June Xinyou, the fifth day of the first month.

At this time, it is already the height of summer, the weather is very hot, and the rain is finally increasing.

Xu Ping trotted all the way back to his small courtyard, although he held a lotus leaf in his hand to cover it, his body was almost soaked. Just now he was taking the villager to plough in the field, and suddenly a dark cloud floated, and everyone began to take it seriously, but there was a thunder on the flat ground, and the pouring rain began to fall. In a hurry, Xu Ping picked a lotus leaf and ran back first.

After entering the small courtyard, Xu Ping shook off the water on his body, but when he looked up, he found Xiuxiu and Su'er lying under the shed by the door, not knowing what they were doing.

walked forward and found that in front of the two of them was a kitten, which had not yet been weaned, squatting timidly in the grass, looking at the two with big innocent eyes.

Xu Ping asked, "Xiuxiu, when did you remember to get a cat?" ”

Xiuxiu said: "The official asked me and Sister Su'er to make music here, and it has just improved a little, but I don't know how many mice have suddenly increased in the past few days." I'm afraid that I'll lose all the songs, so I will find a cat and scare the mice. He sent it today, who knew it was such a small one! It's not as big as a mouse, how can you be afraid of it! ”

Su Er comforted Xiuxiu: "Don't look at it small, as long as it can bark, the mouse won't dare to come." ”

Xu Ping looked at the kitten, and also felt funny, and said to Xiuxiu: "You don't have to worry, this kind of little thing grows the fastest." You have nothing to do to feed it something good, it won't be long before it annoys you. ”

Where is Xiuxiu willing to believe, only sighing there.

Xu Ping went back to his room to change his clothes and came to the shed to watch the music.

Xiuxiu looked at the rain outside, and said worriedly: "In this kind of weather, I don't know if it will be moldy." Seeing that it is about to be done, why is this not going well, that is not going well, it is really sad! ”

Xu Ping smiled: "Silly girl, it's just that this song is moldy!" Koji can make wine because of the various molds that grow on it. It is best to make the koji quickly in this humid weather. ”

Xiuxiu looked at Xu Ping, but the meaning on her face was not believing, and she was coaxing herself as an official.

The purpose of koji is to promote the growth of various molds, and use the biological action of molds to convert sugars into alcohol. The quality of koji depends on the type and number of molds on it, and there are many beneficial bacteria and few harmful bacteria.

In addition to the difference between raw and cooked koji, the mushrooms that grow on it are also different, and the types of sugar that they adapt to are also different. At this time, glutinous rice is often used in sake brewing precisely because of the high proportion of amylopectin in it, which is suitable for small koji brewing. To make real baijiu, it is necessary to make koji blocks from crushed wheat and slowly cultivate suitable strains. In fact, the main role in the wheat grain is the bran, Xu Ping did not dare to take the risk of making the bran directly, or using the traditional method to make the big cur, slowly screening.

The quality of koji directly determines the quality of the sake. In Xu Ping's previous life, those famous liquors that have been inherited for many years have stable colonies that have formed over a long period of time on the koji, forming the special flavor of the liquor.

The koji here has just been made, as long as it can make real liquor, Xu Ping didn't think about making any peerless good wine, that is unrealistic, and it is not Xu Ping's real purpose.

In addition to Daqu, Xu Ping also asked Xiuxiu and Su'er to re-screen a kind of Xiaoqu, which was not used to make liquor, but to make alcohol from sweet sorghum. Unlike cereals, which are mainly composed of starch, crops that can be used to produce alcohol, such as sweet sorghum, sweet potatoes, cassava and sugarcane, generally cannot be fermented in solids and are mostly fermented in liquids. Because it does not taste like wine, it cannot be called sake even if it does not have a high degree. To use this kind of thing to steam the leftover lees of Daqu liquor, so that it can be made into a low-grade liquor that is fake and real, which is the purpose of Xu Ping's great efforts. The market of Xujia Restaurant has been limited, and only by greatly reducing the cost of wine can we obtain higher profits. You must know that the cost of making wine in this way is surprisingly low, and the alcohol produced by an acre of sweet sorghum or sweet potatoes is several times that of corn, not to mention the grains of rice and wheat. In the previous life, this was a method of making biofuels, and it casually occupied the low-end liquor market.

