Chapter 73

Manual farming, two strong labors can only cultivate half an mu of land a day, and people are dying of fatigue.

There is no problem with farming cattle, one person and one cow, farming two or three acres of land a day. If you count it down, a farming cow can be worth eight or nine strong workers.

If Li forgets to worry, he can really provide ten farm cows for the village. The old village is looking for dozens of men to work for him. There is no problem at all.

There are 127 families in Dingzhou village, 563 people, including more than 200 strong workers. However, due to the lack of cattle, the whole village, old and young, has to work in the fields every year.

Not only the speed is slow, but also the quality of cultivated land can not be compared with that of cattle.

If Li Qieyou could really provide ten cattle to help the village with spring ploughing and sowing, it would be a great help to the village. Not only can I draw out people to help Li forget worry, but also the most important spring ploughing of the year can give everyone a break.

As an agricultural society, spring ploughing is the most important day of the year.

The royal family, including Tianjia, will hold a royal ceremony on an auspicious day of Hai in February or March.

On that day, Li Er would wear a dress, go to the altar to worship heaven and enjoy the ancestors, and then go to the middle and lower fields of the Royal Grange to cultivate.

Li Er personally went down to the field to help plough the land. The leaders of the three provinces and six departments led the ox to help plough. Even the empress Chang sun would follow behind with a group of concubines in the palace to sow young crops.

Guided and escorted by the Hall officials of the Ministry of rites, Taichang temple and Jin Wuwei, the pro farming ceremony of "three push and three return" was completed in three round trips in a chorus of drum music and praise.

Although Li Er's personal farming is only a etiquette, it also shows the importance of spring farming in agricultural society.

Now that spring ploughing is around the corner, Li Qieyou can get ten farm cattle. It's no surprise that he can scare the old village like this.

"Xiao Lang, you can't joke about this. When will the cow be delivered?" the old village was getting up and grabbed Li forgetful's arm.

"The county government will send the cattle tomorrow. However, the old village chief, if I want to keep the cattle, I must first manage the saline alkali land. So please take care of the old village chief, and be sure to help the boy find someone to help. Otherwise, the saline alkali land can't be improved, and the cattle will be taken back by the county. I don't have any cattle to lend to the village."

As soon as the old village listened to his words, his eyes immediately stared: "Xiao Lang, just speak. How many people do you need? My old man will greet you. Who dares not to come and do a good job? I'll kill him!"

The old man's account is very clear, although ten farm cattle belong to the county government to forget Li's worries. But since Li forgets worry and is willing to lend out farm cattle, it belongs to the cattle in the village. More than 100 farmers in Dingzhou village should be able to own 20 cattle and envy the surrounding villages.

Since such a valuable farm cow has entered Dingzhou village, there is no reason for people to take it away.

"Xiaolang, is your method really feasible? This saline land is growing food, and my husband has not heard of it all his life." now, old village is only worried about whether Li forget about whether the solution to the salt and alkali land is feasible.

"Lao Murakami, don't worry, my method is absolutely no problem."

"Can you tell me first?" old Murakami still plans to listen first.

"The first is deep ploughing, then washing the land and soaking the field, then adding guest soil, and finally adding fertilizer to increase the soil fertility." Li forgets worry and tells the old village Zheng the simple method.

The old village was a little puzzled: "I understand everything else. What does washing the ground mean?"

"It is to enclose the land, wash and soak it with a lot of water, and remove the saline and alkaline components in the soil several times."

As soon as he heard this, the old village shook his head, pointed to the hundreds of acres of saline alkali land in front of him and said, "how is that possible? Xiao Lang, look at such a large land. How much water does it take to wash and soak it?"

His words made Li forget his worries and was stunned. He pointed to the Gan River: "isn't this the Gan River? How much water do you want?"

"The Ganghe river embankment is several meters high. It's not easy to roll over the car to fill the water. There are more than 2000 mu of land in the village that needs watering and soaking. You have to wash the land several times, which requires too much manpower." the old village is shaking his head.

"Roller coaster?" Li forgot to worry and looked at several overturned cars in the village on the riverbank. He suddenly realized and couldn't help laughing: "old village, I have a way to carry water without manpower."

"What? No manpower? Do you want to use cattle? That's not good, and cattle can't move." old village Zheng didn't understand what Li forgot to worry about.

Li Qieyou smiled but did not answer.

The development of Chinese waterwheel has three stages. The first stage is the rollover invented in the Eastern Han Dynasty, also known as keel waterwheel. It mainly relies on human stepping to lift water for irrigation.

The second stage was the bobbin car invented in the Tang and Song dynasties. The high rotation bobbin car described in the agricultural book belongs to the water lifting machinery. Powered by human or animal power, the shape is like a keel car.

The third stage is the water wheel invented by Yuan and Ming Dynasties, that is, the shape of the water wheel seen in later generations.

The earliest records of bobbin cars were found in the Tang Dynasty and gradually popularized after the Song Dynasty. But now it is only the early Tang Dynasty, and the roller coaster has not appeared, let alone the water wheel. Lifting water for irrigation depends on manual overturning, and the efficiency can be imagined.

Later generations of that kind of waterwheel, Li Qieyou, could really make it. When he was a child, there were many before the use of water pumps was popularized in the village. He knew the structure of waterwheel very well.

"Old village, is there anyone in the village who is good at carpentry?"

"Yes, didn't you just ask old man Liu to help create a lot of new things a few days ago? Why do you have to make furniture again?"

As soon as the old village said, Li forgot his worries and remembered that Su Changqing had asked the carpenters in the village to make furniture. Although simple, Li forgets worry to see that the carpenter's craft is quite good.

"Hey, hey, I have to ask carpenter Liu to build some water tankers for me, and then I can carry water automatically. Old village Zheng, you can wait and see, and make sure it works well. Ha ha, I'll leave the matter of carrying water for irrigation in the village to me in the future."

Li forgot to worry and ran to the village without waiting for the old village to react, leaving the numb old village in a mess in the wind.

"Is the child crazy? He doesn't have to carry water manually? Isn't that an immortal?" old village Zheng sighed and felt more and more that Li forgets worry's words.

Before he finished sighing, he saw a gust of wind running back: "Hey, I forgot to ask you where carpenter Liu lives?"

The old village shook his head: "come on, I'll take you. But don't make trouble, Xiao lang. how can the river be raised automatically without manpower?"

"Ha ha, you'll know later."

They returned to the village and went straight to carpenter Liu's house.

This carpenter Liu is more than 50 years old. He has worked as a carpenter all his life. His three sons are also carpenters with him. It is a family craft.

Carpenter Liu is not an official craftsman, but a private craftsman.

The craftsmen of the government of the Tang Dynasty had a low status. They were even called "official slaves" in historical records, and their occupation was lifelong, which was similar to the status of businessmen. They all belonged to the low status stream.

However, carpenter Liu, a private craftsman, also needs to cultivate at ordinary times. He has the same status as a farmer and is not a lowly nationality. Because they have skills to make a living, they are also respected in the village, and their life is better than that of ordinary farmers.

"Old man Liu, come out quickly. I have something to find you." when he came to the door of carpenter Liu's house, old village Zheng shouted at the top of his voice.