I farmed in ancient times

Cassia squatted on the ground, nibbled on apricots, and thought about how trees could hybridize.

Different plants with male and female flowers can be directly cross-pollinated. Pollination of monoecious plants is a little more troublesome, but it is not impossible to operate.

However, Jueming vaguely remembered that there were cutting and grafting methods.

Seems like a rootstock is still needed.

Jueming took out a piece of paper from the house, tried to write down what he thought of on the paper, and then tinkered with the trees in the vegetable garden based on his experience in hybrid crops.

Two kinds of apricot trees are good materials. Cassia decided on the order of research, and tried cross-pollination first. If the fruit can change significantly, he will not further study the fruit trees.If the change is not obvious... then you can only toss around blindly.

After lunch, Jueming went to the town and bought a wooden ladder, which he placed firmly in front of the apricot tree. After closing the courtyard door, he took out blue beads to water the apricot tree.

The apricot tree sprouted slowly, and the pink receptacle wrapped the tender white petals. Cassia stopped watering. Seeing that the sun was in the sky, he quickly took out small bamboo tweezers and removed the stamens of the whole apricot tree.

Time passed slowly, and two hours later, Cassia stopped and pulled off the unemasculated flower buds to prevent the result from being affected.

Then, he climbed down the ladder, went to the apricot tree he bought from Lao Zhangtou, and watered it.

The water with the magic power of birthing flowed continuously from the blue beads, and the almond trees soon grew and blossomed.

Under the residual temperature of the evening sun, the buds open with a "boom", and traces of pollen slowly appear on the heads of the stamens.

Caesar climbed up the ladder, held a small paper plate made of rice paper, and carefully shook the petals on the tree.

The pollen was shaken off from the petals and all fell on the rice paper. Cassia picked a plate of pollen and brought it back to Wang Wenqi's apricot tree. After watering the tree, artificial pollination began.

Cassia pollination is simple and rough. Take a small brush that is only as long as a finger, lightly dip a little pollen, shake the brush one by one, or directly use the brush to touch the style of the apricot flower.

As long as the pollen can fall on the style of the tree, pollination is almost the same.

No matter how fast Cassia Ming moved, by the time all the flowers on the tree were covered with pollen, it would be dark.

Cen Chaoan came home from school a long time ago. He knew that his brother was busy in the vegetable garden and didn't like being disturbed by others, so he wrote obediently by the light of the oil lamp.

After the whole tree was pollinated, Caesar hurried back to the front yard. The porridge stewed in the big pot was soft and sweet. Cassia also heated up the pancakes and fried two small dishes.

It started to fog outside, so Jueming moved the small wooden table back into the house, and only then did he find Chao'an for dinner.

"Brother." Chao An took out two envelopes from his arms, "This is what Dad sent to Master Hua and asked him to deliver it to us."

It's been less than half a month since Old Cen left, and Jueming put down his chopsticks, and tore open the letter he took from Chao'an.

Unfolding the letter paper, Cen's father's pen is strong and his language is concise, and he can read the whole text smoothly without punctuation marks.

Father Cen greeted him first, and then said that he had already arrived in Bianjing and was staying at a friend's house, and told Jue Ming and Chao An not to worry about him, but to eat and drink well at home.

He also wrote a separate letter to Cen Chaoan. When Cen Chaoan read his brother's letter, he also opened it, read it happily, put the letter in his arms, and drank a bowl and a half of rice in one go.

After Chaoan washed and rested, Caesar sneaked into the vegetable garden and watered the apricot tree for a while. If the temperature is too low, the pollen may be inactivated.

After pouring a little water under each tree, Caesar went back to sleep in peace.

In the morning, before the white mist cleared, Cassia got up early in the morning and went to the backyard vegetable garden to squat and water. By the time the sun came out, the apricot trees were almost bearing fruit.

Caesar picked all the apricots from Wang Wenqi's family, the apricots from the old Zhangtou's apricot tree, and the apricots after hybridization, put them on a plate, and went to the front yard to look for mice.

The little white mouse had just woken up not long ago, and was ignorant of dressing and putting on shoes. Seeing his brother bring several plates of apricots, the little white mouse wiped his face with his hands, quickly put on his shoes, got off the chair, and ran to the main room.

"Try it, what's the difference between these kinds of apricots?" Jueming pushed the apricots, went to An'an to brush his teeth, and ate a little bit of biscuit before picking up the apricots.

The smallest apricot was only as big as two copper coins, very similar to the unpalatable apricot he ate a few days ago, Cen Chaoan put it in his mouth, and carefully took a small bite.

Two teeth marks were left on the small apricot, and Cen Chaoan's face was all wrinkled together, "It's sour and astringent."

Cassia also tasted one. The apricots from Wang Wenqi's family are extremely sour and hard, but they are superior in their small core.

Perhaps because the fruit is small, the core is small?

Cen Chaoan rinsed his mouth with tea, and then tasted the second kind. The apricot tree in Lao Zhangtou’s house produced fruits as big as a baby’s fist, and they were yellow and clear, obviously different from the one just now.

This apricot tastes neither sour nor astringent, and at the same time, it does not taste sweet.Cen Chaoan picked out the apricot pit. The apricot pit was as big as two copper coins, and the pulp was not much.

Cassia followed suit, and Cen Chaoan held the third apricot in his hand. This apricot didn't look very big, it was between a baby's fist and two copper coins, and when he bit it, the taste was no different from the second apricot. The difference is that the apricot core is as big as the first apricot.

Cassia put down the apricot, bowed his head in thought.

It seems that hybridization of fruit trees is not so easy to succeed.

Jueming put away three plates of apricots, brought out breakfast, finished his meal satiated, and obediently went to school with his books in his arms.

After he left, Jueming went to the backyard and continued tinkering with the apricot tree.

