In the third year of Yonghui (652 AD), November 10, the time of the Emperor.

Wu Kang and Jiu Niang came to the incubation center, accompanied by Zheng Dalang, to visit the chicken farm. During the period, a serious problem was discovered, Zheng Dalang was in front of Jiuniang, like a mouse seeing a cat, nodding his head and a grandson. also threw pity and admiration at Wu Kang from time to time, which made him very depressed.

Looking for an opportunity to consult alone, Wu Kang almost cried. At this moment, I finally understood that Jiu Niang wanted to open a law firm, why did Lu San send it to the inn immediately, it turned out that she was the eldest sister of Wuzhou! Originally, they made an appointment to meet today, but when the second generation learned that Jiuniang was also coming, they all slipped with oil on the soles of their feet, leaving only Zheng Da, who made a mistake in drawing lots.

Wu Kang had a hunch that in his life, he would be even worse than Fang Xuanling! Jiuniang said that she was hungry, and Zheng Da immediately prepared to eat. Wu Kang looked at the steamed pears and sarcastically mocked him with disdain: "Zheng Da, you are not kind, take such a small pear as a guest, and eat it steamed... That's right, such a small pear can only be eaten steamed. ”

"Hey Erlang, don't hurt me, this is the biggest", Zheng shouted and shook his neck to explain: "I just bought it today, I personally selected the big one, don't wronged people... Do you believe me, I'll bring the leftovers? ”

Jiuniang glanced at him and explained to Wu Kang: "The pears are all steamed and eaten, and they are not delicious when eaten raw, and besides, this pear is not small." ”

Zheng Dalian nodded repeatedly, subconsciously wiping the cold sweat on his forehead. Wu Kang was directly stunned, the pears are all steamed and eaten? This is also called the big one? I can catch both with one hand! The pears planted by the father in later generations, those big ones, can't hold one in both hands.

At this time, he suddenly realized that the Tang people might not be able to manage the pear orchard, so he looked at Jiu Niang and said, "Let's go to the pear orchard and take a look, the smallest of the pears I have seen are bigger than these... Do you bring a lot of money? ”

Jiu Niang took out her purse, poured out a few pieces of broken silver and said, "Seven pieces of broken silver, one or two each, worth seven pieces of copper, is it enough?" ”

Wu Kang nodded, grabbed the steamed pear, how awkward it was to eat. After eating, he left the incubation center, Wu Kang led the horse and carried Jiuniang, walked out of Wuli to the south, and found a pear orchard on the side of the road. Tie the reins to the tree, and soon an old man will run out of the garden.

The two said that they wanted to visit the pear orchard, and the old man saw that they were wearing silk, obviously a rich and noble family, so he hurriedly received them attentively. The attitude was too enthusiastic, Wu Kang was puzzled, and Jiu Niang quietly explained: Wuzhou Sao Ke likes the Liyuan Poetry Club, and the old man thinks that we are here to see the venue.

Qian Laohan and his grandson Qian Anlang accompanied the two to visit the pear orchard, Wu Kang looked at the messy tree shape, the dead bark everywhere, and gradually had an idea. When he came to the outside of the garden, he pondered for a moment and asked, "Uncle, how many pears are produced per mu?" ”

Lao Qian replied: "Lang Jun Rongyu, the yield per mu is divided into large and small years, the yield per mu in the big year is 600, and the yield per mu in the small year is almost 400." This year is a big year, less than 600 pounds. ”

Wu Kang was dumbfounded, the output was too low. 600 catties in the Tang Dynasty was equal to 816 catties in later generations. The pear orchard managed by my father has a yield of 7,000 catties per mu in a big year, a difference of more than eight times. The so-called big and small years mean that this year's output is high, and next year's output is low, and so on.

Even if pesticides and fertilizers are removed, if the management is good, the yield per mu is 3,000 no problem, and after some consideration, he said: "The price of pears is one penny and two catties, about 400 wen per mu, and this pear orchard is less than five acres." Look at how this goes, I contract for one year and the rent is 2,500 Wen. ”

Old Qian was slightly stunned, and after a while, he asked tentatively: "Did Lang Jun say renting a pear orchard?" This is not cost-effective, next year is a small year, the yield per mu is up to 400, and the maximum price of five acres is 1500. ”

This old money is honest enough, and he took the initiative to say Xiao Nian, Wu Kang smiled and said: "It's 2500 Wen, if you agree, let's sign it immediately." ”

After struggling for a few minutes, Lao Qian agreed to let his grandson go home, and invited his two sons, the village leader of the village, and the old master of the private school. Wu Kang stopped Xiaolang and asked him to bring the scissors, saying that it was for cutting silver.

