Chapter 390: They Really Harvest Quite a Lot
Chapter 385 of "The Great Ming in the Box" starts revealing surprises: Being able to use something and being proficient in its use were worlds apart.Li Daoxuan... Read on!
Being able to use something and being proficient in its use were worlds apart.Li Daoxuan knew they couldnât properly operate this vessel in a short time. Moreover, the cannons on this ship were all fakesâthey needed to source stainless steel cannons from the artisansâ well in Gaojia Village and then install them one by one onto the ship.
For ancient people, this was no small undertaking!
Theyâd need to labor for quite a few more days before it could truly be put into service.
Bai Yuan obviously knew this too. He turned to Zhang Yuanwai and said, âBrother Zhang, we must select a crew, specifically to man this celestial ship. My Bai Family Fortress was built beside Horseshoe Lake; the surrounding villages have many fishermen. I plan to choose some fishermen from Bai Family Fortress as crew. Meanwhile, your Heyang County also has many fishermen who make their living year-round on the Yellow River. You should select some from there to join the crew as well.â
Zhang Yuanwai lowered his voice, âThe fishermen havenât joined the militia formation. They havenât learned the three major disciplines and eight points of attention yet. It seems improper to put them directly on the ship.â
Bai Yuan nodded, âTruly improper. But the Yellow Riverâs currents are treacherous. Without experienced old fishermen who know the waters aboard, great disaster might strike. So we have no choice but to let them board first while simultaneously teaching them the three major disciplines and eight points of attention.â
At this, Bai Yuanâs expression turned grave, âWe absolutely must select the men carefully. If spies sneak onto the celestial ship and cause trouble, overturning the vessel⌠the Deity will surely grow angry.â
The words âthe Deity grows angryâ startled Zhang Yuanwai tremendously. The saying went that a godâs rage could rend heaven and earth. If the Deity truly became angry, blamed him for the poor selection, and vented that wrath upon him personallyâhow could he possibly withstand that?
Zhang Yuanwai had read Journey to the West. There was a passage describing how a couple quarreling in Fengxian County knocked over an altar table meant for celestial offerings, thereby offending the Jade Emperor. In revenge, the Jade Emperor withheld rain from Fengxian County. He decreed that rain would only fall once a chicken pecked through a mountain-sized pile of rice, a dog licked clean a mountain-sized pile of flour, and an oil lamp burned through a golden chain. Fengxian County suffered a drought for three yearsâfamine spread across the land, corpses piled everywhere. Only when Xuanzangâs entourage arrived was the feud finally resolved.
Modern people hearing this story would surely curse the Jade Emperor as narrow-minded, cruel, and heartlessâa dog turd emperor unfit to rule the world. Even though he was a god, theyâd want to find some âgod-slayersâ to chop him up and feed him to dogs.
But ancient people dared not blame the Jade Emperorâs faults; they could only blame themselves for failing to revere the gods sufficiently.
Zhang Yuanwai swallowed hard, thinking: Whatever I do, I must not provoke divine wrath, or the consequences would be unthinkable. He immediately bowed deeply toward a low cloud drifting across the sky, âDeity, rest assured! This humble man will do his utmost to carefully select the crew and cause no trouble for your venerable self.â
Bai Yuan and Zhang Yuanwai deployed a strong guard force to tightly protect the âcelestial shipâ at the dock. Zhang Yuanwai busied himself selecting fishermen of fine character, while Bai Yuan galloped back with urgent speedâfirst to the artisansâ well in Gaojia Village to inform Thirty-Two to arrange men to replace the shipâs fake cannons with real ones. Then he dashed home to Horseshoe Lake by Bai Family Fortress to recruit fishermen from his own lands, men whoâd long followed the Deity.
Yang Village, Heyang County.
A group of farmers were burning stalks in the fields.
Stalk burning was prohibited in modern times, but in this era, it remained a primary method farmers used to fertilize the soil and eliminate pests and diseases.
Watching the stalks burn, the farmers chatted, âOld Yang, how much grain did your family harvest this year?â
Old Yang shook his head, âTwo mu of land, four dan of grain.â
âWow, quite a bit! Why the shake of the head then?â
Old Yang sighed, âAt Gaojia Village, they get four dan of grain from just one mu! Whatâs there to boast about getting four dan from two?â
âThey werenât bragging, were they?â
âWhat nonsense!â Old Yang retorted, âThe smith, Young Yang, from the villageâyou all know him, right? He took his smithing skills to Gaojia Village to earn big money. He came back a few days ago to visit relatives and told us himself: one mu yields four dan at Gaojia Village.â
âWow!â
This made the farmers of Yang Village unable to stay calm, âWhat methods did they use?â
Old Yang: âHeard it was thanks to celestial fertilizer bestowed by the Deity. That celestial fertilizer is far superior to our dung fertilizer. Called something⌠something about scientific proportion? Anyway, I didnât understand it properly, only managed to remember those words.â
One farmer said, âThen letâs go buy celestial fertilizer from Gaojia Village.â
Old Yang: âHaving the celestial fertilizer alone isnât enough. You need to know how to use it. Weâve farmed all our livesâdonât we understand you canât just fling fertilizer around haphazardly? If you mess up using the celestial fertilizer and apply it wrong, youâll burn the roots, get no crop at all.â
That made sense!
Veteran farmers knew that not applying fertilizer just meant a slightly smaller harvest. But applying the wrong fertilizer could kill all the crops in an entire field, resulting in total crop failure.
Another farmer suggested, âThen we should go to Gaojia Village to learn it!â
Old Yang: âWorried they wonât be willing to teach.â
Everyone sighed. Indeedâwhoâd willingly teach others such a prized skill, their ultimate family secret?
âHurry up and finish burning these stalks. Before winter comes, we still have time to plant some mixed vegetables.â
The farmers murmured agreement, readying themselves to get back to working.
Just then, a public sun chariot rumbled down the cement road past Yang Village. Over a dozen people hopped offâmostly farmers. Despite wearing clean cotton clothes, their sun-tanned skin and the way they immediately glanced toward the fields confirmed their identitiesâgenuine farmers through and through.
Among this group of farmers was a scholarly man in his thirties. He appeared refined, gentle, almost fragile-looking. Surrounded by the farmers, he seemed to be the leader.
The farmers of Yang Village watched curiously: What kind of strange group is this? A scholar leading a bunch of farmers here?
These unexpected visitors unloaded several large sacks from the public sun chariot. Words were written on the sacks, but the farmers of Yang Village were illiterate and couldnât decipher what was inside.
Scanning the surroundings, the newcomers quickly spotted the assembled Yang Village farmers. Hoisting the sacks, they trotted briskly over.
The scholar followed, jogging along. After just a few paces, he suddenly clutched his knees, panting heavily: âSl⌠slow down⌠I⌠canât keep upâŚâ
The farmers stopped, letting him catch his breath, before continuing over a few more ridges. The short journey took this group a surprisingly long time. Finally, they reached the Yang Village farmers.
The scholar, huffing and puffing, gasped out: âPhew⌠phew⌠Y-you⌠are⌠farmers of Yang Village? W-we⌠came from G-Gaojia Village⌠Iâm⌠Zhao Sheng⌠everyone calls me⌠Mr. ZhaoâŚâ
Old Yang jumped in alarm, âMr. Zhao, please stop talking! Sit, sit⌠Youâre from Gaojia Village? May I ask what brings you to Yang Village?â