Chapter 228 Workers who want to do good things must first sharpen their tools
Among the mature fields that had been planted for a year last year, Xu Chen chose a relatively flat area and planned an area of about 20 acres as a separate experimental field.
After burning, all the weed stalks on the surface were burned away, but he knew that there were still a lot of weed rhizomes underground. Even if there were no seeds, they would still grow vigorously in the spring, and the ash left by the burning would be used as fertilizer.
, maybe even crazier than last year.
If you want to increase farmland income, you must try to clear away these weed roots.
At present, there are no suitable plowing tools, so trying to complete this task by relying on simple wooden hoes, stone hoes, wooden sticks and other tools is tantamount to wishful thinking.
However, since we plan to start trials of grain domestication, we still need to try our best to overcome and improve all difficulties encountered.
If a worker wants to do his job well, he must first sharpen his tools.
If you don’t have a plow, make one yourself.
The structure of a wooden plow is very simple. It is composed of two crossed bent logs. One is used as a traction arm and the other is used as a plow to break up the soil. It can still plow the land without a metal plow tip, but its power to break the soil is relatively small.
Plowing depth will be affected.
But according to the current living environment and conditions, Xu Chen could not put forward higher requirements for himself and his tribe when any tool could only be used simply.
When Muba and Amu led a large group of people to start clearing the new farmland, Xu Chen did not rush to start processing the experimental fields. Instead, he first asked a few old and weak men to clean up the remaining stones in the farmland from last year, while he took the lead.
Zhu Gu, Ju and two young men holding flags went up the mountain to look for suitable wood.
In two days, five people chopped back seven or eight strange pieces of wood that were bent like dog legs.
These pieces of wood seem useless for anything, and it would be uncomfortable to use them as firewood for a fire pit.
Mother and a group of women saw that Xu Chen did not lead a few people to clean up the farmland, but spent two days cutting down the rotten wood all over the mountains and plains. Although they were confused, they did not criticize or accuse.
Because they all know that Xu Chen will not target without aim, it must be useful.
In the next two days, a group of teenagers and two tool men, under the command of Xu Chen, gnawed, chopped, and processed, and slowly came out with several things with even weirder shapes.
A very rough cross tenon was cut out at the intersection of two bent logs, and they were tightly tied together with hemp rope to form a strange curved cross structure, which looked extremely weird.
Two long ropes were tied to the pulling arm that stretched forward, and shoulder straps were made of animal skin.
The plowshare responsible for breaking up the soil is cut into a slightly concave slope, and the plow tip is slightly tilted downward.
"Let's go, carry it to the fields and try it!"
When Xu Chen was a child, he had seen the old-fashioned ancestral curved shaft plow at home, but it was made by master carpenters in the countryside. It used a cast iron plowshare and used oxen for traction. Later, after the popularity of farm machines, that kind of wooden plow was quickly used.
Eliminated, he has only seen it, neither used it nor made it.
The primitive wooden plow now was almost a figment of his own memory. It was primitive and rough, and there was still a big question mark as to whether it could be used.
But a mule is a horse, and you only know after taking it out for a walk.
So Gu and Ju excitedly carried this strange thing and followed Xu Chen to the experimental field.
A few men worked hard for four days, and a lot of stones were cleared out of the designated experimental field. There were no big stones, but there were still a few piles of big stones as big as the mouth of a bowl or a fist.
If it is a mature field that has been plowed all year round, there will generally be no stones.
But this land has never been plowed. Last year, I simply dug some trenches with wooden hoe and stone hoe to sow seeds. I don’t know how many stones are still buried under the surface.
There are originally a lot of grass roots, and there are a lot of stones mixed in, so cultivation is not only laborious, but also requires plows.
Especially this simple tenon splicing, just a wooden plow tied with hemp rope.
After putting down the wooden plow in the farmland, Xu Chen asked Gu and Ju to pull the plow while he was responsible for plowing.
Although they knew nothing about the use of this thing, the two Tie Hanhan who had always been used to being personal tools were still very excited. They put the two traction ropes on their shoulders as Xu Chen asked and heard Xu Chen's order.
Then he pulled the wooden plow forward.
As a man in two lives, Xu Chen also plowed the fields for the first time. However, when he was a child, he had seen elders in the village and family doing it, so he was a little confused holding the handle of the plow. The plowshare moved left, right, up and down in the soil like a ghost.
Floating and moving, even though a trench was plowed out along the way, it looked terrible.
The plowshare is not sharp enough, the soil is too hard, and there are many stones in it, making it difficult to plow the soil smoothly.
In addition, Xu Chen had no experience in plowing. He could not control the handle of the plow at all. The movement of the plow was not directed by him at all. It was like a strange ricochet that floated in the soil. As soon as it was pressed down, it jumped up again.
He held his ground and rolled a few feet, then jumped out again when he hit the top of a rock.
