The next day, Zhang Shou finally had enough time, so he ordered Zhu Ying to take Zhu Hong and Zhu Yi to Wanghai Temple on Maliu Mountain for "sightseeing" - in reality, of course, he was going to check out the spots - and he took Ah Liu to enjoy it.
When he took a look at Lao Xianyu's large-scale vegetable garden, he couldn't help but marvel. This was a real secret that contained a variety of American crops... a plantation!
However, when he walked past the vegetable fields where he was familiar with fruits and vegetables and saw a half-acre cotton field that was not very lively, he discovered that there was a plant growing on the side that somehow didn't fit in with the vegetable garden.
The wilted head and brain seemed to be a little foot-high seedling that was about to die at any moment. I couldn't help but look at it a few more times, but the more I looked at it, the more I felt an uncontrollable feeling.
The cotton field was not well planted, which was something Lao Xianyu had long confessed. And this little seedling was planted somewhere bad, but it was planted here... What kind of seedling was it? It couldn't be what he imagined, right? It couldn't be possible
Yes, remember that it can only be grown in the south and Southeast Asia. How can it still be grown in Cangzhou? Just the winter in the north can freeze this small seedling to death, right?
Could it be that they were planted this spring? Thinking of this, Zhang Shou took a breath, then pointed at the lonely seedling and said, "Could it be that you brought this back from overseas with the barbarians?"
Lao Xianyu didn't expect Zhang Shou to see the sapling at a glance, and his face suddenly turned bitter: "Dr. Zhang, forget it, plus the batch brought back by others from overseas, there are at least a box of tens of thousands of seeds in total.
Just plant this one!"
"The dying elder, who is almost regarded as a prophet, told me that the rubber tree is like a cow producing milk. When cut with a knife, milky white sap will flow out. The sap is sticky, like glue.
, it can be made into black elastic balls, and it seems that it can be used for other important purposes, but he didn't have time to say it. As a result, I planted several batches of seeds like this... I was so angry!"
"Most of them can't sprout at all after the beginning of spring, and some sprout but die soon... Fortunately, I have already asked Zanghai to water it desperately... Oh, think about it, the local rain is abundant and the weather is hot.
It doesn’t get much rain compared to Cangzhou. I think if it weren’t for the abundant water in the lower courtyard of Zanghai and those Haidongyi people who worked hard to water it, maybe even one tree wouldn’t survive.”
Zhang Shou can understand the depression of the old salted fish very well. No matter who it is, the things that have been brought back hard across the ocean and then put in a lot of effort to plant, will end up with an unbearable end. That is
They will be discouraged no matter what. The problem is, just like cotton, their strength is really used in the wrong place...
Thinking about what Ah Liu overheard last night, he thought to himself that the so-called Mr. Mu Lao, who was regarded as a prophet, had a high status among the local barbarians. There was no reason why he could not understand this very simple principle of transplantation.
. It is possible that we only had time to tell Lao Xianyu and Zanghai the value of corn, potatoes, tomatoes, cotton, rubber, etc., but there was no time to tell them about transplanting and breeding.
Zhang Shou glanced at Old Xianyu strangely: "Before you brought these seeds back from Haidong, did you have any experience in farming? I mean, have you ever grown food or vegetables?"
Old Xianyu suddenly felt a little embarrassed. He looked around and saw that Zanghai had perfectly avoided his call for help. He had no choice but to touch his nose and whispered: "My family is also in a low-income family. I used to be a scholar, and then I became obsessed with it.
Since I went to sea, of course I have never farmed..."
He suddenly stared at the unloyal Zanghai and said angrily: "But this guy volunteered that his ancestors were all farmers, and he knows best about the crops. If not for this, how could I take this land?"
Let him run the place? Besides, those barbarians used to plant and take care of these things there. Who knew that with them here, cotton and rubber trees would still be planted like this!"
Zanghai finally couldn't bear it this time, and immediately cursed angrily: "You still have the nerve to say it? It was obviously you who tricked me into taking over this matter with your sweet words, causing me to be cooking in the lower courtyard of Wanghai Temple...otherwise
With my ability, I have already made a name for myself in Cangzhou, so how can I show my smile to those monks from Wanghai Temple!"
"Yeah, let's make a name for ourselves...and what happens next? When General Mingwei comes this time, isn't he a capable person?"
Zhang Shou couldn't help laughing when he saw the two people staring at each other and making sarcastic remarks. It turned out that Lao Xianyu and Zanghai didn't understand planting at all, and they were so taboo that they didn't ask the experienced farmers for advice, so they led a group of seemingly professional farmers.
