In June, Huo Xi was already seven months pregnant. The weather was very hot and she couldn't bear it, so she and Mu Yan went to Deyuan to stay cool.
It happened to be the winter wheat harvest, and she was going to see the winter wheat yield.
After several days of harvesting, the harvest has not yet been completed. Mu Yan supported her and stood under the shade of the tree, looking at the harvesting crowd in the field, and called the head of the village to ask about the situation.
Zhuangtou looked excited: "Hui Shizi, Hui Madam, I weighed it roughly and found that there are four and a half stones per acre! And the grains are full! There are not many deflated grains and empty grains."
Four and a half stones? So much? Huo Xi was also a little surprised. This has caught up with the output of the fertile fields in the south of the Yangtze River. "Is this a wet weigh?"
"Yes. I can't wait to weigh the little one after I beat it. I'll wait for it to dry out a few days later this afternoon, and then I'll take someone to weigh the little one again."
Mu Yan didn't understand very well and asked Huo Xi, "How much difference can there be between being called wet and called dry?"
"A pound can make a difference of 20%."
Zhuangtou glanced at Huo Xi in surprise. He didn't expect his wife to be so familiar with farming. He nodded: "Yes, when the wheat is dried and weighed, it can be about two ounces shorter."
Mu Yan nodded and made some calculations secretly. If calculated this way, the yield of fertile land would be four shi. In addition, the late rice would be planted immediately after harvesting. Based on this calculation, one acre of land could yield about seven shi a year. It was extremely high.
Not bad.
"That's right. If you take good care of it, everyone will be rewarded once all is harvested."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you, Madam!" Zhuangtou said with joy.
After Zhuangtou left, Huo Xi refused to go back to the house, so Mu Yan asked Xianghua and others to spread out mats under the tree, and brought some cold drinks and fruits. The couple hid in the shade of the tree and watched the village servants.
Harvest in the fields.
"This abundant harvest makes people happy to see it."
There was a breeze blowing under the shade of the trees, bringing a touch of coolness. Huo Xi raised the corners of his mouth and squinted his eyes.
"No, it makes me happy to see it. Madam, I didn't expect that the output here in Dian is not much different from that in Zhuangzi in the south of the Yangtze River."
Vanilla peeled nuts for Huo Xi to eat while looking at the busy crowd in the field. She kept holding her hands, and Madam said that eating more nuts will make the child smarter in the future. She wished Madam could eat more so that a smart and sensible young master could come out.
.
Huo Xi took the nuts and put them in her mouth, "Dian has abundant water and a good climate. It is normal for the fields to be high in yield."
Because it is a borderland, many places where the Yi people live are still practicing slash-and-burn farming, herding, hunting and primitive gathering. They are not as willing to delve into the fields as the people in the south of the Yangtze River.
Mu Yan looked at her quietly, feeling that the world was vast and the years were peaceful. After a while, he saw her sipping a cold drink again and again, and grabbed her hand, "Drink less."
"Hot." Huo Xi refused.
The weather was too hot, and my belly was big. If I didn't drink something cold, I would always feel chest tightness and dryness. Seeing her discomfort, Mu Yan felt distressed and wanted to cling to her, but he was also afraid that she would feel even worse if she had a bad belly.
Seeing that the prince could not stop him, Mother Ma softly advised, "Madam, drink less, otherwise the child in your belly will feel uncomfortable."
Huo Xi paused, looked down at her stomach, sighed, and handed the cold drink to Vanilla, "Okay, I won't drink it anymore."
Seeing that Mother Ma had persuaded Madam, Xiang Xiang couldn't help laughing, "It has to be Mother Ma. If Mother Ma makes a mistake, Madam will have no taboo."
Mu Yan couldn't see her feeling uncomfortable, so he fanned her with a fan and told Xiang Xiang, "Let the kitchen mix some cold dishes for Madam to eat tonight. Don't add too much oil and don't make the pot so hot."