After plowing back and forth for dozens of meters, Gu and Ju felt extremely relaxed, but Xu Chen was sweating profusely from exhaustion.
"Damn it, I'm so tired, take a rest!"
Xu Chen threw away his plow and sat down on the stone at the edge of the field. He looked at the traces like a dog crawling and his face twitched while wiping sweat.
In the past, it was quite easy to see my father driving cattle to plow the fields, and he could plow several acres a day, but I didn't expect that I would be very tired after going back and forth just a few times.
Although plows are different from plows, people are completely different from each other, and not everyone can be a good banker.
It seems that I am only suitable for using my brain, and am best at fighting wits and courage with a group of primitive savages. Farming is indeed not my strong suit.
Calculate carefully, I am not good at weaving baskets and twisting ropes, nor am I good at drawing or writing, nor am I good at singing and dancing, let alone hunting and fishing...
My life seems a bit useless.
Except for this head, other organs seem to be of little use.
Xu Chen couldn't help but glance at his crotch.
Then he looked at his calloused hands.
Finally, he let out a long, depressed sigh, rested for a while, walked back and forth over the plowed area, and then squatted in front of the wooden plow to observe carefully.
This plow is generally successful. Although it cannot turn over the soil evenly and neatly, the basic function is no problem.
The current problem is that the direction of the traction force of the plow is a little wrong. It will jump up when pulled. In addition, the plowshare is too light and requires a lot of force to press it into the soil. However, because there is no sharp metal plow tip
, causing the roots to be pushed out when encountering hard rocks or large groups of grass roots and trees, causing them to deviate.
Another problem is that the plowshare is not cut smoothly enough, and the soil cannot be turned over after it is arched, and a neat furrow cannot be formed. Therefore, the plowed area has different depths, just like a dog has gnawed it.
Gu Heju and two young followers had been standing around Xu Chen, watching him squatting in front of the plow, gesticulating with his hands, and muttering as if he was chanting sutras and praying. The four of them had awe on their faces.
After working hard for four days, I came up with such a strange thing.
I just pulled him back and forth a few times and made several winding grooves of different depths in the field. It looked like a joke, but it was obvious that Xu Chen valued this thing very much. It seemed that
This has a lot to do with farming and will be very useful.
Therefore, the four of them became extremely nervous.
Xu Chen's success is their success, especially Gu Heju.
Since the two of them followed Xu Chen's continuous inventions and were later upgraded to trumpeters and flag officers, their status in the tribe has gradually increased. Not only did the mother-in-law become more and more fond of them, but a group of hunters also took a liking to them.
They are also very caring and caring. If they find something delicious and fun to hunt, they will want to share it with them and treat them as real adults.
This was not possible before.
In the past, like Xu Chen, he was just a follower and errand boy in front of a group of hunters. When hunting, he could only carry the prey with tools. Because he had no merit, he naturally ate the worst parts, such as the liver and heart, which are rich in blood.
Can't even eat a bite.
But now, they are the group with the best food in the tribe except Xu Chen, and they are treated exactly the same as Feng and other hunters.
Therefore, they were sincerely respectful and respectful to Xu Chen and Gu Heju, and they could do whatever they were asked to do without any complaints.
Now two more Uzbek youths have joined their three-person team. They are all of the same age, and Xu Chen is relatively friendly. Now this small group of five people has gradually become the most active group of the Ba ethnic group.
Every time there is military training or a long trip, they are the vanguard of the Ba people. One blows the trumpet and three hold the flag. They closely unite around Xu Chen and form the most important core team and commanding leader of the Ba people.
The horn is the command and the flag is the direction.
After taking action, everyone will focus on them.
This pride and pride is something I have never thought of before.
Therefore, if Xu Chen's innovative invention is not successful, they will also feel depressed and uncomfortable, as if they did not work hard enough and failed to do a good job.
"Is it bad? Let's cut down trees again..."
Gu hesitated for a long time, then squatted down and asked carefully.
"No, the thing can be used, but there is still a little problem. You run back and get the axe!"
Xu Chen already had some signs of improvement at this time, so he shook his head and stood up.
"Okay, wait!"
Gu turned his head and ran towards the courtyard when there was a gust of wind.
Xu Chen asked Ju and three others to carry the wooden plow to the grass at the edge of the field and untie the hemp rope on it.
Soon, Gu Qi roared back with two stone axes. Xu Chen took matters into his own hands this time and carefully processed the tenons and plowshares. After nearly half an hour of gnawing and gnawing, the two bent pieces of wood were assembled again.
Put them together and tie them tightly with hemp rope again.
Because the gap between the reworked tenons increased, in order to prevent the joint from loosening, Xu Chen cut two wooden wedges and nailed them in. After this treatment, the overall structure of the wooden plow seemed to be very stable.