Spring comes to the desperate place

Because it was still a period of national mourning, no household hung red lanterns. It was said that the Lantern Festival lantern show was also cancelled. Song Chunlin felt a little regretful that he couldn't go to see it. Unexpectedly, Gu Fengyue actually sent all the lanterns.

At night, Song Dazhuang deliberately turned on all the lights, which made the children so happy that they stayed in the yard and refused to leave. Finally, Song Qin pulled them back one by one.

On New Year's Eve, Gu Fengyue did not stay in the Marquis' Mansion, but was taken to the palace by Gu Fengyun to attend a palace banquet. The next year, Gu Fengyue was sixteen years old, and Gu Fengyun planned to take him out to make himself familiar with the public and prepare for his future entry into the officialdom.

This year's palace banquet was relatively simple. Due to the recent death of the late emperor, all the dishes at the banquet were vegetarian, without a single meat dish. For Gu Fengyue, who was used to eating meat, this meal was difficult to swallow.

Gu Fengyun glanced at his brother picking at the dishes with chopsticks out of boredom, and knowing that he had no appetite, he could only lean over and whisper a few words in his ear.

"Be patient. The Song family also sent Buddha Jumps Over the Wall this year. I asked the housekeeper to warm it up in the kitchen. You can eat it when you get back."

When Gu Fengyue heard that there was delicious food at home, her eyes suddenly lit up. She quickly sat up straight and forced a smile at those who came over to greet her.

The palace banquet ended early, and it was still early when the two brothers returned to the mansion. Before midnight, the housekeeper asked the kitchen to bring all the dishes. Gu Fengyue didn't care about etiquette and drank two large bowls of food in a row. Only then did he feel alive again.

He slumped down in the chair comfortably: "The food at home is still more comfortable. The dishes at the palace banquet are really disgusting."

Gu Fengyun laughed and scolded: "Any dish in this palace banquet is a delicacy, how come it tastes so bad when it comes to your mouth?"

"It's just unpalatable. Many dishes are cold."

The imperial kitchen was far away from the palace banquet venue, so even though the food was served on insulated plates, it was already cold when it was placed in front of them. In addition, it was a cold winter day, so the dishes got cold even faster, and the oil solidified into a lump. Neither the appearance nor the taste was as appetizing as the hot Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.

Gu Fengyun stopped talking and instead concentrated on tasting the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. He didn't know if it was his illusion, but he actually felt that the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall tasted better than last year's.

After the Chinese New Year, Song Dazhuang started plowing the land. With last year's experience, Song Dazhuang decided to plant potatoes and sweet potatoes on five acres each, and plant wheat and rice on the rest. As for the wasteland, Song Dazhuang would slowly reclaim the land with Song Qin when he was free, and wait for the sweet potato seedlings to come out, and then plant them by cuttings.

There was more work to do at home, and Song Dazhuang and Song Qinshi were too busy to handle it, so they hired several hardworking people in the village to do odd jobs. Among them were the brothers Wang Qin and Wang Mian. Probably out of gratitude for the help from the Song family, they worked particularly hard.

Seeing how hard they worked, Song Dazhuang would give them a little more when settling their wages every day.

"Uncle Dazhuang, this is too much. We agreed that we would only be counted as half a strong laborer." Wang Qin looked at the copper coins in his hand. Song Dazhuang gave them ten cents more each, and they could not take this money.

Looking at these two honest children, Song Dazhuang didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Here, these are given to you in recognition of your hard work. Today, the two of you have worked harder than a strong laborer. Keep them and don't let anyone else know."

Seeing that Song Dazhuang insisted, the two men reluctantly accepted it, but they secretly swore in their hearts that they must work harder tomorrow.

After hiring people, the work speed was much faster than last year. After planting the 20 acres of fertile land, Song Dazhuang took people to reclaim the wasteland. When others asked him what he wanted to plant, he said corn.

"Corn? Dazhuang, are you talking about the kind of corn that can only be used as an ornament and cannot be eaten?" The person asking the question was a very hardworking farmer in the village. He had planted corn in his early years, but not only was the yield low, it was also not easy to sell. What's more, it was not edible, so over time fewer people planted it.

