Borrow the day to change the day

Song Yingxing immediately complied, but he added: "Grand Duke, what I just learned from the officials is that sweet potatoes are afraid of the cold. This is based on comparing the sweet potato planting reports in the southern provinces."

"Oh, that means the sweet potato planting in the south is better?" Zhong Jinwei asked in surprise.

Song Yingxing nodded slightly, with a serious attitude as always, and continued to report to Zhong Jinwei: "Yes. Last year, the south was affected by the hurricane, so we replanted sweet potatoes. Compared with the north, the survival rate is higher."

When he said this, he paused for a while, but then said with a turning point: "However, the production of sweet potatoes in the south is still relatively low."

Zhong Jinwei was slightly disappointed when he heard this, but it is understandable that the high yield of sweet potatoes in later generations, and those sweet potatoes that can adapt to the northern climate, must be the result of long-term improvement.

Now that sweet potatoes have just been introduced to Daming, there must be a process in order to have a variety that can be promoted across the country.

Thinking of this, he asked Song Yingxing, "What about the corn and potatoes?"

"The situation of corn and sweet potatoes is similar, but corn is basically not harvested by the sea, which is suspected to be related to the high salinity in the water. Moreover, it needs more water than sweet potatoes, so at least for now, it is still not available in places with severe drought. Corn cannot be grown."

After Song Yingxing finished speaking, he saw that Duke Xingguo was disappointed, so he quickly added: "Master Xing, these corns and sweet potatoes can be used for disaster relief. Because these two things can be planted in suitable places without occupying the original farmland. , how much yield can be harvested is how much yield will be increased. Moreover, the fruits are not easy to deteriorate, and are easy to store and transport."

"Well, I know about this. Tell me about potatoes." Zhong Jinwei nodded and asked about the last crop.

Speaking of this potato, Song Yingxing showed a smile on his face, and he replied Zhong Jinwei: "Grandpa, this potato is exactly the opposite of sweet potato and corn. After experiments, the yield of planting in the north is higher than that in the south. We can draw a preliminary conclusion , this kind of crop is cold-loving. But it is best to plant it in a farmland, where the land is a little fertile, and the yield of planting will be higher."

"In addition, after testing, in addition to the germinated potatoes that the Duke said you can't eat, you can't eat potatoes with purple skin. Also, it's best not to eat them raw, because it will make people feel uncomfortable and even poisoned. But in When cooked, it is delicious."

Zhong Jinwei also smiled when he heard it, and he immediately asked: "How is the output?"

Speaking of yield, Song Yingxing put back his smile, shook his head slightly and said, "It's not very high. But in any case, the yield is still a little higher than that of ordinary crops."

Zhong Jinwei stood up after hearing this, and walked back and forth in Song Yingxing's office.

Song Yingxing and others knew that the Duke was thinking about something, so they kept quiet and didn't dare to disturb him.

After a while, Zhong Jinwei stood still, looked at Song Yingxing, and explained to him: "First, the improvement of the varieties of these three crops must be carried out continuously, and strive to increase the yield. I can tell you clearly that these three crops The yield of such crops will be very high.”

"Yes, Duke." Song Yingxing agreed.

After Zhong Jinwei received Song Yingxing's response, he continued: "Second, select suitable seeds, especially potatoes, and send researchers to Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Zhili, and Liaodong. On the premise of not affecting the existing agricultural production , guide local farmers, and carry out large-scale promotion.”

Song Yingxing saw that Xing Guogong seemed to be in a hurry, so he couldn't help but remind him: "Guo Gong, it will take time for a large-scale planting at the beginning of the promotion. And even with the guidance of the researcher, the initial output may still be low. It is much lower than the yield obtained in the experiment."

Zhong Jinwei is not unrealistic, he nodded and said: "I know this, I don't expect a good harvest in the first few years of planting. But I must plant and keep planting, understand?"

"Understood." Song Yingxing nodded in response.

After talking about these contents, Zhong Jinwei asked again with a glimmer of hope: "Have you discovered any special crops recently?"

Since before, strange crops have been sent to the capital from all over the country, and because of this, potatoes and other things were discovered by Zhong Jinwei.At this time, Zhong Jinwei had the idea of ​​picking up another treasure in his heart.

Unexpectedly, Song Yingxing let him down: "I haven't received any special crops yet."

After saying this, Song Yingxing smiled again and said, "Duke, that pepper has had a good harvest."

When Zhong Jinwei heard this, his disappointed mood improved again, and he immediately ordered: "Well, I will take some back to study and study. By the way, in addition, we will also promote planting in the northern provinces. This pepper is a good thing to keep out the cold. "

Song Yingxing smiled knowingly, he knew that the Duke likes chili as a condiment.

After inspecting the crops, Zhong Jinwei, accompanied by Song Yingxing, went directly to the Power Research Institute to inspect the research of the steam engine.

On the way, Zhong Jinwei explained to Song Yingxing as he walked: "If there are any good agricultural measures in various places, such as tools for draining floods and droughts, better seeding methods, farming techniques, etc., we should also remember to summarize and promote them. The Agricultural Research Institute is in In the next period of time, all efforts will be made to increase agricultural production. Do you understand?"

"Understood, Duke." Song Yingxing listened to Zhong Jinwei's explanation, so he turned sideways and responded to Zhong Jinwei.

As soon as this was mentioned, Zhong Jinwei remembered again.Water conservancy facilities in various places should also be investigated and thoroughly investigated.What should be repaired should be repaired, and what should be dredged should be dredged in time.Later, we have to give a memorial to Emperor Chongzhen and send a special person to take charge of this matter.

But in this way, it may cost a lot of money.Emperor Chongzhen will definitely have a headache, but this is money that has to be spent.It is really easy to be an emperor, but it is difficult to be a good emperor!

Zhong Jinwei was walking and thinking, and couldn't help feeling slightly sympathetic to Emperor Chongzhen.

The Power Research Institute is relatively close, so it didn't take long for the group of them to reach their destination.

Zhong Jinwei has already been here, and like going to the research institute, he wants to go directly to the steam engine research workshop to inspect.However, what he didn't expect was that he was stopped by the guard this time.

"My lord, you can't go! Let the villain go and report first." After paying respects to Zhong Jinwei, the guard stopped in front and said.

"Bold, dare to stop the Duke, how dare you have the guts!" Wang Peng stepped forward when he saw it, and shouted loudly.

"The villain doesn't dare, the villain doesn't dare." The guard was frightened by the Dongchang guards and said repeatedly.

But after he finished speaking, he said with a bitter face: "Please wait a while, the Duke, the villain will be back soon."

When Song Yingxing saw it, he couldn't bear it anymore.A small guard of the research institute under him wants to learn from that Xiliuying, can he stop Duke Xingguo?