Meishan Su family, Su Yun is the most virtuous

Chapter 205 Didongzi!
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the weather in Bianjing became cold.

After an autumn rain, it becomes a little bleak.

But Caicun became bustling with activity.

Cai Village has demarcated a thousand acres of land, which have been divided into plots with lime, and there are several people busy working in each plot.

Now that autumn has arrived, we can finally start digging holes in the ground.

Su Yun comes here every day these days, not for any other reason, but because this cave looks simple, but the technology required is considered high-tech in this era.

First of all, the hole in the ground must be strong enough, because it is not a disposable thing. It will be used again next year after being used this year.

If it is not strong enough, it will easily collapse during rainy seasons, so the walls inside the cave must be built with bricks, the top must be made of wood, covered with tiles, and the doors must be thick to be able to lock in the temperature.

Such a hole in the ground is actually not much different from the house people live in. Oh, no, many poor people still live in houses with mud walls and straw roofs. If the house is not damp, it can be considered a pretty good residence.

This is also the reason why the initial investment is so large.

There is no other way. We have to be willing to build this cave. It has to be windproof and able to lock in the temperature.

Secondly, it should be sheltered from the wind and face the sun. If not, the vegetables will die all at once once the cold air invades. Facing the sun is to ensure that it can absorb some sunlight on sunny days and reduce the consumption of coal.

In addition, we must guard against natural disasters such as rain, frost, snowfall, etc. So although this underground cave seems simple, it should not be taken lightly when actually operating it.

After Su Yun told the craftsmen in Caicun how to build it, the craftsmen first concentrated some of their manpower to build a few underground caves, and then invited Su Yun to go in to inspect it.

Su Yun looked from the outside and saw that the roof of the cave was only half a person's height, with a few meters left in the front as the entrance. Now he stepped in and saw a door that looked rough but very thick. It was obvious that it was well sealed.

Su Yun pushed the door open and was immediately hit by a warm, thick, damp smell of earth.

Su Yun and Patriarch Cai immediately nodded in satisfaction.

At this time, the ground is dry and cold, and it is basically impossible to plant anything. This hole in the ground is warm and humid, which is exactly the environment that plants like most.

Su Yun strolled in the cave for a while. The cave looked low from the outside, but it was quite large inside. Each cave was 5*25 meters in size, which means it was a semi-basement that was five meters wide, twenty-five meters long, and covered an area of ​​125 square meters.

As for the height, it is a bit shorter. In order to ensure the temperature, the height cannot be too high, only about two meters. If someone as tall as Su Yun goes in, it will look like he is about to hit the roof.

Su Yun took a look at the layout inside and nodded slightly. There were already rows of ridges on the ground. The soil was finely ground. This soil was peeled off from the surface and transported in. This kind of soil has sufficient nutrients.

Chief Cai bent down and rubbed the soil, then looked up and said happily, "This method works. This soil was laid in yesterday. After it was laid, some water was sprinkled on the surface. Even after a night, the soil is still moist!"

Su Yun smiled and nodded. After being inside for a while, he already felt a little stuffy. The clothes he wore were to cope with the cold outside. The temperature in this cave was obviously much higher than outside.

Of course, it is only autumn now. When winter comes, the insulation of the underground cave alone is definitely not enough. There must be a heat source to continuously provide heat.

Su Yun looked at the well dug inside again. This well was usually used to store water for irrigation, and could also be used to deal with the intrusion of rainwater during rainy seasons.

Then I looked at the specially repaired coal stoves in the middle, which provide heat energy during the cold winter.

Su Yun used a coal stove from later generations, which is the kind of stove that burns coal cakes in rural areas. The advantage of this stove is that it can save coal and maintain temperature at the same time. By controlling the valve, it burns slowly and controls the temperature.

When growing vegetables in a hole in the ground, it can't be too cold or too hot, so this kind of coal stove is perfect.

Chief Cai praised: "This coal stove is really good. Compared with the method of burning in a pot, there is more coal left, and people don't have to watch it all night."

Su Yun smiled and nodded, "That's true. This furnace can save a lot of costs."

Chief Cai stared at the stove and said, "This stove can be used to boil water and cook, right?"

Su Yun nodded and said, "This was originally used to boil water and cook, but it just happened to be suitable for this cave, so I designed it for use.

If you want it, I'll let Ah Hui prepare a batch for you at a price 10% lower than the market price."

Patriarch Cai was suddenly a little disappointed. He had the same idea when he saw the stove, but he didn't expect that Su Yun had already thought of it.

Su Yun smiled and said, "There is no end to business. For your Cai Village, this cave is the foundation of prosperity. If you do this well, your Cai Village may become the richest village in Kaifeng Prefecture and even the entire Song Dynasty!"

Patriarch Cai quickly put aside his disappointment and nodded repeatedly.

