Yi Xin as a concubine

Chapter 180 Another Year Ends

Time flies, and it seems that in a blink of an eye, autumn has passed and winter has arrived. Leaves fall with the autumn wind, and the bright moon hangs high on the branches. Before you can savor the charm of autumn, winter has quietly arrived.

After three or two winter snows, the New Year’s bell will ring again. The old year will leave in a hurry, and the new year will come with hope and longing, making people sigh at the passing of time.

On the 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month, Xin Baoer and Chu Xingchen disguised themselves and, with their guards, sneaked into the greenhouse farm again. They planned to come here for the last time before the New Year and then go back to spend a happy new year.

Today, the greenhouse farm is under strict surveillance. The greenhouse specially used for cultivating new crops is built in a hidden back mountain. There are special passages for entry and exit, and outsiders are not allowed to enter.

"How is it?" As soon as she arrived at the place and saw a few honest-looking old men walking out of the shed, Xin Baoer couldn't wait to step forward and ask.

The old man walking in front smiled when he heard this. "The farmyard manure that the two nobles asked people to prepare is really a good thing. Among the three experimental plots, the one with farmyard manure is growing the best. We dug up the soil and saw that the potatoes and sweet potatoes are the size of eggs. It will take more than a month to harvest, and they will definitely be bigger than what we saw before."

"Are you so confident?" Xin Baoer raised her eyebrows.

"We can't do other things, but we can do farming with ease. Please just go ahead, we brothers promise to grow the crops well." Several middle-aged men said with gratitude on their faces, and they looked like they were about to pat their chests collectively to make a promise.

"Okay, I'll leave this to you. Work hard. If you do a good job, you will be rewarded. A big reward."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xingchen also gave a concise and clear picture of a big cake, which made the dark red faces of the old farmers blossom with joy.

"Take us around to have a look." Xin Baoer said.

"Okay, please come in, two distinguished gentlemen." An old farmer bent down to lead the way.

The group turned around and went back to the greenhouse. In order to save resources, the greenhouse was not built very high. At least a tall man like Chu Xingchen, who was over 1.8 meters tall, could not straighten his back. So every time Xin Baoer went in, she worried that he would hit his head. She carefully paid attention to the potato vines under her feet, and reminded Chu Xingchen to pay attention to his head from time to time.

"These flowers are quite beautiful." Xin Baoer said, pointing to the purple or white flowers on the seedlings.

"Yes, it has a fragrance." said an old farmer.

"How is the pollination of sweet potatoes?" Xin Baoer asked again.

"At the beginning, I couldn't tell which was the male plant and which was the female plant, and I didn't have an accurate hand. I was in a panic. The more I do, the better." The old farmer replied, probably feeling embarrassed when he thought about stumbling around while working.

"Sir, potato and sweet potato seedlings are almost the same, and the fruits are all underground, so why do sweet potatoes need that... yeah, let's talk about artificial pollination, but potatoes don't need it?" A slightly younger farmer asked naively, scratching his head.

"Don't talk too much, Gouzi," another older farmer scolded.

"Don't mind it, my lord. Gouzi has never seen the world. Let him go out to work."

"What are you talking about? I think this uncle asked a good question. If you don't understand, just ask. If you know more, you can grow crops better. If the grain yield is high, more people like you can have enough food and live a stable life."

As she spoke, Xin Baoer took out a handful of copper coins from her purse. At a glance, there were at least twenty or thirty of them.

"Here, this is your reward. You are welcome to ask questions in the future. We will tell you what we know, and if we don't understand, we will study it together and strive to improve the planting technology to a higher level."

The thirty-year-old man smiled foolishly and shivered with his hands clenched, not knowing whether he should take it or not.

Xin Baoer looked at Chu Xingchen, and Chu Xingchen understood what she meant. He took the money from her, walked to the man, and forced the money into his hand.

"Take it, you deserve it," and then he turned to the others and said, "As long as you work hard in the future, you will get rewards."

Everyone responded with many thanks.

I pulled out two more plants and looked at the growth of the fruits before leaving the greenhouse and entering the greenhouse where sweet potatoes were planted.

