Chapter 340 Large-scale cotton planting
The principle of the nutrient pot soil-making machine is similar to that of the honeycomb briquette machine. With his experience, Zhao the blacksmith quickly made it.
Cheng Wanwan wrote down details of cotton planting and handed them to Zhao Dashan. She entrusted all the cotton planting to her son... Of course, the main reason was that she had never planted cotton herself and didn't really understand it. She couldn't accurately grasp some of the descriptions about soil moisture and fertility, and was afraid that too much fertilizer would burn the fragile cotton seeds.
In addition, chili peppers need to be grown, as they are more flavorful than dogwood and can be used to make more delicious dishes.
While busy with farm work, there is another important matter.
February arrived as scheduled, and this year's county examination was set for the second day of the second lunar month. Before this year, the people of Dahe Village did not know what the county examination was, but since most of the children are now studying in schools, the villagers have begun to pay attention to this day.
However, only three people in the entire village could participate in this exam.
One is Zhao Sidan, another is Zhao Tiezhu, and the third is Yu Master's son, Yu Zhan.
On the evening of the first day of the second lunar month, Master Yu gathered his three children and gave them detailed instructions: "This county examination will be held in four sessions, each lasting one day, with a three-day interval between sessions. Only those who pass the previous session are eligible to participate in the next. I hope you can achieve good results, but it doesn't matter if you don't. You are all still young, and there will be many more opportunities in the future. Moreover, even if you don't study, you can do many other things... As the saying goes, there are 360 professions, and every profession can produce an expert..."
Zhao Sidan clenched his fists secretly. If it weren't for Lord He's evil deeds, perhaps he could have given up easily after his failure.
But this incident made him realize that a powerless person can only be slaughtered by those powerful figures.
He wanted to go further, he wanted to stand higher, and he hoped that every member of his family would no longer bow their heads, no longer be fish on the chopping board.
Yu Zhan also secretly pursed his lips.
He must succeed this time... because if he fails, his father will have a reason to make him stop studying.
He knew what his father had gone through when he was young. He studied so that he could go to the capital, stand in the imperial court, and clear his father's name in front of the people.
Only Zhao Tiezhu carefully remembered one sentence: "There are 360 professions, and every profession can produce an expert. If he fails this time, what can he do?"
None of the three children slept well that night.
The next morning, before dawn, they prepared to set off for the city for further information.
Zhao Ergou was in charge of driving the carriage. The three children, carrying their writing materials, lunch, and water bottle, boarded the carriage and headed to Ping'an County to take the imperial examination.
Cheng Wanwan went along as well. Firstly, she was a little worried, and secondly, as someone who had taken exams since childhood, she was really curious about the ancient examination halls.
Before dawn, Ping'an County was bustling with activity as pedestrians headed in one direction.
Next to the county government office, a wooden fence enclosed an area that served as a temporary examination hall. The hall was oriented north to south, and there was a main road at the entrance with the words "Dragon Gate" written on it. After entering, candidates would be searched and checked, and then wait here for their names to be called.
Cheng Wanwan stood outside, and like every other parent, she stood on tiptoe to look inside.
The youngest of these test takers was only six or seven years old, while the older ones were in their twenties or thirties. Regardless of their age, all the test takers were very quiet and stood in line in an orderly fashion.
After roll call at the Dragon Gate, there was another round of announcements inside. Fortunately, there were no suspicious candidates this time, and the exam started immediately after that.
The exam lasted a full day, and we ate, drank, and relieved ourselves all in the exam room.
After watching the three children go inside, Cheng Wanwan turned around and went with Zhao Ergou to visit their family's restaurant.
Originally scheduled to open at the end of winter, it was delayed day by day due to the refugee plague and snow disaster.
I haven't been here for two months, and the tables in the restaurant are covered with a thick layer of dust. When you touch them, your fingers are covered in black dust.
"Ergou, have someone clean the entire restaurant from top to bottom," Cheng Wanwan said. "Also, contact Yan Tiezi and tell him to get ready so he can start working in a few days."
She considered it in her mind: head chef Hui Niang, kitchen helper Chun Hua, waiter Yan Tiezi, and shopkeeper Er Gou—four people would be enough. Originally, Cheng Wanwan wanted to hire a dishwasher, but Chun Hua insisted that she could handle it herself and didn't want Cheng Wanwan to waste the money. There was no suitable candidate anyway, so it would be fine to postpone it for a couple of days.