"Yes, I have remembered it."
The group of people enjoyed the cool air in the village and felt a lot quieter. In a few days, the wheat in the field was also harvested. After calculation, the average yield per mu was four stones! Half of the garden was in the middle fields. Unexpectedly, the yield per mu was so high.
Can be so high.
"Thank you for your hard work. It is only thanks to the careful care of the village head and everyone that we can achieve such a high output. In addition to the silver reward, the prince and I will give each person a piece of cloth and twenty kilograms of meat as encouragement."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you, Madam!" All the servants were overjoyed.
"Everyone has to work hard for a few more days to level the ground and put in the rice seedlings."
The servants responded in unison, "No hard work! We will definitely do a good job and take good care of the crops in the fields."
Mrs. Shizi said that two seasons of grain should be planted, but everyone was dubious, fearing that the ground would lose nutrients and reduce grain production. None of them planted winter wheat, and they didn't know whether the wheat seedlings would survive after a winter.
Unexpectedly, not only did they survive, but they also grew better and better. The ears of wheat were heavy, and the yield per mu reached four stones! Another crop of late rice was harvested. Even if the yield per mu was worse, as long as they took care of it well, it would still be two stones?
One acre of land can produce six stones of grain, and yet you will still be hungry?
Everyone was so enthusiastic that after harvesting the wheat, they didn't even bother to rest. They buried themselves in the ground again, leveling the ground, fertilizing, watering, and transplanting rice seedlings... In just a few days, the ground was green and green, and it rustled with the breeze.
Wave after wave of green waves gently lapped the shore like the water of Dianchi Lake.
The farmer and his servants like to stand by the field stalks in the morning and evening and look at the crops in the field. The more they look at it, the happier they feel.
Mu Yan was also happy and discussed with Huo Xi to promote the cultivation of double-crop crops in all health centers.
"This is of great importance, so you should be cautious. If you do well, the 300,000 soldiers in Yunnan will not lack food. It is your credit, and your name will remain in history. But once the production reduction makes the soldiers not enough to eat, and the military morale is unstable and trouble occurs, you
He is a sinner through the ages."
At that time, it might also affect his status and his smooth access to the title.
"I know." Mu Yan said with a serious expression, "Now the imperial court has been in arrears with food arrears for the border troops for a long time every year. No matter how low the attitude is, the people in the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs are all blaming each other and crying about poverty. I can't wait for the imperial court to show mercy.
.”
The soldiers did not have enough to eat and did not receive enough troops. As time went by, the resentment accumulated was getting bigger and bigger. No one was sure what the consequences would be. At that time, it would just be a replacement of the leader, and the Mu family would be reprimanded.
If you will be removed from power, what impact will it have on others?
He still has to figure it out on his own.
“Now various health offices have increased the amount of farmland they have stored, and the conflicts with chieftains and local officials have also increased.” If we can increase production under the existing amount of farmland, these conflicts can be avoided.
Huo Xi nodded, she understood what he said. The imperial court was in arrears with food for a long time, so the border army had to find a way to be self-sufficient.
Hundreds of thousands of troops and their family members need to eat and drink, as well as the troops and horses, as well as all kinds of armaments, including the soldiers' clothes, military quilts, etc. The weapons also need to be depreciated and replaced every year, all of which cost money.
The current stockpiles of land produced by the health stations in various states and counties cannot meet their needs, so they can only continue to stockpile land and increase the amount of land reclamation. However, if the army increases the amount of land stockpiled, it will inevitably crowd out land resources in various places, which will cause problems for local governments and states and counties.
The dissatisfaction of the Tusi Mansion.
Once the conflict intensifies, war will begin.
Huo Xi thought for a while and suggested: "You can make preparations first and let the various health stations make some preparations first. But for the specifics, we still have to wait until the autumn, when the late rice is harvested and the yield situation will be determined."