Su Yun observed several underground caves and found that they were basically in the same shape and there were no other flaws. He nodded and said to Chief Cai, "There are basically no problems. Just follow this. If there are other problems later, we can just make some minor adjustments."

Chief Cai was a little excited and said, "There shouldn't be any problem. As long as the soil can be kept moist and the temperature can be kept sufficient, the vegetables can grow!" Su Yun smiled and nodded, "Well, there shouldn't be any big problem."

Chief Cai thought for a moment and said, "We have one thousand acres of land and five thousand underground caves. We will need a lot of coal when the time comes. If we use a lot of coal, should we prepare in advance?"

Su Yun nodded and said, "Don't worry, I'm already preparing for this. I will naturally bring in the coal when the time comes. You just need to grow the vegetables."

Patriarch Cai nodded repeatedly.

Chief Cai added: "In that case, the underground cave will be fully operational, and we will also start cultivating vegetable seedlings. Once the underground cave is built, the seedlings can be brought in and planted, just in time for the first wave of winter vegetable market!"

Su Yun nodded and said, "Well, let's go all out. As long as we can grow them, we can sell them and make a profit!"

At Su Yun's command, Caicun mobilized all its forces, and thousands of acres of land were filled with young and strong men, who worked hard to dig holes in the ground.

A month later, Chief Cai sent someone to the Southern Court to invite Su Yun to come for inspection, saying that the first batch of vegetable seedlings had already begun to be planted in the vegetable cave.

On this day, Zhen Shixuan, dressed in casual clothes, came to the Nan Ya Tongpan Hall and met Su Yun.

Zhen Shixuan said with a smile: "Mr. Su, what is the important matter that brought you here? It's so cold today, it must be freezing me."

It is already late autumn. The sky has been very cloudy these days. It may snow in a few days.

Su Yun smiled and said, "I'll take you to see something interesting."

Zhen Shixuan laughed and said, "What is something I haven't seen before?"

Su Yun smiled and said, "You will know when you see it. Let's go."

The two took a carriage and came to Cai Village on the banks of the Huimin River. Zhen Shixuan said in surprise: "This should be Cai Village."

Su Yun smiled and nodded, and saw Chief Cai and others waiting at the entrance of the village in front of him. After the carriage entered Cai Village, the two got off and followed Chief Cai to the back of the village.

Zhen Shixuan was still a little puzzled, wondering what good things there were in Cai Village. When he looked up, he saw a large area of ​​low roofs. He was a little surprised and said, "Is Cai Village so big? But why are the houses so low? They look like they are only half a person's height. Do they live underground?"

Su Yun smiled and said, "Those are not houses where people live, but houses where vegetables, fruits and melons live. Let's go over and take a look."

Led by Chief Cai, the group came to a cave. Chief Cai opened the door enthusiastically, and Zhen Shixuan and Su Yun entered side by side.

Before Zhen Shixuan entered, he felt a moist and warm breath, and his eyes suddenly brightened. He said, "This house is really nice. It must be very comfortable to live in this winter."

Su Yun smiled and said, "Come on, let's go in and take a look."

After entering, Zhen Shixuan's eyes widened immediately. He saw that in the huge house, there were rows of fresh vegetables planted. The vegetables were of excellent quality and you could tell at a glance that they were very fresh!

Zhen Shixuan looked at Su Yun in surprise and said, "That large house outside, isn't it possible that it's all planted with vegetables?"

Su Yun smiled and nodded, saying, "That's right, one thousand acres of land, five thousand holes, all full of vegetables and fruits. In another month, we can harvest the first wave, just in time for the first wave of winter, when there will be no fresh vegetables on the market."

Zhen Shixuan swallowed his saliva and said, "How many kilograms of vegetables can there be?"

Su Yun looked at Chief Cai, who said excitedly, "Looking at the growth rate, each underground cave should be able to produce 200 kilograms of vegetables. Five thousand underground caves can produce a total of one million kilograms of vegetables!"

Before Zhen Shixuan could be shocked, Su Yun was a little surprised and asked, "Are there so many?"

Chief Cai nodded and said, "We are planting high-yield vegetables this time, such as leeks and cabbage, and we have stored a lot of farmyard manure in advance.

The key is that this hole in the ground is very suitable for growing vegetables. There is no need to worry about rain, frost or cold wind, and a moist environment can be guaranteed at all times.

This is because we are still inexperienced and haven’t used all the holes. The next batch may have more than this many!”

Su Yun was also happy when he heard this: "You are thoughtful."

Chief Cai laughed and said, "We in Cai Village also have a share of this, it's only right."

Su Yun looked at Zhen Shixuan, but Zhen Shixuan was looking at the fresh cabbage with shining eyes. He even squatted down, picked a piece without washing it, and put it directly into his mouth to chew.

Zhen Shixuan's eyes lit up as he chewed. He immediately stood up and grabbed Su Yun's arm, saying anxiously, "Mr. Su, why did you ask me to look for you?"

(End of this chapter)