Hearing the noise outside, Zhu Er almost rushed out of the house in a rage. When he saw Zhang Chen's triumphant face, he wanted to fight with his fists. He finally established a little prestige, but
When Zhang Chen yelled at him like this, what would the cotton farmers inside, who were more naughty than the last, think of him? Will they be doing things against him in the future?
However, when he recognized the person next to Zhang Chen, his resentment suddenly turned into cold sweat. Although this person was smiling at the corner of his mouth and looked gentle and harmless, he recognized him.
He is one of his father's capable advisers! He is not the kind who is good at writing and writing, but the kind who is also quite good in martial arts!
Don't ask him why he knew it, it really brings tears to his eyes when he talks about it... Because he was the one who taught him martial arts when he was a child and made him beat countless rulers! Except for his eldest brother, even his father didn't beat him that many times.
Reply! Because his father is too busy and has no time to play with the stick all day long!
Therefore, even if he wanted to make a fool of himself in front of Zhang Chen, but considering that he could not escape under that ruler, Zhu Er still lowered his head, honestly came forward and bowed and said: "I have seen Mr.
"
Zhang Chen was stunned for a moment. Sir? Isn't Zhang Shou still in there yet? But he quickly reacted and looked sideways at the person. Could it be that this unattractive and somewhat verbose messenger?
He turned out to be a teacher from Zhao Guogong's mansion, who had been Zhu Er's teacher?
Wait, but Zhu Er has been studying in the Imperial College since last year. Mr. Xixi should not be needed, right?
When Zhang Chen was getting more and more curious, he saw that the messenger had already reached out his hand to help Zhu Er up with a smile: "I definitely don't dare to take the word sir. I only taught the second young master something that is not worth mentioning."
That’s all. Besides, I have little talent and little knowledge, am not good at civil and martial arts, and am incapable of teaching others. Is it possible that the Second Young Master wants to kill me for calling him “Mr.”
Zhu Er could only laugh. He was a talent that his father relied on, and his rank was completely different from that of a guy like Zhu Gongquan. He also went with him during the Northern Expedition. When he was the first to discuss merit and reward, the emperor also rewarded him with official positions and posthumous gifts to his parents.
, if it weren't for the fact that the reward for being a Jinshi was easily criticized by the majority of scholars, the emperor might have been so happy that he might even have been given this special treatment.
Of course, he heard that the other party had no career ambitions, so he resolutely resigned from the official position of Senator Road and still served as his father's confidant. For a person like this, how dare he say that someone is not good at civil and military affairs? He would have to be beaten to death by his father.
No. When I studied with this person in the past, his father pointed his nose at him and scolded him countless times for being uneducated despite being a famous teacher...
"Sir, what are you talking about? In the past, I was too dull to learn..." He explained dryly, but he really didn't want to dwell on this topic anymore, so he quickly changed the matter and asked with a smile on his face, "Mr.
Why did you come to Cangzhou? How can my father be without you?"
"The second young master is joking. Now that Dong Weng has relieved himself of the important task of the Northern Expedition and has not taken on a new job for the time being, it is time to recuperate and recuperate. How can I, an idler, be indispensable? Therefore, Dong Weng invited me to come.
I came to Cangzhou to see how the Second Young Master is doing, so I am naturally happy to take this trip. I just heard a few words from the Second Young Master outside, and it is really different from the past."
Zhu Er was dumbfounded and then glared at Zhang Chen angrily. How dare you, kid, have been here a long time ago but eavesdropped silently outside? Seeing Zhang Chen snorting with a defiant look on his face, he suddenly thought of Ah Liu who was guarding outside just now.
There was no warning, and he quickly looked up.
On the big tree next to the house, Ah Liu was sitting with his feet down, leisurely. Seeing him, he looked at him very doubtfully, as if he didn't understand why he was looking at him... He couldn't help but
I lamented in my heart - Sixth Brother, Sixth Master! Why don't you give a warning when someone comes? Fortunately, I didn't say anything just now, otherwise it would be terrible...
Wait, he just said, don’t treat the imperial envoy as your second son! Oh my god!
Faced with the half-smiling expression of the messenger, Zhu Er immediately turned pale. He could imagine that if his father had heard this sentence, he would have rushed in and beaten him, but this former gentleman actually still
After listening outside for so long, he had no time to care about the excitement and looked at Zhang Chen. He was racking his brains to think of how to remedy the situation when he heard Zhang Shou's voice.
"Brother Zhu Er, since there are guests here, why don't you invite us in to talk?" Zhang Shou had actually just heard the conversation outside. At this time, he realized that if he didn't come out, Zhu Er would be embarrassed to death, so he had to walk out of the room.
