0p0 Chapter 105 Planting Rice
Chapter 105 Planting Rice
Next, Zheng Sisi arranged their work for tomorrow.
You need to buy lime and salt, as well as jars for chicken and duck eggs, big or small. I don't know how many eggs they will purchase, so it's okay to buy a dozen first.
You also need plant ash and straw, which need to be purchased. Yellow mud can be dug from the ground, which is free and only requires effort.
Finally, the few people discussed and decided that the four of them would do this business together and divide it into four shares equally. All the purchasing expenses would be shared by the third prince, Zheng Zhiyuan and Zhong Ruiyu, and Zheng Sisi would provide the recipe and manpower.
If the business expands in the future and you need to set up a workshop, we can negotiate again.
After confirming this, Zheng Sisi took a candle and went to look at the rice seeds.
The rice seeds had sprouted long, white, pointed shoots that were very conspicuous. She decided to plant the seeds tomorrow, otherwise the shoots would break easily. She soaked them in cold water to cool them down and then covered them with a blanket before leaving.
I went to the mountains this morning and cooked in the afternoon, which was very tiring. When she returned to her room, she didn't want to move, but she still insisted on taking a shower and doing skin care before going to bed.
Have a good night's sleep until dawn.
After breakfast the next day, several people heard that rice was planted today, so they were not in a hurry to go to the town to purchase it.
The third prince said, "The eggs haven't been purchased yet anyway, so it doesn't matter if it's late. Let's see how to grow rice first."
Zheng Sisi also followed their wishes and led a large group of people to the plowed fields carrying rice seeds, bamboo poles, bamboo brooms and tent cloths.
Head of Sun Zhuang brought a few experienced farmers to learn, mainly because the employer’s farming method was different from theirs, so everyone had to learn.
The work in the fields was handed over to Uncle Li yesterday. Zheng Sisi was very satisfied when she saw the rows of crops in the fields.
Uncle Li gathered the mud in the aisle into ridges as required, and then scraped it smooth with a board, so that each ridge was very clear.
Zheng Sisi said to Uncle Li, "Uncle Li, use the board to scrape it again. The soil you scraped yesterday has solidified. If it is too hard, the rice seedlings may break easily when you plant them."
Uncle Li and a few men who worked with him yesterday dug two ridges in the field.
While they were scraping the rice, Zheng Sisi grabbed some rice seeds and stood on the edge of the field to scatter them into the outermost ridges.
She did not take off her shoes and was barefoot, because in ancient times women's feet were not allowed to be seen by others, so she could only demonstrate from the side.
As she scattered the rice, she said, "Because the rice seeds have sprouted, the tips of the sprouts are very tender, so you have to be careful when touching them. Grab only a little bit each time, then spread your fingers, shake your hands gently, and the rice seeds will fall through your fingers.
Rice seeds cannot be sown too thickly, otherwise the seedlings that grow out will be very thin. Who among you wants to learn how to sow seeds?"
Several men were eager to try, so Zheng Sisi asked them all to come and each of them was given a small section of the field to experiment.
Everyone was very careful and gentle, even more gentle than grabbing their new bride.
According to the method suggested by the host, everyone spread the food evenly and received praise from Zheng Sisi.
Zheng Sisi encouraged everyone else to give it a try, after all, they would be the ones to operate it in the future.
With the demonstration of the previous few people, everyone learned quickly and spread the food evenly.
After sowing two ridges, Zheng Sisi called them all back to start the next learning.
Zheng Sisi took a bamboo broom, stood on the edge of the field, and used the strength of her wrist to control the broom, gently tapping the ridges where rice seeds had been sown. After a few taps, the seeds were knocked into the mud.
Zheng Sisi said: "You have to pat the seeds into the mud gently so that they can take root and sprout as soon as possible. If you pat them too hard, the rice sprouts will be broken. Even if they are not broken, it will take time for them to grow."
"Who will try first?"
A few people took the initiative to hold the bamboo brooms, imitated the host's posture, and gently waved the brooms to beat the rice seeds into the mud.