Chapter 519: Work Begins
"Young master, how do you think the land is being plowed?" asked Huang Mama's husband, Manager Mo.
"Well, not bad!" Su Ying nodded.
In a blink of an eye, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month passed. Fang Yiai, accompanied by his team and the expectations of the princes and good brothers, went to Quanzhou with the Fulon caravan.
Xie Qingyun, Su Lu and others entered the palace and went to Fengyang Pavilion to teach the princesses how to grow sugarcane and raise silkworms.
Although the spring weather was still chilly, the sugarcane plantations and firearms research institutes outside the city could not wait to start work.
The sugarcane plantation was purchased from farmers as permanent land, and they were given more than half a month to cut down the trees and take them home.
Manager Mo is in charge of taking care of the sugarcane plantation, and the laborers he hires are from this village.
Farmers are very happy because they have work to do and money to earn at the beginning of the year.
The staff was divided into two groups. Women and children were responsible for cutting the sugarcane into sections and burying them in the soil at the foot of the mountain to germinate.
The men dug out the tree roots, loosened the ground, applied farmer's mixed fertilizer to fertilize the land, and then made ridges for later use.
When the sugarcane seedlings grow to two or three inches, they are transplanted into the ridges.
The firearms research institute next door was also under construction, so the construction supervisor sent people to transport the felled trees. Regardless of whether they were mature or not, they would be useful as long as they were brought back.
A guard arrived and set up camp.
It was the first time for women and children to see sugarcane. They used a scythe to chop it into sections, and then carried it to the edge of the field and arranged it neatly.
Sprinkle a thin layer of soil on it, spray water to moisten it, and then cover it with tung oil cloth.
It’s still a bit cold in Chang’an, and I’m afraid the seedlings will freeze to death.
The women looked at the bundles of tung oil cloth covering the ground and were shocked by their heartache.
Oh my God! What a sin! Such fine cloth was used to cover the ground!
The children walked barefoot on the cold ground with their frostbitten feet, staring at the sugarcane and swallowing their saliva.
The older children got some juice on their hands while helping with the work, and they would secretly lick their hands when no one was paying attention.
So sweet! So this is what sweetness feels like!
"Master Su! Why is sugarcane planted horizontally? Doesn't it grow vertically?" The princes' cognition was overturned.
"You can germinate the seeds horizontally or vertically, but we must ensure that the seedlings grow upwards in the end." Su Ying said with a smile.
"By the end of the year, these hills will be full of sugarcane!" Li Tai said proudly, putting his hands on his fat waist.
Turning to ask Su Ying, "How many hills can we plant next year?"
"That's huge! One piece of sugarcane can produce two or three buds, which can then grow into two or three stalks of sugarcane.
"If a sugarcane stick is divided into eight sections, the area of this sugarcane field, after harvest and subsequent planting, will be at least sixteen times larger!" Su Ying calculated.
"So many!" everyone exclaimed.
"Your Highness, you still need to search for land in the Yizhou area this year, and send a batch of land from Lingnan by the end of the year.
Once the equipment is successfully developed, we can build a factory near the planting site, saving transportation, manpower, and time. ” Su Ying said to Li Tai.
"Fourth brother, why don't I go to Yizhou to look for the plantation and sugar factory at the same time." Li Ke took the initiative to say.
"No need, let my uncle send a letter over there and ask them to look for it.
After we send Yiai out to sea at Quanzhou Port, we'll go to Lingnan to purchase sugarcane and then ship it to Yizhou." Li Tai replied.
Gao Shilian has returned to Beijing and served as the Minister of Personnel.
After serving as the Chief Secretary of the Yizhou Grand Marshal's Office for two years, he could solve a small matter like finding land with just a letter.
Why bother traveling all this way?
The road to Shu is difficult, harder than climbing to the sky. There is no need to torture yourself.
"Okay then!" Li Ke did not insist. He didn't want to miss the opportunity to go to Quanzhou Port.
