Chapter 17: Less Reading
When we arrived at the village chief's house, the land deed was quickly signed and everyone signed and put their fingerprints on it.
"We are going into the mountains tomorrow. Please ask Old Zheng to go to the government office to get the land deed of Mr. Su's family!" The village chief handed the land deed to one of the old men.
Old Zheng took it solemnly.
"Sir, how much lime do you need? Is this enough?" The village chief took out the remaining lime from his home.
Su Bucheng looked at Su Ying, "Aying, is that enough?"
Su Ying shook her head and told the truth, "These are not even enough for one acre of land."
"One acre of land is not enough? You need so much?" Everyone was shocked.
"Well, generally speaking, applying 100-150 kilograms per mu can basically solve the diseases in the soil..."
Su Ying explained to the people present about lime disinfection, what kind of fertile humus, and under what circumstances the soil can be disinfected with lime.
To disinfect the soil, it is best to use slaked lime and try not to use quicklime.
Because quicklime releases a lot of heat when it comes into contact with water, and slaked lime is the product of the reaction between quicklime and water, a lot of heat has been released.
Lime is alkaline, and the amount that should be added to humus depends on the acidity and alkalinity of the soil.
If the soil pH is greater than 7.5, lime disinfection cannot be used.
Most humus soils are acidic soils. In very few areas, affected by local water quality, they are weakly alkaline, but they will become slightly acidic after several freshwater irrigations.
Most of China's land is in the range of 4.5-8.5, with the pH value increasing from south to north.
The soils south of the Yangtze River are mostly acidic or strongly acidic, while the soils north of the Yangtze River are mostly neutral or alkaline.
There is no test paper here, so the specific acidity and alkalinity cannot be measured. To identify the acidity and alkalinity of humus, you can start from several aspects.
Soil source, soil color, surface vegetation, texture, reaction after watering, etc.
Soil source refers to the source of humus, which comes from mountains, rivers and gullies. It is mostly black-brown, relatively loose, fertile, and has good permeability. It is an ideal acidic humus.
The colors of acidic soil and alkaline soil are very different. Acidic soil is generally darker in color, mostly black-brown, while alkaline soil is mostly light-colored such as white and yellow.
The acidity and alkalinity of humus are affected by the surface vegetation. The soil where plants such as wild rhododendron, pine, and fir grow are mostly acidic, while the soil where plants such as willow, millet, and sorghum grow are mostly alkaline.
Acidic soil and alkaline soil have different textures. Acidic soil has a loose texture and feels soft when held in the hand. It is highly breathable and water-permeable and is not easy to clump.
Alkaline soil has a hard texture, feels very firm, easily compacts into lumps, and has poor air permeability and water permeability.
Finally, the reaction after watering is different. Acidic soil seeps faster after watering, no white bubbles appear, and the water surface is muddy.
After watering alkaline soil, the infiltration is slow and white bubbles and foam will appear on the water surface.
The forests at the foot of this mountain are all pine and fir trees. The humus is dark brown and the soil is loose. It is excellent acidic humus.
That's why Su Ying dared to use lime to disinfect.
After hearing this, everyone present was stunned for a long time. Such an inconspicuous piece of soil actually contains so much knowledge.
"Alas! Shame on you, shame on you!" the village chief slapped his thigh. "I've lived for decades in vain, and I didn't even know I had this much knowledge. I deserve it for starving while guarding a mountain of treasure!"
Thinking about how all these years we have left the fertile soil unused and worked so hard to reclaim wasteland, my heart aches!
What a waste of effort! I haven't read enough books.
If I had read a few more agricultural books back then, all this hardship wouldn’t have been in vain!
"It's a good thing you are here! Our land will become more and more fertile in the future!" The village chief quickly cheered up and said happily.
"I hope so! There are rich humus resources here. I believe it won't be long before the land here becomes fertile." Thinking of the promising future, Su Bucheng was full of confidence.
The village elders were also very happy, with glitter in their eyes.
"Village chief, this matter has not been verified yet, so it is not appropriate to publicize it for the time being. Please ask the village elders to keep it confidential." Su Bucheng hopes to keep a low profile.
"That's right! If you spread the news and let it spread, and people only half understand it, then the crops will be destroyed and there will be no harvest next year, which would be a great sin.
Besides, if they all come here to grab the rotten soil, how can we compete with those wealthy families?" The village chief agreed.
"Don't worry, Mr. Su, we will keep the secret." The village elders promised.
Who doesn't want to have a good life? If this method is effective, we can reclaim wasteland on a large scale in the future, enclose a large piece of land, and become a big landlord.
Since I can’t go back to the capital, it would be nice for my descendants to become big landlords here.
"Village chief, can you find someone to lead the way? I want to go to the lime kiln and burn some lime while there is still time." Su Ying requested.
"No problem. I'll let my Huzi lead the way. The lime kiln is not big. Can you take a look at it and see if it needs any improvement? Come back and tell me, and I'll arrange for someone to do it."
The village chief walked out of the yard and called out, "Hu Zi!"
"Hey, old man!" A boy of eight or nine years old ran in. He had big round eyes and a chubby face.
"Go and take the Su family's daughter to the lime kiln." The village chief arranged.
"Oh, okay, Uncle!" Hu Zi nodded, "Girl, please follow me."
"Father, my brother and I will go and take a look!" Su Ying and her brother followed Hu Zi out.
"Girl, do we need to transport these limes back and use them first?" The village chief chased out.
"Leave some for going into the mountains tomorrow, and give the rest to us!" Su Ying thought for a while and said.
"What are we going to do with lime in the mountains?" Su Ying's words confused the village chief.
"Don't we need to bring lime when we go into the mountains?" Su Ying was even more confused by the village chief's question, and the two of them stared at each other.
"Wait, girl, why don't I understand what you are saying?" The village chief felt that there was something wrong.
"Aren't lime and salt two essential things for people going into the mountains? Why don't you bring them with you?" Su Ying asked.
"Yes, but we bring axe, bow and arrow, food, and a little bit of salt. Girl, your lime..." the village chief carefully confirmed.
"Lime is very useful. It can be used to mark the way so you don't get lost. It can be sprinkled around the area at night to keep away insects and snakes. It can also be used to save your life if you encounter a wild animal by throwing lime into its eyes."
The village chief stared at Su Ying blankly for a long time before turning around and going back to the house, his steps a little staggering. It would have been great if he had met the Su family earlier!
"What's wrong with the village chief?" Su Bucheng saw that the village chief looked unhappy.
"That's all right! Your daughter's words were so shocking that she couldn't recover for a while!" The village chief smiled and said, "Leave one-third of this lime for tomorrow's use in the mountains, and you can take the rest."
"Thank you very much. I won't be polite!" Su Bucheng thanked them, and several people carried the lime back home.
"Brother, where did Aying learn this? Why haven't I read these books before?" Su Lao San couldn't help asking on the way.
"A Ying has read a lot of books, definitely not just in one book. When it comes to applying what we learn, none of us can compare to A Ying! If A Ying were a man, she would..."
Su Bu felt sorry that Su Ying was a girl, but when he thought about his current situation, it didn't matter if he was a man. He would be exiled because of him.
No matter how ambitious one is, one can only lie dormant and be trapped here. Thinking of this, Su Bucheng was speechless for a moment.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
