Qiu Chen didn't know that the Zhou family had the idea of matching her with Huo Feibai in his heart, and seeing that the combination of soft and hard had temporarily dispelled Zhou's plan to give her Zhang Luo's family, he put his mind at ease, but he was still unwilling to stay longer, and when the children came back from driving the sheep, he took a few little mud monkeys to wash, and then took the children back to the city.

The next morning, Qiu Chen took the four boys to Zhuangzi to inspect.

From Zhuangzi in Qinghe County, he inspected all the way to Pi County, Hui County and Yishui County to see the reclamation situation on Zhuangzi and the growth of crops. Because most of the Zhuangzi did not grow wheat, crops such as mung beans and sesame seeds that were planted earlier had already begun to be harvested, and crops such as millet and sorghum planted later were also growing vigorously. In addition to these, Qiu Chen paid more attention to the construction of Zhuangzi, the consolidation of acres of land, the planning and construction of canals, and so on.

In this era, farming is completely dependent on the weather for food, and a drought or flood may make the farmers' sweat and hard work for a year be fruitless.

Therefore, after Qiu Chen inspected the reclaimed acres of land, he looked at the large tracts of land that were connected together, but what he remembered was modern and efficient agriculture, from irrigation to fertilization, to weeding and insect control, all of which could be achieved and completed through automatic control. Of course, Qiu Chen didn't dare to think about the kind of automated agriculture that needed to be based on electrification, but at least the irrigation conditions of the farmland should be improved, which was Qiu Chen's biggest gain.

Farmland water conservancy is not only used for irrigation, but also the perfect ditch water conservancy system can also discharge the supersaturated water in the farmland, so as to achieve the dual protection of flood prevention and drought resistance. In other words, as long as the water conservancy facilities in the farmland are complete enough and there is a water source, the general drought and flood disasters can be resolved, so as to ensure a bumper harvest of crops. In this regard, for this era when farming is completely dependent on the sky, it is definitely a change to refresh cognition.

In order to facilitate the inspection of the fields, Qiu Chen wore a gray linen short dozen men's clothes, and she wore a bamboo hat on her head, and she was riding on a horse at the moment, discussing with Daxing, who was a little behind: "...... It is not a pity that the land that has been prepared is not a pity, the sharpening knife does not cut the wood, the water conservancy is repaired, and the drought and flood can be reported in the future, which is much more important than the land of this star...... Well, water conservancy matters need someone to understand......"

Qiu Chen said slowly, his mind racing quickly, thinking about where to find a technician who was familiar with farmland irrigation. Her mind turned several times quickly, and there was only one person who could make her remember, and it was actually Li Quan, the worker who was detained by the people and left on the river worker after being rescued. Whether he was named by the emperor or dug up by Yang Jingyu, it shows that this person has made great achievements in water conservancy; And being able to keep him alive under such a tyrannical mood is just a detention, which shows that this person's character is not bad, at least he has not done anything to help the abuse, and he may even have done his best to help those people......

Entangled in the limited information she knew about the Dao, Qiu Chen gave a not bad comment to Li Quan, a member of the Ministry of Engineering, who had a good character and good skills, if he could invite such a person to help design Zhuangzi's water conservancy project, it would be the most appropriate.

As for how to impress this person to help, Qiu Chen still had to inquire and ponder.

"If you ask, where is there anyone who knows how to build canals, we can invite them with a high salary to help us design them...... This is not an easy task, it will take decades or hundreds of years to get it right, so you have to do your best......" said, Qiu Chen said, "We can customize the pottery pipe to make a water pipeline, and connect the water storage tank with the clay pot on the cylinder car and the rollover, so as to further improve the water level of the water source, and at the same time, it can also avoid the loss of water in the irrigation process, so as to improve the irrigation efficiency to a greater extent." ”

Daxing was a little unimpressed at first, not to mention the cost of laying pipes for custom pottery pipes, mainly because he felt that it was unnecessary.

Qiu Chen also knows that in this era, it is tantamount to a joke to talk about saving water resources, but on the other hand, in this era of extremely low productivity, it is also true that sometimes water is indeed more expensive than oil. In addition, saving water means greatly improving labor efficiency, which is equally important in an era when only human and animal power are relied upon.

