Farming and reading family

Those tenants would rather grow crops.

In their minds, they will not feel anxious unless there is food at home.

As for growing mulberry and hemp, it seems to have nothing to do with them. Anyway, they can't raise silkworms or weave cloth.

When Gao E heard Jin Ruyi say this, she thought that if there were big trees beside the fields, they would indeed compete with the crops for water, fertilizer, and sunlight, and the crops would not be able to grow where the tree roots reached.

However, there will be places for people to walk in the fields. It is impossible to grow crops in these places, but there can be shade from trees, it’s just a matter of size.

"Let me think about this again." Gao E did not make a decision immediately.

Jin Ruyi has been busy with these things recently and has some knowledge of farming: "Why don't you just tell them that ordinary people can also grow mulberry trees and raise silkworms in the future? Maybe they will be willing to do it."

"Without the imperial document, who can take on this responsibility?" Gao E looked at Jin Ruyi's relaxed expression. "Besides, what will happen after they plant mulberry trees and raise silkworms?"

"Just sell silk." Jin Ruyi thought this was very simple.

"What if the silk is stockpiled in large quantities and cannot be sold?" Gao E looked at Jin Ruyi.

Jin Ruyi was silent for a while: "Not really."

Gao E wasn't as naive as Jin Ruyi: "I'll think about it."

After returning to Batou Village, Gao E gave him Chen Tao's things, but he didn't care about them at all.

After Xu Boyan had been wandering around He County for a few days and his entourage had arrived, he publicly took office. The students and gentry of He County also began to make arrangements to welcome the new county magistrate.

This time, Chen Ke was specially invited to go. Chen Ke really didn't want to go, but he had to go anyway because of the kind invitation.

There was one good thing for Gao E, that is, the mulberry seedlings grafted last year were not frozen to death, and the pine needles that were covered in advance played a significant role.

Now we are just waiting for the weather to warm up before we start transplanting.

That day Gao E called her elder brother to calculate how much fertilizer was needed for a certain amount of land, and how many livestock were needed based on how much fertilizer was needed. After some calculations, it turned out that the amount of livestock raised by farmers was unlikely to match the amount of fertilizer needed for the land.

"Otherwise, the manure business in the city wouldn't be so popular." Chen Qing said helplessly.

"The fertilizer is not enough, and no matter how hard we try, the yield per mu cannot be increased." Gao E was helpless.

Chen Qing knew that all farmers had gone through this. If the yield per mu could not be increased, they could only plant more. Even though the land was thin, it could still produce some.

It makes life hard for farmers.

The sales of cash crops such as fruits and vegetables are very limited. Besides, their village is not adjacent to He County, so it has no advantages compared with the villages adjacent to He County.

Regardless of whether they grow staple food or miscellaneous grains, most people choose food that is easy to eat and store, so at least they have something to eat.

However, the result was that there was no surplus food throughout the year.

"Brother, our family has plenty of land now. Have you ever thought about selecting seeds?" Gao E asked.

"We farmers save the best grains for seeds every year." Chen Qing said there was nothing much to choose from.

"Those are the ones that are full at the end." Gao E knew this was the case. "What I mean is to observe the whole process, and see which ones have more seeds, and the difference between tall and short stems. Then separate them and plant them separately. In a few years, you will have better seeds."

In later generations, crops were mostly grown with short stems, which made them resistant to lodging and had higher yields.

At this time, tall poles also have an advantage, because grain poles are important fuel and are means of production.

Chen Qing thought about it seriously and felt that this was feasible: "If we can select better grain varieties, it will be a good thing for us farmers."

"Yes, big brother, just tell me if you need any support." Gao E supported this matter very much.

Chen Qing nodded: "I think Peng Can's livestock and poultry are no longer able to be fed."

Gao E also knew this: "Let him choose a place to build another circle later."

As the two were discussing, Yang pushed her mother-in-law over and called out to them for help at the door.

"What are you doing here?" Chen Qing saw Yang pushing the wheelchair with difficulty.

"Come and take a look," Yang said with a smile.

Chen Qing lowered his eyes for a moment: "You can't push it up by yourself, and you won't be able to push it down later." He went over and pushed the wheelchair down. "What if it falls over and hits Mom? It's better to stay at home."

"It's boring for mom to stay at home alone." Yang said as she secretly glanced at the table in the yard of the second son's house.

"Then I'll go back and stay with my mother." Chen Qing pushed his mother away.

Mrs. Jiang made some noises, but she didn't know what she wanted to say. She looked at Mrs. Yang with an unfriendly look.

Gao E also walked to the door: "Sister-in-law, come in and sit down?"

Yang laughed dryly: "I have something to do at home, I'll go back first." Then she left.

Gao E wanted to laugh as she looked at Yang's back. Now she was staring at her eldest brother more and more closely.

When Chen Qing returned home, he pushed his mother to the corner to bask in the sun and motioned Yang and him to come into the house.

"What's the matter?" Yang pretended to be stupid.

Chen Qing looked at Yang's innocent face and said, "I told you I was going to my second brother's house to discuss something with his wife. Why did you follow me?"

"I'm just taking care of my mother..." Yang tried to defend herself.

Chen Qing looked at Yang with disappointment.

Yang knew she couldn't get away with it: "It's understandable that you're discussing things with your second brother, but what does your second brother's wife know? She's just a woman, and she's busy with a bunch of children every day."

When talking about those children, Yang felt that her second brother and sister-in-law were confused. They raised their own children the same as other children, and raised children from rich families the same as children from poor families. She really didn't know what she was trying to achieve.

"Now even Uncle Zheng has to consult my second sister-in-law when he has something to do. What do you think my second sister-in-law knows?" Chen Qing didn't know how Yang became like this.

"She is a woman and doesn't know how to avoid suspicion." Yang muttered softly.

They are all women. Other women revolve around the stove, around their men, and around their children, but Gao E is the only one who is busy outside every day. The men still come to her to discuss things when they have something to do, which makes Yang feel that something is wrong.

Chen Qing didn't know what to say: "Take good care of mother."

Yang felt that Chen Qing didn't want to pay attention to her.

Gao E didn't care about Yang's attitude. After all, they were not of the same kind. It was only a matter of time before they drifted further apart.

Before, she was still thinking about her sisters-in-law at home, but now it seems that she was overthinking it. If they don’t ask for help, she should not get involved.

She is very busy every day.

Lei would come over for a walk every day, and leave if she was busy, and chat with her if she was not busy.

On that day, the students and gentry of He County held a banquet to welcome Lord Xu. Chen Ke stood near the front for a rare occasion, and everyone was polite to him.

Xu Boyan looked kind, which made the people in He County feel relieved. They were really worried that someone difficult to get along with would come.

After some polite exchanges, everyone took their seats one by one, and the atmosphere was quite pleasant.

Xu Boyan looked at Chen Ke and asked suddenly, "I heard that Mr. Chen had a close relationship with the former county magistrate, Mr. He."

Chen Ke was startled and stood up hurriedly, knocking over the bowls and dishes in front of him and the drum stool he was sitting on, attracting everyone's attention.

Everyone had different expressions, trying to guess what Lord Xu meant.

Looking at Chen Ke's reaction, he seemed a little disgusted that he was not presentable.