The Haidongyi people... just got reckless!
So, he coughed, then sighed and said: "If this rubber tree is planted as you do, the only one will probably die soon. Since you said it, it is over there.
The growing environment is hot and rainy, so if you want to successfully transplant here, of course it must be a hot and rainy environment. At least, Cangzhou is in an environment where it is often freezing and snowy in winter..."
"There's absolutely no chance of growing any rubber trees there."
Seeing the innocent expression on Old Xianyu's face, Zhang Shou sighed and said: "Besides, transplanting has always been very demanding. This applies to local transplanted saplings, let alone overseas things? You
I don’t know how to save seeds. Let alone a few boxes of seeds, there are dozens of boxes. If you can grow one, you are lucky!”
He still remembered reading information. When rubber trees were transplanted from the Americas to Southeast Asia, people still had experience. Seventy thousand seeds could only cultivate more than two thousand seedlings. The probability was appallingly low. Change to this situation now.
Two laymen, haha...
Sure enough, when he said this, Lao Xianyu and Zang Hai looked at each other. Then the former rolled his eyes at the latter and muttered awkwardly: "I don't understand much, but at least they have taken care of those Yi people in Haidong."
Of rubber trees…”
"This stuff is everywhere in their area. Do they need to go out of their way to plant it? Do they need to go out of their way to water and fertilize it? What they call care is probably what you said, regular tapping of rubber?"
When Zhang Shou said this, seeing that Old Xianyu was finally speechless, he said lightly: "I understand why you planted it here. In the Ming Dynasty, the whole world is not the king's land, and the shore of the land is not the king's ministers. In addition,
Most of the land is owned by an owner, and even your vegetable garden comes from Wanghaisi Pit. As for the south, you are not familiar with the place, so it is probably impossible for you to lead a group of barbarians to farm specifically."
"Dr. Zhang, what did Dr. Zhang say about the trap? It was Zanghai who got it from the monks at Wanghai Temple by his own skills. They couldn't control it well anyway... As for going to the south, the people there are cunning, and I'm afraid of a
If it doesn’t work well, it will be sold.”
As he said this, the old salty fish's eyes rolled around, and the flattering smile on his face became more attentive: "Dr. Zhang, you are very knowledgeable, do you know how to plant this rubber tree?"
"I'm not a god, and I've never been to the place where this thing is grown. How do I know?" Zhang Shou gave him a serious look, and then said calmly, "But the so-called transplanting is nothing more than breeding and seedling cultivation.
.But I have to remind you, firstly, this thing should not be planted here, and secondly...how many years do you think it will take for this rubber tree to grow to the point where it can be tapped?"
Before Lao Xianyu could answer, he gave his own answer: "I'm not throwing cold water on you. I don't think it may be possible in three to five years, but it's possible in ten or eight years."
"Ten years or eight years..." This time, it was Zang Hai's turn to get angry. He raised his foot and kicked the old salted fish viciously, "How old will I be in ten years or eight years? Okay, you are flattering me."
I'll leave these things to me in just a few words, and I'll be bragging in the city all day long! I'm going to beat you, old salted fish, to death today!"
Seeing Zang Hai chasing people without saying a word, Lao Xianyu refused to admit defeat. He retorted and also punched and kicked him. The two of them ran away after hitting each other. Zhang Shou couldn't help but be stunned and thought to himself.
These two guys must have gone to a distance to discuss countermeasures through fighting with each other. At that moment, he simply came to the sapling with the only remaining fruit and examined it carefully.
At this sight, his original guess turned into certainty.
He was not sure what kind of rubber tree this was, and he was not one of those experienced rubber farmers. He had guessed it before but could not tell it by seeing it, but now he could see that this seedling had grown by some unknown luck.
But the day of death is indeed not far away.
He squatted down and looked at the dying little thing. He thought that until the era when all kinds of artificial rubber were overwhelming, the demand for natural rubber was still huge, but nowadays, let alone various advanced applications, even if you want to find a
Solvents that can dissolve glue are not that easy... Is it really necessary to imitate the Native Americans and use natural rubber to make a ball and play it as a football?
Taizu's technology tree is all focused on weapons, and his technology tree is even more skewed, with a hammer in the east and a stick in the west. Most of the people who have seen it will remember it. The problem is that he hasn't actually seen many things, and there are many technologies that he doesn't know.
I have never been in contact with it at all...
