The young man standing between the fields was only in his twenties. He was not too tall, had a simple and honest appearance, and his words were simple and clear. He did not make any big words, nor did he show off his eloquence and say something that the people could not understand.
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So the people heard it with great interest. After all, this young man's farming ability was indeed better than theirs. Since he came to them two years ago, he had opened up wasteland and farmed for only two years, and the grain output in his fields was obviously higher than that of other people in the village.
The harvest at home is much higher.
Moreover, the land they are now on is the field opened up by this young man. The crops in the field are growing much better than other surrounding fields.
Therefore, the people in the village began to distrust outsiders, but gradually admired him. Now they come to him to ask for advice on how to make the crops in the fields grow more food.
Qi and Yuan stood quietly outside the field ridge, not stepping into it to avoid accidentally trampling on other people's crops.
After the young man talked for a long time, the people thanked the young man with grateful faces and dispersed happily.
After everyone dispersed, the young man looked at Qi Yuan and the two men who were still standing next to the field ridge, with doubts on their faces.
He knew everyone in the village, so he naturally knew that Qi Yuan and the others were not ordinary people in the village.
Moreover, looking at their clothes, appearance and temperament, it is obvious that they are not from ordinary backgrounds. People with such high status generally have little contact with the common people at the bottom.
"Little brother, please."
Qi Yuan bowed his head and took the lead in saluting the young man.
"Taoist priest, you're welcome."
The young man came over, raised his hands and asked, "What do you two have to say?"
"Don't take it seriously."
Qi Yuan smiled and said: "I am a poor man with white eyebrows, but I don't know what my little brother's surname is?"
"I don't dare, I'm Yuan Pingsheng."
The young man said politely.
Your surname is Yuan?
Qi Yuan smiled and said, "I recently traveled to Kyushu with my junior sister to gain more knowledge. I just heard my little brother talk about farming with these people. On a whim, I wanted to ask my little brother some questions. Don't worry."
"oh?"
Yuan Pingsheng was a little surprised when he heard this: "Taoist priest also knows about farming?"
Qi Yuan smiled modestly: "I know a little bit."
Do you really understand?
Yuan Pingsheng was really surprised.
Although the ancestors of farmers said that Shen Nong advocated sowing a hundred grains and cultivating mulberry trees to provide enough food and clothing.
However, the vast majority of dignitaries and many well-established scholars prefer to work hard on people rather than farming in the fields themselves.
Therefore, those people are somewhat repelled by the so-called concept promoted by their farmers that sages and people farm and eat together.
After all, each school of thought represents different groups and classes, and it is not uncommon for them to suppress each other.
The white-browed Taoist priest in front of him and the junior sister next to him were not ordinary people in any way. Yuan Pingsheng felt that the two of them should be Taoist masters.
Today, Taoism, Mohism, and Confucianism are the three most prominent factions, with many supporters and highly respected by dignitaries from all over the world.
It really surprised him that such a Taoist master was still interested in farming.
Yang Chan glanced at her senior brother and was a little surprised why he was suddenly interested in farming.
However, her temperament has always been docile, and she felt that her senior brother had his own reasons for doing this. Anyway, the two of them had no fixed goal in traveling to Kyushu, and it would be okay even if they stayed here for a while.
Yang Chan didn't have much contact with peasant knowledge. The main reason was that peasant disciples were pragmatic and did not travel around the country like other schools to promote what they learned and made a lot of noise. They even often contacted dignitaries and kings of various countries.
Qi Yuan is different from Yang Chan. He knows more about farmers, and he also admires these farmers' disciples who are dedicated to working for the people at the bottom.
Farmers represent the lower class people.
Although in the eyes of ordinary people, peasant disciples are just farming the land like ordinary people, in fact what peasant disciples learn is extremely complex.
They do not pursue high-ranking officials and generous salaries, nor do they advocate inaction. Instead, they earnestly study all issues related to farming. Floods, droughts, wind, fog, snow, frost, diseases, and insect pests are collectively referred to as the five pests that will threaten crops the most.
They will personally open up wasteland to plant crops, explore how to make the crops grow better and produce more food, and also modify farm tools to make farming more convenient for the people.
They also know how to follow the weather, observe sunlight, rain, and the rhythm of the four seasons, and understand the patterns of wind, frost, rain, and snow to divide farming seasons.
All of these require years of accumulated experience to accomplish.
It is because of the pragmatic style of the peasant disciples and the fact that they have indeed brought benefits to the common people that they not only have great influence among the people at the bottom, but also play an extremely important role on the top leaders of various countries.
Therefore, it has attracted many people to follow it. Even the most powerful Confucianism has its disciples abandoning Confucianism and joining farmers, just because they actually do things for the people.
When Yuan Pingsheng heard that Qi Yuan actually knew about farming, he immediately became interested, and then the two of them stood in the field and started talking.
In fact, when it comes to growing crops, Qi Yuan is far inferior to Yuan Pingsheng in terms of theoretical knowledge and practical operations.
However, in his previous life, because he admired Mr. Yuan very much, he had deliberately popularized some knowledge in this area.
