nycdaug Chapter 155 Making something out of nothing
Chapter 155 Making something out of nothing
On the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, Master Qian brought people from the yamen to the Qin family in Changhe Village again.
Accompanied by Qin Ruo and Qin Huaisheng, Master Qian took his men for a walk around Changhe Village.
Because of the emergence of the new crop, sweet potato, County Magistrate Jiang wanted to ask Master Qian to go to Changhe Village every day.
In the Qin family's orchard, the fruit trees have grown tender green buds, and groups of chickens are happily looking for insects to eat under the fruit trees.
Over at the neatly planned medicinal fields, wooden signs with the names of the Chinese medicines were erected at the head of each field, and villagers were carefully watering the plants with buckets of water.
When everyone saw Qin Ruo and Master Qian and the others, they all came forward to greet them.
"Miss Qin, is this the new medicinal field you planted in Changhe Village?" Master Qian looked surprised.
It's only been the New Year, why are you tinkering with the medicinal fields again?
"Reporting to Master, I have been doing business in medicinal herbs recently. Through a friend's introduction, I consulted an experienced herbal farmer and bought a batch of herbal seedlings for trial planting. I wanted to ask the villagers of Changhe Village to plant them together to see if I can help them earn some money and improve their lives."
Qin Ruo explained the origin of this medicinal field to Master Qian in a clear and organized manner.
Master Qian nodded continuously. There were very few people growing medicinal herbs in the Dasheng Dynasty. Firstly, the technology was difficult to master, and secondly, the risks were too great.
The cultivation techniques of medicinal herbs are not widely known among the people, and it is even more difficult for ordinary people to access them.
What he was thinking about was that there was no medicinal herb plantation in the entire Taihe County. If Miss Qin dared to take the lead in doing so, she must be quite confident.
If the Qin family's medicinal herb planting pilot project is successful, can it be emulated in other places?
Just like the sweet potatoes back then, we were not sure about the outcome, but now the new crop is growing well.
This girl from the Qin family is hiding her abilities!
If all these things were successful, Taihe County would probably be in for a complete change.
Finally, Master Qian went to see the two acres of newly planted sweet potatoes. Compared with the medicinal herbs, he was more concerned about food.
When he learned that Qin Ruo had found a new crop called potato, in addition to the sweet potato, which could be used as a staple food and had already been planted, Master Qian was so excited that he almost lost his feet.
Qin Ruo handed Master Qian a somewhat worn book in a serious manner.
The book records dozens of crops that have not yet appeared in the Great Sheng Dynasty. The sweet potatoes, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes and other crops that the Qin family is currently planting are among them.
This even includes the methods and cultivation processes for increasing the yield of rice and wheat, two of the most prosperous staple crops.
The book is well illustrated and easy to understand. But the words are a bit strange, many of them are missing half.
However, based on the association of the previous and subsequent content, one can roughly guess its meaning.
Master Qian flipped through the contents of the book carefully, his hands shaking with excitement.
He had seen and tasted several of the crops described in the book.
The ingredients currently available in Xunyu Ji are exactly the same as those recorded above.
Each crop is recorded in detail, including its growth habits, planting methods, and eating methods.
Divine book!
This means there is hope for food for the people of the Great Sheng Dynasty!
Master Qian was very excited. Once these crops received attention from the court and were promoted for cultivation, the people would no longer worry about food shortages.
"Miss Qin, may I ask where this book came from?"
Qin Ruo immediately showed a trace of guilt on her face. She took Master Qian aside and pretended to kneel down.
"Master Qian, I feel guilty! It's a long story. I had to hide something from you..."
"Miss Qin, you're welcome. Just tell me what you have to say." Master Qian quickly stopped her, his heart pounding.
Qin Ruo then brought up with Master Qian the experience of going into the mountains.
She told Master Qian how she had accidentally entered the depths of a dense forest while trying to avoid a pack of wolves.
In a cave, they found traces of people living there a long time ago, and found this book there.
Then, several of the plants mentioned above were discovered nearby.
Because the characters above were different from those of Da Chaosheng, she had to guess roughly by guessing.
So he went down the mountain with some of the new crops he got from there and the strange book.
Because I was not sure whether the contents were true or false, I thought of taking one of them, the sweet potato, to the yamen and asking Master Qian to take a look.
As for other types of crops, I thought of trying to grow them myself according to the above method first, and then inform Master Qian and Magistrate Jiang when the results come out.
"...After this period of planting experiments, I found that this method really works, so I dare to confess it to you, Master. I hope that Magistrate Jiang and Master will forgive my previous deception."
"I dare not take credit for it. I think it may be that God sympathizes with County Magistrate Jiang for his integrity, diligence and love for the people, and specially sent a great gift to the county magistrate. It is guiding County Magistrate Jiang in the dark to improve the lives of the people in our Taihe County. I dare not keep this booklet to myself, so I will trouble Master Qian to bring it to County Magistrate Jiang when he returns later."
Qin Ruo delivered the remarks she had prepared in advance very naturally, and in the process gave Magistrate Jiang a compliment.
"Miss Qin is so righteous! On behalf of County Magistrate Jiang, I would like to thank Miss Qin first."
Master Qian bowed sincerely towards Qin Ruo. He would naturally not blame Qin Ruo for such a small matter.
He couldn't imagine that Qin Ruo would be so aware and take the initiative to present the book to him.
You know, if this book was reported to the imperial court, it would represent enormous wealth.
Discovering new crops is a great achievement.
When Master Qian tentatively asked Qin Ruo what reward she wanted, Qin Ruo took the opportunity to propose that the government could organize manpower to help Changhe Village build a canal to divert water from the river and the pond on the back mountain to the village's paddy fields for agricultural irrigation.
The existing canals in the farmland of Changhe Village have fallen into disrepair over the years, and their irrigation capacity has been greatly reduced.
During the dry season, villagers have to spend a lot of manpower and resources to barely meet the water needs of the fields.
Qin Ruo's idea of building a canal had actually been brewing in her mind for a long time.
If the agriculture of Changhe Village is to achieve long-term development, it is imperative to solve the irrigation problem.
The reward Qin Ruo wanted was neither a house or good land for herself nor gold, silver or jewelry.
Master Qian admired Qin Ruo's demeanor from the bottom of his heart.
He nodded and said solemnly: "Miss Qin, rest assured. I will report your kindness to the county magistrate."
The construction of the canal is not only beneficial to the agricultural development of Changhe Village, but also demonstrates the county government's concern for the people. It is a real project that benefits the people.
Before leaving, Master Qian informed Qin Ruo that Magistrate Jiang had reported the discovery of new crops in Taihe County to the governor of Ganzhou.
The matter was reported to the Ministry of Agriculture by the governor, and the Ministry of Agriculture sent agricultural officials in Ganzhou to verify the situation.
The agricultural official sent here will arrive in Taihe County in the next few days.
County Magistrate Jiang had decided years ago to set up a test field for growing new crops in Changhe Village. Qin Ruo and the agricultural officials sent by the higher authorities would then jointly plant the first batch of new crops.
Qin Ruo's heart moved when she heard this. All her efforts in the early stage were worth it. Finally, the wait came.