Chapter 206: Seventeen Years Old
It was already dawn, and Shunzhidi was still sleeping sweetly in bed.
A moment of spring night is worth a thousand gold. When they came back last night, they went into the house and played vigorously for half the night before going to sleep. Zhao Yulin got up early to practice and work.
He asked the kitchen to make a bowl of brown sugar poached eggs and brought it into the house. He reached out and pinched Zhidi's little nose, and the little woman hummed and opened her eyes.
Shunzhidi saw him holding the bowl and was about to get up, but Zhao Yulin held her down and wanted to feed her on the bed. Shunzhidi half-closed her eyes and enjoyed it happily until she drank all the soup in the bowl.
Zhao Yulin gathered the quilt for her and asked, "Are you still sleeping? The sun is about to burn your butt."
The little woman glared at him happily and said that this guy was just like what Sister Fenghuang said, a savage donkey who had no sympathy for women. As she spoke, she got out of bed with difficulty.
Zhao Yulin quickly reached out his hand to hold her like a eunuch, and whispered in her ear: "Who is still shouting for it?" The little woman pinched him hard, shook off his hand and went to change her clothes.
After a while, the two appeared in the study and had tea.
In Zhao Yulin's mansion, the bedroom and study are close to each other and have chimneys. Burning charcoal fire in winter is equivalent to installing a heater, and the whole room is warm and comfortable.
When he saw the young woman practicing calligraphy, he ran over, hugged her from behind, and taught her how to write in Mao style. Before she had written two words, the woman collapsed in his arms.
The two were being affectionate when the guard shouted from a distance: Third Young Master, the Second Young Master is here, the Second Young Master is here.
Shunzhidi quickly stood up and straightened her clothes.
Zhao Yulin went out and welcomed Zhao Yujiang into the house and introduced Shunzhidi to him.
His second brother said there was no need for introduction, everyone in Nanzheng city knew that the third young master was getting married, and he invited guests at Huoshui Fish Restaurant. The boss had already hung a huge banner in front of his store to attract customers.
Damn it, what a profiteer. Zhao Yulin cursed inwardly and smiled as he invited his brother to sit down and have some tea.
Shunzhidi immediately brought the new tea up and shyly called out, "Uncle, tea please."
Zhao Yujiang agreed immediately and gave the couple a big red envelope.
Zhao Yulin took it and handed it to Shunzhidi with a smile, and said to his brother, "Did you forget?" In his family, women are the masters.
Zhao Yujiang smiled, too lazy to joke with him, and said he had something serious to discuss: he believed that a group of students in the academy were outstanding and should be given important positions. He suggested that they be sent to the counties, towns and villages below to hone their skills. For example, Hongsheng from Lin'an was very good and had strong qualities in all aspects.
He thought it was a good idea and that young people should be allowed to go out and gain experience. He was only seventeen years old when he started the rebellion at the Yibin wharf.
Zhao Yujiang said happily that there were nearly thirty people aged 18 or above. Where should they be sent to?
Zhao Yulin said that those who are younger and have outstanding abilities can be released, and they can first be made clerks for the county officials in Guanzhong, and then we will evaluate and appoint them after two years.
While the two were still discussing, Gao Jia, the prefect of Xingyuan Prefecture, walked in. After listening to Zhao Yujiang's introduction of the situation, he said that Xingyuan Prefecture was also short of manpower, so they could put them in Hanzhong to do the work.
Zhao Yulin said that the situation in border areas is complicated and it is more challenging, so he would first publicize it in the academy, allow people to sign up on a voluntary basis, and then select a group to try it out.
Zhao Yujiang was amused. Knowing that they had more to say, he made an appointment to go to his house for a drink in the evening and then said goodbye and left.
Zhao Yulin saw his brother off and came back to continue drinking tea with Gao Jia.
Lao Gao first happily gave him a big red gift package, but then turned around and asked him worriedly about how he had offended Zhao Wangbing.
He felt that these people, including Lao Cao, were making a big deal out of nothing. They kept talking about trivial matters, which were originally not stressful, but made him think about them for a while before going to bed at night.
However, officials like Gao Jia were deeply influenced by feudal ethics and had a deep respect for imperial power. Why didn't he blame the heavens or the earth, but only himself for not living up to his expectations?
Lao Gao reminded him again that the government's spies are everywhere and he must be careful with his words and actions.
During this period, students in the academy were talking about new social concepts, and an old scholar in Nanzheng was scolding them, saying that they were young and ignorant and spoke nonsense, which seriously violated the ancestral system. My brother is highly appreciated by the government, so don't ruin your future by mistake.
Zhao Yulin nodded and said, "Thank you for your advice, teacher. I will pay attention to it in the future."
He guessed that Gao Jia had received the news from Lin'an and came here specifically to do ideological work for him, otherwise he would not have spoken so earnestly.
The old man probably felt that the atmosphere was a bit cold, and he told him with a smile that Hanzhong had a good harvest this year, which was considered to have overcome another difficulty. After the winter, he continued to build water conservancy projects and advocated the reclamation of wasteland and farming. After a large number of new agricultural tools and oxen were in the hands of farmers, the progress was much faster than in the first half of the year. He believed that the situation next year would be better.
Everyone will feel much more comfortable if we can sort these things out.
Zhao Yulin asked him: Are there any farmers who want to buy farm tools and oxen on credit?
