After traveling through time, I led the whole village to become rich!

The next day, a yamen runner came to Zhang Hulan and said that County Magistrate Wu had returned and asked Zhang Hulan to go to the county government office immediately.

Zhang Hulan knew why County Magistrate Wu wanted to see her, so he said something to Wang and rushed to the county town.

County government.

After Zhang Hulan saluted, Wu Deyong asked her to sit down and said, "Ms. Zhang, I have read your letter. Do you have any other knowledge about regenerated rice?"

Zhang Hulan shook her head. "Your Excellency, this is all I know."

Zhang Hulan then asked, "Sir, is the imperial court also conducting research on regenerated rice?"

Wu Deyong nodded. "Yes, the imperial court has been researching it for two or three years. The most important factor for regenerated rice is the climate. It needs to be grown in the southern region, where the weather cools later. However, the yield is not very good, and it also has a certain impact on the cultivation of winter wheat, so the imperial court has not promoted it."

Zhang Hulan said: "Special circumstances require special measures. We must first overcome the current difficulties before we can deal with the rest."

Wu Deyong smiled and nodded. "You're right. This is a special period, and we really need to overcome the current difficulties. That's why the court sent officials from the Ministry of Agriculture to direct the planting of regenerated rice in the affected prefectures."

"I've shown your letter to the prefect and officials from the Ministry of Agriculture. They agree with the two options you mentioned: either apply more fertilizer after the ratoon rice is harvested, or don't plant winter wheat this season and plant spring wheat next year, allowing the fields to rest for a few months."

"It's just a switch to spring wheat, but the yield from spring wheat isn't as good as winter wheat. The rice planting time next year will also be delayed, which will also have a certain impact on the rice harvest next year."

"So officials at Sinong Temple prefer to continue planting winter wheat this year, but finding a way to apply more fertilizer is also a challenge."

"But everything still needs to wait until we send people to each village to check whether the roots of the dried-up rice are still alive and whether there is any need to plant regeneration rice. If the roots are already dead, there is no point in wasting time."

Zhang Hulan nodded. "We need to check first. I don't know about other places, but the rice in our Daping Village is fine. I've already checked. Not only the harvested rice, but even the roots of the rice stalks that looked dead are mostly still alive."

"Your village's rice fields were drained in time, and a lot of them were saved. In some villages, almost all the rice was gone."

Wu Deyong then said, "I asked you to come here because I see that you know a lot about agriculture, so I wanted to ask if you have any good methods for composting."

"If you have any good ideas, please tell me. If they really work, you will have made a contribution. However, this time, I will not be the one rewarding you. The court will be the one rewarding you."

Zhang Hulan's eyes lit up. Another reward?

Zhang Hulan searched her mind for ways to make compost here, and found only two: using the pit toilet at home, and burning straw in the fields.

However, the straw burning here was a little different from the way it was done at her previous home. Here, the straw was spread out on the field and burned; but what she saw was the straw and soil being piled up and burned together.

Put a layer of straw underneath, put a layer of soil on top, then put more straw and another layer of soil on top, and burn it. After burning, water it, stir it, and pat it down to ferment.

Another way is to go to the mountain to pick up wet leaves or rotten leaves that have fallen on the ground, chop them up, and throw them into the pit toilet for fermentation, and then cover it with a lid.

The other more laborious method is to go to the mountains and dig up soil and spread it on the fields. Every year, the fallen leaves on the mountains pile up on the ground, and the soil on top is very fertile.

Zhang Hulan told Wu Deyong everything she knew, and Wu Deyong asked someone to write it down one by one.

Wu Deyong was a little confused and asked, "I understand using rotten leaves to make fertilizer, but why do you have to cover it with a lid?"

Zhang Hulan explained, "If you cover the pit, the temperature will be higher, which will help fermentation and composting faster."

"In fact, you can dig a big hole, put a layer of leaves underneath, then pour a layer of manure on it, and then put more leaves on it. Fill the hole layer by layer and cover it up. You can ferment a lot of fertilizer at one time."

Wu Deyong nodded approvingly. He didn't expect that Zhang Hulan, a woman, knew more about farming than some old farmers who had been growing crops all their lives.

Zhang Hulan chatted with Wu Deyong for a few words, then said goodbye and left.

After Zhang Hulan left, Wu Deyong began dispatching yamen runners to inspect the rice harvest in each village. He identified villages where regeneration of rice was feasible and instructed the village headman not to rush to burn the rice straw after the harvest. He also specified how long the rice stalks should be left.

Wu Deyong was about to go to the provincial capital again. He had to discuss the composting methods Zhang Hulan had told him with the officials of the Sino-Agricultural Temple to see if these methods were feasible...

After leaving the county government office, Zhang Hulan did not rush back. Instead, she wandered around the county town.

There are actually quite a lot of people on the streets of the county town, but many of them come to the city to beg.

Zhang Hulan walked around the city until noon, checking how many restaurants there were in the city and how many people were eating in the restaurants.

There is a saying that has been passed down since ancient times: The rich have wine and meat, but the poor freeze to death on the streets.

Although the poor people could not even afford to eat, it did not prevent the wealthy families from enjoying delicacies every day.

Zhang Hulan passed by several restaurants and found that the business was not good, but it was still okay.

She was thinking, if it doesn't work out, she won't set up a stall, and can just make the braised meat and sell it to restaurants, which would make it easier for her.

Zhang Hulan walked into a restaurant and decided to check if they had any braised meat. If so, how would it taste?

When I walked into the restaurant, the waiter came up to me and asked, "How many guests are there?"

"Just one." Zhang Hulan said and walked straight to a table and sat down.

The waiter asked again, "What would you like to eat, sir?"

Zhang Hulan asked, "What dishes do you have here?"

The waiter replied, "We have a wide variety of dishes. It all depends on what you want to eat. Even if we don't have a dish, just tell us the name and our chef will make it for you."

"Is that so..." Zhang Hulan said, "Then give me a portion of braised pig's head, a portion of braised pig's trotters, and either a braised duck or a braised goose."

The waiter scratched his head. "Sir, we have the braised pig's trotters you mentioned, but we don't have the braised pig's head, duck, or goose. I'll go to the kitchen and ask if the chef can make them."

Zhang Hulan nodded, "Then go quickly."