After the coming-of-age ceremony, the entire Qin residence fully entered a busy state of wedding preparations. The wedding date was set for the beginning of spring next year, at which time Daili would marry out from the Qin residence into the Marquis's mansion.
The servants in the residence bustled about, and Qin Shaozong would sometimes spend the entire day at the Marquis's mansion to inspect the progress of the renovations.
The younger ones had to study. Qin Hongying frequently took Shi Rongyue out to meet her old close friends in Yuyang Commandery, paving the way for her daughter to thrive like a fish in water in the future.
The most idle person in the residence was actually Daili.
After staying indoors for another two days, Daili really could not sit still anymore. She took Nianxia and Bipo out of the residence to stroll through the markets. She left at the hour of Chen and was gone for the whole day, finally returning as the last light of the setting sun faded.
Winter days were short and nights were long. Barely the time it takes an incense stick to burn had passed since her return, and the sky, which had just been painted as beautifully as an oil painting, turned completely pitch black.
Lamps were lit in the room. The glowing candlelight was bright and warm, as if it could dispel all gloom.
"Madam has returned?" Today, Qin Shaozong had surprisingly returned earlier than Daili. "Did you have a pleasant time out?"
Daili casually replied that it was alright, then took off her cloak and sat on a soft chair in a daze. She did not even immediately remove the gold and jade hair ornaments that she usually complained were too heavy.
Having served Daili for some time, Nianxia knew well that her mistress did not like wearing heavy gold and jade temple ornaments when not going out. She was about to walk toward Daili when she saw the master wave his hand at her, indicating that she was not needed here.
Nianxia understood, curtsied, and withdrew.
Qin Shaozong sat beside Daili and raised his hand to help her remove the gold temple ornament inlaid with colored glaze and carved with cloud and phoenix patterns. "Madam's expression does not look like the 'alright' you just claimed."
He had hardly ever done such a thing. When the gold hairpin was pulled from her dark, cloud-like hair, it accidentally caught a strand. Daili felt a sharp pain on her scalp, followed by a faint snap.
It sounded like something had broken.
Daili turned to look at the gold temple ornament tangled with her black hair, and then looked at the man in front of her.
Qin Shaozong: "..."
Qin Shaozong coughed lightly. "Practice makes perfect. Next time, I promise it will return empty-handed."
"The Marquis should just stand aside." Daili swatted away his hand that was reaching out again and took off the hair ornaments herself.
"Madam seems to be in low spirits today," he asked from the side.
Daili paused her movements slightly and said something completely unrelated, "Qin Changgeng, is there any place in Yuyang, led by the local government, that is responsible for taking in beggars?"
He said, "Is Madam talking about beggars? No, there isn't. The beggars in the commandery find their own places to stay. In winter, they mostly live in dilapidated houses, and in summer, they rest in the piled-up fish ponds at the market until the fishmongers drive them away early in the morning to do business. There are many recruitment jobs initiated by the government in the commandery. They are mostly manual labor. Although the pay is not much, those who do them will not fail to save enough copper coins to at least live in a thatched hut."
Excluding those who are too old or too sick to work, nine out of ten of the others who continue to beg are just suffering from a bout of laziness.
Yuyang Commandery has a population of over four hundred thousand. The same kind of rice feeds a hundred different kinds of people; naturally, it is impossible for there to be not a single beggar.
"Could it be that Madam saw beggars when you went out today? The winters in the north are bitterly cold. If those beggars sleep outside, it's hard to say how many will be left after a winter." His tone was flat.
From the corner of her eye, Daili caught sight of the man bringing his hands together and then slightly apart, constantly moving, not knowing what he was doing.
She turned her head to look and happened to see him twisting a long, fine strand of black hair in his hand. As the final knot was pulled tight, two strands of long hair folded several times were tied together.
Daili: "...What are you doing?"
He replied as a matter of course, "Tying hair. It's rare for the temple ornament to deliver a treasure today, so it shouldn't go to waste. Your husband is just using it for practice."
"I did see beggars," Daili answered his initial question, and added, "Today, as I was wandering around the commandery, I saw many pigsties, some built by wealthy farmers."
The so-called pigsty was a pigpen with a latrine attached.
