Chapter 381: Inspection
Editor: Atlas Studios
After all the plowing oxen that had been lent out were brought inside the fence, Mu Yangling surveyed the area and asked Zhang Wu, “How is it? What are the stats?”
“We’re still owed a total of 4,358 working days.”
Mu Yangling pondered for a moment and said, “If they’re willing to pay us back with money, we’ll accept the money. We’ll also accept grains. If they’re unwilling, let’s note it down first. They’ll be useful during the autumn harvest.”
Zhang Wu had the same idea. “The autumn harvest requires much fewer plowing oxen hours than the spring plowing. If we leave the owed workdays until the autumn harvest, we might not have to hire additional short-term workers.”
“Check if there are any oxen in heat. If there are, isolate them separately and breed them.”
Zhang Wu agreed.
Their funds were limited now, so it was impossible for them to add new calves.
After Mu Yangling made the arrangements, she rode away. Actually, she did not need to worry too much about the cattle farm. The Zhang Wu and Zhang Liu brothers, were doing a fine job managing it, and there was also sufficient pasture in the cattle farm. Some time ago, the brothers had even brought the cattle farm workers to cut the pasture to dry and store it. From this, it could be seen how thoughtful they were.
Mu Yangling went to the nursery, wanting to take a look at her dozens of hectares of land. This year, she spent most of her time here because these lands would provide one of her biggest sources of income in a year. The other major source would be dividends from Fan Zijin.
However, this was different since this was the fruit of her own labor.
At this time, the corn could already be split open and eaten. Mu Yangling walked along the edge of the field and let the horse walk slowly, paying attention to the situation in the cornfield. At least one corn cob was hanging on each corn stalk. Mu Yangling opened up the corn in several spots and found that the grains were quite supple.
Liu Lang and Xiuhong, who ran over from the nursery, panted as they rushed to Mu Yangling’s side. “Cousin, why didn’t you go back to the nursery first? You made us wait in vain for so long.”
“I’ll go back after I finish checking on the corn.” Mu Yangling crawled into the cornfield and randomly broke off another one when she reached the depths. Seeing the two of them follow her in, she said with a smile, “From the looks of it, the harvest this year is not bad.”
Speaking of this, Xiuhong was also very happy. “The rain in Hanzhong Prefecture this year is not bad. Not only is the corn growing well, but the wheat is also growing well. It’s just that the rice’s performance is a tad worse.”
However, Liu Lang’s face was filled with worry. “Hanzhong Prefecture isn’t far from Xingzhou Prefecture. The weather here is considered good, but there’s still a drought in Xingzhou Prefecture. The last time I went home to take a look, the corn was still fine, and the wheat was barely acceptable. However, the rice was about to die from the drought. Grandpa even said that he wouldn’t plant rice next year.”
“Two places separated by just a mountain can experience vastly different weathers, let alone the difference between two prefectures.” Mu Yangling patted his shoulder. “Alright, whether it rains or not depends on the heavens. Let’s not worry on his behalf. Come check with me. I wonder if I can finish checking these dozens of hectares of land in six days.”
Mu Yangling did not hand these lands over to others to manage. She did it herself, so she was very familiar with these lands and knew how far apart the samples should be.
It was nothing more than checking on the weeds, insect disease, and growth.
Liu Lang and Xiuhong were used to farming, so they knew how to differentiate. They were very happy to follow Mu Yangling everywhere.
When Mu Yangling burrowed into the depths of the cornfield again, a scream came from Xiuhong.
Mu Yangling was shocked. Thinking that she had encountered something, she hurriedly separated the corn stalks and barged in. She asked loudly, “Xiuhong, what’s wrong?”
On the other side, Liu Lang also quickly headed towards Xiuhong.
“Cousin, come and take a look. I found a very strange corn.”
When Mu Yangling rushed to Xiuhong’s side, Liu Lang was standing beside her with a dark expression. He said unhappily, “Couldn’t you have made yourself clear? You almost scared me to death.”
Xiuhong was still excitedly gesturing for Mu Yangling to look at the corn in her hand. “Cousin, look, it’s black corn.”
Mu Yangling narrowed her eyes, surprised that the corn could cross-breed to form corn of other colors so early.
Mu Yangling touched it and pinched it. Realizing that the slurry was sticky and thick, she said excitedly, “This might be glutinous corn.”
