1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 356 Cotton Spinning (continued)

"Is all the cotton used up last season?" Wang Zhenliang, the county magistrate of Weihai County, was a little surprised to see several machines in the spinning mill quietly placed on the side of the huge factory building, and several workers were cleaning the machines with rags. .

"Lord county magistrate, we ran out of cotton last week." Wang Zongping, the manager of the Weihai gauze factory, looked at his own county magistrate, still maintaining a respectful attitude.

"According to the production speed of your factory, our cotton output in Weihai next season may not be enough for your consumption in a few months." Wang Zhenliang never thought about how such a few machines are like swallowing gold beasts, with a cotton output of more than [-] mu , consumed in less than a month.Then the nearly [-] mu of cotton in the next season will be able to maintain the supply of raw materials for less than half a year at most.Could it be that this is the industrial mass production model that the general manager said?
"Yes, magistrate." Wang Zongping said with a smile: "The Heishan City Machinery Factory is still developing machines with a larger production scale and faster production speed. Therefore, in your Weihai area, the cotton cultivation area may have to increase multiple times to be able to Meeting the needs of our gauze mill."

"To expand the area of ​​cotton cultivation, we need to give us enough manpower!" Wang Zhenliang heard that some heads are as big as buckets, and the area of ​​cotton cultivation will increase exponentially. Wouldn't it mean that tens of thousands of acres of new cultivated land will be added in the next season? To grow all cotton.To complete these expansions of cultivated land, at least [-] to [-] immigrants must be added.

In fact, according to the distribution of cotton in later generations of Australia, the most suitable place to grow cotton is in the upper reaches of the Darling River, which spans Queensland in the east and New South Wales in the southeast. The climate here is warm to extremely hot, and there is no frost all year round. Rich, suitable for cotton production and development, is one of the important reasons for the high yield of cotton, for example, the suitable growth period of cotton in the Queensland cotton area is more than 300 days.

However, at present, due to insufficient population and development efforts, Hanzhou can only plant cotton in coastal areas such as Weihai and Guangling (now Townsville), laying a foundation for the explosive growth of the cotton textile industry in the later period.

"Don't worry, the civil government will definitely give priority to your Weihai area when the immigrants come this time." Wang Zongping said firmly: "The cotton textile industry, but the industry that our Hanzhou has recently vigorously supported, will definitely tilt its human and material resources to this side. In the future Our Hanzhou expands to the south, and I heard that the temperature is not as warm as it is here all year round. Moreover, it seems that there is winter there. After immigration, thick cotton cloth is indispensable to keep warm."

Wang Zhenliang nodded, as long as the civil government supports and gives things to people, Weihai will definitely develop at a high speed.Maybe, in a few years, relying on the positioning of Hanzhou Cotton Spinning Center, the population and settlements will grow rapidly, and Weihai County will be upgraded to the second prefecture of Hanzhou, which is a matter of course.

"I heard that the immigrant fleet will come back from Daming to buy some cotton. It will take a long time and effort to process it into gauze with you, and the cost will probably far exceed the price of cotton cloth in Daming." Wang Zhenliang asked: "In this way Come on, how to set the purchase price for the public?"

"Naturally, the price of gauze is calculated based on the processing cost of local cotton in Hanzhou." Wang Zongping said: "The difference, the Ministry of Finance and Accounting of the Civil Government will naturally make up for our gauze factory."

"Huh?" Wang Zhenliang asked strangely: "Why does the civil government buy cotton from as far away as Daming regardless of the cost, instead of buying cotton cloth directly? Didn't the chief manager always emphasize that whether it is government administration or workshop production, everything must be done?" Calculate the cost one or two?"

"Because the cotton textile industry needs government support, and the scale and technology of the industry also need to be cultivated slowly." Wang Zongping said: "The current production regardless of cost is for the future scale and intensification, and also for the reserve of production technology and industrial workers. It is also to minimize costs in the future. The goal of our cotton textile industry in Hanzhou in the next few decades is to surpass the current Daming Susong area."

"Our Hanzhou will not have a large population even after more than ten years. How can we use up so much cotton cloth?" Wang Zhenliang murmured.

"Sell to the natives of Nanyang, the Dutch, the Spaniards, the Portuguese, and even sell to Ming Dynasty and India." Wang Zongping once heard Qitian say that in the future, Hanzhou's cotton spinning products will monopolize the entire Nanyang, India, and even What about Persia, the Ottoman market.

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Kong Xianglin stood in a field and looked at the cotton that had grown to knee height for a long time.Because the soil is not very fertile, the plants in the cotton field look relatively sparse, but in these sparse gaps, some soybeans are interplanted.This means that the owner of the cotton field can not only harvest the cotton that can earn a lot of money in autumn, but also harvest a lot of soybeans for the oil mills in the city, or directly as a secondary supplement of food to feed their families belly.

At this moment, he regretted that he should not have rejected Hu Kuan, the then head of the village, to plant some cotton in the more than 30 fields in the current season.Now in my own land, all the food crops such as corn, sorghum and potatoes are planted, as well as a small amount of wheat.Looking at the growth is also quite gratifying, but with so much food, I can't finish it.Therefore, it is indispensable to sell some grain depots in the countryside.But most of the grain he grows is coarse grain, which is not worth much money.