After a little consideration, Qiu Chen explained: "This is like the water canal we built, if the wind and rain are good, it will naturally be useless. But this year's wind and rain are smooth, who knows if there will be a major drought and flood next year? We have built a canal, communicate the waterway, the general rain is not afraid, but if it is a drought year, every drop of water is extremely precious, with a clay pot water, not only to avoid the drawbacks of water diversion to occupy cultivated land, but also to maximize the use of every drop of water to alleviate the drought, protect seedlings and protect moisture. Heavy rain is not afraid of waterlogging, and there is water for heavy drought, which is the ultimate goal of us spending so much financial and material resources to build ditch irrigation facilities. ”

Daxing was stunned when he heard it, for thousands of years, farming has been a matter of relying on the sky to eat, if it is really as his wife said, not afraid of drought and flood, then what kind of bright prospects should Zhuangzi have?

Qiu Chen glanced at Daxing, who was stunned, and said with a light smile: "It's the year of abundant water, and it would have been necessary to have a day's worth of water in the car, but it can be used in half a day, isn't it better to save time and effort?" ”

Hearing the banter in Qiu Chen's language, Daxing blinked and showed a touch of embarrassment, but he couldn't hide the excitement on his face and said, "What Mrs. said is extremely ...... It's just that the ditch has a large amount of water, and it is not easy to use a pottery pipe, so it is not as good as the diversion culvert ditch at the head of the ground with a pottery pipe, and the ditch is ...... After the water dries up in autumn, the addition of triple soil tamping can also prevent water leakage and loss. Moreover, the ditch compacted with triple soil can also reduce siltation, and can also avoid collapse and collapse in case of heavy water, which is much more solid than the usual loess ditch. ”

Qiu Chen pondered and nodded, and instructed: "It would be best if you could ask Master Li Quan and Master Li on the river to help guide this matter...... You can also inquire about Lord Li's temperament and preferences by the way these days, and we will be able to talk when the time comes. ”

Daxing responded again and again, accompanied Qiu Chen back to Zhuangzi, and had already begun to think in his heart, how to talk to Wailang, a member of the Ministry of Engineering on the river work...... Zhuangzi in Yishui County is close to the river worker station, and it is said that Master Li is on the river worker almost every day, and if you want to get in touch with him, you have to start from there.

During this inspection, each Zhuangzi spent two days, and eight days passed quickly. Qiu Chen returned from Zhuangzi with the children who seemed to be untired and always so energetic, and as soon as they entered the door, Chen greeted them.

These days, Qiu Chen only brought Chunxiang Yuegui to serve, while Chen stayed at home to supervise the progress of Nannuohu Changxuan, and then arrange the decorations.

After all, although it is to find wild fun, it can't really lead people to stay in a bare wood open house, because it is an open house, gauze curtains, bamboo curtains, curtains, tables, chairs, stools and other utensils need to be prepared just right, neither will the complexity lose the brightness and transparency of the open space, nor can it be too simple to make the guests feel inconvenient or uncomfortable. These tasks are complicated and headaches for Qiu Chen, but for the Chen family, who is used to seeing the rows of wealthy families, it is extremely simple.

Moreover, Qiu Chen also believes that with the horizontal layout style of the Chen family, he will definitely be able to get the preference of the mother and daughter of the Tang family from the capital.

While leading Qiu Chen into the ear room to bathe, Chen personally washed Qiu Chen's hair, and whispered: "The day after Mrs. took the young master and the young master to leave, the eldest lady of the Tang family sent someone to send lotus seed cakes, saying that they were made of fresh lotus seeds that we sent over. The slave returned the gift with our freshly made fish fillet. The next day, the eldest lady of the Tang family sent someone to deliver chicken head rice cakes...... Yesterday, I sent a few new palace flowers...... Today, I sent a uterine fan......"

Soaking in the warm water, Qiu Chen wanted to sleep comfortably, but he couldn't help but widen his eyes in astonishment when he heard it, "She, she, is this anxious to wait, or are you afraid that I will forget the invitation to Nanmar Lake?" ”

Because of Qiu Chen's sudden movement, Chen quickly loosened the hair in his hand, wiped the water stains that Qiu Chen threw on his body, and shook his head and smiled: "I guess that's what it means...... The little girl saw the lotus seeds and chicken head rice we sent, and it seemed that she couldn't wait......"

