Beautiful Peasant Girl: The Young Marquis's Beloved

Two days passed in a flash.

Xu Zheng looked at the packed things and his eyebrows twitched.

Fortunately, he still has two subordinates, otherwise it would be difficult for him to lead so many things.

The corn and potatoes together weighed over a hundred pounds, and there were also local specialties for several families. In the end, they could only take a horse-drawn carriage with them.

The carriage was modified from the one Xu Mingzhe had prepared for the old lady before. It had a bed on top for lying down and resting, and an empty space underneath, which was perfect for storing corn and potatoes.

In order to prevent the base material from melting, Liu Xu asked someone to buy some saltpeter from the fireworks shop and taught Xu Zheng and others how to make ice.

Everything was ready. Xu Zheng left Liujia Village with two subordinates. To prevent anyone from getting in the way, the carriage looked ordinary and no one was willing to deliver it.

At this time, the imperial edict announcing the death of Emperor Jing and the succession of the new emperor on the Dragon Boat Festival was posted all over the country.

The passing of the late emperor has saddened the whole nation.

Although Dongsheng Kingdom is relatively open-minded, the etiquette of mourning cannot be abolished.

The royal family members observe mourning for 39 days. During this period, all people wear plain clothes and live in mourning houses. They are not allowed to participate in any entertainment. On the anniversary of the death of the previous emperor, a grand sacrifice must be held to express grief. The diet is simple and no delicacies are allowed. Except for the ceremony of the new emperor's accession to the throne, no large-scale celebrations are allowed within three years. All state affairs must be solemn and dignified.

Officials observe a one-year mourning period, during which time they are prohibited from all entertainment activities and are not allowed to get married or hold banquets.

The people observed mourning for three months. During this month, no singing or dancing was allowed, and marriages were postponed. The people wore plain clothes, ate simple food, and remembered the kindness of the late emperor. Shops were not allowed to hang lanterns and decorations, and the markets and streets soon lost their former bustle.

Liu Xu watched her mother and the servants put away all the brightly colored objects, and gained a deeper understanding of ancient imperial power.

However, this incident greatly increased the demand for tofu in Liujia Village, and many people from the capital city came to Chang Yifei to order dried tofu and yuba.

For this reason, Liu Xu planned to let Liu Changshun open a tofu shop in the provincial capital.

Of course, this is a later story. Liu Xu has been busy leading the villagers to plant potatoes these past two days.

After being buried in the sand for nearly a month, the potatoes finally sprouted. The land in Liujia Village is limited, so this time she plans to interplant all of it.

The land that was originally rented to Guisheng's grandfather was also taken back.

The old man's family has now built a new house and bought a cow. In addition, the whole family has recently opened up more than ten acres of land, and several people in the family are working in the workshop. The conditions are no longer the same as before. So when Liu Xu wanted to take back the land, his family didn't say anything.

Speaking of cattle, Liujia Village became famous again among the surrounding villages some time ago.

Over a few days, more than a dozen adult cows were brought back at eight taels each. Those who were short of money bought mules, which cost four or five taels each and came with a cart, making the surrounding villages jealous.

But thinking that the chickens and ducks raised at home will be ready for sale in a few months, I might be able to buy one then. This made me feel better.

To get back to the point, each household was given dozens to hundreds of kilograms of willow catkins depending on the population and land of each family. No money was charged for growing these potato catkins, but instead, the farmers were required to return double the amount after the harvest.

Everyone had no objection, after all, the seeds in the grain shop were more expensive than ordinary grains. Moreover, such a good thing, the girl Xu did not hide it at all, if the yield was really that high, they would think that it was too little.

In order to avoid waste and to ensure that everyone can have a good harvest, when Liuxu's family planted potatoes themselves, they called all the people in the village who wanted to plant potatoes to learn. From cutting the sprouts and wrapping them with wood ash, to pest control and base fertilizer application in the soil, to ridge formation and row and plant spacing, every detail was explained to everyone in detail.

When they started planting, they asked a few servants to check each house.