There will be an event three days before the opening, and the four of them will definitely be very busy. She will bring Da Wang to help out so that they can get through the busiest three days.
The opening date is set for five days from now.
Cheng Wanwan didn't wait for the children to finish their exams in Ping'an County. Instead, she went back first. She didn't care much about the results. She valued participation more than anything else. Whether they succeeded or not, these were valuable experiences for the children.
In spring, Dahe Village is thriving. Everything on the mountain is coming back to life, and all kinds of delicious ingredients are growing. The most eye-catching of all are the bamboo shoots.
It rained lightly the night before last, and these past two days, bamboo shoots have sprung up like they're free.
The villagers of Xindahe Village are running out of food and are relying on these bamboo shoots to get by.
Cheng Wanwan's family couldn't spare anyone to go up the mountain to find wild vegetables, so she set up a small stall in front of her house.
One pound of millet can be exchanged for three pounds of wild vegetables.
The people of Xindahe Village went crazy, sending wild vegetables to Cheng Wanwan's house all day long.
The most abundant items were bamboo shoots, watercress, and some newly sprouted toon leaves... Once the quantity was almost finished, Cheng Wanwan packed up her stall.
The dinner was quite plentiful.
Spring bamboo shoots are very tender and taste delicious no matter how they are cooked. Let's make braised pork with spring bamboo shoots.
The watercress has a refreshing fragrance, and this springtime aroma is mouthwatering. It's chopped up and made into meatballs.
After blanching the toon leaves, beat them with a few eggs to make toon pancakes, which can be eaten as a staple food.
Wu Huiniang was in charge of cooking, and the meal was ready in no time. The food was kept in the pot until Zhao Sidan finished his exams and came back to eat.
Cheng Wanwan walked into the backyard, where a nutrient field had been set up specifically for cultivating cotton seeds. Zhao Dashan was making nutrient pots. The machine pressed the soil into the soft ground, then lifted it up and kicked it with his foot, and a nutrient pot was made. They were neatly arranged in the field, with a small recessed hole on the top of each nutrient pot, into which the processed cotton seeds were placed.
After the field is prepared, a fine layer of soil and wood ash is sprinkled on top of the seedling pots, and then covered with straw to keep the soil warm. Under this multiple layer of protection, the cotton seeds will slowly germinate and grow. Once they have grown two to three leaves, they can be thinned out and planted...
Cheng Wanwan squatted on the ground, wearing burlap gloves, helping to arrange the nutrient pots.
"Grandma Mountain, what are you doing?"
Li Zheng didn't see Cheng Wanwan in the house, so he went straight to the backyard.
Then he saw Cheng Wanwan and Zhao Dashan, mother and son, planting something. He watched for a while but still couldn't figure it out.
Originally, he came to inquire about the county examination. As the first person in his family to participate in the imperial examination, he was inevitably nervous and wanted to talk to Cheng Wanwan to ease his anxiety.
But upon seeing something unusual in the field, the village head forgot all about the county exam and squatted down in the field as well.
"This is white pine, a crop only found in the south. When ripe, white pine is white and looks like a cloud. It's very soft and warm, and it's great for making clothes and quilts to keep out the cold," Cheng Wanwan said while busy working. "These are seeds that I asked a merchant to bring from the south. We happen to have an extra 200 acres of land at home, so I'm planning to try planting them."
The village head frowned: "Can things from the south really grow here?"
"How will we know if we don't try?" Cheng Wanwan placed the seedling pots and then bent down to put in the cotton seeds. "If it really grows successfully, we won't have to work so hard to collect willow catkins, reeds, chicken feathers, and duck feathers anymore. Anyway, we have the seeds, so let's give it a try. If Uncle Lizheng has a place to plant them, he can come to my house to pick up the seedlings in half a month."
The village headman immediately nodded: "Plant, of course we'll plant."
The old woman of the mountains spoke the truth: if she said it could be planted, then it definitely could be planted.
The village headman bent over to help, as he couldn't just take the seeds from Da Shan's family for nothing; he had to lend a hand, no matter how small.
Just as she was busy, she heard the sound of car wheels at the door. Cheng Wanwan took off her gloves and stood up: "It should be Si Dan and the others coming back."
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