novelhk Chapter 57 Black Earth
Chapter 57 Black Earth
"Your Highness, how is the production of this substance? How much is consumed? After it solidifies, can it withstand the erosion of water?"
Qiu Xingzhi's eyes were now gleaming with shrewdness, and he grabbed Qin Xuan's arm and bombarded him with a series of questions.
Qin Xuan was somewhat taken aback, but knowing that Qiu Xingzhi was impressed by the cement, he explained, "It is impervious to flowing water and will not decay for a hundred years."
"real?!"
Qiu Xingzhi was taken aback, his refined face flushed with excitement.
He said excitedly, his voice trembling, "Your Highness, now Beining City no longer needs to fear the melting of winter snow."
Within Beining City flows a large river called the Snow Mountain River, which stretches down from the Snow Mountain Range in the north.
Every spring, as the snow melts, the Xueshan River enters its flood season, causing the riverbanks to breach in several towns and counties in Beining County, located in the middle reaches of the river, and flooding fertile fields.
With spring approaching, Qiu Xingzhi was so worried about this matter that he was losing his hair. Now that he saw the usefulness of cement, how could he not be excited?
Qin Xuan was also aware of the spring floods, so he nodded and said, "Sir, this matter can be handled by the local craftsmen. The cement workshop here will give priority to providing cement for the construction of the dam."
"Xingzhi thanks Your Highness."
Qiu Xingzhi quickly clasped his hands in thanks.
Just then, a barefoot farmer with mud-covered legs rushed over and said to Qiu Xingzhi, "Sir, the Class A plots in our Northern Wilderness area have been reclaimed, but they are all in bad condition. Please come and take a look."
Qiu Xingzhi is now in charge of all government affairs, and he attaches great importance to the reclamation of the northern wasteland. He often inspects the area and is very approachable to the people, so the refugees will go directly to him whenever they have any problems.
"bad?"
Qiu Xingzhi muttered to himself for a moment, but immediately said, "I'll go with you to take a look."
He knew that these refugees had little education and didn't know how to describe their problems, so making a trip there was the most effective way.
"We'll go with you, sir."
Qin Xuan had been busy with the workshop and hadn't had time to pay attention to the reclamation of fertile fields in the Northern Wilderness, so he wanted to take this opportunity to check it out.
Qiu Xingzhi did not refuse and immediately ran towards the plot of land designated as "A".
Half an hour later, the group arrived at the scene and discovered that what Zhuangjia Hankou called a bad field was actually a patch of dark brown soil.
"Sir, look, this soil is black and crumbles when you squeeze it. This is not fertile land!"
The farmer grabbed a handful of soil and said with a bitter face.
“These fields can’t retain water, so it’s easy to run out of water when we plant crops.”
"Moreover, even if crops survive in this black soil, they won't grow strong."
"..."
The other farmers also started muttering at this moment, looking helplessly at Qiu Xingzhi.
"Have you informed Old Man Huang about this?" Qiu Xingzhi asked.
Old Huang was the most skilled farmer among this group of refugees.
"Old Huang came by and said that it's no use to cultivate this kind of land. Either you spend several years planting continuously without expecting high yields, just to cultivate the land properly, or you should cultivate it in another place."
The farmer sighed helplessly, pointed to the large tracts of land around him that had already been cultivated, and said, "We were so focused on cultivating the land that we didn't notice the situation. Besides, I've heard that Beining City has always had a lot of bad land, which is why the grain yield is low."
Listening to their conversation, Qin Xuan was somewhat surprised by the farmer.
This man looked big and burly, but he was clearly the backbone of these farmers.
Moreover, unlike ordinary farmers who argue and make a fuss when things go wrong, he can calmly offer his opinions and even gather other information, so he is someone who can be trained.
"This kind of soil isn't unsuitable for planting, it just does need to be nurtured, but not in a clumsy way."
Qin Xuan spoke.
