While Zhou Yang was surprised, he felt very complicated in his heart. However, after all, he was reluctant to give up the treatment from Huangzhuang, accepted this task, and did it impressively.
Later, when Yu Xiaocao's orchards were spread all over the mountain, and the fruits were sold to the whole north and south of Ming Dynasty, when his reputation became huge. Zhou Yang resigned from his job in Huangzhuang and became the chief manager of the orchard. His salary was more than twice that of Huangzhuang, and the master even shared half of his profits.
Don't underestimate the half of the profit. Many people spend their entire lives in poverty, and it is difficult to earn his annual dividend. It made my colleagues in Huangzhuang very envious! Of course, these are things for later.
The stewards at Huangzhuang came down to be honest and performed their own duties. The fruit trees were also taken care of by someone, so Yu Xiaocao concentrated on serving the watermelons on the Wang Zhuangzi in Yangjun next door. Because the seedlings were raised late, she asked Xiaobutianshi to shorten the seedling raising period by one-third. Anyway, there are not many watermelons in the suburbs of Beijing, and none of them are planted by grafting like her.
During the grafting, she asked King Yang to select trustworthy people, and taught them the grafting method hand in hand. These people are not the tenants recruited by Zhuangzi, but the servants of Prince Jing's mansion. Among other things, their loyalty can still be guaranteed.
The watermelon seedlings grafted on the gourd seedlings were transplanted into the melon fields, and they were irrigated with well water with spiritual power, so they grew naturally and well. Those who secretly ridiculed Yu Xiaocao for not understanding farming season and messing around, have long since lost the mood of contempt. Take a look at others, breaking the farming season in time, they can also grow fruit trees and watermelons well. I have to say that they are very good at planting. It was indeed a wise decision for the emperor to appoint her as an agricultural officer.
I don't know how many people in the capital are staring at Huangzhuang. More than two months later, the tenants of Huangzhuang, under the leadership of the steward, harvested corn in full swing. The one that can stand firm in Huangzhuang, isn't that the old crop style that has been around for many years? The tenants who broke the corn, their faces full of joy of the harvest, talked about this year's situation one after another.
Liu Shangshu led people to garrison at Huangzhuang early in the morning. When he saw the collected corn cobs, his old face was wrinkled with a smile. The corn cobs are much bigger than last year, and the corn kernels are plump. Compared with the ones collected last year, they are really not of the same grade.
The corn from the one-acre experimental field was harvested first, and Liu Shangshu personally led people to rub the corn kernels down, and couldn't wait to weigh them on the ground. Huh! One mu of land actually produced two thousand catties of grain! ! I originally thought that the output of more than 1,000 catties last year was already high. But compared with this year, last year was abused and turned into scum. Sure enough, it was a wise decision to let Ms. Yu be the agricultural officer to manage Huangzhuang!
Those officials who were staring at Huangzhuang and waiting to see the excitement closed their mouths. Most officials in the court are opposed to appointing a little girl as an official of the household department. However, the emperor's attitude was resolute, and the Minister of the Household Department and the King of Yang County contributed to the flames, so they did not resolutely oppose it, and they were all watching the changes.
If the output of Huangzhuang this year is similar to last year, or even worse than last year. They have something to say. After all, every year is different and the climate is different, so there is a saying that "the common people depend on the sky for their food".
This year's weather is not very good. After the beginning of summer, it rarely rains, and even the water level of the deep well in Huangzhuang is as low as the minimum. After autumn, there have been several heavy rains, which will definitely have a certain impact on the growth of crops. The ordinary people in the suburbs of Beijing, whose food production has been reduced by 30% or more, thought that the little girl must have been planted.
Unexpectedly, Huangzhuang was not affected by the climate, and the output was much higher than last year. The officials sent by the Ministry of Household Affairs also surprised them with the data they got back. Those farmers who bought corn seeds and went back to plant them had an output of more than a thousand catties. In this way, corn, as a high-yielding crop, will soon be popularized in the Northland. Those who line up to buy seeds next year will probably overwhelm the grain stores in the capital!
The data from Tang Gu was also sent over. The Yu family harvested nearly 1,000 mu (the 800 mu from the King of Yang County was given to Yu Xiaocao, and it was naturally included in Yu’s Zhuangzi), and they harvested more than 1.8 million catties of grain. . In other words, the yield per mu is close to 2,000. I heard that Tanggu and the surrounding villages sent representatives to negotiate with Yu Hai, demanding high prices for corn seeds. If the Yu family agrees, corn, a high-yield crop, will be the first to be popularized in Tanggu!
Tanggu was the fiefdom of the king of Yangjun, and the credit for popularizing high-yield crops cannot be allowed to be monopolized by the king of Yangjun. As a result, the court has become lively in the past few days, discussing the popularization of corn planting in the suburbs of Beijing and surrounding counties.
The commotion in the court hall had nothing to do with Yu Xiaocao, a rank six official. Now she is making a fortune in silence!
In the summer, Yu Xiaocao tried to plant 100 acres of watermelons on the neighboring village, and they are now on the market. She roughly estimated that this season's watermelon yield exceeded 8,000 catties per mu. The grafted watermelon seedlings have improved resistance to diseases and insect pests, coupled with the spiritual power contained in the soil, so that the people who specialize in serving watermelons in Zhuangzi are very relieved.