As he spoke, Qiu Chen laughed dumbly, and Chen himself couldn't hold back his chuckle.

After laughing once, Qiu Chen waved his hand and said, "Okay, you beckon Chunxiang to come in and wash my hair, you hurry up, take a few gourds I brought back, and then tell the anxious Miss Tang, tomorrow Chenchu, let's go over and pick her up out of the city." ”

Chen agreed to go out, and Qiu Chen said again: "You send someone to Guo's mansion to deliver a letter, and let Brother Xu take a day off tomorrow!" ”

Chen's eyes flashed, but he didn't say anything, only respectfully agreed and retreated.

When Qiu Chen finished bathing and changed into a half-worn cocoon silk shirt and pants, a few Tao boys had already washed up and changed into comfortable clothes and sat on the couch.

Since the ambush, the dampness has become heavier and heavier, and the dampness of the big kang that cannot burn the fire has also become heavier, so Qiu Chen took the children to move to the bed in the second room, and the place of daily activities and play naturally shifted to the Luohan couch in the western clinical room.

"Mother......

"Auntie......"

Several children were muttering something when they saw Qiu Chen coming in, and they all shouted loudly.

Qiu Chen walked over, sat next to Junli and Ah Fu, and asked with a smile, "What are you guys discussing?" ”

Seeing Junyan Junzhang and Ah Fu and Junli glaring at each other, with a ghostly look on my hidden secret, I couldn't help but smile secretly, but my face continued as if I didn't know: "Ming'er, your vacation should be full, rest early tonight, and I'll send a car to send you back early tomorrow." ”

Although it is said that the sun is in the field every day to watch the crops, but for the children who have not touched the field for a long time, the hot field is also an open world, with all kinds of birds and insects, as well as unknown wild fruits that can bring them surprises, even if it is a reed grass, it can also make a variety of cute gadgets and small animals, which is far more interesting than sitting in the school and listening to the strict teacher teaching the Four Books and the Five Classics.

Yes, when he heard Qiu Chen say that he would send them back when the holiday was over, the four children, including Ah Fudu, who was the most well-behaved on weekdays, had a bitter face.

Jun Yan was even more lamented, but he had just been punished by Qiu Chen a few days ago because of falling into the water, and at this time Jun Yan still had lingering palpitations about the extremely 'inhumane' isolation punishment, and he didn't dare to be too presumptuous, but his hand kept poking Jun Zhang on the couch, and stretched out his foot from the couch, wanting to kick the smallest Jun Li, trying to pry these two people out.

Qiu Chen was kicked a few times in a row, and he was funny in his heart, looking at Junli who came up after calling his aunt, he reached out and hugged Junli in his arms and smiled: "What's wrong?" Does Junli have something to tell her aunt? ”

The brothers just got together and were discussing, Ming'er went to Nanmar Lake how to pick lotus pods and water chestnuts, and also discussed finding a shallow water to jump into the water to bathe and have water fights.

In the past few days, I followed Qiu Chen to Zhuangzi to see the acres of fields, what Qiu Chen didn't notice, the brothers opened their eyes. The life of the villagers in the Zhuangzi is far less prosperous than the life of the villagers in Liujiaao, and it is a newly built Zhuangzi, and Qiu Chen has not had time to lay out the school, and the children of those Zhuanghu families have helped the adults do what they can every day, and the rest of the time is almost all soaked in the pond and ditch...... Of course, in the eyes of the four brothers of Junyan and Junzhang, tanning is nothing, what they see is that the village Tao boys are playing in the pond happily, playing with bang, playing with dogs, digging water, and fighting in the water.

But Qiu Chen said that the holiday was over, and he wanted to send them back to school, so he undoubtedly poured cold water on their heads, and when they returned to Liujiaao, they had to exercise in the morning and evening, and they had to go to school, not to mention that there were several gentlemen staring, and they couldn't go to play in the water anymore anyway. Ming'er can't go to Nanmarsh Lake, their plan to play in the water is about to die, and it's no wonder that all the little faces are compared to bitter gourds.

