Some people were shouting that they wanted to plant wheat, and others chimed in. The village head, watching the noisy villagers, sighed and said, "It's not that easy. Didn't you see that they started irrigating their fields as soon as spring arrived? Their land is close to the riverbank, and they've dug ditches, so it's convenient for them. But for our plot, if we want to irrigate, how long will it take to carry water bucket by bucket? And where will we get the seeds? How will we manage them after planting? Will we manage them the same way we manage barley and oats? We need the young master to guide us on all of this. We're just their tenants; how can we order them around?"
A young man said, "Uncle Village Head, I don't think the young master is an unreasonable person. In fact, he's quite nice to us. Look, they even brought us some dumplings they made to try. Why? Just so we can taste the flavor of wheat flour and grow wheat like them in the future. Let's go talk to the young master. Whether it works out or not is up to him. If it works out, great. If not, we can just continue growing our current crops. What do you think?"
After pondering for a long time, the village head said, "Alright, let's do it tomorrow. You come with me tomorrow, and we'll go to the young master's house in the county to find out what he's up to."
When Xu Rao returned home that evening, she was surprised to find dumplings filled with shepherd's purse, which made her extremely happy.
After dipping the dumplings in minced garlic and vinegar, you put them in your mouth, bite through the thin, chewy dumpling skin, and inside is the fresh and tender dumpling filling.
Like Xu Di, Xu Rao loves to eat dumplings filled with shepherd's purse. Every spring, when fresh shepherd's purse comes into the supermarket, Xu Rao buys a lot, washes it, blanches it, chops it finely, adds minced meat and various seasonings, and then makes dumplings and wontons.
Xu Rao said, "This shepherd's purse tastes really delicious. Why did you think of making dumplings with shepherd's purse filling? Can we pick a lot of it on the farm?"
Zhang Zhaoci said, "Old Zhao dug a lot on the mountain, and I happened to be able to make dumplings, so I made a lot on the village. Xu Di even took some to Zhangjiazhuang to share, saying that he wanted them to have a taste."
Xu Rao listened, chewed the dumpling in his mouth, nodded, and said, "I estimate that someone will come to discuss planting winter wheat in the fall with our young master tomorrow or the day after."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhaoci said, "How did you know? Who's coming?"
Xu Rao ate another dumpling and said, "The tenants on the estate, they rent our land to grow crops, right? Today, Xu Di brought them dumplings not just so they could have a taste, but to lure them in. If they know the benefits of this bait, they will naturally come to Xu Di to discuss planting winter wheat in the fall. If they pretend not to know, then there's nothing we can do."
Zhang Zhaoci nodded and said, "These people are really cunning. That's why people in politics are so shrewd. We technicians are just destined to work. Compared to you, we're nothing."
Xu Rao laughed and said, "Don't underestimate yourself. You guys are the ones with the best brains. Otherwise, how could you become experts? Compared to you experts, we are nothing."
Xu Zhi sat to one side, tilting her little head as she watched her parents exchange pleasantries. Zhang Zhaoci sighed when he saw Xu Zhi's expression and said, "From now on, our little Jiu should just enjoy life. Don't be like your father and brother, always scheming and plotting. It's exhausting to watch."
Xu Zhi nodded blankly and said, "Mother, I will follow Granny to learn skills properly from now on, and I will definitely become a famous lady in the whole capital."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhaoci laughed heartily and pulled Xu Zhi into his arms, saying, "That's right, our Xiao Jiu will definitely become the most famous lady in the entire capital in the future."
Xu Di returned home and busied himself in his greenhouse. After the first batch matured, he saved the seeds, and the next batch would be planted on a large scale on the estate.
These vegetables are going to be very useful, especially the chili peppers. Xu Di didn't want to reveal the chili peppers publicly. As for the others, it didn't matter. This time, he went to the manor to see if the chili pepper planting area should be fenced off. After thinking for a long time, before leaving, he instructed Old Zhao from the manor to go up the mountain and cut some thorny vines that were more than half a person's height to fence off the few acres of land he had enclosed.
Actually, it would be great if we could find some Sichuan pepper or prickly ash trees right now, but both of them are probably still in the south. We'll see when it's a good time to bring some back. If we make a fence with those, we can use it to enclose the plants growing in the fields in the summer. They grow lush and leafy, providing good privacy, and the branches have a lot of thorns, so even some small wild animals don't dare to come and poke around.
Besides planting chili peppers, they also needed to plant dryland rice. Xu Di found a spot by the river and, in one morning, led a few people to fence off the area. Then, they released some water from the river. It was springtime, and the river wasn't very full, relying on small irrigation ditches. They scooped the water from the river into the ditches with buckets, and the water flowed down to the fields. Xu Di felt that the waterwheel project needed to be advanced; in a few days, they would be planting many things, and how could they survive without water?
Xu Di was busy planting chili pepper seeds and dryland rice seeds to prepare for seedling cultivation. Once the seedlings emerged, they would be transplanted into the ground. As for later management, Xu Di felt that besides water, fertilizer was essential, especially for vegetables, which could not be without water.
Xu Di felt his brain wasn't working properly. He really regretted not studying agronomy back then, instead choosing bioengineering. Fortunately, he had spent some time hanging out with the senior students in the agricultural college, which broadened his horizons considerably. Otherwise, in this situation, his family of four would probably have to stay here obediently until his father's term ended and he received an excellent evaluation, after which the family would move to another place with his promoted father.
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