Seeing that Zhu Er's face turned green and white as expected, as if he was about to cry, he came to the rescue and said, "Won't you introduce this gentleman to me?"
Before Zhu Er could answer, the messenger immediately took two steps forward and said with a smile, "How dare you be an introduction? I've met my uncle Nangong Yi."
Zhang Shou, who had prepared polite words for the Master, suddenly didn't know what to say. He reluctantly returned the greeting, especially when he heard uncontrollable laughter coming from the room behind him. He didn't have to think about it.
Everyone knew that the group of cotton farmers must be peeping and eavesdropping, so they could only cough and said: "Since Mr. Nangong is here, let's come in with Zhang Chen."
Zhang Chen received a blow from Zhang Shou for no reason, and was immediately devastated. How did he know that this humble messenger, who seemed to be just running errands, was actually a confidant of Zhao Guogong Zhu Jing, and had once been Zhu Er's husband? His father also sent someone
I came here to ask about his current situation, but he was just an ordinary person sent. Who would send his confidants here for nothing?
Zhao Guogong Zhu Jing is really a weirdo!
Zhang Chen didn't think about it at all. His two sons and his future son-in-law were all in Cangzhou. Even his daughter was also in Cangzhou before. Not to mention sending a close aide to have a look, even if he came in person, it wouldn't be too much. With him,
Zhu Jing has always been a very responsible father compared to his very irresponsible father Zhang Chuan, the Duke of Qin, who has taken care of him since he was a child.
As for Zhu Er, the son who didn't teach him well... After all, people are just mediocre, not troublemakers, which is already very rare among the dignitaries in the capital - refer to the grandson of Mr. Jiang Ge, who hit and injured pedestrians on the street.
It's just one of those trivial things. The newly married granddaughter-in-law wants to be a mother as soon as she enters the house. Her husband stole the son from his concubine. That's a trap.
After Zhang Chen followed Nangong Yi into the house, he saw several people busy looking for a place for them to sit. Seeing that there were only two dark and unrecognizable stools in the place, he simply gave in and said humbly: "Let's sit down."
Mr. Nangong just sits down. He has just arrived in Cangzhou from the capital and has not even had time to rest. Zhu Er and I stood and listened."
When Zhu Er saw Zhang Chen step forward and sit down with Nangong Yi, he immediately pulled himself to stand behind Zhang Shou. He suddenly became angry and glared at the person. But when he heard Zhang Shou started to speak again
When the time comes, he doesn't dare to be distracted.
After all, Zhang Chen doesn't care about the cotton farmers. It doesn't matter if he misses a sentence or two. He is in charge of this. If anything goes wrong, it will be his responsibility! This is the first time in his life that he is doing things alone.
Don't give up halfway, otherwise he will "run away from home" this time in vain!
Although Nangong Yi, who was here for unknown reasons, and Zhang Chen, who was obviously here to watch the fun, were invited in, Zhang Shou did not worry about their presence when he continued the previous topic.
"Since Lao Zhou has taken over the matter of trial planting overseas cotton seeds, I will give you a few more words. In terms of planting methods, there is actually no big difference between overseas cotton seeds and our current cotton seeds.
,However, there are a few things you should pay special attention to."
Seeing the loud-voiced old Zhou nodding quickly, Zhang Shou sorted out the knowledge he knew, regardless of whether it was just talk on paper, and talked to himself: "Although I have never planted cotton before, I have considered introducing it.
So I went to inquire and do some research. If the same kind of cotton is planted in different areas at the same time, the harvest results may be very different."
"And this same area does not mean that this change will occur between Beijing and Cangzhou, or even between different areas in Cangzhou. Therefore, the seven or eight acres of trial planting I mentioned before are not seven or eight acres connected together.
Instead, they are scattered in three places in the eastern suburbs of Cangzhou. Therefore, I will provide you with two mules for your transportation back and forth on both sides."
The reason why it is a mule and not a horse was Zhang Shou's careful consideration. Compared with horses, which have high feeding conditions and have a relatively single use, healthy mules are obviously more important to farmers than horses. Sure enough, as soon as he said this
, the loud-voiced old Zhou, who had looked embarrassed just now, immediately showed an expression of surprise and joy.
As for the others, they were either annoyed or depressed at this time, as if they all regretted missing such a great opportunity to get two mules for free. You know, such a means of transportation can be said to be extremely valuable for a farmer's family.
! But the next moment, when they heard Zhang Shou's next words, they all had a glimmer of hope.
"Lao Zhou is trying to plant them for me, but you can also try planting them in your own fields. I will provide some seeds."
