The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 42: God of Farming Liao Lao

If everyone looks up at the sky, they can see two immortals floating in the air hundreds of meters above the ground.

One of them was none other than Master Wenxuan, and the other was an old Taoist priest with white hair and beard, and a kind face. He looked like an old immortal who had attained the Tao and possessed immense magical powers, the kind that even the Jade Emperor had to give him some face.

The two immortals just floated in the air, not landing, as if looking down at something on the ground.

When Madam Gong Er and the rebels saw this scene, they quickly bowed deeply and did not dare to move rashly.

Outside the sandbox, Yue Wenxuan was holding a figurine in each hand, deliberately hovering above the sandbox...

It wasn't that he was trying to be mysterious out of bad taste, but that he was setting the stage for the old professor's appearance.

Farmers have been farming for generations, and every household has its own set of planting methods. It is difficult for them to accept new crops and new planting methods. If the new method fails, it means no harvest for half a year, which is a loss that farmers cannot afford.

If Yue Wenxuan put the old professor on the sand table without any preparation, it would be obvious without thinking that the farmers would not be able to understand what he taught. Even if they pretended to listen on the surface, they would still farm in their own old ways when they got home.

It is already the end of January, and there is still one month until the spring plowing and sowing time, so we have to pretend to be cool, we have to act mysterious, we have to make the old professor look like a god, so that people will be willing to listen to what he says and the agricultural knowledge of the new era can be quickly implemented.

Yue Wenxuan floated the two figures in the air for a long time. Feeling that the people below were completely shocked, he slowly landed the two figures in the center of the village.

The villagers were indeed shocked and dared not move at all.

Just now when the immortal was flying high, they dared to speak in a low voice, but now that the immortal has landed, they dared not even speak. They all bowed respectfully and did not dare to raise their heads.

Yue Wenxuan spoke first: "My fellow villagers, the old immortal next to me is surnamed Liao. You can call him Old Liao."

The villagers hurriedly bowed: "We are here to see the Immortal Liao!"

"Mr. Liao, may you bless me."

Yue Wenxuan: "Old Liao is in the Immortal Realm, in charge of farming. He is the god of farming."

When these words were spoken, everyone was stunned. God of farming... there is another one?

It turns out that my country has had two most famous agricultural gods since ancient times: Shennong, one of the Yan Emperors, and Houji, also known as King Ji. Besides these two, who held unchallenged positions of supreme importance, various regions and ethnic groups also had numerous regional agricultural gods, such as the Green Sprout God, the Land God, Xianse, and the Goddess of the Field and Earth...

I won’t go into details here, it’s enough.

The farmers in Dongmiaozi Village got to know one more person today.

And today's one is different. The god of farming that I heard about before has never appeared, but today's one is right in front of me, just flying down from the sky. This is amazing.

People who have never seen it would worship it every year, but what about those who have seen it with their own eyes? They would immediately hit their heads.

The farmers began to kowtow: "May the Immortal Liao bless us with a good harvest this year."

Yue Wenxuan: "Everyone, don't rush to worship. Listen to me first. I invited this old man Liao down from heaven to teach you the immortal methods. As long as you listen to him and farm according to his immortal methods, I guarantee that your yield per mu will double, even triple, or even triple it."

"Ah?" The farmers were overjoyed.

This is incredible, a magical method for farming. Yue Wenxuan: "Are you willing to learn?"

"I'm willing to learn!"

"I'm willing to learn!"

"I want to learn too!"

All the villagers stretched their necks and shouted.

Yue Wenxuan smiled. "Very good! A flashy appearance really does help!" It was done instantly. He had instantly overcome the biggest obstacle to promoting new agricultural technology.

Yue Wenxuan turned to the old professor figurine and said, "I'll have to work hard on you from now on. Please teach these villagers advanced planting techniques."

The old professor smiled kindly and amiably. "Looking at the countryside before me, I recall my youth as an educated youth in Xiushan. I really miss them. Back then, a rich peasant from the village would knock on my door in the middle of the night. As soon as I opened it, he'd stuff a small can of lard in my hand and tell me to 'eat it secretly, don't let anyone know.'"

Yue Wenxuan thought: Wow? Is this the character of the old professor?

It turns out that people tend to reminisce as they age. When the old professor lectured at Northwest A&F University, he'd often blurt out, "How it was when I was an educated youth," a line he'd utter. This was part of his teaching style, and his students were already accustomed to it. After the figurine was made, they actually brought this habit along.

The old professor waved to the villagers and said, "Take me for a walk, go to the fields, and I'll see the situation of your production cooperative and then help you develop a plan to get rich."

The villagers wondered: What is a production cooperative? We don't know! It must be a made-up word.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand, just listen.

The villagers led the old professor to the farmland. It was still the end of January, and large tracts of farmland were empty, having only been plowed for winter.

As the old professor looked at the field, he said, "Deep winter plowing helps crops take root! An inch deeper means more manure! This field hasn't been plowed enough. Make a note of it and dig deeper."

The villagers recited in unison: "If you plow deeply in winter, the crops will take root! An inch deeper in winter plowing is equivalent to more manure!"

The old professor began the class, saying as he walked, "Deep plowing can break up the soil's plow base, increase the soil's air and water permeability, and facilitate the activity of soil microorganisms and the decomposition and transformation of soil nutrients..."

The villagers were confused when they heard this: "What is the plow bottom? What are microorganisms? What does decomposition and transformation mean?"

The old professor had experience in leading illiterate farmers in the countryside to farm when he was an educated youth. He was not surprised at such questions and answered them one by one with a smile. His lectures were easy to understand and expressive. He was also good at using short stories that even illiterate people could understand as examples. He explained new terms such as plowing the bottom layer, microorganisms, and decomposition and transformation to the villagers clearly in a short time.

The villagers had never seen such a great man talk to them and teach them knowledge so patiently before, and they were extremely moved.

What a kind and benevolent old immortal!
It only took Teacher Liao half a day to win the hearts of the entire Dongmiaozi Village.

Early the next morning, Teacher Liao's "Agricultural Technology Training Class to Help Farmers and Alleviate Poverty" officially started. A side courtyard in Wangjiazhuang Fort was opened as a classroom. Yue Wenxuan also specially placed a set of "blackboard and chalk" model sets in the sand table to facilitate Teacher Liao's lectures.

The villagers of Dongmiaozi Village signed up enthusiastically to attend the class. They were so focused during the class that they didn't even dare to breathe.

They became the most attentive group of students that Teacher Liao had ever taught in his life, without a doubt.

(End of this chapter)