Crop rotation might be insignificant for villages or small towns with low population density, but around big cities where land is scarce, using this method is a waste of land. Places like Silverlight City, Dragonfall Ridge, and the King's City import large amounts of grain from other towns every month.
The first step in utilizing human and animal manure is to collect it. This is why Roland decided to build public toilets as soon as possible, which can also reduce the spread of disease and beautify the living environment—a win-win situation. By the time the remaining batches of personnel are transported here, the toilets will be almost finished. As for how to compost, how to cultivate, and how to sow seeds, he decided to select a group of experienced old farmers in a few days to teach them separately. After all, the land is still in the leveling and clearing stage, and it will take at least a week before cultivation can begin.
After finishing the work at hand, he decided to go to the back garden to check on Leaf's experimental fields.
Since letting Leaf research various seed improvements, all the places in the garden where flowers could be planted have been planted with crops. She also followed Roland's suggestion to divide the flower beds into many blocks and number them so that the development results of the two groups of experimental crops could be compared.
As soon as Roland stepped into the yard, he was dazzled by the golden wheat.
"Your Highness," Leaf, who was squatting by the flower bed, stood up, tucked the hair around her ears, and bowed to the prince.
"Are these all your improved results?" He waved his hand, signaling her not to be polite, walked over, excitedly held up a heavy ear of wheat, and felt its plump caryopsis with his fingers.
He had no idea what wheat could look like, but compared to his memories of the wheat fields in the King's City when he was a child, those ears of wheat were not only smaller than the one in his hand, but the grains were also much shriveled.
Leaf nodded, "I first made the ears of wheat bigger, and after ripening and harvesting the seeds, I planted the new seeds in the flower bed, and I could get such ears of wheat. But... repeating this process, after repeated sowing for two or three rounds, it is difficult to grow large and long ears of wheat. I don't know why."
Unfortunately, I can't help with this, Roland thought. According to his poor junior high school biology knowledge, it's probably because of inbreeding depression? The South grows rice, which is vastly different from wheat. To increase yield, the seeds are bought. But being able to maintain two generations is already of practical value. An ear of wheat can produce more than one hundred and thirty seeds. The first batch of seeds is modified by Leaf, and then the farmers make self-retained seeds, which can be used for at least two years.
"Why is this area empty?" Roland noticed a flower bed with only a few dry wheat stalks.
"I started planting there, maybe because I planted too many times," Leaf said uncertainly. "If I release magic, the wheat can grow quickly, but after I remove the magic, they will wither quickly."
It seems that the magic-modified plants still need the soil to supply nutrients for continued growth, and some trace elements are still essential. Roland walked to the last flower bed, where the wheat planted was very strange. Several clusters of green ears of wheat hung on an arm-thick stalk, and several branches extended from the center of the stalk, and the branches were covered with green leaves. Therefore, the volume of each wheat plant was relatively large, and only two plants were planted in the flower bed.
This is the magic-modified wheat tree that Roland asked Leaf to try to make.
The direction he envisioned was to make the wheat like a banana tree, bearing fruit on the branches, harvesting regularly every year, thereby saving the trouble of plowing and sowing, and growing larger and more green leaves to increase photosynthesis and reduce the requirements for the land. At present, the thick stalks and branches are a bit space-consuming, and only the branches grow ears of wheat, which does not conform to the initial idea. Should Leaf try to improve it in the direction of grape vines? Roland thought, after all, she has never seen a real banana tree, and grapes are not a rare product in Graycastle. With a comparison, it should be easier to imitate.
"The seeds of these three wheat plants cannot be used for sowing," Leaf said. "I tried it, and the wheat grains cannot germinate after planting. But it can indeed bear fruit repeatedly. The ears of wheat you see are already the second batch."
The inability to germinate means that each wheat tree is a unique existence, which requires Leaf to modify it by hand. At present, the planting value is not great. "You did a great job. The variety of large ears of wheat will be called Golden No. 1. I will reserve an experimental field for you on the south bank of the Redwater River, surrounded by fences and partitions. You should as soon as possible
Ripen a batch of Golden No. 1 there for this year's spring plowing." Roland instructed, "As for the garden, continue to use it to improve new varieties. I just came up with a lot of ideas. Not only wheat crops, but grapes are also worth trying."
It's a pity that Leaf can only understand the characteristics of a crop from a macroscopic level: such as more fruits, sweeter taste, dense branches, etc... If she can understand the microscopic level, can she directly manipulate genes to make subtle and precise adjustments? For example, allowing plants to absorb light other than visible light, such as ultraviolet rays, light, and even ionizing radiation for photosynthesis, directly producing energy storage substances such as starch, glucose, and sucrose, so that people can directly grow crops in culture tanks.
At dusk, the Fourth Prince lit a bonfire by the Redwater River, ordering Carter and the guards to gather all the serfs. Basins of large pots were transported to this place by the people, erected on newly built simple mud stoves, and lit to cook porridge.
The serfs looked at the new master with his back to the bonfire, his figure dragged out a long shadow by the firelight, and lowered their heads in fear. Some of the bolder ones still secretly looked at the prince from time to time.
Roland stood in front of the bonfire and announced the rules he had made to these more than a thousand people.
"I am Roland Wimbledon, the Fourth Prince of Graycastle, the Lord of Border Town, and the Master of the Western Region!"
"The reason I called you here is to tell you that it is your good fortune to come to this territory! As long as you work hard, you can get rid of your current status and position!"
"That's right, I will give you a chance to get rid of your servitude and become a free man!"
There was an uproar among the serfs. What freedom meant was very clear in the minds of these serfs. They would no longer have to suffer the cruel abuse of their masters, no longer be forced to engage in endless cultivation, the crops produced in the fields would no longer have to be handed over to the masters in full, and their sons and daughters could also escape the status of serfs.
After Roland waited for a moment, he continued, "Starting tomorrow, each of you will be assigned a fixed piece of land, and someone will guide you on how to cultivate it to harvest more wheat. In the first year, you can keep 30% of the harvest in the fields, and 70% will be handed over to Border Town. The best batch will be promoted to free men!"
"After becoming a free man, your family can be exempted from serfdom. As for whether to continue farming or find other livelihoods in the town, it is up to you to decide. Those who choose to farm will pay 20% of the harvested grain as rent, and the remaining 80% will be at your own disposal. Those who seek other livelihoods will have their land returned to the lord, and of course, they don't need to hand over any grain!"
As soon as these words came out, there was only the sound of breathing in the scene. At this moment, someone suddenly shouted, "Your Highness, is what you said true?"
"Of course," Roland said word by word, "As a lord, I never deceive my people."
"Your Highness is benevolent," someone couldn't help but exclaim, and then the voice quickly became high-pitched, "Long live His Royal Highness the Prince!"
A serf in the front row knelt down with the shouts, followed by the second and the third...
Until the field was kneeling down in a dark mass, the shouts rose one after another, more and more, louder and louder. The voices of the people finally converged into the same rhythm, "Your Highness is benevolent! Long live His Royal Highness the Prince!"
Since there is an echo, there is no need for a promoter, the prince thought.
He clapped his hands and ordered the guards behind him, "Serve the meal!" (If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian to vote and support. Your support is my greatest motivation.)