The first batch of wheat planted in Border Town finally ushered in the harvest day.
Under the scorching sun, the serfs cut the straw with sickles, bundled them up and transported them to the other side of the river.
Roland knew that going from wheat ears to wheat kernels was a very cumbersome process. Before mechanical farm tools and combine harvesters were popularized, the wheat kernels needed to be separated, cleaned, screened, and dried manually. Now, he is witnessing the process once again.
After the wheat straws were transported back to the camp, the serfs spread them flat on the ground to dry, and then used various tools for absolutely nothing: sticks, stones, and rakes all went into battle, repeatedly hitting the straw and ears to let the caryopsis detach. Shell, this process often lasts three or four days. In Roland's memory, cattle or donkeys were used in the countryside, pulling stone mills to press them over and over in the field, which not only saved a lot of effort, but also had a much more even shelling effect than beating.
It must be said that the agricultural level of the town is too backward.
After the fight is over, the field is turned over. It is also used for anything. If there is no fork, you can use a wooden stick instead, or you can directly hold the straw with both hands and throw it into the sky, just like turning a pot and cooking vegetables. After the previous beating, most of the caryopsis' shells have been broken, and this process is to separate the fruit from the wheat ear.
The wheat straw after threshing actually has many functions. After being crushed, it can be returned to the field, used as bedding for livestock, and can also be used to make feed and paper. But Roland has no time to develop a green industry at the moment, so he can only watch the serfs pile the straw into the river. By the way, they all set the fire on fire. For the next few days, gray smoke wafted over the town all day long, comparable to the previous cement dust pollution.
At the same time, the two spindle-shaped islands of Chishui Bridge have also been cleaned up, and the construction of the retaining wall is being carried out as planned. The foundation pier adopts the same prefabrication method as the main bridge, first pours concrete columns containing profiled steel and steel bars in the open space, and then performs "weight reduction and hoisting". Wait for the bridge to connect.
Therefore, during this week, Roland basically wandered between Chishui Bridge and Guchang, and his skin was tanned a lot.
When the straw was forked out, only a layer of wheat kernels and husks remained in the cornfield.
The serfs swept them together, piled them into small hills, and then stood on the hills, scooped up the mixture with shovels, and threw them towards the open space ahead. Since the chaff is much lighter than the fruit, it falls farther under the wind, so the grains of wheat are scattered under the feet, and the empty husks and debris are scattered in the distance. collected.
Of course, it is impossible to completely clean the chaff, and this process will also mix mud and gravel into the wheat kernels, so Roland made up his mind that he must prepare in advance when the harvest day next year. It is estimated that a batch of mechanical farm implement combine harvesters cannot be built, but the shelling machine is quite easy to achieve, but the stone mill is replaced with a grinding disc, and a screen is installed below, and a blower is used to separate the broken chaff.
When the plump grains of wheat are spread evenly on the field, it seems to dye the entire north bank of the Chishui River with a layer of gold. Looking at these golden fruits, Roland was filled with a sense of accomplishment. Regardless of whether the harvested grain is enough to feed the stomachs of more than 10,000 people, at least for Border Town, this is a memorable day.
From today, the food in his territory will gradually change from being completely dependent on imports to being self-sufficient.
After three days of drying, the wheat enters the stage of bagging and weighing.
"His Royal Highness, this time is actually a bumper harvest!" That afternoon, Barov rushed into the office excitedly, "According to the preliminary statistics of the city hall, the yield per mu of each responsible field is at least four times that of the past, and the highest At present, it has reached six times. In this way, this year's harvest is enough to fill the stomach of the people."
"Really," Roland couldn't help laughing. "It seems that the newly built granary in the castle area doesn't have to be empty all the time."
"Do you know what this means?" The director of the city hall looked even more excited than he was. "The town only needs to add another two thousand farmers to meet the food consumption of fifty or sixty thousand people! This is unbelievable. The small town can completely expand into the largest city in Graycastle, no…” He paused, “The most magnificent city on the continent!”
The main reason for the inability to increase the urban population in this era is the low food production capacity. A large city with more than 20,000 people like Wangdu already needs dozens of surrounding villages to provide it with food. Each village has a population of about 1,000 or 2,000 people. If half of them are engaged in agriculture, the total number is almost 20,000 people to support 20,000 people. In other words, the food produced by a farmer can supply at most one city dweller in addition to feeding himself and his family.
The so-called invisible constraints on productivity lie in this. I am afraid it is difficult for Barov to imagine that when mechanized planting is popularized, the output of one person alone is enough to feed tens of thousands of people. Border Town has achieved such a bumper harvest without the promotion and development of agricultural technology, and the main credit lies in the Golden No. 1 transformation of leaves.
Feeding more people with as few farmers as possible, liberating human resources from farmland and transferring them to industrial production, this was Roland's strategy from the very beginning. Now that the Ministry of Agriculture has obtained the best planting process, and in the coming year, iron tools and machinery will be involved in the cultivation, the per capita output will inevitably increase.
…
In the evening, Roland held a bonfire speech by the Chishui River. The time seemed to return to the evening four months ago. It was also the roaring bonfire, the dark crowd, and the last rays of light on everyone's faces. The only difference is the expression of everyone. Compared with the panic and anxiety when they first arrived, now their faces are filled with joy of harvest and unconcealed expectations.
Roland stretched out his hand and waved it down, and the scene suddenly became quiet. All held their breaths, waiting for the prince to fulfill his promise.
"I know what you want to hear," he said bluntly instead of putting his name and appellation first, as usual, "I can also tell you without a doubt that before The announced promotion rules are still in effect today and will continue!"
This sentence alone detonated the atmosphere at the scene. Everyone couldn't help shouting, and many people knelt down and praised the prince's kindness. "Long live the lord! Long live His Royal Highness!"
"The list of promotions will also be announced when the handed-in grain weighing is over." After the voices subsided, Roland continued, "The city hall will be responsible for the arrangement after becoming a free citizen. You can choose to continue farming, or you can choose to continue farming in the small town. find another job.”
"In addition, from next year, as long as the harvest reaches the promotion standard this time, even if the output is not in the forefront, you can become a free citizen. In other words, as long as you work hard, you will be able to get rid of your serf status. As I said, labor Wealth is created, and labor changes destiny." He paused for a moment and looked around, "I hope that in the future, there will be no more serfs in Border Town, and everyone can become my true subjects."
As soon as Roland's voice fell, the cheers of the people instantly resounded over the Chishui River for a long time. (., Your support is my biggest motivation.)