Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 372 What to Plant in Nanshan

The waterwheel was made very quickly. The windmill took a lot of work, and a lot of semi-finished products were scrapped, but it still couldn't make the waterwheel work.

After a careful look, Hualei made a suggestion: the water truck was probably too big and the water it lifted was too heavy, so it couldn't be lifted.

Or we can make a slightly smaller waterwheel and then make the windmill bigger. This way, the wind force will be stronger and the weight of the water will be reduced, which will probably drive the waterwheel.

There is no need to waste the two-meter-high waterwheel that was made earlier. It can be slightly modified and operated manually.

At first, the Ministry of Industry was reluctant to accept Hualei's suggestion. But after several consecutive tests, the waterwheel could not be lifted.

The Ministry of Works had no choice but to ask the Construction Department to remake a waterwheel about 1.5 meters high, and the corresponding water bucket was also reduced. Then a windmill 3 meters high was re-installed.

Then on a windy day, we installed it in the cornfield. After a few days of hard work, the wind turbine was completely installed. We began testing and closed the clips between the windmill and the waterwheel.

After the sail became bulging, the waterwheel slowly lifted the water and poured it into the water tank on the top. Then the water flowed through the pipe to the cornfield and irrigated the corn. The first wind-powered waterwheel was finally a success.

Afterwards, the Ministry of Industry conducted several more experiments and found that there were still many key factors that affected the success of the wind-powered waterwheel.

It depends on the strength of the wind on that day, the weight of the wooden boards used to make the waterwheel, and the size ratio between the windmill and the waterwheel.

So after adjusting some data, we used lightweight wood again and made a few tests. It turned out that the wind-powered waterwheels worked, so they were all installed in the cornfield in Guantian.

The issue of the windmill was finally resolved. So, Hualei shifted her focus back to the Agriculture Bureau.

Ever since the incident with corn seeds at the Agriculture Bureau, the rules and requirements have become much stricter. Everyone has been put under a spell, especially Hua Lei and Zhao Yifei.

The two guys who made mistakes were disciplined more strictly by their superiors. They were often called to the government office for lectures. There was nothing they could do about it, as corn planting was too important. So Hualei was busy again, working in the Agriculture Bureau for more than a month without touching the ground.

The corns were finally transplanted, and the next thing was to prevent diseases and insect pests. Relatively speaking, it was a lot easier, and the flower buds finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At this time, the second waterwheel made by the Ministry of Industry for Hualei was finally completed. It was still transported to the barren mountain according to the original routine. It took five or six days to install it on the hillside on the South Mountain side. Because it is blocked by the West Mountain and the North Mountain, the wind is not very strong here, so it is more appropriate to install this human-powered pedal waterwheel here.

Having learned from the previous waterwheel, the Ministry of Industry paid great attention to the waterwheel this time. The installation of the new waterwheel was also very smooth.

After everything was installed, we tested it and found no major problems. There were no problems with water lifting or pouring. It can be considered a very successful production.

After the waterwheel on Nanshan Mountain was completed, the irrigation problem was solved, and the next thing to consider was what to plant. Because it is spring now, it is the most suitable season for planting various crops, and the survival rate of crops planted in spring is relatively high.

I don’t want to miss the flower buds. It is said that a year’s plan starts with spring. If you miss the spring, you may miss the whole year. Therefore, you must seize this time to open up new land and plant as soon as possible.

Therefore, Hualei had already planned what to plant on Nanshan Mountain. Because Nanshan Mountain has the most sunlight, except for the north slope, the east, south and west slopes have very long sunshine hours. Therefore, Hualei chose to plant wormwood, which likes the sun and tolerates poor soil.

Mugwort is also a perennial root plant that can be used as both medicine and food. Like chrysanthemum, after growing to autumn, the above-ground stems and leaves die and the underground roots overwinter.

When the weather warms up the following year, the underground roots begin to sprout and grow again, so its life period above ground is spring, summer and autumn, and it dies in winter.

As long as there is fertilizer, the underground roots will not die for many years. So there is no need to replant them every year. It is very convenient.

Moreover, mugwort likes warm and sunny environments very much and has strong adaptability. It can grow in places with sufficient sunlight, good ventilation and smooth drainage.

It is not picky about where to grow, whether it is wasteland, roadside, riverside or hillside area. Therefore, the Nanshan Mountain with abundant sunlight is very suitable for it.

Although Yuanying Manor has been replacing mugwort all year round, with the supply of mugwort sticks and mugwort incense pills from Mobei and Western Xinjiang gradually increasing, the amount of mugwort needed is also increasing linearly.

In addition, during the Qingming Festival and the Dragon Boat Festival, families need to make various kinds of green rice dumplings, which requires a lot of green wormwood, and wormwood can also be used to dye wool yarn.

Now the wool sweater business is getting better and better, and more and more wool yarn needs to be dyed, so the demand for wormwood is also increasing. Now the wormwood exchanged is often not enough.

Originally, Hualei wanted to plant it on several farms, but each farm had its own uses, and the Dasheng Dynasty had regulations that ordinary fields could only be used to grow crops that could fill the stomach.

If other crops were to be planted, approval would have to be obtained from the official office under the Ministry of Households, which was very troublesome, so the planting of mugwort was left on hold.

Therefore, when Hualei got the barren mountain, he thought of planting a batch of mugwort, so he made preparations in advance.

There are two ways to grow wormwood: seed propagation and rhizome propagation. Seed propagation is suitable for spring sowing, while rhizome propagation is usually carried out around November in the second half of the year.

However, if you choose to propagate by rhizomes, it means that you will not be able to plant in the first half of the year, and in the second half of the year you will have to spend time searching for the rhizomes of these mugwort on the ownerless mountains, which is very labor-intensive.

Because she had also consulted the Imperial Hospital in advance, they didn't have any extra mugwort rhizomes to give to the flower buds in the second half of the year. So if she planted mugwort in the second half of the year, she would have to collect all the rhizomes herself.

However, Hualei also took into consideration that the pioneers came to help with the land reclamation in November last year, and by the end of October this year, they might all have withdrawn.

If we have to spend manpower to find the rhizomes of mugwort and plant it on our own barren hills, we will definitely not have enough manpower. Therefore, it would be more convenient to sow seeds directly in the first half of the year while the pioneers are still there.

Therefore, Hualei moved up the planting of mugwort originally scheduled for the second half of the year to the first half of the year. Of course, Hualei also bought the mugwort seeds from the Imperial Hospital in advance.