The First National Preceptor of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 186

Upon reaching the field, Xu Tian squatted down and examined the soil beneath the sand.

The soil quality is only slightly better than the soil he tested earlier, but only slightly better. Besides, it's mixed with a lot of sand, so it's hard to say whether wheat can be grown there.

Seeing the bitter look on his face, the border general said to him, "Grand Tutor, do you see I was right? It is indeed very difficult for the people in Ningcheng to be self-sufficient."

Xu Tian did not reply, but instead rubbed the mud and sand on his hands, lost in thought.

After a long while, he said to the border general, "Let's try planting one first and see what happens."

Seeing his insistence, the border general didn't try to persuade him further, but simply nodded slightly.

Then Xu Tian took out the prepared wheat seeds, sifted through the sand, picked out some of the sand mixed with the soil, and then planted the wheat.

He stood up only after he had planted several wheat seeds.

The trial planting was successful, and the next step was to go to Ningcheng Post Station to put everything away.

Afterwards, the group ate and drank at the post station, and then went back to their rooms to rest. They were all exhausted from the long journey.

Xu Tian then lived in Ningcheng for a period of time.

For some time now, he had been checking on the wheat seeds almost every day and watering them. For some reason, these mutated wheat seeds were growing so slowly this time, but fortunately, under his careful care, a new sprout had finally emerged.

Heaven knows how happy Xu Tian was after seeing the results of his efforts.

On the way back, the old men who often sat in front of the thatched hut and had noticed him for a long time suddenly asked him curiously, "Young man, are you here to farm?"

Xu Tianwen nodded slightly and said with a smile, "That's right, I came here to farm."

"Oh dear, the soil here won't grow any crops." The old man frowned, looking worried. "We've tried planting things in this soil before, but nothing ever grew; they all withered."

Xu Tian had heard that they had tried planting crops in the soil before, but they hadn't been able to grow them. So he asked curiously, "Old man, how did you grow your crops?"

"Oh, just put the seeds in the soil and water them every day to let them grow and sprout, just like you."

Xu Tian paused for a moment, then chuckled, “Old man, this soil has too much sand mixed in. If you want to plant something, you’ll have to remove some of the sand first. And the soil is too dry, so you’ll have to loosen it up and moisten it a bit before you can plant it.”

Upon hearing Xu Tian's words, the old man frowned slightly, his face full of disbelief. "We've always planted them this way, never changed the method, and some of the seeds have even sprouted."

"That's because the seeds are all different. The soil here isn't very good, so we naturally need to use more moist soil, rather than worrying about the seeds themselves."

The old man smiled and nodded, but didn't say anything more to Xu Tian.

Xu Tian walked away, realizing something in his heart.

This matter is of particular importance, and now he must make up his mind to start working on it.