I Love Farming

Cui Qichao rolled the grilled mutton cut into a suitable size with cabbage leaves and stuffed it into his mouth.Although some spices have been added, the smell of mutton has not been completely removed, and the salt is not so fine, but overall it is within a tolerable range. Although the cabbage leaves have been blanched by him, there is still a little The bitter taste, fortunately mixed with the roast lamb, is also less pronounced.

There are some unsatisfactory raw materials, but it is already the best at this time. Cui Qichao strictly controls the proportion of seasoning, grilling temperature, and degree of doneness. The lamb chops are especially tender.

Perhaps it was the previous meal that made Cui Qichao's requirements a lot lower, and he stopped being picky about small details. He ate until he was [-]% full, and there was still some meat left.

"Roast some more and give it to the stewards and priests. Also." Cui Qichao cut off a piece and said to the cook, "Eat this piece, remember that the taste still has the same weight as before."

As if being hit by a pie, the cook took the piece of meat tremblingly, only swallowed it, and under Cui Qichao's questioning gaze, said weakly, "Master, I want to bring the rest to my son."

Her confidence in her culinary skills was no longer that strong, and this was simply the best barbecue she had ever eaten. She only contained the meat, and took them out again with great perseverance.

"...Whatever." Cui Qichao didn't show too much emotion.

……

Besides, Reverend William, like the other stewards, was very surprised when he received the roast mutton from the baron.

In the first moment, William even thought, no more, he hadn't eaten the main meal for a long time, and acting gluttonous would make him feel ashamed.However, the aroma from the roasted mutton was so enticing that William's eyes were straightened, and he couldn't utter a voice of refusal.

The servant said respectfully: "Master said this is his favorite barbecue, please taste it, you don't have to go to the hall to eat, you can eat it yourself, he doesn't care."

Dining in private by yourself seems disrespectful to the host, but since the baron doesn't mind, it doesn't matter.What's more, this piece of barbecue is actually only the size of a woman's palm, wrapped in cabbage leaves...

"Thank you Baron for me." William took the wooden tray.

When William closed the door, the servant twirled his tongue in his mouth again, as if he could still taste the rich taste—forgive him, the smell of roast meat was too tempting, he didn’t Holding back, he licked at the corner.Fortunately, he was allowed to deliver the barbecue alone. Otherwise, with so many people watching in the back kitchen, no one would dare to do it. He promised that he was not the only one who had such an idea. They were all very jealous of that lucky cook and her child.

William directly picked up the meat, ignoring the cabbage leaves, and took a bite. The oily and steaming roast lamb was a little burnt on the outside, but the inside was still very tender, and the gravy flowed out as soon as he chewed it, and there was still a little bit of oil Wang Wang's fat meat has a bit of honey sweetness, but it is not too greasy.

The light salty taste of salt, as well as the aroma of cardamom and pepper make the taste of this barbecue even more charming.It is true that the spices are not too much to make people smack their tongues, but they are definitely generous enough, and for the first time, he felt that the spices are also "just right", not so spicy that your guests can't speak, as other nobles show off and advocate.

William ate until his lips were covered with oil, and he could hardly care about the way he ate.No wonder, no wonder the Baron was unhappy when he came back to eat after staying in the East for a long time. He had never tasted such a delicacy in his dreams.

The meat quality of this barbecue was different from what William was familiar with, but he didn't know why, it must be a mysterious oriental recipe.In fact, just ask the kitchen. This is because this piece of lamb is very fresh, and it has not been hung for many days to make the meat tender, so it does not have the taste brought by the immature "cooked meat" technique.

A piece of roast lamb was quickly eaten by William. Without much hesitation, he rolled up the cabbage leaves that were covered with fat and possibly some minced meat and stuffed them into his mouth.He noticed that the cabbage leaves seemed to have been scalded, which was not in line with the normal way of eating, but whatever, it seemed to be good, and it was okay to eat unhealthy once in a while.

After satisfying his hunger, William carefully licked off the oil on his lips, wiped his mouth again, and reflected on how gluttonous he was just now.

·

Because of that piece of barbecue, the agricultural officer was even more respectful when he went to see the baron again, for this rare delicacy.This is enough to make him miss it for several years in a monotonous and poor life.

Cui Qichao looked for the crops he wanted among the pile of plants. After searching carefully, he found a few crops that he could use.Cone daisies from the garden, vetch from the bushes, and clover from the roadside.

Seeing that Cui Qichao picked these out, the agricultural officer was even more puzzled. The cone chrysanthemum was given as a gift when exchanging things from other territories, and it was planted in the garden for viewing. Poor, that is, wild beans, are only eaten by poor people. Clover is even more inconspicuous.

Cui Qichao thought to himself, it would take a few months for sweet potatoes to be suitable for sowing, and it would be just right to plant clover now...

