Chapter 12: Keeping the good stuff within the family and turning waste into treasure?
Three days passed quickly, and the entrance to the Songyang County Government Office was packed with people, so crowded that it was impossible to move.
Even people in remote villages heard about it and rushed to the government office before dawn, eager to see the spectacle.
Turning dog poop into a gold nugget is far more exciting than a grand opera performance.
As soon as Django stepped out the door, he was stared at by a dark mass of eyes, which made him feel quite pressured.
He cleared his throat: "Three days ago, I said I would like to invite everyone to come and watch a performance. Now I will show you how this stinky dog poop is turned into a gold nugget."
As soon as he finished speaking, the dark crowd erupted in boos and laughter.
"Your Excellency, don't try to fool us like we're three-year-olds. Show us what you have that's real!" Old Scholar Wu's words were full of malice.
The other people around them also joined in the commotion.
"Yes, let's take a look."
"What a black sheep!" Jiang Ge narrowed his eyes and said loudly, "Let's see what they're made of. I, Jiang Ge, never make empty promises. Today I'll show you."
She plans to first demonstrate the fertilization process on a few acres of her own experimental plots, showing everyone how the fertilizer is applied and how a single acre can yield a thousand catties!
The wheat seedlings have been sprouting for a few days now, so it's the perfect time to apply initial fertilizer.
Otherwise, it would be hard to explain the high yield of her modern wheat seeds; it would be better to attribute it to chemical fertilizers.
The people of Songyang County followed Jiang Ge to see her experimental fields. As soon as they saw them, someone exclaimed, "These wheat seedlings are growing so vigorously! One acre of them is equivalent to several acres of mine!"
Luo Lizheng immediately rushed to the edge of the field, affectionately stroking the wheat seedlings: "How did they grow? How did they grow like this?"
Now the wheat seedlings in each household have sprouted, but apart from Jiang Ge's few acres of experimental fields, the others are sparse and the wheat seedlings are withered.
Upon seeing the wilted wheat seedlings, Luo Lizheng's stomach began to ache, and he was reminded of the days of hunger.
But it's impossible not to cultivate wheat. These old farmers rely on the mountains and rivers for their livelihood. Songyang County has no mountains or major rivers, so they just rely on the land.
They also wanted to grow rice, but they didn't have the necessary conditions.
They eat whatever grows in the fields. If the weather is good and the land is favorable, they will have plenty to eat. But if the weather is unfavorable, they will inevitably suffer from hunger and cold.
Starting with Luo Lizheng's grandfather, they have lived this kind of life where they don't know where their next meal will come from, and this has remained unchanged for three generations.
"This is all thanks to fertilizer. Chemical fertilizer can fertilize the fields, just like we need to eat. Wheat seedlings are the same. If they are hungry every day, how can they grow?" Jiang Ge tried to make his words understandable to everyone. If he told Luo Lizheng and the others that it could promote healthy and thick leaves with bright colors, improve photosynthetic efficiency, and thus increase crop yield and improve crop quality. (5) Source: Baidu. The role of ammonia fertilizer.
Excuse me, what are you talking about?
I don't understand.
Everyone understood what was being said: the magistrate's wheat seedlings were growing better than theirs because of the fertilizer; the magistrate's wheat seedlings were well-fed, while theirs were starving.
Erwang was carrying a bucket of fertilizer, which was freshly made ammonia fertilizer. Jiang Ge considered that the wheat seedlings were still in the seedling stage and that too much fertilizer could burn the seedlings, so he added a few scoops of water to mix it.
"Is this the fertilizer the wheat seedlings need?" Luo Lizheng was excited, looking at the fertilizer as if it were gold.
"Yes, it was you, Luo Lizheng, who brought this over."
One acre of land like this only needs to be fertilized to provide food for the family for more than half a year. Even if the fertilizer is not gold, it is almost as good as gold.
Could Luo Lizheng say he regrets it so much he's practically kicking himself, and ask for the return of the village's manure?
To express their gratitude to Magistrate Jiang for his curved plow, Luo Li led the villagers to thoroughly clean every household's belongings.
