Chapter 129: Farming (3)
Editor: Atlas Studios
In a spirit of bold imagination and scientific verification, Mu Yangling said very seriously, “So, Father, I’ve decided. I’m going to use two acres of high-grade land and two acres of medium-grade land for experiments. Father, believe me, farming has to be constantly improved in practice. One day, I’ll create a record of producing 800 catties per acre.”
Mu Shi was dumbfounded. Even if he didn’t know how to farm, he knew that the best yield of wheat now was 200 catties. A yield of 150 to 180 catties wasn’t unheard of either. As for the inferior fields, it was already not bad if they could produce 70 to 80 catties per acre. His daughter actually wanted to yield 800 catties?
“Father, don’t look at me like that. What I said is true.” Mu Yangling became serious for a moment. Then, she recalled that in the modern era, even with fertilizers and pesticides, farmers could only produce 1,000 catties per acre. Realizing that she did not seem to understand these things, she changed her words. “At the very least, we can yield 500 catties per acre.”
Having recovered from his shock, Mu Shi snorted and said, “If you can get 200 catties per acre of yield, I’ll be so happy that I’ll run around the camp area.” Seeing his daughter glaring at him, he said, “Don’t think that 200 catties of acre can be easily achieved. From what I’ve heard, it’s a yield level only achieved by experts using good-quality land. Not only is the land fertile enough, but it also has convenient access to water. On top of that, it also has to be meticulously cultivated. Do you think our family can do it?”
It wasn’t that Mu Shi wasn’t confident, but that he didn’t know how to farm and didn’t have time. In his family, only his daughter and aunt were capable of working. No matter how strong his daughter was, how could she be able to farm meticulously with so much land? It was already not bad if she could finish farming.
Mu Yangling choked and said, “We have to give it a try. Father, let’s go cut two trees before Xiuhong comes. Don’t worry, it won’t delay farming.”
Mu Shi could only compromise and follow his daughter to the mountain to cut two trees before dragging them back at night. Since Mu Shi did not know carpentry and Mu Yangling’s skills were even better than his, she opted to do it herself with the blueprint in her mind. Using a knife, she cut off the branches and pared the wood until it became cylindrical. Then, she drilled two holes at both ends and used two thinner wooden sticks to connect the two smooth logs. Finally, she tied the ends with a rope and pulled them. Seeing that it was rather stable, Mu Yangling smiled in satisfaction.
“Ah Ling, it’s time to eat.” Madam Ma-Liu looked at the thing she had made curiously and asked, “What’s this? It’s long and rectangular. Are you using it to transport things? That’s not right either. Since it’s hollow in the middle, what can it hold?”
“Great-aunt, I plan to use it to cover the seeds with soil. This way, we won’t have to slowly do it line by line and can save a lot of time. Today, we only planted more than four acres. How long will it take to plant 83 acres of land?”
Madam Ma-Liu frowned. “Can this thing cover the seeds with soil?”
“Let’s give it a try. If it doesn’t work, we’ll put a board on it to pull things.”
When Madam Ma-Liu heard her say this, she didn’t think that it was a waste of time anymore. She turned around and returned to the house. “Then pack up and come and eat quickly. You’ve been working hard for the entire day.”
Mu Yangling agreed.
After eating, Bowen sat on the brick bed and read a book under the light. Xiuhong and Xiulan lay at the side and looked at him enviously.
Mu Yangling came in after taking a shower. When she saw this, she took out a book called “Thousand Character Classic” from the box and waved. “Come here. I’ll teach you how to read.”
Xiuhong and Xiulan quickly crawled over and asked with sparkling eyes, “Cousin, can we learn to read too?”
“Why not? When we have money in the future, I’ll send you two to school.”
Xiulan’s eyes lit up. “Cousin, really?”
Mu Yangling nodded, but Xiuhong said, “Only boys can go to school. Cousin, my sister and I won’t go. You should send Cousin there. He can come back and teach us after learning it at school.”
“Alright, Bowen can teach us after he comes back.”
Xiuhong pursed her lips and smiled, looking at Mu Yangling happily with her dark eyes.
After reading for a while, Bowen couldn’t help but crawl to his sister’s side to join in the fun.
Mu Yangling stroked his head and said, “Let’s read it together.”
After reading a few pages, Mu Yangling taught Xiuhong and Xiulan two words in particular. “Just remember these two words tonight and memorize them during the day tomorrow. I’ll teach you two other words tomorrow night.”
Xiuhong and Xiulan agreed happily.
Mu Yangling asked Bowen to read at the side while she lay on the brick bed to think about something.
For various reasons, grain production in this world was very low. This was due to factors such as seeds, farming methods, water conservancy, and so on. As for high-end things like fertilizers and pesticides, it was better to leave it to the future generations.
Recalling she had heard of hybrid rice1, she wondered if wheat could also be hybridized. Improving the seeds seemed to be a very high-end thing.
In terms of water conservancy, all they really needed was manual labor. Qi Haoran was a good person and she might be able to ask him for help.
As for the farming method? Mu Yangling felt that she should learn the current farming method first. As for the modern farming method, as long as the land was fertile enough and the water sufficient, one could not go wrong if they meticulously cultivated the land. Since farming relied heavily on experience, she reckoned she should listen to the experience of the elderly. With her intelligence, even if five years was not enough, she was certain she should be able to come up with a brilliant plan in no more than ten to twenty years.
Mu Yangling turned over and thought in a daze. If she managed to achieve a high yield of wheat and rice per acre, she could farm less and harvest more grains. At that time, she could earn more money and Bowen would no longer have to worry about medical fees…
When Mu Yangling woke up the next day, the sky was already slightly bright. By the time she got up, washed up, and finished breakfast, the first rays of the morning sun were shining over.
Madam Ma-Liu stood up and said, “Let’s go. We should get to the fields early since your father will be returning to the camp in a few days.”
Mu Yangling brought along what she had made last night. After plowing and planting, Mu Yangling placed the thing on top and pulled it a few times. The soil would indeed fall into the gullies to cover the seeds, but the amount of soil fallen was little. In some instances, it was not even enough to cover the seeds. When Madam Ma-Liu saw this, she said, “This won’t do. It’s not even enough soil to cover the seeds.”
Frowning, Mu Yangling thought for a moment. She casually picked up two wooden planks and placed them on top. Then, she placed the iron plow on it and pulled it a few times. The soil on the gully was pushed down, completely covering the seeds this time.
Madam Ma-Liu did not expect the effect to be so good. After circling around, she smiled. “This thing is indeed not bad. You should give it a name.”
Mu Yangling thought for a moment and said, “Let’s call it a rake.”
Clapping and cheering, the three kids called out “rake” one after another.
Mu Shi and Madam Ma-Liu were speechless for a while. Madam Ma-Liu said, “If you call it a rake, what about the real rake?”
Mu Yangling thought of the two rows of iron teeth she had seen on the wood in her previous life and said, “Let’s call this the ‘double-sided rake’ then.”
Madam Ma-Liu couldn’t see any similarities between this thing and a rake, but there was no need for her to argue with Mu Yangling over a name. Waving her hand, she said, “Alright, ‘double-sided rake’ it is. Hurry up and farm. Xiuhong, quickly bring your sister and cousin over to get the seeds. Ah Ling, go and pull the plow with your father. While the ground is still a little wet now, we should plow it first. We’ll cover the soil when the sun rises a little.”
Mu Yangling agreed.
With the addition of the new tool today, the family finished planting one more acre of land than yesterday. However, not to mention Madam Ma-Liu, even Mu Yangling was not satisfied and felt that progress was still too slow.