Liu Tan never told Li Xi that he was going to do it himself, for he was worried that Li Xi would come back and persuade him not to do the menial job.
He even drove everyone around him out of the greenhouse. Their only role was probably to convey Liu Tan's orders to raise or lower the temperature to the outside world.
However, grafting is not cooking, and does not require such precise control. After placing the Liu Tan version thermometer indoors, you can basically control the temperature and maintain it outside.
Liu Tan put on the gloves that Fu Yu and the others had specially made for him and began to observe the local grape vines. Finally, he selected a few that looked the strongest and planned to use different methods to graft them to see which one was the most suitable.
Because there are only three grafting methods that can be used at present, but Liu Tan asked for five seedlings, three of which were used for experimental grafting, and the other two were used to see if they could grow successfully in the greenhouse.
Liu Tan put the three seedlings and the grape vines selected as rootstocks together, and put aside the knife, bamboo sticks cut to the same size as the seedling stems, and some white cloth.
The first method he tried was grafting. In fact, in his opinion, according to the existing conditions, the grafting method should have the highest success rate. After all, in the grafting method, both plants are still growing on their respective mother stems. Even if it is unsuccessful, it should not lead to the death of the seedlings.
But he is not a professional after all, so he still tries them all in the end.
He was also a novice. After initially choosing the branches, he cut off one-third of the thickness of the branches on both sides. This step made him sweat profusely, and in the end his hand shook and he cut off a little more.
Fortunately, even if I cut more, there is still half left, so I can continue.
As for cutting noodles, since there was no precise scale, he simply chose the length of his index finger nail.
After all the scraps have been cut, tie the wounds on both sides tightly with white cloth, and then wait for the wounds to heal.
After finishing, Liu Tan wiped the sweat from his forehead. Although he didn't know the suitable temperature for grapes, he knew the approximate range of grape flowering and fruiting. He calculated that the temperature should not be too high during the budding period, and it would be fine to maintain the ground temperature at around 20 degrees.
This temperature is actually quite suitable for humans, but the greenhouse is not well ventilated and has high humidity.
Liu Tan lifted his collar and fanned himself, ready to continue working hard to solve the remaining two methods. However, to be honest, each of the remaining two methods was a little more difficult than the connection method.
The cleft grafting method requires removing the growth point and heart leaf of the rootstock, and then cutting a slit between the two leaves. The ear to be grafted also needs to be cut into a double-sided wedge shape. Fortunately, after the experience just now, Liu Tan's hands were much steadier this time.
As for the splicing method, it requires higher precision. Simply put, it is to drill a hole on the rootstock, and then cut the root of the seedling into a completely matching shape and insert it. Splicing also includes straight insertion and oblique insertion. Liu Tan said that just insert it and don't worry about so many details.
After everything was done, Liu Tan asked people to watch it from time to time. Of course, the most important thing was to record the growth conditions of the grapes according to his instructions. He didn't want to see records with the characteristics of the times anymore, which made people feel overwhelmed.
Liu Tan had just finished the grafting when Li Buyan invited him out for a drink.
Liu Tan also felt that he had left the palace very few times since he came here, and he always wanted to go out for a walk but never managed to do so, so he nodded in agreement.
Li Buyan put in some effort and directly chose the best tavern in Chang'an. He sat in a private room on the second floor. Liu Tan watched as Li Buyan poured him a glass of purple-red liquid.
Li Buyan poured the wine and said, "Try it. This is wine from the Western Regions. Apart from the tribute, this is the only wine shop that has it."
Liu Tan was a little curious, but after he picked up the glass and took a sip, he used a lot of effort to control the expression on his face - this was not wine at all, it was simply grape juice!
The taste is probably similar to the grape juice he fermented himself in later generations, but not as good. Of course, this may not be a problem of craftsmanship, but more likely a problem of variety.
Liu Tan nodded and said, "It tastes pretty good."
Just as he said this, he suddenly heard someone outside say, "The Wusun people have entered the capital. Do you want to go and see them?"
Liu Tan was puzzled after hearing this: "Wusun people? Hasn't the Wusun little Kunmi always been here?"
Li Buyan sighed and said, "This is someone from the Great Wusun. I heard that the Great Wusun is here to ask for marriage."
Liu Tan was stunned for a moment, and after searching his mind for a long time, he remembered that Liu Che had indeed sent princesses to marry Wusun, and he had sent two princesses one after another. According to the year, it was indeed the sixth year of Yuanfeng, which was also the first year after Wei Qing's death.
Thinking of this, Liu Tan couldn't help but sigh. After Liu Che lost all the elite cards in his hands, he could no longer be as tough as before.
Liu Tan turned away, not wanting to think about the Wusun anymore. It was pointless to think about it, but when he turned around, he saw Li Buyan's expression was even more miserable. He couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? Are you having trouble with the Wusun people?"
Li Buyan shook his head: "Of course not, it's just... the Wusun people have entered the capital, and the New Year's Day is getting closer, but my father's mission still hasn't progressed, alas."