"Young master, the seedling field has been planted, and there is still a lot of sugarcane left. Where should we take it?" Manager Mo came to ask for instructions.
"Each household in the village will be given several portions, and the rest will be collected and handed over to Lord Dou of the Sinong Temple!" Su Ying said.
"Why should we distribute it to the villagers?" Li You was puzzled. It was such a valuable thing.
"Since they have their own things, they won't miss this place." Su Ying smiled.
Now that every family has it, it’s not so rare anymore.
Otherwise, if someone is always thinking about the sugarcane plantation, it would be better if they steal some and eat it, at least it won’t be wasted.
What I fear most is that when the fruit is half grown, I break it because I am greedy, but it is not sweet and it is a waste.
Even if they catch the person, there's nothing we can do. We can just give a few sections to each family and plant some ourselves so we can have hope.
"How dare they! If they steal, they will be caught and taken to the county government office to be beaten with a stick!" Li You said disdainfully.
"Forget it, it's not worth a piece of sugarcane!" Su Ying shook her head.
The villagers divided their families into five sections. Everyone was stunned. How could they have such a precious thing?
"Go back! Plant it in front of and behind the house so that your children can eat it in the future!" After Manager Mo distributed the crops, he smiled and drove the people away.
"Thank you, Master Xiao Su!" The villagers bowed deeply.
These sugarcanes can be sold at the end of the year for a good price, and can be used to buy cloth for the family to make new clothes.
There were still five carts of sugarcane left to be unpacked, and the soldiers guarding the Firearms Research Institute were looking at them eagerly.
"Manager Mo, give this car to the guards!" Su Ying pointed to the camp.
Manager Mo brought a coachman and sent a carriage.
"Come, eat some sugarcane!" Su Ying distributed the cut sugarcane to the princes, Du He, and Chai Lingwu.
Everyone squatted on the roadside, chewing sugarcane without any image.
Sweet, juicy, and your mouth is full of juice when you chew it.
Li Tai and Li You ate one section and were not satisfied, so they ate another one.
"Eat less, be careful of blisters on your tongue!" Li Tai wanted to take it again, but was persuaded by Su Ying.
Li Tai was still not satisfied and covered his cheeks, "It's delicious, but it's hard to chew."
"Hey, you all have eaten it!" Li Chengqian came down from the research institute's construction site, tired and thirsty, and picked up a piece and started to chew it.
"Eat, why don't you eat?" Li Chengqian saw everyone looking at him.
"Take your time eating! We're full!" Li Tai covered his cheeks with his hands. His temples and cheeks were sore, and blisters appeared on his tongue.
"Sugarcane is delicious, but it takes effort to cook." Li Ke was quite restrained and did not do it again after one session.
"Get a peeler and peel the sugarcane directly, so it won't be so difficult to eat." Su Ying said.
"That's a good idea! Come on, tell me how to make a scraper." Li Ke became interested.
Several heads gathered together, drawing pictures on the ground and arguing.
"Master Su, please tell me which one is better." Several people refused to give in and asked Su Ying to judge.
The shapes of the knives used by the several people were different, among which Li Ke's was similar to a modern skin scraping knife.
"The Third Prince's is the best!" Su Ying replied.
"Why?" Everyone was puzzled.
"You can just make it and try it out, and you'll know!" Su Ying didn't answer.
"This knife is smaller and can also be used to peel pears, peaches and other fruits."
So everyone rushed to the Directorate of Works to find Yan Lide and asked him to make a few swords for them.
Manager Mo took Ganzhe to Sinong Temple to find Dou Jing.
Yan Lide was wearing a thin, ragged robe, building a blast furnace with the craftsmen, and discussing something from time to time.
Building a blast furnace for iron smelting is very troublesome. The amount of iron smelted is large, and the furnace body needs to bear more weight and higher fire resistance, and the thickness of the construction increases accordingly.
Whether the design drawings can meet the requirements depends on the experience of the craftsmen.
An experienced craftsman can judge whether it is feasible just by looking at the drawings, and can even provide suggestions for modifications.
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