Professor Gu's daily life in the countryside after his rebirth

In the evening, the country roads are very quiet.

Gu Zhan followed the route he remembered and groped his way to the home of team leader Zhao Baogen. Before he even entered the house, he saw Zhao Baogen sitting under the apple tree at the door, looking worried.

The people in the Shanghe Village Production Team received grain at the end of last year, and they were able to eat the new grain this year.

However, if we follow this year's seed distribution, autumn grain production will inevitably decrease, and we will inevitably suffer from hunger next spring.

Where can I get the seeds? Zhao Baogen is so worried that he can't even eat.

Seeing the silent Zhao Baogen from afar, Gu Zhan quickly walked up and greeted him.

"Uncle Zhao!"

Zhao Baogen looked up and was slightly surprised to see that the person coming was Gu Zhan.

"Hey, Gu kid, why are you here? What's going on?"

Zhao Baogen sympathized with Gu Zhan, a child without parents, and naturally became much kinder to him. When he saw Gu Zhan coming, his first reaction was whether the child had encountered any difficulties.

"Uncle Zhao, there is something I want to discuss with you."

Discuss? Zhao Baogen chewed the word over and over again on his tongue, not understanding what Gu Zhan meant by "discuss."

I thought that this educated kid who had attended high school was different. These two words would only be said when leaders were discussing things in a meeting. I didn't expect to hear them out of this kid's mouth today.

You know what, it's quite strange.

Zhao Baogen called Gu Zhan to walk into the house.

The yard was also dark, without a trace of light.

"Your aunt and the others went to cut the grass after dinner."

Now the above policy has been relaxed a lot compared to before. Villagers can raise some chickens and ducks for their own consumption within the policy scope.

Zhao Baogen's wife raises a few chickens, which she treats like treasures. She cuts fresh grass every day to feed them.

Zhao Baogen took Gu Zhan into the main room and lit the kerosene lamp on the table. The room was instantly filled with dim light.

"Uncle Zhao, I also heard about what happened today."

"Oh, I'm so worried! I'm afraid the villagers will starve next year."

Zhao Baogen lit a cigarette, took a deep puff, and exhaled a puff of white smoke.

"Uncle Zhao, I have a solution that may be able to solve the current dilemma."

Hearing Gu Zhan say this, Zhao Baogen was stunned for a moment, and it took him a few seconds to react. Although he was puzzled as to what a young man like Gu Zhan could do, he still held on to strong hope and asked anxiously, "Boy, tell me quickly, what is the solution?"

At this stage, even if there is a glimmer of hope, we must try our best.

Gu Zhan thought for a moment and said, "Uncle Zhao, the problem we're facing now is that the seeds allocated to our brigade by the county are less than in previous years, right? But the seeds we've reserved for ourselves are still enough, right?"

When Zhao Baogen heard what Gu Zhan said, he felt very disappointed. Although the seeds he had saved were enough, the grain yield was low, especially the corn cobs, which were far inferior to the seeds allocated from the county.

"Gu Zhan, you've spent little time farming and lack experience. You should know that the yield from our own seed is low. Plus, the brigade's grain-producing land is limited. Besides wheat, we can only grow high-yield crops like corn and potatoes. Otherwise, we won't have enough food for everyone. Especially now, if we use mostly our own seed for corn, our yield will be significantly reduced."

"Uncle Zhao, what if I could find a way to make our grain production similar to last year's?"

"What did you say?" Zhao Baogen stood up from his chair in shock.

"Uncle Zhao, I didn't lie to you. It's true."

"Tell me what's going on?"

"Uncle Zhao, you see, we used to grow corn on flat land. After the corn seeds are set, the thing we fear most is heavy rain and strong winds. A heavy rain or strong wind will cause countless corns to fall over. But our teacher told us about corn planting methods in some other places."

Gu Zhan knew that in everyone's eyes, he was just a young man who had only attended high school, and no one might believe what he said, so he brought up his high school teacher.

Gu Zhan's words successfully whetted Zhao Baogen's appetite. He knew that most of the teachers at Xia County Middle School were transferred here from big cities.

It was said that those teachers were university professors before being sent down. They had a lot of experience and might be able to solve the current dilemma.

"How do they grow corn in those places out there?"

Zhao Baogen was very curious. He knew that some places outside were much more developed than the impoverished Xia County, especially their industrial products, which were enviable and beyond his reach. He had never expected that there was also a gap in agricultural production.

Gu Zhan paused and continued, "My teacher said that when planting corn outside, the land is usually divided into rows and ridges, and the corn is planted on the ridges. This is very conducive to the corn taking root and growing aerial roots, and the lodging resistance effect will be much better than before."

Zhao Baogen had rich practical experience, and just by thinking about it in his mind, he already knew the key to the planting method that Gu Zhan mentioned.

So he asked, "But this approach doesn't seem to change the fact that the yield of self-saved seeds is low."

Gu Zhan nodded. "Yes, that's right. But it's not just lodging that affects yield. There are many other factors, too, like sunlight and the spacing between corn plants."

Then, Gu Zhan told Zhao Baogen some scientific methods of growing corn in later generations. Zhao Baogen was stunned and said that his efforts were not in vain. He tried to find a way to support Gu Zhan until he finished high school.

It seems that reading more is still useful.

After listening to Gu Zhan's words, Zhao Baogen was very pleased and felt a lot more relieved. Now, he could finally give an explanation to his fellow villagers.

"But Uncle Zhao, this is not enough."

Gu Zhan said this while Zhao Baogen was already very excited.

"What do you say?"

"Uncle Zhao, this is far from enough. According to the yield calculation, the output of this corn can only meet the basic living needs of the people in the Shanghe Village Production Team, but it is still a long way from being enough to eat."

Full?

Zhao Baogen no longer dared to think about this word. Not being hungry was already his greatest luxury. Now that Gu Zhan mentioned eating enough, these two words sounded like a fairy tale to him, so distant and unbelievable.

Zhao Baogen suppressed his excitement and patted Gu Zhan on the shoulder: "You kid, I'm still being secretive with your Uncle Zhao."

Gu Zhan twitched the corner of his mouth slightly: "Uncle Zhao, you're joking."