I, Sun Shan, and the Imperial Examination

Chapter 1317 Sun Dali’s Teaching

Sun Dali continued to explain the role of fertilizer in more detail than the head of the village and the village chief.

Although the villagers still didn't quite believe it, they finally got an explanation, and their suspicion of using guano fertilizer was not so strong anymore.

Sun Dali said very bluntly: "Fellow villagers, you can just treat guano fertilizer as feces and urine. Feces can fertilize the fields, so why can't guano? Moreover, this guano has been specially processed in the workshop and has been added with many good things, making it even more fertile for the fields.

Once the fields are fertilized, the crops will grow well. Feel free to use it. If it doesn't work, we won't charge you. Of course, if it does, you can pay us back on credit. It's not easy for us to run this workshop, so we'll let you use it first and then charge you."

After a pause, he continued, "If the government hadn't stipulated that the workshop must do this, it wouldn't have been so foolish as to allow people to use it for free. Our magistrate is a good man who has devoted his heart and soul to the people. I hope the people will not let him down."

He had to find every opportunity to promote his master's work. Sun Dali was well aware of the magic of "wide publicity".

Sure enough, after hearing this, the village chief and the farmer began to believe it a little.

They wondered why the workshop allowed the fertilizer to be used first and then charged for it, as it seemed to be a government regulation.

Yes, without government suppression, unscrupulous businessmen would never do this.

Sun Dali continued, "Fellow villagers, we'll talk about transporting the fertilizer tomorrow. I called everyone here today to teach you how to use it."

Then he continued, "We've called in the farmers from each village today so you can learn how to apply fertilizer. We promise to teach you."

After hearing this, everyone understood why the village head arranged for farmers who knew how to farm to come here.

It turns out to be on-site teaching and on-site learning.

The village head stepped forward and, with a mock gesture of thanks, said, "Thank you, Guard Sun, Officer Xiao Wuzi. Without you, the people wouldn't know how to use our services. Thank you, Magistrate, for your thoughtfulness."

Without further ado, Sun Dali and Xiao Wuzi led everyone to the temporary experimental field base.

Sun Dali said to the villagers, "Everyone, these three plots of land have been plowed. I want to emphasize here that the land must be plowed well before fertilizer can be applied."

Everyone nodded repeatedly to show that they understood.

Sun Dali first took his men to walk around the three plowed fields.

Then he said, "Everyone, look carefully. These three plots of land are three different kinds of land. This is high-quality land, this is medium-quality land, and this is low-quality land."

Everyone present was an expert in farming and had already noticed the differences between the three plots of land.

At first I was wondering why the three places were so far apart. It turned out that they were three fields with different fertility.

Sun Dali continued to explain: "Different lands require different fertilizers."

He then continued, "The best land requires less fertilizer, followed by medium land, and then the worst land. In any case, the less fertile the land, the more fertilizer is needed. The more fertile the land, the less fertilizer is needed."

These three areas are like three ponds. If the pond is full, we add less water. If the pond is not full, we have to add more water. Fertilizer is like water; the amount of water added depends on the amount of water in the pond.

After hearing this, the people understood.

Sun Dali then explained in detail how much fertilizer was needed for top-quality fields, medium-quality fields, and low-quality fields.

One of the old men couldn't help but ask, "Guard Sun, why do you need so much fertilizer for low-quality fields?"

Thousands of kilograms of guano fertilizer is too much, and fertilizer is so expensive, so how much would it cost?

Although the cost has not been specifically calculated, the grain obtained is not worth the bird droppings used to fill the fields, so it is not cost-effective.

Sun Dali said appreciatively, "That's a good question, sir. Now that's what I want to talk about."

After a pause, he continued, "Fellow villagers, inferior fields require more guano fertilizer, so using it initially might not be enough to cover your debts. Even selling the harvested grain might not cover the cost of fertilizer. Poor soil requires a lot of fertilizer to make it a good field. Just like a man who doesn't have enough food, how can he become a strong man?"

He swallowed and continued, "For inferior fields, you can choose not to use guano fertilizer, or use it little by little, using 1000 kilograms this year and another 1000 kilograms next year, accumulating little by little.

Over time, even low-quality fields can become high-quality fields. Just like when we reclaim wasteland, it doesn't make sense that the fields will be good the moment we open them. We need to plant soybeans and fertilize the fields, and then apply different fertilizers to gradually improve the fields. Let's see, am I right?"

When the village chief and the old man heard this, they couldn't help but grin and laugh.

Indeed, inferior fields need to be nurtured slowly before they have a chance to become superior fields, and to be honest, the nurturing process is a waste of money and energy.

Because of the guano fertilizer, money can be used to buy time, and inferior fields can be quickly turned into good fields.

It seems that guano fertilizer is indeed a good thing, but unfortunately it is expensive and old farmers generally don't use it.

Sun Dali patiently said, "The inferior fields can't afford guano fertilizer today, so let the superior and medium fields use it first. When we make money, we can buy more guano and gradually improve the inferior fields."

After Sun Dali explained the different fertilizers required for different grades of land, he officially began teaching.

Sun Dali rolled up his sleeves, rolled up his trouser legs, went to the field first, and demonstrated to everyone how to apply fertilizer.

After finishing, he stood up and said, "Fellow villagers, did you see how I applied fertilizer just now?"

The villagers nodded repeatedly: We saw it, of course we didn’t see it, you performed it on the spot.

Sun Dali continued, "As for the techniques in fertilizing, there are actually no techniques at all. You can learn it once you learn it. It's very simple."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone laughed happily again.

It’s really simple, not difficult at all.

First plow the field, then evenly spread guano fertilizer, and then use a rake to gently rake the field so that the topsoil and guano fertilizer are mixed together.

The main thing in this process is not to turn the soil too deeply, otherwise the fertilizer will be ineffective.

Sun Dali smiled and said, "Sprinkle a thin layer of guano fertilizer on each acre of land, and then gently turn it over with a rake. Remember, it must be done gently and not too deeply. If the fertilizer sinks too deeply, the effect will not be so good."

Then he added, "After the fields are ploughed and harrowed, we can plant the seedlings."

After saying that, Xiao Wuzi took out a handful of seedlings from somewhere and handed them to Sun Dali.

Sun Dali took it and planted it directly in the ground.

The onlookers saw how skillfully Sun Dali farmed and knew that he knew how to farm.

Sun Dali demonstrated gently, then looked up and said with a smile, "Everyone, the seedlings are still small and cannot be planted. If it weren't for this demonstration, I wouldn't dare to waste them like this."

The audience burst into laughter when they heard this.

Sun Dali also laughed: "Fellow villagers, after planting the seedlings like me, the next step is to plow the fields as usual. The only additional step here is to apply fertilizer."

Then Sun Dali went to each village and demonstrated it personally one by one.

If the movements are not standard, correct them in time and take the "test" again.

This will surely enable the village representatives present to understand how to apply fertilizers so that they can go back and teach the villagers.