All Hail Cousin Brother

Chapter 860: Locust plague

The eldest sister didn't say anything to persuade her, she just said: "Grandma's funeral will still take some time. You can answer me after you think about it clearly."

In the days that followed, my father’s disgusting attitude, the comments and comments behind my back, the pity eyes of those around me, and the cold attitude of my tribe...

Everything around me has changed.

Only then did Yu Shansi understand the good intentions of the eldest sister. The eldest sister who should have hated him the most, or even hated him, would not be like the third sister, who coaxed you with sweet words and evil intentions, calculating the pros and cons in her eyes, and in her heart Calmly weighing you down, even he and his mother would be sacrificed in order to fulfill himself.

She has always been a competent eldest sister.

When he was in Yu Mansion, he took good care of him.

After arriving in the North, far away from her family and relatives, she took on the responsibility of teaching him, testing his studies, teaching him how to behave, and caring about his daily life.

I was worried that he would have a hard life in the school, so I prepared fragrant medicines, tea, food, pens, ink, paper and inkstones, gold and silver for him. I was worried that he would not get along well with his classmates, so I also prepared gifts for him to give away.

It wasn't until the carriage left the mansion that Yu Youyao returned to Jiushao Courtyard.

Chunxiao brought the gift brought by Yu Shansi.

It is actually a small vat carved from Xiu jade, or is made from a whole piece of Xiu jade that has been eviscerated, ground, and carved. The evisceration process alone requires superb skills. Jade is not mud, it is thick and hard. You need to rely on small tools to hollow out the middle bit by bit and polish it into shape. It takes a lot of time, energy and concentration. If there is a slight mistake, the entire jade material will break into pieces.

Anshan area is rich in Xiu jade. The jade material is not of high quality, but it looks oily. After Yu Shan thought about it, he carefully carved it according to the situation and image, and it looked natural.

It can be seen that a lot of thought was put into it.

Yu Youyao liked it very much and said, "I will plant a daffodil in it later and put it in the study."

After a few more days of rest, the injury on Yu Youyao's foot finally healed.

Aunt Yue brought several stewards over to meet Yu Youyao. They were all people who participated in the sweet potato trial and were very valued by Yu Youyao.

Grandma Yue said: "The young lady proposed a method of growing sweet potatoes by cuttings, but she deliberately cut flowers, but the flowers failed, and she accidentally planted willows, which created shade. She unexpectedly found the most productive method of growing sweet potatoes, and as a result, sweet potatoes spread rapidly in both the north and the south. I discussed with several stewards who are trying to grow sweet potatoes, and we will first intensively raise the seedlings like rice, topdress fertilizer to promote growth, wait until the vines sprout, and then cut the vines and take cuttings around the Dragon Boat Festival."

Yu Youyao's mind moved slightly: "This is a good method. The quality of the vines carefully cultivated is better than that of root planting, and the yield may be increased. After the seedlings are cultivated and grown, the vines will be more lush and the efficiency of cuttings will be greatly improved. The most important thing is that through seedling cuttings, excessive pruning of the vines will not affect the growth of sweet potatoes and reduce the yield of sweet potatoes.”

Grandma Yue nodded with a smile: "Sweet potato cultivation in Liaodong is mainly concentrated in Xiangping. Although the output is quite large, apart from eating it at home, some of it is kept for breeding. Most of it was expropriated by Youjun to provide relief to the victims. The quantity is still very large. Now that a large number of refugees are pouring into Liaodong, it is urgent to expand sweet potato cultivation."

This is what Yu Youyao is most worried about.

It is true that "coming to the north to help King Wu Mu, promote the widespread planting of sweet potatoes, and alleviate the disaster in the north" is just an external rhetoric, but she has never lied about it.

From the moment she stepped into the northern border, she had already made up her mind to do her best to plant sweet potatoes in every inch of land in Liaodong.

Let the flood victims who flood into the northern territory be able to settle down and live in the northern territory by opening up wasteland and planting sweet potatoes.

Grandma Yue said: “Through seedling cultivation, it is estimated that each acre of sweet potato can be used to plant cuttings on at least sixty to seventy acres of land, which is more than ten times the original amount. It can also ensure the yield of sweet potatoes, which perfectly solves the problem of insufficient potato seeds. Dilemma.”

The big stone that had been weighing on Yu Youyao's heart for a long time finally settled. She smiled slightly: "I heard that the first batch of sweet potatoes have been planted?"

I heard Yu Shansi mention it earlier.

Grandma Yue nodded: "Because the climate in Liaodong is relatively humid and cold, and this is the first time I try to breed, I chose to do it in early March. I chose people who are proficient in farming to take care of it carefully. Fortunately, the first batch of potato seedlings are growing well."

"The second batch of seedlings is expected to be raised at the end of the month. If there are no problems with the second batch, large-scale seedlings will be raised in early April, and local people will also be taught how to raise and plant seedlings."

Yu Youyao was sure: "How long will it take to raise seedlings?"

Grandma Yue said: "Based on past planting experience and the growth of potato seedlings, it is estimated that it will take about twenty days. The first and second batch of potato seedlings are expected to be cut and planted in early April and the end of April respectively. Batch sweet potato seedlings, and they can be used for large-scale cuttings before and after the Dragon Boat Festival.”

Yu Youyao's face relaxed: "Thank you for your hard work. When the second batch of sweet potatoes starts to grow, I will take some time to go to the village to have a look."

Grandma Yue had a troubled expression on her face: "Long-term drought will inevitably lead to locusts, and when locusts cross the border, there is often no harvest. Many areas in the north have been suffering from drought for many years. If there is a locust plague, the Liaodong area is so close that it will definitely be affected. June and July are in full swing." This is the growing season for sweet potatoes, and locust plagues mostly occur in June and July. If we don’t prevent and control them, I’m afraid..."

The common people's response to locusts is to capture, kill by fire, bury them with sound, and drive them away with sound after the locust plague arrives. However, in this way, crops will inevitably suffer heavy losses.

Yu Youyao's face became solemn and he pondered for a long time: "I remember that in "Tiangong Kaiwu", it was recorded that using arsenic and plant ash to mix seeds can effectively prevent pests."

"The "Collected Works of Huo Wenmin" also records that there is a locust native to Guangdong, which can eat the buds of grains and is a great harm to agriculture. Only ducks can eat it. Therefore, ducks in the world are most abundant in Guangnan. The locust refers to locusts. "

"The "Book of Pansheng" of the Western Han Dynasty also recorded that by soaking seeds with horse bones, silkworm dung, sheep dung, aconite, etc., the crops will not be affected by locusts..."

Yu Youyao cared about farming and read a lot of related books. For a while, he had so many things in his mind and no serious idea, so he had to say: "Let me think about it carefully."

Grandma Yue and several stewards immediately felt relieved when they saw that although the young lady had not come up with any good ideas, she was not completely helpless.

Yu Youyao put aside the locust issue for the time being, and then asked again: "I remember that last year, cotton was tried to be planted in various regions in the north. Only in the southeastern part of Liaoning, was the preliminary planting successful?"

Grandma Yue quickly said: "The climate in Liaodong is humid and cold. Only a few warm-climate areas in the south can grow cotton. The main branches are in the Daling River, Xiaoling River, Raoyang River, and Nuerhe River. Because the cotton planting period in this area is It is shorter than other areas, so the breeding was late last year.”

? ?The history of cotton cultivation in Liaoning and southeastern Jilin lasts for more than 400 years. It began to be planted around the Ming Dynasty. Cotton is a military supply second only to medicinal materials.

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