Sister Han is good at farming

After Ruan Qingqing arrived home, she did not feel the joy of having gathered eight happy elderly people.

While searching for Mr. Quanfu, she discovered that the water levels in reservoirs in Qingshui County and in Qianlong River had dropped significantly.

This is not a good sign.

She has to find a way to save herself!

While sending the design for the birthday banquet to Zhou Zheng for review, she suddenly remembered a method she had come across when she was studying ancient methods of increasing grain production in China - using river mud.

The river mud is also called "twisting river mud". The river mud is the silt deposited at the bottom of the river. The silt contains various organic matter. Through the process of twisting river mud, the silt is lifted from the river bottom and irrigated to the crops. Not only does the twisting river mud fertilize the farmland, but it also purifies the river channel, which is a two-pronged approach.

Ruan Qingqing thought of the method of dredging the river mud. Fertilizing was secondary. The more important thing was to dredge the silt in the Qingshui River in Qingshui County, lower the riverbed, and let more water from the upstream flow to Qingshui County, so as to increase the water storage capacity in various reservoirs.

But it was not an easy task to dig the mud in the Qianlong River. To accomplish it, it had to be advocated by the county magistrate, and even required the support of the emperor. So what she had to do was to convince Zhou Zheng.

Zhou Zheng saw Ruan Qingqing was the first to smile, "Have you finished designing the pattern for the birthday banquet for Mr. Jin?"

Ruan Qingqing hesitated for a moment, "Sir, the pattern has been designed. But I have something more important to report."

"Whatever it is, just tell me." Zhou Zheng said indifferently.

"While searching for Mr. Quanfu, I discovered that the water storage in reservoirs across Qingshui County is now less than half of what it was at the beginning. Even the water level in Qianlong River has dropped significantly. The water in there may not be enough to irrigate the wheat in the county before it matures."

"I know something about the drop in water levels. In addition to the long drought, other nearby counties are following our example and opening dikes to divert water from the Qianlong River. This is unavoidable. After all, we can't prevent them from using the water in the Qianlong River."

Zhou Zheng sighed helplessly.

"But sir, our county grows wheat and rapeseed on a large scale. Both rapeseed and wheat cannot lack water, especially wheat. Lack of water during the critical period means poor harvest, and even all previous efforts will be wasted. Now that the surrounding prefectures are suffering from drought, food is particularly precious. It is better to rely on ourselves to save ourselves than to rely on the court for disaster relief."

Zhou Zheng sat up straight, "How do you want to save yourself?"

"The mud on the riverbed of Qianlong River." Ruan Qingqing said slowly.

"Riverbed mud?" Zhou Zheng leaned forward at the desk and asked, "Please elaborate."

"Since the surrounding prefectures are also digging dikes to draw water from the Qianlong River, we should lower the riverbed of the Qianlong River in Qingshui County to increase the flow of water in this section, and at the same time fill the water volume of various reservoirs to ensure the irrigation volume required for wheat. This is one of the measures.

Secondly, the scooped riverbed mud can be put into a large pond for drying or fermentation. After a month, the riverbed mud will be a very good fertilizer. Whether it is poured into wheat or rapeseed, it can increase the fertility of the land.

The third and more important point is that as the saying goes, after a severe drought there will be a severe flood. By lowering the riverbed of Qianlong River and further enhancing its water storage capacity, we can greatly reduce the risk of future floods.

Sir, such a three-pronged approach would be of great benefit to us!"

Zhou Zheng stroked his three-inch beard and said, "It does sound good, but how do we do this? Who will do it?"

"Use a bamboo ditch to remove the silt on the riverbed. Connect a thin bamboo pole three or four meters long to the back end of the ditch, and tie a hemp rope on both sides of the front end and in the middle of the back end. The upper ends of the three ropes are tied together to form a triangular handle.

When operating, tighten the rope at the back end and loosen the rope at the front end, so that the net and the bamboo pole are in a straight line, and the mouth of the net is facing the side of the boat and inserted into the riverbed closely against the side of the boat. Then pull up the two ropes at the front end of the net, and the mud and water will slide into the net. Keep the three ropes balanced and lift it out of the water. The water will naturally drain out and the mud will be poured into the boat. "

Ruan Qingqing looked at Zhou Zheng cautiously, "However, digging mud from the riverbed is a very difficult job, and usually requires two people to work together. The operator's long bamboo pole keeps pumping up and down, and the mud and water will flow down to the forearm and arm, which requires everyone to tie up their sleeves with rubber bands or ropes, and even then their arms will still get soaked.

When the boat is full of riverbed mud, it will be put into the mud pit dug nearby. The mud pit can be three or four meters wide and seven or eight meters long. Families who need riverbed mud can carry it home and put it in the pond to ferment with pig and sheep manure, or directly dry it for their own use.

"From what you said, dredging the riverbed mud is an arduous and tedious task. Not only does it involve dredging mud, but it also involves carrying mud, digging mud pits, and storing mud in ponds."

"But if it is done well, it will be a very beneficial thing. This year's spring plowing season is not much we can do because of the drought. We can take this opportunity to mobilize young and middle-aged people to dredge the riverbed mud to protect the wheat harvest," suggested Ruan Qingqing.

"Okay, I'll think about it carefully."

The result of Zhou Zheng's thinking was that he sent a memorial to the prefect of Lulin Prefecture and a letter to his eldest brother in Runan County.

Zhou Che, the prince of Runan, was sitting in the imperial study, reading the letter while helping the emperor with government affairs. As soon as he finished reading the letter sent by his third brother, he couldn't help but frown.

Emperor Murong Jinyang, who was reviewing memorials, caught a glimpse of this scene and couldn't help but tease him.

"Is there anything that can stump our Grand Tutor Zhou?"

Zhou Che sighed helplessly, "Your Majesty, please forgive me for making a fool of myself. This is a letter from my useless third brother."

Murong Jinyang paused with the imperial pen in his hand. "Your third brother Zhou Zheng? If I remember correctly, he went to Qingshui County under Lulin Prefecture in the south to serve as the county magistrate, right?"

Zhou Che nodded.

Murong Jinyang didn't even look at the memorial. He stood up and walked back and forth in the imperial study.

"Lulin, Jianghuai, Jiangxia, and Yuanxiang have not had much rain since June last year, and the drought has lasted for more than half a year. Jianghuai, Jiangxia, and Yuanxiang have reported deaths from starvation since September last year, but Lulin has not had any relevant statistics until now."

Zhou Che sighed, "The reason why no one starved to death was because my third brother was possessed by some evil spirit. He insisted on digging up the dam of Qianlong River and diverting water to various villages, thus preserving everyone's harvest last year."

"I still remember this incident. That kid was sitting there with Yin Zhongyun crying poor, and the censor reported it to me, saying that it was disgraceful." As he spoke, Murong Jinyang still laughed to himself.

"He didn't just make a fuss about this. I don't know where he got some farming blueprints from, and asked me to sell them to him for a good price. He ran away from home in anger before, but I didn't expect that he would beg me for help within the five-year agreement."

"Haha, he's like a child who hasn't grown up yet!" Murong Jinyang laughed, "What is he going to do this time?"

Zhou Che handed him the letter and said, "What else can you do? You want money!"

Murong Jinyang actually took the letter and read it carefully. The more he read, the brighter the eyes of the shrewd emperor became.