The opening ceremony was held at the Narcissus Village Canal Wharf. That morning, the wharf was crowded with onlookers.
Invited, Lu Dinghai, the newly appointed prefect of Qing'an Prefecture, also came. He had previously served as the local military affairs manager of Qing'an Prefecture. After Prefect Shen left office, he was appointed as the prefect of Qing'an by the imperial court.
Magistrate Cao of Zhengyang County was also invited, and magistrates from several other counties in Qing'an Prefecture also came.
After a burst of firecrackers and the deafening sound of gongs and drums, the launching ceremony officially began.
The ceremony was very grand. After the newly appointed Prefect Lu delivered a passionate speech, various performances began on site.
A variety of folk performances, including Yangko dance, opera, various lanterns, magic shows, and martial arts demonstrations, took turns on stage.
In order to find the best viewing spot, many people climbed nearby trees to watch.
Seeing this, Wang Lizheng organized patrol personnel to enter the area to manage the situation, strictly prohibiting people from climbing the trees. If a tree trunk breaks, falling down would be no laughing matter.
After all the performances were over, some of the invited guests boarded a luxury cruise ship and began their journey along the canal.
People were in high spirits, running after the tour boats along the shore. Zhao Xian, Li Xue, Prefect Lu, and others stood on the boats, waving to the crowds on both banks.
In less than two hours, the cruise ship sailed out of the canal and into the main river of Yingkou Town. Soon the cruise ship stopped at the dock in Yingkou Town.
The group disembarked and went to the dock. At this time, the carriages of Prefect Lu and Magistrate Cao arrived.
With this water voyage completed, the canal's opening ceremony came to an end.
The group bid farewell and departed in carriages. Zhao Xian, Li Xue, and the others boarded the passenger boat again and began their return to Narcissus Village.
On his way back, Zhao Xian noticed that there were significantly more boats on the canal, mostly small ones. He estimated that it wouldn't be long before large merchant ships and passenger ships appeared on the canal.
After the canal opened to navigation, Zhao Xian began to consider building several merchant ships and forming a fleet.
As their business grows, a large amount of goods will need to be transported out by waterway.
Without further ado, Zhao Xian went to the village head to discuss the construction of a fleet of ships.
The village head looked at Zhao Xian and asked:
"Is Lord Shaoqing ordering the village to build this fleet?"
"Of course, the village will build its own fleet of boats. The construction of the canal has basically used up all the village's funds. If the village has its own fleet of boats, it will bring a steady stream of income to the village."
The village is currently short of funds, but the money to build the boat fleet can be obtained through fundraising.
"That's good too. The village really doesn't have much money left in its accounts, so let's build a few merchant ships first."
Considering the growing scale of the village's industries, more merchant ships will be built in the future.
Zhao Xian nodded and said, "That's what I think too. If the village sets up a fleet of boats to transport supplies back and forth, we won't have to worry about making money."
"Alright, I'll get started right now and begin by establishing the Narcissus Village fleet."
"After the fleet is built, the next step is to consider the construction of the third phase of the village's market, which will be a major event for Shuixian Village."
After the completion of the third phase of the project, the area of Shuixian Village will double, and its population will increase dramatically. As a result, Shuixian Village will surpass the size of both Dawan Town and Yingkou Town.
Upon hearing this, the village head became excited and said:
"That's great! I didn't expect that Narcissus Village would change so much in just three years. It seems we need to hurry up and put the third phase of the project on the agenda."
"That's true. When the village was building the second phase of the project, we were a little worried that the village's industries and supporting facilities would not keep up, which would lead to the project being abandoned."
There's no need to worry about this now. The canal is already navigable, and the cluster of textile workshops will soon be in operation. It's hard to imagine the third phase of the project not being a success.
Another half month passed quickly, and based on the cotton's growth, it was time to top the cotton plants.
With that in mind, Zhao Xian decided to go to the cotton field to check on the cotton's growth.
Zhao Xian promoted cotton planting. At that time, people did not know the cotton planting techniques, so he had to provide guidance to ensure a bumper harvest.
He arrived at the cotton field. The cotton plants had grown to a certain height and were growing well, with many flower buds and cotton bolls already forming on the lower branches.
Five thousand acres of cotton fields is indeed a large area. Because the cotton plants have grown tall, they look like an endless expanse.
Pinching the top of a cotton plant involves removing the tender tips at the very top of the plant. This causes the cotton plant to lose its apical dominance, and the nutrients absorbed by the roots are then supplied to the lateral branches, preventing the cotton plant from growing taller.
This causes lateral branches to grow rapidly, resulting in larger cotton bolls on the branches and thus increasing cotton yield.
At this moment, Li Guang was walking through the cotton field when he saw Zhao Xian there as well, so he came over.
"Brother Zhao, you're here too?"
"Yes, I came to check on the cotton's growth."
"The cotton is growing well. Look how many flowers have bloomed, and many have already borne fruit."
"That's exactly right. In order to ensure a bumper cotton harvest, we must now top the cotton plants."
"What does 'topping' mean?" Li Guang asked, somewhat puzzled.
So Zhao Xian began to explain to Li Guang the importance of topping cotton plants and taught him how to topping them. Li Guang quickly understood what was going on.
"When should we top the cotton plants?" Li Guang asked.
"You can start topping the cotton now, but not too late. If you top it too late, the cotton will produce more bolls. Since the nutrient supply is limited, it will actually affect the yield of the cotton."
Li Guang nodded and said:
"I understand. I'll arrange for someone to come and top the cotton plants in the next few days."
Just then, someone came to report that Lord Yao had arrived and was at the farm.
Lord Yao's visit to Shuixian Village at this time must be for the purpose of promoting cotton.
Zhao Xian looked at Li Guang and said:
"Lord Yao must have come to promote cotton. Let's go to the farm to see Lord Yao."
Li Guang nodded and followed Zhao Xian to the farm.
At this moment, Lord Yao was sitting under the shade of a tree in the courtyard, with Li Xue drinking tea with him. Beside Lord Yao sat a young general, and several guards stood nearby.
Upon seeing Zhao Xian and Li Guang return, Lord Yao stood up, and Zhao Xian quickly stepped forward and bowed in greeting.
"Lord Yao, you must have had a long journey to visit Narcissus Village," Zhao Xian said.
Seeing that Lord Yao was in good spirits and looked younger than before, Li Guang excitedly spoke up.
"Lord Yao, Brother Zhao and I were checking on the cotton growth in the fields when we heard that you were here, so we rushed back."
Last time, I heard from Fourth Uncle that Lord Yao might be coming to Narcissus Village soon, so I started looking forward to it. I never expected that Lord Yao would finally arrive after two months.
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