Datang Nongsheng

Chapter 544 Escape
Sun Xiangfu split the boiled water chestnut in half with a knife, and only a few little guys eat it well. After eating, he likes to put the shell on his fingers to make cat's claws.

"Be careful, don't catch anyone."

After putting all five fingers in water chestnut shells, the little guys frightened and teased each other, just like Sun Xiangfu when he was a child.

"Husband, this water chestnut is not available in the north, let's take some to Shanyang, and let our younger brothers and sisters try it out!"

"Well, when we head back and set off, pick some plump water chestnuts without insects and dry them in the sun, and bring them to Deshou and the others. After two years, they should be able to find out a more productive planting method."

The history of eating water chestnuts is very long, but the real large-scale planting was carried out in later generations. People in this period basically ate wild water chestnuts.

Of course, even in later generations, only my country and India have tamed and cultivated water chestnuts. These two countries have a characteristic, that is, they have a large population.

And why do the two large populations plant water chestnuts on a large scale?

Because of its large output.

The two-cornered water chestnut varieties of this period alone can reach [-] to [-] kilograms per mu with the traditional planting methods that can be achieved now, and the annual yield per mu of water chestnuts grown in professional greenhouses in later generations can reach From [-] to [-] kilograms, the water chestnut leaves can also be used as green fodder for breeding or green manure for planting. It can be regarded as a kind of crop that is completely comparable to sweet potatoes and potatoes among the native species.

Water chestnut pulp has a good effect of invigorating qi and anti-cancer, reducing weight and relieving alcohol, and has many other medicinal effects. It is a very good medicinal diet.

Sun Xiangfu previously asked officials from the Ministry of Agriculture to teach the villagers a more scientific method of picking, which instantly increased their output by two or three times.

As in the past, the common people rowed their water chestnut picking boats into the pond, and after picking up a water chestnut, they would pick all the water chestnuts on it regardless of their size.

Later, the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture asked them to pick every five to seven days, and only pick the water chestnuts that are fully grown on the top of the crops. In this case, the entire picking period can last for more than a month. Although picking six to seven rounds, It will take a lot of time, but its output has been enlarged too much. The fruits picked are all water chestnuts that have grown to the fullest state, and the taste is better when eaten.

"Master head, can this water chestnut be planted in the north?"

"There are some places where it is possible. The climate in the southwest of Guanzhong is not a problem at all. As long as Deshou and the others develop a dense planting method that can be easily done by ordinary people, it is possible for the yield to reach [-] jin to [-] jin per mu." Yes, in this way, the edible pulp part is no less than the rice produced in the paddy field, and it can be regarded as a high-yielding economic crop according to its current price higher than that of rice.”

Water chestnuts are not expensive to sell in the north, and the wholesale price of local merchants who collect water chestnuts to the markets in various states and counties is only two yuan per catty. The reason for this price is mainly because the merchants who bought water chestnuts made a profit A small difference in price is the reason for bearing a certain transportation cost.

In the past, people used unscientific harvesting methods to pick wild water chestnuts, and the yield per mu was only five to six hundred catties, and the price they sold to traders was one penny per catty. After this calculation, it was basically the same as the income from growing rice.

And if the people can grasp their growth needs and plant densely on a large scale like later generations, even if the output of one mu of water chestnut ponds cannot reach the relatively high two thousand catties, there is no problem at all, after all. , Even in later generations, there has been no major research reform on this crop.

Such a yield per mu can allow the common people to earn an income of [-] to [-] yuan per mu, which is more than three times higher than the income from planting rice fields. Moreover, after the output is gradually enlarged, the price has not dropped, because the current economy After the conditions get better, even if the hawkers in the northern vegetable market set the retail price at three or four yuan a catty, it is still in the seller's market, because there is no production in the north. Everyone likes to eat something fresh.

Moreover, the water chestnut leaves after harvesting the water chestnut also have some economic value. As for the deep development of the water chestnut meat, the water chestnut powder food that is easier to preserve has a higher commercial value. Rice, too much cost-effective.

This is the benefit of domesticating crops and scientific planting.

Unlike Li Tai and the others, Wu Meiniang only thought of eating water chestnuts when she saw them. She also saw its benefits for the country and the people.

"In this case, why don't we plant more water chestnuts in Guanzhong?" Wu Meiniang continued to raise her own question.

"This is what our peasant children are going to do!

Previously, the people of the Tang Dynasty didn’t think about planting spices from the Western Regions, but instead bought spices from them at high prices. Gaochang was rich in cotton, and the people of Tang Dynasty didn’t think about planting them, but bought their cotton, even for a long time. They are all used as landscape flowers and used as bonsai for the nobles.

What else cantaloupe, courgette, grapes, blah blah blah.

Everyone thinks that it is only suitable for planting where it was originally produced, but it is not the case. We can all find ways to tame them, plant them, and teach all the people to plant them. Look now, But there are Hu merchants in the Western Regions who dare to use these things to cheat us of money. "

Wu Meiniang nodded when she heard the words, "So, we should research a more productive planting method for water chestnuts, and then teach the people how to plant them, right?"

