Era: I was a farmer at the foot of Yaoling Mountain

Chapter 160: Forest Economy, Exploring the "Tiger's Mouth"

noon.

Everyone gathered in front of the team office. Meals were provided during the rice planting days, and everyone could eat from the big pot.

In the morning, we had sweet potato porridge, white flour buns and fried pickles. There was a little bit of bacon in the pickles, which tasted spicy and delicious.

We didn’t know what to have for lunch, so we were all looking forward to it.

"Wow, there's beef for lunch."

Before anyone even got close, they could smell the rich aroma of beef.

Beef is relatively scarce in the area, so the team raises some buffaloes for plowing. Although they now have tractors, they are reluctant to kill the cattle for meat.

"Everyone is in for a treat today. One of our team's cows broke its leg a couple of days ago and couldn't be healed, so we had to kill it and eat its meat."

Zheng Hu then explained with a smile the source of the beef. Most of the members had never cared about what happened in the cowshed, so only then did they know what was going on.

There was only one dish for lunch, [Braised Beef with Potatoes], which was very filling and served with white rice. Everyone enjoyed it so much.

After dinner, we continued to work and completed the rice planting work in a few days.

Fang Wei has high hopes for the NG-032 sterile plant. This season, while cultivating the sterile line, he will also conduct hybridization experiments with the restorer line rice.

The restoration line currently uses five samples, including [tribute rice] and several rice seeds obtained from other places.

Fang Wei hopes to use [tribute rice] because the rice grown in this way tastes the best.

Of course, a comprehensive judgment must be made in the end, including yield, resistance, grain fullness, and taste. A decision cannot be made based on just one aspect.

At present, due to the increase in production, the entire county can basically supply sufficient second-grade rice seeds.

Rice varieties like [Nanguang No. 58] and [Nongken ] can be planted for three more generations, and hybrid rice can be planted for one more generation.

In fact, the current supply of rice seeds is not tight, and some rice seeds have even flowed to other counties.

Among the 12 production teams in Xiatang Brigade, except for Fang Wei's team, the other teams are specialized in producing second-grade rice seeds.

The sales of the second-grade rice seeds were also very good, with the yield only decreasing by about 5% compared with the rice seeds produced by the second team.

The relatively low exchange price is also popular among people.

Some production teams even kept their own seeds and planted them until the second or third generation before purchasing new rice seeds.

Of course, hybrid rice is not included in this list. The second-grade rice seeds cannot be kept after planting.

In the second week after the rice planting was completed, Grandpa and Wang Zhuyun returned to the Yao village.

Fang Wei got up early in the morning and went to the mountain to chop firewood. When he came back, he saw Pan Lianhua carrying the child in a sling on her back, feeding chickens in the yard.

"Lotus, you can put the child in the stroller. It's so tiring to carry Binbin on your back while working."

Fang Wei walked into the yard and put down the firewood on his body, then said something to Pan Lianhua with a smile.

"He won't let me down. He'll start crying if I put him down. It's better to carry him on your back. Third brother, there's no water in the water tank. Go fetch a few buckets of water."

After having a child, life seems to be filled with trivial matters.

Fang Wei didn't care. He went to fetch water again and didn't go into the house to have breakfast until the water tank was full.

Breakfast was made by Pan Lianhua, and after dinner she had to wash diapers. In short, she was always busy. And she never let Fang Wei do these trivial things, because men have men's work.

Fang Wei then went to the private plot and saw his elder brother busy working on the slope.

This season, the two planted soybeans. In the absence of better cash crops, peanuts and soybeans were their best options.

As for what to plant first and what to plant later, it doesn’t matter. After a winter of rest, the fields are covered with green manure and there is no need to worry about the fertility of the soil.

"Third brother, the fields have been watered. Go and do your own thing. You're not needed here."

"Okay, I'll go check out the vegetable garden."

Fang Wei didn't argue with his elder brother and went to the vegetable garden.

The vegetable garden is also a thriving scene. After so many years of cultivation, there are dozens or even hundreds of kinds of vegetable seeds in the house.

These seeds are all high-quality and high-yield varieties. The vegetables grown are of good quality, high yield and very delicious.

In Fang Wei's memory, many vegetables he bought in the supermarket in his previous life looked beautiful but tasted bad at all, and the vegetables had no vegetable flavor.

This problem does not exist now. The seeds used in rural areas are old seeds. The yield may be a little lower and the resistance may not be that high, but the taste of the vegetables grown is definitely good.

The fact that the Fang family had good vegetable seeds could not be concealed, and members of the cooperative often came to Fang Ping and Tian Guihua to ask for seeds.

