Chapter 51 [VIP]
Mala Tang (a type of spicy hot pot) should be both numbing and spicy, but unfortunately, there are no chili peppers in this era. However, Wang Ying discovered that farmers have something else to replace chili peppers: dogwood.
Cornus officinalis is divided into three types: Evodia rutaecarpa, Cornus officinalis, and Cornus officinalis edible. Cornus officinalis edible is spicy.
This stuff is spicier than regular chili peppers. Wang Ying bought some last time, and accidentally got some on her face while cooking. It made her tears and snot flow from the spiciness. It's perfect for making mala tang today.
He made the same kind of spicy hot pot that used to be sold near the school gate. In addition to the usual vegetables, he also made his own fish balls and mutton balls.
The fish were caught by Old Liang. Lately, the old man has taken to fishing. Every day after lunch, he goes to the nearby stream to fish a few times and has caught quite a few. However, they are all too small, so there isn't much meat in the dishes. Wang Ying simply cleaned the fish, chopped the fish meat into minced meat, and made fish balls.
The staple food is deep-fried noodles, which taste similar to instant noodles, but become more chewy when cooked together.
At dinner that evening, the old man ate two large bowls, and was still not satisfied after finishing. "It's so delicious! This spicy hot pot is really tasty!"
Wang Ying took his bowl and refused to serve him any more, saying, "If it's delicious, I'll make it for you again tomorrow. Don't eat too much, or you'll get indigestion."
Liang Boqing stared pitifully at the pot, wiped his beard with a handkerchief, and said, "Then remember to do it tomorrow."
Wang Ying was both amused and exasperated; who would have thought that this talented scholar was actually a foodie?
After dinner, the three of them went for a walk in the courtyard with the old man to digest their food. The evening air in May was slightly cool. Perhaps because the hot spring contained sulfur, there wasn't a single mosquito in the courtyard, only crickets chirping incessantly.
"Have you read the letter from Shanzhou?"
The three of them said in unison, "We've seen it."
Do you have any ideas?
The three remained silent, unsure of their master's meaning.
"Zhenghe is facing difficulties. You're all just sitting around doing nothing anyway, so why don't you offer some advice and help him out?"
Qinghuai spoke first, saying, "I think we should prioritize suppressing the bandits. At the end of the dynasty, the rebels were defeated and many went into hiding in Shan, Lan and Ling prefectures. In addition, there are many Hu and Di people in this area. They are not of our race and are not obedient. If this goes on for a long time, they will become a major problem."
Liang Boqing stroked his beard but didn't say whether it was good or bad. He turned to the others and asked, "What do you two think?"
Chen Qingsong said, "I think my cousin makes sense, but we can try to recruit them first. If they don't surrender, then we can suppress them."
After pondering for a long time, Chen Qingyan finally spoke, "I think what my brothers said is somewhat inappropriate. Historical records show that Shanzhou has been a Han Chinese area since the Sui Dynasty and was named Pingxi County. Although it borders the area outside the pass, most of the people living there are Han Chinese."
Their decision to become bandits was largely driven by poverty. The drought in Shan County led to a scarcity of crops, forcing the people to resort to robbery for survival.
Chen Qingyan glanced at Liang Boqing and, seeing that he did not interrupt him, continued, "Recruiting the people and suppressing bandits may be useful in the short term, but in the long run, if the people do not have enough to eat, they will become outlaws again. Only by solving the people's means of survival can we achieve long-term stability."
Liang Boqing nodded and said, "You've hit the nail on the head. Is there any way to change this?"
"The students are slow-witted and haven't thought of a solution yet."
Wang Ying, who had been listening for a while, suddenly spoke up: "This matter is not difficult."
Liang Boqing did not look down on him because of his status as a young man; on the contrary, he became interested. "Oh? You tell me about it."
Shanzhou is actually located in the modern-day Qinghai region. This area has a temperate continental climate, with crops sown in spring and harvested in autumn, yielding only one harvest per year. During the crop growing season, crops frequently encounter extreme natural disasters such as drought, hail, low temperatures, and frost. Often, a single disaster can wipe out the entire year's harvest, which is why people are poor.
Since agriculture could not be developed, animal husbandry and commerce were the options, which became the main economic pillars of the Qinghai region in later generations.
Wang Ying said, "Shanzhou has always had a changeable climate, making it difficult for crops to grow. However, the area is rich in water and grass, making it suitable for animal husbandry. We can switch from agriculture to animal husbandry. Raising cattle and sheep and developing the textile industry, we have heard that the cloth woven from sheep wool is stronger, softer, and warmer than cotton cloth."
Besides, mutton and sheepskin are also sources of income. As for food, Shanzhou is right next to the largest granary of the Wu Dynasty, so with the development of trade, there's no fear of running out of money to buy food.
Liang Boqing never expected that this young man would have such insights; he was truly impressed!
"It's a pity you're a boy, otherwise you would definitely be more successful than those three idiots."
Wang Ying scratched his head awkwardly. He was merely relying on his knowledge from later generations to look at history, which was nothing special.
“I will write down everything you guys said in a letter and send it to Zhenghe to see if he can use it.”
It was getting late, so everyone went back to their bedrooms to rest. Chen Qingyan was still thinking about the issues in his fourth uncle's letter and couldn't sleep, so he pulled Wang Ying aside to continue discussing the Shanzhou issue.
"Brother, you said you'd switch from agriculture to animal husbandry, how do we implement that? And what about the bandits in the mountains? How can we develop commerce without eliminating the bandit problem?"
Wang Ying was a little sleepy and leaned on his shoulder, mumbling, "That's easy to say. First, we'll use force to suppress and kill a few notorious bandit leaders to make an example of them. Then, we'll use a policy of appeasement to win them over, let the people on the mountain taste the sweetness of success, and also deter them from ever returning to the mountains to become outlaws again."
