Chapter 42: Yang’s Encyclopedia
Chapter 42: Yang’s Encyclopedia
Chen Yujie was still hesitant…
After all, he had always followed his uncle. Though Xiong Tingbi had offered him an official post, he actually knew that by staying with his uncle, he would eventually secure some official position one way or another.
Of course, that was his own business.
The two of them walked out onto the street.
At this time, refugees continued streaming in. The continuous heavy rain these past days had caused floods to varying degrees throughout Shuntian. In truth, this place had always been like this. Located in the drainage channel shared by the Taihang Mountains and the Yanshan Mountains, floods from the mountains in the west and north converged here. During the Liao dynasty, the Yanfang Lake south of Tongzhou stretched for hundreds of miles in circumference. Even the current Nanyuan was like a vast sea that never dried up throughout the four seasons. Places like this almost inevitably suffered floods with summer mountain torrents. The influx of refugees instantly changed the prosperous landscape of the Capital City. The streets were filled with refugees dragging their families along, crying and begging for alms. Although Wanli quickly ordered the establishment of gruel kitchens, it obviously didn’t solve much…
Everyone understood about the government’s gruel distribution.
If the emperor allocated ten thousand taels, perhaps only one thousand would actually reach the refugees, not to mention the soaring price of rice.
“Do you know about the sweet potato?”
Yang Xin asked Chen Yujie.
“My uncle tried cultivating it in Jiangnan, but it wasn’t popular among the people. Jiangnan isn’t short of food. People accustomed to eating rice simply don’t like it. What’s more, nowadays in Jiangnan, they don’t even favor growing rice; mulberry and cotton are the most sought-after. Rice is bought from Huguang and Jiangxi. Who would grow sweet potatoes?
As for the north, we are currently trying to cultivate them in Tianjin, but we haven’t yet figured out how to store them. This crop fears freezing the most; once frozen, it rots and becomes inedible.”
Chen Yujie said directly.
Then Yang Xin looked at him with a very strange expression…
“Brother Yang?”
Chen Yujie said, bewildered.
“Couldn’t you just dig a pit and bury them?”
Yang Xin said, speechless.
He hadn’t expected such a simple problem to stump the famous Xu Guangqi.
“Brother Yang, can you solve winter storage?”
Chen Yujie said, pleasantly surprised.
“That’s the easiest part. Dig a pit, dry and moisture-free but slightly damp, then spread sand and bury them inside. Put something on top for ventilation, and then leave them be. If one has a heated brick bed at home, it’s perfect; just pile them there. Couldn’t that last through the winter?”
Yang Xin said.
“Let’s go, find my uncle!”
Chen Yujie said without hesitation.
Indeed, Xu Guangqi really hadn’t solved this winter storage problem, but when Yang Xin mentioned it, with his mind, the old man understood instantly.
“How much more do you know?”
Xu Guangqi asked, quite bluntly.
“Ask!”
Yang Xin replied, equally bluntly, sitting down in the official’s chair and picking up his teacup.
“I understand winter storage now, old as I am. But there’s another trouble. This crop sprouts only in warm weather, so it can only be planted in spring along with other crops. Yet its growth period is too long; when other crops are harvested, this one is still not ready. This delays the sowing of winter wheat, resulting in only one harvest a year. That makes its high yield useless. In the warm south, they sprout early and can be transplanted as seedlings first, so this isn’t a problem there.”
Xu Guangqi said.
“Simple. Make a seedling bed similar to a heated brick bed, arrange the seed potatoes on it, cover them with soil, and build a fire underneath to control the heat, forcing them to sprout early. Then, after harvesting the wheat, cut the sprouts and transplant them.”
Yang Xin said.
This was the standard method for raising seedlings in the north before plastic film existed. The Shandong Peninsula did it this way.
“Won’t they get baked?”
Chen Yujie asked, astonished.
“A basic question like that is beneath my reply!”
Yang Xin said in a way that begged for a punch.
“This is not difficult. An experienced farmer can ensure it just by feeling with their hand. Moreover, this kind of seedling cultivation requires experimentation; after trying for a while, one will understand. This can indeed ensure alternating with wheat: harvest wheat, plant sweet potatoes; finish harvesting sweet potatoes, plant wheat. Dry fields in the north could also have two harvests a year. If this method works, young friend Yang, your name will be remembered for ages!”
Xu Guangqi said.
Yang Xin continued to sip tea from his lidded bowl, playing the wise expert.
“Also, the common folk don’t like eating this crop. This is also a problem.”
Xu Guangqi said.
“This roasted sweet potato, or sweet potato, eating too much does cause excess stomach acid. But we can solve it another way. For example, brewing alcohol. How much grain does Great Ming waste each year on brewing? If His Majesty issues an Imperial Edict that only sweet potato liquor is allowed from now on, wouldn’t that solve the sweet potato’s usage? Also, we can make starch noodles, starch sheets, even sweet potato pancakes. Especially sweet potato pancakes: they not only solve the stomach acid problem but also store well. Even boiled sweet potatoes, or sliced and dried into sweet potato chips or sticks to sell as snacks would work very well. For example, I really like roasting a sweet potato stick over fire in winter.”
Yang Xin said.
Chen Yujie had a speechless look on his face.