No one expected that Song Dazhuang would actually think of growing corn, and it seemed like he would plant a lot, so they all advised him not to plant it, or to plant less.

"Brother Dazhuang, listen to my advice. Corn is not easy to grow and the yield is low. Did your family grow corn last year?"

Song Dazhuang nodded: "I also planted one acre of land last year, so I plan to plant one more acre of corn this year."

When the man saw that Song Dazhuang was planting an extra acre, he immediately became anxious: "Oh, that corn can't be eaten or drunk, it's just a decoration. If it's not good, the young ladies of the noble families won't want to buy it. Why are you still planting this thankless task?"

"I think you might as well use these lands to grow potatoes and sweet potatoes. After all, they are decent food, and the yield is high. This wasteland can also survive. I think it's a good idea to grow these two."

"Corn just sounds good, it's not real rice. Don't waste your efforts by planting so much."

Seeing that everyone was advising him to stop planting, Song Dazhuang knew that they were doing it for his own good and were afraid that all his efforts would go to waste. However, he could not explain to everyone that corn was really edible, so he just said lightly that he was planting it for his son.

Seeing how persistent he was, everyone finally gave up trying to persuade him. After all, they were just here to do temporary work, and it was not their turn to tell the owner what to plant.

The farmers originally wanted to grow corn in the same way as before, but were stopped by Song Dazhuang.

"You can only plant two or three seeds in one hole, no more. The distance between each row is about three feet, no more."

Farmers who have been farming for many years were confused by his operation. This kind of corn cannot be sown directly. The spacing must be calculated. Only a few seeds can be planted in a hole. What can grow from such a small amount of corn?

Song Dazhuang knew that everyone did not believe in his method, but he did not explain it. He just strongly urged them to plant it this way.

Although everyone was full of doubts, they just followed what the host said and started to work. Soon they had planted all the corn in the two acres of land.

After finishing all the work, the brothers Wang Qin and Wang Mian looked at Song Dazhuang with concern, but Song Dazhuang didn't understand why.

"What's wrong? Why do you look like that?"

Wang Qin and Wang Mian looked at each other and finally mustered up the courage to tell Song Dazhuang: "Uncle Dazhuang, this is not how you grow corn. My father used to grow it and he just sowed it directly. The corn yield is not high to begin with. You planted so little that you may not even be able to earn back the money you spent on the seeds."

Although corn does not have a high yield and is not a grain, it is loved by the noble ladies in Beijing, so the price is not cheap. The two were worried that Song Dazhuang would lose all his money.

Seeing the sincere look in the two children's eyes, Song Dazhuang didn't say anything, but asked them: "How do you know that corn is planted like your father?"

The two were stunned by the question and didn't understand why Song Dazhuang said that.

"But, everyone is planting it this way? Could it be that everyone is planting it wrong?"

Song Dazhuang naturally would not tell them that everyone had been planting corn incorrectly for all these years. In fact, he used to subconsciously think that all they had to do was to spread the corn seeds evenly in the ground. If Song Chunlin hadn't shown him agricultural books from later generations, he would never have thought that corn was planted in that way.

The corn grown by the Song family now has ten ears. Among the three types of corn in Song Chunlin's space, only the corn seeds watered with spiritual spring water have the most stable performance, so Song Chunlin has now switched to using only the seeds watered with spiritual spring water. He has reserved a portion of the seeds from each stage as a transition to prevent the seeds from changing too obviously.

The corns he planted with the spiritual spring water have now begun to take shape as modern corns. He believes that if he is given some more time, he will be able to perfectly replicate modern corns.

While the Song family was planting corn, the potatoes and sweet potatoes distributed by the emperor were also quietly taking root and sprouting in the land of Dajing. The farmers who were given sweet potatoes and potatoes were also delighted when they saw the tender green sprouts.

"This thing's germination rate is really high."

"What's the point of being high? It has to be as productive as the government says."

"Alas, if it weren't for this thing, my family would have planted wheat long ago."

People had all kinds of opinions about these new crops. Some people believed in the imperial court and thought these were indeed high-yield crops. However, most people remained skeptical. After all, a yield of 1,000 kilograms per mu was something they had only heard of in legends. If they were really that good, why had they only been discovered now?

