Meng Yaoyao had already prepared the meal and invited everyone to eat, at which point they stopped their previous conversation.
Over the next few days, accompanied by Zhao Xian and Li Guang, Lord Yao conducted a survey of cotton fields. He was extremely excited to see the vast cotton fields.
At this time, Li Guang arranged for people to top the cotton plants. This was the first time Lord Yao had ever seen this kind of operation on crops, and he also participated in this farm work.
The vast majority of villagers grow cotton, and they manage it very carefully.
The farmers, unfamiliar with cotton cultivation techniques, all watched Li Guang closely. They copied whatever Li Guang did in the cotton field, and Li Guang was happy to guide them.
Therefore, in Shuixian Village, whether it was the 5,000 mu of cotton planted by Li Guang or the small-scale planting by villagers, the cotton was growing well.
Seeing this, Lord Yao understood that there shouldn't be any problem with the large-scale promotion of cotton as a crop.
Lord Yao carefully inspected the cotton planted in the village and found that the cotton in some fields was growing thick and strong, with a lot of fruit, which should be related to the fertility of the soil.
He picked some cotton bolls, some big, some small, some plump, and some thin, intending to take them back for research and strive to promote cotton throughout the entire northern kingdom in the next year.
A few days later, Lord Yao had gained some understanding of cotton cultivation and mastered the requirements and methods for cotton cultivation.
The next step for the imperial court is to formulate a plan to promote cotton planting, and Lord Yao plans to begin working on this matter after returning to the capital.
Lord Yao was full of confidence and planned to stay in Narcissus for two more days before returning to the capital.
That morning, Li Guang and Li Xue accompanied Lord Yao for a walk on the boardwalk by the lake. At this time, the lotus flowers in the lake had already bloomed, and the air was filled with their fragrance.
"Narcissus Village is a blessed place with outstanding people and beautiful scenery. This lake area is a paradise on earth."
In a few years, I plan to resign from my official post and return to my hometown, to live out my remaining years in Narcissus Village.
Li Xue smiled and said, "What Lord Yao said is true. I've been staying in Narcissus Village for a while now and I don't want to go back to the capital."
"Is that so!" Lord Yao laughed as well.
At this moment, Li Xue noticed that the new variety of water chestnuts she had planted some time ago was growing very fast and had already formed a continuous patch, with some of the water chestnut plants spreading to the shore.
Li Xue was very excited. She ran to the lakeside, picked up a water chestnut seedling, and examined it.
Several water chestnuts, red and large, had already formed on the seedlings, prompting Li Xue to exclaim in surprise.
"What a big water chestnut."
Li Guang led Lord Yao over, grabbed a water chestnut seedling, lifted it up, and sure enough, several large water chestnuts had grown on it.
I didn't expect these water chestnuts to grow so fast. Although they are not yet mature, they have already grown to a very large size.
Lord Yao was very interested in the new crop varieties. He stared wide-eyed at the large water chestnut in Li Xue's hand.
“Lord Yao, this is a new variety of water chestnut that Brother Zhao introduced from Southeast Asia. It’s not only delicious, but also has a high yield and can replace some of our staple food,” Li Xue said.
Lord Yao took the water chestnuts that Li Xue handed him and examined them carefully.
This is indeed a water chestnut; it's surprisingly large.
As the Grand Minister of Agriculture of the Northern Dynasty, how could he not recognize water chestnuts? Yet, this new variety of water chestnut in front of him excited him greatly.
Lord Yao peeled off the water chestnut skin and began to taste it.
The water chestnuts are not yet ripe at this time; the water chestnut kernels are very tender, crisp, and very sweet.
Lord Yao has bad teeth, but he has no problem eating these tender water chestnut rice. He really likes the texture of tender water chestnut rice.
Li Guang picked a few large water chestnuts, peeled them, and handed the water chestnut kernels to Lord Yao.
"Haha, I've discovered a treasure! This kind of water chestnut can be widely promoted. Planting them in water areas doesn't take up arable land and can increase food supply. It's a very good crop."
"Yes, Lord Yao, planting water chestnuts is very simple. There are large areas of water chestnuts in the lake, which I planted myself."
"This type of water chestnut is easy to grow, grows very quickly, and is easy to promote," Li Xue said.
"That's great. You need to reserve enough seedlings this year and gradually promote this water chestnut variety."
Li Guang nodded and said:
"Rest assured, Lord Yao, all the water chestnuts in this part of the lake will be cultivated into seedlings for wider distribution."
At this moment in the workshop, Zhao Xian instructed Qin Yuanwai to take Wei Jin to inspect the production and packaging of some products, then transport them into the warehouse, and finally pack and ship the goods from the warehouse.
With the opening of the canal, merchant ships enter and leave Shuixian Village every day, and a large amount of goods are shipped out from the warehouses every day.
Wei Jin knew that his mission to lead troops to the southwestern frontier was not only to protect the safety of the Southern Dian Kingdom and safeguard its salt resources, but also to manage the mining of the largest salt mine in the Southern Dian Kingdom and to pack the mined salt and transport it back to the Great Northern Dynasty.
Therefore, some of the management models I learned here can be put to use when I go to the Southern Dian Kingdom.
Although Wei Jin was a military general, he was very intelligent. He could understand the entire process of goods from production to distribution at a glance.
Master Qin looked at the imposing and shrewd young man before him and was filled with fondness.
Wei Jin is exceptionally talented; it would be difficult to find another like him in the Great Northern Dynasty. Although he is only in his twenties, he is already a fifth-rank official in the imperial court, with a promising future ahead of him.
Although he had his own ideas, he could only keep them to himself and dared not reveal them at all. He had to do a good job of the task that Zhao Xian had entrusted to him.
In the following days, Zhao Xian took Lord Yao and Wei Jin to inspect the warehouses and the contiguous textile workshops, and the two were astonished after seeing them.
Zhao Xian built this kind of large-scale building, which is only found in modern times, more than a thousand years ago. It's no wonder that people in ancient times were amazed.
Wei Jin nodded, thinking that he could adopt this model for the management of salt mines when he went to the Southern Dian Kingdom in the future.
During lunch, Li Guang looked at Wei Jin and asked:
"General Wei, after returning to the capital this time, when will you send troops to the Southern Dian Kingdom?"
"According to the agreement signed with the Southern Dian Kingdom, the imperial court will send troops there at the end of next month."
At this moment, Li Xue looked at Wei Jin and said, "General Wei, this time you are leading a large army to the southwestern frontier, and I am going with you. I want to go find my brother."
Upon hearing this, Wei Jin was greatly surprised. When Wei Jin came to Shuixian Village before, Li Xue expressed her desire to go to the southwestern frontier. At that time, everyone thought she was just talking, but they did not expect that she would actually go with the army.
If Li Xue were to accompany the army, Wei Jin would be under immense pressure. There were too many uncertain risks in the southwestern frontier, and he had many important matters to attend to, as well as the safety of the princess. He didn't know if he could handle the situation.
At this moment, Li Guang looked at Zhao Xian, who nodded in acknowledgment. Li Guang then spoke:
"General Wei will set out for the southwestern frontier at the end of next month. Shuixian Village will then send 20,000 troops to assist General Wei."
Li Xue was pleasantly surprised and looked at Li Guang, asking, "Li Guang, are you telling the truth?"
"Of course it's true. My sister contracted typhoid fever back then, which was very dangerous. Even Doctor Xue was helpless. At that time, my sister spoke her mind, which was to find Brother Li Ru."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
