Chunyue's face turned red due to Lin Xuan's actions.
Although she didn't know what she said to inspire Lin Xuan, she felt very happy to be able to help Lin Xuan.
Lin Xuan was happy for a while, then started to have a headache again.
There are many things that women like, some of which he doesn't know how to handle, and some of which are not suitable for gifting.
Lin Xuan frowned and thought hard for a while, then suddenly saw the bronze mirror on the table, and his eyes lit up.
He has already taken out the glass and it can be used as a mirror.
In later generations, although you could buy a mirror for a few dollars, no one has ever seen it now.
In ancient times, all bronze mirrors were used, but it was not like what was said in some novels where the appearance could not be seen clearly.
The ancient bronze mirrors can still be seen very clearly, but they are not as clear as mirrors.
He believes that as long as she is a woman, she cannot resist the temptation of the mirror.
Making a mirror is not difficult, just coat one side of the glass with aluminum or silver.
Although there was no aluminum in the Tang Dynasty, there was still silver.
Lin Xuan asked someone to take some silver from his family's warehouse and went straight to the furnace outside Chang'an City.
…
Lin Xuan originally thought that just coating the glass with a layer of silver would be enough.
Unexpectedly, it was not at all what he thought.
Lin Xuan didn't know if anything else needed to be added to it.
There is no other way, Lin Xuan can only let the craftsmen experiment more. Although this will waste a lot of money.
Lin Xuan planned to wait for about ten days. If he still couldn't do it, he would have to think of other ways.
…
"Sign in!"
Today is March 1st, and Lin Xuan is beginning to look forward to what rewards he will get for signing in today.
"Ding~, congratulations to the host, you got one hundred catties of potatoes."
Potatoes are native to the Andes Mountains of South America, and the history of artificial cultivation can be traced back to southern Peru between 8000 and 5000 BC. Potatoes are named after their resemblance to horse bells.
Potatoes were introduced to China during the Ming Dynasty.
The name varies from place to place, but the more popular name is potato.
The sign-in in early March gave Lin Xuan a big surprise.
Although one hundred pounds of potatoes is a bit small, you can't even plant half an acre.
But the yield of potatoes is high. Under normal circumstances, the yield of potatoes per mu is about 3,000-5,000 kilograms. If high-quality varieties are used for planting and careful management in the later period, the general yield per mu can be as high as about 8,000 kilograms.
Even if the planting technology of the Tang Dynasty was not as good as that of later generations, it would still be no problem to produce two to three thousand kilograms per acre.
In the Tang Dynasty, the yield of rice and wheat was generally around one stone per mu.
One stone is about one hundred and twenty kilograms, which means that the yield per mu is only more than one hundred kilograms.
This is also based on the fact that it is fertile farmland.
Ordinary people cultivate a large amount of land, and excluding taxes and some necessary expenses, they can only eat without carrying goods.
And if there is any natural disaster, the people will have no food left at all.
With these 100 kilograms of potatoes as seeds, it only takes a few years to accumulate, and then it can be gradually promoted.
Potatoes can be eaten as a vegetable or as a staple food.
What Lin Xuan is happy about is not that with the high-yielding seeds, the court will lift the ban on alcohol.
To be honest, he doesn't care much about Shenxianzui's income now.
Even if the alcohol ban was lifted, his income would increase several times, but he didn't take it seriously.
In addition to facing natural disasters, people in ancient times would also experience wars every once in a while.
It can be said that there are many disasters, and Lin Xuan has no ability to prevent the war from happening.
But high-yield food can prevent so many people from starving to death when faced with famine.
Lin Xuan is not a saint. If he is asked to sacrifice himself for others, he cannot do it.
But when he can, he still wants to do something for the people of the world.
Lin Xuan took advantage of Chunyue and the others not being in the room to extract the potato seeds.
Call Liu Da and others and ask them to bring potatoes.
Lin Xuan went to Zhouzhuang.
The time for potato planting is related to the climate of each place.
He didn't know about other places, but Guanzhong was now suitable for growing potatoes.
It would take about a month for potatoes to grow, and he didn't dare to delay at all.
…
Arriving at Zhouzhuang, Lin Xuan went straight to Li Zheng and Zhou Mancang's house.
When Zhou Mancang saw Lin Xuan arriving, he quickly saluted and said, "Young man, I have met the Marquis!"
