Chapter 1,488 Production

"Immigration costs mainly come from the development of saline-alkali land in the north of Kaifeng and the auction of the 28th workshop land in the city's central plains. There is no additional burden on the court."

"After these people moved out, the production costs of the workshops were reduced, and their livelihood mainly focused on building new buildings in Sanji, Luobian Canal, Chenliu Canal, and Chen-Bian Railway. Several professional construction teams were formed."

"Except for workshops and construction, most of the rest are engaged in farming."

"Your Majesty, the price of vegetables in Bianjing is not cheap. The income from vegetables from one acre of land in Zhongmou can feed a family of five. After the opening of the railway, more people here are growing vegetables and raising pigs."

Zhao Xu asked: "With more people growing vegetables and raising pigs, wouldn't there be fewer people producing that kind of food? Is the food in this country enough?"

Su You smiled and said: "Your Majesty is really smart. He does not only see the small gains of one household. The first thing that comes to mind is the big problems that the adjustment of local industrial structure will bring to the country."

"Indeed, the area of ​​local land cultivated for grain in Zhongmou has decreased since the opening of the railway, while the area planted with cotton, rapeseed, and vegetables has increased significantly. However, statistics show that Zhongmou's grain production has not decreased, and has even increased."

Zhao Xu clapped his hands and said: "Laishan No. 1, Chief of the Mountain!"

Su You smiled and said: "Laishan No. 1 certainly contributed a lot. In addition, there are also improvements in intercropping methods, continuous improvements in water conservancy facilities, and the promotion of new family-style three-dimensional agriculture."

"Another important reason is that changes in residents' dietary structure and the intake of meat, egg and oil have reduced the body's direct demand for food."

"There are also improvements in storage and processing methods, which can extend the storage period of grains, reduce spoilage and waste, and increase people's nutrient absorption rate of grains. These should all be taken into account."

"Three big bumps and one small bump. In the past four years, the country's grain reserves have surged and people's lives have improved significantly. It's hard to come by."

"The reason why I invited Your Majesty to come to Zhongmou today, and the reason why the Queen Mother agreed, is because I want to invite Your Majesty to take a look at the crops we are trying to plant in Dongsheng Prefecture."

"Your Majesty, now in our Song Dynasty, the top-notch fields can harvest four stones a year. The average harvest of the rest is two stones per mu, which is very good. In many sloping dry lands and barren lands, two bushels per mu can be harvested one stone per year.

All of them.”

Zhao Xu was a little excited: "So the crop yield in Dongsheng Prefecture has greatly exceeded expectations?"

Su You smiled and said: "There are a few things that really... His Majesty will measure them personally after meeting him later."

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The carriage soon turned onto a small road. The houses along the road gradually became fewer and fewer, and the cultivated land became more and more.

Soon, a tall crop appeared on the side of the road, which had turned yellow and withered. Each crop still had small bamboo shoots on it, which were arranged on both sides of the thick pole of the crop.

Su You said: "This is corn. Let's get off the bus here."

In the distance, a group of farmers were preparing to harvest. When they saw the three people getting out of the car, they came up to them: "The bachelor is here, and Mr. Bian Gu. I don't know who this is..."

Su You said: "Old Li has worked hard this year. This is a servant brother, a noble son in the city. His family's land will also be rotated next year. The elders in the family called over to see if they can pick out some new high-yielding grains.

kind."

Lao Li was also picked out from the dead of the Western Army back then. His hands and feet were all intact, but he was hit by an arrow in the face, which pierced the left and right sides of the face. His beard covered his face like two dimples, which made him look a little festive.

.

It’s just that I have a bit of a big tongue when it comes to speaking.

Lao Li said: "Then I recommend corn rice to the young man. Master Bian Guan said that those people thousands of miles away can produce two hundred kilograms per mu. I think that means they don't know how to grow it at all!"

After saying that, he asked Su You happily: "Bachelor, then let's call the boys to start work?"

Su You smiled and said: "Then let's start the work. Hurry up and take over this land. What about the other items?"

Lao Li called to his men to harvest, and then said: "Over there, I will take the bachelor over to have a look?"

Su You said: "Look at potatoes, sweet potatoes, and cassava."

The potato and sweet potato fields are lined with low soil ridges. Potatoes whose vines have begun to wither on the soil ridges are sweet potatoes whose vines are still green.

Lao Li carried some hoes and said, "This thing is very pleasant, but the Duke of the country has told me not to mess around with it."

After sending Lao Li away, Su You gave a hoe to Zhao Xu and Bian Guan: "Let's dig up a few trees at random and estimate the yield."

This planting method comes from later generations, and the funniest thing is that it was not promoted to central Sichuan until the 1990s.