This kind of pigsty with a latrine was generally divided into upper and lower parts. The upper part was a place specifically for using the toilet, elevated by wooden steps, while the lower part was used for raising pigs.
Human feces would drop down for the pigs to eat, and the pig feces would be collected to make fertilizer for the crops.
Daili: "As far as I know, manure from stables is used the most here, followed by river mud, bean stalks, and silkworm excrement."
Qin Shaozong had never farmed, but there were plenty of military farmers in the north. When there were no wars, the soldiers were farmers and had to take their hoes to the fields.
In the past, he had often gone on inspections with his subordinates, so Qin Shaozong was not completely ignorant about farming. "Madam is right. However, the rivers in the north are not as abundant as those in the south, so river mud is used even less here."
Qin Shaozong thought about how she had seemed to have lost her soul since returning to the residence, and then suddenly brought up pigsties. "Does Madam have any brilliant ideas?"
"In terms of crop varieties alone, the yield of wheat is higher than that of millet. Has the Marquis ever thought that if fertilizers are used well, perhaps the yield difference between one wheat field and another could be as vast as the gap between heaven and earth." This was what Daili had been thinking about just now.
At that time, she had asked White Elephant whether they had picked up Zhouzhou ten years ago or after the great famine. The latter didn't say explicitly, but looking at his demeanor at the time, she guessed it must have been after the great famine occurred.
That is to say, before this, Zhouzhou had either wandered around, eaten whatever meals he could get from various families, or was adopted by an unknown family for a year before going to the Green Lotus Sect.
Perhaps because she was gradually settling down, her son was by her side, and things were getting better and better, Daili had a different thought for the first time:
In poverty, one should perfect one's own virtues; in success, one should benefit the whole world.
The agricultural history manuscripts she used to review at the publishing house contained many things that could be put to use.
In the earliest times, people adopted the farming methods of plowing with fire and weeding with water and slash-and-burn. The former involved first burning the weeds with fire and then diverting water into the fields. This method was mostly used in the Jiangnan region, which was rich in mountain, forest, and wetland resources. The latter involved cutting down mountain trees in early spring, setting them on fire before the spring rains arrived, and then using the ashes of the trees and grass as fertilizer to plant seeds while the soil was still warm.
This was the initial way to increase the fertility of farmland.
The long river of time flowed slowly until the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. At this time, manure seeding, which involved mixing seeds with human and animal feces for planting, appeared.
Human and animal feces are rich in elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Although people at that time did not recognize these elements, it did not prevent them from knowing that crops grew very well this way.
Later in the Han Dynasty, people turned their attention to green manure. The so-called green manure refers to the use of green plants as fertilizer, such as vetch and alfalfa. Both can fix nitrogen and improve soil fertility.
Further on, people worked hard on the combination of fertilizers, as well as the timing and methods of fertilization, to further increase grain yields.
Qin Shaozong, who had been sitting lazily by the side, straightened up upon hearing this. "A gap like heaven and earth? How much is that?"
Daili asked him in return, "How many shi of wheat can one mu of land yield here?"
Qin Shaozong: "About one shi per mu."
One shi was equivalent to one hundred and twenty jin.
Daili looked thoughtful. "If everything goes smoothly, it should be able to increase by half."
Even having experienced many great storms, Qin Shaozong couldn't help but show astonishment at this moment. "That much?"
Increasing it by half meant that with the same manpower, animal labor, and land area, it was like being gifted half as much land for free. The extra half of the grain was no different from falling from the sky.
"That's not even considered a lot. Where I come from..." Daili paused. "Forget it, I'd better not say."
"Why can't you say?" Qin Shaozong's curiosity was itching fiercely. He took the initiative to ask, "How much wheat can one mu of land produce in the Peach Blossom Spring?"
Daili shook her head and sighed. "Trust me, it's better if you don't know. Otherwise, I'm afraid if I tell you, you'll be tossing and turning all night, wide awake until dawn."
"Impossible," Qin Shaozong flatly denied.
Daili changed her phrasing. "Sometimes setting expectations too high isn't a good thing. For example, just now when I said I could increase the yield of one mu by half, you already thought it was a lot. However, if you knew the yield in the Peach Blossom Spring, you definitely wouldn't be satisfied with just a fifty percent increase. Because after comparing them, it really would seem pitifully small."