These are actually fertilizers, green manure crops, including Asteraceae and Legumes.They can improve soil fertility very well, and the cost is low, which is exactly what those saline-alkali lands need.

In mild saline-alkali land, oats, cabbage and green manure crops can be interplanted.In addition, green manure crops have high nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content, which is not only needed in saline-alkali land, but also in other cultivated lands.

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are the elements that plants need the most, and they will not be returned once they are taken away, and they will not be returned to the land through residues.The nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium contained are not enough, and the crops planted next will have reduced yields, dwarfing and yellowing.This is the lack of soil fertility.

There were no artificial fertilizers in the Middle Ages, and the nutrients contained in green manure crops include calcium, magnesium, etc. in addition to nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. In particular, legumes have the highest nitrogen content, which is almost the same as pig manure, which can greatly improve soil fertility and facilitate planting. Even after the advent of artificial fertilizers are still being applied.

Not to mention, some green manure can also be used as pasture.

Except for heavily saline-alkali land, all the land that is being fallow is planted with green manure crops, and the cultivated land that has been sown is also interplanted and raised with land, just like the mildly saline-alkali land.

After listening to Cui Qichao's request, the agricultural officer was already in a daze, planting weeds on good ground. What kind of weird idea is this?Is it also a peculiar oriental method?

Cui Qichao couldn't explain to the agricultural officer what nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are, and the agricultural officer also felt that he could not explain his difficulties to the master, so he dared to say after a while: "I'm afraid the farmers... dare not..."

In their concept, weeds will only compete with crops for land!

"Who said I'll give it to them." Cui Qichao said without changing his face, "The number of grass seeds must be limited. After collecting them, they must be planted on my own land first. Let's talk about them."

Fertilizers were incomprehensible to medieval farmers who had not yet learned how to fertilize and kept their land fallow.

Cui Qichao also planned to ask the agricultural officer to collect human and animal manure and straw to make compost and purify the environment at the same time.Compost is more fertile than green manure, but that takes months to degrade.

I believe that during this time of degradation, his people should have more trust in him and allow him to irrigate the fertilizer to their fields with good intentions.Don't think about it now, in their hearts, those are the existences that breed mice and bugs.

When the agricultural officer heard Cui Qichao's words, he felt some doubts in his heart. Could it be that this is really a good way?

It is true that the land belongs to the lord, and those serfs have to pay high rents for the land, but the production of the lord's private land belongs to the lord completely, and everyone knows which side gives priority to good things.

However, even if it is not a good way, if the master wants to go crazy, the agricultural officer can only be obedient.

He thought about whether there would be enough food in the warehouse if the production was reduced this year.Otherwise, anyway, those farmers don't plant grass in their allotment land, so if the harvest is reduced, they should be exploited.

In addition, it is those severely saline-alkali lands.

Because of salinization, these lands are left idle for nothing. If they can be improved, there will be a large area of ​​more cultivated land!

Mild saline-alkali land can be improved by planting oats, cabbage, and adding some green manure.In severe saline-alkali land, modern people can use such alkaline fertilizers, but now there is nothing, what should I do?There are also purely artificial methods.

For example, deep plowing, turning over three feet, and burying the salinity will turn it into a fertile field, but there are so many manpower available.The farmers in the manor have been busy from morning to night, and they may not have plowed all their land, let alone the saline-alkali land.

However, it is possible to complete projects that take less time, that is, water diversion improvement, digging canals around the saline-alkali land, diverting water, storing rainwater to wash the salt, and when the salt is exhausted, it will become fertile soil.

"Let them dig ditches for water storage next to the white soil that cannot grow crops. Completing this work can equally reduce the time they spend working in my field," Cui Qichao said.

In addition to working on their own land, those farmers also had to work for the lord's private land, as well as all the chores of the manor.They were overwhelmed by heavy farm work, and Cui Qichao didn't come here just to squeeze the labor force.

"You are so kind." The agricultural officer bowed.Although he didn't understand yet another whimsical idea of ​​the master, and he exchanged his time for farming, at least the master knew the reason why he couldn't strangle the cows and horses to death at once—mainly because of such inexplicable things.

……

……

The serf Dylan has lived in Northumberland for generations without moving his nest. His father, his father's father, all farmed here, and his son will inherit his land, working at sunrise and resting at sunset .

But today Dylan fell into endless darkness. He brought his son to his allotment early in the morning, and found that there were many branch-robbers growing in the field.As soon as he was cold, he immediately took his sons to squat down to catch insects.

These light-brown twig-robbers, like all bugs, just pop out of the trash and filth.And they don't usually give birth during the day, only at night, and after they are born, they scourge and lay eggs in your fields.Suddenly one day you wake up, and your field is full of larvae eating your crops, and they will bite every leaf clean.