Junli was just said by a few brothers that his heart was full of anticipation, and Junli was more willing to play at this age, so he didn't need Junyan to pinch him, so he was detained on his aunt and began to be coquettish.

Raising his little face, blinking a pair of black and white eyes, Junli hummed quietly: "Auntie, I still have to pick lotus seeds...... I'm obedient and don't go into the water......"

Seeing Junli open his mouth to ask, Junyan Junzhang just breathed a sigh of relief, and the honest little boy leaked the secret in one bite, Junyan stretched out a few feet that did not retract under the couch and kicked over violently, trying to block Junli's mouth, but the next moment, he heard his aunt sigh in surprise: "Huh? Who kicked me? ”

Hearing this, Junzhang almost planted on the couch. Junyan's face also instantly turned red, embarrassed, nervous and scared, and secretly screamed in his heart, this is over, he actually kicked his aunt, and his aunt is angry, let alone going to Nannuma Lake, and I don't know what way to punish him......

Fortunately, Qiu Chen was only surprised, and did not continue to investigate the matter of 'accidental injury', but instead focused on Junli in his arms.

"Don't go into the water? Does Junli mean to go to the lake and not take a boat to pick lotus flowers? Qiu Chen asked with a little surprise, and said with a smile without waiting for Junli to answer, "We have bought a new big boat, and I thought that if it weren't for your full vacation, we could take the big boat to the lake for a day, and we could also fish on the lake and cast nets, and we could also eat on the boat if we caught fish and shrimp...... Well, you can also make a barbecue grill, and the grilled fish is also delicious. ”

"Hmm...... Auntie, I'm going to eat grilled fish too...... I don't go into the water with my brothers......" Junli's eyes lit up when he heard this, and his whole body was confined to Qiu Chen, holding Qiu Chen's arm and shouting.

This time, not only Junyan was anxious, but even Ah Fu was anxious, stretched out his hand to cover Junli's mouth, raised his head to look at Shang Niang's smiling insightful gaze, Ah Fu retracted his hand a little weakly, and said with an embarrassed smile: "Mother's ...... Just now I was discussing with my brothers, we haven't practiced swimming for many days, and we think that the lake will be calmer...... Because I was afraid that my mother would be worried, I didn't tell my mother, well, I didn't mean to hide it! ”

Qiu Chen smiled and glanced at Jun Yan Junzhang, who was desperately giving Ah Fu a look, turned back to stare at Ah Fu and said, "Swimming and playing in the water? …… Afraid of worrying about your mother? ”

Ah Fu heard Qiu Chen ask like this, and nodded again and again, and Junyan Junzhang was also beside him to help.

"Yes, Auntie, we're just afraid that you're worried about ......," Junzhang echoed.

"We don't say it, it's not that we're afraid that you adults will beat and scold you if you know the truth...... We're just playing in the water, and we're looking for people to watch, and there's going to be something going on......" Junyan muttered, but accidentally said everything in his heart.

Junzhang and Ah Fu looked at Jun Yan speechlessly, Ah Fu turned his gaze, and Jun Zhang moved to the side, indicating that he had drawn a line. It's better to stay away from him, otherwise I don't know when Lu Dao will be killed by him.

"Oh? Isn't that weird? Ah Fu said that he wanted to practice swimming and playing in the water? Jun Yan said that it was playing with water...... You say something different, who is right? Qiu Chen once again surprised the children, not only did he not get angry, but also asked very kindly.

"Of course it's me...... Ouch, what are you kicking me for? Junyan was about to answer subconsciously, but was kicked hard by Junzhang, and while screaming, he swallowed the last half of the sentence.

Ah Fu ignored the lawsuit of the two brothers opposite, leaned forward, and said to his mother: "Mother, we really want to practice swimming and playing in the water, and we also want to try the difference between the calm lake and the stream. ”

"Oh, practice swimming and playing in the lake......" Qiu Chen repeated, bowing his head and groaning, after a while, Qiu Chen raised his head, smiled at the four naughty boys and said, "Although the lake is calm, the water level is much deeper than the stream, and the two are indeed different, well, you think about going to the lake to practice swimming and playing in the water, it's not impossible for you to ......"

