In the afternoon of the same day, Song Laosan led two cows to Zhuangzi and organized the tenants to turn over the land. Ploughing the ground before the onset of winter not only keeps the soil soft, but also turns out the eggs hidden in the soil and freezes to death.

With a curved plow, one cow can plough four or five acres of land a day, and six tenants take turns to use it. Tenants who did not have their turn to plough the cattle still used manual ploughing. Fortunately, with the curved plow, it saves a lot of effort. In less than a few days, all 100 acres of land were deeply cultivated.

Hu Zhuangtou led the tenant farmers to spread the alfalfa grass seeds evenly in the field, and a continuous autumn rain fell that night, and within two days the alfalfa grass poked its head out tenaciously in the autumn wind. The autumn sun is still warm, and the alfalfa grass is growing well, even the frost in the morning and evening has not stopped the pace of their growth.

What makes them even happier is that the wild vegetable seeds given by the small owner have also sprouted. Although it is currently only the size of a copper coin, it is growing well. At this time, most of the wild vegetables have become extinct, and these wild vegetables, like timely rain, fill this gap. You must know that the poor people often rely on wild vegetables to satisfy their hunger.

Song Ziran followed her milk and came to Zhuangzi several times, and received a warm welcome from the tenants. Especially Hu Zhuangtou's sister-in-law, she is even more grateful to Dade - if there is no take-in from the little owner, the three of them may not be able to survive this winter.

Song Ziran accidentally found the idle "flower hole" in the former Zhuangzi on the Zhuangzi. What is "Flower Cave"? In fact, it is a relatively primitive greenhouse, which is used to cultivate out-of-season flowers and counter-vegetables.

Don't underestimate the wisdom of the ancients. As far back as the Qin and Han dynasties, out-of-season vegetables have appeared. The Eastern Han Dynasty scholar Wei Hong wrote in the Preface to the Ancient Texts and Books of the Imperial Decree: "(Qin Shi Huang) is a dense melon planted in the middle temperature of the Lishan Mausoleum Valley, and the melon is fruitful, and Dr. Zhao said it. People speak differently, but they are ordered. The Book of Han also recorded: "Taiguan Garden planted winter onions and leeks, covered with roofs." ”

The so-called "flower cave", Song Ziran saw it in the meticulous "Qi Dongye Language": "Those who bloom early in the flower are called Tang (Tang) flowers." The method is to decorate the secret room with paper and dig the ground as a barrier...... Then put the boiling soup in the kan, wait less, the soup is fumigated, then fan it with a breeze, full of spring melting. After lodging, the flowers will bloom. It shows that during the Southern Song Dynasty, there were already people who used "flower holes" to plant out-of-season flowers.

Song Ziran looked at the flower hole, which was a huge pit, which was made of paper to keep the secret room insulated, and the pits were dug around and below, and the green bricks were built to form a heating layer similar to the earth dragon and the fire wall. When charcoal is burned, it acts as a heat preservation, and the vegetables and flowers grown on it can grow even in the cold of winter.

That's good! With this "greenhouse", the vegetables in her space can also be taken out in winter. She looked up and down at the roofless "conservatory", and several of them added up to seven or eight points.

She decisively mobilized tenants and began to grow out-of-season vegetables. She selected four women from among the tenants who were good at growing vegetables, and each of them was in charge of a "greenhouse", promising that whoever planted well would be rewarded.

Then she asked people to buy some farm manure from a nearby village, mix it with the black soil dug out of the mud pond, mix it with the soil, and evenly spread a thick layer in the greenhouse. She also dug up some chili seedlings from the space—these chili seedlings were cultivated by her for this Zhuangzi early.

After all, the vegetable fields in the space are limited, and the pepper seedlings of a hundred acres of land are cultivated in batches. Pepper seedlings need a process, how can you do it without preparing in advance? Fortunately, there are no four seasons in the space, every day is as warm as spring, and a batch of pepper seedlings can be transplanted in about 40 days.

The pepper seedlings are transplanted into a "greenhouse", on which a grid of shelves is made of bamboo, and covered with a layer of transparent oiled paper. During the day, when the sun is good and the temperature is high, lift the shelves. At night, shelves and oiled paper are covered on top of the "warm pit", and cow dung is piled up in the four corners of the hole to keep warm.

The off-season peppers are growing well, and the alfalfa outside is also covered with the ground, and the triennial township test is finally coming in the anxiety and expectation of the students.

There are three township exams, each of which lasts three days. That is to say, each candidate has to sleep in the examination booth (also known as the number room) for two nights. The examination shed is a "examination room" and "dormitory" that integrates answer sheets, meals and accommodation. Before entering the examination room, you should strictly search your body to prevent cheating. After entering the examination booth, the door must be locked. During the exam, candidates eat, drink and laze all in the examination booth until the end of the exam.

The key point is that the examination booth is very cramped, there are no tables and beds, only two planks on top and bottom. The wooden plank on the top is used as a table, and the wooden board on the bottom is used as a chair, on which the candidates sit and answer questions during the day. At night, two planks are put together as a bed, and candidates can only sleep on it with their legs curled up.

Due to the postponement of the township test for more than a month, Chongzhou Mansion in late autumn was fine during the day, but it was already quite cold at night. Candidates can only wear single clothes when entering the examination room, and the maximum number of floors is not more than three floors. In order to prevent the candidates from being frozen, the examination shed prepared a charcoal fire for the candidates, which was used for cooking during the day and heating at night. There is also a candle for lighting at night.

Candidates are required to bring their own food. Song Ziran prepared dehydrated dried vegetables, fried instant noodles, ready-to-eat oil tea noodles, and soup packets for his uncle. Boil the soup packet in boiling water for a while, then add the dried vegetables to make a delicious vegetable soup. It's a pity that the eggs can't be brought in, otherwise it will be more comfortable to eat with egg drops.

"Fifth uncle, put this rice in an iron lunch box and steam it for a quarter of an hour to eat. On top of it were sausages and bacon, all steamed. Now the day, it should be no problem to put it for a day, you eat rice and steamed bacon first. Instant noodles can be left for a longer period of time, so you can save them for the next two days. Before sending Song Qingmo into the examination room, Xiao Fuya turned into an "old mother", and prepared for him in every detail than Mrs. Wu's mother-in-law.

"Rice steamed for a quarter of an hour? Can it be cooked? Although Song Qingmo has never cooked, he often helps Mrs. Wu to light the fire, and the rice is steamed at home for at least three quarters of an hour.

I saw Xiao Fuya say mysteriously: "Fifth uncle, my rice is specially made." If you don't believe me, I'll steam a bowl for you! ”

These rice have wasted her old nose. Rice is ground into flour, cornstarch or potato starch is added, and the rice is reshaped. The ingredients inside are already cooked, so you can eat it after heating it for about ten minutes.

Sure enough, after a quarter of an hour the "rice" was steamed. Song Qingmo tasted it, although the taste was not as good as natural rice, it was okay. If it is paired with sausage or bacon, it basically tastes the same as rice.