"
Dai Li said no, “You can just take people to the meat market to collect a batch of large bones, which can be easily crushed into powder after being calcined.”
Poultry bones are bones, and so are cattle and sheep bones, but the bones of the former are probably worth less than a single leg of the latter, even if you wiped out the entire family of the former.
Wood ash is rich in potassium, bone meal is rich in phosphorus, and a small amount of lime can adjust the soil's acidity and alkalinity.
Of course, besides these auxiliary inorganic materials, the most important are still organic materials.
"Besides these three things, you... never mind, Captain, collect these for now." Dai Li changed her mind midway.
Hu Bao accepted the order and left first.
Before Dai Li could speak, Qin Shaozong, who had been observing from the sidelines, asked, "What concerns does Madam have?"
“The Great Yan still uses manure mostly, but it should be known that the principle remains the same. Other materials also rely on various kinds of excrement. However, this stuff cannot be piled up directly in the mansion, as it will affect the living environment and make it inconvenient for subsequent fertilization.” Dai Li wrinkled her nose, as if she could already smell the odor.
Qin Shaozong chuckled, "I thought it was some earth-shattering problem, but it's nothing special. If we can't keep it in the manor, then let's just pile it up in the fields. I have thousands of acres of fertile land; why should I worry about not being able to fit a few piles of manure?"
Dai Li: "..."
After speaking, Qin Shaozong called out to Feng Feng, who was on duty that day, "Feng Feng, take some men to buy a few cartloads of cow dung and pig dung, and then deliver them to the fields near Wangqun Mountain to the south."
Feng Feng's expression remained unchanged.
He was ordered by his superiors that even if he had to personally carry manure, let alone just buy pig and cow manure, he had to do it.
“We also need some straw,” Dai Li added from the side.
Unlike the other three Xuanxiao cavalry commanders, Feng Feng's father was a farmer, and he had to help with farming when he was young. Now, upon hearing that they needed manure and straw, Feng Feng realized, "My lord, you want compost?"
"It's not my idea, it's Madam's." Qin Shaozong then looked at Dai Li, "Madam, may we discuss this matter?"
Some things must be done in secret. Other things, the more high-profile, the better.
Feng Feng was slightly taken aback.
Dai Li didn't care. "Fine, they'll find out sooner or later anyway."
She spoke casually, but Qin Shaozong sensed another layer of information: she was absolutely certain she wouldn't fail.
Qin Shaozong curled his thin lips, "Madam has a brand-new composting method that can increase crop yield by half."
It was as if a thunderbolt had exploded in Feng Feng's mind, making him tremble uncontrollably. For the first time, he disregarded etiquette and questioned his superior, "Are you sure you mean it?"
His father died during a drought, or more accurately, he was crushed by exorbitant grain taxes.
If only...
Qin Shaozong: "Of course it's true. Go and do it first. You'll find out about this later."
Feng Feng eagerly accepted the order.
Cow dung and pig dung were not difficult to collect, especially for a tenant farmer's son, who knew all too well where to quickly obtain these things. Although he set off later than Hu Bao, Feng Feng completed the task first.
When he returned in the afternoon, he ran into Qin Yanzhou, Qin Qinian and Shi Rongyue.
"Commander Feng, what's wrong with you today...?" Qin Qinian wanted to go up and chat for a bit, but after taking two steps, he stopped abruptly.
Feng Feng said without any shame, "I was just ordered by the Lord to collect several cartloads of cow dung and pig manure. It is said that Lady Dai has a unique composting method that can make crop yields far exceed those of the past, and even increase them by about half."
The group suddenly realized what was going on.
These words spread like wildfire throughout the Qin family mansion in just one day.
Author's Note: A balanced meal, a short clip of [lop-eared rabbit head] before the wedding, please give me some nutrient solution [hands clasped in prayer]
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①: Compilation of Slash-and-Burn Encyclopedia
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