In certain spring, they will be born to bite wheat and vegetables, and after eating one field, they will go to the next field, and no one can tell when they will appear.

"Squeeze them to death, crush them to death!" Dylan crushed the branch stealers to death one by one, but the land is so big, there are only three of them, father and son, with six hands, when will they be able to catch them all?

Pests, cuts in production, failure to pay rent...the consequences swirl in Dylan's head, making his feet heavier and heavier.

At this time, the agricultural officer called them all and announced that from tomorrow onwards, when they went to plow the master's field, they would plant some weeds and dig out all the white soil next to the master's land. ditch come.The time spent digging canals can be counted as the time spent cultivating for the master, which is equivalent to changing a job.

Dylan boldly went to the farm officer and told him that there were worms growing in his field, could he stop digging ditches and stay in the field to catch the worms.

The agricultural officer is in charge of farming. He can't control where the bugs grow. Instead, he wants to whip Dylan and tell him that it must be his laziness and filth that made the bugs grow, and tell him to go back and catch the bugs quickly. If it spreads and delays in rent collection, then wait to be beaten.

Dylan didn't dare to leave, so he asked again, "Then shall I go tomorrow?"

The agricultural officer was pissed off by Dylan's comprehension ability, so he whipped him again with a wooden stick, "No need to go!!"

"Thank you, master, thank you, master." Dylan stumbled and ran back.

The master agricultural officer gave him an extra day, and he must try his best to catch bugs.

Then Dylan noticed that the people on the side lot began to look at him with hatred, and he lowered his head in shame.He knew it was because the bugs might run to the next door after they had gnawed at his field, and no one wanted to have branch-robbers in their field.

Dylan urged his sons, and his hands moved faster. His waist and neck were bent for a long time, and he seemed to make a sound of pain.

At this moment, Dylan noticed that the farm officer was coming again. He rode across the field on his horse and almost missed Dylan.It was a good thing Dylan wasn't in any other village further afield, otherwise he would have had to ride a longer horse.

"You pig," scolded the farm officer, dismounting from his horse and taking out a bag of yellow roots.

Dylan didn't know what it was, didn't pay attention, he was confiding loudly that he had done his best, and showed some dead bugs to the agricultural officer.

"Now, shut up," said the farm officer, throwing down the yellow rhizome, "boil these for a while, and then sprinkle the water on your fields. That's what the baron ordered."

He spoke vaguely, without mentioning why he did so.Fortunately, Dylan didn't dare to ask.

After the agricultural officer returned, he was asked by the baron about the situation just now, and he also told the master that there were bugs growing in the land of a serf, and he could not dig ditches.

Unexpectedly, after the baron asked what worms had grown, he picked one of the crops from the pile he handed in, and asked him to dig some roots, and then boiled water for the serfs to sprinkle on the crops.

The agricultural officer stayed there for a long time. He had only heard of people eating herbs, but he had never heard that crops could also eat herbs.What's more, he couldn't tell whether this plant was a herbal medicine or not.

The agricultural officer had nothing to do, so he had to look for the roots of that plant. Unfortunately, he went around collecting crops at that time, but he couldn't remember where they grew in detail. Fortunately, the growth was not far away. He was in the nearby woods. found it.

Next, boil the water.The agricultural officer looked at the shadow and the sun on the ground, and asked Dylan to bring down the clay pot when he saw that it was almost done.

Dylan was feeling sorry for his firewood. He brought clay pots and firewood from home, which he had worked so hard to collect.He stopped catching bugs here to add fuel to the fire, but he had no idea what the hell was going on.

When the water was cooler, Dylan sprinkled them all over the allotment. A can of water can't spread too much.As Dylan walked back, he heard his son scream.

"Father, bug, the bug is dead!"

what? !

Dylan's slow movements became quicker in an instant, and his son thought he had never seen his father run so fast.He jumped over and rushed over, leaning over to look.

It was true, those damned branch-robbers were dead, and some tenacious and unyielding ones were also dying to escape from his place, and their lives seemed to be dying soon.

"Oh my God, my God..." Dylan's voice trembled. Looking at the young crops, he suddenly remembered something, and then went to the side to see that the insects were still alive in those places where the root boiling water had not been sprinkled. .

Dylan suddenly understood that the tubers that the baron asked the agricultural officer to send were for these bugs!What kind of miraculous medical technique is this, which can even cure worm disease?

"Thank you, Lord Baron, thank you, Lord Farm Officer!" Dylan yelled so loudly that his voice was about to burst, and the people around him stood up from the ground and looked over, wondering what happened. They were very surprised when Dylan boiled the water. However, because the agricultural officer is still there, he dare not stop the work at hand.

