[Comprehensive] The days when I pretended to be a meow in the Forbidden City

Xia Anran didn't sleep well the whole night, and then... Cough, he had a chat with Shen Qi Bingzhuye.

The two lived together in Fuzhou for a year. The winter in southern Fujian is much more comfortable than that in the north. Although it is damp and cold, the temperature is higher. The freezing period lasts only half a month, and then it gradually warms up.

Just after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the farmers entered the busy breeding fields. This time, Xia Anran ordered the farmers to mix lime in the soil in advance to alleviate soil acidification.

He does not have professional equipment, so he is not sure how much to use, so he used a relatively conservative figure. On the one hand, he was afraid that too much lime would cause soil compaction, and on the other hand, he was also afraid that the lime would burn the roots due to heat generated after watering.

But fortunately, it is winter and the land is empty. The lime sprinkled in will not affect the growth of the crops. When the seedlings are moved in, after the previous rain, there will not be much quicklime left.

The wheat planted before winter gave farmers the confidence to use fire manure as fertilizer. This year's wheat growth is indeed much better than previous years.

In fact, after two seasons of rice are planted here, wheat is planted again, but the farmers feel that the land is empty and they feel uncomfortable. Originally, the yield of wheat was not large, but after using fire dung this year, although it is not yet the harvest season , but farmers can know how the harvest is when they see the growth of the plants.

The branches are straight and there are more spikes. As long as there is no accident during the grouting, the yield will be high.

Xia Anran personally feels that this has nothing to do with fire dung, because wheat prefers acidic soil than rice, but because before planting wheat this year, farmers were a little worried when using fire dung as a base fertilizer, and they didn't dare to put it too high. Burnt roots.

So when plowing the soil, we dug deeper than before. This digging turned up the more nutritious soil underneath. The soil was loose and nutritious, which naturally facilitated the plants to take root.

But no matter what, the current situation of wheat gave Xia Anran and the people of Yongchun County more confidence.

The promotion of fire dung has also weakened the villagers' previous obsession with human and animal dung. Cough, there have been incidents where free-range livestock poop was secretly picked up, because they couldn't understand each other and then the two villages fought.

Now, the main materials of fire dung are agricultural products, such as the inedible parts of vegetables, rice husks, rice straws, vine leaves, etc., especially the roofs replaced this year are all thatched roofs. Anyway, as long as they are plants, they will take them Come and burn it.

Spring plowing is coming soon, and the demand for fire dung is huge, which has caused the villagers to no longer be able to meet the previous rhythm of burning fire dung.

The mayors of the township have already thought about this, and after sitting together and talking, they informed the people that they decided not to burn the dung if they could not burn it during the dry season. Greetings, at this time, everyone should save some money first, and wait for the seedlings to enter the soil, and the peak growth period will also come to the rainy season, then we will burn them together.

After all, everyone’s houses are made of wood, and the roof is covered with thatch. In the past, everyone would come to see the black smoke in this season. After burning the fire dung, the vigilance of the villagers against the black smoke dropped a lot.

Xia Anran thought this method was very good, and praised the township head who made this suggestion during the meeting, which made the township head very proud.

In this era, the township chiefs are all elected by the village, and most of them are highly respected people in the village, but these people are still not at the same level as the county officials.

Although in some counties the county magistrates are evaded by the local people, in the end, the people are the people, and the officials are the officials. There is a huge difference.

But here at Xia Anran, everything is discussed and discussed. Whenever new policies come down, they have to ask for feedback. This makes the old people feel respected. Xia Anran is young and good-looking. She is still trying to learn Hokkien. The county magistrates of Yongchun County who have served two successive county magistrates are capable and good magistrates are so envious of the surrounding county magistrates that their eyebrows are raised!

After all, part of the boss's achievements will be counted on the head of the county magistrate. If the performance is good, the entire county government will receive benefits.

The farmers in Yongchun County are busy here, and Xia Anran has also harvested the small seeds planted before winter—hand-pulled wheelbarrows.

The wheelbarrow is about to be eliminated in modern times. The reason why Xia Anran thought of doing this is because she found that farmers in Yongchun County still use the shoulder-to-back method when paying taxes. On the one hand, because of the complicated terrain of Yongchun County It is not convenient to use a cart. Another reason is that Yongchun County does not produce enough grain, and the people feel that it will be over if they carry it.

