Chapter 394 Lotus Roots of the Ling Tribe (Seeking votes and subscriptions)
After arranging the wooden barrels and preparing to build the wooden building, Luo Chong once again took a foundation drawing to find the patriarch of the Xue clan who was currently in charge of the construction, and then asked him to immediately start field measurements, digging trenches and laying foundations, especially the positions of those pillars, because the entire wooden structure was supported by those pillars.
After finishing all this, Luo Chong prepared and came to the new city area on the east bank again to check the progress of construction and expand the scale of papermaking. The output of paper was too low, and it was not a small number to want to replace all the windows of the Han tribe with paper, not to mention that Luo Chong also planned to use it to print books and practice calligraphy.
When he arrived at the new city area again, there were already two earthen cities here. The two city walls were arranged in a north-south direction, close to the river, and less than a hundred meters apart. By blocking the two ends with chevaux de frise, the two cities could be temporarily connected together.
Of the first cities built, 12 of the 16 blocks have been built, and only the four blocks in the middle are temporarily vacant. Luo Chong intends to use them as a square to dry grain. However, this will not allow the residential area that could accommodate 700 households to be sufficient, so the extra people can only move to the new city to build houses.
At present, those who have joined the Han tribe are still crowded in the original city, and those temporary laborers continue to live in thatched huts. As soon as
Luo Chong arrived here, the big tree in charge of guarding the area immediately came to greet him. Behind him was the chief of the Chai clan who had returned from the Ling tribe, which surprised Luo Chong.
"You came back so soon? Have you completed the task of guiding the Ling tribe to grow rice? Is their tribe obedient? Did they embarrass you?" Luo Chong looked at the chief of the Chai clan and asked.
"Chief, we have done it. All the members of the delegation have withdrawn. No one has been hurt. Hehe, the people of the Ling tribe are very good to us, especially after they successfully saw the rice seedlings emerge under our guidance. They almost regard our Han tribe as gods, especially the chief. Their people often praise you." Chief Chai said with a smile on his face.
"Oh? Really? It seems to be going well. Let's go and find a house. You can tell me in detail." Luo Chong also nodded happily.
"Yes, chief, let's go to the yard of the papermaking. I prepared a basin of nitrate ice for you to cool down." Dashu immediately took over.
"Haha, it seems that you usually use it a lot." Luo Chong pointed at Dashu, and the group quickly came to the yard of the papermaking workshop.
The window with oil paper was closed. There was a large basin of ice in the room, and the room temperature dropped a lot. Luo Chong sat on the kang with a mat, while Dashu and Chief Chai sat at the table in the middle of the room.
"Chief, it's like this. The Ling tribe's settlement is not far from here. It took us only half a day to row there that day.
Their settlement is surrounded by water. The dry land is about the same size as the flat land in Hanyang City. It is covered with green bamboos, which are tall, big, and very strong. This is the first time I have seen such magical plants." Chief Chai took a break and continued.
"On the day we arrived there, I observed the entire settlement accompanied by their chief and found that the north and east sides of their land are very suitable for growing rice. It is simply a naturally formed paddy field, covered with a palm-thick water surface.
But I know it's not good to cover the water all the time, so I asked them to surround the water side with mud to make a dam, so that when they need to water, they just need to open a gap and then plug it up.
Later, I fenced off about 300 acres of land for them, and then started to sow and plant rice. Now it is summer, and the rice is growing like crazy. The seeds sprouted two days after being sown. After that, it really changes every day, which makes them very happy. They all say that you are a god, and you know how to grow food." Chief Chai said with a vivid voice and gestures.
"Well, as long as the food problem is solved, what about the other things I arranged for you? Have you observed carefully these days to see if they have any other specialties besides bamboo, that we don't have here? "Luo Chong asked.
"Yes, there really are. In addition to bamboo on land, there are water chestnuts in the water. In addition, there is a plant that grows in abundance in the water to the west and south of their residence. The plant has several round leaves the size of a pot lid, and there are huge red and white flowers on the side. The people of the Ling tribe like to cook rice in bamboo tubes, and then pour the cooked rice on the round leaves, and then eat it with other things by hand.
But this is not the most important thing. The important thing is that the bottom of the big leaves, that is, its roots, all grow in the mud. The people of the Ling tribe are very good at digging those yellow-white roots. They call that thing water bamboo, that is, bamboo that grows in the water, which is something that can be eaten.
Those water bamboos are not very long or strong. They grow in sections like bamboo on the ground. The inside is pink and white, and it is hollow with many small holes. More importantly, after the thing is broken, many fine silk threads will appear.
At first I thought I was seeing things, and even mistook it for a plant like hemp, wondering if I could use that extra-thin straight line to weave cloth, but it wasn't strong, it broke with a slight pull, and it wasn't suitable for weaving at all. "Chief Chai excitedly talked about what he had seen and heard over the past month.
Luo Chong couldn't help but open his mouth wide. There were large round leaves and huge red and white flowers growing above the water, and node-shaped rhizomes buried in the mud below, which were hollow inside and had many small holes. After breaking them, there were still thin threads connecting them. Isn't this lotus root?
I didn't expect that there were such good things around the Ling tribe.
"That thing is not water bamboo, but lotus. The one above is called lotus leaf, lotus flower, of course, it can also be called lotus leaf and lotus flower. The one growing in the mud is lotus root. Eating lotus root regularly is good for your health. I wonder if you brought some from them this time? "Luo Chong was a little greedy while asking if anyone had brought back lotus roots.
"Yes, I brought them. I'll keep them in the water tank in the yard. If the chief wants to eat them, I'll arrange for someone to cook them.
It turns out that thing is called lotus root. It's a nice name, but there's one bad thing about it. It seems that it can't be deprived of water, otherwise it will dry up quickly. In this respect, it's far worse than water chestnuts." Chief Chai answered immediately.
"Then make one portion. Forget it. You don't know how to make it either. How about this? Bring a piece later, and get some green vegetables, beans, and peanuts. I'll make it myself in the afternoon." Luo Chong held back his saliva and reported a list of ingredients for a vegetarian assortment.
(End of this chapter)
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