Chapter 599 Find a suitable place to plant flowers
Layer upon layer of green rice stretches down the mountain, and the fragrance of rice seedlings ripples in the wind.
After half a day of hard work, the hard work of finally reaching the top was washed away by the breeze, and all that was left was a feeling of comfort.
Xu Minghui calmly stepped aside to block some of the sun for Sang Zhixia, wiped the sweat from his face, and said, "It took a lot of effort to modify this side. We brought in a lot of stones just for the bottom paving. The whole winding path down is paved with gravel."
"But fortunately, the results were quite good, so it wasn't in vain."
The terraced fields are blessed with unique advantages, which make it much easier to collect rainwater and sunshine, as well as to farm and harvest.
Such reforms will not only bring temporary benefits.
Sang Zhixia took the water bag that Diancui handed her and took a sip. She panted and said, "You also built a breeding greenhouse? Where is it?"
"there."
Talking about the greenhouse, Xu Minghui smiled bitterly: "At first, I wanted to imitate the one I built in the village before, but the old farmers here saw it and told me that it wouldn't work."
Xu Minghui led the way as he explained, "They say that Lingnan's climate is hot and humid, and if the greenhouses are too thick and windproof, the seedlings planted inside will die from the heat. Even if they survive, they will wither and yellow and not grow big."
"I'm not an expert in this field. I mostly just read from scripts I've seen before, so I'm not sure for the moment. I just had someone clear the space and build the framework, but I haven't covered it yet."
The northwest is extremely cold, so Sang Zhixia put a lot of thought into building the greenhouse. He created heating channels and put several layers of warmth and windproof on the tarpaulin.
This is the only way to barely see a hint of green in the greenhouse in the cold northwest during the winter.
But the real good strategy is to adapt to local conditions.
Sang Zhixia nodded and said, "They are right. It is not appropriate to copy them completely."
"When we were in the northwest, we used it to keep out the cold, but here we only use it to protect against the significant temperature changes between morning and evening. It's too thick and not suitable."
Xu Minghui nodded in agreement.
After turning a few mountain roads and arriving at the destination, Sang Zhixia raised her eyebrows and smiled as she looked at the greenhouse that had taken shape.
"It's easier with this framework."
"Do you remember the translucent oilcloth I mentioned to you before?"
Xu Minghui nodded quickly: "I remember. After receiving the letter, I tried to find a place to buy it. I currently have three channels."
"As long as you confirm your order, everything can be delivered within five days."
Working with smart people really does get twice the result with half the effort.
Sang Zhixia smiled appreciatively at Xu Minghui, pointed to the many shelves not far away and said, "Then tell them to start delivering the goods tomorrow."
"Just cover the frame with a layer of translucent oilcloth, keep it out at night to keep out the cold, and uncover it in the morning to let in the light, and the greenhouse is ready."
With the change of location, the construction and use of the greenhouse became simpler, and the cost was reduced accordingly.
Of course, it also provides great help to the cultivation of mulberry summer seedlings.
When Sang Zhixia was in the northwest, he suffered from the climate and the only thing he could devote his time to studying was rice seeds.
But it's different here.
A place that is naturally suitable for the growth of various types of vegetation is a natural botanical paradise.
It's not just rice that can be studied here to increase production.
Sang Zhixia squatted down, grabbed a rice seedling and examined it in his palm. He fiddled with the plump rice ears and said with a smile, "In order to lay the foundation this year, we can only catch up with the annual harvest."
"But after this year, we can have two harvests a year on these terraced fields next year."
Xu Minghui stayed in Lingnan for more than a year, and when he had free time, he also visited the fields of local people carefully.
Hearing this, he was stunned for a moment and said in surprise, "Are you saying that we can harvest two crops a year here?"
"sure."
Sang Zhixia clapped his hands and stood up, saying, "It's warm like spring all year round, with abundant rain from the beginning to the end of the year, and few natural disasters or droughts. If a place like this can't have two seasons a year, it must be even harder elsewhere."
"But the key is to divert water for irrigation. Simply relying on rainwater is unrealistic."
Hot weather has its advantages, but the troubles it brings are also obvious.
"Diverting water from the mountains is a good idea, but water is limited. With a large area of arable land, irrigation will inevitably be inadequate. Relying solely on manpower would be a drop in the bucket and not worth the effort."
"Remember the waterwheel?"