In addition, the road is difficult to walk, and the hilly area has a large drop. After using the scooter and overturning it a few times, everyone likes to take care of it by themselves.

But if Yongchun wants to develop business in the future, it must need transportation.

The reason for choosing a unicycle is precisely because the unicycle has high mobility. Although the transportation volume at one time is not very large, compared with the carts and ox carts, which need to pack the goods stably, the unicycle can put bulk items in the frame.

And facing the hilly area, it is convenient when going downhill, and only two people need to cooperate to lift up when going uphill.

Moreover, this thing is more labor-saving than a two-wheeled vehicle when making it. Before the invention of modern vehicles, it was once the king of important short-distance transportation.

In Gusu, where Xia Anran grew up, there are also many people who use wheelbarrows to transport goods. The reason why he didn’t see it in Yongchun is because Yongchun is relatively closed, and caravans don’t use wheelbarrows to transport goods, so there has never been one. Found this thing?

He wanted to do this long ago when he was transporting sand and gravel, but at that time the whole Yongchun was running at high speed, and he couldn't make a move, so after the new year, Xia Anran fiddled with this.

Now several main roads in Yongchun County have been paved with concrete. In winter, there is little rain and strong wind, so the roads are almost dry, so he tried to get a few government officials to pull them.

Although he still remembered the last time the yamen servants coaxed him on the Sanhe soil, but with him watching the situation of pulling the cart, they couldn't fake it.

The effect is very good. At first, he was worried that the people here would not be able to master the balance, but in fact they only played for a while, and they were able to use it flexibly.

Soon, this transport equipment became popular in Yongchun County.

This thing is far easier to manufacture than a two-wheeled vehicle. Two-wheeled vehicles have become mainstream in modern times because the constraints of materials have disappeared. If wood is used as a raw material, it is difficult to control the two wheels to bear the same force and avoid one of the wheels from aging first. Shedding, or even lying down.

In this era, two-wheeled vehicles are only used by wealthy families, and experienced craftsmen are needed to make them. This is what Xia Anran only knew after arriving here.

However, although the balance of the unicycle is weaker, it does not need to care about more advanced production skills, so ordinary carpentry can be done.

As for the difficulty of operation, for the industrious and intelligent Chinese, there is only one sentence: there is no other, only hands are familiar.

As soon as the wheelbarrow came online, lime was the first to be transported.

Because the county next door is also planning to lay three-component soil!Especially in the section close to Yongchun County, raw materials are indispensable for paving the ground. The bosses in the neighboring counties are very good at life, and they placed orders with Yongchun County for lime and gravel.

It's not that they don't produce these things themselves, but because the bosses are showing their favor to Xia Anran, meaning that if we have money, we will earn it together, and we will never forget to repay you for your kindness to us, after all, we are brothers County!

Xia Anran expressed that she was very moved and sold the things at the market price.

Xia Anran stood on the edge of the field ridge with his arms folded, looking at the figure of the wheelbarrow going away. At a time when everyone is building roads, it is already kind of us to be able to sell things at the market price without increasing the price. Discount?

Oh, it doesn't exist.

Saying what is a brother county is as if they were not the ones who robbed the dog's head when they robbed resources and robbed the state capital.

In spring, everything is revived. While watching the people planting seedlings, Xia Anran focused on this year's bergamot tea.

Because of the freeze, all information from the north was cut off.

Xia Anran didn't know how the bergamot tea brought back by Xue Pan was evaluated, but after drinking this tea, he also knew in his heart that in the future, bergamot tea would be loved as a seasoned tea because of its unique fruity aroma. favorites of all countries.

Among the flavored teas, the most famous Earl Gray tea is made from Chinese tea mixed with bergamot essential oil. Artificially added Earl Gray tea can become popular in the British Peninsula. Why can’t their pure natural bergamot tea here?

In the twelfth month of the lunar calendar last year, Xia Anran asked the farmers to add base fertilizer to the tea trees once, and before the beginning of spring this year, when the tea leaves recovered from the winter break, they added it again.

This time, in order to promote the germination of tea leaves, a lot of nitrogen fertilizer was used for fertilization. The nitrogen fertilizer is... cough, human and animal urine extract.For this reason, Xia Anran had previously talked to the peasants about the need to separate at a convenient time.

