After entering the summer, except for two or three sporadic light rains, it has hardly rained. Although it is not as good as the severe drought in the Northeast, if there is no locust plague, it is very likely that the output will drop sharply, and some places may even have no harvest.
The trees on the west mountain that had been eaten by locusts with only their branches left were dry and dead. If it does not rain again, I am afraid that all the vegetation will die. Even the stream that flows down from the West Mountain all the year round has stopped flowing. The pond behind the Yu family’s old house is only one-tenth of its original size. Large swathes of mud at the bottom of the pond have been sunburned to the point of cracking a thumb-wide crack. Occasionally a dead fish lies in the crack, exuding a rotten stench.
The water level of the well behind the old house has also dropped a lot, and the rope on the bucket has been replaced with a longer one. The Yu family's wells are not bad, they are drilled relatively deep, and the wells of many people in the village have dried up, and drinking water has become a problem!
Just as the people in the entire disaster area became more and more desperate, finally one night in late autumn, a freezing rain fell, leaving strings of transparent icicles on the branches and roofs. At noon, the ice melted into water droplets and fell to the ground. The autumn rain was still falling, and the dry land was moistened by the rain. And those annoying locusts were all frozen to death by the freezing rain. The rain was so timely that it not only alleviated the drought, but also solved the problem of locust plague. Next year's spring planting should not be affected too much.
The freezing rain alleviated the disaster, but it also brought disaster to Yu's vegetables. Autumn vegetables such as cabbage and radishes are fine, but vegetables such as greens and lettuce are all frozen overnight. If Yu Xiaocao hadn't frequently watered the vegetables with spirit stone water, he would have frozen to death long ago.
The autumn rain is continuous, and this autumn rain has been falling for ten days. In the past ten days, the whole Yu family rushed to put all the green vegetables into the warehouse in order to reduce some losses. After this trip of vegetables is sold out, the autumn vegetables are almost ready to be harvested.
Cabbage, radish, scallions... There are not many kinds of autumn vegetables in this era. In the west courtyard of Yu's family, all the vegetables are grown in autumn, which is more than enough for Yu's family to eat for a whole winter. The cabbage was cut from the ground one by one, and after a little drying, it was received in the cellar in the west courtyard. The cellar in the east courtyard has been converted into an ice cellar.
The radishes are pulled out from the ground, and some tender radish seedlings can also be used as cold dishes. Pulling radishes is a laborious job, which is contracted by the men in the family. Women and children chop cabbage and pull green onions.
After ten days of hard work, all the autumn vegetables were put into the cellar. The extra autumn vegetables were contracted by Zhenxiu Restaurant at a high price. Since the summer locust plague began, apart from the Yu family who planted autumn vegetables, other vegetable farmers tried to grow radishes and cabbage, but they were all ruined by locusts shortly after they germinated. Many wealthy people in the town bought potions from Yu Xiaocao, but they didn't grow enough for their own food, so how could they sell them out. They are not short of the money for selling vegetables.
All the restaurants in Tanggu Town can eat some fresh vegetables in Zhenxiu Restaurant. Other time-honored restaurants also buy vegetables from the south, but the price is higher, and most of the vegetables are not fresh after they have traveled a long distance.
The taste and texture of Yujia's vegetables are recognized throughout Tanggu Town. Some people have also explored the differences between Yu's vegetables and other people's vegetables, and the reasons for their formation. Finally, it was concluded that the well behind the house was a high-quality mountain spring, which could not be found in other places.
Less than a month after the autumn rain, the temperature plummeted and the snow came quietly. Winter has come before you know it. The entire Dongshan Village has entered cat winter. This year's winter is no different from previous years. Although all the grains will be brought back from the south at a reasonable price, there are no other vegetables except dried vegetables and sea fish and shellfish.
Last year, the villagers of Dongshan Village had more money in their hands, and the winter was relatively moist. Now, many people can't even maintain food and clothing.
But for the Yu family, the impact is not that great.
After the winter, King Yang and his guards had already returned to Beijing for business. He did a good job in disaster relief, and the cheap food arrived in a timely manner. The people in the disaster area were all grateful to the emperor and the king of Yangjun, and the court's reputation among the people was unprecedentedly high.
In this year, King Yang, because of the high-yield grain seeds brought from overseas, has cultivated corn with a yield of 1,000 catties per mu and potatoes with a yield of 5,000 catties per mu. Disaster relief matters have been done relatively well. The emperor gave a generous reward. If it wasn't for the short time since he was entrusted with the county king, it is very likely that he will be crowned as a prince, which is at the same level as his father!
Fang Xun, who followed the king of Yangjun to go to sea and was in charge of buying, was also promoted to a noble, and the official position won two ranks in a row. Not only was he in charge of the Imperial Forest Army, but he was also given the title of Guard. At such a young age, he is already a member of the second rank. Can you not make people greedy? However, they were just watching with greedy eyes. Who told Fang Xun to fall into the eyes of King Yang and be promoted again and again!
Yang Junwang has become synonymous with celebrities in front of the emperor. There is such a news circulating privately in the official circles of the capital: "Follow the king of Yangjun, and you will be guaranteed an official promotion!" This news is not groundless. The emperor trusts this little cousin and entrusts him with any important tasks. Following such a person, it is easy to achieve results. Moreover, the King of Yangjun never took credit for others, no, at the court meeting, he gave credit to the people who helped him grow corn and potatoes!