Her fair fingers grasped the end of a gold hairpin, slowly pulling it from her hair. Daili continued, "But that's something I have no way to solve, because wheat yield is related to the wheat seeds, soil moisture, temperature, soil fertility, and so on. And among these, the wheat seeds are absolutely crucial."
Qin Shaozong nodded. "I understand everything Madam says. It's just like how fine steeds from Fergana can endure pain and run fast, unmatched by other horse breeds."
If the horse breed wasn't important, he wouldn't have taken away eighty percent of the Northern Kingdom's tens of thousands of excellent horse breeds after conquering them back then.
Daili cast a sidelong glance at him.
Qin Shaozong smiled and said, "Therefore, Madam might as well speak freely. A fifty percent increase in grain yield means we can feed half of the Northern region's population, and even the common people of the world will benefit in the future. If this matter can be accomplished, perhaps in future times of severe drought, there won't be corpses of the starved littering the fields, and people won't have to resort to exchanging children to eat. Madam's merit would be boundless. As for the rest, just consider it as opening my eyes."
He had always been extremely interested in her homeland. Seeing that Daili still didn't speak, he guessed himself, "Could it be three shi per mu?"
Here it was one shi, so three shi would be three times as much.
A fifty percent increase was enough to greatly astonish him; three times was already Qin Shaozong guessing as high as he possibly could.
Daili shook her head. "No."
Qin Shaozong asked, "Could it be five shi?"
Daili removed all her hair ornaments and stood up feeling completely relaxed, preparing to go to the main hall for dinner.
Qin Shaozong followed behind her. "Madam..."
Seeing that he wouldn't give up until he got an answer, Daili said as she walked, "In the Peach Blossom Spring, the average for one mu of land is around eight shi. With the highest quality soil and wheat seeds, the yield can even reach over fourteen shi."
The footsteps following behind her suddenly stopped.
Daili turned her head, not at all surprised to see him frozen in place, the shock in his brown eyes practically overflowing.
Daili chuckled softly, ignoring him, and continued walking forward on her own.
During this dinner, everyone present could see that Qin Shaozong was distracted. The man, who usually drank a little millet wine with every meal, completely ignored his wine cup today. He just kept staring at the millet rice in his bowl, lost in thought, not even paying attention when Qin Hongying spoke to him.
After the meal, as soon as Daili stood up to leave, he also stood up and followed.
The two left the main hall one after the other.
Qin Qinian watched their retreating backs. "Father was very quiet just now. Could it be that he's tired from running around everywhere today?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Hongying laughed. "If your father hears you saying that, he'll inevitably drag you off to the training grounds to discipline you personally."
Qin Qinian immediately shrank his neck.
Qin Yunce smiled and said, "Every day that passes is one day less. We are getting closer and closer to next spring. I guess Uncle might be preoccupied with tomorrow's progress. By the way, the teacher isn't holding class tomorrow. If you're curious, why not go back with Uncle?"
"No can do, we already have plans for tomorrow, we're busy," Qin Qinian said without a second thought.
He said "we". If the other person wasn't present, he would usually use "they".
"Who do you have plans with? Is it Yanzhou?" Qin Hongying ruled out Qin Yunce, who had just asked the question, and could only think of Qin Yanzhou.
Qin Qinian: "Yes, and also..."
He suddenly paused, forcefully steering his words in another direction. "And Xuenu is going out with us to wander around the markets, to take a stroll in the commandery."
Shi Rongyue breathed a sigh of relief in her heart. She took a tiny step forward, moving out of her mother's blind spot, and stood back by her mother's side.
Qin Hongying seemed to sense something and turned to look at her daughter, only to see the little girl looking perfectly well-behaved, still the picture of gentle quietness.
She couldn't see it, but Qin Yanzhou and Qin Yunce had seen it clearly. Just a moment ago, Shi Rongyue had been waving her little hands so rapidly they were almost a blur.
"It's good for young people to go out and walk around more." Qin Hongying suddenly changed her tune. "How about you take Rongrong out with you too?"
Qin Qinian: "Huh?"
Qin Hongying thought he was unwilling. "Rongrong was taken out by me a few days ago to meet some old friends. She hasn't known the young ladies of her age for very long, so it's inevitably a bit awkward for them to hang out together. But you and Rongrong are different; you grew up together. Others can't compare. She'll be much more at ease going out with you."
