Chapter 39: Green Manure, Graduation, and Scythe
Along with the yellow leaves falling in the wind, the alchemist from the agricultural park brought the best formula for green manure.
After several months, they finally figured out the most suitable ratio and fermentation time.
"It's a pity it's a little late. I won't be able to catch up this year."
That's what they said, but the voices announcing the good news were not at all low.
After many comparative experiments, they found that using the best ratio of green manure could increase the yield per mu by 40 to 50 kilograms.
Forty or fifty kilograms may not sound like much, but the yield of one acre of fertile land in Daqin is only more than two hundred kilograms. This is almost a 20% increase in yield, which is equivalent to one or two months of extra food for an adult per acre of land.
If you can’t use it this year, you can use it next year, the year after next, and the year after that...your descendants can use it!
"Great, great!" When Ying Zheng heard the news, he was overjoyed and cheered loudly, and was generous with his rewards.
The rewarded alchemist left with the palace maids, and Ying Zheng stayed in the Hall of Eternal Life.
I have been very busy recently and haven't met with the immortals much, which is not conducive to a friendly relationship with them.
Ying Zheng sat in the courtyard, chatting with Wei Shengxue about recent events. "The factory in Jingyang has begun operations, and the products it produces are excellent. Marquis Wucheng is currently recruiting more workers. By next year's spring plowing season, the entire Qin Empire will be using iron plows."
Wei Shengxue estimated the merits that could be earned and smiled with his eyes curved.
"The sickle that Daoist friend had sent me some time ago has been made. It is very useful for harvesting crops."
Wei Shengxue nodded.
She had only recently learned that the crops here were harvested with a straight blade similar to a dagger. To cut the wheat and millet, one had to either use greater force or scrape back and forth to grind the stems of the crops with the blade.
The sickle is different. Its hook-like shape matches the direction of the wrist's force, making it lightweight and labor-saving. The blade has small serrations, like a small saw, perfect for cutting tough wheat and millet stalks.
Moreover, with the newly built blast furnace, it can be cast directly using molds, saving the effort of hammering and sharpening. One furnace of molten iron can produce hundreds of sickles. It is simple and quick, and saves time and labor than bronze utensils.
Ying Zheng's tone rose slightly, with a hint of boasting: "I have equipped a cavalry. After several months of training, they can shoot arrows on horseback and hit the target eight out of ten times."
He seemed to be telling Wei Shengxue, but also seemed to be saying it to himself, "In the past two months, many more disciples from the Hundred Sects have entered Xianyang City, and the court officials have had more social engagements after their shifts."
After that, he said a lot more, as if he treated Wei Shengxue as a human diary.
He couldn't say these things to the court officials, nor would he discuss them with the younger generation. He had been holding it in for who knows how long, and finally poured it all out to her.
Wei Shengxue listened with two minds focused, occasionally making an "hmm" or nodding sound. Apart from being a little absent-minded, he could be said to be a perfect listener, and Ying Zheng didn't care.
When he finished speaking, Wei Shengxue finished counting the merit points for the twelfth time. She closed the system panel and said with a smile, "Congratulations, fellow Daoist, you are one step closer to embarking on the path to immortality."
Ying Zheng nodded: "Well, thanks to fellow Daoist Prime Minister... huh?!!"
He stood up with a loud bang, and the teacup that was hit shook and fell, leaving a large stain of water. Amid the sound of dripping water, Ying Zheng tightened his voice and repeated extremely slowly, almost word by word:
"One step closer to the immortal path."
The ecstasy of this moment even made him forget to conceal Daqin's ordinariness.
Wei Shengxue noticed his overly intense emotional fluctuations and reflexively cast a Heart-Clearing Spell at him.
Ying Zheng felt a chill in his head, and his mind, which had been occupied by the immortal immortal, started to work again. He immediately covered up after reacting:
"I was overly excited. After thousands of years, I finally found a trace of my ancestors. I may have lost my composure a bit, fellow Daoist, please forgive me."
Wei Shengxue didn't notice anything wrong. In her opinion, this reaction was perfectly normal.
"This is normal. We searched for our home planet for over three thousand years and finally found it over two hundred years ago."
She recalled the images preserved on StarNet. To put it nicely, it was a nationwide celebration, but to put it bluntly, it was a scene of rampage with all kinds of outrageous behavior.
"The entire galaxy was celebrating at the time. You were very restrained."
Ying Zheng sat down again in front of the table and chairs that the palace servants had cleared away, and continued the conversation, "Mother Planet? It sounds similar to our ancestral land."
——That must be the ascension platform in the fairyland!
Legend has it that after becoming an immortal, one must go to the Ascension Platform to cleanse the worldly air. The mother planet mentioned by the immortals must be the Ascension Platform!
But it sounds like it is not a station, but a place similar to stars.
