noffsinger Chapter 301 Rapeseed Harvest
Chapter 301 Rapeseed Harvest
The two children were adorable, changing every day, and after a few days they became fair and tender.
When Xi Ningzhi was in confinement after childbirth, Xiao Siyue would visit her from time to time to keep her company and help her relax. By the time Xi Ningzhi finished her confinement, the vegetable seeds she had planted earlier had already ripened.
As the saying goes, "harvest when it's 80% ripe, and discard when it's 100% ripe." Rapeseed cannot be harvested until it is fully ripe, otherwise a lot of it will fall to the ground because it is too ripe.
The rapeseed is ready at this time of year. Xiao Siyue almost had an accident when the rapeseed was planted before, so Xiao Qinian insisted on going with her this time.
Not only was he worried about Xiao Siyue's safety, but he also wanted to see the yield of the rapeseed.
"Father, I plan to stay at the estate for a few days this time, but you still have to go to work. Is that alright?" Xiao Siyue asked, as it wasn't time for her to take a break yet.
"It's alright, I'll just ask His Majesty for leave," Xiao Qinian said nonchalantly. There's always a lot of official business to do, a few days off won't cause much trouble.
"Alright then, let's leave the day after tomorrow." Seeing Xiao Qinian's insistence, Xiao Siyue had no choice but to agree.
"Alright, I'll ask for leave tomorrow." Actually, he didn't need to tell His Majesty to ask for leave; he only needed to report to his superior, the Minister of Revenue. However, he wanted to report the rapeseed matter to Emperor Zhou, so he went to see Emperor Zhou.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Zhou immediately agreed.
What Xiao Qinian didn't know was that after he left, Emperor Zhou summoned Shen Junru.
"Your Majesty, has Your Majesty summoned this old minister with some instructions?" Shen Junru hadn't even returned home when Emperor Zhou summoned him back.
"Teacher, Xiao Aiqing just came to ask Zheng for a few days off. He said he planted something called rapeseed on his estate, and it's almost ripe. He wants to go and check on the harvest."
"Your Majesty, what are these rapeseed seeds? Are they another high-yield grain variety?" Shen Junru's eyes lit up instantly. In recent years, almost no one in the Great Zhou has starved to death, all thanks to the high-yield grain varieties such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn that Xiao Qinian presented. Because of the large-scale planting of these grain varieties, the people no longer need to rely on wheat and rice for the whole year.
Although the people are no longer starving, they do not complain about having too many grains.
"This time it's not grain seeds. According to Minister Xiao, this rapeseed is for pressing oil, similar to the soybean oil we eat."
"It's oil, but oil is good too. Oil is very scarce in our Great Zhou. Some people can't even afford it." Firstly, the price is too high, and secondly, the yield is low, so there isn't enough to go around.
"Hmm, where do you think Xiao Qinian got the seeds from?" At first, he thought he had obtained them by chance from a merchant from another place, but now he didn't believe it. He had sent people to inquire with merchants from other places, but unfortunately, they hadn't found a single grain seed.
“Your Majesty, no matter where it came from, as long as Xiao Qinian is on the side of the Great Zhou, the seeds will ultimately be contributed to the Great Zhou. So, does its origin really matter?” Shen Junru said firmly.
"Haha, teacher, you're right. Where the seeds came from is indeed unimportant. Perhaps Heaven saw how hard life was for the people of our Great Zhou, and sent people to save them." Emperor Zhou laughed heartily; he had been too attached to appearances.
"Your Majesty, this old minister also wishes to take leave to examine the rapeseed." Seeing Emperor Zhou's reaction, Shen Junru knew that he had already made up his mind.
"Teacher, you can go if you want."
On the day of her departure, Xiao Siyue met Shen Junru.
"Grandpa Shen, what brings you here?" Xiao Siyue asked Shen Junru curiously.
"I heard you were going to the village to harvest rapeseed, and I wanted to go and see."
"So that's how it is." Xiao Qinian's eyes flickered when he heard this. He hadn't told his teacher about this, so it must have been His Majesty who said it.
Is Your Majesty becoming suspicious? But as long as you don't suspect Yue'er, that's fine.
"Qinian, how's the rapeseed yield you mentioned?" Shen Junru asked after sitting in the carriage.
"It's hard to say for sure right now, but the person who gave us the seeds mentioned that the rapeseed yield is around 300 to 500 catties per mu, with an oil yield of 30% to 40%," Xiao Qinian replied. This was what Xiao Siyue had told him earlier.
"That's not bad, but I wonder how this rapeseed oil tastes?" Shen Junru nodded. You know, nowadays only a little over 10% of soybeans can be used to make oil, and sometimes not even 10%.
Nowadays, the oils available are too limited. Besides soybean oil, there's only sesame oil, but sesame oil is very expensive and ordinary people can't afford it. Even soybean oil is unaffordable for many people. The oil that ordinary people use is lard, but pork is expensive.
If rapeseed oil is really as Xiao Qinian said, then it is entirely possible to cultivate it.
When we arrived at the field, we saw a large expanse of rapeseed, with each plant laden with seed pods, making it clear that the harvest would be meager.
Xiao Siyue was overjoyed, knowing that once the rapeseed was harvested, she would be able to enjoy different flavors.
However, she had forgotten that she hadn't come before. Rapeseed flowers are very beautiful. In modern times, rapeseed flowers have become a popular tourist destination, and many people go there to visit and admire them every year when they bloom.
Xiao Siyue summoned Lao Tian, the manager of the estate, and asked him to gather the tenants to begin the harvest.
"It'll probably take these people several days to finish harvesting," Shen Junru said, watching the tenants busily working in the fields.
"Yes, it will take four or five days." Although there are quite a few tenant farmers, this requires a thousand acres of land, and the harvested rapeseed will need to be dried.
"Okay, no rush, we'll take it slow." It's only a few days, he can wait.
And so, the group stayed at the manor for five days. They didn't waste those five days; Xiao Siyue and the other two explored the entire area around the manor.
Five days later, the rapeseed had been harvested, and the yield was quite good, averaging 400 jin per mu. Moreover, the grains were plump, and the oil yield would certainly not be low.
After discussion, they decided to take out 10,000 catties to press for oil first, and keep the rest for seeds.
As for the oil pressing equipment, it had already been set up on the estate after the rapeseed was planted.
The 10,000 jin of rapeseed yielded a total of over 3,200 jin of oil, representing an oil yield of 32%.
If the oil pressing equipment were more reliable, it could probably achieve a yield of over 38%.
However, the oil yield was already very high, more than 3,000 catties. Xiao Qinian planned to keep some for himself and offer the rest to Emperor Zhou.
Of course, there are also Shen Junru, but not many.
After loading the oil, Xiao Qinian and the others returned to the capital together.
As for the other rapeseed, it was all stored in the estate's warehouse for planting next year.
As soon as Xiao Qinian and Shen Junru returned, they went to the palace to report to Emperor Zhou.