Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 629 Good Subordinates

Therefore, the next step is to plant enough rice. In addition, Minister Zhang decided to plant a batch of soybeans suitable for growing in Mobei on the remaining fields that need rotation to fill the food gap in Mobei.

However, this year there are many more official fields than last year, and although the number of manpower has also increased, it is estimated that there will still not be enough manpower during the upcoming spring planting season.

Although the Great Sheng Dynasty already had some farming tools, including the curved plow, other advanced farming tools were not very common.

Moreover, whether planting rice or soybeans, it is time-consuming. Not only does planting rice require deep plowing of the fields several times, but leveling the fields is also very time-consuming.

As for soybeans, it is also necessary to dig ditches and canals, then dig pits one by one, sow the beans and fill them up, which is also very time-consuming.

So, two months ago, Hua Lei called Uncle Zhao back to the house, drew the shape of lao (lao) herself, and asked Uncle Zhao to try to make it.

The 耢, also called "耱(mo)" in some places and "盖" in some places, is a farm tool made of finger-thick branches woven on a rectangular wooden frame.

It is used to level dry land after plowing to make the soil particles finer. It is sometimes used to conserve moisture and sometimes to bury planted grain seeds.

When using it, place the harrow flat on the plowed field and let the ox pull it forward. The farmer will then stand on the top of the harrow with his feet apart, holding the reins, and swing his body with the speed of the harrow, transferring the power through his feet.

This action makes the ridges behind you smooth. You can also place stones on the harrow to increase the pressure on the soil surface, similar to the effect of a manual rake.

However, it is several times more efficient than manual raking, and it is labor-saving and easy to make. Uncle Zhao looked at the pictures of flower buds and explained, and it took him three or four days to make the raking.

After trying it out in the farm, the effect was very good and the speed was fast. In addition to making a rake for leveling dry land, Hualei also asked Uncle Zhao to make a square rake for leveling paddy fields.

The square rake is similar to a flat harrow with a larger area. People standing on it are not likely to sink into the mud. At the same time, the structure is very solid and can withstand greater resistance. It is suitable for operation in paddy fields and is very good for leveling paddy fields.

After the hoe and square rake were made, Hualei was very satisfied. Thinking about planting soybeans, it is necessary to dig ditches, dig holes, plant beans, and fill them.

So, he drew the prototype of the plow cart, and asked Rong Jin to help calculate the data of each part of the plow cart, and asked Uncle Zhao to start trying to make the plow cart again.

A harrow is an animal-powered seed drill, mainly used for sowing crops such as soybeans and sorghum. It can complete the two tasks of furrowing and sowing at the same time, greatly improving the sowing efficiency.

The plow cart in Hualei painting is composed of a plow frame, plow bucket, plow legs, and a plow shovel. Among them, the plow shaft, plow frame, plow bucket and other parts are mainly made of wood, while the plow share is made of iron.

When sowing, an ox leads the way, one person holds the plow shaft and controls the speed and direction, and another person follows behind, holding the plow handle and shaking the plow as they walk.

The seeds slid into the hollow hoe foot through the seed delivery tube in accordance with the shaking rhythm, and then they could be sown in the fields. Half a month later, the first hoe was completed.

Hualei secretly went to her own farm to experiment, but the result was not satisfactory. Hualei made a three-legged plow.

There is a nearly cube-shaped wooden box on top, which is used to store beans. There is a funnel that will leak seeds into the seed tube of the plow and sow them in the ground.

When the ox pulls the harrow cart forward, the three harrow feet open furrows and sow seeds on the leveled land. Theoretically, it is possible to cover and lightly press the seeds at the same time, killing two birds with one stone and saving time and effort.

However, as the saying goes, "Ideals are full, but reality is skinny." Although the field was leveled and the oxen were pulling the plow cart, it was difficult to control the amplitude when shaking the plow cart.

If you shake it too hard, there will be more than 70, 80 or 90 beans in one place. If you shake it too lightly, the beans won't come out. This is definitely not okay.

Moreover, the awl was dragged with small stones used to cover the fine soil, but because it was only tied with ropes, it was easy to fall off and wear out, which greatly affected the progress.

Such a plow is definitely not efficient. So, the plow was brought back to the house for repair. However, Hualei was at a loss as to how to fix it.

In her previous life, she had only seen the appearance of a plow in a farm tool museum and had a general understanding of its working principle. However, how to save time and effort and do this accurately, Hualei felt that it seemed beyond her ability.

She seemed unable to solve the problem with the plow now. Looking at Hua Lei who was somewhat discouraged, Rong Jin took over the task of modifying the plow.

The stone covered with fine soil is relatively easy to solve. Replace the original stone with a stone with holes, pass a rope through the holes, and it will not fall at all.

After solving the problem of covering the soil, he began to solve the problem of sowing too much seeds. He first made the opening at the bottom of the funnel smaller and then tried it.

I found that it didn't work. Although there wouldn't be 80 or 90 beans coming out at once, the speed of sowing was obviously too slow. The cow had to walk half the speed to sow normally. This was too inefficient and didn't work.

So, Rong Jin and Uncle Zhao took the plow cart back to the house, discussed and experimented for a long time, and came up with the idea of ​​installing a small movable wooden board at the opening of the funnel.

The size of the opening was changed back to its original diameter. When the plow cart moved forward, it bumped and the wooden board vibrated, causing the beans to fall out.

The wooden board vibrates naturally with the forward frequency of the plow cart, opening and closing, and the beans fall along with it. If you control the speed of the ox well, the beans will be evenly distributed.

The repaired plow was brought back to the farm and tested. This time, it was much better than the original one. The person leading the ox in front only needed to follow the instructions of the person holding the plow from behind and drive the ox.

The small stones below can basically complete the task of covering the fine soil. If there are occasional omissions, the person holding the plow can just help with his feet.

The only requirement is that the person pulling the rope should keep the frequency according to the actual situation. If the cow walks fast, the rope should be pulled faster. If the cow walks slowly, the rope frequency should be lower. Once you have experience and coordination, there will be no problem.

So, Uncle Zhao was asked to bring the people from the lumber shop to make a few plow carts. After some tests, they were able to basically complete the task of sowing beans.

Moreover, the speed is much faster than manual sowing. Although it is a bit exaggerated to say that one hectare of seeds can be sown per day, the efficiency is indeed good.

So Hua Lei brought the hoe, the harrow, and several plow carts to Minister Zhang.