It was the end of April when the potatoes were planted and the wheat in the field was about to be harvested.

In Yongshun Prefecture, rice is planted after winter wheat is harvested. However, Liu Xu discovered from the original owner's memory that people here plant rice directly by sowing seeds. Although this sowing method saves time and effort, it has a great impact on yield due to uneven distribution of plants and difficulty in weeding and fertilizing. In addition, the resistance to lodging is poor, so it was not used in the previous life.

So, Liu Xu went to see the village chief and suggested that everyone use the seedling planting method this year.

"Will this... this method work? Our ancestors have been planting this way for generations. What if..." Liu Dahai was very hesitant.

"Grandpa, this kind of land is the same as raising our children and grandchildren. There is only so much food at home. Do you think that if there are more people, can everyone still have enough to eat? Can they grow well and strong if they don't have enough to eat? Also, is it better to share it according to the rules, or for everyone to scramble for it?" After Liu Xu finished speaking, she looked at Liu Dahai quietly.

The old man stroked his graying goat beard and frowned in thought. The metaphor of willow catkins is simple and straightforward.

After a moment, Liu Dahai nodded and said that he would talk to everyone about this.

Liu Xu reminded the old village chief that everyone should make more manure. The village usually uses human and animal manure, as well as some household garbage, but some families have a small population, which leads to insufficient fertilizer and naturally low yields.

Liu Xu told Liu Dahai about the composting method that he had seen in the countryside when he was a child in his previous life.

"Dead leaves? Grass? And mud from the depressions? Can these be put together to make fertilizer?" Liu Dahai asked in surprise.

Liu Xu nodded and shook his head, saying calmly, "We need to add some excrement, but we don't need a lot. We need to ferment a pit that is three feet square and three feet deep. Half a bucket of dry fertilizer is enough. This way, one fermentation and water should be enough to irrigate two acres of land."

Liu Dahai was extremely excited. If compost could be made in this way, then their village would surely have a good harvest.

"Also, Grandpa, tell them to save some eggshells. I'll ask them to use them as fertilizer to increase potato production!"

Liu Xu thought that since the seeds had been given and Liujia Village was now united again, wouldn’t it be a good idea to provide fertilizer as well?

"Can...can production still increase?" Liu Dahai was extremely surprised.

"Yeah, how else could I come up with so many seeds?"

Liu Dahai couldn't help but get a little excited. He walked around the room, muttering "OK, OK!"

After they had almost finished talking about the matter, Liu Xu said goodbye and left.

Liu Dahai was filled with emotion as he watched the little girl leave. Who would have thought that a little girl who was not favored by her grandparents in the past would now lead the entire family and the entire village to change dramatically.

It seems that this girl has become smarter since the separation. From growing mushrooms to opening a clothing workshop, to making tofu and bean sprouts, and now to the new grain varieties, none of them was not created by this girl.

No, maybe this girl has been so smart since she was young, but she was too unpopular at home before and was ignored.

The Liu family is so blessed to have such a girl!

But when he thought that this girl was not his own granddaughter, the old man felt a little depressed.

"Humph, that old fellow Dashan got the upper hand!"

When the village head's wife, Da Wang, came in, she heard her old man muttering this and couldn't help wondering, "How did Ren Dashan offend you?"

Liu Dahai exhaled heavily and sighed, "You said we have a lot of grandchildren, but why don't we have anyone like Xu girl?"

Wang was a little speechless after hearing this, "If you say this in front of your children and grandchildren, do you think they will be nice to you?"

Then she rolled her eyes at him again and said, "Don't you see who Xu's maternal family is? With such blood, how bad can the child be? I think Donglai has good taste. He picked up a daughter from an official family."

Liu Dahai stroked his chin and said thoughtfully: "Why not let my grandson try it later? What if he picks up a..."

"Just forget it!" Before he could finish, Da Wang interrupted his wild thoughts and took a sip of the wine. "Just do your thing and stop daydreaming!"

Liu Xu naturally didn't know what the village head and his wife said. She was just walking back leisurely.