June of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen is the harvest season of Shandong.

The harvest of the first-ripening barley this year was not good, which was planted in the middle of autumn last year, and it was already a blessing that the harvest was not extinguished due to the lack of snow in winter and little rain in spring and summer. What's more, this time the locusts did not cause a catastrophe, which is enough to make people overjoyed.

Last year's wheat, also planted last year, will not be harvested until after the summer solstice, as the harvest has been much better than previously expected due to the newly opened canals and deep wells. Soybeans are planted immediately after the wheat harvest to maintain the fertility of the land. After the soybean harvest, autumn crops such as sorghum, millet, and corn are planted. As a result, Shandong's agricultural law of three crops in two years has been formed.

"Now that grain can be grown on sandy land and tidal flats, this year it will be time for people to starve to death." The village elder stood in the ground with his hands in his hands, looking at it from afar, looking at the spirit, as if he was the lord of the world.

Another old man who was squatting on the ground slowly stood up, his face full of wrinkles on his bitter and hateful face. He glanced at the village elder dissatisfiedly and said, "You stepped on the seedlings." ”

The village elder lowered his head, and there was a tender seedling at his feet. He hurriedly staggered, but he was not embarrassed.

"Farmer, is my land okay?" Wang Lao Wu brought a bowl of water and handed it to the bitter and vengeful peasant elder.

The farmer is not surnamed Nong.

Each prefecture and county selects old farmers who are proficient in farming, and assigns them to villages to guide agricultural affairs, and they are called farmers.

The village elders, the peasant elders, and the instructors form the three elders in the village. There are no village elders and peasant elders in the town, but there are lieutenants and persuaders, and there are instructors, which are still the three old designs of the Hongwu era, but they are enriched and perfected a lot.

The farmer drank half a bowl of water, carefully poured the remaining half bowl into the seedling roots, got up and returned the bowl, and said, "The water is enough." Fat owe point. ”

Wang Lao Wu was a little helpless and said: "Now it's fat and expensive, and it's not easy to buy." ”

The farmer said casually: "There are often large armies coming in and out of Fengjia Village, and several large dung pits have been built, so you can buy them there." ”

In this era of lack of information, a village dozens of miles away is another world. People who can know what is happening in the county are either immortals or capable people. Wang Lao Wu got the guidance of the farmer, and responded again and again, and said with a smile: "I am also in a hurry, I want to fertilize the land before the autumn planting, and I can plant wheat next year." ”

"You can't be in a hurry." The farmer shook his head and walked out, suddenly stopped and said, "By the way, who are you from Mr. Wang, the village school?" ”

"I'm his father." Wang Lao Wu said with a smile.

"Oh!" The wrinkles of the farmer have spread out a lot. Said: "Last time I went back to the county to persuade the peasant association, I want to raise earthworms to feed the chickens, I see that you still have a place here, let's put you here in the village." ”

"Where am I?" Wang Lao Wu hesitated: "The ground is already full." ”

"Under that earthen hill, it doesn't occupy much space, and it's one step wide horizontally and vertically." The farmer walked over, took a step and measured, and said, "That's enough." A ridge can raise tens of thousands, almost. The feed is given by the prefecture. But you'll have to build it yourself, and I'll tell you when the time comes. ”

"Huh, done." Wang Lao Wu saw that there was no need for the border land, so he agreed to come down obediently as usual.

"Earthworm manure can fertilize the land, and when earthworms come out in the future, the county will exchange it for grain. I can't lose it to you. "The farmer was just looking at Mr. Wang's face and making it convenient for Mr. Wang's five families, but when he saw that this honest man couldn't turn around, he had to say something to break it.

In previous agricultural books, earthworms were regarded as pests that hurt the roots and would endanger the growth of seedlings. It has always been regarded as a great enemy by farmers.

Now the county wants to build a chicken farm, and the earthworms should be dried and powdered, with shell flour, corn flour, and feed. I heard that the chickens fed in this way grow fat and can lay more eggs.

At first, the county only collected earthworms like locusts, but as a result, a group of little dolls dug up messily in the field, so they still had to rely on raising them alone.

If it had been a matter of land and crops, the peasants would certainly not have accepted such a whimsy. Who has heard of earthworms for thousands of years? If all these pests are raised, will they not have to raise locusts in the future? But as soon as I heard that it was the crown prince's care, no one had anything to say. That's too Wei Xingjun descended to earth, and he said what he said, and there was no locust plague this year because he was in Shandong.

