The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 507

Zhou Chu knew very well that these people in front of him did not realize the real problem, which was why he said that.

Hu Zongxian and the others looked at each other in bewilderment upon hearing this.

"Teacher, we would never do such a thing."

Zhao Zhenji hurriedly assured him.

"You don't need to rush to say these things. People change. What you say now doesn't represent your future thoughts. To further solidify your stance, you will continue farming. Outside the capital, I've found another village. You will still support yourselves by farming for the people. There will be no extra money. Can you accept that?"

Zhou Chu looked at everyone and said sternly.

"can!"

Everyone hurriedly spoke up.

"Go away."

Zhou Chu waved his hand and said.

Upon hearing this, the crowd dispersed.

Only Gui Youguang remained, hesitant to speak in front of Zhou Chu.

"what happened?"

Zhou Chu looked at Gui Youguang and said.

"I just saw a book in your study called 'Breeding Directions for Hybrid Rice and Hybrid Wheat.' After flipping through a few pages, I felt that you were a person who was born with knowledge, able to know such things. I want to learn this."

Gui Youguang said.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu immediately perked up. The book was one that Zhou Chu had deliberately placed in a prominent place in his study. Although it was called a book, it only provided a general direction. Zhou Chu knew nothing about hybrid rice or hybrid wheat. He only knew that it involved using naturally sterile plants to continuously crossbreed and obtain new varieties with higher yields.

Plants like rice are generally hermaphroditic. If left untreated, they will self-pollinate and there is no such thing as hybridization. However, there are always exceptions. Both rice and wheat have naturally sterile plants that require cross-pollination.

The probability of naturally sterile plants is very small, only one in tens of thousands, but even if it is small, it is still possible to find them if the base number is large enough.

Given enough naturally sterile plants and enough time, it's only a matter of time before high-yield wheat and rice seeds are developed.

The book Zhou Chu wrote is about this direction. Many things are afraid of not having a direction. Once you have a direction, you won't be far from success.

Gui Youguang realized that only by studying the seeds of these two crops could the common people of the Ming Dynasty truly stop going hungry, which would also indirectly prolong the Ming Dynasty's reign.

"Alright, go ahead and do it. Just let me know if you need anything. You can take as much wheat as you want from that village."

Zhou Chu said that he had already given the villagers enough benefits, so he would not let them go hungry because of the arrival of Hu Zongxian and others.

Gui Youguang was overjoyed upon hearing this.

After Gui Youguang left, Hai Rui, Hu Zongxian, and others carried something away and then returned.

Zhou Chu looked at the strange-looking thing in front of him, and then at Hu Zongxian, Hai Rui, and Zhao Zhenji.

"what is this?"

Upon hearing this, Hai Rui scratched his head somewhat embarrassed.

"This is the first machine we made based on the steam principle our teacher taught us, but we feel like something is wrong with it. It doesn't work properly, so we brought it here specifically to ask our teacher for guidance."

Looking at the metal lump in front of him, Zhou Chu couldn't connect it with a steam engine at all. Without a doubt, what Hai Rui and the others had made was a failure.

"I'm not entirely sure how to do it in detail, but I understand one principle: everyone has their own expertise. You've taken many things for granted, and there are many parts that you can't solve. You can find professionals to discuss this with you. I'll arrange for some craftsmen from the Southern Garrison to help you with this later."

Zhou Chu knew very well that if Hai Rui and the others continued their research like this, it would take an unknown amount of time. After all, many of the intermediate conversion parts were beyond what Hai Rui and the others could come up with even if they racked their brains.

For example, valves, or bearings.

But if these skills are given to experienced craftsmen, they can grasp them instantly.

With Hai Rui and his colleagues providing the theories and these craftsmen putting them into practice, the efficiency of research would not be as simple as one plus one equals two; it would be greatly advanced.

Hai Rui and the others were overjoyed upon hearing this.

They sensed this problem during the research process. They knew the direction of their research, but they had no idea what kind of parts were needed to solve many problems, as they had almost no prior experience with mechanical things.

The artisans of the Southern Garrison can perfectly make up for this.

As Hu Zongxian and the others were leaving, they ran into Yun Jin and bowed to her.

Yun Jin was, after all, their elder.

"what is this?"

Yun Jin looked at the iron lump that Hai Rui and the others were carrying and asked with a curious expression.

Hai Rui and his companions initially thought they had done a good job, but after Zhou Chu's guidance, they felt extremely ashamed and were unwilling to admit that what they had made was a steam engine.

"These are little gadgets that a few of us made for fun."

Hu Zongxian said somewhat awkwardly.

Yun Jin nodded as if she understood, but didn't ask any further questions, which made the others breathe a sigh of relief.

Yun Jin came to Zhou Chu and saw that Zhou Chu was writing.

"Second brother's calligraphy is becoming more and more elegant. In a few years, he will be as good as his teacher was back then."

Yun Jin praised.

"You're really daring to praise me; I'm still far from being a teacher."

Zhou Chu rolled his eyes at Yun Jin.

"Why does Second Brother value your students so much and teach them all those strange and unusual things?"

Yun Jin changed the subject.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu put down his pen.

"It's to expand the world's resources. If we say that the resources our Great Ming currently has are ten, then the total resources of the entire world are at most twenty or thirty. Even if the Great Ming's merchant ships travel all over the world, the resources they can plunder are limited."

Zhou Chu said.

"Only by expanding the resources of the Ming Dynasty to one hundred, or even two hundred, will the remaining resources be enough for the common people to survive, even if most of the resources are controlled by the gentry class."

Zhou Chu sighed.

Zhou Chu had no confidence in overcoming the historical cycle, so he had to make multiple preparations.