Chapter 46: Ridge Tillage Method

The area of Shanlin Town is not small; Luoning patrolled for an entire afternoon and only barely managed to finish inspecting the wheat fields and vegetable plots on the east side.

If he wanted to walk a full circle around his territory, he estimated it would take two or three days.

When he set out in the afternoon, he was full of anticipation, hoping for discoveries that would surprise him, but after returning, it was the exact opposite, and he felt a sense of disappointment in his heart.

Not only did he fail to reap any surprises, but he instead discovered a series of problems, particularly concentrated on the cultivation of crops.

Luoning took a sip of barley tea, sat down at his desk, and began to recall what he had seen in the wheat fields, pondering solutions to the problems.

"The wheat growth is uneven, which should be due to it being overly dense. The sowing method of scattering seeds randomly makes the wheat seedlings chaotic and disorderly, and the distance between the seedlings is too tight, which not only affects their sunlight but also their growth."

"Besides that, this dense situation also makes it impossible for farmers to enter the fields to weed, fertilize, or water during the growth process, and some wheat ears will also rot for this reason when they mature."

After thinking it over, the root cause of this situation should be the sowing method.

A term from his history books popped into Luoning's mind—Ridge Tillage Method.

The Ridge Tillage Method is a farming technique; the specific operation is to open the farmland into rows of ridges and furrows, and then plant the crops on the ridges.

This farming method has many benefits:

For example, planting on ridges higher than the ground, because the two ridges are separated by a furrow, can ensure the distance between crops, allowing for more sufficient photosynthesis, while also avoiding poor root development caused by the crops being too dense;

The large elevation difference between the ridge top and the ridge furrow is conducive to drainage and flood prevention, and it is also convenient for irrigation along the furrows.

In the afternoon, Luoning had also asked many locals, and the rainfall in Shanlin Town is quite sufficient; opening furrows is conducive to drainage and can greatly reduce the possibility of wheat seedlings dying from waterlogging.

Besides that, the ridges are separated by furrows, which gives farmers space to weed and fertilize, unlike now where there is nowhere to step.

Of course, there is also a very important point: adopting the Ridge Tillage Method can maintain the fertility of the land.

This year's ridge, next year's furrow; this year's furrow, next year's ridge—this is a form of disguised fallowing.

"This method is worth promoting!"

He took out a quill and parchment and began to write the Ridge Tillage Method on the paper, while also drawing a simple schematic diagram of the cultivation.

The night gradually deepened, and the manservant Jialun had already lit the candles in the study early on; the candlelight reflected on Luoning's earnest face, making the maidservant serving on the side watch a bit entranced.

She had heard that nobles all love to enjoy themselves, either eating and drinking or playing, and quite a few young noble masters would even call their personal maidservants to their beds.

But the Baron before her was completely different.

Throughout the day, Beila discovered that apart from his lunch break, the Baron was almost always busy, seemingly having endless things to do and endless text to write.

"My Lord~"

Chahaer walked in carrying a cup of milk; when Jialun and Beila saw him, they lowered their heads and exited the room, standing outside the door.

The steward in the castle, although not a noble, still had some status, not to mention that Chahaer was also one of Luoning's old hands.

Therefore, these new servants in the castle were all very respectful and obedient to Chahaer's management.

Chahaer could also be considered to have experienced the feeling of being a steward.

However, his respect for Luoning had never diminished; instead, it had greatly increased.

"It's you, Chahaer."

Luoning looked up, then continued to lower his head and write.

He had already finished describing the introduction to the Ridge Tillage Method, and what he was doing now was planning how to fertilize.

Along the way, Luoning discovered that whether it was Wushan City or Lake Town, or even his own Shanlin Town, the scenery on the streets was never without excrement.

In the afternoon, Luoning had grabbed a farmer and asked him; he really wanted to understand why the farmers in this world did not know how to use fertilizer.

After a general understanding, he discovered that the people here had not failed to think about using fertilizer, but their method of using it was wrong.

That person said that when they threw feces and urine onto the ground, not only did the crops not grow better, but there was a phenomenon of burning the seedlings.

In this way, they felt that feces were a harmful substance and could not be thrown into the farmland, which led to feces having no value.

Things without value naturally had no one to manage them; the nobles did not care, and the people also regarded them as trash, which led to the situation of feces and urine everywhere on the streets.

How to make good use of these feces was the problem Luoning was currently thinking about.

Fortunately, he came from a farming background back on Earth; he had seen many people farming when he was young, and after reaching high school and university, he studied science and knew about chemistry and microorganisms.

To reasonably utilize human and animal feces, one can choose composting, decomposition, and fermentation.

Promoting this method within the territory can not only solve the fertilizer problem and let the land maintain a certain level of fertility, but also solve the problem of poor environment in the town.

Once the farmers know the importance of feces, they will no longer defecate everywhere.

For Luoning, this was killing two birds with one stone.

However, whether it was the Ridge Tillage Method or composting, it was impossible to make everyone use them with just one word.

Luoning prepared to find two people and specifically set aside two experimental fields to verify it.

If these two methods were very effective in this other world, they could be fully promoted during next year's spring plowing.

"My Lord, you have been busy all day, it is time to rest!"

Chahaer placed the milk in his hand by Luoning's side and very thoughtfully urged Luoning to rest early.

"I am not sleepy yet."

Luoning put down the pen in his hand and picked up the cup to take a sip of milk.

The milk in this other world did not taste that good, and even had a faint fishy smell.

However, not everyone could drink fresh milk; it was a rare thing.

"How are the other servants in the castle arranged?" Luoning asked casually.

"Everything is arranged smoothly!"

Steward Chahaer was very satisfied with the new servants; at the very least, what he said and what he taught, these people actively learned and also performed quite well.

"Please rest assured, My Lord; at most it will only take one month, and the servants in the castle will be on par with the standard of Wushan Castle."

Luoning laughed, "Remember my previous reminder: the hygiene in the castle must be done well. Damp places must be dealt with immediately; I do not wish to see rats or insects in my own castle."

"Rest assured, I have already repeatedly exhorted this, and I will patrol every area every day to ensure there are no problems!"

"I am at ease leaving the castle's affairs to you."

Luoning smiled and said, "Have Administrator Wilson come see me tomorrow morning; I have a matter for you and him to handle together."

Chaha'er was somewhat surprised; what kind of matter required both him, the castle steward, and the Administrator to complete?

"Understood, Master. I will go notify Wilson this evening."

"Let Jialun go notify him. You find me a relatively large ceramic vat; I will need it tomorrow morning."

Chaha'er was confused again; what was the Master asking him to do? He couldn't fathom the Master's thoughts at all, and sometimes he even doubted whether he was truly an incompetent steward.

However, he also understood that there were some things that didn't need to be asked about so much; he just needed to carry out the Master's instructions well.

"As you wish!"

Chaha'er left the second floor with Jialun and went to get busy.

Luoning, meanwhile, continued with his design.

His purpose in having Chaha'er prepare a ceramic vat was simple: he wanted to build the most primitive type of toilet in the castle.

Since he was preparing to collect excrement to use as fertilizer, the supporting facilities had to be there, and a toilet was indispensable.

Luoning had actually wanted to design a flush toilet, but that was a time-consuming and laborious task, and he didn't yet have any mature ideas on how to design the plumbing.

He could only settle for the next best thing and build a primitive toilet first, then gradually promote the benefits of fertilizer so that everyone would have a basic understanding of it, before pushing for toilets and optimizing the sanitary environment.

(End of chapter)