In fact, the agricultural officer was also in shock.

It turns out that what the master said is true, crops can also eat herbal juice, and the worms will disappear after eating!

It's a pity that he was skeptical at first, such a method has never been done in the surrounding territories, and it is unheard of!

The agricultural officer still had to pretend to be successful, and said: "Our Lord Baron is the archbishop's nephew. He came back from a trip in the East, and he gave these out of kindness. This is a medicine specially prepared by the Lord. Boiling water will cure the twig worm. If any of you have worms in your house, you will come to the castle to buy medicine."

As he said, he quickly put away the rest, thinking that luckily he only brought the tubers, and he might not recognize them, and only Dylan saw them, and he was fooled by him.

"Master Farm Officer, my other fields haven't been sprayed yet," Dylan said pitifully.

"Only those are given to you by the kindness of the master, and the rest have to be bought, didn't you hear? Buy them with grain or farming days!" The agricultural officer emphasized, "I will take them back and make potions more precisely, you You can go and buy it."

After he finished speaking, he hurried away, his mind was full of how to persuade the master to let this method be operated by him alone.In this way, their family has one more craft, which is dedicated to killing insects on the master's land.The agricultural officer has already fantasized freely.

Now, he completely forgot how he once described the baron in his heart: whimsical.

……

The agricultural officer returned to the castle on the high ground, boiled the tubers into water himself, without letting anyone see, and then went to the master to report the situation out of breath.

Cui Qichao was not surprised by this result, and said flatly: "Those tubers and skins are poisonous, so they kill the bugs, but people and livestock will get sick if they eat them, so they must be carefully preserved. There is more rain this spring, and there are more bugs. , Let the farmers be careful."

"It turns out to be like this, it turns out to be like this." The agricultural officer's face was flushed, rubbing his hands and said, "Master, then we can't give these serfs such medicine for free, and we can't tell them how to make it. It's a gift from the master." craftsmanship."

Cui Qichao glanced at the agricultural officer and knew what he was thinking. He will have more time to order this person around in the future, so he has to taste some sweetness, "Of course, you are my agricultural officer, and you are responsible for killing insects. .In the future, if there are serfs or freedmen infested with burglars, they will ask you for potions, and when it comes time to collect rent, you will have to pay two more bowls of wheat for each potion.”

If all goes well, two bowls of wheat will not be a big burden to the serfs when it comes time to collect rent.

The agricultural officer's eyes were shining, that is to say, in the future, whoever has insects in the ground will come to ask him to kill them, including other managers.The agricultural officer thanked him loudly, wishing he could kiss the baron's feet.

So, under the order of the agricultural officer, the attendant handed the potion to Dylan, and agreed with him that he would pay two more bowls of wheat when collecting the rent.

Compared with the wheat straw being gnawed out and no crops harvested, this is already a good condition, the serf Dylan reluctantly agreed.After the attendant explained to the other serfs that the worm was going to report, he completely forgot about the pain in his heart and shouted how effective the baron's herbal medicine was.

……

Here, Cui Qichao carefully explained the potion to the agricultural officer. In addition to the branch worm, there are also armyworms, leaf rollers, etc., which can be killed.If you don't have the conditions to boil water, or don't want to waste firewood, soak the rhizomes for a whole day, and the potion is also effective.

In fact, these yellow tubers belong to a kind of vine in the Euonymus family. They are ordinary in appearance and are vine flowers that can be seen everywhere. The locals did not specifically name it, but only called it blue flower vine.

Cui Qichao is not sure about its scientific name in the Middle Ages, but several genera of the family Euonymus are poisonous and can be used as medicine.Its close relatives, Tripterygium wisteria, and Wisteria vine, which grow in East Asia, were natural insecticides for farmers in ancient times.

The agricultural officer was even more ecstatic when he heard it, and looked at Cui Qichao with a very different look. It seemed that this venerable baron got it right during his travels in the East.

"Meow..." Cui Qichao was talking, when suddenly a cat meowed from behind, and even the agricultural officer looked sideways.

Cui Qichao paused and asked, "Xiaobai?"

A black cat got out from under the bed, "Meow."

Agricultural officer: "..."

noob? ?He didn't quite understand.

Cui Qichao walked over and saw that Xiaobai's two brothers were still sound asleep, only this greedy cat woke up from hunger, and he fed Xiaobai some dry peas and water.

The agricultural officer looked at the baron with strange eyes.It is normal for gentlemen to keep dogs and horses and feed them, but this is a cat.

Cui Qichao immediately made a shooting gesture to Xiaobai. Xiaobai angrily let go of the beans, fell to the ground, and twitched.

Cui Qichao sneered and said, "I'm studying the dosage and toxicity of insecticidal vines."

The agricultural officer felt cold all over and buried his head deeply.