Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 421 What a pity

After a pause, he continued, "Originally, things that are not certain should not be written into the exposition book. However, I think that the matter of pressing oil from cold vegetables can be a big deal or a small one.

Since the flower farmer had this idea in mind, he should not hide it from the emperor. After all, the emperor is a wise ruler who cares about the world, so he wrote down the idea that cold vegetables could be used to extract oil.

Her crew, if nothing unexpected happens, should be back in about ten days. By then, His Majesty can also take a look at how many winter vegetable seeds the flower farmers have bought, and then decide whether to send shadow guards to the north to buy them."

"Really? Hua Nong Zheng has already gone to the north to buy?" Emperor Shengwu said with some surprise, "Great, then I will wait a little longer. Oh, Hua Nong Zheng is really dedicated to his duties, not bad, not bad."

"In fact, the flower farmers are also worried that these rapeseeds cannot be used to produce oil, so His Majesty doesn't want them..."

"No, no, Lord Pei, don't worry. Even if these cold vegetables really can't be used to produce oil, I won't blame Hua Nongzheng. Don't worry, I'm not that stupid." Emperor Shengwu said in a very good mood.

"This old minister is thanking His Majesty on behalf of the flower growers." Old Marquis Pei looked at Emperor Shengwu, who had a happy expression on his face, and slightly raised the corners of his mouth.

Seven or eight days later, the boats that had gone to Mobei returned, along with half a boatload of rapeseed. Because the people in Mobei did not know that rapeseed could be used to make oil, they just thought of it as ordinary vegetable seeds, so they sold it very cheaply.

The crew only spent a few hundred taels of silver on this small boatload of rapeseed. Hualei carefully checked it and found that it was indeed rapeseed. In fact, as long as it was rapeseed, it could generally be pressed for oil, but some had a lower oil content and produced less oil.

Hua Lei had also received the message from Marquis Pei a long time ago, so she sent the rapeseed directly to the Marquis Zhenbei's Mansion and asked him to help deliver it to the palace.

This is what Emperor Shengwu meant, but no one knows what happened. When Emperor Shengwu saw that the seeds were larger and rounder than other ordinary rapeseeds, he decided that Hualei's idea was right and that these rapeseeds could definitely be used to extract oil.

So he immediately decided to experiment with some rapeseed to see if it was really possible to extract oil as Hualei said. If possible, he would sow it once in the spring this year. Then he would have time to sow it once in the fall. This would be even faster.

In order to verify whether oil could be extracted, he asked Lord Pei to convey a message to Hua Lei, asking her to go to the soybean oil press in a few days to observe the rapeseed oil extraction process.

However, less than an hour later, Lord Pei, who delivered the message, returned to the imperial study and told Emperor Shengwu that Hua Lei meant to postpone going to the soybean oil press for the time being.

The reason was that the oil press that Emperor Shengwu sent him to was an official large-scale oil press, which required at least 500 kilograms of raw materials each time. Although more oil would be produced, it would be a waste of the rape seeds. As soon as the oil press started, most of the rape seeds would be used up, which was a pity.

In the north, although many people grow rapeseed, not much is grown by each household. They usually grow it as a vegetable and only plant as much as they can. The amount they plant for seeds is even less.

Generally, a farmer's household only has one and a half kilograms of vegetable seeds, and at most three or four kilograms. In order to purchase this small half shipload of rapeseed, the crew of Hualei went to many places and finally managed to buy these.

These rapeseeds can be used to plant a lot of land. You know, two to three kilograms of rapeseed can plant one mu of land. Once the oil press is opened, 300 mu of planting area will be directly eliminated.

If we calculate based on the rapeseed yield of 200 to 300 kilograms per mu, then this year's rapeseed yield will be reduced by 60,000 to 70,000 kilograms, which is a pity.

Wouldn't it be better to let her ask the people on the farm to make a small manual oil press by themselves? With only 50 kilograms of rapeseed, or even less, she could test whether oil can be extracted?

If it is possible to press oil, the oil yield can be calculated. Moreover, it will take at most ten days to make a small manual oil press.

Logically speaking, Hua Lei was ignorant and fearless, and dared to stop Emperor Shengwu's decision. However, Lord Pei knew what Emperor Shengwu was thinking, and after listening to Hua Lei's suggestion, he hesitated for a moment and immediately decided to convey Hua Lei's opinion to Emperor Shengwu.

Sure enough, Emperor Shengwu was overjoyed when he heard this. Compared to those officials who were flatterers, said nice things but did not do practical work, he preferred officials like Hua Lei who were down-to-earth and worked for the benefit of the people.

Besides, it would only take about ten days, and he could afford to wait. If Hualei's ship hadn't brought back the winter vegetable seeds, the shadow guards he sent out would still be on their way to the north.

So, after Hua Lei got a positive response from Emperor Shengwu, she asked Uncle Zhao to start making a hand-made oil press according to the drawings she had drawn.

Hualei made a relatively simple squeezing oil press, using several thick pieces of wood to make a rectangular wooden frame.

Then use wood to make a simple pressing chamber, fix the two pieces of wood on the top and a very long piece of wood on the bottom. The middle is hollow to hold the powder.

Put the powder cake into the pressing chamber from one side, leaving a gap on the other side of the pressing chamber and then stuff the wood in. After it is full, add some wedges that are not completely in.

Then a strong person would swing an iron hammer to hit the wedge. As the wedge was driven into the press chamber, the wooden block placed horizontally in the press chamber would exert a squeezing force on the oil cake. With continuous squeezing, the oil in the oil cake would be squeezed out.

After the oil press was completed, Hualei was ready to start experimenting with rapeseed. Because the oil pressing process was complicated and required a lot of things, Hualei moved the oil press to the soybean oil press designated by Emperor Shengwu.

Many of the steps for extracting oil from beans and rapeseed are basically the same, but it is more convenient here. Besides, everyone has experienced in extracting soybean oil, so they will be more skilled at making cakes.

However, this mini oil press truck is too small compared to the press chamber inside the oil press that can even fit several cows.

The staff at the oil press couldn't help shaking their heads when they saw Hualei's oil press. It was so small, how could it work? A few hammers would smash the oil press to pieces, and the oil cakes would be wasted.

However, Hualei doesn't care. Every inch has its own advantages. When you see the truth later, you will like this mini one.

When Emperor Shengwu left the court, accompanied by Marquis Pei and a few others, they arrived at the oil press in disguise, and Hua Lei was ready to start working.