Just doing one experiment can't explain anything. It will take decades of time and energy for future scientific research experts to develop a new species before they can succeed.

With the cheating device of blue beads, Cassia can greatly reduce the time for waiting for biological growth, but because its own knowledge is not up to the level, it has been limited to simple hybrid crops.

When encountering trees, the disadvantages of Cassia's short board of knowledge are revealed.

What else can I do?At present, only hard work can make up for this path.Caesar reluctantly moved the wooden ladder, and then tossed a few trees in the yard.

An apricot tree that was only the thickness of a finger gradually grew to the size of a bowl. The sweetness of the apricot tree was not enough. Cassia also mixed other pollen to try, but there was no progress at all.

Time passed bit by bit, and as soon as the little tail of March passed, Uncle Shi's house next door suddenly became more lively than ever.

Jueming checked the time and suddenly realized that Aunt Shi was about to give birth.

Luckily, Father Cen specifically reminded himself in the letter that Aunt Shi gave birth in April, and the etiquette that should be given must not be neglected.

According to the etiquette and customs of Damo Township, brown sugar and eggs must be indispensable. Uncle Shi stopped raising chickens after Aunt Shi became pregnant, and had to catch a few old hens to send.

If there is someone who knows how to needle and thread at home, it’s okay to send a few small clothes. I definitely don’t know how to use needles, so I plan to go to the county town to buy some soft cotton fabrics to send.

Basically, it was enough to send these away. Jueming made a plan, and when Chaoan was on vacation in the second half of the year, Jueming took Cen Chaoan to the county town together.

Father Cen left a lot of money before he left, fearing that Jueming and Chaoan would be hungry, so Jueming didn't move, took out a bag of golden beans from his small treasury, and took a carriage from the town to the county seat.

I heard that the new county magistrate has come to the county government to start taking over Yang County. Outsiders still don't know what his temper is.

Caesar took his younger brother's hand and followed the people entering the city, walking towards the county town.

Yang County was as lively as ever. The two of them only ate a few pies in the morning, and their stomachs started singing empty city plan as early as halfway.

Caesar took Chaoan to a wonton stand on the street and sat down, and ordered two bowls of wontons.

While the two were waiting, Jue Ming saw a group of clerks in county government clothes hurrying past the wonton stall.

After seeing the little official walking away, the two big men at the next table began to discuss in a low voice.

Jue Ming leaned slightly, and heard them say that the new county magistrate has been cracking down on shops that evade taxes and closed down ten shops in a row.

There are so many shops, this new county magistrate is also very strong.

When the wontons were ready and served, Cassia added a little vinegar and listened while eating.

A burly man at the next table lowered his voice and said, "I know that some of these stores didn't pay less tax at all. The new county magistrate saw that their business was booming, so he couldn't buy shares, so he deliberately tripped them up."

"You said that this investigation is an investigation for three days, and it is also an investigation for 30 days. Those stores are making a lot of money every day, and they are suddenly closed. How big is the loss?"

"The county magistrate has such great power!?" Another big man shouted in surprise, and immediately regained his senses, and asked under his voice: "I haven't seen Shen county magistrate doing this before?"

"You don't understand." The big man looked at his companion with disdain, "Can this county magistrate compare with Shen County magistrate? You see, he has been out of the house except for the day he came. How has he been out these days? Not even the counties he governs." Go shopping and have a look, do you still want to be a great official by sitting at home?"

The two big men finished their wontons, paid the money, got up and left the stall.

Caesar Ming finished eating in silence, paid the bill, and took Chaoan to the Shiwen Grain Shop.

Seeing Jueming coming, the shopkeeper of the Shiwenliang Shop rushed to welcome him to the second floor. Someone came to take Chaoan to have tea and snacks, but Caesar let him go and sat in the cubicle with the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper wiped off his sweat and said, "I was just about to find you! The yamen seems to have closed down some shops indiscriminately. I'm afraid it will affect the Shiwen Grain Shop..."

"Close the shop." Jue Ming said, "Anyway, I have to leave Yang County."

"Ah, ah?" The shopkeeper looked at Jue Ming incredulously, and was stunned for a moment, "The people in the store..."

Jueming put the teacup on the table and tapped it with his index finger, "If you want to go to other counties, you can go to other branches. If you don't want to, you can cancel the contract for five taels of silver per person."

Ordinary workers in Shiwen Grain Shop earn one or two taels of silver per person per month, while shopkeepers and accountants pay more, three taels a month. This salary is among the highest in Yang County, and the owner also distributes rice to the workers from time to time. , New Year's Eve and New Year's money.

With such a good owner, I couldn't find a second one even with the lanterns on. The shopkeeper didn't say anything, but he made up his mind to follow the owner to other counties.

Jueming knocked on the table again, "Close the store as soon as possible, the store doesn't need to be sold out, there is no rush."

As early as when he made his first pot of gold, Jueming bought the store and suddenly said that he would close the store. The food, seeds and furniture left in the store could not be removed for a while.

In order to avoid the county magistrate coming to the door, this is the only way.

Cassia was a little helpless, originally he planned to close the store before leaving Yang County, but this move by the new county magistrate forced him to close the business of the Shiwen Grain Store early.

After explaining to the shopkeeper, Jueming took Chao'an's hand and continued to stroll on the street to buy high-quality brown sugar, fabrics, and some pastries.

The shopkeeper found Cassia on the street, and whispered that except for the two young people who couldn't leave, everyone else was willing to go with the shop.

Jueming nodded, and told the shopkeeper to quickly finish the matter here, and then go to Damo Township to find him.

There was Chaoan by his side, it was inconvenient for the two of them to talk, so they separated in the county seat, when Jue Ming returned home, the shopkeeper rushed to close the store.