Of course, there are also processes for solid fermentation of these crops, but it requires the support of the industrial system, which is not something that Xu Ping can use in this era.

After reading the song, Xu Pingxi said: "Xiuxiu and Su'er, you two are really capable, this song is done, and when the weather clears, we will open the cellar." ”

Where did the two little girls understand this, and their mouths responded, just teasing the kitten.

Xu Ping sighed, ignored them, took an oil-paper umbrella casually, and went out to talk to Sang Yi.

Sang Yi came back two days after the Dragon Boat Festival, and he was a trustworthy person. But after going out to inquire about the news for a few days, Sang Yi's pride when discussing with Xu Ping was worn out a lot.

The Ma family finally got on the line with the group of warlocks, but for some reason, they were not invited to the house, but opened a new Zhuangzi in the place of the former Chunze Supervisor near the Huimin River, and even the soldiers who worked in the village directly served as the herd priests.

This is a typical example of the local tyrants forcibly occupying official land, and the powerful families forcibly forcing officers and soldiers. But what? He is a relative of the Queen Mother, who dares to care about him? At this time, the Empress Dowager was in the court to listen to the system, and the scholars and doctors who were loyal to Zhao and Song were thinking about limiting the power of the Empress Dowager, and of course they turned a blind eye to these small things. As for the petty officials below, they are even more afraid to care. The power of the Queen Mother is so great, who dares to guarantee that it is not the second Wu Zetian? Of course, the petty officials are wise to protect themselves so as not to cause a monstrous disaster.

Kaifeng in the Northern Song Dynasty was the capital city, and the system was different from that of ordinary state capitals. The prefect is basically only in charge of the affairs of the city of Tokyo, where there are many high-ranking officials, and it would be good if there was no chaos. In other suburban counties, there are special points to mention the official affairs of the counties and towns in Kaifeng Prefecture, at this time, one is one and one pair, respectively Zhang Song and Zhang Junping. Zhang Junping is a water conservancy expert, and soon made a suggestion to open a ditch to solve the problem of waterlogging in Kaifeng.

That Zhuangzi is located in the territory of the Qunmu Division, and ordinary people dare not go there, which is a good place for the Ma family to harbor this group of people. All parties pretended not to know, and pushed it all out.

Xu Ping and Sang Yi couldn't help it, so they slackened.

At this point, the reason why Sang Yi hasn't left is not because he is so enthusiastic. He is a farmer, he found a lot of new things in Xu Pingzhuang, farming is fast and good, and he has the heart to learn, so he stays in Xu Pingzhuang.

When Xu Ping found Sang Yi, he was studying the cultivator under the shed.

At this time, there were no herbicides, and the farmers were most worried about hoeing. No matter how diligent you are, when a rain falls, the grass rises again and grows much faster than the crops.

Generally speaking, at this time, a man in the north cultivates an average of about twenty or thirty acres of land. Although it can't be as intensive as later generations, the harvest is enough for the family to have food and clothing.

There are only more than 20 people working in Xu Pingzhuang, but they have planted 1,000 acres of sorghum and alfalfa in one go. It all relied on all kinds of new farm tools made by Xu Ping, and it was also easy. When planting, there is a seeder, and the crops have grown, and there is this cultivator shovel, who will hoe the ground.

