Chapter 80: Is 30% of the effort paid for turning over the ground and getting rained on too much? Don't make it too cheap...
Li Tie said, “Cultivating land in the mountains is not the same as cultivating wasteland in the village. There are trees and tree roots everywhere. At first, we also thought about whether we should cut down all the trees and pull out all the roots.” Just like what Lu Xuan did when he was cleaning up the square.
However, in practice, it turned out to be completely unrealistic.
The area of land they were to cultivate was far beyond what a square could possibly cover; uprooting all the trees within that area would be exhausting enough to kill a person.
Besides, without trees, there will be no shade, and the seedlings planted in the ground will quickly die from the sun, which would be a loss.
"So we had to give up pulling up the trees and just plan the fields around the areas with a lot of tree roots. Fortunately, not all the tree roots are exposed on the surface; most are buried more than half a meter underground. As long as we don't turn the soil too deep, the impact is not significant. However, this will inevitably lead to competition for nutrients."
Lu Xuan said, "There is a lot of humus in the mountains, which can be used as fertilizer. Moreover, my use of immortal techniques to accelerate growth is not greatly affected by the fertility, so it's not a big problem."
Li Tie breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good, that's good."
He continued, "The weeds are easy to deal with with the lawnmower you borrowed. We've already cleared most of the weeds and even the tangled vines in the last two days, and we've also caught quite a few pheasants and rabbits hiding in the grass. If you hadn't woken up today, our original plan was to start tilling the land today, using that entrenching tool you brought out."
Li Tiemei said excitedly, "This thing is indeed better than the farm tools we used before. The soil in the mountains is quite hard, and it is very difficult to turn over with ordinary farm tools, but it is much easier with an entrenching tool."
Lu Xuan said, "After that, we all used entrenching tools. They're not expensive to replace, and every household can keep one or two on hand."
Li Tie naturally couldn't have asked for it.
He chuckled and said, "As previously agreed, we have cleared a total of eighty acres of land."
"For small families such as the elderly living alone, widowers, and widows, two households can share one mu each; for other families with three to five members, two mu each; and for families with many members and young and strong members, three mu each. That's just enough to go around."
Because some steep slopes and cliffs have been removed, these areas are somewhat scattered and cover a wide area. The closest point to the waterfall is less than 500 meters away, which is practically right in front of you.
Even though the viewers in the live stream already knew the acreage they had set, they still couldn't help but shake their heads.
Each Level 5 Wood-type Ability User in the Star Alliance is responsible for at least 100 acres of land. Eighty acres is far too small. The village chief could be much bolder!
What can you do with the yield from such a small field?
Lu Xuan knew that Li Tie couldn't possibly be without concerns about production output, so he nodded to show he understood and offered to reassure him.
"After being accelerated by magic, the growth period of crops will be greatly shortened. Although it can't be as fast as I accelerated the growth of my family's grain before the earthquake, it's still possible to harvest a batch every half month to twenty days. If nothing unexpected happens, we should be able to harvest three times before the hottest season."
Based on this calculation, the actual harvested acreage is three times that the village chief just mentioned, enough for a family to eat and still have some left over.
Li Tie had long guessed that induced births would shorten the harvest time, and after receiving confirmation from Lu Xuan, he was still overjoyed.
"Good! Good!" He excitedly grasped Lu Xuan's hand, his eyes reddening. "Xuan, on behalf of the whole village, thank you so much!"
Lu Xuan said, "No need. I will accept all the rewards I am entitled to. It's just a matter of each getting what they need."
Li Tie nodded hurriedly, "Of course, it's only right that I receive payment."
The two soon arrived at the area with the densest concentration of planned farmland in the surrounding area.
Just as the village chief said, the surrounding grass had been cleared away, and traces of the lawnmower could still be seen on the ground.
Because it was still early, the other villagers were still preparing breakfast, and there was no one else around for the time being.
This actually made things easier for Lu Xuan.
"I'll turn the ground over now."
Lu Xuan gestured for the village chief to stand behind him, and with a tap of his foot, the ground in front of him quickly cracked open and began to roll rapidly.
The hard clods of earth were crushed, and the roots of vines and grass that had not been cleared were turned to the surface. Even the stones buried inside were cracked into countless small pieces.
[666! Earth-based superpowers have arrived too!]
I'm tired of saying that copying superpowers is overpowered!
The Star Alliance has various agricultural machines, so they don't need earth-type ability users. However, in ancient times, earth-type abilities were the second most overpowered ability after wood-type abilities—perfect for tilling the earth!
With a live streamer around, these people can save a lot of effort.
"Village chief, what's going on? I think I heard a noise over here?"
"Could it be another earthquake?" Several men from the guard team who happened to be patrolling nearby rushed over in a panic, only to be dumbfounded when they saw the vast expanse of plowed fields ahead.
"Hiss! This, this is—"
Someone with sharp eyes spotted Lu Xuan, and a thought flashed through their mind: "Could this also be something Lu Xuan did using immortal magic?"
"That's right! It was Ah Xuan who made it!" Li Tie exclaimed excitedly. "With Ah Xuan's help, we might be able to officially start farming tomorrow!"