By the time the first batch of watermelons were ripe, the watermelons on the market had already been off the market. When the big and sweet watermelons were put on the market, they were sold out quickly. What an incomparable feeling it is to eat a piece of sweet and cool watermelon amidst the prestige of the autumn tiger!
In addition, the watermelons on Yangjun Wangzhuangzi are not only larger than ordinary watermelons, but the red flesh inside is not separated by those disappointing blue and white flesh, making it more enjoyable to eat. If this kind of watermelon is on the market in summer, there will be no market for those ordinary watermelons. There are watermelons that are sweeter and juicier, who would care about the kind of melons that are not enjoyable to eat
One hundred acres of watermelon is still short, and it is not enough to supply the dignitaries in the capital. Whether it’s a literati gathering, drinking with friends, a flower viewing party for ladies, or a banquet for ladies, if there is no watermelon fruit plate on the table, others will secretly complain that the host has neglected them (them). Gradually, the owner of this family will find that when hosting a banquet again, the object of the banquet will push back and find all kinds of excuses to shirk. His (her) friends are not as close as they used to be...
Watermelon sales are booming, Yu Xiaocao was happy for a few days, and then started to get busy again. The Ministry of Industry's plastic film finally met her requirements, not only tough enough, but also transparent. Vegetable greenhouses are being built in full swing.
There are busy figures everywhere on the Huangzhuang. In the experimental field, the corn stalks were cut down, the roots of the corn had to be picked out one by one, and the ground had to be plowed deeply. While directing the construction of vegetable greenhouses, Yu Xiaocao was busy breeding winter wheat. It is said to be breeding, but it is just a cat that transforms Xiaobutianshi, and runs back and forth in the warehouse a few times to infuse the aura into the seeds.
The vegetable greenhouse also asked some people from the Ministry of Industry to cooperate. The support of the roof alone kept the personnel of the Ministry of Industry busy for a long time. Yu Xiaocao didn't know much about vegetable greenhouses. Relying on the experience of working in a vegetable greenhouse for half a year in her previous life, she was thinking and building, and the progress was very slow.
Under the ironmaking technology of this era, the output of steel products is even lower. So don't think about the skeleton of the steel structure, you can only choose bamboo as the skeleton. Bamboo poles and wood are used as arch materials, and after the skeleton is supported, a plastic film is covered. In winter, the base layer is multi-covered, which has a good thermal insulation effect.
When the winter wheat has been sown, the vegetable greenhouses have also been built. Inexperienced in the first year, only 100 acres of greenhouse farming. On the Zhuangzi next door, rows of greenhouses have also been built, but they are not used to grow vegetables, but to grow out-of-season watermelons and muskmelons.
What do you lack the most in winter? Vegetables and fruits of course. Vegetables other than radishes are cabbages, and everything but cabbage is radishes. As for the fruits, they are dry apples and pears stored in autumn. In the past, no matter how rich you were, you couldn't get fresh fruit. Not necessarily this winter!
After the greenhouse was built, Yu Xiaocao hired experienced vegetable farmers nearby to take care of the vegetables in the greenhouse. Green leafy vegetables have a short growth period. After the seeds are sown, especially the seeds with spiritual power, they grow well, and a batch can be harvested in a month.
As for vegetables such as cucumbers, eggplants, beans, and tomatoes, they grow faster and better than in spring when they are grown in special greenhouses. The hired vegetable farmers were all amazed. However, they thought it was the effect of the greenhouse, and while they were surprised and envious, they also eagerly hoped that the court would open up the sale of plastic films. Will they be able to grow such vegetables in the future
Every year at the end of autumn, when the frost falls, people store autumn vegetables. The cabbage and radishes are piled up in a cellar, and they can be eaten for a whole winter. The high-ranking officials and dignitaries in Beijing try to reduce banquets as much as possible when this season comes, because the dishes are too simple and they can't eat any variety.
But this year is different! The layout of the capital is rich in the east and rich in the west, poor in the north and poor in the south. Prince Jing's mansion has five additional vegetable, melon and fruit shops in the east and west of the city. Generally speaking, at the end of autumn and the beginning of winter, such shops either switch to dry goods and preserved fruits, or close down. Because there are really no fruits and vegetables to sell! But Prince Jing's mansion just opened a lot of fruit and vegetable shops.
Reminiscent of the vegetable greenhouses and watermelon greenhouses in Huangzhuang on the outskirts of Beijing, the eyes of dignitaries and wealthy businessmen in Beijing have focused on these shops. Because everyone knows that there are not many vegetables grown in greenhouses this year, and I don't know if they can supply the entire capital's vegetable consumption.
The Fruit and Vegetable Shop finally opened as everyone was looking forward to. The first batch to hit the shelves was the leafy greens. Fresh spinach, fresh lettuce, crisp celery, green lettuce, as well as shepherd's purse, amaranth, fungus, pea sprouts, etc., are piled up on the shelves. The emerald green color makes people love it. Can't wait to buy them all back.
On the first day of opening, the business of these fruit and vegetable shops was booming. Because it is a limited sale, the purchases of those dignitaries almost didn't fight. Fortunately, the king of Yangjun had seen the grand occasion of the stewed vegetable shop, so he had the foresight to send guards to maintain order, so no violent conflicts occurred.
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I've been exhausted recently!