Sheet after sheet, until more than thirty sheets of Xuan paper were used up, Qin Mu finally stopped writing, thought for a moment, then washed his hands and went to sleep.
Humans are strange. When walking down the street, if someone is watching you from behind, you will know it in your heart; even if you are asleep, if someone is watching you, you will feel it in your heart.
Qin Mu was startled awake like this, his head jerking back to see clearly that it was Qin Yue's face opposite him.
"Brother Lingyun, I had just fallen asleep when you woke me up again," Qin Mu said with a wry smile.
"Hehe, Brother Huaidao, I've already read what you wrote. However, for many things, you only wrote a title. You'll have to explain the specifics yourself," Qin Yue said with a smile.
"Okay, okay, let me wash my face first," Qin Mu said, sitting up, knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep again.
After Qin Mu washed his face, he realized that not only Qin Yue, but Qin Yue had also come.
"Let me introduce it to you. Based on my observations yesterday, this is what I wrote last night," Qin Mu said, picking up what he had written the night before.
He flipped through the pages, picked up a sheet, and continued, “First, there’s seed selection. Nowadays, people do select seeds, but it’s not thorough enough. It would be best to have people collect the best-growing grains separately as seed. Second, there’s tilling the land. After winter, before the first snow, till the land once. This will freeze the insect eggs in the ground, so there will be fewer pests the following year.”
If you can drive the chickens and ducks into the field to eat some insect eggs, the effect will be even better.
"Okay! Wait a minute, I'll write it down." Qin Yue nodded repeatedly.
"This is my improved plowshare. It's easier to use and more flexible than the current plowshare. Another aspect is to develop industries and give people more sideline jobs."
"To develop industries?" Qin Yue asked.
“That’s right. More industries mean more jobs for the people, increasing their income and the local area’s income, which also indirectly increases grain production,” Qin Mu nodded and said.
"Then what industries should we add? That's not easy. There aren't many industries that can be established in this area of three passes," Qin Yue said, frowning.
"Of course, in general industries, if many people are doing it, it doesn't bring much benefit to the people. If you're going to do something, you should do something that others don't do, or something that is more beneficial to the people."
"Brother Huaidao, you must have made some progress, right?" Qin Yue asked expectantly.
“That’s good. I’ve thought of two solutions. The first is animal husbandry. Each village can raise poultry and have the elderly help look after them and harvest some wild grass to feed them. This way, we can not only increase production, but also not interfere with the main labor force’s work…” Qin Mu didn’t keep them in suspense and started explaining directly.
"Great! This is a good idea. It's already difficult enough for the elderly to farm, but if they switch to raising livestock, their income will definitely be better than farming. There are quite a few elderly people in every village!" Qin Yue exclaimed, slamming his hand on the table.
"Don't interrupt! Let Huai Dao finish!" Qin Yue glared at him and said.
"I...I'm just so happy!" Qin Yue smiled sheepishly.
"The second industry is ink making."
"Making ink!" the two siblings exclaimed simultaneously.
"The Wei family is the best at making ink; other families' ink doesn't sell for much. Besides, we don't have the technology to make it," Qin Yue said, shaking his head.
"I have the ink-making technology, and I have no shortage of materials from the Three Passes region. As long as the price is not high, I believe I will have no trouble selling them," Qin Mu replied.
"Brother Huaidao, you have skills?" Qin Yue asked in surprise.
"That's right, it's recorded in the books left by our ancestors, including planting, seed selection, and breeding," Qin Mu said with certainty.
Qin Mu was referring to the "Essential Techniques for the Common People" that he had brought from home. Fortunately, he had skimmed through it a while ago, and with his memory and some knowledge from another world, he spent a whole night summarizing it to create these things for Qin Yue.
Now, upon reflection, Qin Mu felt even more that his ancestor was remarkable. Among those two large boxes, the most complete item was the "Essential Techniques for the Common People," containing over 110,000 characters, on bamboo slips, animal hides, and silk cloth.
The book primarily records information on grain cultivation, listing over eighty varieties of grains alone. It also dedicates over ten thousand words to winemaking, documenting and summarizing nine examples of koji-making techniques and forty-four examples of brewing processes. Additionally, it covers the production of dried fruit, sugar, sauces, vinegar, soups, dishes, and cosmetics, making for a rich and comprehensive record.
The most crucial point is that there are still some things in the book that Qin Mu hasn't fully understood. For example, Fen Ying remembers the content but doesn't know what it's for.
"That's wonderful, but we can't let Brother Huaidao provide the technology for nothing," Qin Yue said, raising an eyebrow.
"It's alright, this is all for the benefit of the people."
"No, no, although the common people make ink, it's still the Qin family that sells it. We can't take advantage of you, brother, on this point," Qin Yue said seriously, shaking his head repeatedly.
"A discerning person, very good." Qin Mu nodded inwardly, his appreciation for Qin Yue growing even stronger. He was merely testing the waters with the ink-making technique; after all, those who could afford it were scholars and the wealthy.
"Do as you please. Making ink is a minor matter; the key is breeding. Without enough young, it won't be able to scale up and will be difficult to achieve anything significant," Qin Mu reminded him.
“Yes! This farming is more meticulous, and it won’t work without enough livestock.” Qin Yue frowned slightly in agreement.
"I don't care about that, and I can't control it. You guys figure it out yourselves."
"Of course."
"No problem, there are plenty of worn-out horses and old horses in the army that can be retired for civilian use," Qin Yue said decisively.
"Then only one last problem remains, which is also the most important one. Once that's solved, the three passes will have an additional million acres of fertile land, no problem at all," Qin Mu said.
"A million acres of fertile land!" Qin Yue exclaimed, his eyes wide.
"good!"
"Brother Huaidao, you tell me, even if it costs me my life, I will do it." Qin Yue suddenly stood up, breathing heavily through his nostrils, and asked with red eyes.
"Construct water conservancy projects!"
"How can we repair this? Although there is a lot of water in the Three Passes area, the flow is not strong, and the upstream flow is even weaker. We have thought of this method before, but it won't work," Qin Yue said disappointedly.
"When I say 'constructing water conservancy projects,' I don't mean utilizing rivers," Qin Mu said with a smile.
"you mean?"
"Find a suitable location, build it against the mountain, construct a reservoir, and then build irrigation canals to directly irrigate the farmland!" Qin Mu said directly.
"Ah! Such a huge project, I can't handle it." Qin Yue was dumbfounded when he heard this.
"I didn't expect you to be able to handle this. This requires the Qin family's strength. It would be best to consult the imperial court. With the court's support, things will be much easier," Qin Mu said, rolling his eyes at him.
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