Chen Shu thought about this slowly for a while and vaguely understood it.
Having been by his master's side for many years, he certainly understands his master's thoughts. Now that the royal family is in a weak position, signs of decline have already appeared. The world is even more chaotic, so he must find a good way out as soon as possible.
-
Spring plowing was postponed until April. Qiao Lan was bored at home, so she started planning the fields in her garden.
She went home several times last year and looked at the fields in the backyard, and they were all planted. They were planted sparsely, high and low, and there was no sense of beauty at all.
Although the water is abundant and fertile, it is not as dense as the countryside, and it is not as ornamental as other people's backyards, but the house still has to entertain guests. If the guests come and see the scattered crops in the yard, they may not know what they are doing.
What a joke to make.
Qiao Lan started planning and ordered his servants to set up wooden shelves in many places to prepare loofah, cucumber, beans and other vines for this year.
These are found locally in Dongxi Beijing. Qiao Lan has picked some better varieties in the systematic lottery. Now she has sorted them out and planted them in her yard, both for ornamental purposes and as a vegetable.
Qiao Lan also drew some flower seeds. She had some that were not available in Beijing. Based on the principle of not wasting, she read the introduction of the flower seeds and planned to plant them in her yard.
Then he asked the servants below to tidy up the fields, followed the instructions and beat Duan Mingjing and several others, and told them to watch them well and work for a few days every day.
So busy until the beginning of April, Qiao Lan went to Zhuangzi to farm again.
-
It's not only cold in the north this year, but also in some southern areas where snow has not fallen for many years. A thick layer of ice has formed on the rivers that used to last all year round, which has had a great impact on the lives of local people.
Various places have submitted memorials in response to the cold weather, hoping that Your Majesty will be considerate of the people of Liming and reduce taxes.
However, the current leader was not experienced enough and was concerned about the lack of grain in the capital and the reduction in production last year. Instead of ordering tax reductions, he changed the forest break period so that people could go into the mountains to collect firewood for warmth.
As for other measures, Qiao Lan hadn't heard much about them.
April is the time to turn the soil, and different crops take root at different depths. Qiao Lan urged the people below to turn the soil and fertilize it, and then plant the mid-grade wheat drawn from the system when everything was ready.
Putting aside the grade of wheat itself, there are more than a hundred varieties of wheat alone, and there are many more for just one wheat classification. Qiao Lan bargained with the system, made up for the difference, and drew her own.
of wheat was replaced by rye.
As the name suggests, rye is black, unlike the golden grains of wheat.
Qiao Lan has her own considerations as to why she should replace wheat with rye.
Wheat has been cultivated on this land for thousands of years. Almost everyone, from common people to wealthy families, knows how many kilograms of wheat can be harvested from one acre of wheat.
Qiao Lan suddenly produced a piece of wheat with a yield of several thousand kilograms per acre, which was too eye-catching. If someone asked in detail how the wheat came from, she would not be able to explain it.
Rye is different. There is no rye here. No matter how many kilograms it produces per mu, it is a completely new thing to Beijing.
There was no need for Qiao Lan to explain the high yield per mu. Rye itself is resistant to cold and drought, so replacing it with a medium-quality one has better cold resistance, which is perfect for today's Beijing.
Qiao Lan had even thought of her excuse a long time ago. The rye was a hybrid between a black weed and wheat that she accidentally found in the mountains. If someone asked about the black weed, she could just say a few casual words. Besides, this hybrid breeding
, is her special skill now. Even if everyone has doubts, she can prove it with her own ability.
In this way, on a quiet spring day, rye seedlings took root and sprouted in a field in the suburbs, and gradually grew stronger.
-
June, early summer.
Summer in Beijing is not too hot, and this year it is even cooler than usual.
Duan Mingjing stood anxiously under the eaves with the book printed in his bookshop, waiting for his mother to come back and check it out.
This is the first sample book printed by the bookshop. In the past two months, the bookshop has been busy engraving the calligraphy and painting boards. It took several months to complete it. No, even the cover was not finished.
Duan Mingjing came to Qiao Lan with this book.
Seeing a group of maids holding umbrellas from a distance, Duan Mingjing immediately ran over holding books.
"Mom! The book is printed!" Duan Mingjing shouted as he ran, not caring about any manners.
He originally planned to go to the fields to find his mother in person, but the housekeeper at the village said that the old lady came back around this time every day, and Duan Mingjing was waiting under the eaves.
Zhuangzi has a large land and there are many trees planted on the roadside. Duan Mingjing was afraid that he would run out in a hurry and pass by his mother.
When Duan Mingjing ran up to him, he handed the book over to Qiao Lan like a treasure and showed it to Qiao Lan.
This is not only his mother’s hard work, but also his!
Duan Mingjing: "Mom, take a look, if there is anyone who is dissatisfied, I will go back and ask them to change it!!"
Compared to Duan Mingjing, who was full of excitement, Qiao Lan was much calmer.
When the maid next to her took the book, Qiao Lan only glanced at it and said calmly: "Go and have a look in the house!"
The group of people returned to the house in Zhuangzi. The maids successively brought tea, water, melons and fruits, fanned Qiao Lan and rubbed her shoulders.
Qiao Lan sat on a chair and read the book from cover to cover. She had proofread the book dozens of times. There was no big problem. The main problem was with the painting. Qiao Lan wanted to see how the printed painting looked.
, is it expressive enough?
There was nothing wrong with Duan Mingjing's simple drawings. The printed drawings were clear and distinct, with various plant diseases and insect pests clearly marked. Qiao Lan looked around and then put down the book with confidence.
There were three books in total sent by Duan Mingjing, and these three were the result of Qiao Lan's efforts to omit them.
"Mom, what do you think of the booklet?" Duan Mingjing's eyes could not hide the light.
Qiao Lan looked away from the book and said, "It's okay."
It is comparable to the farming manual produced by the system in the 1980s! It has both content and simple drawings, and it is also explained in detail, but it just lacks a page number!
By the way, page number!
Qiao Lan seemed to have thought of something, and ordered the maids to grind ink, lay paper, and write the page numbers.
Beijing does not have page numbers, but this principle is very simple and easy to understand. As soon as Qiao Lan explained it to Duan Mingjing, Duan Mingjing understood it immediately.
After saying the page number, nothing happens.
"Mom, there is one more thing left! You haven't named this name yet! You still have to write your own name on this book!" Duan Mingjing said excitedly.
This is the second purpose of Duan Mingjing's special trip to Zhuangzi, to ask his mother to name it and then write her name on it. Only then can it be considered a complete book.
"Then let me think about it!"
After hearing this, Qiao Lan thought for a while, wrote a few words, and then added her name.
Duan Mingjing stood at the table and watched, the corners of his eyes suddenly turned red, and he even squeezed out a few tears of disappointment.
"Farming Notes"
Qiao Lan?
Duan Mingjing? Painting
"Why are you crying?" The woman's old voice was filled with confusion!
Duan Mingjing wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeve, and when he spoke again, he was trembling uncontrollably: "Son... son... I didn't expect... that I... could... publish a book... Wuwuwuwuwu! Mother!
!You are so kind! My son... I am so happy!"
Duan Mingjing didn't expect that his name would appear in this book, and he burst into tears for a while!
The man didn’t shed tears easily. He was mainly very happy today!
Qiao Lan rarely reprimanded Duan Mingjing, but instead asked the maid next to her to fetch some water to wash Duan Mingjing's face.