Chapter 278 Speaking halfway is a problem. Why don’t you consider changing it?
Chen Jing'an found out Sang Zhixia's requirements for the tea trees, took the things that Sang Zhixia hoped he could bring back, left the earthenware he brought from Kyoto, and did not dare to delay for a moment, and ran away crawling in the middle of the night.
They said that the local rituals were brought from thousands of miles away, but in fact, what was displayed were all kinds of things that the Xu family was used to using in their early years.
Xu Wenxiu slid her fingertips across the edge of the floral satin, feeling the silky smoothness beneath her fingertips. She looked a little emotional, but the words she spoke were indescribably funny.
"This satin is a rare and good thing, but it's too slippery to the touch. It feels a little cold and doesn't warm the skin. When worn properly, it's actually not as comfortable as cotton or linen."
Clothes made of cotton and linen may not look luxurious or fancy, but they feel soft, close-fitting, and breathable and comfortable.
This slippery satin costs a hundred taels of silver per piece, but compared with the other two, it may not be worth the price.
Aunt Xu, who had taken some time to go home, also found it funny.
Second Aunt Xu flipped through the various colored satins on the table and glanced at them. She couldn't help but laugh and said, "No matter how good the quality is, it can't compare to the comfort of wearing it on your body."
"If it's too much trouble, sister-in-law, I can take you back to the embroidery shop after you've chosen the pattern and make it. When it's done, I'll bring it home again, saving you the trouble of sewing."
"The embroidery shop is a serious business. How can it be so small as to trouble you?"
Xu Wenxiu said with a smile: "I have nothing to do at home, so I just made clothes for the children."
"But when I showed this fine satin to the little ones, they all said they didn't want it. Even Xia Xia kept shaking her head. If you didn't know better, you would think I was trying to force something bad on them."
Second Aunt Xu knew the temperaments of the children in the family. She laughed a few times with great joy, turned around and looked around and asked curiously, "Where's Xia Xia?"
"I came back today to tell her about the soap flower, but how come I haven't seen it for half a day?"
Xu Wenxiu felt somewhat helpless when she spoke of this, and laughed, "I don't know what this girl has been thinking these past few days. She's dragged Yu'er, Xue Liu, and the others along, going from village to village to collect rice washing water. They say it's useful for growing tea trees, but no one knows what it's for."
Sang Zhixia said it could be used, and those who heard it didn't ask how it was used. They all rushed there carrying buckets and pushing carts.
They have to collect the crops from other villages themselves.
The people in Luobei Village found out, and every household placed a wooden basin or barrel in front of the door, filled with rice washing water that had been specially left, waiting for people who left the farm to collect it.
Sang Zhixia collected a lot of rice water from everywhere and had it all put into the built pool.
Having learned from the terrible experience of the fermentation tank, this time when building the rice washing pool, Sang Zhixia supervised the entire process and explained every word clearly, without giving anyone the opportunity to play freely.
As for the place to store rice water, Sang Zhixia unexpectedly did not listen to many suggestions, but insisted on choosing a place on a newly purchased hillside behind Dongshan.
A new batch of rice water arrived. Sang Zhixia squatted by the pool, which hadn't yet fermented and smelled anything strange, and said, "Put a layer of anti-rotten boards on top, and three layers of oilcloth underneath. That way, the water in the pool will seep out much more slowly, and there won't be more water coming in than flowing out."
Although I didn't have to spend any money to buy this rice water, it was brought from different places far away, and the process was full of hardship and difficulty.
But it can't be completely wasted before it can be used.
Xu Yu lifted the bucket with one hand and tipped it over. He placed the empty bucket beside him, exhaled, and said, "But it will still flow out."
"It doesn't matter if it leaks out."
Sang Zhixia clapped her hands and stood up, saying, "I plan to turn this area into a tea plantation. This rice water was originally used to improve the soil. Draining it out first will save us some effort."
Tea trees grow best in acidic soil, so soil quality is a difficult problem that must be changed.
There is no simpler and more labor-saving way. Simply ferment the rice water, then dilute it with water and use it to irrigate and moisten the soil. This is the most feasible method at present.
The pool built on the hillside seeps out continuously, silently transforming the land beneath its feet over the years.
Xu Yu said nothing more, turned around and went back to picking up the bucket.
Xu Yu made an agreement with Sang Zhixia that when the smell became strong, he would not go near any pond.
Can't stand it.
He really couldn't bear the pain of vomiting for three days at a time.
Each dug and built pool on the hillside is far apart, firstly for easy access, and secondly to avoid excessive water seepage in one place, which would cause strong acidity and lead to root rot.
But this also directly leads to the difficulty of checking all these pools.
Xu Yu waved his hand to block the short bushes that were coming at him. After Sang Zhixia had bent over and passed by, he frowned and said, "Zhizhi, do you mean to plant tea trees on half of this slope?"
"It's not just half a hillside, it's the whole hillside."
Sang Zhixia slapped the scattered dead grass on the ground with a stick and explained, "Tea trees must stretch out into a continuous mountain. What's the point of having fewer of them?"
A tea cake may not seem big, but the tea leaves before frying have to be counted by the basket.
If you plant less, and work hard all year round to only produce thirty or fifty tea cakes, what will you do with them?
Give Xu Yu half a pound of it a day?
Sang Zhixia bent down to avoid a branch, and waited until Xu Yu came closer before saying, "It's not just this hillside. I want to look for more suitable ones nearby, and it would be best if I could find a few more."
Perhaps fearing Xu Yu might not understand, Sang Zhixia explained, "It's not good to plant tea trees on flat ground. The best place is on a slope like this."
"The terrain is gentle but sloping. It's not completely shaded, but it's protected from the sun. If you plant them in large areas, they'll grow well unless they get diseased."
Xu Yu nodded twice and said, "Then I'll take people up the mountain tomorrow to clear all the weeds and trees, but..."
Xu Yu thought about the number of tea trees that Sang Zhixia had asked Chen Jingan to bring back, and hesitated, "For such a large area, the number of tea trees is definitely not enough to plant them all. How about getting some more?"
"No matter how many tea trees are sent, the slope will never be fully planted at once."
One hillside is fully planted, what about the next one?
You can't always rely on getting it from afar.
Sang Zhixia waved her hand and said, "I want the batch he brought to be planted and used for seedling cultivation. I don't expect tea to be produced this year."
Cutting seedlings are easy to obtain, with low cost and high survival rate.
Moreover, the reproduction cycle is relatively short, which can fully maintain the inherent characteristics of the mother plant, and the variety is absolutely pure.
When the tea seedlings grown by cuttings survive, they are planted in batches. One gives birth to two, two gives birth to three. By then, large tea mountains can be grown using local materials, and there is no need to go to the trouble of transporting seedlings from other places.
Xu Yu had long been accustomed to the new words that occasionally came out of Sang Zhixia's mouth. He pondered the possible meaning of "扡插" and was about to ask again when Song Liu came running over from a distance, crawling excitedly and shouting at the top of his voice: "Boss!"
"Our people have found the black tea tree you mentioned! It's a century-old tea tree!"
Sang Zhixia turned around with a gleam in her eyes when she heard the voice. Then she heard Song Liu shout, "But that century-old tea tree seems to belong to someone else!"
Sang Zhixia: "..."
Song Liu ran up to Sang Zhixia with a grunt. He could hear Sang Zhixia's disdain before he even said anything. "It's a bad habit to start talking halfway. Why don't you consider changing that?"
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