He only had to witness what had just happened to know that the dark brown soil in front of him was actually acidic soil formed by excessive acidity.
If the soil turns yellow or white after being cultivated, or even has a layer of white frost, then it is considered saline-alkali land.
Both of these types of land are extremely unfavorable for crops.
When the farmer saw Qin Xuan suddenly speak up, and noticing that his clothes were not ordinary, he couldn't help but say, "Esteemed sir, Old Huang is a master farmer around here. Even he says that it takes two or three years to cultivate a good field. How come you, an esteemed person, have a way?"
It was only because Qiu Xingzhi was there that this farmer scolded Qin Xuan for pretending to know what he didn't.
"Liu San, don't talk nonsense. This is the King of Chu of Beining City."
Qiu Xingzhi quickly rebuked him, saying, "If it weren't for him, you would have all died in the freezing cold long ago."
"Ah... the King of Chu? He... he is... the King of Chu!?"
The farmer named Liu San was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat and knelt down on the edge of the field with a thud.
The surrounding people were all terrified and instinctively knelt down.
Qin Xuan glared helplessly at Qiu Xingzhi, then personally helped Liu San up and said with a smile, "Everyone, don't be nervous. I'm here with you to solve your problems. Please get up!"
The crowd of people looked at each other, not daring to get up.
It wasn't until Qiu Xingzhi spoke up to comfort them: "His Highness the King of Chu has told you to get up, so please get up quickly! He's not like those powerful and wealthy people; he's a true King of Chu who loves his people like his own children!"
Upon hearing this, the people rose one by one, filled with fear and trepidation.
"Liu San, I do have a way to improve the soil quality. Why don't you all give it a try?"
Qin Xuan looked around and continued, "I know that everyone who reclaims wasteland wants to have a piece of fertile land of their own, but Beining City is located in the northern border region, and naturally, it is a barren land."
"But if you don't cultivate the land, and no one else does, then all of our descendants will go hungry for generations to come."
"Your Highness, we are willing to listen to you. We do not want our descendants to remain vagrants in the future."
Liu San shouted excitedly, clenching his fists.
Migrants have no family records or identities. Even if they survive, most of them are classified as lowly and become slaves or servants.
In Beining City, as long as you are willing to work, you can not only have food to eat, but also have a normal household registration status.
"Your Highness, we will listen to you, we are willing to work."
"Yes, we are farmers. As long as there is a way, we are willing to wait even for two or three years, or even five years."
"..."
The wishes of ordinary people are actually very simple. Often, as long as there is a glimmer of hope, they are willing to give everything to wait.
As the farmers shouted, more and more displaced people who were cultivating the land learned of Qin Xuan's arrival.
They had always been filled with curiosity and gratitude towards the King of Chu who had saved them and given them a new life.
"His Highness the King of Chu is so young!"
"The King of Chu is really handsome. I thought he would be a bearded man!"
"The one next to me must be the Princess Consort of Chu, right? I heard she was also a general."
"May the Bodhisattva protect us! May the King of Chu live a long and healthy life so that we can live a better life."
"..."
Various voices rose and fell, but without exception, they were all filled with gratitude towards Qin Xuan.
Some of the bolder farmers even shouted, "Your Highness, can we really grow grain on this wasteland we've reclaimed?"
Faced with this question, Qiu Xingzhi couldn't help but feel nervous for Qin Xuan, and lowered his voice to say, "Your Highness, let's discuss this matter later."
But Qin Xuan shook his head: "Did you see the expectation in their eyes? If I tell them no or that I'll tell them tomorrow, they'll be very disappointed."
"But……"
Qiu Xingzhi hesitated, worried that Qin Xuan's method would be ineffective and instead damage his prestige among the people.
Qin Xuan nodded confidently to Qiu Xingzhi, then turned to all the people and said, "Don't worry, this is just acidic soil. With a little bit of a method, we can turn this soil into fertile soil."