sbdcsierra Chapter 21 A new year
Chapter 21 A new year
Time flies, and it's already February.
In the fields of Sujia Village, from a distance, one can see Yun Dan leading a group of children in an interesting experiment.
Yundan's goal is to make the two mu of inferior land more fertile and upgrade it to medium-grade land.
Yun Dan and more than a dozen teenagers were digging holes in the low-quality fields with various hoes.
There were also some smaller ones in the distance, running around several bonfires in the fields.
Some of the larger ones were pulling piles of wild grass down from the embankment and throwing them into the fields.
A group of adults and elders were gathered around the edge of the field, wondering what the little girl was up to. She insisted on having two acres of low-grade land, saying she was going to do some kind of experiment.
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Yun Dan: "Haha, everyone, let's give it our all today!"
Do you know how to make these two acres of inferior land more fertile?
The children all shook their heads, their little eyes full of curiosity.
Yun Dan said cheerfully, "Don't rush, don't rush, I'll teach you. First, look at this big pit we've dug."
Yun Dan: "This pit needs to be dug deeper so that the soil can absorb nutrients better."
Upon hearing that they needed to dig deeper, a group of people picked up their small hoes and diligently began working hard in the field again.
With many people, there is strength. Seeing that the pit was almost dug, Yun Dan felt that it was about time.
In fact, she only knew a little about it, and she would only know the actual effect after trying it herself.
"Alright, that should be about right. Let's dig down to this level for now."
Once the children heard that it was alright, they moved on to the next spot and started digging holes with great effort.
Before long, many pits of various sizes appeared in the field, and some adults even participated.
Yun Dan: "Next, we need to put the burnt wood ash, firewood, vines, weeds and manure into the pit."
Upon hearing that there was such a thing as feces, a bunch of kids dashed off to find their parents.
Carrying two buckets of sewage was a task that required an adult, and Xiaoman, who was present, was probably not even as tall as one of the buckets.
When the village chief heard that they needed manure and other waste, he called his family to come and help.
At this moment, the village chief was also having doubts, unsure whether it would work or not, but he didn't stop Yun Dan from trying.
After all, Yun Dan's medical skills were so superb, and she had cured so many villagers before the new year, so the village chief trusted Yun Dan even more from the bottom of his heart.
It's just two acres of low-grade land anyway, so it's not a big deal if I mess it up.
If it succeeds, it will be a lifesaver for Sujia Village.
The children spread a thin layer of prepared wood ash into the pit.
"Then cover it with a 10-centimeter-thick layer of soil," Yun Dan instructed.
“Cover it with another layer of wood ash, and then throw in the vines and weeds.”
Several adults were seen carrying several buckets of sewage over, so we quickly asked them to join in and poured a layer of sewage into the buckets.
They kept covering and filling, filling and covering, over and over again.
A large group of people were moving back and forth, rummaging through weeds, miscellaneous items, manure, and wood ash.
By the time the pits in the two acres of land were all filled in, it was already noon.
Yun Dan said, "These materials can provide the nutrients needed for plant growth and should make the soil more fertile."
When the adults heard Yun Dan say that, they all smiled happily.
More fertile soil means more crops, and more crops mean a better life—this is the wish of every farmer.
Yun Dan: "Finally, we need to water the fields so that the soil can fully absorb the water."
The adults picked up wooden buckets and began to fetch water from the river to irrigate the fields.
Seeing that everyone was still using the oldest method of fetching water from the river in wooden buckets, Yun Dan had an idea.
That's right, it's a waterwheel.
Yun Dan has been here for half a year now. When she first came last year, she didn't pay much attention to the fields.
It's truly unexpected that none of the thirty-odd households in Sujia Village own a single livestock.
There wasn't even a waterwheel, so the farmers had to travel such a long distance to fetch water.
If it weren't for her young age and the fact that her martial arts skills weren't yet up to par, Yun Dan would really like to travel to distant cities and broaden her horizons.