Just when Zhang Shou was in a daze, he heard Ah Liu's voice from behind: "Is this tree useful?"
"Whether it is useful or not depends on whether it can be used. Unlike the ingredients of the old salted fish before, this thing will not be useful for a while, and if it is planted in the south, if there is demand from the north, it will be transported here. It will cost money on the road.
It is also very huge, and if it is to be promoted, people will not see the benefits, so they will not plant it. The most important thing is that no one has seen the glue they are talking about."
Ah Liu, who was behind Zhang Shou, suddenly raised his eyebrows: "Then the young master doesn't believe them?"
"Believe it, why don't you believe it?" He could say the three words "rubber tree", and the saplings were planted like this, why didn't he believe it? Zhang Shou thought so in his heart, and then he laughed and said, "It's useless for me to believe it alone.
This has to be trusted by people. If it is like what I said, it will take ten or eight years, how many people can endure the waiting and loneliness?"
"I can."
Zhang Shou was stunned for a moment. It wasn't until Ah Liu repeated these three words again that he stood up. Then he turned to face the young man and suddenly reached out to rub his head. Seeing that the man didn't dodge at all, he said with a smile:
"You don't want to leave the capital and go south alone to plant rubber trees, do you? Besides, there are specialties in the art, so you can't do this."
Seeing that there was no frustration on Ah Liu's face, he nodded as if it was a matter of course. Zhang Shou knew that the young man had always only had the simple concept of whether I could help. Once he knew that he couldn't, and he couldn't advance to the level of being able after working hard.
, then you will give up very simply.
Just like when Ah Liu looked at those math problems and found that he couldn't accept them, he immediately hid as far away as possible.
After comforting Ah Liu, Zhang Shou felt a little sad. Although there are many new crops in America, it is not easy to find them all. Especially some crops often grow in areas with different latitudes. He really doesn't know what kind of crops they have.
How long did the so-called migration of the Yi people led by the prophet last, how far did it last, and whether it really lasted for decades...
Moreover, he did not think that the imperial court would admit that Emperor Taizu was living overseas - even if the people secretly sent by Emperor Taizu were living overseas, no one might admit it. Of course, except for the current emperor, the young
He has already experienced the emperor's willfulness deeply. It is not surprising that the emperor does anything!
After he wandered around the area where the rubber tree was located and looked at the growth of the cotton fields, the disheveled old salted fish reappeared in full glory, but he was alone and looked like he was running away.
The posture of a winner standing in the way. He flapped his wrinkled sleeves, buttoned his collar nonchalantly, and walked forward with a smile.
"Dr. Zhang, listening to you is really better than ten years of reading." He said this in a polite way. Seeing Zhang Shou looking at him leisurely, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed when he thought about it that he had never read a book in these years.
He quickly changed the subject and said, "What I mean is that I can't hide this little thing from you. Can you use your influence to try to promote this rubber tree in the south?"
"Is it the same as your new textile machinery being promoted in Cangzhou and Xingtai? Even if it is to live up to the group of people living overseas?"
Zhang Shou nodded, but then shook his head: "Of course it is possible, but the bustle of the world is all for profit, and the hustle and bustle of the world is all for profit. For ordinary people, it takes ten or eight years to endure
Not to mention the loneliness, after ten or eight years, the rubber trees will really be able to tap rubber, but what is the value and benefit of the glue?"
Seeing that Old Xianyu was stunned, he said softly: "Of course, I will give it a try, but someone must help."
Unexpectedly, Zhang Shou poured cold water on him at first, but then a glimmer of possibility opened up, and the old salty fish was immediately happy. Before, he had also thought about whether rubber trees must be planted in the hot and humid south, but in the end he was just taking luck. After all, they were unfamiliar with the place.
Why go to the southern enclosure... to plant trees? Besides, his previous experience with some southern local snakes was so bad that he didn't dare to take any risks.
Sure enough, there are people in the government who are good at doing things! Old Xianyu sighed in his heart, and then bowed to Zhang Shou sincerely, and then agreed: "If it is really possible, Zanghai and I still have some friends.
, they should be able to help. Hey, even if it is to do something for the elder who lives in Haidong and has never been able to return home in his life."
"Well, I will think of a solution with the emperor." Zhang Shou promised lightly. Seeing the old salted fish, he seemed to be overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly, but his eyes did not show much respect. He did not expose it, but smiled.
He said with a smile, "Having said that, I have already recommended you. If you don't want to be a doctor of agriculture, you can't do it. If you don't have enough money... use other things to make up for it!"