Pumpkin fields, tomato fields, corn fields, potato fields, peanut fields......

When Zhang Shou finally had enough time the next day, he sent Zhu Ying to take Zhu Hong and Zhu Yi to Wanghai Temple on Maliu Mountain for "sightseeing"—in fact, of course, to step on a little bit to investigate—and he took Ah Liu to have a good look at the grand vegetable garden of the old salted fish, he had to marvel that this was a secret that truly included a variety of American crops...... Plantation!

However, when he walked through the vegetable fields that he was familiar with and saw the small half acre of cotton fields that were not very spiritual, he found that there was still a small seedling planted on the side that did not match this vegetable garden, and it was wilting as if it was dying at any time.

The cotton fields were not planted well, which the old salted fish had already confessed. And where is this little seedling not good, but it is planted here...... What exactly is a seedling? It can't be what he thinks, right? Impossible, remember that it can only be planted in the south and Southeast Asia, how can it still be grown in Cangzhou? Just this winter in the north can freeze this little seedling to death, right?

Could it be that it was only planted this spring? Thinking of this, Zhang Shou took a breath lightly, and then pointed to the lonely little Miao and said, "Could this be that you also brought back from overseas with those Yi people?" ”

The old salted fish didn't expect Zhang Shou to see the sapling at a glance, and his face was suddenly full of bitterness: "Don't mention it, Dr. Zhang, plus the batch brought back by others from overseas, there is at least a box of tens of thousands of seeds in total several times, and only this one is planted!" ”

"It was the dying elder who almost regarded him as a prophet who told me that the rubber tree was like a cow producing milk, and that when cut with a knife, it would flow milky white juice, and that the juice was sticky, like glue, and could be made into black, elastic balls, as if it could be of any other important use, but he did not have time to say. As a result, I planted several batches of seeds like this...... I'm! ”

"Most of them don't sprout at all after the beginning of spring, and some of them germinate but die not long after...... I've let the Tibetan Sea water desperately...... Alas, think about it, the local rain is abundant, the weather is hot, not less rain than Cangzhou, I think if it weren't for the water near the Zanghai Courtyard, the group of Haidongyi people also watered desperately, maybe not even a single tree would survive. ”

Zhang Shou can understand the depression of the old salted fish very well. No matter who it is, the things that have been brought back by crossing the sea with great painstaking efforts, and then they have spent a lot of effort to plant, but they will end up in the sight of life, and they will be discouraged no matter what. The problem is that, just like cotton, their strength is really in the wrong place......

Thinking of what Ah Liu overheard last night, he thought to himself that the so-called Mu Lao, who was regarded as a prophet, had a high status among the local Yi people, and there was no reason why he didn't even understand this very simple transplanting principle. It is likely that he will only have time to tell the old salted fish and the Tibetan sea, such as corn, potatoes, tomatoes, cotton, rubber, etc., what is the value, but it is too late to talk about transplanting and breeding.

Zhang Shou glanced at the old salted fish with some strange eyes: "Before you brought back these seeds from Haidong, did you have any farming experience?" What I'm saying is, have you ever grown food and vegetables? ”

The old salted fish was suddenly a little embarrassed. He looked around and saw that Zanghai had perfectly avoided his call for help, so he had to touch his nose and whispered: "My family is also in the middle of the road, I used to be a scholar, and then I became obsessed with going to sea, of course I have never planted ......"

He suddenly glared at the unrighteous Tibetan Sea, and said angrily: "But this guy volunteered to say that his ancestors were all farming, and he knows the crop patterns best. If it weren't for that, how would I have given this place to him to run? Besides, those Yi people used to grow and take care of these things there, and who knew that with them, cotton and rubber trees would still be planted like this! ”

Zanghai finally couldn't help it this time, and immediately scolded angrily: "Are you embarrassed to say? Obviously, it was you who took this matter by telling me about it, so that I was nestled in the lower courtyard of this Wanghai Temple to cook vegetables...... Otherwise, with Lao Tzu's ability, he would have made a name for himself in Cangzhou, where would he have to smile at the monks in Wanghai Temple! ”

"yes, make a name for yourself...... And then what? When General Mingwei came this time, it wasn't the goods that filled the knife edge? ”

Zhang Shou saw that the two were glaring at each other, sneering, and couldn't help laughing. It turned out that Lao Xianyu and Zanghai didn't know how to plant at all, and they didn't consult those experienced old farmers because of the taboos, so they led a group of Haidongyi people who seemed to be very professional...... Directly reckless!