A bucket of fertilizer is not light, and you have to use a gourd ladle to water it, which is inconvenient for Erwang.
Jiang Ge was just about to call Wang Wu to replace Er Wang, but he hadn't said a word yet.
Luo Lizheng snatched the fertilizer bucket and gourd ladle away and even took a good sniff of them.
"Magistrate Jiang, besides that, was there anything else added to it?" Rory didn't believe that there was only that in it; he was sure something else had been added.
It all depends on whether Magistrate Jiang is willing to speak.
"Indeed, other ingredients were added."
"What? What was added?" He knew it; how could such a good product only contain human and animal excrement? There must be some secret recipe added.
Django laughed and said, "I added weeds, fallen leaves, bones, and vegetable scraps."
"My lord, you're deceiving me again."
Luo Lizheng didn't believe it, but he couldn't do anything about Django. The old man got angry and picked up the fertilizer bucket to water the land.
Although he didn't know how to apply the fertilizer, when Django said to spread it, he immediately understood and did it perfectly.
It means scooping up a gourd ladle and sprinkling it into the air.
Be careful not to make it too high or too low.
Otherwise, the people of Songyang County next door might get hurt by mistake. But even if they are hurt by mistake, they probably won't get angry. They'll just stare wide-eyed at the scene.
They also wanted to touch the gold nugget.
The wheat seedlings were growing so vigorously that they immediately stunned the people. They had never seen such healthy wheat seedlings since they started farming.
Luo Li was covered in a stench after watering the wheat field, but he didn't seem to mind. He had so much energy tending to the wheat field that his back and legs no longer ached.
He could irrigate another hundred acres of such wheat fields!
He didn't know if the fertilizer was effective, but the wheat seedlings looked unlike any he had ever seen before.
Judging from the results, the effectiveness is evident.
Luo Li dawdled for a while, finally managing to get to Jiang Ge's side, and said hesitantly, "Magistrate Jiang... Magistrate Jiang."
"Could you please return the manure from our village?"
Upon hearing this, Django burst into laughter.
Why are you dragging your feet on this little thing, making such a show of it? She thought Luo Lizheng was going to say something.
With a wave of his hand, he said, "Luo Lizheng, you can take the rest of the fertilizer."
The fields that needed fertilization were fertilized, but the fertilizer was useless to the county government; it just made people stink and polluted the air in the county government for days.
I'm really worried about what to do.
Jiang Ge's initial idea was to distribute them to the people of Songyang County, but Luo Lizheng insisted on keeping them, since he was the one who originally delivered them, returning them to their rightful owner was also a solution.
She waved her hand, and Rory was delighted, but the others also crowded around.
"My lord, my lord, we're still here!"
The people are all watching with bated breath.
"The seedlings in my field also need to eat; we can't just feed the seedlings in Dali Village!"
"Yes, yes, our village has fewer people, we can't even afford to eat, and the wheat seedlings are sparse. We need this fertilizer more than Da Li Village, sir."
"grown ups......."
Django felt like an eagle, and these people were like baby eagles crying for food.
The noise made him dizzy: "Alright, alright, this manure came from Dali Village, and now it's back to its rightful owner. I'll have Erwang teach everyone how to make this fertilizer, and as for how to apply fertilizer, don't worry."
After Magistrate Jiang said that this fertilizer was also being taught for free, just like a curved plow, everyone quieted down.
The area around her ears instantly became quiet, but what remained unchanged was that she was still surrounded by the people. Jiang Ge smiled and said, "This fertilizer requires cow dung, soybean powder, and calcined gypsum powder, which requires some cost, but it can be used in three days. There is a composting method that does not require much cost, but it takes longer, about a hundred days before it can be used."
"This fertilizer can increase wheat yield, and we adults are willing to spend the money."
To be honest, Django underestimated the farmers of Songyang County.
She thought they would choose the long composting method, but she underestimated the people's love for food and their obsession with a good harvest.