Sang Yi was wet all over his body, and he didn't change his clothes. Seeing Xu Ping coming, he got up and said: "The little farmer is really whimsical, this time he shoveled over, and all the grass was suppressed, and it was not much worse than a hoe." It's a pity that this heavy rain has come down, and I will be busy again when the weather clears. ”

Xu Ping said: "Brother, this is a bad idea. Although the cultivators did not hoe cleanly, they all pressed the grass under the soil, and even when it rained, they couldn't get up for a while. This is again stronger than a hoe. ”

Sang Yi was a little surprised: "Really? Where can such a good thing happen! ”

Xu Ping smiled: "Wait for two days, brother just go and see it!" ”

The two chatted casually, and then talked about the group of people who smelted silver.

Sang Yi said with a bitter face: "Over the years, I have also taken several gangs of thieves, and this is the first time I have encountered this kind of thing. If powerful people get involved, it will be a little difficult for us to deal with it. ”

Xu Ping was much calmer: "It's okay if they nest on the edge of the Huimin River, dozens of miles away from my Zhuangzi, even if they are in trouble, it is not easy to implicate me." ”

Sang Yi said: "I heard that the Ma family has some disagreements with your family, aren't you afraid?" ”

Xu Ping said: "What am I afraid of him doing?" As long as I don't mess with him, how can he bear me! Only avoiding him, can he still provoke my village? ”

Sang Yi shook his head: "You can't hide for a lifetime." ”

Xu Ping smiled mysteriously: "Where will you hide for a lifetime!" ”

Sang Yi saw that Xu Ping had lost interest in the gang of thieves, and he also felt bored, so he had to change the topic and just talk about farming.

The reason why Xu Ping changed his attitude was because as time went on, he learned more about the current situation and had other ideas.

At the beginning, he heard that the backer of the Ma family was the queen mother who hung the curtain, and of course that kind of big man could not be provoked by his own family, so it was best to hide as far as he could. After a long time, he heard others talk about the Queen Mother more often, and he had different ideas.

Empress Dowager Liu is quite strong, almost single-handedly covering the sky. The problem is that the emperor has grown up slowly, he is fifteen years old this year, and when it comes to the age of pro-government, Empress Dowager Liu has no intention of handing over power at all. Some ministers mentioned that the queen mother should remove the curtain, but they were all relegated to a distance.

The Song people's mouths are broken, with this kind of thing, when it comes to this queen mother, what is often talked about is whether she will become the Empress Lu of the Great Song Dynasty, or even the Wu Zetian of the Great Song Dynasty.

Once or twice, it's nothing, but after many times, Xu Ping can hear the taste. This kind of talk is not something that the low-class people talk about, but the ministers of the court and the central government generally think so, and they are desperately guarding against it.

Although Xu Ping's history is not very good, he also knows that the Song Dynasty never has the story of Empress Lu and Empress Wu, and the Zhao family's ass on the throne is more stable than any other dynasty. The Queen Mother will ascend to heaven sooner or later, and the emperor will be pro-government sooner or later, and there are so many such rumors in the government and the opposition, and you can know the fate of the Queen Mother's relatives after the emperor is in power with your toes.

The Queen Mother is fifty or sixty years old, how many years can she survive? It's nothing more than living honestly in the past few years, it's good not to cause trouble, and when the Queen Mother ascends to heaven, what is the Ma family?

Thinking about this, Xu Ping was calm, just stick to the manor.

After talking for a while, Sang Yi pointed to a driveway in the shed: "I often see the little farmer busy next to this car, I don't know what the use is?" This car has no wheel, and it can't drive livestock, so can it be pulled by people? ”

Xu Ping's eyes lit up: "Brother's vision is good, this car is my hard work!" Nothing else can be compared. Today let's sell it first, tomorrow is my teacher's birthday, I want to use this car to go to the town to pick up my father and mother back, and make a birthday for the teacher together, then I will know. ”

All kinds of other machines and tools Xu Ping is nothing more than a change from his previous life, only this car really took him a lot of thought. This is a human-powered tricycle that does not use a gear chain and has spring shock absorption, which is definitely a first-class luxury in this era.