Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 683 Seed Arrives

Ten days later, Jinnian and Jinshi's boat finally arrived after Hualei had been waiting for it for a long time. But when Hualei saw Master Pei holding Jinshi on the bow of the boat, she was stunned and felt a little guilty.

Because of his own reasons, Pei Laohou also suffered. When boarding the ship, Pei Laohou, who was originally angry, not only disappeared after more than two months of sailing, but also unexpectedly felt the joy of traveling.

Having spent the first half of my life in the military, I have become accustomed to the bumpy life on horseback and have almost never had the chance to truly experience what leisure and ease are.

This time they took a slow boat ride, heading west, greeting the morning glow and seeing off the evening glow every day. Together with the ever-changing scenery on both sides of the river, Lord Pei felt the long-lost peace and tranquility of life.

With his two precious treasures by his side, Lord Pei is happy every day. He sincerely feels that this trip is worthwhile and he is reluctant to leave.

Therefore, under Hualei's repeated invitation, Lord Pei reluctantly stayed temporarily. Hualei and Rongjin were very happy, Jinnian and Jinshi were also very happy, and Lord Pei was secretly happy.

The boat arrived, Uncle Zhao and his men arrived, and corn seeds also arrived. So Hualei found Feng Shuangxi from the household department and conveyed the order to plant corn on some of the official and government fields this year.

The imperial court is now vigorously promoting the planting of corn and rapeseed in several southern prefectures. However, in Xichang, corn has not yet been planted.

So, Feng Shuangxi had never seen corn, let alone knew how to grow corn. Looking at the golden corn seeds, Feng Shuangxi was a little confused.

So, Hualei took out a few copies of "Stones from Other Mountains" and distributed them to them for them to borrow. The books were precious, and Hualei was not generous in spending them. It was unlikely that everyone in the government office would have a copy.

Therefore, Feng Shuangxi could only copy a few pages about corn planting and bring them back to let the relevant personnel study.

After everyone had acquired the theoretical knowledge, Hualei took some time to go to the fields with some staff members and local residents to personally teach them how to grow corn seedlings. After a while, the corn seeds sprouted.

Feng Shuangxi and a few others took more careful care of it. The fields for planting corn were also carefully leveled, waiting for the flower buds to indicate that they could be transplanted.

In mid-April, the governors of the lower prefectures came to the government office one by one to ask to see Hua Lei.

In fact, this period is the busy season for spring ploughing. As the head of a state capital, the prefect is also very busy. Many times, he needs to personally persuade farmers to plough and sericulture.

If the prefect had not sent a message asking them to come in person, they would basically have asked their subordinates to come and help collect their salaries.

Hua Lei was also very busy, so she did not have time to personally receive the several prefecture and county magistrates who arrived early. Instead, she instructed Wan Tongpan to send someone to greet them.

During the day, I took them to visit the corn nursery and learn how to use the vertical harrow, square harrow and plow.

In the evening, they were asked to study and discuss the book they brought with them.

Looking at the prefects and county magistrates with their staff, sitting there and carefully flipping through books, Hua Lei felt a little relieved.

Fortunately, when I was in the capital, I asked Gui Jijiu for help to print these notes. If there was no woodblock printing at that time, how much effort would it take to copy them now!

On the day of the meeting, eight of the ten prefecture governors from Xichang Prefecture arrived. The governors of Changtong and Changliang did not come, nor did they send their subordinates.

Hua Lei asked Sun Zhizhou of Changxing Prefecture if he knew the reason, because when Sun Zhizhou went to the government office, he would pass through Changtong Prefecture.

However, Sun Zhizhou shook his head and said that when he passed by Changtong Prefecture, he was in a hurry and did not pass through the prefecture capital but took a shortcut, so he did not meet Zhao Zhizhou.

As for Changliang Prefecture in the southwest corner of Xichang Prefecture, it is located at the very edge, so no one passes through the prefecture capital of Changliang, and therefore no one knows why no one comes here.

There is no phone or video here, so Hua Lei could only leave the two of them alone for the time being.

He called together several prefects and the six county magistrates to discuss the matter. He then discussed the opinions he had discussed with the government officials a few days ago.

The idea was to plant some corn on some of the official fields in the prefecture and county. However, there was no mandatory requirement on whether to plant corn or how much to plant, and it was up to the prefect to decide.

If you want to plant, just report the specific number of acres and the city will distribute a certain amount of corn seeds, and the state government will not need to pay any money.

When the harvest comes, all the seeds will be returned according to the amount currently used. However, the government will buy back the remaining yield according to the market price.

It will be used to expand the planting area in the next season within the jurisdiction of Xichang Prefecture. The prefecture can only keep the seeds for itself, but cannot sell them without authorization.

This is mainly because, although Hualei brought a lot of corn seeds, they were not enough to plant in Xichang Prefecture.

Therefore, it is still necessary to plant official fields first. Regardless of whether it is the official fields in the prefecture, state or county, they are basically the best local fields, and there are professional and experienced planting personnel.

With the addition of the flower bud books, the possibility of high corn yield is greatly increased. By the time this season's corn is harvested, there will be more than enough seeds for the next season. At that time, it can be distributed to ordinary people.

This is also because Hualei copied the corn planting model promoted by the imperial court in several southern prefectures, and the effect was very good.

As for renting corn seeds, it was based on the method used by Minister Zhang to rent seeds to Pei Jingyang’s military camp in Mobei.

However, Hualei did not collect 20% of the profits like Zhang Shilang did, but chose to do it for free. After all, the two people have different roles. Zhang Shilang helped the court to collect 20% and stood firm.

I am just an individual and the seeds are my own. If I ask the state government for 20% of the profits, it will be easy for people to find fault with me and accuse me of abusing my power for personal gain.

Therefore, it is a better method to wait for the quantity to be returned. Although you don't make any profit, you don't lose anything either. However, you will have corn seeds for the next season, which is suitable for you to carry out the next business.

In addition, each state capital can receive eleven copies of the book "Stones from Other Mountains" printed by Hualei. Ten copies will be distributed to each county below, and one copy will be retained in the state capital. In this way, all officials can be organized to study.

In addition, samples of vertical harrows, square harrows and plow carts are available free of charge in each state capital. Each person can take one home and then make new farm tools according to the books and samples.