Old Qian's eyes lit up, silver was a rare thing, and he hadn't seen it yet. So he also instructed his grandson to find the chief of the protector who had seen the silver.

Jiuniang pulled Wukang to the side, lowered her voice and asked, "What does Erlang think?" You are a judicial member of the military, and you only have three days off every month, so how can you have time to take care of the pear orchard? ”

Wu Kang raised his eyebrows, pretending to say "mountain people have their own tricks", and the angry Jiuniang rolled her eyes.

About two quarters of an hour later, the ox cart drove into the pear orchard, and six people came. Lao Qian's two sons and youngest grandsons, the village is the chief and the chief of the body. An old man with a gray beard and wearing a shabby Confucian robe should be an old master in a private school.

After more than ten minutes of discussion, the two sides finally finalized the agreement, Qian Jiaerlang moved down the wooden couch and futon, and the old master grinded ink and paper, and picked up the pen in one fell swoop. Both parties signed and signed the contract, and the contract was in duplicate to complete the signing ceremony.

Jiu Niang took out three taels of silver, one of which was cut off in half, and handed it to Wu Kang with a pout. Wu Kang handed the old money, folded the contract and put it in his pocket, took the scissors and walked to the pear tree next to him, and as soon as the scissors opened and closed, the pear branches fell in response.

The scissors opened again, and when the fourth one was cut, everyone finally came to their senses. Lao Qian snorted in distress and ran over. Jiu Niang hurriedly stopped in front of Wu Kang, and opened her arms to protect him behind her, like a hen guarding her chicks.

Lao Qian had already seen that she was a daughter, so she stopped abruptly, and her hands stopped in the air and didn't dare to pull. Muramasa, Bao Chang, and the old master scolded loudly, but Wu Kang ignored them and continued to cut branches. Lao Qian jumped to his feet in distress and shouted loudly: "You stop, I won't rent it... No more rentals! ”

The two men of the Qian family were afraid that their father would make a mistake, so they hurriedly came over to hold on. Mura Zheng was furious, and seeing that Wu Kang didn't mean to stop, he gave an order to the chief of the body: "Hurry up and ask for Lizheng, bring more people over, Tian Shenu is too much to deceive people, take him to see the official!" ”

Before the words fell, the chief ran away, faster than a rabbit. Jiuniang hated others scolding Wu Kang the most, and in an instant the lady turned into a shrew, and she sneered at each other with a cold face: "We have rented the pear orchard, you can do whatever you want, you can't control it!" You must know that if you violate the contract written in black and white, you will suffer a lawsuit! ”

Hearing the lawsuit, the other party stopped in an instant, and the people were afraid of the lawsuit! Old Qian blew his beard and stared, Qian Jiaerlang glared angrily, and Qian Xiaolang cried. Muramasa's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and the old master was out of breath and turned his back directly.

Looking at this situation, it is to be dealt with by reason. Wu Kang looked at the branches on the ground, looked at the scissors in his hands, looked at Qi Hu Jiuniang, and thought that hiding behind the woman was not enough, so he stepped forward. Protected Jiuniang behind him, played with the scissors in his hand, and looked at them with a smile.

The five big and three thick men are carrying guys in their hands, and the other party doesn't dare to make a mistake. The minutes and seconds passed, and in about two quarters of an hour, a dense figure appeared in the distance, and a large army arrived. Seventy or eighty villagers, all with guys in their hands, led by a few old people.

Feeling that his sleeves were being tightened, Wu Kang's eyes scanned, aiming at Jiu Niang's panicked face, and the corners of his mouth were hooked very unkindly. This little girl, who is also the master of lust and inwardness, patted the back of her hand and cast a reassuring look.

When the crowd approached, Lao Qian found the backbone, grabbed the sleeve of the old man at the head, and cried with a handful of snot and tears. Then a new cry sounded, and an old lady sat on the ground, holding her feet and wailing, it was Lao Qian's wife. The two weeping women next to them are the daughters-in-law of Lao Qian.

Li Zheng took four square steps, came to the front with a straight face, his yellow eyes glared, and suddenly there was a "ahhh He took two steps closely, grabbed Wu Kang's sleeve, and shouted excitedly: "Isn't this a martial artist?" Which fragrant wind blew you to Wangjiatun? I'm Wang Lizheng of Lanyi Township! ”

Wu Kang carefully identified it, and finally remembered who this was, Wang Baochang, who praised himself at the Wuzhou Chicken Sharing Conference. At the moment, he laughed and held his hands to greet him: "What's the fragrance?" This is not Wang Baochang Wang, I haven't seen you for more than two months, you are more energetic! ”