The cotton field in front of Kong Xianglin was interplanted with soybeans by other farmers. In other parts of the cotton fields, there were also many interplanted fields with cotton.A few days ago, the owner of the cotton field sold ripe watermelons to sailors on a passing ship, and they were very pleased.Those sailors had big pockets and generous hands, which really made the watermelon farmers earn some silver dollars.

A few days ago, he specifically consulted the agricultural officials and agricultural technicians who came down to inspect the county and town, and asked how to replant cotton in his field next season.Those officials were easy to talk to, and patiently told him how to interplant cotton across seasons.

Intercropping between cotton and oil crops, that is, autumn sowing of leafy crops such as spring beans, rapeseed, garlic, and autumn vegetables can not only harvest vegetables and grain for one season, but also leave leaves and roots of leafy plants in the field to obtain some green manure.In the spring, the soil in the field is plowed again, and then cotton is planted.Some sorghum and okra can also be added beside the cotton furrow.In this way, two seasons of harvest can also be obtained.

In addition, interplanting corn in cotton, and planting corn in cotton fields can trap insect eggs and reduce damage to cotton seedlings.Sowing a row of corn every 10 meters in the cotton field (50-60 pier per mu, 2-3 plants per pier) can effectively improve the ecological structure of the cotton field, attract cotton bollworms and corn borers to lay eggs, and reduce the fall on cotton seedlings. Egg volume.In cotton fields where corn is interplanted, the amount of eggs dropped on cotton seedlings can be reduced by an average of 60% to 70%.

Of course, it is not impossible to interplant wheat with cotton in different seasons, but the climate and soil in Weihai are not very suitable, so the yield must be pitifully low, and it will also slightly damage the soil.After all, this place is incomparable with Daming Jiangnan.

Kong Xianglin was shocked by the explanation given by the agricultural technicians of the Agricultural Affairs Office. He thought that there was so much knowledge and technology in farmland cultivation.It's not that I take it for granted and rely on myself to work hard in the fields, and I will definitely get a huge harvest.In my spare time from farming, I went to the Mintun fields controlled by the Weihai County government to do some research.I have to admit that although they are helping the public to plant the land, with the guidance of civil officials and agricultural technicians, I may not be able to compare with the public's harvest level for the same area of ​​land.

But after all, he is from Daming, a country with a traditional hardworking quality. After a little careful consideration and research, and then follow the guidance and planning of the agricultural technicians of the Civil Affairs Department, it is only a matter of time before the harvest increases.It's a pity that I was self-righteous at the beginning and always wanted to have more food to ensure that I would not be hungry in the future.

Looking at the grain depots in the countryside, they would pull carts of rice from the wharf from time to time to replenish their stocks.From this point of view, perhaps, in our Hanzhou, we will no longer worry about being hungry in the future.In the future, I must honestly follow the planning and guidance of the government above. In the next season, I will plant more cotton and earn more money.Otherwise, my second child is about to be born, and the family's expenses may be a lot more, and I have to save more money for my wife and children.

"Xianglin, you are not in my own land, but you ran here. It was hard for me to find you!" In the distance, someone shouted Kong Xianglin's name loudly.

Kong Xianglin turned his head and saw that it was Hu Kuan, their village chief and captain of the township squad, with a knife under his waist and a musket on his back, walking directly from the field with great strides.

"Any other servants will be assigned to us?" Kong Xianglin sighed slightly in his heart, wondering whether the village would organize road construction or reservoir construction again.

"Just now the township brigade in the county sent word that some native Timor Islanders ran away from the farmland in Banqiao Bay, and they might come to our side." Hu Kuan wiped the sweat from his forehead, He took off the military cap on his head and continued: "They may have farm tools such as shovels and hoes on them. To be safe, you will go home and get the knife later, and then follow me to patrol around the village. fan."

"Just the two of us?"

"Scared?"

"There's nothing to be afraid of!" Kong Xianglin twisted his neck, and said, "It's just a few monkey-like natives. After a few slashes, they will obediently kneel down and beg for mercy!"

"The Linsan family and Wu Gui's family have already gone to the village to find other people." Hu Kuan said with a smile: "We gathered ten people and inspected the nearby forests and meadows carefully. We can't let those monkeys walk around at night." Come home!"

"Is it going to die or live?" Kong Xianglin followed Hu Kuan towards the village.

"I didn't say anything. I guess it doesn't matter whether it's life or death. ... However, it's better to keep alive, after all, it's a strong laborer, isn't it!"

"Don't you think these natives are stupid! What do they eat when they run out of the farm? The fruits in the woods are not very hungry!"

"That's why we need to take some people to make an inspection. If these natives are hungry, they will come to our village. If not, they will hurt people!"

"Damn it! These lazy and stupid natives, why don't they work hard for us in Hanzhou? When we catch them, beat them to death first, and teach them a lesson!"

(End of this chapter)