"Yes, we not only want to see exotic species, but our native species, once planted and spread, can also greatly increase the output of the common people and make them rich."

"Meier understands. Then, should we protect the planting technology we have developed? If those foreigners also learn our planting technology, return our crops and produce them themselves, wouldn't they buy ours? something?"

"Well, what you said has some truth. However, it is not so easy to promote these planting techniques to the common people in our country. It is still too early to worry about spreading them abroad. .

If it is promoted in the future, it can be opened to other countries for introduction, and we can charge a certain fee for technology patents.

After all, if we at Datang want to continue to make money from them, we can't just sell them things and leave them without food. This kind of business cannot last long.

Only when the people of these foreign countries can eat enough, can they have the strength to help us mine the gold, silver, copper and iron we want, and come to exchange goods with us. "

Hearing this, Wu Meiniang looks like she has been educated, the master is indeed a master, and she thinks about the long term.

Sun Xiangfu is not born to think a lot, this is because he grew up in later generations, and he has seen through many cases, and the problem with most teenagers is that they don't think things long enough, such as Li Tai and the others who are eleven or twelve The half-year-olds are not saying how stupid they are, but they are still at an age where they don't care about their heads. Some things, once they have an idea, they especially want to do it.

For example, the escape plan proposed by Li Yuanjing.

They really want to go to Dingxiang's No. [-] World Festival, and they don't want to mess with feces. This is the same as some students who study in closed schools in later generations, go out over the wall to play video games and surf the Internet. Once they want to go If you don't, you won't worry about the consequences of being caught by the teacher.

Therefore, he decided to find a way to find a way to get on the cargo ship going to Chang'an from Shannan Road. As long as he got to Chang'an, or went to the place where his mother and concubine's natal family was along the way, and got financial support, he might not be able to go to Dingxiang, anyway. They are princes who have not yet entered the feudal domain. Could the emperor punish them severely for such a trivial matter?
As for a lighter punishment, it should be better than making a lot of shit!

"Grandpa, the internal guard came to report, saying that the princes have prepared a lot of boiled water chestnuts and packed their luggage."

"Why, are they going to sneak away?"

"should be."

"Li Tai and Li Ke too?"

"They packed their bags too."

"Hehe, it will take a few more days for the straw in the field to rot and dig the manure pond. You can go down and make arrangements for me, so that these boys will have a long memory."

After Sun Xiangfu finished speaking with a smile, he asked Zhang Ke to listen to him and told him about his own strategy. After Zhang Ke listened, he went down to make arrangements with a smile.

"Master, is there anything fun to do?"

"It's really fun. It's night, you go back and have a good rest, and wait for the big show."

Sun Xiangfu made a fool of himself, but Wu Meiniang, who was extremely curious, didn't fall asleep in the middle of the night. At ten o'clock before midnight, she heard some movement in the courtyard next door.

In the middle of the night, in the courtyard where Li Tai and other kings lived, there were various creaking sounds of doors opening, and then, fourteen spooky guys poked their heads out from the door.

Since Sun Xiangfu wanted them to become more independent, after they came to the village, the servants and secret guards who were in charge of taking care of their lives only ensured their safety when they went out, so they usually slept by themselves, and There is no one else in this yard except them.

"Come one by one, let's climb up to the roof first, and go up and down the bamboo ladder prepared in the morning and afternoon on the back wall. Don't make any noise, as long as we avoid the door and the guards on the roadside, and walk on the field ridge, we can go all the way unimpeded to the pier."

"Understood, you have said this many times. Also, you are fat, so don't crush the tiles on the roof and alert the guards. The guards of the Sun residence are very smart!"

"Li You, you dare to say that I am fat? I have lost a lot of weight since I came here. The tiles on the roof are so thick that they cannot be stepped on..."

"Stop talking nonsense, let's go! I don't want to stay here anymore..."

A dozen or so black shadows whispered among themselves, and within a few minutes, they really walked from the roof to the back wall, and followed the ladder to the field outside the back wall.

In the distance, Zhang Ke, who was looking at this side with a telescope, was relieved. In order to prevent these princes from falling off the roof and hurting himself, after receiving the mission from Sun Xiangfu, he also asked his subordinates to help him. People covered a thick layer of sand and soft soil along the back wall. If he didn't want them to slip away, he just had to withdraw the ladder they secretly placed here before. These little guys can only watch The back wall, which was more than ten feet high, was in a daze.

However, keeping them here by means is not what Sun Xiangfu wants.

After more than half an hour, the princes, carrying some clothes and a large bag of cooked water chestnuts, finally arrived at the pier.

"See if there are any boat lights on the river, so let me tell you! Now that the water transportation business on the Yangtze River is so developed, there must be boats sailing at night. Let's light torches, call them to the shore, and take us a ride. At worst, bring our brocade clothes to arrive. For the boat money, the water chestnut we brought weighed more than ten catties, enough to eat for two or three days. If we go straight down the river, it will take two or three days, enough to reach Yangzhou. At that time, we will go to my uncle's house... ·”

A few little fellows, wishful thinking, with the excitement of successfully escaping in their eyes, watched the cargo ship on the river slowly approaching the pier.

(End of this chapter)