The two greeted each other warmly, and Wang Baochang turned around and scolded Lao Qian's family: "Don't cry!" I said old man, this is the judicial army of the military, and the ten chicken babies that your family received last month were joined by the army. You said that Wu joined the army to cut down your pear tree, I really don't believe it! Tell me honestly, what's going on? And all the folks, put the guys down! ”

The name of the person and the shadow of the tree, I dare not say it in other places, Lanyi Township, where the chickens were divided last time, the name of Wukang is a household name. Everyone put down their weapons one after another, and Muramasa also came up to salute: "The old man has no eyes, please join the army, don't blame." Look at this trouble, the flood washed the Dragon King Temple, and the family didn't recognize the family! ”

Wu Kang's hanging heart was finally put into his stomach. He was really scared, and the villagers were indiscriminate, and they came up with a painful meal. In that case, all the plans failed, so he could only carry Jiuniang and flee for his life, thinking of this with a smiling face, and saying polite words to Muramasa.

When the old money head told the ins and outs, 1510 and Panpan, all the villagers were stunned. The old Chengjing Wang Baochang, his eyes rolled twice, and he asked tentatively: "Wu Shen Jun Rongyu, do you have the secret technique of managing the pear orchard?" If you want to say yes, I really believe it! You don't need a hen to warm the chickens, no one in the world can do it except for the military army! ”

This sounded very awkward, Wu Kang was a little helpless, coughed dryly and said, "It's not a secret, there is indeed a secret technique of the pear orchard." I have tricked you into doing a little trick to teach you the secret arts. Give you a bottom, use secret techniques to manage the pear orchard, the yield per mu in a small year is at least 2,000 catties, and the big year is at least 3,000 catties! ”

The crowd suddenly exploded, and they all exchanged heads, 3,000 pounds, I couldn't think about it. If someone else says this, they will definitely be blown away as a madman! Wu Shuai can hold the nest and hatch the chickens, or be an official, come all the way to deceive people, can he be full of food?

Jiuniang pulled Wu Kang's sleeve, leaned over and whispered softly: "Is Erlang sure?" Don't make a big fuss! If you lose your trust in others, your hard-earned reputation will soon be in vain. ”

Wu Kang is still a sentence, mountain people have their own clever plans. Jiuniang pursed her lips and could only choose to believe him.

The crowd discussed, and the old man was the first to speak: "Wu Senjun is an official of the imperial court, and he must not deceive us." The old man dared to ask, is your secret technique of pear orchard to cut branches? I've been growing pears for more than 20 years, and I've never heard of it. ”

"The old man is right, the secret technique not only includes pruning", Wu Kang pondered for a moment, and explained in simple terms: "A pear tree, the fertility that the roots can absorb is basically fixed. The more branches and branches of the tree, the less fertility the branches have, and the fewer pears it bears, or even no pears. Everyone said, isn't this the reason? ”

The crowd was silent, all pondering. Jiuniang quickly understood it and said from the side: "What Erlang means is that fertility is like lake water. One family irrigated, the fields are absolutely not dry, and at the same time waste water; Irrigation for 100 households just ensures that the fields are not dry; Thousands of households are irrigated, and the fields are still dry. ”

This is a good example, and the farmer who works with the field all day long nods in agreement. Wu Kang gave Jiu Niang a thumbs up, and continued to the crowd: "You all know that some branches bear pears, and some don't. Those that do not bear pears are like weeds in the crop field, which divide the fertility of the crop and must be completely eradicated. ”

Seeing that everyone understood, Wu Kang also gained confidence and continued to popularize science: "And those who bear pears, in order to make reasonable use of fertility, must also cut off a part." Take crops as an example, when you plant rice, you should leave a gap instead of planting it all over the ground? In the final analysis, there is still not enough fertility to raise more seedlings in the fields. If you think about it, is that the truth? ”

The crowd exchanged heads again, and Lao Qian continued to ask questions for a long time: "The meaning of joining the army is so old that I can understand it. It's just that the old decay is not at ease, is the pear tree like a human being, and it is also fatal? If it hurts the vital point, will the pear tree die? ”

Wu Kang immediately replied: "The key to the pear tree is the root, even if all the branches and leaves are cut off, as long as the root and trunk are there, it will sprout again, and it will grow again after a few years... Don't worry about old money, starting this year and going on for decades to come. If a tree dies, I lose the tree's money; The output is not as good as before, I will pay for the output, what do you think? ”

When it comes to this, Lao Qian also shut up. Wang Baochang stood up again and shouted to everyone: "Fellow villagers, you have many families, and they all raise chicken babies who support farmers. What is the reputation of Wu joining the army, you also understand it in your stomach. Now is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to teach management secrets and increase the yield of pear orchards by five times! ”

Muramasa added from the side: "Anyone's secret recipe is hidden, but the martial arts join the army and teach each other, and they can't find it with a lantern!" This is the grace of the profession, and it is necessary to practice the teacher's ceremony. Not much to say, the time to join the army is limited, whoever wants to learn can follow it, and leave immediately if you don't want to learn! ”

The people present were not stupid, they all shouted to learn, and some even knelt down to worship the teacher. Wu Kang stopped them, immediately began to teach, and came to the pear tree to explain: "Everyone, please see, this kind of branch that grows straight upwards will definitely not bear pears, and must be cut off; There are too many branches here, and the wind can't get in, so you have to prune a few branches..."

