Crossing the Unknown Country

The next day, Su He told his father that he would tell the villagers about his composting method. After using it on their own crops, the fertilizer was very good and the harvest was good. At that time, some people in the village envied the growth of the crops, but they thought that their land was well plowed and they had livestock to help.

Su He's father thought it was okay. It was spring after the Chinese New Year, and it was time to start new planting. Now was the right time to compost, plow the land and fertilize in the spring, and then plant seeds. He didn't say it because he didn't know how the compost he had made was. This autumn harvest was about 10% more than usual, which was quite good. They only applied fertilizer halfway. If they applied fertilizer well from the beginning, they might be able to harvest more grain.

Su He told her father about her worries on the way. If the people in the village are not rich, even if there is no invasion by foreign enemies, a natural disaster can wipe out most of them. It is better to take advantage of the experience summed up by her family in the past year to teach everyone to live a good life and save more food and money, so that they can fight against enemies and natural disasters together.

Also, this year Su He told her father to plant beans on the edge of the field and plant sesame. Su He found the sesame in the grocery store in the city where she bought seeds. She was so happy at the time and said it was a good thing. The store owner told them it was called sesame. He also told them that sesame can be planted in spring and harvested in September. If harvested, his store will also collect it and the price will be very fair.

Su He discussed it with his father at that time. The shopkeeper said that sesame can be eaten or sold. It is a good thing, but they don’t grow much here. Their country doesn’t have enough food, so few people grow it. Even if they know it is edible, it is not as good as food. So no one is willing to grow it. Su He thought of when his country was poor, everyone knew that raising pigs was good, but pigs eat a lot, so no one wanted to raise them. His family is not short of food and money now, so they can try it now.

It’s the same as now. The villagers can’t even get enough to eat, so who would raise pigs? Raising chickens is not enough if they raise a few, and they can’t afford to raise more. Unlike their family, they raise earthworms themselves, which are dug from the muddy ground. By the way, they dug a ditch next to their chicken coop and put mud and earthworms in it, and spread rotten vegetable leaves on top. They turn the ground from time to time, and the chickens can eat through the gaps next to it. If there is no more, they dig some more and put them in. They are still breeding, and their chickens lay more and bigger eggs than usual.

Actually, Su He knew how to raise more maggots with flies, but he couldn't bear to think about it, so he gave up the idea. Earthworms were acceptable, and Su He's brothers could do it. They often went to dig earthworms in the muddy land by the river. Later, the children who followed them also went to dig, but most of them didn't have many chickens at home, so they couldn't dig much. The long river bank could be left for them to dig as much as they wanted.

Su He's family moved to a new house, and built a chicken coop behind the wall, so they can raise more chickens. This year, they have eaten a lot of eggs and chickens. Su He thinks that next year, the family can earn more money just by selling eggs and chickens. Their family can finally eat eggs and chickens freely, and their quality of life has made a new breakthrough.

Su He's father did not hide his secrets and went directly to find the village chief to show him how his family raised chickens and made compost. When the village chief arrived at their house and saw the chickens running back and forth in the chicken coop in the yard, and there was no chicken droppings in the yard, he knew that this method was really good. Later, he saw the chickens eating earthworms in the mud on both sides of the yard, and he thought it was even better. This could save a lot of food. Although the chickens don't eat much, they have to be fed with wild vegetables mixed with some bran when they lay eggs.

If you put them in the wild, people won't be able to find them in this season, and they are a big piece of meat. Everyone treats them like treasures and keeps them in their own yard, but it's too dirty. After all, they are chickens, not people. It's really dirty if they poop and run around everywhere. This chicken pen is well-enclosed, clean, and the chickens don't feel bored.

When I saw the compost pit and heard that chicken manure can be used for compost, I was even happier. This is not a waste at all. Although they didn't waste before, it's not as good as this compost pit! Just find some rotten leaves, put the wood ash in the stove and the manure together, and you can make good fertilizer. This is a great thing. I used to think that the Su family's good harvest was because they had cows, but now I know that they know how to compost.

The village chief was so happy that he immediately called the heads of every household in the village to come and see how Su He's family raised chickens, and also asked Su He's father to explain to them how to make compost and how to raise chickens.