He couldn't grasp the amount of fertilizer, so he still used the local method, just add less.

The decomposed manure, which is winter and spring, has no smell. Xia Anran told them to water it a little farther away from the roots of the tea trees. Try not to touch the roots of the tea trees. If the concentration cannot be calculated, the most afraid Burnt roots.

The effect of these two fertilizer supplements is obviously very good. In March of Yangchun, farmers with tea gardens in Yong'an County went to pick tea under the most intense sun of the day.Oolong tea is different from green tea in that the water content is strictly controlled. The dewdrops on the surface of the tea leaves are at the hottest time of the day, and the leaves are at their freshest. This is the best time to pick tea when there is enough time to dry it. Earlier, there is still dew on the leaves, and later, the drying time will not be enough. This is the experience of old tea farmers.

Naturally, Xia Anran also went with him. His Hokkien is still not good, but after more than half a year, he can understand it. He heard the old tea farmer tell him that the tea stems are harder than last year, and the leaves are thicker. Last year at this time the leaves were still young, but this year they have grown quite a bit.If this continues, next year's spring harvest can be earlier.

The climate in Fujian is warm, and the tea trees here can be picked three to four times a year. If Xia Anran’s fertilization method can be used to pick early spring, then it may be possible to pick four to five times a year, although there must be several teas The quality is not the best and the price is slightly lower, but it is also a free income for tea drinkers.

When the first batch of bergamot tea was delivered to Xia Anran, it was already a week later, and it happened to be another holiday. He didn't know how to make tea, but Shen Qi knew how.

Xia Anran rested her chin on one hand, and sat on the edge of the table lazily, looking at the person who was very familiar with the posture of warming the pot, drying it, flushing water, and a series of actions that were extremely light and elegant.

So lovely.

Thinking of it, Xia Anran couldn't help laughing out the little crescents.

Shen Qi accidentally raised his head and saw him looking at him with a silly smile. After a pause, he continued his movements, but the rhythm was no longer as random as before, but more complicated, full of various high-skilled movements. Xia Anran naturally doesn't understand the difference, he just thinks that Shen Qi's movements are really good-looking.

Why is it so beautiful!

It wasn't until a long, long time later that he realized that it didn't matter how many of the man's actions at that time were, it was just added indiscriminately out of the male nature of showing himself.

But the effect was very obvious. After that, Xia Anran felt that whoever poured tea was not as good-looking as her own.

He has not tasted the taste of this cup of tea that he has been working on for more than half a year, he is ashamed to say, it is all because of the beauty that deceives people.

He drank tea with Shen Qi's hand, his eyes narrowed. Seeing him happy, Shen Qi silently took his hand away and kissed him.

Although the two didn't report to their clansmen, in Yongchun County they were known as brotherly brothers. Fujian is very tolerant of this kind of relationship. Seeing that the two of them have established their relationship, they occasionally walk side by side in Yongchun County. Even the little girl who used to throw her handkerchief no longer looks for opportunities.

He didn't taste it, but someone praised it.

It was Jia Min.

But when Xue Pan and his party passed by Yangzhou, they also went to visit the Lin family.

Although the Xue family and the Lin family have in-laws from the Jia family, in the final analysis, one is a relative of Mrs. Wang and the other is a relative of Jia Zheng. Xue Pan has always been very grateful for giving Xue Pan a way to buy chili peppers. Because of this way, the Xue family has been able to succeed so far. For Lin Jue's profit, Xue Pan never forgot to bring something to the Lin family when he was looking for business opportunities.

The Lin family is not short of this kind of fawning, but after a long time, they have to be sympathetic. To get along with each other is to give and gain from each other, so that the relationship can last for a long time.

When Xue Pan came here, he brought Xia Anran's letter and annual gift.

Naturally, Lin Ruhai was the first to read his lover's letter. He not only read it himself, but also called Lin Jue to read it together. Lin Jue will also take the imperial examination to become an official in the future. Valuable reference.

Jia Min, on the other hand, was quite curious and ordered the bergamot tea.

The tea in Xue Pan's mouth was full of hype, what kind of tea fragrance was unheard of, the fragrance could last for a day, and if he drank too much, he would carry the fragrance on his body. Lin Jue learned everything from Jia Min when he came back.

Jia Min naturally half believed it or not, but she was not short of time to drink tea, not to mention that Xia Anran gave her the tea for a very clear purpose, of course she wanted to help her husband's only apprentice.