Xu Minghui lowered his head and smiled: "I remember."
Although they left the northwest, the waterwheel left there will continue to turn without stopping.
As long as the waterwheel turns, there will be no worries about irrigation.
Sang Zhixia snapped his fingers and said, "The waterwheel we built in the village before was used to move the irrigation water for the entire village. It was too large and relied too much on the water flow."
"All the drawings and material books left behind are still here. I just saw when I came here that such a large waterwheel is difficult to place and cannot be used. We can replace it with a smaller one. We can ask Uncle San for help."
With Uncle Xu around, there’s no need to worry about not being able to create what you want.
Xu Minghui nodded and said with a smile: "Uncle San has been busy with the winery recently, so it might be difficult to hire him."
"Yes, please."
Sang Zhixia said calmly, "I'll take some fruit wine recipes to trade with Uncle San for the waterwheel. You just need to prepare all the materials needed to build the waterwheel."
"in addition……"
Sang Zhixia teased, "Now that we've asked Third Uncle to leave, Third Aunt will probably be in a hurry to curse. Remember to hold back."
Xu Minghui shook his head and laughed, then led Sang Zhixia back to the foot of the mountain. He pointed to the large, empty sheds over there and said, "That's where we plan to raise livestock. It's on flat ground, so it's easier to care for them."
"But at the moment we only have some chickens and ducks, and we haven't moved the bigger ones yet."
The rice on the farm hasn't been harvested yet this year, and the distiller's grains from Uncle Xu's winery, which are used for pig feed, haven't moved either. It's not worth it to raise such a large-eating livestock so early, as the investment cost is too high.
Sang Zhixia was also looking forward to the endless supply of lees from the winery, and said with a smile, "Then we'll just have to wait for Third Uncle."
"I'll help them look after the wine jars when I go back someday, so that Auntie San won't scold me."
"By the way, how's the situation at the medicinal plant garden?"
Xu Minghui put away his casual smile and said seriously, "I was just about to tell my sister-in-law this."
"Sister-in-law, regarding the medicinal plant garden, I'm afraid we'll have to ask Elder Qi to come and help take a look."
Lingnan has abundant local medicinal plants, all of which are grown naturally.
When local people were short of money, they would go up the mountain to look for common medicinal herbs. When the clinic ran out of medicine, they would just post a notice and someone would come to look for them and sell them within a couple of days.
No one had ever tried to grow it.
Xu Minghui also tried it at first, but the results were not satisfactory.
"Medicinal herbs are different from grains. Some prefer shade and humidity, while others prefer both sunlight and humidity. The results of growing them in artificially enclosed areas are very mediocre, and the loss rate is extremely high."
"And we're not familiar with the medicinal properties yet."
Xu Minghui recalled the detours he had taken before and said with a wry smile, "Originally, the herbs planted in the garden were all of the same kind, but the surrounding trees were so lush that at some point, there were more herbs that mutually benefited or counteracted each other in the garden or on the edges. Good herbs suddenly became poisonous, and even when they did grow, I didn't dare use them."
Therefore, despite spending a lot of effort, the effectiveness of the medicinal plant garden is worrying.
Anyway, at present, Xu Minghui has only seen the money being invested like water, but has not seen a penny returned.
Sang Zhixia pondered for a moment and said, "This is easy."
"Next time I go back, I'll invite Mr. Qi over. The medicinal plant garden is what he wanted in the first place. I'll ask him to come take a look, and bring our Yanran to see the real thing in person."
Medicinal plants are different from other plants.
You need to be familiar with its habits and have enough patience.
Just like the medicinal garden that Sang Zhixia opened up in the northwest, he planted so many plants, but when he left, he only saw the ginseng seedlings in the field, and it would take at least three to five years to harvest.
Sang Zhixia is very patient about this and is not impatient.
She came out today specifically not only to check on the farm, but also for another more important reason.
"Minghui, can you find a suitable place to grow flowers?"
Xu Minghui never expected that Sang Zhixia would talk about this. He was stunned for a moment and then asked in surprise: "Growing flowers?"
"Sister-in-law, is the garden at home still a little small?"
"No."
Sang Zhixia laughed and said, "It's not that the garden is small, it's that what grows in the garden is simply not enough."
"I don't want just a few, I want a lot."
The kind that can spread into mountains and is inexhaustible.
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