No matter what they said, it would not reach the ears of the Song family. All the corns in the Song family's fields had sprouted, and those who had originally been laughing at the Song family could no longer laugh.

The most unhappy person among them was Wang Fugui. He had always been at odds with the Song family and naturally did not want the Song family to have an easy life. As early as when the Song family was growing corn, he had told people in the village that the Song family would definitely not be able to grow corn. Unexpectedly, in just one month, he would be severely slapped in the face.

He had seen the corn in the Song family's field from afar. The germination rate was extremely high, even higher than when they directly sowed the corn in the past. Not only was he slapped in the face, but those who said that Song Dazhuang's way of growing corn was wrong were also severely slapped in the face.

Wang Fugui spat viciously at the Song family's land: "Humph, all he knows how to do is these crooked ways all day long, I wonder how long he can laugh!"

The Song family also heard about the rumors in the village. At first, Song Dazhuang was angry and wanted to find someone to argue, but was stopped by Song Qin.

"What's the point of fighting with others for these? Just wait and see, our corn will surely have a good harvest."

"Yes, a great harvest, and then make them mad to death."

Song Chunlin has recently become fascinated with space exploration. Ever since the last time the space expanded, he has been thinking about when to explore the outskirts of the forest. Now that he has a rare chance of time, he will go in and study whenever he has time.

When in the space, Song Chunlin would continuously see golden light of merit entering the space. He was no longer surprised by it. He was immune to those scattered golden lights of merit. As long as they were not flying towards the space in large groups, he basically regarded them as starlight.

He had already explored half of the outskirts of the forest. In addition to the trees he thought they were, there were also many herbs he didn't recognize. The land where he was standing today was planted with a bunch of herbs he didn't recognize. He squatted on the ground and dug them up one by one with a small hoe, put them away in his backpack, and waited to go back and take out the Compendium of Materia Medica to compare them.

However, he felt that his ancestors would definitely not plant useless things in the space. He walked along the forest, stopping every few steps to see if there were any unfamiliar things on the ground. He spent most of his time digging things, so even though he came in every day, his exploration progress was only halfway through.

Looking at the trees stretching to the foot of the mountain behind him, Song Chunlin suddenly felt that he had a long way to go.

Dabao is working hard in the fields. During the Chinese New Year, the space consumed a lot of fruits. Now, Dabao’s daily activities have added another thing: harvesting fruits.

"Master, the grapes are ripe and can be harvested."

Song Chunlin smiled as Dabao's voice rang in his ears: "Pick them all up. And help me count the total number of grapes. I plan to use them to make wine."

"Okay, Dabao, show it to the master." Dabao's voice disappeared for a moment, and soon sounded again: "Master, master, those grapes add up to a ton, do you want to use them all to make wine?"

"Of course not. Not all grapes can be used to make wine." Song Chunlin only planted one tree of each type of grape in the beginning. In order to make wine during this period, Song Chunlin specially asked Dabao to graft some of those grapes. Now they have just grown up, but Song Chunlin thinks the number is still too small, so he told Dabao: "Plant some more grapes, especially those wild grapes, plant more."

"Okay!" Dabao received the task and went to work happily, working as hard as a little bee.

Seeing that he had almost finished his tour today, Song Chunlin stopped. He first left the space and then went back in. This time he stood directly in the grape field.

Today's grape field has doubled in size compared to the original one. From a distance, you can see grape racks everywhere. He walked to a newly built grape rack. The grapes here were still very small, as if they had just grown, with small ones hanging on the branches. The ripe grapes had been collected by Dabao. What Song Chunlin saw now were all such small grapes.

Song Chunlin calculated the amount of grapes that could be harvested tomorrow and returned to the place where the supplies were stored. Winemaking requires white sugar, but there was no white sugar in that era, only brown sugar and yellow rock sugar. If you want the wine to be clear, brown sugar will definitely not work. Fortunately, Song Chunlin has collected enough white sugar and rock sugar, and he estimates that even if all the grapes are used to make wine, there will be enough.

Now that we have the materials, we can no longer use the storage containers in the space. Besides, Song Chunlin doesn't have enough. He left the space and planned to ask Song Dazhuang to go to the store where he ordered the jars last time and order some large jars.