“Now everyone has saved up some money making parts for the curved plow,” Erwang reminded Jiang Ge, knowing what she was thinking.
People are not as strapped for cash as they used to be, so they are naturally more generous.
"I'm entrusting the task of teaching fertilizer production to you."
As soon as Erwang made a sound, Jiang Ge caught him and conscripted him. The main reason was that Erwang had been unable to patrol due to losing his arm and could only follow him around to help. This couldn't go on forever.
Jiang Ge intends to cultivate Erwang.
She entrusted him with the fertilizer matter, but she wasn't going to abandon him completely; she still wanted to offer some guidance.
Fortunately, chemical fertilizers and composting are not very technically demanding.
Erwang finally felt a sense of security after taking on such a big task, but he had his own misunderstandings.
He scratched his head and asked, "Sir, why don't we keep the method of making fertilizer and hire someone to make it? We're sure we can sell it all over the Great Zhou. That way, we can make money and the farmers can also fertilize their fields."
"Erwang, how many farmers in Songyang County do you think are willing to spend money on fertilizer?" She slowed her pace.
"I reckon there are quite a few, right? There are people willing to buy plaster powder and such today."
She stopped and stood still.
"Just because they are willing to buy gypsum powder doesn't mean we can make them buy chemical fertilizer. The raw materials for chemical fertilizer are livestock manure and rotten leaves and weeds, which are all worthless things. I don't want to make money off farmers. I am the magistrate of Songyang County, their parent official. The people of the county can't even have enough to eat. As the magistrate, I have to find ways to make money off them. This is too cruel to the people."
At that moment, the light emanating from Jiang Ge stunned Erwang, who looked bewildered and ignorant.
"Sir, I don't understand."
"Simply put, if an official doesn't serve the people, he might as well go home and sell sweet potatoes."
Erwang asked in confusion, "Sir, what is a sweet potato?"
"It's a good thing."
Although it was said that Erwang was the coach, it was actually Django himself who took the field.
Erwang was just helping out on the sidelines.
Just as Jiang Ge was preparing to start teaching, he faced a problem: there was practically no more human and animal excrement on the streets of the county town.
Ever since the people of Songyang County learned that this thing could be turned into gold nuggets, they would carry a small bag with them every few steps when they went out, picking up one nugget with each step.
Everyone does this, and there's much less litter on the streets.
This was the first time Jiang Ge had walked the roads of Songyang County without seeing any dirt.
Regardless, this is a good thing.
The original teaching method may not be usable anymore. Jiang Ge's original idea was to collect some more human and animal excrement and give a live demonstration to the people of Songyang County.
But now it's her turn to go and see how each village makes its own ammonia fertilizer.
Use fresh cow dung, soybean powder, and calcined gypsum, seal and let stand for 3 days, then dilute with 3 times the amount of water before application.
The raw materials are simple, and the production method is also simple. In fact, the method of making fertilizer has existed for a long time, but no one talks about it. People are willing to keep a good thing as a family heirloom.
Django couldn't believe that so many people hadn't discovered the benefits of cow dung for the seedlings.
Even though Songyang County is very poor, you can still find a few families that raise cattle. In the past, these families didn't know what to do with the cow dung.
Now things are really good; even a little bit of cow dung has become a hot commodity.
Kind-hearted families would let people collect cow dung for free, or at most cut some fresh grass for them a few times. But if you encountered a fussy family, they would charge several coins for a single pile of cow dung.
Fortunately, everyone's family makes parts for curved plows these days, so they can earn some money every day. Otherwise, just the cost of making gypsum powder for fertilizer would make people feel the pinch.
We still need to go to each village to provide guidance.
Django walked along a country road, a gentle breeze blowing, the grass green and the flowers fragrant.
There was no longer any messy human or animal excrement in sight, and even withered grass and leaves were rarely seen. What used to be waste had become treasures in everyone's eyes, and naturally, people would pick up anything they could see on the road and take it home.
Even children are taught by their parents that if they need to use the restroom outside, they must come home first.
Is this what they mean by "keeping the good stuff in the family"?
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