There is no such thing as a deal. If someone asks for it, just give it to them. They don’t want much anyway.

After people take the seeds, they will send some eggs, a small bag of dried bamboo shoots, etc. This is actually a matter of favors.

Fang Wei worked in his private plot for a while before going to the team.

There was no such thing as a work shift in the production team; if there was work to do, they could find someone to work with. Aside from transplanting rice seedlings and harvesting rice, he generally didn't participate in the labor.

The captain can be fully employed, but the deputy captain does not have this treatment.

"Third brother, I've brought you the newspaper. Remember to give it to me after you finish reading it. You'll need it for studying tonight."

As soon as he entered the office and sat down, Zheng Hu came over.

He now organizes the members to study every day, and gradually formed the habit of reading newspapers. However, he dared not take the newspapers before Fang Wei, and had to wait until Fang Wei finished reading before he could take them away.

"Why are you thinking about the newspaper all day? Come with me to the mountain later. I have something to talk to you about."

Fang Wei couldn't help but laugh. He sat down and read the news of the day, then threw the newspaper to Zheng Hu.

Zheng Hu put away the newspaper and followed the other party to the [Forestry Recreation Area].

"Third brother, why are you cultivating all these messed-up saplings this year? I know nanmu is valuable, but it grows so slowly. Even if it matures, who are we going to sell it to?"

Zheng Hu is not an ignorant person. He has been educated and learned agricultural knowledge from Wu Maosheng and forestry knowledge from Gao Qingshan. He still has some basic common sense.

[Forestry Breeding Area] Among the saplings being cultivated is the "golden nanmu".

There are many nanmu trees in the mountains, but golden nanmu trees are rare. Nanmu and golden nanmu belong to the same family, but there are obvious differences between the two.

"It's okay. We still have more nanmu saplings and fewer golden nanmu. I think golden nanmu is almost extinct, so it would be a good deed if we could cultivate more."

Nanmu is also a precious tree, but it is far inferior to golden nanmu.

The furniture in Fang Wei's home, such as wooden boxes, wardrobes, and cabinets, are made of nanmu. Furniture made of this wood has a special fragrance and is durable.

He discovered the golden nanmu deep in the mountains, where there was a small wild forest with trees that were at least several decades old.

Both nanmu and yew can be propagated by sowing and cuttings, and the seedling raising work is not complicated.

As they were talking, they came to the chestnut forest.

"Third brother, what do you want to tell me?" "I have a plan. We can try to develop the forest economy. For example, growing Chinese medicinal herbs in the woods is a good option."

Purchasing stations collect various medicinal materials all year round, but the prerequisite is that there must be a certain quantity.

Wild herbs are certainly good, but their low yields and lack of variety make it difficult to achieve economies of scale. To make them a sideline for the team, they must be cultivated artificially or under the forest.

The team's paddy fields and dry fields total only 570 acres, which is not enough. On the contrary, the forest area is very large, but the utilization rate is extremely low.

Therefore, developing economic forests and forest-based economies is a good direction.

"Is it possible to grow medicinal herbs under the forest? Also, Third Brother, do you know which specific varieties to plant?"

"There are plenty of medicinal herbs in the mountains, and ready-made medicinal herb seeds are also easy to buy. So, you can take some time to go to the purchasing station and ask them which medicinal herbs are of high value and purchased in large quantities, and then we can plant those."

For Fang Wei, there is no threshold to planting technology. No matter what he plants, it will survive and grow well.

He went to Zheng Hu just to talk it over and didn't expect him to provide any help.

Fang Wei had thought it all out. Given the limited manpower in the team, there would be no intensive farming for under-forest planting. The seeds would be sown to raise seedlings, and then they would be transplanted and left to grow naturally.

For others, this means relying on luck for their livelihood, but for him, the quality and output of medicinal materials are guaranteed.

With the blessing of various properties, the medicinal herbs grown under the forest are not necessarily less effective than wild medicinal herbs.

"Third brother, many medicinal herbs take a long time to grow. Let's just treat it as saving money. Plant some of each and harvest them after a few years."

Zheng Hu quickly realized that growing medicinal herbs is not like growing radishes, so it would be difficult to see benefits in the short term.

In that case, don’t think too much about it. Just plant whatever you have and that’s it.

On this point, he thought similarly to Fang Wei. As I said before, let it grow naturally.

The two of them agreed that they could go to the mountains to find some seeds and buy some, so wouldn't the variety be richer?
However, this matter cannot be rushed. Just like planting trees, it will not be achieved overnight.

