Chapter 376
A few days later, figuring the grain should be about done drying, everyone flocked to Zhao Ger's place. They sacked it up, put it on the scale—and it came to four hundred and thirty-nine jin (219.5 kg).
The villagers stared for a while, then fell silent for a long stretch. After they'd finally digested it, they asked Zhao Ger: "Where's Lord Fang?"
Zhao Ger said, "He took the children down to the river to catch shrimp."
So off they went to the stream to find Fang Zichen.
If eight fen of land yielded this much, then how much would seven or eight mu produce?
Several thousand jin! How much silver would that be?
It was too much—they simply couldn't figure it out.
Fang Zichen knew that even if he explained it, they wouldn't be able to make it themselves. After thinking it over, he decided: they'd build another chemical fertilizer factory.
Someone asked nervously, in a low voice, "My lord, will this fertilizer be expensive?"
If it cost too much, it wouldn't be worth using.
There were many types of fertilizer. Some of the waste residue from the paper mill could also be used to make fertilizer. And for a cheaper option, lime would do just fine—that stuff wasn't pricey either.
Fang Zichen gave them an estimated price. Everyone listened, and found it acceptable.
"So when are you going to build this factory, my lord?" someone asked eagerly.
Ideally, the fertilizer should be ready by the start of the new year, because the first rice crop of the season had to be planted by the third lunar month.
That meant the chemical fertilizer factory had to be built right away.
Originally, after the paper mill was finished, Fang Zichen had planned to put other things on hold and head back to Hezhou to spend the New Year with his family. But now, he was busy again.
The villagers got their answer and left happy and beaming.
How could they not be delighted?
Next year, they'd be able to use chemical fertilizer too—they'd finally have enough to eat.
Pingxiang Village already had a paper mill. Since the chemical fertilizer factory would use the paper mill's waste residue, it made the most sense to build it right next door, close to the "source of raw materials." But the largest empty plot in Pingxiang was already taken, and the smaller open spaces didn't have enough room. On top of that, hiring couldn't be limited to just Pingxiang—neighboring villages had to be considered too. In the end, they chose a site in Anmin Village.
The yamen runners went down to the villages again to recruit workers. This time, before the yamen runners could even finish their announcement, the villagers started shouting.
"I'll sign up! I'll sign up! I'll sign up!"
"Sir, I'll do it!"
"Put my name down! Put my name down!"
The yamen runners were nearly crushed into a paste. One of them managed to squeeze out: "Do you even know what the job is, with all this shouting?"
"Who cares! Lord Fang would never do us wrong."
"Exactly, exactly."
Still, some were curious: "Officer, what are we building this time?"
"A chemical fertilizer factory."
Everyone already knew what a paper mill was—it made paper, plain and simple. But a chemical fertilizer factory? They didn't understand, hadn't heard of it. But it didn't really matter what was being built—as long as they worked for the prefect, there'd be meat on the table.
The yamen runners finished registering names, mounted their horses, and rode back to report. The crowd was just about to head home when someone let out a surprised "Huh?"
"Isn't that Lao Zhuang's daughter?"
"Hey, I think you're right."
"Why's she back now? It's not a holiday or festival."
"Hmm? Looks like Lao Wang's ger and Lao Li's daughter are coming too."
Though the autumn harvest was over, there was still a mountain of work to do. Winter was coming, so there was a lot to do. The quilts had to be taken out, washed, and aired in the sun; otherwise, after sitting in the chests for so long, they'd smell musty and wouldn't keep anyone warm. Firewood also had to be chopped and stacked up for storage. Cabbage, radishes, garlic sprouts—all the vegetables for winter eating—had to be planted. Taxes were due to the officials, so the grain payments had to be set aside. In short, there was no end to the chores.
So why were they visiting relatives at a time like this?
If it were just one daughter coming back, the villagers wouldn't have found it strange—maybe something had happened at home. But three of them arriving together? That got everyone curious.
As they drew nearer, their faces didn't look like anything was wrong at home. On the contrary, they seemed happy and excited.
And they were carrying eggs.
Old Man Zhuang happened to be there. He went over and grabbed his daughter's arm, looking anxious. "Why are you back?"
Lu shi could barely contain herself. "Father, I came to tell you some good news."
[Lu shi (陆氏), 氏 (Shì) is a traditional Chinese honorific suffix placed after a married woman's husband's surname to refer to her formally. For example: Lu Shi, woman married into the Lu family]
"Pregnant again?"
Lu shi was already past thirty-five and had only one son so far. If she were having another, it would indeed be happy news. But she shook her head. "That's nothing compared to this. It's about the fertilizer."
The yamen runners had just been talking about building a chemical fertilizer factory, and now Lu shi was bringing it up too—she must know something. Someone asked, "Dayao, do you know about this fertilizer stuff?"
"Yes."
"What does it do? Is it like that cement stuff?"
"No." Lu shi was so excited she could barely contain herself. She'd rushed straight to her parents' home first—she had to let them know. "This fertilizer is spread on the fields to give the crops a boost."
As soon as it involved crops, everyone started pressing her for details. Earlier, when they'd heard about the paper mill, nobody had been particularly interested—after all, they didn't use paper themselves, and even if they did, they couldn't afford it.
But this was different!
As Lu shi explained, everyone clicked their tongues in amazement.
Eight fen of land, four dan and four dou?
"Dayao, we're your elders here. Pulling our legs like this isn't very nice, is it?" someone said, displeased.
"Exactly. You're not trying to fool us like we're idiots, are you?"
"Why would I lie to you, aunties and uncles? If you don't believe me, ask Wang Ger and Li Cuihua."
Wang Ger and Li Cuihua both nodded. "Aunties, uncles, we're telling the truth." The two of them took turns explaining how Zhao Ger had borrowed three plots of the village chief's land for the experiment. "From the moment the fertilizer was applied, to the harvest, to weighing it on the scale—our whole village was there watching. If you don't believe us, you can go to the village and ask around. We came back in such a hurry because we couldn't wait—we wanted to tell our families. Next year, when Lord Fang makes the fertilizer, you absolutely must buy it. Don't brush it off just because you've never heard of it, and don't skip it because it costs money."
Everyone was so stunned by the news that they swayed on their feet. After a long pause, one woman said gravely, "Wang Ger, you've always been the most honest boy. Tell your auntie straight—is this for real?"
Wang Ger's face was serious. "For real."
It couldn't be a lie—if it were, all they'd have to do was go to Pingxiang Village and ask around. And Lord Fang really was going to build the chemical fertilizer factory...
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