As expected of the Immortal Realm, they actually directly dispatched a star as a place for mortals to become immortals. Even these few words revealed were beyond the imagination of the world.
The more Ying Zheng thought about it, the more excited he became. The thought that had been lingering in his mind for a long time suddenly came out of his mouth: "After I become an immortal, I will be able to go to your home planet."
Fairyland, I’m here.
Wei Shengxue instantly became alert, not disguising her rejection, even her tone turned several degrees colder. "What are you doing on my home planet? No one without permission is allowed to enter there."
——Does she want to destroy her home planet like those people in the Taixi galaxy?
Her suspicion and vigilance were so obvious that it seemed as if in an instant they had gone from friends sitting and chatting together to enemies facing each other with swords.
Ying Zheng's eyes also changed. He thought of those who had betrayed him: his father, mother, and brother...
But he knew very well that this was not the time, he had to immediately dispel the immortal's hostility.
He seemed oblivious to the change in her expression as he personally added a piece of ice to her plate. Amidst the subtle coolness, his tone slowed down, and he asked with just the right amount of questioning: "Don't we, the people of Daqin, go to our home planet after becoming immortals?"
"It has been a long time since anyone has achieved immortality, and the records are few and far between."
He noticed that the immortal stared at him with a critical gaze for a long time before the hostility in his eyes slowly faded away, and the familiar clarity and apology reappeared in them.
"Sorry, I thought you had a look with those Tessi people and had bad intentions towards our home planet."
This was the first time Ying Zheng saw her express such strong and obvious negative emotions.
But he soon realized that this was a good opportunity to get closer to him, and he immediately asked, "Has your ancestral land also been occupied by others?"
What a good “also”.
Directly pull people into the same camp.
Hey, was your house robbed? What a coincidence, so was I.
People who have the same experience will always be closer, and after a while, they become good friends.
Ying Zheng doesn't need friends, but he must be the closest and most trusted person to the immortal in this world.
But it was indeed effective. When the moon was above the willow branches and Ying Zheng left the Changsheng Palace, the relationship between the two had returned to its original harmony, no, it was even closer than before.
…
"Carefully examine those who have appeared before the Immortal many times."
"yes."
"If she has a preference for someone, please report it in time."
"yes."
The clear moonlight cast a long shadow behind Ying Zheng. There were dark shadows beside him, but no one met them.
…
A few months passed and the obstetrics and gynecology training course ended.
To be honest, Wei Shengxue didn't appear very often, and most of the time she was playing teaching videos for them.
When she said the word "graduation" in the classroom, she subconsciously glanced out the window. If the teachers at the medical school next door knew that she dared to let a "medical student" who had only studied for a few months go out to practice, they would probably send her flying with a battleship.
But there is no way, this place is so backward that even such simple training can save many people.
Wang Yu led several other students to bring up a small box filled with papers densely written on.
"Teacher Weisheng, our homework."
Wei Shengxue looked at the medical books they had copied these days and was so happy that no one gave her a rainbow candy.
Of course, this is also sponsored by the system. She is isolated from all abilities related to cooking.
"I hope you can have a clear plan for the future and have your own life."
…
Wang Yu and others returned to the dormitory. Living there for several months had given it a distinct personal touch.
The small green potted plants on the windowsill are mints grown by Dr. Xia. When I feel sleepy and irritable, I pick two pieces and make tea to refresh my mind and calm my mind.
The wind chimes hanging under the eaves are made of shells that Shaolan's uncle brought back from Qi when he was doing business. They spent several nights stringing them together. When the wind blows, they make a pleasant crisp sound when they clash.
In the west corner near the cabinet, Song Jing placed bottles and jars there. These were all experimental products she made after class. Day by day, the three-layer shelves were filled up.
If you lift the bed sheet, you can see several rows of wine jars crowded together under the bed. These were brewed by Wang Yu after he learned how to distill liquor, trying to make strong liquor.
Walking all the way from the classroom, they were all silent. Even back in the dormitory, they quietly packed their things, but their hands were moving slower and slower...
In such oppressive silence, Shao Lan stopped packing her clothes.
She threw the clothes down and said in a low but clear voice: "My name is Shaolan. My life goal is to become a big merchant who can travel all over the world, so that people all over the world can buy the things in my store."
This sentence seemed to turn on a switch, breaking the quiet atmosphere and starting to make other people's voices.
"I'm Wang Yu. If you have any questions, you can come to the Wang family to find me."
Shaolan tugged at the bed curtains and swung them back and forth, "Sister Wang, you haven't told me what you want to do yet."
"Me?" Wang Yu's gaze fell on the wine jar under the bed. His gentle tone was tinged with a hint of sadness, yet it also revealed an extraordinary tenderness. "I want to make lots of disinfectant wine so that all the soldiers can use it."
Shao Lan turned to look at Doctor Xia again, "Sister Xia, you can guess without me asking. She will definitely become a doctor as great as Doctor Xia."
