Quick Transmigration: Why did you provoke him? He's love-struck!

Chapter 488 Relying on Favor (33)

A glimmer of hope appeared in the refugees' eyes, and they gathered around Chen He, asking him in detail how potatoes were grown.

Upon learning that it only takes a little over three months from planting to harvest, with a yield of over 5,000 jin per mu, and that potatoes, if stored properly, will not rot for a year, the refugees seemed to see a way out and were extremely excited.

"I'd like to stay and farm!"

"I'm willing to stay and farm; I'll go clear the land tomorrow!"

"And me and me!"

On the other side, behind the city, are cotton fields.

Yan Zhen, dressed in a simple outfit suitable for work and wearing a straw hat, walked through the cotton field, with Zhao Yuan following closely behind her.

The number of cotton seeds is limited. After removing the inactive seeds, all the remaining seeds that grow into seedlings can only be planted on one acre of land at most.

The cotton seedlings were growing well, but after they sprouted leaves, they started to get infested with insects.

In this era, there were no pesticides, and pests could only be dealt with by manually catching insects.

Yan Zhen went into the cotton field and came out with several large, soft-bodied worms.

She placed the insect in her palm, and as soon as she stepped out of the cotton field, she suddenly turned around and presented the insect to Zhao Yuan.

Zhao Yuan was startled. When he saw the colorful, wriggling soft worms in her palm, he grinned and showed a look of disgust.

"It's so ugly!"

"Don't let its appearance fool you, it's delicious when deep-fried," Yan Zhen said. "Want me to make it for you tonight?"

Ever since witnessing Yan Zhen turn 1,500 jin of potatoes into 110,000 jin in just over three months, Zhao Yuan has blindly followed her.

Hearing her say that, he felt both disgusted by the worm's ugly appearance and its lack of appetite, and also thought that if Yan Zhen said it was delicious, then it must be delicious.

"Ok."

Seeing his eager expression, Yan Zhen couldn't help but laugh: "You really want to eat it? I was just kidding."

Zhao Yuan: "..."

Yan Zhen picked up the earthenware jar placed on the ridge of the field, opened the lid and threw the insects in, and said to Zhao Yuan: "We must hurry up and plant the second crop of potatoes in early July, and harvest them all before the big drop in temperature at the end of October. If all goes well, more than 100,000 catties of potatoes may turn into a million, and the people in the city will not have to go hungry this winter."

However, the city is short-handed, and we need to transfer soldiers from the army back to farm. After transferring people, you must pay close attention to the city's defenses to prevent Yunzhou from taking advantage of the situation.

Zhao Yuan nodded: "Okay."

"In addition, the cotton will be budding in another month or so, and the pest infestation will only be more serious then. Right now, we only have one acre of cotton, which is easy to manage, but next year, with more cotton seeds and large-scale planting, managing pests and watering will require a lot of manpower."

Zhao Yuan stood beside her, listening intently: "What's your idea?"

He knew that as long as Yan Zhen asked a question, he would definitely have the answer ready.

Yan Zhen didn't rush to answer, but instead asked, "What do you think should be done?"

After thinking for a while, Zhao Yuan said, "If there is a shortage of manpower in the city, we can take in more refugees. Once the first batch of refugees arrives in Tingzhou, there will be a second batch."

“That’s right, that’s what I think too,” Yan Zhen said. “However, instead of waiting for the refugees to find Tingzhou, I suggest that we take the initiative to spread the news that Tingzhou is accepting refugees, and at the same time prepare food and housing for them to spend the winter, and be ready to receive the refugees.”

If we can get through this winter, by early March next year, we'll have enough manpower to plant potatoes or cotton.

Zhao Yuan said, "Alright, I'll go back and draft a plan, and have my subordinates carry it out."

Yan Zhen handed the pottery jar to Zhao Yuan: "Let's go back to the manor."

Zhao Yuan took the pottery jar and followed Yan Zhen toward the place where the horses were tied up.

After taking a few steps, Yan Zhen suddenly stopped and turned back to say, "Oh, right, there's one more thing."

Zhao Yuan thought she had another important instruction to issue, so he subconsciously straightened up.

"Have the steward go out and catch a few chicks to raise in the vegetable garden to the right of the kitchen." Yan Zhen patted the earthenware jar in his arms. "Catching so many insects every day is a waste of using them to raise chickens."

Zhao Yuan: "..."

-

Zhao Yuan was very efficient, and within a few days, the news that "Tingzhou is accepting refugees from various prefectures and providing them with free food and lodging" spread.

At the same time, Yan Zhen arranged for people to work intensively to arrange the planting of the second crop of potatoes.

The temperature in Tingzhou begins to drop and become cold in mid-October, and it will not warm up until late March of the following year.

This region, where half the year is cold, is not suitable for growing two crops a year.

However, Tingzhou is in a special situation this year. Yan Zhen must increase the potato production several times over before winter to ensure that there is enough food to supply the city's natives and refugees for the winter, and to lay the artificial foundation for the large-scale planting of cotton next year.

So in early March, she used weeds to cover the potatoes and keep them warm, thus advancing the planting time of the first crop of potatoes from April to March, ensuring that the second crop of potatoes had enough time to mature.

In early July, farmers and refugees both inside and outside the city were almost all mobilized to plant potatoes.

A potato planting training center was set up in the city, where agricultural officials gave daily lessons, teaching farmers how to plant potatoes and how to compost using readily available materials such as human and animal excrement, weeds, wood ash, bean stalks, river mud, and bone broth.

Large areas of abandoned farmland outside the city have been redeveloped, and people can be seen working in the fields everywhere.

After a month of cooperation between the soldiers and civilians, nearly 1,000 mu of potatoes were planted in Tingzhou.

At the same time, Tingzhou's message of "receiving refugees from various prefectures and providing free food and lodging" had a significant effect, and waves of refugees came from all over the country to seek refuge.

Tingzhou welcomed all who came, opening its city gates to receive refugees.

However, once inside the city, one must strictly abide by the city's laws and regulations; if anyone is found causing trouble, they will be killed without exception.

With a combination of kindness and strictness, the refugees who came to seek refuge quickly integrated into life in the city.

Before we knew it, it was late September, and the cotton crop was ready for harvest thanks to Yan Zhen's meticulous care.

One mu of land yields 250 jin of cotton, and there is enough cotton seed to plant 40 mu of land next year.

After harvesting and processing the cotton, Yan Zhen had it delivered to a clothing workshop in the city, where he first made two cotton quilts and a set of cotton clothes and trousers for himself.

Touching the cotton quilt and cotton-padded clothes she received, Yan Zhen felt a sense of relief that all her hard work had finally paid off—this winter she wouldn't have to dress like a dumpling and shiver from the cold anymore.

Yan Zhen didn't waste the remaining cotton; he had it all made into cotton-padded clothes and quilts, producing more than seventy cotton-padded clothes and thirty cotton-padded quilts in total.

She took out more than ten cotton-padded coats and asked Zhao Yuan to reward them to his generals. The other cotton-padded coats and quilts were sent out of the pass to nearby small countries to be sold to merchant caravans.

Zhao Yuan was puzzled by Yan Zhen's actions: "We don't even have enough cotton clothes and quilts for ourselves, why would we sell them?"

The quantity of cotton-padded clothes and quilts is limited, so even if the price is raised, they won't sell for much money.