Lu Xuan said, "No need for tomorrow, we can start today."
As he spoke, he asked the village chief to take him to other planned fields to continue tilling the land.
Li Tie naturally agreed without hesitation and quickly led the way. The guards couldn't help but follow.
In less than half an hour, Lu Xuan had turned over all eighty acres of land without breaking a sweat. By this time, almost all the able-bodied men who had come after hearing the news had gathered behind Lu Xuan, except for the elderly and children.
A group of middle-aged and young people looked at the fields in front of them, where every inch of soil had been turned over and softened, making them no different from cultivated fields, and couldn't help but pinch their thighs.
Ouch! That hurts! It's not a dream!
"Wow, eighty acres of land were plowed up so quickly? That's incredible magic!"
"Is this another new immortal technique that Lu Xuan hasn't shown before? This immortal technique is completely tailor-made for farming."
"He does the work that all of us combined, he's amazing!"
The crowd grew increasingly excited as they talked, their faces flushed with excitement, their breathing rapid, and their eyes burning with passion as they looked at Lu Xuan. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought they had some ulterior motives towards him.
But farming is not just about loosening the soil; it also requires watering these increasingly dry lands after the hot season, ensuring every inch of soil is moistened, and then applying a layer of base fertilizer.
Not fertilizing isn't impossible, but using Lu Xuan's fertilizing method can save a lot of effort when inducing labor.
The humus that has accumulated in the mountains over the years is so abundant that it piles up like mountains. The villagers collected a lot of it while cleaning their fields these past two days.
Upon hearing that Lu Xuan needed humus, Li Tie immediately shouted, "Stop just watching the show! What are you guys doing if Ah Xuan is doing all the work? Hurry up and bring the humus over!"
Without delay, everyone quickly moved the humus soil stored in a slightly distant open space.
After the goods were delivered, Lu Xuan used his wind-based ability to spread the humus evenly across every acre of land. After spreading it, he flexibly switched to his water-based ability, giving the fields a light rain.
The entire set of movements was fluid and graceful, making the villagers and audience feel as if they were watching a wonderful performance.
Finally, a stunning rainbow appeared in the sky, eliciting another round of exclamations from the villagers: "So beautiful!"
Previously, the villagers only thought that Lu Xuan was favored by the gods, but now, watching Lu Xuan bring rain to the fields, many villagers suddenly felt that Lu Xuan himself was very much like a god.
Even if they are not yet considered immortals, they may be taken to the immortal realm by immortals in the future.
The villagers stared blankly for a long time until the rainbow disappeared, and only then did they look away with a disappointed expression when Lu Xuan spoke.
The land has been turned over, fertilized, and irrigated; these newly cultivated fields are now fully prepared.
Lu Xuan said to Li Tie, "We can prepare to sow the seeds now."
Li Tie suddenly realized, "Oh, right, sowing seeds. But shouldn't we start with seedlings first?"
Lu Xuan: "No need, just scatter the seeds on the ground and I'll help them grow."
Li Tie couldn't help but laugh, "That saves a lot of trouble."
However, the land must be divided before sowing.
·
During the days that Lu Xuan was in a coma, Li Tie had already told the villagers about the land distribution rules, including that Lu Xuan would receive 30% of the harvest from each mu of land.
Today, Li Tie gathered the villagers together again and explained the harvest cycle mentioned by Lu Xuan, which made the villagers even more overjoyed.
No one thought that a 30% commission was too expensive.
Even if 10% of the goods had to be handed over to the public, the land tax they paid to the government in the past was not low, and there was also poll tax and other exorbitant taxes. In bad years, they also had to perform military service and corvée labor.
Without Lu Xuan's help, given the current weather, it's questionable whether the seeds will even sprout, let alone wait four or five months to harvest.
Maybe by the time they move to another place, the land will still be all green, or even yellowish-green?
This is not just about saving 30% of the grain rations; it's a serious problem that we can't even harvest 10% of the grain!
Is 30% a lot of money for your hard work? It's incredibly cheap!
Even after deducting 40% from three harvests of one mu of land, at least 300-400 jin of grain can still be left. Three mu would yield 1,000 jin.
The next disaster season may not necessarily stop planting, and the harvest will only be greater. Putting aside other supplies, there will be enough food to feed the whole family for a year. What more could one ask for?
Some people, however, were eager to try getting more options and tentatively brought it up.
Before Lu Xuan could speak, Li Tie sternly refused, "No way! Eighty acres of land is already a considerable burden for Ah Xuan. Besides, he will only be responsible for promoting growth in the future. You will have to do the weeding, watering, and fertilizing yourself afterwards. Can you manage to plant more? Will you not go gathering? Will you not participate in hunting? Are you just going to take the subsidies distributed per household before the harvest? Seeing others hoarding supplies, are you sure you can accept that?"
A barrage of questions left the other villagers, who were also feeling uneasy, speechless.
They really wouldn't dare say they aren't jealous.
That's enough, I should be content with being able to cultivate two or three acres.
After all the explanations were given, the group quickly lined up and drew lots to determine the location of each family's land.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com