Chapter 108 It doesn’t matter if I fail
Half an hour later, Sang Zhixia heard the door open in a daze. She wrapped herself in the quilt and mumbled, "Have you finished the negotiation?"
Xu Yu quietly closed the door and asked, "Did I wake you up?"
“No.”
She yawned and said softly, "I just haven't fallen asleep yet."
"What did Grandfather tell you?"
She just asked casually, but Xu Yu's ears echoed with the old man's oppressive voice: "Are you really determined to bet your fortune on Xia girl?"
"If her prediction comes true, then your idea today is naturally good, but what if it doesn't?"
"What she proposed has never been accomplished in thousands of years. Is it just a pipe dream or is there any real hope of achieving it? No one knows yet. Are you really ready to put all your eggs in one basket?"
The old man admired Sang Zhixia's dedication to studying the land, and while he was curious about her ideas, he would fully support them.
Support is different from betting.
Xu Yu was gambling.
He took out the few chips he had now and bet at all costs that Sang Zhixia would succeed.
Xu Yu exhaled a thick breath, took off his heavy coat, and climbed into bed. He pulled the half-asleep Sang Zhixia into his arms, resting his chin against the top of her head affectionately, and said in a barely audible voice, "I also think what you said is incredible."
If someone else stood in front of him and made such a boast, he would not be shaken at all no matter how exaggerated the boast was.
But the person who said that was Sang Zhixia...
Sang Zhixia was so sleepy that she didn't quite hear what he was saying. As usual, she found a comfortable position in his arms and mumbled unconsciously, "What?"
"nothing."
"But it's really hard for me to question what you said."
So of course I will trust you regardless.
He didn't want Sang Zhixia to feel any more pressure, so he lowered his head and gently kissed her hair with a strength that was barely noticeable to her at the moment. "It's okay, go to sleep."
It doesn't matter if you fail.
If he dares to gamble at the table with bare hands, he can bear the gains and losses at the table.
His choice will never become a pressure on Sang Zhixia.
Sang Zhixia had no idea how complicated his mental activities were. She unconsciously rubbed his soft collar, and her breathing gradually became lighter and slower.
In the shrouded night, Xu Yu stayed awake all night.
The next morning, in the first greenhouse where seeds were sown at the foot of Nanshan Mountain.
Aunt Wu squatted on the edge of the field, staring wide-eyed again and again. She couldn't help but slap her thigh and said, "Oh, look! The seeds I sowed in the dead of winter have actually sprouted! They're even showing their white roots!"
The two greenhouses built on the ground are one high and one low, connected by a kang path in the middle.
Firewood is burning in the stove at the top of the kang day and night, and the heat from the fire flows continuously along the kang into the greenhouse. When you lift the thick door curtain and walk inside, you can feel the obvious difference between the inside and the outside.
It's much warmer in the shed.
The woman who came with Aunt Wu rubbed her hands and said, "It's not surprising that they've sprouted. The shed is tightly wrapped with oilcloth on the roof and straw covered with tung oil. It's warmer inside than at the beginning of spring. Anything you throw in the soil will surely grow."
It's cold outside with all the ice and snow.
However, the seeds are not sown outside.
This kind of strange operation was indeed the first time that the villagers had seen it, but in terms of farming experience, those present were definitely experienced hands.
When the village chief first said he wanted to help the Xu family build a shed, Aunt Wu was very nervous, afraid that all her hard work would be in vain.
After seeing the real scene today, my heart gradually began to heat up.
The extreme cold of ice and snow in the northwest can last for about five months a year, which means that the farmland at home can only produce food for a little over half a year. Most of the time, we can only wait for spring to warm up and the snow to melt.
If this shed works, wouldn't it be a relief to have to wait for the six months delayed by the wind and snow?
You can plant anything in it at that time, and it will definitely be enough to provide food and drink for the family during the winter. Isn't this better than waiting for spring?
Aunt Wu became more and more excited as she thought about it. She hurriedly shouted to Sang Zhixia, "Xia Xia, how long have you been sowing these seeds? Did you just see the white roots today?"
Sang Zhixia explained slowly, "The seeds were sown just yesterday, but I planted them by the stove at home beforehand and only sowed them when the dew turned white."
The seeds that turn white after breeding have a high chance of germinating and taking root when planted in the ground. In addition, due to the artificially created greenhouse, the white roots of the rice seeds in the paddy fields are already very obvious even after just one night.
Aunt Wu took note of it carefully, and then went over to ask her about the details of the breeding by the stove. There were also a few aunts with her who Sang Zhixia was not very familiar with.
Sang Zhixia explained everything the visitor asked in as much detail as possible, and finally said, "Aunt Wu, if you're worried about accidentally stunting the seeds, why don't you tell me when you plan to breed them? I'll come over and help you check them out."
"That's a good feeling!"
Aunt Wu said happily: "If you say so, I won't be polite to you. Remember to come and help me!"
"Look at what you said, auntie, why should I pretend to be good at this?"
Seeing that the women were genuinely interested, she thought for a moment and said, "Actually, there are many things you can grow in a greenhouse, not just rice and wheat."
"Small vegetables that can't stand the cold, fruits that can't survive the winter, these are all fine."
The woman who followed Aunt Wu said, "But isn't planting vegetables and crops all about timing? If you sow seeds after a certain solar term, even if it's against the natural order, will they still survive?"
"Of course he can survive."
Sang Zhixia imitated them and squatted down by the ridge. Pointing at the white and tender roots of the rice seeds in the ground, which looked like white sesame seeds, she said, "The reason why planting is so important is because we have to follow the solar terms of cold and hot weather. If it's too cold or too hot, it won't grow well. That's why we have to wait."
"But if we could block the wind and snow sent by heaven, and send down the rain and dew, blocking the cold wind, and letting in the warm spring breeze, then we would have many more options for planting throughout the year."
Simply put, this is the charm of man conquering nature.
Artificial greenhouses can adjust their own temperature and humidity, which is better than natural conditions.
The aunts, hearing this for the first time, fell into deep thought, their ideas shocked. After a while, someone said, "You didn't water the land above. Are you planning to use it to plant wheat?"
Sang Zhixia's mind flashed back to Xu Yu's face. She shook her head and said, "That was my plan at first, but now I think we should just grow rice."
Wheat has a long growth cycle and is not a fast-yielding crop.
Even if you set up a greenhouse and take good care of it, it will take at least half a year before you can see the ears of corn hanging.
Rice is different.
Under conditions of sufficient sunlight and suitable temperature, the fastest early-maturing rice can be harvested in about four months, and the late-maturing rice will not exceed five months, so the replanting speed will be much faster.
The more land you have, the greater the final results will naturally be.
and……
Although Xu Yu was vague and didn't say much, she could feel that this person seemed to attach great importance to the rice in the field and seemed to have high hopes for it.
She didn't want to keep Xu Yu waiting too long.
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