Lao Gao said happily that of course there were. With silver as a backing, the money houses in Hanzhong provided low-interest loans to farmers. Anyone who wanted to buy oxen was required to have an experienced farmer to help them before they would lend the money.
Zhao Yulin thought this was a good idea, but he also couldn't let the people invest blindly. Those who didn't understand the technology and couldn't raise cattle would buy oxen without a master to teach them. If the oxen died, even if the banks reduced their loan payments by half or even waived them, it would still cause an unnecessary waste of resources.
Gao Jiale said happily that with the support of the money house, a large number of workshops have sprung up in Hanzhong, the items sold in the shops have increased a lot, and the prices are much cheaper than before. The people are happy to be able to buy what they like.
This is mainly because of savings on freight costs. In the past, a large amount of goods had to be transported by ship, horse, or people. It would definitely be expensive to transport them from far away. Now, production is carried nearby, which of course saves money.
And taxes have increased a lot.
Lao Gao counted on his fingers to calculate his account. Zhao Yulin looked at the smiling face of the old man and knew that he had found the joy of being a prefect, so he picked up the teacup and invited him to have tea.
He told the old man that there was still a lot of wasteland that could be reclaimed in Hanzhong and Guanzhong, and the people did not have to worry about their income not increasing for the time being, but in the long run they still had to increase the productivity of the fields. He knew the per-acre grain yield, taking rice as an example, which was already over a thousand kilograms per mu.
The old man immediately opened his mouth and eyes wide and looked at him. Even Shunzhidi stared at Zhao Yulin in confusion.
He was stunned for a moment, realizing that he had talked too much again, so he quickly covered his mouth and covered it up with a smile.
The old man had a thousand questions on his face. He reached out and grabbed him and asked, where can I get such good rice seeds that can produce thousands of kilograms per mu?
Bring me ten thousand pounds, and I’ll give you any amount of silver.
Zhao Yulin laughed, gently pushed his hand away and said that agricultural production is also a process of continuous evolution. How could he get such good seeds? It depends on the cultivation of agronomists and countless masters. We are still advocating deep and intensive cultivation. In fact, deep cultivation is not necessary for truly fertile land. No-tillage can also produce very good harvests.
As the old man listened, he slowly regained his normal state and told Zhao Yulin that he understood. According to the Cuiping Morning Post, Yibin had found the great hermit of agronomy, Mr. Chen, who had selected a batch of excellent seeds.
His Hanzhong was not lagging behind either. This year, he selected several high-yield varieties of wheat and rice. The wheat had already been planted, and a lot of rice seeds were left, all of which were paid for by the government.
Zhao Yulin gave Gao Jia a thumbs up and said with a smile, "That's right. Think about it, if the combined grain output of the two spring harvests can reach 2,000 kilograms, will anyone still starve?"
Gao Jiale said with a smile that he was very good at lying. At present, the rice from an acre of field could only produce about 300 kilograms of rice at best, and farmers with poor quality rice would have to starve.
One mu of land can produce 2,000 kilograms? Just brag.
Zhao Yulin said: It is definitely not possible to breed hybrid rice at the moment, but the yield of conventional rice will definitely increase through continuous selection. It is easy to increase the yield of one acre of land by 100 or 200 kilograms. If the yield of all fields increases by 100 kilograms, it is equivalent to increasing the yield of nearly 30%.
The old man has been confused by the terms "hybrid rice" and "conventional rice".
However, after hearing that it was feasible to increase the yield of one acre of land by 100 kilograms, he smiled and drank his tea, then stood up and went back to arrange the farm work and have a good drink in the evening.
After Gao Jia left, Zhao Yulin saw Shunzhidi still writing and drawing on the table. He walked over to take a closer look and found that the little woman had recorded almost all of his conversation with Gao Jia.
Zhao Yulin praised her for her excellent shorthand ability.
Shunzhidi said that there are people who are more powerful than her, such as Xiao Yan from Lin'an.
Zhao Yulin said "Oh" and sat down to rest.
After she was done, the woman went over to massage his temples. Her technique was gentle and her acupuncture points were accurate. Zhao Yulin dozed off with a smile on his face and enjoyed it very much.
The woman asked him: What is "hybrid rice?" It's amazing that the yield is so high.
He looked at Zhidi and suddenly didn't know what to say.
But the little woman was shaking his shoulders and asking him to tell the truth.
Zhao Yulin asked her with a smile if she really wanted to listen.
The little woman hummed with curiosity.
Zhao Yulin said that the first thing to talk about is hybridization, which is the mating of animals and plants between different populations . For example, in nature, the mating of a male wild horse and a female donkey is hybridization, and the offspring born is called a donkey-mule hybrid. This hybrid has changed its sex, is extremely strong and rarely gets sick.
While Zhao Yulin was still explaining with great interest, the little woman behind him had already run away.
He saw the woman walking away and shaking her head innocently. That was not what he wanted to say, and he did not say it nonsense.
Speaking of hybrid rice, Chen Fu, who is far away in Yibin, is researching it tirelessly.
When Zhao Yulin was at Cuiping Mountain, he had a special dinner with him. After he told him about the hybrid rice of Yuan Daguo, the old man was immediately interested in the new variety breeding method after learning about it. He kept asking Zhao Yulin, "What else? What else?"
He didn't stop until he had drained all the information about rice cultivation from his mind.
After that, the old man began his journey of new seed selection and breeding methods.
Zhao Yulin prayed in front of the Buddha, hoping that the old man would live a long life and be able to develop new varieties of rice during his lifetime.