What's more, I heard that Gaomi County has set up a chicken farm and a rabbit farm, and the harvest is good. Wang Daling refused to lag behind, so he naturally had to focus on following up. Think about it, since this great commander took office, he has been kind and honest as an official, and he has been running around in the countryside for half a month. When you meet such a good official, you must always help if you can help it.

What's more, raising earthworms is not a difficult task, as long as the vegetable leaves and rotten fruits are composted separately as earthworm feed, which is simpler than the compost used in the field.

Wang Lao Wu heard what the farmer meant, and hurriedly thanked him again.

The village elder smiled and followed the farmer to the next family to continue the investigation. He didn't care about the fields, but someone in another village secretly changed the boundary mark, and he almost got into a fight. Later, the trouble reached the county, and the matter was finally resolved, but the village elder of the village was taken aback and was beaten by the training, blaming him for failing to calm the dispute in the village.

The village elders didn't want to encounter such an unwarranted disaster, so every family moved around diligently, and tried to smooth out some small contradictions. Finally, nothing major has happened in the village since he took office.

As soon as the old farmer of the village was sent away, the instructor of the village came again. He was one of the earliest guards in the East Palace, and when he beat Liu Fangliang, his arm bone was broken, and he happened to be sent to the village as an instructor to recuperate from his injuries by the way.

The task of the instructor in the village is not heavy, and every day when he goes to the field, he leads the peasants in a line, turns left and right, and explains the military commands. Every night, I will tell you about the rules in the army, what you have seen and heard when you are fighting, and recognize your strength, so that you will not understand anything when you are drafted. Then there is the rotation to go to the village school to attend classes, and it can only be the turn once in three or five days, which is purely a life adjustment.

"Instructor Zheng, you're here." Wang Lao Wu was a little surprised to see that the instructor was wearing a military uniform from a distance.

Instructor Zheng didn't have a smile on his face, but just said dryly: "The top must form township warriors in each county, and every village must send people." Are you going? Military training during the slack season, and farming when the farm is busy. Military training is in the county, including food and accommodation, and allowances are paid every day. ”

Wang Lao Wu had a pimple in his heart, and said secretly: Do you still have to go to war after all?

"If you don't go, I'll find someone else, and there are a lot of people who want to go." Instructor Zheng said: "The allowance is at least two eggs, and if it is a good time, there will be meat." ”

Wang Lao Wu was already worried about the war, shook his head and said: "I'm an outsider, so I won't rob anyone of this good thing." ”

"Look at what you said, if you don't want to go, you won't go, and if you come to the house, who bullied your family?" Instructor Zheng was in a bad mood, the corners of his mouth twitched, and he turned around and left.

Wang Lao Wu was a little embarrassed, thanked Instructor Zheng's back, let him go, and immediately found pests in the field. When encountering clumped soil, it is also easily rolled into soil and cultivated on the roots of seedlings. He had to be busy until the day was getting close, and the village was beating the drum of closing the door, and then he was reluctant to go to the village.

All the peasants outside the village lined up in a queue, the custom of turning around twice, counting and reporting the number, the three elders made sure that all the people in the village had arrived, and then entered the village and went home. The gate of the village was then closed, and it was not opened until dawn.

Wang Yi has been back a long time ago. Now he is a teacher in the village school, helping the new gentleman with errands, checking homework, and meeting young children who need enlightenment, he is also in charge. He also enjoyed taking naturalist and physical education classes, and when he got there, he changed into his own short clothes, just like the rest of his classmates.

Because he came home early, the task of cooking fell on him, and when his father returned, the two of them finished their meal in the light that was about to dissipate.

"It's my turn to keep vigil tonight, you practice at home, don't be lazy." Wang Lao Wu educated his son while eating.

Wang Yi nodded, put down the bowl, and said, "Dad, have you heard?" The county is going to practice the courage of the township. ”

"Eat your food and be nosy." Wang Lao Wu shook his head and said.

"It is said that the instructors in each village are going to quit military service and turn to brave service." Wang Yi asked puzzledly: "After the transfer of brave service, the instructor can get fifteen acres of land alone, which is a good land for growing wheat and millet, and it is three years of free grain, and only half of the grain tax will be paid after three years......

"That's someone else's disability in exchange, why are you red-eyed." Wang Lao Wu didn't have a good airway.

The village instructors also took turns to serve as the physical education teachers of the village school, so Wang Yi knew about this.

"I'm not red-eyed," Wang Yi argued, "I just can't figure it out." Why are they not happy about such a haode thing? ”

Wang Lao Wu sucked the noodle soup and said expressionlessly: "Eat your food and be nosy." (To be continued......)

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