Lin Xuan smiled and said: "Zhou Lizheng doesn't need to be polite. Have you finished plowing the land at home?"
Zhou Mancang said gratefully: "Thanks to Lord Marquis for sending us the Zhenguan plow, now our land in Zhouzhuang has been plowed. We will wait for a while and plant the millet. That's it."
"
Millet, commonly known as millet, is widely cultivated in northern my country.
Regardless of modern times, millet is generally more expensive than rice. That is because the yield of modern rice is much higher than that of millet.
In ancient times, the yield of millet was higher than that of rice and wheat.
Before wheat was introduced to China, people in the north relied on millet to satisfy their hunger.
But after wheat became available, those with money rarely ate millet anymore.
However, ordinary people grow and eat millet because of its high yield.
As for the wheat they grow, they are reluctant to eat it because of the high price.
"Zhou Lizheng, I need less than half an acre of land to grow some things. You can help me choose a farmer in the village who has good farming skills and let him help me plant. His family's rent this year can be exempted.
Lin Xuan said.
He was not sure if he would have another chance to get potatoes in the future. If the planting failed, he might never get potatoes again.
Zhou Mancang thought for a while and said: "Master Hou, farmers all rely on farming to make a living. Among those who have been serving farmers all their lives, I can't say who is particularly good."
"Then let's leave it to Zhou Lizheng to plant it," Lin Xuan said.
No one has grown potatoes anyway, so he will eventually have to teach them.
Zhou Mancang was a little excited, but Lin Xuan said that if he helped him plant it, he would be exempted from this year's rent.
"Master Hou, there is a family in our village named Zhou Aniu. He was injured in a war in his early years and his legs and feet are inconvenient. He has two children at home, and the whole family relies on his wife to work. Why not give this opportunity to Zhou Aniu."
Zhou Mancang gritted his teeth and said.
Lin Xuan could tell that Zhou Mancang had just been moved. After all, he only had to take care of less than half an acre of the farm, and he could be exempted from one year's rent.
But he didn't expect that Zhou Mancang would give this opportunity to others.
Is this the simplicity of the ancients?
Lin Xuan felt that if we put it in future generations, there would be such people, but they would definitely not be many.
Lin Xuan also felt sorry for them, but was worried that Zhou Aniu's wife would not be able to take care of the potatoes because she had to take care of the family.
Potatoes are of great importance, and Lin Xuan dare not be careless.
Seeing Lin Xuan's hesitation, Zhou Mancang said quickly: "Don't worry, Mr. Hou, his two children can help with the work, and his wife is very diligent, so they will definitely be able to take care of them."
"Take me to his house first." Lin Xuan said.
If Zhou A Niu's family was not suitable, he would not be able to let them grow potatoes.
Zhou Mancang said: "Master Hou, please come with me."
Not long after, Zhou Mancang took Lin Xuan to a small courtyard. They built a low courtyard with reeds and bamboo sticks. There were several dilapidated huts inside. Everything showed that the family lived in poverty.
.
"Master Hou, this is Zhou Aniu's home," Zhou Mancang said.
Zhou Mancang came to the courtyard gate and shouted inside: "A Niu, are you at home?"
"Squeak~"
The door of the thatched house was pushed open, and a girl who looked to be eight or nine years old came out.
The girl looked very thin, and her worn linen clothes were covered with patches.
"Aweng, my father is in the house, let me welcome you in." The girl opened the courtyard door and said.
Zhou Mancang was worried that Lin Xuan would be unhappy, so he said: "Master Hou, Zhou Aniu has inconvenient legs and feet, so it is inconvenient for him to come out."
Lin Xuan waved his hand and said, "It's okay, I don't care about this."
Zhou Mancang breathed a sigh of relief and said to the girl: "Erya, where is your mother?"
"My mother went to guess wild vegetables." Erya whispered.
She didn't know Lin Xuan, but she had seen Lin Xuan's clothes when she went to Chang'an before. They were all worn by government officials, so she was a little scared.
Zhou Mancang didn't say anything more and took Lin Xuan in.
Erya closed the courtyard door and followed behind.
The thatched house is very gray and even smells musty due to lack of light.
There was no other furniture in the room except a table and a few stools.
The tables and stools also had obvious signs of repair.
In the back room, Zhou Aniu heard footsteps and said, "Uncle Zhou, just come in."