Doctor Xia tucked her scattered hair behind her ears, chuckled, and shook her head. "I once really wanted to be a doctor like Grandfather, but now I'd rather be an obstetrics and gynecology nurse. All women in the world have to bear children, and their lives and deaths are entirely at the mercy of fate. I don't like that."
Song Jing is as her name suggests, shy and quiet. What she did at the school gate that day was the boldest and craziest thing she had ever done in her life.
Seeing that everyone was looking at her, she slightly turned her gaze away, her cheeks stained with shame, and said in a small voice: "I want to try the allicin mentioned in the fairy painting."
It was not surprising for others to hear this. From the moment she started talking about this lesson, she developed a strong interest in it, and all kinds of ideas popped up in her mind. She was someone who could barely speak three sentences a day, but when she mentioned this matter, she could talk about it for an hour without stopping.
Wang Yu leaned lightly on the desk, supporting his face to look at them. It was a rare opportunity for him to empty his mind, thinking of nothing, just enjoying this moment of freedom.
That's great, everyone...
"Sister Wang, this is yours." A lively voice sounded in his ears. Wang Yu looked closely and saw that it was a string of shells on a wind chime with a pattern drawn by her personally on it.
It was Shaolan who took the shells off the wind chimes.
"We each have one string. If we're in trouble, we'll have someone bring us shells for help." Shao Lan immersed herself in the legendary story, raised her hands and announced loudly, "This is our secret communication!"
This afternoon was very long, so long that they would remember it for the rest of their lives; this afternoon was also very short, so short that they went their separate ways without even saying goodbye.
…
…
Here it is graduation season filled with a hint of youthful melancholy, but in Jingyang, more than a hundred miles away, it is a bustling harvest season.
The weather was good this year. Although we didn't get to use the green manure in time, the yield from the fields was satisfactory.
The whole family, young and old, joined in the battle, rushing to harvest, dry and store the grain as quickly as possible. Only when the grain was loaded into the cellar did the people, who depended on the weather for their livelihood, breathe a sigh of relief.
Now we don’t have to worry even if it rains heavily for several days in a row.
As the rain pattered against the roof, they could even chat and laugh:
"Thanks to the sickle the village head brought back, we were able to harvest the wheat very quickly. With one hand, we could harvest a handful of wheat at a time. In just a few days, we had harvested all the crops."
"My grandfather said that this year's rain came ten days earlier than last year. If it weren't for the sickle, it would have rained just when we were drying our crops." The person who spoke patted his chest in fear.
"What? It's raining earlier than last year?!"
"That's right. My grandfather is the oldest man in our village. How could he be wrong?"
The others all shook their heads.
In the long farming era, the elderly represent rich experience. For farmers who rely on the weather for their livelihood, these experiences are the most precious wealth of the whole family. That is why there is a saying that an elderly person in the family is like a treasure.
This is Houtou Village, named after the fact that it is located behind a big tree. It is also one of the thousands of households in the fief of Wang Jian, Marquis of Chengwu.
It is for this reason that after the ironworks produced iron sickles and supplied them to Xianyang, the excess was immediately distributed to this area.
A man curled up his five fingers and made a grasping gesture. The palm of his hand seemed to still retain the touch of the sickle in my hand, rough but reassuring.
He couldn't help thinking: If only I could have a sickle like that at home.
"Who wouldn't want that? This is a treasure that can be a family heirloom."
"If I had one at home, I would definitely put it in the cowshed. It is as valuable as the cow."
The man finally realized when he heard the voices of agreement. It turned out that he had been thinking about the sickle so much that he had inadvertently spoken his thoughts out loud.
He wanted to say a few more words, but then he thought about such a good thing. Even renting it from Qin Li would cost a bag of grain. If he really wanted to take a handful home, he would probably have to pay more than half of the annual harvest.
It would be great if there was a way to get a sickle without spending food.
He is willing to work like a slave for others.
Bang——!
Bang——!
Bang——!
The penetrating sound of the gong pierced through the rain and reached their ears, and everyone stood up immediately.
Three tones.
This is a signal that only comes when something major happens that concerns the future of the entire village.
"What happened?"
"Are there bandits here to steal food?!"
"Bah, bah, bah, bad things don't work, good things do! Shut up and don't talk!"
"No way, Marquis Wucheng is only a dozen miles away, and the army is so numerous, how could any bandits dare to come here?"
"Let's go, let's take a look."
The person who was speaking took the lead and walked into the rain, and the others followed, walking hurriedly towards the ancestral hall.
…
When we arrived at the ancestral hall, the village head and the oldest man in the village were both there, talking with rosy faces.
When everyone looked at it, it didn't look like a bad thing.
"Of course it's not a bad thing, it's a good thing! A very good thing!"
The village head stood up excitedly, speaking in a loud and clear voice:
"We must have our own sickle!"
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