Seeing so many talented young people, all of whom were handsome and accomplished, Song Jingning was very pleased.
Let them all stay in the prefectural government.
Zhang Liao and the others had long heard of the Prefect of Shangjun and admired him greatly. Now that they had met him, they found it to be true.
He is gentle and generous, and treats others with respect and courtesy.
The group chatted happily when, just then, the agricultural official summoned by Song Jingning arrived.
Song Jingning asked Uncle Wang to bring the box containing potatoes and corn from the study.
The two agricultural officials who came were an elderly man with white hair who was nearly sixty years old, and the other looked to be no more than twenty.
The old man immediately recognized the value of the two items and hurriedly wanted to take them to experiment.
Song Jingning stopped the people and introduced Jiang Yu and the others to him.
Knowing that Qi Nuan was knowledgeable about potato and corn cultivation, he couldn't help but exclaim, "The younger generation is truly formidable!" He then looked at Jiang Yu and then at Song Jingning, whose complexion wasn't so good, and felt somewhat comforted.
However, he had no interest in politics and simply took the corn and potato seeds and left.
Jiang Yu casually brought Qi Nuan along as well. Although she was a little worried, she didn't say anything and just told Qi Nuan to be careful.
Qi Nuan nodded.
On the way, Qi Nuan asked Xiang Xiang, "Sister Xiang Xiang, do you have a way to treat Lord Song?"
Xiangxiang wasn't interested in what they were talking about, but she was more interested in planting plants. She would also grow herbs and some flowers and plants herself.
Although they are different, they have some similarities.
Upon hearing this, Xiangxiang said, "His injury is a chronic ailment, compounded by exhaustion and long-standing emotional distress, making it difficult to cure."
"Is there no other way?"
Xiangxiang thought for a while and said, "If he can rest well and with my treatment, he should be able to live for a few more years."
The old farmer official who overheard their conversation initially paid no attention, but became increasingly alarmed as he listened. The old man had a deep friendship with Song Jingning and was very clear about Song Jingning's physical condition.
The little girl's description of her illness perfectly matched Song Jingning's condition.
He couldn't help but say, "If you can truly save the Lord, then on behalf of the people of Shangjun, I thank you in advance."
After saying that, he bowed solemnly to Xiangxiang.
Qi Nuan was startled and quickly helped him up. "Grandpa Zheng, please get up." Although she wanted to promise that they would do their best to treat Lord Song, this matter mainly depended on Xiang Xiang, and she could not promise on Xiang Xiang's behalf.
Xiangxiang glanced at the old man in front of her and said in a cold tone, "I will do my best."
Although the young man standing to the side was somewhat dissatisfied with Xiangxiang's attitude, he dared not say anything under the old man's gaze.
After passing through the carved corridor and the hanging flower gate, they turned a corner and the old man led them to the backyard of the prefect's mansion.
Qi Nuan and the others entered a wooden house. As soon as they entered, they felt very warm. There were only two middle-aged men wearing brown short shirts and a child inside.
Upon seeing them, the child came forward to greet them.
"Mr. Zheng, you've arrived!"
Old Zheng nodded, walked to the two middle-aged men, and asked, "How is it?"
One of them replied, "It's growing well."
Qi Nuan looked inside and saw that there were grains and some plant seedlings that she didn't recognize.
This wooden house is clearly similar to a modern greenhouse.
Qi Nuan couldn't help but sigh inwardly, thinking how incredibly clever the ancients were.
Old Zheng took out the potatoes and corn and told the two men what was going on. The two men were very curious and eager to try it.
Seeing that Qi Nuan and Xiang Xiang were very curious about the wooden house, Old Zheng took the initiative to say, "This is a warm room."
He then pointed to the silk covering the wooden house and said, "This silk has been coated with tung oil. Covering the wooden house with it can help keep the plants warm."
He added, "It feels warm inside because there's firewood burning underneath."
The young man standing nearby chimed in, "Many wealthy families in Beijing use this method to cultivate vegetable seedlings, but only Old Zheng thought of using it to experiment with breeding methods."
It's clear that the young man greatly admires Mr. Zheng.
Qi Nuan also admired this.
Old Zheng and the other agricultural officials took out pen and ink and wrote down the conditions, environment and other details for planting potatoes and corn. After everything was ready, they first tested it in the greenhouse.
After Qi Nuan finished speaking, she and Xiang Xiang watched Old Zheng and the others cultivate plants in the greenhouse.
"Is this rice?"
Looking at the thick, broad stems and leaves on the black soil in front of her, with sparse grains of rice hanging on the ears, Qi Nuan was a little puzzled. She was from the south and had seen rice before. This was somewhat similar but not quite the same.
However, she had heard of dryland rice, which could be cultivated in summer when rainfall was stable but irrigation was lacking, but the harvest was far less than that of paddy rice.
Old Zheng glanced at Qi Nuan and replied, "Young friend, you have a good eye. This is indeed rice."
Old Zheng then explained how they discovered the rice. It turned out that they found that these rice grains could still grow even without sufficient water.
So they wondered if it was possible to cultivate rice that could grow on land.
So they took some seeds and cultivated them in a greenhouse.
The result was both good and bad.
Although this type of rice can grow on land, the results are not very good. Looking at this rice, which is about two square meters in size, it can only yield about the amount that an adult can hold in both hands.
If used for planting, the harvest would be worrisome, with a very low rice yield.
However, the advantages are also obvious: the planting process is less complicated, relying solely on natural rainfall, which can greatly reduce the workload of people.
Old Zheng and the others were not optimistic about dry grain, but Qi Nuan did not think so.
Unbeknownst to them, the next three years would be a time of natural disasters and chaos, and every seed planted during this period would become a life-saving food source in the future.
Before they knew it, they had been in the greenhouse for quite some time.
After saying goodbye to Elder Zheng and the others, Qi Nuan and the others left with the people sent by Lord Song.
"This greenhouse is excellent. When I get back, I'll ask Brother Jiang Ming to get me one too. I want to use it to cultivate medicinal herbs."
Qi Nuan nodded in agreement.
However, she was preoccupied with the matter of the dry valley. She noticed that the seeds the people here chose when planting crops seemed to be of relatively poor quality, the kind that were not plump and were rather small.
She wondered if the harvest was related to this.
She also asked Mr. Zheng, and Mr. Zheng replied that high-quality crops are usually used to pay taxes, while ordinary crops are kept for seed. What she saw was not inferior, but only ordinary.
The mutated, incomplete, worm-eaten, and extremely small ones were what the people kept for themselves to eat.
Therefore, they generally select seeds of medium quality.
That won't do. How can good fruit grow without good seeds?
“Ah Nuan.”
Qi Nuan looked up and realized that they had arrived at the dining hall, and Jiang Yu was standing at the door calling her.
She answered and ran over, "Is dinner ready?"
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