As soon as these words came out, the four little ones showed a happy face, and Junli cheered without any scheming. However, Jun Yan was not reckless this time, only stared at Qiu Chen in a daze, full of doubts, when it comes to the family, the most stringent thing is not that his father is not his grandfather, but this aunt who always looks smiling. Moreover, my aunt's punishment methods are also varied, although they don't move a finger, and they won't scold and scold, but my aunt's punishment methods are ...... Uh, it's better to scold and slap twice, that's just zero knife to cut meat, that taste is too uncomfortable!

Sure enough, without waiting for Junli's cheers to fall, Qiu Chen continued with a smile: "It's easy to say that you want to go to the lake to practice swimming and playing in the water, but since you are learning a skill, you must correct your thinking and study seriously...... Well, it's just right, I'm going to use some lotus root ribbon and some pu vegetables to entertain guests tomorrow, I originally wanted you to let the people of Master He's family help pick it, since you are interested in getting familiar with the habits of the lake and practicing the art of swimming and playing in the lake, then it is better to leave this job to you, right? I'm okay, if you can't pick enough lotus root and cabbage, you are not allowed to come up......"

Qiu Chen let go of the Tao boys to swim and play in the lake, and several of the boys were so ecstatic that they didn't hear a word from Qiu Chen.

After dinner, I sent the children back to bed early, and I had to get up early the next day. And Qiu Chen looked at the children's happy appearance, and forgot about asking for leave, and couldn't help but secretly reflect on himself, is he too indulgent to this group of boys? Allowing them to extend the vacation like this, but no one remembered to inform Mr., would it make these boys develop bad habits?

It was agreed that Chen Chu would go to Tang's house to pick up people, and the Lin family got up early in the morning on the second day.

Chen took the girls to pack the spare clothes and supplies that had been prepared and loaded them into the car, and then turned back to help Qiu Chen clean up a group of Tao boys. Fortunately, after a busy morning, Qiu Chen was able to get into the car smoothly at three o'clock and set off for the Tang Mansion.

Tang Lanzhi, the eldest lady of the Tang family, and the two young masters, Tang Yanchen and Yan Shen, also packed up early and waited, and when they heard that the car of the Lin family had arrived, they hurriedly urged Tang Wu to go out, and met with the Lin family at the gate, Tang Lanzhi wanted to get into Qiu Chen's carriage directly, and on the way, it was good to ask about the situation in the lake, and what could be fun, etc., but she was tightly detained by her mother Tang Wu, so she could only meet Qiu Chen, Lin Xu, Ah Fu Junyan and others, and had to follow Tang Wu to her own carriage.

However, Runchen Yanshen looked at Lin Xu and Junyan Junzhang, including Afu Aman, who were all riding horses or being taken on horseback by the guards, and also put aside the car prepared at home to ride a horse, and were fished by Shen Hu and Zeng Da Niu one by one on horseback, and took the two of them to ride together. Moreover, what made Miss Tang Lanzhi depressed was that her mother-in-law was actually smiling, not only did not stop it, but was quite conniving.

Alas, why isn't she a boy? In order for a boy to be able to ride a horse freely, she could only obediently follow her mother in the car, and had to pay attention to her words and deeds all the time, not to laugh loudly, not to behave rudely, not to ride a horse, but to ride a car...... Even a hat on his head that gets in the way makes it impossible to see clearly!

Qiu Chen didn't know much about Tang Lanzhi's grievances, and she was still thinking about how to eliminate the adverse effects of her connivance on the children. Although she has sent someone back to extend the holiday with Mr. Ding and a few others, the children don't know what to do, and it seems that the extension of the holiday has been selectively ignored by the children, so how can she reverse the adverse consequences caused by her lack of rigor in her thinking and arrangement?

The group boarded the carriage and left the city with their own thoughts, because the weather was cool in the morning, and the horses and vehicles were moving relatively fast, and the twenty-mile road from the city to Nanmara Lake took only half an hour. When the group turned into the fork in the road leading to Nanmara Lake, not long after the sun rose, the bright golden sunlight shone on a large area of emerald green reeds and clusters of colorful wildflowers, not only the children cheered happily, but even Qiu Chen temporarily put aside his worries because of this wild scenery and the joy of the children, and couldn't help but relax and be happy.