Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 779 Feedback

Moreover, the prefect also told me that I should not rush to ask the people to pay for the money I advanced, but let them plant the trees first. When the jujube trees grow and bear fruit, and there is income, I can return it to her in installments without interest.

If I leave Xichang Prefecture by then, it doesn’t matter. My dyeing workshop will be in Changhe Prefecture. I can just give it directly to the manager of the dyeing workshop.

In other words, the losses caused by the improper maintenance of the road and the failure of the people to grow and survive the jujube tree cuttings were all borne by Hualei himself.

Her boss was really generous. Why didn't she worry that her money would go to waste?

When he asked her this question, the prefect laughed. She said that the jujube tree seedlings cost only more than 1,000 taels of silver, and including the shipping fee, it was less than 1,500 taels.

Even if her money was lost, she could afford it. Therefore, she didn't worry about losing the money at all.

Therefore, even if only one jujube tree survives, there will be more and more jujube trees in Changxing Prefecture in the future, and more and more people will be able to eat jujubes.

Then my efforts will be worth it. When the dates from Changxing Prefecture leave Xichang and are sold in various places in Dasheng Dynasty.

By then, no matter where I am, I might be able to eat these dates, which will be a kind of feedback to me.

After hearing Hua Lei's words, Sun Zhizhou's eyes filled with tears. He wiped his eyes, and hurriedly led a group of officials under him to lead the people in preparing to plant jujube tree seedlings.

If these jujube saplings survive and bear fruit in the future, even if I leave Changxing Prefecture by then, maybe I will be like the prefect.

In other places in the Great Sheng Dynasty, eating the fruits of the jujube trees that you planted yourself is a special gift for yourself.

Sun Zhizhou went to the barren mountain, and the fertile land could not be moved. Originally, he wanted to plant jujube trees on the barren land. However, Hualei suggested that it would be better to plant them on the barren slope.

Because there are many barren mountains and little wasteland in Changxing Prefecture, if crops are to be grown for one season a year, it is more suitable to be grown on flat land.

If crops are planted on the mountain, more manpower may be consumed every year. However, planting jujube trees may take more than ten or twenty years, so the barren slopes should be utilized.

Moreover, the jujube saplings they bought were originally planted on the hillside, so they might be more adapted to the barren slope. So, Sun Zhizhou led his men to the barren hill to prepare to plant the jujube saplings.

Because the land has been reclaimed in advance, it is relatively fast. Just apply well-rotted base fertilizer on the barren slope that has been deeply plowed.

It just rained a while ago, so it was more suitable for cutting the jujube tree seedlings. Because the jujube tree seedlings sent over were carefully selected, they were very strong.

It's just that it was pruned a little too long, so just trim it a little, remove the dead parts, some broken parts, etc., and cut the secondary branches of the seedlings to the appropriate length.

Then, according to a certain spacing, place the seedlings in the middle of the hole, straighten the roots, fill the soil and tamp it down so that the roots are in close contact with the soil. Cover it with a layer of loose soil and it's done.

As for watering, there is no other way, and the people have to carry it on their shoulders, because the soil must be kept moist for several months after planting.

Fortunately, these barren slopes are relatively flat, so although it is quite tiring, the task of watering the jujube seedlings was still completed.

Next, it is normal maintenance work. Fertilize once in spring and autumn every year, using decomposed farmyard manure to provide the nutrients needed for the growth of the jujube tree.

At the same time, reasonable pruning, disease and pest control and other work are also needed. After three years, the jujube tree will bear fruit.

Although the people did not pay any money themselves, when they heard that the prefect had paid for the jujube saplings out of his own pocket, they were very happy.

When they were told that they could wait until the jujube trees bore fruit and generate income, and then return the money they paid for the jujube saplings in installments without interest, the people were so moved that their eyes filled with tears.

They took even more care of the jujube tree seedlings. They only hoped that they could return the money to the prefect as soon as possible. When the jujube tree bore fruit, no matter where Hua was, he would be able to eat the jujubes.

So, for many years to come, every year when the date trees bore fruit, no matter where the flower buds were, I would receive several baskets of fresh dates packed in magic bowls.

This lasted for many years. Of course, this is all later.

The people of Changwu Prefecture happily planted the jujube trees, and under their careful care, the jujube seedlings grew healthily.

While Sun Zhizhou of Changwu Prefecture was extremely happy, Lin Zhizhou, the top leader of the neighboring Changhuai Prefecture, was also smiling happily.

Because when Hualei sent jujube saplings to the people of Changwu Prefecture, he also sent cotton seeds to the people of Changhuai Prefecture. At the same time, there was also a cotton purchase agreement and a silver note of 500 taels as a deposit.

In Xichang, because of the hot weather, cotton quilts are not used even in winter. Therefore, even though cotton is suitable for growing in Xichang, no one buys it and no one grows it.

However, when Hualei brought the cotton seeds, he also brought an agreement to purchase cotton and a deposit, and things were different.

In fact, this agreement was brought to Hualei by Tian Xiaocheng, Zhou Ziren's uncle, Yu Dongjia. Zhou Ziren, Xiaoyuan, and Rongjue took the imperial examination together and got the 37th place in the second class.

After working in several government offices in the capital for a period of time, he has now gone to the northwest of the Dasheng Dynasty, to a county called Quan'an County, to train as the magistrate of the county.

Because Zhou Ziren passed the imperial examination, his old father, who had originally ignored him at home, took the initiative to come to his family and gave 70% of his property to his son.

Although the stepmother, who was promoted from concubine to wife, was reluctant, she had to hand over the house deeds and land deeds of her family's farms and shops in front of Zhou Ziren, who was wearing official uniform.

After Zhou Ziren got these farms and shops, he asked the elderly people left by his mother to help manage the affairs. He also asked his uncle, Yu Chengzhou, to help take charge of the overall affairs.

The final buyer of this agreement was Zhou Ziren in the northwest. The county where he worked needed a lot of cotton due to the climate.

So, when Tian Xiaocheng went to Yu Chengdong's house to ask for help in purchasing jujube saplings, he heard that Hua Lei was going to plant cotton in Xichang, so he directly gave the cotton contract to Tian Xiaocheng.

When the cotton was harvested, Hualei's fleet was directly asked to help deliver it to Quan'an County. The journey from Quan'an County, northwest of Xichang, was much shorter than from Shangjing City to Quan'an.