The implication was, you’ve eaten these! So far, only we are experimenting in Tianjin in the entire north. Where did you, a so-called Hejian person, eat them?
“This old man understands brewing, but not the other things!”
Xu Guangqi said.
“How many sweet potatoes have you planted in Tianjin?”
Yang Xin asked.
“Not too many, only about a hundred acres, all on poor land.”
Chen Yujie said.
“Do you still have sweet potatoes right now?”
Yang Xin asked.
“Not at the moment!”
Chen Yujie said.
“Then wait until after the harvest. You handle the investment: buy a small courtyard, hire some workers. Once the sweet potatoes are harvested, I’ll teach them how to make various products. Especially starch sheets and starch noodles. I can guarantee they will be very popular. Additionally, we can use sweet potatoes to make small snacks. Those can be sold too. In short, we can use this to make money. Master Xu, government promotion has little effect, and even if it does, it’s very slow. But if our sweet potato products can make money, then people will follow without needing government promotion. This way, your sweet potatoes will still become widespread, and we can also make a tidy profit.”
Yang Xin said.
Actually, he didn’t know how to make these things either.
But, firstly, foods like starch noodles and wide noodles already existed at this time and were very popular among the people. The rest was just changing to sweet potatoes.
No need for sweet potato flour.
These were made by directly cutting sweet potatoes and grinding them into a paste. The rest was filtering, obtaining pure starch paste, then adding alum. That was basically the process. The rest was the traditional method for making starch noodles. Doing this wasn’t primarily for making money, but to promote sweet potatoes. In the short term, the entire north only had Xu Guangqi’s sweet potato crop in Tianjin, so they would monopolize the industry. Traditional starch noodles were made from mung beans and such; their cost couldn’t compete with sweet potato noodles at all. Low-cost sweet potato noodles, even priced a bit lower, would still sell well. Once profitable, people would naturally join the industry.
In feudal times, government promotion of new crops had the lowest efficiency.
However, once such a new crop became a profitable business, it would spread like a bursting flood.
Then Xu Guangqi could also sell seed potatoes.
He could also provide technical consultation, for a fee, of course.
In short, this wealth should be secure for three to five years. After three to five years, sweet potatoes would become widespread.
“This is worth a try!”
Xu Guangqi said with a smile.
“What else? Oh, right, is corn available at this time?”
Yang Xin asked.
“Yes, also called maize.”
Xu Guangqi said.
The earliest record of the name ‘corn’ in ancient Chinese texts was actually in his later agricultural encyclopedia. However, a certain famous novel also mentioned cornmeal cakes, so this term was probably commonly used in the north. But Xu Guangqi investigated other names and said it was because of different sources of introduction.
“However, its yield is very low, not to be compared with the sweet potato. Its only benefit is drought tolerance!”
He said.
“That’s a pollination issue.”
Yang Xin said.
“A plant seed is like a human child. Male and female must match to produce a seed capable of reproduction. Without male and female matching, a proper seed cannot be produced. Corn’s male and female are on the same plant. The tassels at the top are the male flowers; the silks below are the female flowers. The corn we plant comes from natural pollination. The pollen from above falls on the female flowers below, and that produces corn seeds. But this pollination process is difficult to guarantee. Insufficient pollination means corn cannot form; ultimately, only as many grains form as there is pollination. So, just help manually. Shake the plants more when the male flowers bloom, or take the time to use a brush to take pollen from the male flowers to the female flowers. If you feel the yield still isn’t high enough, cut off one tassel from every other plant. This plant has excess pollen, and it consumes a lot of nutrients. Without the tassel, all nutrients go to the female flowers, so naturally, they bear more.”
He continued.
This problem was advanced, already beyond his Science level.
Hybridization was the key, but he couldn’t manage that, and there weren’t enough varieties. Actually, modern corn hybrid varieties weren’t assembled until the nineteenth century.
But assisted pollination plus detasseling would definitely increase yield.
“Pollination? Male flowers, female flowers?”
Xu Guangqi asked, confused.
“Master Xu, this problem is complex. It involves systematic Science and is difficult to explain in a short while. Even compiled into a book, it would rival the Yongle Encyclopedia. If you wish to study it, don’t expect to truly master it in your lifetime, I’m afraid. Of course, if you truly have the perseverance, I recommend you make an instrument. Speaking of which, you must know about the telescope? Two lenses combined to see distant objects.”
Yang Xin said.
“Emmanuel Diaz mentioned it, used by Galileo to observe the stars, but we haven’t had a physical object.”
Xu Guangqi said.
“Well, find a good crystal craftsman and some good crystals, also find a coppersmith. Evidently, I can present another treasure to His Majesty.”
Yang Xin said.
He hadn’t expected Great Ming to have no physical telescope.
But that was normal. Although the Dutch invented it long ago, they kept the technology secret. Galileo only made his own about ten years ago. In ten years, for the Great Ming thousands of miles away, knowing such a thing existed already meant keeping up with the trend. This was undoubtedly good for him. He could manufacture them in large batches for use on the battlefield. Whether useful or not aside, it would be beneficial for him at present. Additionally, he could incidentally make a primitive version of the microscope, letting Xu Guangqi see the true face of plants.
After all, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, fifty years later, sounded the horn of modern biology with the microscope.