"Your Majesty, the Yu family has planted ten acres of land, and they have harvested ten thousand catties of corn. One mu of potatoes has a yield of five thousand catties. If corn and potatoes are popularized in the north, why worry that the people of the world will not live and work in peace I think that the Yu family deserves a reward for their meritorious service to the country!" Zhu Junyang submitted his copy.
Liu Shangshu of the Ministry of Households concurred: "Your Majesty, such a talent should be recruited to the Ministry of Householding exceptionally! I have calculated that if it were not for the plague of locusts, the yield of corn per mu in the experimental field under the Ministry of Households would exceed the sky. One hundred catties is already a very good yield. I also saw the corn planted by the Yu family. The grains are plump and even. The potatoes are also very big! I think that the Yu family is a rare planting talent and should be reused. !"
The other civil and military officials, after listening to Liu Shangshu's words, secretly weighed in their hearts. The experimental fields under the household department are all fertile and good fields, and they are carefully taken care of by special personnel. One mu of land only produces six or seven hundred catties. It is said that Dongshan Village is mostly mountainous or barren sandy land, but the output of one mu of land exceeds a thousand catties.
What is this concept? Either the Yu family didn't contribute all the planting methods, or the Yu family must have an amazing planting talent. With Zhu Junyang, the cold-faced county king, staring at him, the Yu family would definitely not dare to hide their secrets, that is to say, it is 90% likely to be the latter.
Now, what is the Ming Dynasty lacking the most? Food! The land of fish and rice in the south of the Yangtze River is not bad, the climate is suitable for planting, there are many fertile fields, and the output in two seasons a year is not bad. At least the common people can fill their stomachs. But in the north of the Yangtze River, especially in the bitterly cold northeast and northwest, due to climate reasons, only one season can be planted a year. Although the emperor has repeatedly reduced or exempted agricultural taxes, the grain output in the north is too low, and it is good for many ordinary people to eat half full.
I heard that corn and potatoes are not very picky about the soil and climate, and they are easy to grow in the north. Most importantly, the output is high! One season of planting is equivalent to the output of two or even three seasons of other crops. If every mu of land can reach a yield of 1,000 catties, why worry about the people not being able to eat enough
Flour ground from corn is made into steamed buns and noodle cakes. Although it is not as sweet as white noodles, compared to other coarse grains such as millet noodles and bean noodles, the taste is already very good. The cooking method of potatoes was also circulated among the officials, and some even borrowed a copy. After all, the method of cooking is not difficult. If potatoes become popular in the future, there will be many more dishes on the dinner table in winter.
In the hearts of civil and military officials, it has long been determined that corn and potatoes should be planted in large quantities. This year, with thousands of catties of good seeds, next year, thousands of acres of corn can be planted, and millions of catties of seeds can be harvested in autumn... In this way, in three to five years, corn will be widely planted in the Northland!
Such a planting talent, I believe no one will object to his promotion!
The meaning of Hubu Shangshu is that he hopes that the emperor can give the Yu family a seventh-rank official to serve the court in Hubu. No other officials raised objections.
The emperor sitting high on the Dragon Throne smiled and said nothing. Hubu Shangshu was a little anxious, he thought the emperor disagreed, and when he was about to say something, the emperor said: "Yang Junwang, you have the most contact with the Yu family, and you have the most say. Who should be credited for the credit?"
Hubu Shangshu had personally been to Dongshan Village, the Yu family was all women and children except Yu Hai. It's not that he looks down on women and children. Women and children can still do housework at home. Of course, farming is a matter for gentlemen? Who else should be credited with the credit, of course it is Yu Hai, the head of the family.
Zhu Junyang glanced at his cousin who seemed to be smiling, and said truthfully, "According to my observation, the methods of planting corn and potatoes are all summed up by the experiments of Yu Hai's daughter Yu Xiaocao."
Yu Xiaocao, Minister of the Household Department, has seen it before, but in his impression she is just a thin and small girl. He couldn't help frowning, and retorted: "Prince Yang, a little girl who is over ten years old, how capable is she? From the old man's point of view, Yu Hai brought his brother-in-law's family to take care of the corn..."
The king of Yangjun glanced at him coldly, and said: "It doesn't matter who takes care of the field, the key is who is the commander and who is the executor. Your Majesty, I have lived in Dongshan Village for more than three months. All I saw was Yu Xiaocao directing behind the scenes, and Yu Hai's family worked together to achieve a bumper harvest of corn."
Hubu Shangshu saw that King Yang didn't seem to be joking, his brows were still frowning, and he said in a low voice: "This Yu Xiaocao, is he really so powerful?"
King Yangjun ignored him and continued: "Your Majesty, you also saw it in your private visit last time. In the year of the locust plague, Yu Xiaocao, based on his own understanding of the properties of medicine, and Dr. Sun from Tongrentang, developed a potion that can eliminate locusts. It's a pity that some of the medicinal materials needed for the potion are relatively rare, and the cost is too high to be mass-produced. However, the vegetables grown in the potion by Yu Xiaocao have not been spoiled by locusts at all. It shows his cleverness! Vegetables, how difficult is it for her to grow corn? I believe that rewards for meritorious deeds and punishment for demerits are the bright policies that the emperor pursues!"