Chapter 230 Mysterious, but Firmly Believed
The cook was young and unmarried, and he felt uncomfortable traveling with two girls. When he mentioned General Liu, he became even more nervous.
He Jinglan suddenly asked about something else at this juncture. How could the cook understand?
He was immediately surprised and asked, "How did Miss He know?"
As soon as the cook spoke the truth, he was stunned and immediately raised his hand to cover his mouth reflexively.
Because this news was only delivered to the military camp urgently in the late night of the day before yesterday.
Even if it has been spread all over the world, it is not a secret.
However, it will take some time for word of mouth to spread to the border areas through private channels. It is simply impossible for it to spread so quickly.
He Jinglan glanced at Gu Xixi meaningfully, and then asked, "Is the person who came back from the dead the former second-rank minister, Lord Mu Nanzhao?"
The cook covered his mouth and dared not say a word.
But the answer was obvious from his eyes, which were wide open with surprise.
He Jinglan's smile deepened, and she kindly comforted the cook:
"Don't be afraid. Since this matter has been exposed, it will be known to the world sooner or later. In this way, you will not be considered to have disclosed secrets and violated military regulations."
"Besides, you didn't say anything explicitly, so what I guess in my heart has nothing to do with you."
Gu Xixi also said, "When I meet General Liu later, I will be busy working and won't have time to chat."
The cook looked at the two of them and then heaved a sigh of relief.
Counting the time, it was almost the day the war started, and countless people saw Lord Mu Nanzhao, who was originally dead, appear in front of the two armies.
This man was the most trusted minister of the late emperor, which is why he was feared by the current empress dowager and her party. They took advantage of the late emperor's death to set up a trap to kill him.
Almost a year and a half had passed since then, and the imperial court in the capital had gradually forgotten the power of Lord Mu.
However, he appeared alive before the imperial army and inflicted a heavy blow on them with a great victory.
Such a shocking scene was like a huge rock smashing the long-frozen lake.
On that day, the news spread like wildfire through various channels to all the important figures in the Daye Dynasty.
Mu Nanzhao could have been hiding behind the scenes and planning everything.
The reason for being so high-profile is to let the entire Daye know that Mu Nanzhao is back.
It not only sends a signal, but also gives many people time and opportunity to weigh the pros and cons.
Tell the government and the public whether to be hostile, neutral, or cooperative.
It is time for them to think carefully and make a decision as soon as possible.
border.
The Northwest Army had reclaimed so much land that Gu Xixi adopted a more efficient approach.
Advancing from south to north, as long as she determined that the oat fields were ripe, she would begin harvesting them immediately.
At the same time, she and He Jinglan inspected the fields on horseback and took samples for preservation.
Two full days passed, and except for a dozen acres of land in the north that would take another three days, the rest of the oats had matured, and the yield was not inferior to that in the dependents' village.
The entrance to the military camp at sunset.
General Liu couldn't help but smile as he watched truckloads of oats being shipped in.
“I never thought that oats, which are common in the wild, could produce such a large yield when grown.”
"This way, the general won't have to beg for food this winter!"
"Boss Gu, you are truly a benefactor to our Northwest Army!"
Gu Xixi completed her mission ahead of schedule.
After running around outside for days, both she and He Jinglan were tanned.
Because of the lack of sleep due to getting up early and going to bed late, both of them looked tired.
She smiled at General Liu, said lightly "I don't deserve it", then took out two pieces of paper and handed them over.
"The first one shows the method of making oatmeal noodles, which is more complicated than ordinary wheat noodles. It takes six steps from making oatmeal grains to making noodles. Only in this way can the noodles be chewy and smooth."
General Liu nodded solemnly, "This is easy. I will give it to the cooks later and let them study it carefully."
Gu Xixi continued, "This second one is more important."
“I wrote about how to hoe, till, fertilize, and water the oat fields after they were harvested, and at what times.”
“The alfalfa fields can continue to be maintained, and after they wither in the fall and winter, they will grow again next year.”
"Understood," General Liu said, "Just follow the same instructions as before and after we started the land reclamation."
He thought about it and asked the question in his mind, "Since these fields can already produce food, and the yield is in line with your expectations, why don't you strike while the iron is hot and continue to grow something else?"
"I know that the growing period of coarse grains such as corn, yellow millet and sorghum is shorter than that of wheat, so it is still in time to plant them now."
Gu Xixi said, "That's why I say the second piece of paper is more important."
“The soil here is not good enough to begin with, and just growing oats for one season is not enough to improve it.”
"If we rush to plant other crops now, it will only accelerate soil deterioration, which will not be worth the cost in the long run."
General Liu must have some extraordinary qualities to be ordered to stay behind.
After listening to Gu Xixi's explanation, he understood that "draining the pond to catch fish and killing the goose that lays the eggs is indeed not a good strategy."
Gu Xixi said, "But I have other plans. It would be a waste to leave so many fields idle for half a year."
"Let it rest for about a month, and then plant another batch of short-term crops."
"The options available now include yam, sweet potato, kudzu root, and pumpkin."
"But the specific selection of seeds will have to wait until I go back and inspect the soil samples before I can make a final decision."
"In half a month, General Liu can send someone to Huachidu Village to look for me."
"I'll write the details in the letter. You'll have plenty of time to purchase the seedlings."
General Liu's family is also a farming family.
If it were in the past, he would have secretly been disdainful in his heart, thinking that soil is just soil, why would he need to test it?
It's not poison, how can you test it?
Whether crops will grow or not can be known by sowing the seeds. This is what farmers have been doing for generations.
Apart from sowing, plowing, watering, fertilizing and weeding, the rest depends entirely on God's will.
But over the past six months, Gu Xixi's abilities have been proven step by step.
Although General Liu still felt it was mysterious, he firmly believed in it.
He carefully put the two pieces of paper into his sleeves and bowed solemnly to Gu Xixi, "Then I'll trouble you, Boss Gu."
"I will report this good harvest and Boss Gu's help to the general in the military newspaper without missing a word."
Gu Xixi smiled with satisfaction, "Then we will set off tomorrow morning and won't come to say goodbye."
She is willing to work hard here.
But this contribution must be made known to those who should know it as soon as possible.
After all, Huo Jiang still owed her a generous reward.
He Jinglan was influenced by Gu Xixi's greed for money because of the company she kept.
On the way back to the village, she said with a smile, "I hope General Huo will receive the military report and pay you soon."
"I hope so," said Gu Xixi, "I also want to buy a carriage."
If you are fleeing famine due to war, you can use a mule cart to carry food or a horse cart to carry the whole family, which will make your journey faster.
At this time, He Jinglan didn't know that Gu Xixi had such realistic (terrible) concerns...
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