Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 654 Entrusted with important tasks

However, Minister Zhang was still fair. He decided to allocate the barren hills owned by the village to each thousand-household village according to the principle of proximity. The output of the barren hills would be shared by every new villager in the thousand-household village.

However, because they still had to help the court build the provincial capital, after discussion, Minister Zhang and Minister Li decided to select half of the staff from each thousand-household village to continue helping to build the provincial capital.

The remaining people will first reclaim the barren hills and wastelands that the village has been allocated. They will rotate every quarter so that no one will suffer any loss.

After nearly a month of hard work, they finally dealt with all the issues concerning the captives. And Hua Lei was also entrusted with an important task by Minister Zhang.

Ask her to help these thousand-household villages find a way out of the barren mountains and wastelands they were given, so that they can get rid of their impoverished lives as soon as possible. When these captives worked for the court, they did not receive any monthly salary.

Therefore, they really have nothing now. Even if they get a residential plot, they can only dig a hole in the ground to live in.

After receiving the order from Minister Zhang, Hua Lei devoted herself to the next task, because each prisoner did not even have pots and pans.

Therefore, Hualei asked some people to cut a lot of bamboo wood to make wooden bowls, chopsticks, and other daily necessities for herself.

Fortunately, in order to support these captives, the imperial court will temporarily provide two meals a day for those who remain.

Therefore, the most important thing for Hualei is to find a way out for them, harvest food as soon as possible, and solve their problem of food and clothing.

Therefore, each village chief was asked to bring a group of people to the Ministry of Industry to collect the farm tools and oxen that their village could rent. After returning, they were asked to start reclaiming the wasteland with all their strength.

As for the species to be planted, Hualei also changed the rice that Guantian originally planted and planned to plant buckwheat in Qianhu Village. Buckwheat's growth cycle is generally only about 70 to 90 days.

The growth cycle of rice is relatively long, generally about 140 to 160 days. In comparison, Hualei is going to plant buckwheat, which has a shorter growth cycle.

Although the yield of buckwheat per mu is much lower than that of rice, and the taste is far inferior to that of rice, but in the thousand-household village where food and clothing have not yet been solved, the most important thing is to fill their stomachs as soon as possible.

Buckwheat is also highly adaptable to soil, resistant to barrenness, prefers a cool climate, and has strong cold resistance. It is also suitable for sowing in autumn. If the weather is suitable, it is possible to grow buckwheat for three seasons in Mobei.

In addition, buckwheat is easier to grow than rice. It can be sown with a plow. After leveling the land, just sow the seeds evenly, cover them with fine soil, and water them appropriately to keep the soil moist, and they will grow quickly.

The only thing missing is that if you grow buckwheat for three seasons, the fertilizer on the wasteland may not be enough, which will affect the yield of buckwheat. However, the flower buds can no longer be comprehensive.

Hualei chose buckwheat, even though the yield per acre was low. However, the people in Qianhu Village did not have money to buy buckwheat seeds.

So, Hua Lei applied to Minister Zhang to rent buckwheat seeds to Qianhu Village in the same way as she rented farm tools and oxen. When there was a harvest, she would ask them to return the seeds to the county government according to the actual amount rented.

After considering it, Minister Zhang agreed. Then, each village with a thousand households went to the county government to rent buckwheat seeds according to the results of their own discussions.

Buckwheat seeds can be planted by broadcasting, row sowing or spot sowing. However, after reading many regional gazetteers, Hualei chose row sowing, which is easy to manage and has a higher germination rate.

So, Hualei asked Rong Jin and Uncle Zhao to improve the harrow. After slightly modifying the harrow for sowing, it could be used for row sowing.

However, buckwheat is a crop that requires a lot of water. It needs water when the seeds germinate, and it consumes even more water during the flowering and fruiting period.

Therefore, Hualei dug more ditches in the fields where buckwheat was planted to accommodate the growth of buckwheat. In addition, Hualei once again adopted the method of Yuanying Village to get the extra fertilizer from his own rabbit farm.

The fertilizer was distributed to the thousand-household village in need of fertilizer in the form of one load of weeds in exchange for one load of fertilizer. It was done on a first-come, first-served basis and everyone was treated equally, in a fair and reasonable manner.

Although buckwheat is resistant to poor soil quality, it is also a crop that is very sensitive to fertilizer. If there is sufficient fertilizer, fertilization can allow the buckwheat stems to produce a large number of branches.

During the flowering period, if there is sufficient fertilizer, it can also promote the formation of buckwheat grains and increase the secretion of nectar glands, thereby improving yield and taste.

Therefore, the fertilizer of Hualei Rabbit Farm was soon replaced by countless loads of weeds. Hualei asked Pei, the manager, to pick out the ones suitable for rabbits, cattle and sheep, dry them and regulate them.

Those that are not suitable as food are taken to Baiweilou and used as fire starter, or chopped up and used as compost.

Freed from the daily watchful eyes of court officials, these captives not only did not slack off, but instead burst out with endless enthusiasm.

They get up early every day and work in the fields, turning the soil, digging canals, and sowing seeds. They are very busy and happy. Many people work in the fields day and night.

Therefore, even with only half the manpower, the reclamation of wasteland in Qianhu Village was progressing very quickly. Moreover, because there were many villages, they were secretly competing with each other to see which village could plant crops faster.

Seeing Hua Lei leading Qianhu Village to plant buckwheat, Pei Jingyang also became interested. Therefore, in the military camp, many of the military fields, except for some rice, were planted with buckwheat, which has a short growing period.

He was also worried that the land he cultivated would be taken back by Minister Zhang for no apparent reason one day. Years ago, the situation of military camps cultivating crops had been reported to the court by Minister Zhang.

In the decree issued by Emperor Shengwu, he temporarily agreed to the military camp to cultivate land, but he also said that he would retain the right to reclaim the land at any time. Therefore, for Pei Jingyang, the more crops he could harvest, the better.

What if one day, when the rice is about to bear ears, Minister Zhang says he wants to take it back? That would mean a loss for the military camp, as it would mean one season's less grain.

You know, although Minister Zhang was an honest official and a good person, sometimes, as an official appointed by the court, he would do some very "bad" things for the sake of his own political achievements.

Therefore, for Pei Jingyang, the most important thing is to put the profit in his pocket. Planting two seasons of buckwheat and one season of wheat in a year is an extra gain for the soldiers in the barracks.

Qianhu Village planted buckwheat. Although Minister Zhang was a little jealous, he still planted rice and rapeseed according to the court's plan.