Qin Qinian immediately said, "Aunt is right."
Having received a satisfactory answer, Qin Hongying left contentedly.
As soon as she left, Qin Qinian said, "Does this count as that saying... two different paths that eventually lead to the same destination?"
"Different paths, same destination." Qin Yanzhou couldn't bear listening anymore.
Qin Qinian slapped his forehead. "Ah, right, different paths, same destination."
"What are you guys secretly plotting?" Qin Yunce looked at one, then the other.
"Uh, well, the matter has to start from the winter hunt..."
*
Back in the main courtyard, Daili planned to go to sleep after digesting her food. The production of organic fertilizer would be put on the agenda starting tomorrow, so she needed to go to bed early tonight.
The winter was cold, so Daili had specially asked someone to make a copper bed warmer to heat her blankets. The copper bed warmer was wrapped in a layer of velvet fabric to slow down the heat loss, and placing it in the bed could keep it warm all night.
The bed was warmed up to be incredibly cozy. Daili sighed contentedly, then rolled herself up in the blankets, ready to sleep.
As for Qin Shaozong, he could do as he pleased.
This man sometimes still had to write one or two urgent letters before bed to be dispatched first thing the next morning.
However, tonight, the man merely sat at his desk with a profound expression, not touching the writing brush, ink, paper, or inkstone temporarily set up in the outer room.
After sitting for about a quarter of an hour, he got up, returned to the room, took off his clothes, and got into bed.
Daili had good sleep quality. By the time he came back, she was already deeply drowsy, half a step out the door ready to meet the Duke of Zhou in her dreams.
By the time he lay down completely, she had already fallen fast asleep.
Daili was asleep, but Qin Shaozong had absolutely no desire to sleep.
One mu of land could produce up to fourteen shi of wheat, with an average of eight shi. This meant that under the same conditions of human and animal labor, that place yielded fourteen times as much as here.
No wonder she once said that every household in the Peach Blossom Spring had surplus grain. This was far more than just a normal surplus; it was clearly a reserve capable of bursting granaries.
Qin Shaozong thought of that famine from nine years ago.
At that time, the entire Great Yan was shrouded in the dark clouds of famine, and the northern lands were naturally no exception. Yuyang had a population of over four hundred thousand, and the north could not compare to the fertile lands of Jiangnan. Unable to even fend for themselves, they could only distribute grain within the city.
As for the refugees blocked outside the city gates, relief was provided at most only once after a considerable period of time.
Some refugees were in rags and all alone; some were emaciated and dragging their families along; others were on the verge of death. They chased after and begged passing carriages, hoping to plead for a mouthful of food from the occupants.
However, as carriages passed by, they usually could not give out food casually. Once the starving refugees received a signal, they would swarm forward like they had lost their minds. If the travelers were weak in numbers, they could easily be devoured clean.
During that period, corpses littered the wilderness outside the city, piling up like swamps. Children's heads were severed from their necks, and bellies and intestines trampled by horse hooves trailed out sparsely across the ground.
Qin Shaozong seemed to hear the endless wailing and crying again. He stretched out his long arm and pulled the woman beside him into his embrace.
In the darkness, the brown eyes watching the person in his arms seemed to gleam with light.
If Great Yan could also have barns full of grain, then whether encountering severe droughts or the flooding of the two rivers, the common people would still not have to worry about food and drink, and could live and work in peace and contentment.
As Dai Li slept, she suddenly noticed an uncomfortable sense of constriction holding her tightly. She broke free from that feeling, rolled herself up in the quilt, stepped on her hot water bottle, and continued to sleep.
But as she slept, her feet suddenly stepped into empty space.
The perfectly good heat source was suddenly gone. Still asleep, Dai Li instinctively stretched out her feet to feel around.
She didn't find the hot water bottle, but she kicked a solid wall.
It was equally hot and toasty.
Dai Li tucked both her feet in, even stepping on the self-heating footrest underneath.
Mhm, comfortable.
Dai Li had a dreamless and restful night. But beside her, someone kept his eyes open until dawn.
...
When Dai Li woke up the next day, she found that her hot water bottle had somehow rolled to the corner of the bed and plunged into the covers, leaving only its round bottom exposed.