"Anything else?"
"Also, I'm so tired, I want to sleep."
Chen Qingyan rolled over and rubbed against him, "Brother, tell me again."
Wang Ying was aroused by the rubbing, and without any hesitation, she took off her clothes, and the two began to slide together.
"Hiss... Slow down... The government can implement a reward system, for example, a family that raises ten sheep can be exempted from a certain amount of poll tax, and a family that raises twenty sheep can be exempted from corvée labor... Aha... Organize merchants to purchase wool and cloth, build roads and post stations, open up the Longxi trade route, and focus on developing economic trade..." The rest of the words turned into unbearable groans.
*
Farmers have few idle months; May is a busy time. At night, the south wind rises, and the wheat fields turn golden.
The wheat in the fields is ripe. This year, due to the spring drought, the harvest is about 20% less than in previous years. This is the result after the villagers worked hard to irrigate the fields. If they hadn't irrigated, the harvest would probably have been even less.
However, one plot of land was different from the others, with its abundant ears of wheat standing out from the rest, outshining all the nearby wheat fields.
When Wang Ying arrived early in the morning, she saw a lot of people gathered around the experimental wheat field. "Why are you all here?"
Chen Xi said, "We heard that the young master is going to acquire this land today, and everyone wants to see how much grain it can yield."
Wang Ying laughed and said, "Okay, let's get a few strong guys to help me harvest the grain."
Seven or eight men volunteered to take sickles and go into the wheat field. They were all skilled workers and finished harvesting the entire field in an hour.
The wheat was neatly bundled and piled up to the side. The elderly farmer could estimate the quantity of wheat at a glance.
"This acre of land could probably yield five bushels of wheat!"
"Five shi is an understatement; it can yield at least six shi!" That is more than 600 jin. You should know that normally, a mu of superior field can only produce about four shi of grain at most. If there is drought, flood or pests, it can only yield two or three shi, while inferior field can only produce one shi.
This wheat is not only drought-resistant but also has a high yield; it's truly an eye-opener for everyone!
Actually, the yield of this land has not yet reached the standard of later generations. You should know that the yield of Changfeng No. 3 in later generations can reach 1,000 catties per mu. However, in this era, there are no pesticides and fertilizers, so the harvest is already quite considerable.
Most importantly, Changfeng No. 3 is even more drought-resistant than it was during our own experiments, considering that there was only one rain this spring.
Wang Ying said, "After these wheat grains are dried, each household will receive 30 jin (15 kg) as seed wheat, and next year all the wheat in the fields will be replaced with this variety."
The people cheered and excitedly waved the ears of wheat in their hands around Wang Ying. If every mu of land could yield so much wheat in the future, wouldn't every family have surplus grain?
Liang Boqing, who was fishing by the river, heard the noise, looked up, and asked, "What are they doing?"
Chen Qingyan said, "Aying said that today is the day to harvest wheat, so they must be celebrating the harvest."
"Let's go take a look."
Several people carrying wooden buckets and fishing rods walked over. "Wang Xiaolang, what are you doing?"
"Reporting to Elder Liang, the wheat harvest in this field is quite good. I plan to distribute the wheat seeds to the villagers so that they can also increase their production next year."
"How much is a good harvest?"
"One mu of land can yield about six shi, and if the weather is favorable, it can reach about seven shi." Wang Ying dared not exaggerate too much, otherwise she would be embarrassed if it didn't reach that level.
Liang Boqing's expression instantly turned serious. "Are you telling the truth?"
"I dare not lie. This land was planted with winter wheat last winter, and the yield was much higher than that of the other fields."
Where did the grain seeds come from?
"I cultivated the seeds myself, by crossing several types of wheat together and then selecting the best varieties." Wang Ying was not lying; this was his major in college, and Changfeng No. 3 was also obtained by him through the improvement of an original high-yield wheat variety.
Liang Boqing stroked his beard, his brows furrowed.
Seeing his expression, Wang Ying asked somewhat nervously, "But... is there something wrong?"
"Could you write down a detailed cultivation process?"
"Of course." This was Wang Ying's graduation project; the thesis alone was over thirty pages long. Unfortunately, she didn't get to use it in her previous life before transmigrating.
"Write down your breeding process, and save me ten pounds of these wheat seeds too!"
"yes."
At this time, Wang Ying had no idea what doubling the wheat yield meant.
Liang Boqing had a classmate who served as the Grand Minister of Agriculture in the imperial court. He had mentioned to Liang Boqing during a conversation in the capital that his subordinate, the Junior Minister of Agriculture, was of commoner origin but was promoted to the rank of a sixth-grade agricultural official by the court because of his skill in cultivating superior seeds.
If what Wang's young master said is true, then his abilities are probably far superior to that person's. By appealing to this favor, Chen Qingyan's fate in the imperial examinations might not have to wait many years for his name to be cleared!
Upon returning home, Wang Ying began writing down the breeding process of Changfeng No. 03 overnight, producing more than ten pages of draft paper. To avoid arousing suspicion, he omitted all parts involving modern science, retaining only the basic hybridization steps.
Even so, it opened a door to a new world for the ancients.
The next day, Liang Boqing read through the contents of the paper. Although he did not understand agricultural production, he was still amazed by the complicated and intricate cultivation methods.
Where did you learn all this?
"No... I didn't learn from anyone. I figured it out by myself after farming a lot."
Liang Boqing flicked the scrap paper. "This handwriting is terrible. Qingyan, please have your husband copy it over and give it to me."
A few days later, the letter, along with ten pounds of dried wheat seeds, was sent to Kyoto.
A note from the author:
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