He wondered to himself, "What dynasty is this? How can it be so backward?"
Yun Dan snapped out of her thoughts: "Alright, everyone, we've finished our work for today."
Next, we'll have to wait and see if these methods work.
Adults and children alike hoped that the fields would become more fertile so that the harvest would be even greater, even if it was just a few dozen kilograms more.
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After the group returned home and finished eating, Yun Dan went back to her room and took out paper, pen, and ink from her spatial storage and placed them on the table.
Fortunately, thanks to the gift from Young Master Chai, otherwise Yun Dan would have had to make another trip to town to buy paper.
After mixing the ink, he dipped the tip of the brush in it and began to write, but Yun Dan was confused.
It was a little embarrassing; she didn't know how to use a calligraphy brush.
I would write and draw, and when the ink ran out, I would dip my brush in more ink. I don't know how much time passed.
Let's applaud and congratulate Yun Dan on completing her first painting in ancient times, which ended in failure.
Take this painting as an example. There is a large black stain in the middle of the paper, but at least some small blank spaces can be seen in the middle and around the edges.
I tossed the paper aside and tried again with the second one, but as expected, it still failed.
A short while later, several pieces of paper were found on the ground. If those scholars saw this, Yun Dan would surely be beaten up by them.
Such precious and fine paper, and you've ruined it like this! I'm furious.
Having no other choice, Yun Dan put down her pen, went outside, and brought in a piece of charcoal.
In no time, Yun Dan's entire right hand turned black.
"Not bad, not bad, this is what painting should be like! What's the point of using a lousy brush? It's nowhere near as durable as my charcoal."
Yun Dan took the paper and went to find Grandpa Lin, intending to ask him which family in the village knew how to make a carpenter.
"Grandpa, who in our village can be a carpenter?"
When Grandpa Lin heard Yun Dan's words, he said to her...
"Old Cai's family is considered one of the better carpenters. What's wrong, little girl? You want to make furniture?"
"No, Grandpa. Never mind, Grandpa, why don't you come with me to find the village chief first, and then we'll go find Grandpa Cai."
Grandpa Lin took Yun Dan to the village chief's house. When the village chief heard what Yun Dan said and saw the pattern on the paper, he was completely confused and didn't know what it was.
The three village chiefs finally went to Grandpa Cai's house together.
When Grandpa Cai heard that Yun Dan actually wanted to order a waterwheel, he looked at the blueprints and then at Yun Dan.
"Uncle, I'd like to make this waterwheel. Do you think you can make it?" Yun Dan handed the blueprints to the carpenter.
The carpenter stared at the blueprints for a while, scratched his head, and said, "I've never made something like this before, but I can give it a try. It's just that the materials..."
Yun Dan quickly replied, "I'll figure out the materials. You just need to focus on the cooking. It's okay if you don't know how to cook; I'll come and help you out."
The carpenter hesitated for a moment, but eventually agreed.
Yun Dan was secretly delighted. With the waterwheel, the villagers wouldn't have to work so hard to water their plants anymore.
She decided to go back up the mountain to find some suitable timber and finish making the waterwheel as soon as possible.
Over the next few days, Yun Dan led several adults into the mountains to raft timber, while the village chief of Sujia Village and several elders went to check on those two acres of low-grade farmland every day.
It's as if everyone is expecting something to happen.
A few days later, Yun Dan brought the children to the fields again.
Both children and adults were pleasantly surprised to find that the soil in the fields had become softer and darker in color.
Yun Dan: "Look, look, our efforts have not been in vain."
These two acres of inferior land are now much more fertile than they were a few days ago.
The children cheered happily when they heard that their efforts had not been in vain.
Yun Dan: "In the future, we, the farmers with inferior land, must continue to work hard to make more land fertile."
The children nodded in agreement, all expressing their willingness to continue working with Yundan to improve the soil and make it more fertile.
As long as the fields are fertile, they will be able to eat their fill and live a better life.