So, he coughed, and then sighed and said, "If this rubber tree is planted like you, probably the only one will die soon." Since you have said that it grows in a hot and rainy environment over there, then for successful transplanting here, of course, it must be in a hot and rainy environment. At least, Cangzhou is a cold and snowy environment like this......"

"That's absolutely not going to grow any rubber trees."

Seeing the innocent expression on the face of the old salted fish How do I know, Zhang Shou sighed and said: "Moreover, transplanting this kind of thing has always been very demanding, and local transplanting saplings is still the same, not to mention overseas things?" You don't know how to preserve seeds, let alone bring back a few boxes of seeds, even dozens of boxes, and you are lucky to be able to grow one! ”

He still remembers seeing the information that when rubber trees were transplanted from the Americas to Southeast Asia, people still had experience, and 70,000 seeds only cultivated more than 2,000 seedlings, and the probability was outrageously low. Replace it with these two laymen at the moment, hehe......

Sure enough, as soon as he said this, the old salted fish and the Tibetan sea looked at each other, and then the former was given a big roll of the latter's eyes, and he muttered embarrassedly: "I don't know much, but those Yi people in Haidong have also taken care of rubber trees......

"This thing is everywhere on their side, do you need to plant it on purpose? Do you need to go out of your way to water and fertilize? Their so-called care is probably what you said, to tap rubber regularly, right? ”

When Zhang Shou said this, seeing that the old salted fish was finally speechless, he said lightly: "I understand why you are planted here, in the Ming Dynasty, the whole world is not the king's land, and the shore of the land is not the king's minister, plus most of the land is owner's, and your vegetable garden is also from the Wanghai Temple pit." As for in the south, you are not familiar with the land, and it is probably impossible to take a group of Yi people to farm the fields. ”

"Dr. Zhang said that the pit is so ugly...... It was Zanghai who got it from the monks of Wanghai Temple with his own ability, and they couldn't manage it anyway...... As for going to the south, the people there are cunning, and I am afraid that if one is not good, someone will sell me. ”

Saying this, the old salted fish's eyes rolled, and the flattering smile on his face became more attentive for a while: "Dr. Zhang, you are very knowledgeable, don't you know how to plant this rubber tree?" ”

"I'm not a god, and I haven't been to the place where this thing is planted, how do I know!" Zhang Shou gave him a serious look, and then said calmly, "But the so-called transplanting is nothing more than breeding and raising seedlings." But I have to warn you, firstly, this thing should not be planted here, and secondly, it ...... Do you think it takes a lot of time for this rubber tree to grow to the point where it can tap rubber? ”

Without waiting for the old salted fish to answer, he gave his own answer: "If I didn't pour cold water on you, I don't think it would be possible in three or five years, but it would be possible in ten or eight years." ”

"Ten years, eight years......" This time, it is the turn of the Tibetan Sea. He viciously raised his foot and kicked at the old salted fish, "How old will I be in ten or eight years, okay, you, you will throw these things to me after a few words of praise, and brag all day long in the city!" I'm going to beat your old salted fish into a dead fish today! ”

Seeing that Zanghai chased after people without saying a word, the old salted fish refused to admit defeat, and at the same time he also used his fists and kicks to ridicule each other, and the two ran away while fighting, Zhang Shou couldn't help but be stunned, thinking that these two guys must have fought each other and went to the distance to discuss countermeasures. At that moment, he simply came to the little sapling that was the only remaining fruit, and took a closer look.

At this glance, his original guess turned into conviction.

It's not that he's sure what kind of rubber tree this is, and he's not one of those experienced rubber farmers, so he guessed it before and didn't see it, but now he can see that although this seedling doesn't know what kind of luck it has hit, it is indeed not far from death.

He squatted down, then looked at the dying little thing, and thought to himself that until the era of all kinds of artificial rubber, the demand for natural rubber was still huge, but now, let alone various advanced applications, even if you have to find a solvent that can dissolve the glue, it is not so easy...... Is it true that you want to learn from Native Americans and use natural rubber to make a ball and play it as a soccer ball?

Taizu's technology tree is all on the weapon, and his technology tree is even more crooked, a hammer in the east and a stick in the west, but most of the people who have seen it remember, the problem is that he hasn't seen many things, and he has never been exposed to many technologies......

