Chapter 436: What's wrong with putting in some effort to survive?
Sang Zhixia was being scolded in Bai Ziqing's private residence, but the farm area that had been preliminarily demarcated outside the city was bustling with activity.
It was obvious that Bai Chengren was useless. The other officials involved in the matter in Shu were too busy to take care of themselves. They were busy dealing with the funeral arrangements of the two imperial envoys who died tragically, and were also busy pulling their own rotten quilts to cover their stinky feet.
Even though everyone knew that there had been unusual commotion in Ancheng recently, no one had the mind to cause trouble for Xu Yu, and everything went very smoothly.
Xu Yu was a little surprised to see Sang Zhixia coming. He helped her out of the carriage before saying, "Didn't you say you wouldn't be coming for a few days?"
"Has the trouble in the house been thrown out?"
Sang Zhixia recalled the furious look on Qi Lao's face before he left, with a complicated expression: "He said he had other important things to do and couldn't take care of me for the time being, so he asked me to wait."
It is hard to say whether you are waiting to be scolded or waiting to be caught and walked onto the paved road.
Sang Zhixia didn't dare to ask.
Sang Zhixia's head was buzzing from the noise of Old Qi slamming the table. He sighed and said, "The old man is really too angry and has a loud voice."
He starts yelling at the slightest disagreement, and I don't know where all this energy comes from.
Xu Yu tutted in disbelief, not wanting to mention the old man who disliked him in every way. He took Sang Zhixia by the hand and walked to the shade and said, "It's good that you're here. You won't feel that I'm not thorough enough when I go back and tell you."
With the excellent results created by the Northwest Farm as a precedent, Xu Yu was actually following the steps he had accumulated this time.
"First, we drew out the boundaries of the land according to all the deeds we had, connecting all the pieces that could be connected. We originally wanted to draw a boundary around the perimeter, but we thought it would be too time-consuming and labor-intensive, so we just had people plant a circle of fruit trees. After a few years, when the seedlings have grown, the boundaries will naturally be established."
Xu Yu casually pulled over a wooden board and spread it on the ground.
Sang Zhixia raised her eyebrows when she saw it: "It's just some mud, actually..."
"I've already become like this, and you're covered in mud, there's really no decent person in our family."
Xu Yu quickly threw out a few wooden boards, paving a relatively clean path on the muddy ground. He took Sang Zhixia by the hand and said, "Come on, I'll take you to see what's ahead."
There was only a small area of muddy ground with accumulated water. Sang Zhixia walked across it on the wooden planks without getting her shoes dirty. Further ahead she saw artificially divided farmland.
Before starting, Xu Yu had carefully studied the manual Sang Zhixia had memorized, and he spoke clearly, "The terrain here is low-lying, making it easy to dig canals to divert water, so we've decided to plant rice next year. We're currently tilling the soil and preparing it for fertilization in autumn."
These lands actually had a grand autumn harvest many years ago, but unfortunately the fertile soil has become barren due to years of abandonment, and now we have to start from scratch.
But the season is right. If we clean up the fields one by one this year, we can have the spring plowing season next year.
Beyond the designated rice fields, there are mountains with less flat terrain.
It's difficult to dig canals in mountainous terrain, and diverting water is also difficult. Xu Yu pointed to the location and said, "I asked an experienced local farmer, and he said that a location like this should be planted with easy-to-cultivate crops to avoid difficulties in harvesting. What do you think of sorghum?"
Compared with rice, sorghum requires less water and is cold-resistant and drought-resistant, making it suitable for such a location.
Seeing Sang Zhixia nodded in agreement, Xu Yu's eyes showed a faint smile, and then he talked about where soybeans, peanuts and other things were arranged, taking into account every detail.
Sang Zhixia listened attentively at first, but as she listened, the corners of her mouth rose uncontrollably. She stared at Xu Yu's face, not knowing how much of what Xu Yu said she had heard.
Xu Yu spoke for a long time without receiving a response. He waved his hand in front of Sang Zhixia's eyes in surprise: "Zhizhi?"
"What are you thinking about?"