Holding the quilt, she stared at the hot water bottle for a moment, inexplicably feeling that it shouldn't be there. However, this doubt only flashed by and didn't occupy too much of her attention.
After finishing breakfast, Dai Li called for Hu Bao. Captain Hu, I would like two shi of plant ash, two shi of bone meal, and half a shi of limestone. Please take your men to prepare them.
Hu Bao asked in confusion, Madam Dai, does the bone meal you mentioned refer to anything specific?
Dai Li said there wasn't. Just lead your men to the meat market and collect a batch of large bones. After calcining them, they can easily be crushed into powder.
Poultry bones were bones, and cattle and sheep bones were also bones, but catching an entire family of the former probably wouldn't even equal a single leg of the latter.
Wood ash is rich in potassium, bone meal is rich in phosphorus, and a small amount of lime can adjust the pH of the soil.
Of course, apart from these auxiliary inorganic materials, the most important ones were the organic materials.
Besides these three items, you... never mind, Captain, just gather these for now, Dai Li changed her mind mid-sentence.
Hu Bao accepted his orders and left first.
Before Dai Li could speak, Qin Shaozong, who had been observing from the side, took the initiative to ask, Does Madam have any concerns?
Great Yan currently still mostly uses stable manure, but one must know that the core principle remains the same; other materials also cannot do without various types of manure. But this stuff isn't suitable to be piled directly in the manor. It affects the living environment and makes subsequent fertilizing inconvenient. Dai Li wrinkled her nose as if she could already smell the odor.
Qin Shaozong chuckled, I thought it was some earth-shattering problem, but it's only this. If it can't be placed in the manor, then pile it in the fields. I have tens of thousands of hectares of fertile land, why worry about not having room for a few piles of manure?
Dai Li: ...
Having said that, Qin Shaozong raised his voice and called for Feng Feng, who was on duty today. Feng Feng, take some men to buy a few carts of cow dung and pig dung, and then deliver them to the fields in the south near the Wangqun Mountains.
Feng Feng's expression remained unchanged.
With orders from his superior, let alone just buying pig and cow dung, even if he were told to carry the dung himself, he would have to go.
We also need some straw, Dai Li added from the side.
Feng Feng was different from the other three garrison commanders of the Xuanxiao Cavalry. His father was a farmer, and he had to help farm when he was young. Now, hearing that they needed both manure and straw, Feng Feng realized, My Lord, are you trying to compost?
It is not I who wishes to, but Madam. Qin Shaozong then looked at Dai Li. Madam, can this matter be spoken of?
Some matters must be accomplished in secret. While others, the more high-profile they were, the better.
Feng Feng was slightly taken aback.
Dai Li didn't care either way. Sure, they'll find out sooner or later anyway.
She spoke casually, but Qin Shaozong heard another layer of meaning: she was absolutely certain that it wouldn't fail.
Qin Shaozong curled his thin lips. Madam has a brand-new method of composting that can increase crop yields by half.
It was as if a clap of thunder exploded in Feng Feng's mind, causing his entire body to tremble uncontrollably. In a rare breach of etiquette, he questioned his superior for the first time, Is what you say true?
His father had died during a drought when heaven was uncooperative; more accurately, his father was crushed to death by the exorbitant cost of grain.
If at that time...
Qin Shaozong: Naturally it is true. Go and handle this first; you will understand this matter later.
Feng Feng couldn't wait to cup his hands and accept the order.
Cow dung and pig dung were not difficult to collect, especially for the son of a tenant farmer; he knew all too well where to quickly get these things. Although he set off later than Hu Bao, Feng Feng was the first to complete his task.
When he returned in the afternoon, he ran into Qin Yanzhou, Qin Qinian, and Shi Rongyue.
Commander Feng, aren't you today... what is that smell? Qin Qinian originally wanted to go up and chat for a bit, but after taking two steps, he abruptly stopped.
Feng Feng showed no embarrassment. I just followed the Lord's orders to collect a few carts of cow and pig dung. It is said that Madam Dai has a unique composting method that can make crop yields far exceed those of the past, even increasing them by about half.
The few of them suddenly saw the light.
And these words, as if growing wings, spread throughout the entire Qin manor in just a single day.