Zheng Hu then made arrangements to set aside an area in the nursery area to cultivate herbal seedlings, which were then transplanted into the woods.

Fang Wei announced measures to close off the mountains and reforest. First, no one was allowed to cut firewood in the forest area. Second, no one was allowed to graze chickens, ducks, or livestock in the forest area. Third, no one was allowed to collect medicinal herbs in the forest area.

In a word, don't wander around the forest area for no reason. If you are caught by the patrol, your work points will be deducted or you may even be fined.

the next day.

Guan Chongyang and Sun Zhaodong suddenly came to Fang Wei and said that they planned to go to the Sanqing Temple to take a look.

"Old man, Taoist priest, the Sanqing Temple is closed. Why are you going there? If you're really worried, I can take some time to take a look and come back to talk to you. It's the same thing, isn't it?"

Fang Wei felt that the two elders were having wild ideas. Aren’t they just looking for trouble?
Taoist Sun has been driven out, and if he goes back now, he might get into trouble.

"Ahem, Third Brother, let's not go into the Taoist temple, let's just take a look from afar."

Guan Chongyang's eyes flickered, and it was obvious that he was not telling the truth.

Fang Wei's mind raced for a moment, and he immediately understood what these two were going to do.

"You're going to Tiger's Mouth, right? I don't know what to say to you. How about this, after I'm done with my work these past couple of days, I'll find time to go with you."

Fang Wei shook his head helplessly and directly exposed the two people's lies.

You are already an old man, but you are still so naive. The terrain of Tiger Mouth is dangerous and accidents are very likely to happen.

He no longer believed that Chen Mazi and Chen Xilong had any relationship. Even if there was a relationship, it had nothing to do with Lao Hu Zui.

Guan Chongyang and Taoist Sun smiled awkwardly and left quickly.

three days later.

Fang Wei, Guan Chongyang and Sun Zhaodong left the second team together and headed straight for Tiger's Mouth.

Tiger Mouth is deep in the mountains. The main peak is very high. It is located halfway up a canyon. The mountain road is difficult to walk on, and Uncle Guan almost collapsed from exhaustion.

Taoist Sun is okay, but it seems like he hasn’t tried his best yet.

"The tomb we found for Chen Xilong was right here, right above the Tiger's Mouth."

This tomb is different from ordinary tombs. It is in a natural cave. Guan Chongyang calculated for a long time before he found the entrance.

The entrance had been sealed, but it could be entered from another cave in the southwest. Even Chen Xilong didn't know this at the time.

"Old man, what do you mean by secretly leaving this passage?"

"What do you mean by 'I left a channel'? This channel already existed. I didn't tell my employer because I was worried he wouldn't be happy, so I wouldn't have to find a new position."

The passage in the cave is very narrow and can only accommodate one person.

Fang Wei was well prepared. He brought three flashlights and definitely brought weapons as well.

After all, after so many years, Guan Chongyang's memory is very vague, and he often has to make calculations on the spot.

I took the wrong turn twice, which wasted a lot of time.

Finally, they arrived at their destination safely, and then the three of them looked at the scene in front of them in silence.

This is indeed a tomb, and two coffins are placed at the end of the tomb passage.

What they saw now was that the coffin lid had been opened, and judging from the messy traces at the scene, more than one person had been here.

Sure enough, the burial objects had been looted.

"How could this be?"

Guan Chongyang felt that he was not mistaken, this was indeed a tomb.

Fang Wei searched secretly with a flashlight and finally found a wooden tablet. According to the text, this tomb should be the burial place of Chen Xilong's parents.

"Grandpa, look at this. This should be the tomb of Chen Xilong's parents. Chen Xilong committed many evil deeds in the past. He was probably worried that his ancestral grave would be dug up, so he found such a hidden tomb to bury his parents."

It is already very clear. There is no treasure at all. It is just a tomb.

As for who went to such a remote place to rob tombs, it was hard to say. Perhaps it was someone close to Chen Xilong, or perhaps the news leaked out.

In short, it’s different from what Guan Chongyang thought.

"Let's go back."

The three men did not touch anything at the scene, and it was considered polite not to burn anything.

Chen Xilong committed so many evil things that in the end he couldn't even protect the graves of his ancestors. It's hard to say that this wasn't retribution.

Fang Wei and his companions returned the same way they came. At the foot of the mountain, Taoist Sun briefly held a ceremony to exorcise evil spirits to prevent everyone from being contaminated by unclean things.

No one thought about reporting this matter. If they didn't report it, it would be fine, but if they did, they might get themselves into endless trouble.

(End of this chapter)