NFBE Chapter 266 Soil Fertilizer Method
Chapter 266 Soil Fertilizer Method
“Ye…” He seemed to have a feeling, and couldn’t help but repeatedly chew on that name in his mind.
At this moment, the old man chuckled again.
"It just so happens that Lord Ye is in this field today, not far away. If I call out, she should be able to hear me. I'll take you there to find her. You can ask Lord Ye any questions you may have."
This old man was no ignorant farmer. He noticed that the young man in front of him was unusually interested in farming and kept asking questions about fertilizer. In addition, he had an air of nobility, so he could guess his identity.
It's probably an official sent by the imperial court. Lord Ye has come to the fields several times, and many officials from Bianjing have come to see him. The old man has noticed this several times.
Moreover, this was not the first time he had said these things to officials. Every time officials from Bianjing heard him say these things, they were all shocked to the point of being speechless.
In a way, the old man guessed correctly, but he didn't know that the handsome man in fine clothes was actually the future heir to the empire.
If he really found out the Crown Prince's identity, this old man would probably be so scared he couldn't even stand up straight.
The old man, familiar with the route, naturally led Qi Jingyue to the fields to look for Ye Yuwu.
Just as the old man had said, Ye Yuwu was not far from them. Because the ridge between the fields was only wide enough for one person to walk on, Qi Jingyue's servants could only wait with their horses on the dirt road of the main road.
Qi Jingyue, accompanied by a servant, followed the old man to the fields.
“You don’t actually need to get out of bed. It would be bad if you got your expensive-looking clothes dirty. I’ll go call Lord Ye. She’ll be here soon.”
The old man had done the same thing several times before. These officials from Bianjing had never been on the ground before and were afraid of getting their shoes dirty, so they stood modestly on the main road, and the old man didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
After all, they were officials, and were indeed more noble than these peasants, especially since they were officials from Bianjing (Kaifeng), so they could not be slighted.
In their small town, how could they possibly meet a high-ranking official from Bianjing? Naturally, they felt great respect for him and could only trouble themselves to call Lord Ye over.
However, Lord Ye, though also an official from Bianjing, was much more approachable. Unlike the aloof attitude of these other officials from Bianjing, the old man preferred a good official like Lord Ye.
I used to look down on women holding official positions, but Lady Ye, as a woman, is far more capable than these men. She actually managed to keep the people on the border alive for several days.
With the help of the government, his children also went to school. He hoped that he and his future granddaughters could become female officials like Lord Ye, good officials who would benefit the people.
On this short walk, the old man spoke with Qi Jingyue about his wish for his granddaughter to become an official in the future, his face full of pride. "My daughter has the best academic performance in school, and she will surely become a good official like Lord Ye in the future!"
"Yes! Yes!" Qi Jingyue responded with a smile, looking at a familiar figure not far away. Despite her seemingly delicate figure, she exuded a unique gentleness and resilience.
It seemed he hadn't seen her in a long time. The moment he saw her, he felt an overwhelming longing that threatened to engulf him.
The old man stepped forward and explained the situation to Ye Yuwu. At this moment, Qi Jingyue seemed to hear nothing else and just stared at her intently.
Until she whispered to him, "It's been a long time."
"Yes, it's been a long time." She seemed even more beautiful than before, and Qi Jingyue's heart couldn't help but pound, more strongly than ever before. They were very close, and Qi Jingyue didn't know if she could hear his heartbeat.
Ye Yuwu waited for a long time but he still didn't speak. To avoid the atmosphere becoming too awkward, she cleared her throat and asked, "I heard from Old Man Zhang just now that Your Highness is very interested in composting."
"Call me by my name."
"Huh?" Ye Yuwu didn't react.
"I am traveling incognito this time, so please call me by my name, Lord Ye, to avoid revealing my true identity."
"I see," Ye Yuwu nodded, and then called out to him, "Jing Yue."
Qi Jingyue frowned, somewhat displeased, "You used to call me Fengming."
Ye Yuwu said to him shyly, "Isn't Fengming a pseudonym you used to hide your true identity?"
Seeing the confusion on Ye Yuwu's face, he breathed a slight sigh of relief. It was good that she wasn't intentionally trying to distance herself from him.
He slightly curved his thin lips, "Fengming is my courtesy name."
Unexpectedly, it was Ye Yuwu's turn to be stunned. Fengming was actually his courtesy name.
“Therefore, I, Your Highness, allow you to call me by my courtesy name.” He leaned closer, nodded slightly, and whispered to her.
"Say it to me," he said mischievously.
Ye Yuwu pushed him away speechlessly, "What do you want? If there's nothing, I'll go do my work."
Knowing she can't stand being teased, he figured she still remembered the teasing he did to her when he left last time, and was unhappy with him now.
So he gave up his desire to tease her.
"How cruel! I came all this way for Lord Ye, and this is how you treat me?"
Ye Yuwu turned to leave, but Qi Jingyue reached out and stopped her. "Just kidding. I've found that the crops here are growing even better than in the Central Plains. I asked an old man earlier, but he didn't give me any specific details before leading me here. Shouldn't you, Lord Ye, give me some advice? Why are you leaving now?"
Ye Yuwu gave him a forced smile and said, "Nothing strange about it, it's just that the fertilizer has been improved."
When Qi Jingyue gets down to business, he always becomes serious, and this time was no exception, with a humble and eager-to-learn expression.
"Here, we use organic fertilizer. We layer various unused kitchen waste, fallen leaves, weeds, etc., in pits or containers, sprinkle an appropriate amount of lime or wood ash on each layer, and then cover it for a period of time. After composting and fermentation, it can be made into compound fertilizer containing a variety of nutrients. And this composted compound fertilizer is the key to the improvement."
Qi Jingyue didn't quite understand some of the terms, but he could understand the general meaning.
“I had previously gone to the fields to harvest grain with the farmers, but I never understood why the yield of potatoes and other grains was so low, and why there was no way to increase the grain yield. Later, I got the answer from a farmer who was carrying manure to fertilize the fields.”
"In Jin Kingdom, no, not only in Jin Kingdom, almost all countries only use these few methods of fertilization to care for farmland, among which green manure is the main fertilization method in various countries now."
"Green manure does have an effect, but it is not very obvious. If you want to quickly improve soil fertility and provide crops with comprehensive nutrients in a timely manner, or if you need to deal with a lot of waste, composting is more advantageous. This is also the reason why grain yields are high in border areas."
"I see, I've learned a lesson."