The pruning techniques of later generations were taught without reservation, explaining scientific principles, answering villagers' questions, and they were very busy. The old master of the private school asked people to put the wooden couch outside the crowd and write hard to make records. Jiuniang felt the lively and harmonious atmosphere, felt the excitement and excitement of the people, and the stars appeared in the eyes of the fawn, and soon became a nymphomaniac.

More than an hour has passed, and the pruning technique has been taught. Seeing their enthusiastic eyes, Wu Kang was quite satisfied, shook his head and said, "That's all there is to theory, the next thing is practice." I usually have to go to the government, so this pear orchard is handed over to everyone to practice. According to what I said, don't worry about cutting boldly, and when this pear tree is finished, you will also learn. ”

Lao Qian, a pear farmer, said: "What Wu Senjun just said, he is old and talented, and he has almost learned it. If you don't get old, cut one and join the army for guidance. If you are satisfied, you will be taught to cut it in the future? ”

That couldn't be better, happily handing out the scissors, and the crowd dispersed again. Lao Qian took the scissors and came to a tree, where the scissors opened and fell in a mess. The more Wu Kang looked at it, the happier he became, worthy of the twenty-year-old pear farmer, who cut it well.

A tree was quickly cut, Wu Kang laughed heartily, stretched out his thumb and praised: "My husband is amazing, when the adults taught me, it took many days to learn." Fellow villagers, if you don't understand anything in the future, ask Mr. Qian directly. For the sake of time, I'll move on to pests and diseases..."

Speaking of this, Datang has no pesticides, and there is no way to prevent and control pests and diseases. Looking at everyone's expectant eyes, he couldn't help but blush, and said embarrassedly: "For the time being, you can only eliminate the heart-eating worm, you listen carefully." Now it is about to start winter, and the straw is tied to the trunk of the tree, and the larvae will spend the winter on the straw. In the spring of the following year, the straw will be burned and the larvae of the heart-eating worms will be burned..."

Wu Kang tried his best to scrape his mind, and poured out all the pests and diseases that could be manually controlled, like beans poured into a bamboo tube. Everyone listened to the novelty, their faces flushed with excitement, and they all listened with straight ears, for fear of missing a minute.

After talking about insect pests, that is, thinning flower buds, take a plant as an example, and explain: "For example, one person can eat enough for one cookcake, two people can eat half full, and 100 people will starve to death if they eat it." There are so many branches and fertility, and the more flower buds, the more pears, and the young fruits will starve to death if they are not full. Therefore, thinning the flower buds must be ruthless, leaving 200 to 400 per plant. ”

The flower buds fell to the ground one after another, and everyone was sad, obviously reluctant. Wu Kang doesn't care, so he's reluctant? When it's really time to thin the fruit, you still have to die of distress? After doing a simple demonstration, let Lao Qian practice his hands, and made him feel distressed, and his hands trembled.

In this way, one party teaches sincerely, and the other party learns sincerely, and gradually comes to dusk. The girl suddenly said "oops", provoking everyone on the side, Wu Kang was scared, Jiu Niang hurriedly said: "The city gate is about to close, we must leave immediately!" ”

Wu Kang looked at the sun in the west, the evil smile on the corner of his mouth flashed, and suddenly he let out a "oops", and shouted: "It's over, I'm on duty tonight." Yonghui Law seems to stipulate that if an official is not on duty for no reason, how many whips will he draw? ”

"Thirty, it's too late to beat your skin and flesh open", Jiu Niang was like an ant on a hot pot, pulling his sleeve and said anxiously: "You ride back first..."

"Absolutely not", Wu Kang decisively decisively, patted his chest and said: "I'd rather be whipped than leave you!" ”

Jiuniang blushed, and soon blushed again, twisting and whispering in a low voice. On the spacious official road, the black wind horse flew like four hooves, Wu Kang whipped the horse, and Jiuniang stuck behind him.

Suddenly, his back was pinched, and a gloomy voice came: "Wu Erlang, listen well, if I find out, you deliberately delay time and trick me into riding together, you will definitely die!" ”

Wu Kang's head shook into a rattle, and he couldn't admit it even if he was killed!