Duan Mingjing was most happy when He Feng came to visit his home. He was happy to show He Feng and Chen Shu the chicken house in Houpo and the melons in the yard.
Although the chicken house was not Duan Mingjing's idea, most of the chickens in it were raised by him through hard work. He picked each one out of a broken egg and fed it every day. The level of hard work was far from ordinary.
Ordinary old hens can compare.
Duan Mingjing was extremely proud of being a big chicken farmer that the prefect praised.
There were no flowers planted in the Duan family's backyard, only a few melons planted by the old lady. The melons were of different colors, including yellow, white, and green, with rich colors and a faint fragrance.
Qiao Lan's explanation to her family is that she hybridized the melon seeds she found in the wild.
I saw that the old lady had hybridized a lot of things. Although the family members didn't quite understand the principle, they probably knew that the hybridized things were better than the original ones, whether it was sweetness or size.
So the melons in this yard must be extra sweet!
Hybrid melons take a year or two to grow well. The children of the Duan family know how valuable these melons are, and even if they are greedy, they dare not pick melons from this half-acre of land. They just wait for it to grow up slowly.
That day.
He Feng looked at the lush melon vines under the fence and the melons of different colors hidden in them. He had tasted all kinds of delicacies from all over the country, but this was the first time he saw such rich melons. He couldn't help but take a few more glances.
It was at this time that Qiao Lan returned home carrying the basket.
He Feng looked at the old lady walking in from the yard. She was wearing a brown coarse cloth jacket, with a lot of mud on her trouser legs and feet. She was carrying a basket and holding farm tools. She had a dark complexion and bright eyes.
The old lady's appearance has changed a lot compared to before. She used to look at everyone as a housewife, but now she is thinner and darker, but she is more energetic.
He Feng hurriedly stepped forward and saluted, "I haven't seen you for a long time, Madam!"
Qiao Lan took off her straw hat and said hello to Ziran He Feng, "Why is Mr. He here?"
"I was passing through Tongzhou and wanted to visit the old lady. Thank you for your hard work, old lady..." He Feng sighed.
Qiao Lan waved her hands indifferently. She had long been used to such misunderstandings.
"It's not hard work. I just go to the fields and look at the crops. It's hot outside. Mr. He, please come inside." Qiao Lan walked in facing He Feng.
When he was in Yanghuai for the past year, He Feng accidentally heard about the Duan family's affairs in Lantian County.
The high-yielding rice in Lantian County and the efforts made by the old lady to control insect pests and compost.
His family's crops also use the old lady's fertilizer recipe. I heard from people below that this year's crops are indeed much better than in previous years after fertilization.
As for the pests…
The pest infestation in Yanghuai this time was a bit serious, but in comparison, Tongzhou was much better.
Farming the fields is an extremely hard work for the people. It must be very hard for the old lady to run around in the farmland all day long.
Even though He Feng was well prepared, he was secretly surprised when he saw Qiao Lan's dark and thin appearance.
Then he gave some words of advice: "Old madam, farming is hard work. You are so old, so you should leave this matter to young and strong men."
He doesn't care about the Duan family's family affairs, but when he came this time, he saw only the old lady who had changed the most.
"Mr. He, I said I went to the fields, but I just went to have a look in the fields. I kept talking and didn't do much work." Qiao Lan explained that he knew He Feng was caring about her.
If you go out to bask in the sun every day, how can you not get a tan?
Although Qiao Lan also lamented at the beginning that she was a few degrees darker.
But her age is here, she doesn't date or fall in love, and she has a lot of sons and grandsons. Who dares to think that she doesn't look good when she's tanned?
Qiao Lan simply doesn't care anymore. It's fine if it's dirty or black, as long as she can do well in the Qiangguo class! It will be easy in the future!
"Old madam, you still put your health first!" Chen Shu on the side also advised.
He Feng was concerned about the situation of the Duan family and learned that the descendants of the Duan family planned to take the imperial examination again, while Qiao Lan planned to continue farming in her hometown and shunned the people around her.
"The reason why I came here this time is actually for an important matter. I have already given the recipe that the old lady gave me earlier to Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty is very happy and wants to give the old lady some rewards. I want to come to the old lady and ask her what she wants?" He Feng said.
If the old lady is willing, the rest of her body will still be rich and luxurious.
Qiao Lan's first reaction was not how close the relationship between He Feng and His Majesty was, but what he could get from this reward.
She doesn't need money, but forget it if she wants power. She is here to strengthen the country, not seek hegemony.
While farming in the past few years, Qiao Lan thought about how far she was from becoming a powerful country.
She has not completed the course and has insufficient knowledge reserves. Even if she breeds excellent varieties, they can only be spread in a small area in the south.
Beijing has inconvenient transportation. It is difficult for her to become a comprehensive power by her own strength, so she must rely on the power at the top.
After thinking seriously for a while, Qiao Lan said, "Are Mr. He familiar with His Majesty?"
He Feng: "My mother is your Majesty's aunt."
Oh, it turns out that He Feng is the princess’s child!
"Master He, can you help me bring some books to Your Majesty? My old lady has a gracious request." Qiao Lan spoke.
He Feng nodded, somewhat curious about the book Qiao Lan was talking about.
"Master He, come with me to my house and have a look!" Qiao Lan said and led He Fang into his house.
On a simple wooden table, there were piles of straw paper sewn with threads. They looked like books but could still be called books. I could only sigh that the hundreds of books in total were quite spectacular.
Qiao Lan picked up one of the books and handed it to He Feng to read, "These are some of my wife's innermost experiences of farming in recent years. I have compiled these things into several books on good farming strategies."
While He Feng was flipping through those crude pieces of papyrus, Qiao Lan took out two or three more books with slightly better workmanship and handwriting.
The cover of each book stacked on the table has the date written on it, the year and month on top, and the year and month on the bottom.
He Feng opened the book and saw every page of the diary from beginning to end, describing the situation in the fields and countermeasures in detail.
Not only did he write down the daily weather, but he also wrote about watering, fertilizing, pest control and weeding. He even drew a special table for recording each acre of land.
He Feng didn't know the concept of controlled experiments, so he took a look at it and sighed inwardly at the huge workload of this pile of books.
"I have been farming for two years, and I have learned some methods. I wrote them all in a book. The handwriting was a little sloppy, and I was afraid that others would not understand it, so I asked my son, who is good at handwriting, to copy it for me." Qiao Lan was half-serious.
He half-hypothetically put the book in front of He Feng.
It is really hard to write these diaries. Fortunately, there is a system to help. Qiao Lan asks the system to make the forms every time. Coupled with her years of experience in writing homework, it only takes less than half an hour every day.