“Glutinous corn?” Xiuhong and Liu Lang were puzzled.
“Just like the difference between the rice and glutinous rice we usually eat, glutinous corn is softer than corn and easier to swallow. However, the yield is lower.” Mu Yangling wrapped the corn bran and returned it to its original state. Her eyes lit up as she said, “I wonder if we can find other colors, such as white, purple, or purple-red. It seems that we have to be more careful when harvesting corn. We have to pick out all the mutants and plant them next year. Perhaps in a few years, we can add a few more corn varieties.”
Liu Lang and Xiuhong were puzzled. In their opinion, no matter how mutated corn was, wasn’t it still corn?
Smiling, Mu Yangling said, “Is the rice we eat comparable to the jade rice eaten by those in the palace? They’re all rice.”
Liu Lang understood now. “In other words, the glutinous corn is better than the corn we’re planting now?”
“That depends on which aspect.” Mu Yangling said, “The jade rice is delicious, but why aren’t we planting it?”
“That’s because the output isn’t good. We have to be meticulous and serve the crops meticulously. We can’t be negligent at all,” replied Xiuhong.
Mu Yangling nodded. “That’s the reason. The glutinous corn must have this problem too.”
“Then why are we going through so much trouble to nurture this?” In Liu Lang and Xiuhong’s opinion, production yield was the most important because nothing was more important than eating one’s fill.
“It’s up to each farmer to choose which breed to plant, but there has to be variety. What we have to do is to let everyone have more choices. Not only corn, but also wheat and rice,” Mu Yangling said ambitiously.
Mu Yangling marked the corn. Seeing that it was getting late, she brought the two of them back and decided to come back tomorrow to check on the wheat.
The crops in Hanzhong Prefecture were indeed not doing quite well. The wheat and rice had already entered the filling stages. At this stage, the ears appeared long and the grains seemed plentiful. As long as the grain filling was solidified and the moisture levels and soil condition could keep up, there would be no pests. Then, her dozens of hectares this year could reap a somewhat bumper harvest.
Many people were envious of Mu Yangling’s land. If not for the fact that the military camp was nearby and that she was raising more than 1,000 children in her nursery, there would probably be troubles in her fields.
When Mu Yangling arrived at the nursery, she happened to see the children having dinner in the courtyard. When the children saw Mu Yangling, they all surrounded her. “Miss, you’re here.”
“Greetings, Miss.”
“Would you like to have dinner with us?”
“…”
Mu Yangling had corrected them a few times and asked them to call her Sister Mu. However, perhaps because they were a little afraid or because they admired her, although they agreed on the surface, the next time Mu Yangling came, they would still call her “Miss.”
Looking around, Mu Yangling did not see Teacher Liu and Bowen. She waved her hand and said, “Alright, you guys go ahead and eat. I’ll go find Teacher Liu.”
Mu Yangling glanced at their rice bowls and asked with a smile, “What are you eating today?”
“Pork stew with cabbage.”
Mu Yangling frowned slightly. “Why are you still eating cabbage now? Isn’t there enough vegetables in the vegetable field?”
They had planted enough vegetables in the nursery to be self-sufficient. Mu Yangling had allocated the remaining 16 acres of land to let them plant vegetables. Not only vegetables, but some melons and fruits were also planted. If not for the fact that the collective area was too big and Mu Yangling had explicitly forbidden it, some children would have wanted to pick the vegetables to sell in the city to earn some private savings.
One of the children smiled in embarrassment and said, “We still think that cabbage is more delicious. As for the other vegetables, we can just have a taste of it once in a while.”
Xiuhong leaned over to Mu Yangling’s ear and said, “They only add cabbage when cooking meat. Other vegetables won’t taste good cooked in a big pot.”
Mu Yangling was deep in thought. “There are too many people. Are there too few pots and pans?”
She had eaten big-pot-dish before. To be honest, they really didn’t taste good.
The big-pot-dish here did not refer to cooking food in a pot for five or six people, but for hundreds. After thinking for a moment, she said, “Then build another row of houses in the back row to use as a kitchen. Each pot for ten servings will do. This should improve things a lot.”
Great, she would have to spend money again.
However, Xiuhong didn’t try to talk her out of it. It was obvious that she wouldn’t listen.