Sang Zhixia suppressed a smile and looked away, squinting at the person not far away who was too busy to even look up. She said with a smile, "I'm just a little surprised that you've learned so much without saying anything."
When he first arrived in the northwest, Xu Yu didn't know the difference between grains and couldn't tell the difference between rice seedlings and wheat seedlings, but now it's different.
Not only can he distinguish them, but he can also tell what kind of land is suitable for planting what. It seems that he can describe everything that grows on the land that catches his eye.
Xu Yu laughed out loud.
"You've memorized so many manuals. You'll naturally learn by reading more."
Those who can't help can lend a hand, and those who have learned can try to help Sang Zhixia get rid of the burden.
Xu Yu didn't want Sang Zhixia to stay in the fields under the scorching sun and cold winter all the time. He could learn to do these things that had to be done slowly.
Xu Yu stopped talking after that.
Sang Zhixia understood the hidden meaning in his words, and the smile on the corner of her lips deepened.
"Then based on the current progress, won't we soon have a rough scale?"
"Ten days at most."
Xu Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead and explained, "This place is also based on the scale of the one back home."
"One area for arable land, one area for pens. It's not difficult to raise chickens, ducks, geese, etc. We can raise them effectively in a year or two. We've also decided on a place for an orchard, but some people say that raising fruit trees is not as good as growing mulberry trees and raising silkworms, so we haven't decided on that yet."
It is not possible to raise silkworms in the Northwest.
In extremely cold weather, mulberry trees cannot survive and silkworms cannot grow large.
But Shu is different.
The Shu brocade produced in Shu has always been unique. Both the silkworm skills and the silk-spinning satin-making techniques are far superior to those in the northwest.
Xu Yu didn't quite understand this and hadn't made up his mind yet. He was just waiting to ask Sang Zhixia's opinion before making a decision.
Sang Zhixia's eyes slowly lit up, and she asked curiously, "Who did you tell me about raising silkworms and planting mulberry trees?"
"You know this guy too."
Xu Yu pointed at Hui Sanniang who was running towards them and raised his eyebrows and said, "She said so."
The farm recruited hundreds of workers, and everyone cherished the opportunity to get paid. Not only did they work very hard, but they also never talked much, for fear that they would say something wrong and displease their boss, and then lose the job they had worked so hard to get.
The only difference is Hui Sanniang, who escaped from Huwei Mountain.
When Hui Sanniang learned that Xu Yu planned to use the land halfway up the mountain to plant fruit trees, she was so anxious that she wanted to stretch her neck and shout at Xu Yu, emphasizing that fruit trees were not as good as mulberry trees.
When she saw Sang Zhixia, Hui Sanniang's eyes lit up with joy, and even her old cloth covered in mud and dirt couldn't hide the brightness in her eyes.
"Boss!"
Sang Zhixia was overwhelmed by her enthusiasm and hummed in amusement, "When did you arrive at the farm? Why haven't I heard anyone mention it before?"
Hui Sanniang chuckled and said casually, "I'll be here the day the farm opens."
"You know my situation. My family won't tolerate me, and I don't want to go back and get hanged. It just so happens that they're hiring here, so I came here to earn some money to get by."
I was once taken to the mountains and forced into prostitution, which was not what I wanted.
But if you take the wrong path and end up in a desperate situation, and then escape death, you will realize that among all the troubles in the world, nothing is more important than being alive.
Hui Sanniang is not afraid of being looked down upon and despised by others, nor is she afraid of being disliked by others for her shameful past.
What's wrong with putting in some effort to survive?
She does as much work as those people who keep their noses and eyes looking up at the sky.
Sang Zhixia quite liked her bold and straightforward nature. She coughed and said, "I heard you think planting mulberry trees is a good idea. Have you ever seen anyone do this?"
When talking about what she knew, Hui Sanniang was obviously very excited.
If it weren't for the cold-faced evil spirit Xu Yu standing by her side, she would have wanted to grab Sang Zhixia's arm with her muddy hands.
"Boss, growing mulberry trees and raising silkworms really works!"
"You believe me!"
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