But Zhang Shou immediately poured cold water on everyone: "However, the number of seeds is limited, and you'd better not take chances and mix these overseas cotton seeds with your own original seeds. Little peanut
My uncle was eager for success, and the results of hybrid breeding were getting worse and worse. Not only were the cotton bolls light in weight, but the cotton yield was low, and even the yield in the original cotton fields was reduced sharply."
"Because cotton is different from other crops, the result of mixed planting is the degradation of varieties. Not only overseas cotton varieties are degraded, but your own varieties are also the same. Therefore, for the time being, you must be very careful to plant them in places where there are no other cotton fields around to avoid insect pollination.
When I was traveling, I accidentally confused the two pieces of land..."
Zhang Shou tried his best to use plain language to teach the concepts of variety purification and degradation to a group of cotton farmers who had been farming for decades, as well as the concepts of selfing and hybridization during insect pollination. Some people scratched their heads and couldn't understand, while others nodded thoughtfully.
There are some people who only know how to giggle... He coughed lightly.
"Anyway, I will write a corresponding explanation. If you want to try planting, you can take it with you when you come to collect the seeds. But those who can't read should think twice before doing it, because after the planting trial, the laundry percentage must be recorded.
That is, the ratio of ginned cotton per unit weight, as well as various indicators such as the weight of seed cotton in a single cotton boll, so that I can check..."
Although the loud-voiced Lao Zhou felt that one was older than the other, he still grinned when he thought of his literate second boy and glanced at his companions proudly.
Still want to compete with me? Go back and let your children and grandchildren learn to read and write first!
However, some people still refused to give up. A cotton farmer thought about it again and again, and finally seemed to have a sudden change of heart. He suddenly asked: "Dr. Zhang, if our trial planting yields results, are there any rewards?"
"Of course, if you provide a true and detailed trial planting report and harvest it under supervision that year, all the harvest will belong to you. I will send people to ginning the seed cotton in these cotton fields, and the purchase price will increase by 30%. If so,
If a fine cotton seed is cultivated, and if it proves to be effective in the second year after trial planting, I will petition the imperial court to award a good farmer a reward, recommend a son to go to a public school, and all tuition fees will be waived."
As soon as these words came out, several cotton farmers who had been in distress all of a sudden became commotion and jumped up. However, the next words Zhang Shou said made their eyes widen even more.
"If you have anyone who knows how to read and write, but has no talent for imperial examinations, has a quick brain, has at least farmed, or is willing to study farm work, you may wish to recommend it to me. The seeds coming from overseas this time are not just cotton.
One kind, many things are valuable. But some are easy to grow and some are difficult to grow, so we need people who are smart enough to read and know how to farm to work together."
"If we can successfully cultivate them one by one, talents like them will not only receive awards from the court, but at least fame and fortune."
Nangong Yi sat quietly next to him, watching Zhang Shou burst out terms that he had never heard of before, such as purification and rejuvenation. He also saw people and a few cotton farmers explain patiently and carefully, and heard people promising fame and fortune. He
Suddenly, he felt that he had only seen half of this young man whose appearance and demeanor matched the young lady's that he had seen from a distance at most.
Not only him, but also Zhao Guogong Zhu Jing and even his wife and wife, who had fallen in love with Zhang Shou early on, had never seen Zhang Shou clearly. However, the eldest lady Zhu Ying should not only be obsessed with that face, but also like him.
What's more, his character and behavior are completely different from any other noble master in the capital.
Zhang Shou seems to see things in his eyes that are different from those of ordinary people!
Nangong Yi was looking at Zhang Shou, but she didn't notice that Zhang Chen behind Zhang Shou had been looking at him distractedly. When Zhang Chen found out that Zhu Er was mumbling words and clearly memorizing what Zhang Shou said, he couldn't bear it.
He couldn't help but sarcastically said in a low voice: "Do you need it? Didn't I hear the little gentleman say that he will compile a related article later? You will have time to memorize it by then, so why are you anxious now?"
"You mind me!" Zhu Er rolled his eyes at Zhang Chen angrily, and then snorted, "Recite it earlier and you can bluff people!"
Zhang Chen was speechless for a moment, but then, he heard Zhu Er whisper: "Speaking of which, if the efficiency of weaving becomes higher and the yield of cotton increases, do you think the cotton gin will also need to be used?"
Is it more efficient?"
"Huh?" Zhang Chen exclaimed in surprise, and then he laughed and said, "That's good. Why, do you have the brains to improve the cotton gin?" Why didn't he think of it? He'll catch it tomorrow.
Just give out rewards to the craftsmen you hired. Under the heavy rewards, there will be brave men. If there are good results, Zhang Shou will definitely praise him greatly when he comes back, and let Zhu Er beat his chest and stamp his feet!