Xin Baoer checked a few seedlings before saying, "You must all be wondering why we have to go through all the trouble of artificial pollination."

Xin Baoer's words were affirmative, and several old farmers felt a little embarrassed. After all, they were paid by the master, who provided them with enough food and warm shelter, yet they were still questioning the work arranged by the master.

Xin Baoer didn't care about their reactions. This was the era in which the common people were living in dire straits. If you gave them a full meal, they would be eager to sell their lives to you. When assigned an incredible task, they would at most complain a few words in their hearts, and then complete it without any compromise.

If this happened in the future, there would be many people who would collect your wages while calling you crazy, and the key is that they would even cut corners just because they think you are just wasting time.

"The book says that potatoes are bisexual flowers, which means they are hermaphrodites. They can complete the pollination process on their own even in a closed space and bloom and bear fruit. Sweet potatoes are just the opposite. Male and female are on different plants. If they are planted outdoors, they can complete pollination on their own through wind or insects. But our current environment does not allow this, so in order for them to bear fruit, this extra step must be taken."

Xin Baoer tried to explain in plain language. As soon as she finished speaking, someone asked, "Does the corn industry also need it?"

"Yes, the male flowers of corn are located at the top of the plant and produce a large amount of pollen. Under the influence of wind, the pollen will be scattered onto the stigma of the female flowers to complete pollination. In the absence of wind, artificial pollination can only be carried out to ensure the fruit set rate." Xin Baoer answered patiently.

"Then we must prepare quickly and don't delay." Several old farmers became nervous after hearing this, and looked like they couldn't wait to get to work.

"Be patient, there is no rush. Next, you just need to observe the time when the male flowers shed pollen, collect the pollen in time, and then sprinkle the pollen on the silk of the female flowers." As they were talking, they had already walked to the greenhouse where corn was planted. Xin Baoer pointed to a seedling that was almost as tall as her and said.

The old farmer nodded in agreement again and again.

"By the way, what did those unknown seeds produce?"

After checking almost all the crops, Xin Baoer suddenly remembered the bag of unnamed seeds. With the mentality of giving it a try, she gave it to a few old farmers.

"My Lord, come and see with me. At the innermost part of this shed, there are some plants that we also have here, and we decided to transplant them to the shed in front. There are also some that we have not seen before, and we don't know if we have handled them correctly. My Lord came in a hurry and left in a hurry, so I didn't have time to report."

The old farmers explained awkwardly and led the way carefully.

Chu Xingchen protected Xin Baoer and followed carefully. The passage was narrow and the corn leaves were quite pulling. The girl had delicate skin and tender flesh, so a red mark was left when the leaves were pulled. He felt distressed when seeing this.

The greenhouse was neither long nor short, but it took several minutes to walk through it. Everyone was careful to avoid the leaves, and no one spoke for a while.

At the innermost part of the greenhouse, there is an area about ten steps long, where some plants grow in a haphazard manner. Some are tall, some are short, and some are climbing. They grow randomly on the ground without any pattern. If you want to walk in, you don't know where to start.

Looking from afar, Xin Baoer actually saw a few familiar things, including tomatoes, watermelons, loofahs, lettuce, spinach, and romaine lettuce. Some were old, and some had not produced fruit. Xin Baoer was not sure what varieties they were. After all, Xin Baoer had not seen all the fruits and vegetables that can be bought on the market, the environments in which they grow, and what the plants look like.

But Xin Baoer was still very excited. After all, she loved tomatoes very much. She asked the old farmer to pick some of each for her, and then she went back with a feeling of unsatisfied desire.

As a result, when I turned around, I saw a branch extending from the innermost part of the junction of the corn field and the vegetable field. It looked a bit like a flower called Immortal Sword that I had seen in later generations. At this time, there were three or two pink fruits hanging on the branch.

"That's... dragon fruit."

Xin Baoer's eyes brightened even more. You know, this thing was considered a high-end fruit in her previous life. Her mother would always buy a few for her brother, and she had hardly ever eaten it.