Liu Tan asked, "What does this have to do with Zhengdan?"
Li Buyan hesitated for a moment and said, "Originally, this matter shouldn't have been hidden from Your Highness, but my father was afraid that Your Highness would get anxious if he found out, so he didn't let us know. If Your Highness finds out, please don't tell my father that I told you."
Liu Tan was even more curious: "Go ahead."
Li Buyan whispered, "His Majesty has ordered that there must be a result before the New Year."
Liu Tan was filled with questions after hearing this: "What does this result...mean?"
Li Buyan thought for a moment and said, "It probably means producing grapes."
Liu Tan: ...
He lowered his head and counted the days. Nowadays, New Year's Day is still October 1st, and they are already in the middle of September, half a month's time... Even if a god came, he couldn't make the grapes bloom and bear fruit in half a month!
Not to mention that it is still unknown whether those grape seedlings can survive.
Liu Tan was silent for a long moment before he whispered, "Don't worry, I'll ask my father for a favor and let your father come to work in my palace."
Li Buyan was shocked: "Your Highness, can't he be saved?"
Liu Tan said earnestly, "Even if a miracle happens now, there's no way the grapes will bear fruit in half a month."
There was no need for Li Xi to hide this news from him. After all, even if he knew it, he wouldn't be anxious - why would he be anxious about something that couldn't be changed?
Li Buyan took a sip of wine and said with a wry smile, "Indeed, such things require a miracle. Sigh... it would be nice if we could give it some time. My father has only been in charge of this matter for a little over a month, so it shouldn't be his fault. It's a pity, Your Majesty..."
Li Buyan shut his mouth after saying this. He had no right to discuss the emperor's orders, especially in front of the prince.
When Liu Tan heard him talk about the grace period, a light bulb suddenly lit up in his head. If he remembered correctly, the New Year's Day of the Han Dynasty was changed to January 1st during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, and that was in the sixth year of Yuanfeng.
As of now, there is no news about the New Year's Eve date being changed. Liu Tan is a little unsure, so he just said, "Maybe there really will be an extension. What if the New Year's Eve date is changed?"
Li Buyan laughed: "Your Highness is really whimsical. Why would the date of the New Year be changed?"
Liu Tan didn't say he was dead, but just smiled and said, "That's hard to say. Okay, don't worry. Even if they really want to punish him, it won't be during the New Year. I think that day when the emperor is in a good mood, I can ask him for mercy and try."
Li Buyan was overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."
Liu Tan waved his hand: "Don't count on me too much. If the Crown Prince or Fuling were to go, it's possible. As for me... you'd better not hold on to too much."
After hearing this, Li Buyan's expression gradually subsided. He actually looked very sad for Liu Tan. He whispered, "It's because my parents are too selfish. Otherwise, Your Highness wouldn't have..."
Liu Tan was stunned for a moment before he realized that he was talking about the matter of concealing his identity. He couldn't help but shook his head and said, "It has nothing to do with you."
Of course, he didn't think it had anything to do with Chen Ajiao. Well, if you had to say, there was a little bit of it.
But even if they are biological children, it is impossible for them to become close to each other as soon as they meet after not seeing each other for decades, and to love their children more than the well-behaved and obedient children who have always been around.
Liu Tan comforted Li Buyan with a few words and then returned to the palace.
In the following days, Liu Tan kept an eye on the condition of the grape seedlings. When he saw the records of his subordinates saying that the seedlings were severely soaked due to excessive juice flowing out of the wound on the rootstock and had already shown signs of mildew, he knew that things were not going well.
Liu Tan hurried over to take a look, and when he got there he found that almost all the grafted parts were in a bad condition.
Seedlings grafted by cuttings and cleft grafting are basically hopeless, but those grafted by grafting are much better because only one branch is used.
Liu Tan had no choice but to have people separate the branches so that he could carefully observe what went wrong.
After separating them, he saw that there was indeed a lot of juice at the wound of the rootstock, and not only that, there was even a subtle small bulge around it.
Liu Tan looked at the small bulge and felt that it looked familiar. After thinking about it for a long time, he couldn't help but slap his thigh. Damn it, isn't this a symptom of bacterial infection?
So the question is, why do bacterial infections occur?
Liu Tan lowered his head and pondered for a while, and finally remembered that when he was doing grafting, he wiped the knives and other things with alcohol, and even the wounds on the branches were slightly disinfected with diluted alcohol.
This time, when he was operating, he completely forgot about disinfection.
So the question is, where is the alcohol?
These days even the alcohol content of wine is not high enough to be used for disinfection, let alone alcohol.
Unfortunately, simply disinfecting the knives does not guarantee that they will not be infected by fungi. The wounds on the branches must also be disinfected with diluted alcohol.
Otherwise, if you just want to disinfect knives, you can just sterilize them at high temperature. Why would you need alcohol?
However, if you want to make alcohol, you must first make a distiller.
Liu Tan covered his face with one hand and felt very tired: How many things did he have to come up with just to grow grapes.
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