When Su You was chatting with the old people in the field, the old people said that in the past, potatoes were grown on flat ground in central Sichuan. The ridge planting method had long been used in the coastal areas of Fujian, but they didn't know it.

There are many benefits to planting in ridges. Water can pass through the trenches on weekdays and there is no fear of siltation. When harvesting, roots and tubers can be obtained by flattening the ridges without digging holes. Not only can the harvest be larger than planting on flat land, it is also much easier.

Zhao Xu quickly picked up a potato, and a dozen lumps of different sizes were dug out. Su You collected them into a basket and weighed them, and found that they weighed more than two kilograms.

But only one-third of the big ones are, and the rest are small potatoes.

The three of them randomly selected ten trees, each with a large or small size, and the total weight was more than twenty kilograms.

Then Zhao Xu took out his notebook and calculated with a pencil: "Situ! The production capacity of this acre reaches 700 jins! 700 jins!"

In later generations, the yield of potatoes per mu was often two to three thousand kilograms. In the experimental fields of intensive cultivation, there were tens of thousands of kilograms of potatoes, and the yield of seven hundred kilograms of potatoes was not surprising.

Hehe laughed and said: "The fields in Zhuangzi are all renovated, and there is enough pig manure. It is also cultivated intensively by experts. It is not comparable to ordinary farmers."

"If we switch to inferior fields for rough farming, it would be good to have a yield of 400 kilograms."

"That's amazing!" Zhao Xu turned to Bian Guan and said, "Brother Bian Guan, I want to repay you!"

Bian Guan looked around and saw no one, then said awkwardly: "Your Majesty, you should actually call me Su Dianzhi, or Su Duwei. If the courtiers hear your Majesty calling me that, they will charge me with lese majesty."

"Oh." Zhao Xu then remembered that he was already the emperor, and couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed: "But today we are on Zhuangzi!"

Su You smiled and said: "The credit for discovering the crops was already offset when Bian Guan returned to Hangzhou last time. How can he be rewarded again?"

"Today, if we want to take credit, it should be attributed to those who have researched how to grow these crops and promote them in the future."

"And this person is not a flat pot, nor should he be a flat pot. I think... Your Majesty, you should shoulder your responsibilities and do your best to provide food and clothing for the people of the Song Dynasty."

"Yes!" Zhao Xu nodded immediately: "I have to take several crops back to the palace to show to the imperial grandmother. This is God's blessing for me, the Song Dynasty!"

Su You said: "Speaking of which, there is also the issue of the naturalization of the remaining Chinese descendants in Dongsheng Prefecture. They also have contributions here, but they are still living a life of slash-and-burn farming, killing each other, and conducting human sacrifices."

"Brother Yong, please pay attention to the issue of education."

Zhao Xu nodded, and then thought of a question: "How many Tushou chickens are there? Can we eat them now?"

Su You laughed loudly: "When you come to Sujiazhuangzi, you have to work first, and then you can eat after you finish!"

Zhao Xu now works every other day, so he only has one day. It is impossible to wait for all the land to be harvested. He can only randomly harvest and weigh, and then estimate the yield based on the area.

A few people were busy all morning, visiting several places in Zhuangzi, and finally got the statistical results. The potato yield per mu was 700 jins, the sweet potato yield was 500 jins, and the cassava was a bit scary, it could reach over a thousand jins!

But the trouble with cassava is that it needs to be detoxified.

The method of detoxification is to cut into pieces and throw them into a basket, then wash them in the stream for two days, or grind them into a slurry and mix them with water to settle several times.

Because during the detoxification process, cassava itself will ferment and produce a sour taste, and alkali must be added to neutralize it in the end.

Therefore, although the output is large, it must be processed before it can be eaten, which is not suitable for small farmers.

This problem also exists with sweet potatoes harvested in summer. The sweet potatoes have too much water. Although the yield is large, they are not easy to store. Moreover, the seeds and vines are poisonous and can easily cause accidental ingestion.

It is not suitable for large-scale promotion as a grain, but it is good as a supplement to the vegetables of the Song Dynasty.

Su You also explained these ways of thinking in detail to Zhao Xu during the harvesting and measurement process.

These are actually another level of "why not eat minced meat". Zhao Xu cannot be allowed to believe the absurd reports of local officials producing tens of thousands of kilograms per mu in the future, giving rise to the illusion that the country's food supply is too much to eat.

However, the results are still very gratifying.

One-third of the land in the Song Dynasty now belongs to official land, mainly due to the development of Jinghu and the dividends from Ningxia in the South China Sea.

The government can actually intervene in the planting of official land. I brought Zhao Xu to personally inspect the yields of several new crops, hoping that he would fulfill his responsibilities in the future.
Chapter completed!