Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 260 The matchmaker comes to visit

Then use water to burn the nursery ground thoroughly, sparsely embed the sun-dried corn seeds on the soil surface, and then cover it with a thin layer of soil.

In order to prevent birds from eating the corn, Hualei asked Uncle Zheng to make a few scarecrows in the nursery, and then tied a strip of cloth with a rope and stretched it over the nursery to drive away the birds. After a few days, the corn seedlings emerged from the ground, and the tender green buds slowly stretched out. Hualei was very happy to see them.

After all the wheat has been harvested, the fields are deeply plowed with oxen, the soil is broken up and leveled, ditches are dug, and a certain amount of fertilizer is applied. Then the corn seedlings that already have two or three leaves are transplanted into the fields and then watered thoroughly. The corn is then considered planted.

To be honest, Hualei has never planted corn, so he lacks planting experience. During the planting process, the corn germination rate and transplanting survival rate are not very high.

The flower buds can only make up for their shortcomings with hard work. If the transplanted seedlings are found dead, they will be replanted in time. If we see weeds appearing next to the seedlings, we will remove them in time. If the soil is dry and the leaves of the seedlings are curled, we will water them immediately. If the soil is too wet and there is something wrong with the roots, we will immediately clear the ditches to drain water and prevent waterlogging. If the seedlings show signs of yellowing, we think it is time to apply topdressing.

All these were done by imitating the general situation of other crops. Fortunately, Uncle Fu and Uncle Zheng were both experienced in farming. With the theory of Hualei and their experience, the corn seedlings were growing up stumblingly.

The flower buds made Uncle Zheng put aside other things and focus on taking care of the corn seedlings. If he found anything wrong, he would find a way to solve it immediately.

The corn was growing slowly in Baihua Farm. Hualei took Uncle Fu to Huaying Farm. The wheat here was planted late last year, so the harvest time was relatively late. However, it has all been harvested, so it is just the right time to plant cotton.

Because the Dasheng Dynasty had experience in growing cotton, Hualei specially looked through some books and found some methods of growing cotton.

After plowing the field, removing all the weeds, leveling the land, digging ditches at certain intervals, and applying enough base fertilizer, this piece of land is considered completed.

Because the cotton seed coat is tough and has a layer of short lint on the surface, if sown directly, it may germinate late, affecting the different growth rates of the seedlings, which will cause the cotton to bloom, boll and mature uniformly in the future. Therefore, the flower buds should be soaked in the seeds to germinate to avoid these problems.

Soak the cotton seeds in cold water for more than ten hours, then take them out and spread them on the ground two or three inches thick to dry in the sun. When the seed hairs turn white, cover them with straw to accelerate germination. When about half of the cotton seeds have sprouted, they can be sown.

Then dig a hole about an inch deep in the field at a certain interval, plant the soaked cotton seeds, cover them with soil, and cover them with straw to keep them warm. After half a month, the cotton seeds will break through the soil.

Because of the planting methods described in the books, cotton is relatively much simpler than planting corn seedlings. Although many unexpected things will still occur in the process, they can all be under the control of the flower buds.

If you really encounter problems that you cannot solve yourself, you can also consult the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture. After all, the wooden signs of the agricultural officers in Shuiwadi are quite useful. When they are asking Hualei about Shuiwadi, Hualei asks them about how to grow cotton, which is also a very normal way of communication.

In addition, Hua Lei's words were respectful and her attitude was correct, so these officials were very pleased and could not help but show off their abilities in front of Hua Lei. Therefore, through such exchanges, Hua Lei learned a lot of tricks of farming.

Moreover, Hualei borrowed a lot of books on cotton planting from the Sino-Agricultural Bureau, and asked a few people to copy a copy and leave it in Huaying Manor, so that she could read it at any time, and people in the manor could also ask Fu Bo and other people who knew how to read and count at any time. Therefore, the growth of cotton was very smooth.

In addition to cotton and corn, Hualei also grows a lot of sweet potatoes, potatoes and other crops.

Things on the farm were proceeding in an orderly manner, and the transformation of the buds in the puddle was also taken care of from time to time. Everything seemed to be going well. However, soon, something disgusting happened again.

That day, Hualei was checking the growth of corn seedlings at Baihua Manor. A woman in her fifties came to Baihua Manor in a mule cart and asked to see Hualei. She said that she went to the bookstore in Qingyun Lane to look for Hualei but couldn't find her, so she came to Baihua Manor.

After hearing the report, Hua Lei returned to the farm and saw a woman sitting in the main room, wearing a dark red floral bodice with a shiny gold-covered silver hairpin in her hair. She had a very happy face and her sharp eyes kept looking around the room. Hua Lei was a little confused. Who was this?

When the other party saw Hua Lei, his wrinkled face smiled even more happily, and he looked Hua Lei up and down, as if he was looking at a commodity to be evaluated. This look made Hua Lei a little unhappy, and she sat down in the main seat calmly and said, "Madam, I heard that you came to see me, what's the matter?"

The maid opposite stopped looking at her when she heard the question and said with a smile, "Miss Hua, you are really pretty. No wonder Madam Wang likes you."

Hualei frowned and didn't respond.

When the woman opposite saw that Hua Lei didn't respond, she continued, "It's like this, Miss Hua, my last name is Qian, and everyone calls me Mrs. Qian. I specialize in matchmaking for young men and young ladies who are destined to be together.

Mrs. Wang from the Han Mansion came to me a few days ago and said that her eldest son, Mr. Han, has taken a fancy to you. She and Mr. Han also think that Miss Hua is very good and want Miss Hua and Mr. Han to get married. Let me tell you, Mr. Han is now working in the Hanlin Academy. The old man of the Han family used to be a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy, lecturing on scriptures and history to the emperor. They are from a noble family. If Miss Hua can really marry into the Han Mansion, it will be a great honor for our ancestors...

Mrs. Qian kept on talking non-stop. Hua Lei didn't know if smoke was coming out of her ancestral grave, but she was so angry that smoke was coming out of her head.

It turned out that this old woman Qian was persuaded by Wang, the second wife of the Han family, to come to match Hualei and let Hualei marry her uneducated son Han Wenbing. Wang had always hoped that Zhenzhu would marry Han Wenbing. When Zhenzhu and Jiang Yunqi were looking for a marriage partner, she even tried to sabotage Zhenzhu's marriage. When Mrs. Pei found out, she drove all the children of the second wife of the Han family out of the family school of the Marquis's mansion.

PS: Dear friends, I resumed posting 10 chapters a day in October. Now I am really anxious every day when I post 2 chapters a day.