Originally, she wanted to let Daiyu host a small banquet for the Flower Festival, and invite some of her little sisters to have fun. Then, why not invite those women to drink tea and chat together?This tea sounds like a wild taste...

When she was thinking casually, she suddenly smelled a sweet fragrance.

This is……

Jia Min looked at the woman who was ordering tea in surprise, but it smelled like bergamot... Although the scent was very light, she would not admit to the comfortingly sweet taste. very interested.

She was born in the Northland, and the preserved fruit made of bergamot was once popular in the Northland. She had never eaten the fresh fruit, but the preserved fruit was delicious, but she remembered it.

It has a completely different taste from the sweet and greasy preserved fruit. It is a bit salty, sweet and sour. It's a pity that Jia's mother didn't allow her daughter to eat more of this fruit because she was afraid that it would hurt her stomach.

Moreover, the fruit was obtained occasionally, and it was never sold in the north afterward.

Now when she first smells this smell, it reminds her of the carefree days when she was a carefree young lady in the Jia family. She took the tea handed by her mother-in-law. smell.

The first smell of citrus fruits will make people feel calm and happy, and bergamot is no exception, but compared with oranges, which are like a little girl, bergamot has a mature taste.

It is a kind that makes people want to sit in the shade of a tree alone in the quiet afternoon, basking in the sun and listening to the music, throwing away the troublesome account books, waving the servants, and quietly recalling the happy tolerance of the past. smell.

She blinked slowly, took a sip, the taste was sweet and thick, and after swallowing, there was a faint fragrance between her lips and teeth, which was not only the fragrance of tea, but also the fragrance of fruit and honey.

The mother-in-law has already started the second bubble.Jia Min put down the cup he only drank for one sip, and took another sip of white water to wash away the taste in his mouth, but his mood suddenly brightened.

When Lin Daiyu entered the room, she saw her mother holding a cup with a smile on her face. When she came in, she hurriedly called her over and held her hand.

"Yu'er, come quickly, try this tea."

Lin Daiyu also drinks tea, but she has a weak spleen and stomach, Jia Min usually doesn't let her drink more, but today is rare.

She blinked, thinking of who came today, she immediately realized, she didn't say much, picked up the teacup handed over by the maidservant, took a closer look and showed a surprised look, "I just entered mother's room, When I smelled the fruit fragrance, I thought it was some new fruit my mother had opened, but it turned out to be this tea? This is really strange."

But there is no daughter in every family who doesn't like sweetness, and there are very few people who don't like sweetness. She sniffed again, "Taste carefully, fruit accounts for three points, and tea accounts for seven points. With three points, suppress the seven points."

Jia Min laughed, "Just take a sip and try."

Daiyu obediently raised her sleeves to cover her face, took a small sip under the sleeves, and took another sip, "The tea also has some fruity taste, mother, what kind of tea is this? I am actually I haven't drunk it."

Jia Min said, "Your Nanny Xia's son dragged someone to bring it here." She was so playful that she used a stalk from a few years ago, and she was in a good mood and winked at Lin Daiyu, "I think it's good, hurry up tomorrow, tea The board can also be dried to smoke the clothes."

"Little girl, don't always use that borneol sandalwood, what do you want to have such a lonely smell." Jia Min criticized her daughter, "My son is still young, and it's my fault. It's time for you to call out those Ningxue pills, look at you now, you're about to turn into a little snowman."

Lin Daiyu was a little ashamed by her mother's words, she blinked, and went to tease Jia Min, "Mother, there is such an exaggeration, if mother likes this taste, Yu'er will make you a fruity scented pill tomorrow. Let mother smell it every day."

Jia Min patted her lightly, "This taste is only good for young girls like you."

After a while, she sighed in melancholy again, "Yu'er, my Yu'er has grown up too."

It's the age where I want to look at others for her, looking at the tall and slim daughter, Jia Min feels proud and sour at the same time.

Especially when she was holding the tea sent by Xia Anran in her hand, she couldn't help thinking that this year she resolutely refused to choose him as her son-in-law, but she just learned from Lin Ruhai that Xia Anran has a good reputation as an official. successfully promoted.

Whether this decision is right or wrong, Jia Min can't say, but she is not willing to gamble with her daughter's life's happiness.