Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 721 1 The whole plan

It was decided to exchange 1,000 kilograms of corn seeds for the other party's sorghum seeds. At that time, Hualei would provide professional technicians in corn planting to go to Xi'an Prefecture to help guide the planting of corn until harvest.

Prefect Bao also agreed to help Xichang Prefecture to make connections so that the sorghum in Xichang Prefecture could be smoothly exchanged for rice and flour.

On the other hand, Hua Lei also suggested that it would be best for the royal merchant of liquor to send a manager to Xichang so that the two sides could discuss the follow-up matters face to face.

Of course, there are some things that Hua Lei did not tell Governor Bao in the letter. In Hua Lei's expectation, exchanging sorghum is only the first step. She hopes that this royal merchant of liquor can open a winery in Xichang.

In this way, it is convenient when you replace and transport it yourself. On the other hand, opening a winery can provide many opportunities for the local people in Xichang Prefecture.

The Xichang government office can also collect more tax revenue, which is beneficial to both the people and the government office. Moreover, if the winery can really be opened, it will be long-term and will definitely help the future development of Xichang.

Although the sorghum seeds have not been exchanged yet, let alone planted, Hualei already has a whole set of plans in his mind because of the series of follow-up events that sorghum will bring.

After the letter was sent, Hua Lei was very happy, and Wan Tongpan was even happier, as he thought his boss was so capable.

Not only did they exchange corn seeds for sorghum seeds, but they also took into account the subsequent benefits. If they could really sign a multi-year agreement with the liquor king merchant.

Even if Hualei leaves Xichangfu in the future, this business can continue. My boss is really thinking three steps ahead, and not a single step is in vain. I will follow her and work hard, and I will not go wrong.

In the following months, Hualei and Prefect Bao exchanged letters and gradually sorted out the matter. The ship carrying corn seeds and Hualei was specially sent to Xi'an Prefecture. By the way, sorghum seeds from Xi'an Prefecture were also brought back.

As for the liquor merchant, Hua Lei had already contacted him through the letter from Governor Bao. The liquor merchant's surname was Peng, and Mr. Peng also promised to come to Xichang Prefecture in person after the New Year to discuss the follow-up matters with Hua Lei in person.

The two prefects also submitted their statements to the capital at almost the same time. Before we knew it, it was already mid-December, and in a little while, it would be the Chinese New Year.

Hua Lei wrote two letters home and sent them back to Shangjing City, one to her parents and one to Lord Pei and Madam Pei.

In addition, because the autumn sowing was completed and the autumn grain taxes had all been collected, Hua Lei submitted his year-end performance report early.

This year, corn planting in various prefectures under Xichang Prefecture has achieved good results. On average, the yield per mu is nearly 520 kilograms. Although it cannot be called a bumper harvest, it is much lower than the 600-700 kilograms per mu of corn in the capital.

However, Hualei is already very satisfied. Compared with the 350 to 60 kilograms per mu yield of rice and wheat, the yield of corn is still much higher.

The yield per mu of spring soybeans planted in Xichang Prefecture in previous years was directly doubled. Therefore, just for corn alone, the tax grain harvested in Xichang Prefecture this year was nearly 40% higher than last year.

In addition, the various state capitals dug ponds and wells and used water trucks for timely irrigation, which greatly reduced the impact of the drought.

Therefore, the per-acre yield of rice this year is slightly higher than in previous years, and the tax grain paid is also about 10% higher. Just these two items, Xichang Prefecture's tax revenue this year is 50% higher than in previous years.

Hua Lei was very satisfied with the result, so she put it at the front of the memorial and marked it in a very eye-catching font. If Emperor Shengwu saw it, he would probably be very satisfied.

The development and utilization of harrows and plow carts in Xichang Prefecture has increased the amount of reclaimed farmland in Xichang Prefecture by hundreds to thousands of acres in each prefecture this year, although the number is not large when looking at a single prefecture.

However, when it came to Hualei's hands, she had more than 8,000 acres of reclaimed land, all of which was planted with soybeans, and the vacated land was all planted with wheat.

As for next year's spring grain tax revenue, unless there is extreme weather, it can be predicted that it will be much higher than in previous years.

In addition, many barren slopes in each county have been sown with sedge seeds, so there should be no problem with fertilizer in the future. This will provide an extra layer of guarantee for a good spring grain harvest.

Hualei put this matter in the second place. In addition to taxation, what Emperor Shengwu likes to see most is that more and more land can be reclaimed and the people can have enough food and warm clothes.

Of course, donkeys played an indispensable role in reclaiming so many acres of land in Xichang Prefecture this year. In the past six months, the donkeys raised by the government office have grown very well because they have sufficient food.

After the sedge grew luxuriantly in the counties below, Hualei went to the border market several more times, paid the money himself, helped each county, and bought a lot of donkeys.

Then the prefectures and counties were allowed to raise donkeys on their own, and during the busy farming season, they were rented to the people at low prices to help plow the fields. The addition of donkeys greatly increased the speed at which the people plowed the land, and invisibly accelerated the speed of land reclamation.

After the autumn harvest in the prefectures and counties, when the people had enough money, Hua Lei allowed them to use their surplus grain to pay for the rent of the donkeys, and Hua Lei also took back the money she had paid in advance.

The ponds and wells dug this year, coupled with the use of vertical well water wheels for irrigation, have improved the efficiency of irrigation in several state capitals that are severely short of water, satisfying the growth of crops and providing the necessary conditions for increasing grain production.

Therefore, several other state capitals will continue to carry out these things in the future. After all the ponds and wells in the following states are dug, the water shortage in the entire Xichang Prefecture should be greatly alleviated.

By then, with fertilizers and sufficient irrigation, the reclaimed fields will slowly become fertile land. Combined with the rotation of various crops, everything will form a virtuous cycle, making Xichang Prefecture better and better.

At the end of the report, Hualei also wrote about mixed rice planting. She conducted a small-scale mixed rice planting experiment in Xichang Prefecture. Although the yield increase results were not satisfactory, the number of pests and diseases was indeed reduced.

Next spring, Xichang Prefecture will definitely expand the planting area and continue to experiment with increasing production. Therefore, Hualei also described in detail the process, methods, and results of the mixed rice planting experiment in the memorial.

He also tactfully suggested that if the court agreed, experienced growers could be allowed to conduct trial planting in Shangjing City and several wealthy prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River in the hope of obtaining high-yield and pest-resistant rice seeds.

Because Hualei felt that if she wanted to achieve good results relying on the strength of a city by herself, she would have a long way to go.

In the past, increasing rice production and making it resistant to disease and pests took a long time and countless practices, and was achieved step by step.