Peaceful Farm Life

Chapter 873: Chapter 874: How Many Surprises Do You Really Want to Give Me?

”Father, arsenic trioxide is indeed a poison, and it might be better for seeds treated with arsenic trioxide to be controlled by the government. Also, this arsenic treatment is particularly effective for beans and wheat.”

”Hmm,” nodded the Emperor of Xiyun, ”I will have each Agricultural Institute take charge of this matter regarding seeds treated with arsenic trioxide to better benefit the people.”

”By the way, Father, there is something...” An Jing suddenly hesitated.

”What is it?” the Emperor of Xiyun inquired. ”Speak freely.”

After mulling it over for a moment and carefully organizing her thoughts, An Jing said, ”Father, I have been farming since I was young and have come to understand some agricultural patterns. However, I find that the guides to farming in the Agricultural Institute’s books are not comprehensive. If they were revised, perhaps they could better guide agricultural practices.”

Instead of immediately agreeing to a revision, the Emperor of Xiyun asked, ”What agricultural patterns do you know about?”

Without a change in her expression, An Jing lied, ”The ’Twenty-Four Solar Terms’ can serve not only as a temporal reference but can also guide agricultural production.”

At this moment, An Jing was quite relieved that she had taken the time to understand the ’Twenty-Four Solar Terms’ when their heritage application had succeeded. The climate here was very similar to that of her original world, which also had the ’Twenty-Four Solar Terms,’ but the system here was not as comprehensive. It was merely a temporal reference and had not been applied to guide agricultural production.

As An Jing knew, the ’Twenty-Four Solar Terms’ were established in the pre-Qin era and only fully established during the Han dynasty to guide additional legislation for farming.

This clearly showed that agricultural production here was not as advanced as in the Han dynasty.

Hearing An Jing’s idea of connecting the ’Twenty-Four Solar Terms’ with agricultural production, the Emperor of Xiyun’s eyes immediately lit up with interest, and he quickly asked, ”How would you guide it?”

An Jing replied, ”It’s simple. We write down what farmers should do at each solar term into a book to guide agricultural production. Like ’around Xiaoman, plant melons and sow beans,’ ’at Liqiu plant, at Chushu transplant, harvest cabbage around Lidong’.”

The Emperor of Xiyun looked at An Jing for a while before he could not find the words, yet he sincerely exclaimed, ”Jingjing, just how many surprises do you intend to give me?”

An Jing replied with a smile, ”I don’t know if it’s a surprise, but I do know that I want to relieve Father’s worries. Father cares about the people, wanting them to have enough food and warm clothing and hoping for peace and prosperity in the state. If Changyi and I can assist Father, no matter how much we can do, Changyi and I will help.”

As she spoke, An Jing looked at Xiao Changyi, who was seated beside her sipping tea, with a gaze as if he was the only one in her world.

Xiao Changyi loved that look in An Jing’s eyes, which softened his cold demeanor and brought warmth to his expression.

Moved, the Emperor of Xiyun said, ”You both are so filial. Although I am the Son of Heaven, I have never felt myself to be a fortunate man. But now, I truly feel fortunate.”

Both An Jing and Xiao Changyi could sense the sorrow hidden in the Emperor’s emotional words. They did not understand why, exchanged glances, but neither of them asked about the reasons.

There are some things that it is better not to ask about.

And if the Emperor of Xiyun had something he wanted to say, he would have spoken to them about it, rather than conveying such covert sorrow. If they had not been attentive, they might not even have picked up on it.

”Jingjing,” the Emperor of Xiyun suddenly said with a smile, ”Since you know so much about farming, why don’t you take charge of this task—compiling what is suitable to grow for each of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms to guide agricultural practices?”

”Sure,” An Jing agreed very readily.