Although he only took a few glances, knowing what he was doing but not knowing why, and when he was actually asked to come, his eyes were completely blank, but after all, he understood some concepts.
In addition, hundreds of years ago, Heaven opened a spiritual field and summoned spiritual planters to plant spiritual rice, grains and other things. He had also worried a lot about this and had some experience, so when they talked at this moment, he spoke clearly and clearly.
Yuan Pingsheng could tell from his words that this person probably had more theoretical knowledge than practical knowledge, but he did not look down on him at all, but instead gave him high respect.
Because some of the suggestions put forward by Qi Yuan made his eyes light up and made him feel quite excited.
For example, how to optimize seeds, develop compound plows to improve farming efficiency, dig channels, improve irrigation capabilities, etc.
What shocked him the most was a method of cultivating excellent seeds proposed by Qi Yuan.
Most common grain varieties have small grains and low yields, making it difficult to increase yields.
However, there are always several grain trees that grow well in each field. He suggested that Yuan Pingsheng collect these grains with full grains and good growth as grain seeds, and then cultivate them from generation to generation. As long as the number of seeds increases,
Perhaps a large number of high-quality grain seeds can be cultivated.
Of course, it is actually very difficult to cultivate grain seeds in this era. Water sources alone are a big problem. In addition, there are many birds and beasts that peck and trample on them. There are many unexpected factors.
After all, there are countless kinds of beasts in the wild nowadays, especially wild boars and hares, which are the most common species. Others, such as bison, wild ass, goats, etc., are not uncommon. If you encounter rhinoceros, elephant, etc., you will be even more unlucky.
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These herbivorous beasts often break into farmland. After all, they don't know what crops are. For them, these crops are all excellent food.
People in many villages often have people patrolling and hunting outside to guard against these wild beasts.
And even if these are overcome, there is still one biggest difficulty, which is that after popularization, ordinary people may not be able to actually grow these high-quality grain seeds.
The main reason is that there is water shortage in many places, especially in the north, where there are relatively few rivers. The manpower and material resources required to dig canals are too great, and it may not be able to supply many fields.
And without water for irrigation, no matter how good the food seeds are, it is impossible for them to grow vigorously.
Fortunately, Qi Yuan immediately proposed the design plan of the waterwheel.
After Qi Yuan explained clearly how to make the waterwheel and its uses, Yuan Pingsheng's eyes suddenly shone and he was very excited.
"The Taoist Master is truly a divine man!"
Yuan Pingsheng was so excited that he stretched out his big rough hands and grabbed Qi Yuan's arm, and said excitedly: "With this artifact, not only will the current people's livelihood be promising, but it will also bring blessings to the generations to come. The Taoist Master is very grateful to our human race."
It’s a great achievement!”
Qi Yuan looked at his excited face and could feel that the other person was simply happy that the people would soon be able to live a better life.
So Qi Yuan laughed and said: "Brother Yuan, thank you very much. Pindao is just talking. If you really want me to do these things in detail, I really can't do it.
Therefore, we need to rely on Brother Yuan to slowly explore these things by himself. As for whether we can do these things well in the future and whether it will benefit the people, we must rely on Brother Yuan's ability."
When Yuan Pingsheng heard this and knew that Qi Yuanzhi was not here, he couldn't help but sigh: "What a pity, if the Taoist priest is willing to put his mind on this, he will definitely leave his name in history in the future."
"It is not my wish to leave a name in history."
Qi Yuan said: "Instead of leaving a name in history, I would rather witness the vicissitudes of the world and the changes in the world with my own eyes. That's why I entered the Taoist sect. Now I am focused on obtaining the Golden Immortal Taoist fruit, and I don't have too much energy to distract him.
I think Brother Yuan is not a person who likes fame and wealth, so I discuss these matters with you. You and I are determined to make the people live a better life, but I am a poor man who only devotes himself to cultivation, so I can only entrust these matters to you.
If you can realize all the things we just talked about and bring some benefits to the people, I will be satisfied."
Yuan Pingsheng nodded understandingly, knowing that everyone has his or her own ambitions and cannot be forced to do so.
Now that people have entered the Taoist sect, they should have been free from the world. Now they are willing to put in the effort to pass on this knowledge to themselves and improve the lives of the people through their own hands. This is already very rare.
Qi Yuan said again: "Brother Yuan might as well try it out first. For example, it is best to make the water wheel first. If it is really useful, it is best to go directly to the princes and kings. Let the king of a country promote it, which is better than
You propagate countless times faster on your own.
In addition, this water wheel can not only be used to draw water during drought, but also can be used to drain water in low places during the rainy season. It has many uses, and we will slowly explore it."
"Thank you, Taoist Priest, for your advice. Yuan has taken note of it."
Yuan Pingsheng nodded solemnly, saying that he would bear it in mind.
He is a man who truly serves the people and does not crave fame or fortune. This can be seen from the way he dresses.
In fact, many farmers' disciples are very knowledgeable themselves, and if they focus on farming, if they really ask for an official position, the princes and kings will never be stingy with an official position.
Even now, many farmers and field officials in vassal states are held by farmers' disciples. In this regard, they are the well-deserved experts.