Just when Zhang Shou was in a slight daze, he heard Ah Liu's voice from behind him: "Is this tree useful?" ”

"Whether it is useful or not depends on whether it can be used. Unlike the ingredients of the old salted fish before, this thing will not be useful for a while, and if it is planted in the south, if there is a demand in the north and then transported over, the cost on the road is very huge, and if it is promoted, the people can not see the benefits, it will not be planted. The most important thing is that no one has ever seen the glue they are talking about. ”

Ah Liu, who was behind Zhang Shou, suddenly raised his eyebrows: "Then the young master doesn't believe them?" ”

"Believe, why don't you believe it?" He can say the three words rubber tree, and besides, this sapling is still planted like this, why doesn't he believe it? Zhang Shou thought so in his heart, and then laughed and said, "It's useless for me to believe alone, this has to be trusted by people." If it is really like I said, you have to plant for ten or eight years, how many people can endure waiting and loneliness? ”

"I can."

Zhang Shou was slightly stunned, and it wasn't until Ah Liu repeated these three words again that he stood up, then turned to face the young man, and suddenly reached out to rub his head. Seeing that the people didn't dodge at all, he smiled and said, "You don't want to leave the capital and go to the south alone to plant rubber trees, right?" Besides, you have a specialization in the art industry, and you can't do this. ”

Seeing that Ah Liu's face was not frustrated, but nodded as if he was taking it for granted, Zhang Shou knew that the young man had always had the simple concept of whether I could help or not. Once you know that you can't, and you can't advance to energy after hard work, then you will simply give up.

Just like Ah Liu looked at those math problems at the beginning, and found that he couldn't accept them, he immediately knew how far away he was.

appeased Ah Liu, but Zhang Shou felt a little embarrassed in his heart. Although there are many new crops in the Americas, it is not so easy to find them. In particular, certain crops tend to grow in different latitudes, and he really doesn't know how long and how far the so-called migration of the Yi people led by the prophets lasted and whether it was really the same for decades......

Moreover, he didn't think that the imperial court would admit that Emperor Taizu was living abroad—even if Emperor Taizu secretly sent someone overseas, no one would admit it. Of course, except for the current emperor, he has already deeply understood the willfulness of the young emperor. It's not surprising that the emperor has any moths!

When he wandered around the area where the rubber tree was, and then looked at the growth of the cotton fields, the disheveled old salted fish reappeared, but alone, with the posture of a victor who had beaten the roadblock. He flapped his wrinkled sleeves, then buttoned up his collar nonchalantly and stepped forward with a smile.

"Dr. Zhang, it's better to listen to your words than to read for ten years." He said this in a smug manner, seeing Zhang Shou looking at himself for a long time, he thought that he had indeed not read any more books over the years, and he couldn't help but be a little embarrassed, and quickly changed the topic and said, "I mean, I can't hide it from you." Can you use your influence to try to promote this rubber tree in the South? ”

"Just like your new textile machine in Cangzhou and Xingtai promotion? Even if it's to live up to those people who live abroad? ”

Zhang Shou nodded, but shook his head again: "Yes, naturally, yes, but the world is bustling, all for profit, the world is bustling, all for profit, for ordinary people, to endure ten or eight years of loneliness, not to mention, after ten or eight years, the rubber tree can really tap rubber, but what is the value and benefit of the glue?" ”

Seeing that the old salted fish was stunned, he said softly: "Of course, I will give it a try, but someone must help." ”

Unexpectedly, Zhang Shou first poured cold water, and then opened up a glimmer of possibility, and the old salted fish was overjoyed. He had also wondered if rubber trees had to be planted in the hot and humid south, but he was lucky in the end. After all, why did they go to the south to enclose the land when they were not familiar with the land...... Planting trees? Besides, the experience of dealing with some southern landlords in the past was so bad that he didn't dare to take any risks.

Sure enough, there are people in the government who are good at doing things! The old salted fish sighed so emotionally in his heart, and then bowed to Zhang Shou sincerely, and then agreed: "If it is really possible, I still have some friends with Zanghai, and they should be able to help." Hey, even if it's for the elder who has been in Haidong and hasn't been able to return to his hometown for the rest of his life, let's do something at the end. ”

"Okay, I'll think of a way with the emperor." Zhang Shou understated a promise, and thanked him with joy when he saw the old salted fish, but there was not much respect in his eyes, and he didn't expose it, but said with a smile, "Having said that, I have already recommended you to the top, and you don't want to be a doctor of agriculture, so you can't do it." Two pounds are not enough...... Make it up with something else! ”