Go back to the Ming Dynasty to be a thousand households

Chapter 43 Liu Yumei Feeding Pigs Huang Laifu Inventory ([-])
When Huang Laifu saw Liu Yumei, he recognized the military craftsman girl from before, and nodded slightly to her.

Seeing Huang Laifu's actions, Liu Yumei couldn't help but blushed, and hurriedly lowered her head. Liu Erniu hid behind her sister, only daring to look at the crowd secretly. She recognized Huang Laifu as the young master who gave her pastries. , kept looking at Huang Laifu.

Huang Laifu didn't feel anything about the actions just now. In later generations, most people would nod their heads when they met a familiar person. It was just a polite habit.Although Huang Laifu traveled here, some habits still existed unconsciously.

Huang Laifu felt nothing, but his actions just now were different in the eyes of others.Gu Yunniang first showed a strange expression, she looked at Huang Laifu and then at Liu Yumei, her face was a little ugly.

And Qian Shi also took a few glances at Liu Yumei, with the gossip look that middle-aged women like most, He Fuqianhu and Jiang Baihu also looked at each other, with a smile that men could understand.

Huang Laifu didn't think that he just nodded politely, and others were so fussy. He walked to the pigsty and looked at the little pigs inside. Happy.Huang Laifu seemed to see that when these little pigs grow up, they will all become big fat pigs, and their own financial resources will also flow in.

He stood there, thoughtful, and Liu Yumei, who was next to him, saw that he hadn't spoken for a long time, so she couldn't help but secretly glanced at him.Gu Yunniang was keenly aware of this movement again, and she couldn't help but snorted softly.

Mrs. Qian congratulated and said: "These pigs are all alive and kicking, and the pig food they eat is good. I am afraid that within a few months, these little pigs will grow into big fat pigs. There are so many fat pigs. , I’m afraid Wuzhai Fort has never been built before, and it’s all thanks to the young and old.”

Huang Laifu listened with a smile, He Fuqianhu and Jiang Baihu were happy to hear it, and they were also talking softly.

Afterwards, under Qian's guidance, Huang Laifu and others walked along the pigsty in front of the farm to various parts of the large livestock farm.Gu Yunniang was at the end intentionally or unintentionally, and when she turned around, she saw that the military craftsman girl Liu Yumei was still standing there, she couldn't help snorting again, quickened her pace, and caught up with the crowd.

I have seen various pig houses, fish ponds, vegetable fields, chicken pens, duck pens, and some orchards that are being sorted out. Although they are still rough everywhere and are still under construction and renovation, they all have a vibrant feeling .

Seeing all this, Huang Laifu felt very satisfied. It can be said that these are all his own hard work, and he has devoted all his time and energy to the various farms in Wuzhaibao, so that he will have the immediate results.Of course, the one who started all this cannot forget the money invested by Qu Yuanrui.

Wherever Huang Laifu and the others passed by, the women of Wuzhaibao military households who were busy working in the large livestock farm all respectfully greeted each other.When walking to the Qinglian River, looking at the big waterwheel in the distance and the flocks of ducks and geese by the river, Huang Laifu was even more energetic.

He said, "Come on, let's go to the horseshoe slope sheep farm."

Kelan Mountain, Horseshoe Slope.

Looking around, you can see swaying green trees, green grass, and a panoramic view of the beautiful scenery.There are also many alfalfa and rapeseed planted on the slopes and foot of the mountains in this area. When these grow, they are the delicacies of the sheep.

On the hillside, there is a sheep shed and sheep pen under construction, and a large number of farmers from various farms who have been busy in spring sowing are busy here sweating like rain.

The steward of the horseshoe slope sheep pen used to be an old shepherd from the Huang family, named Huang Daliang. When he saw Huang Laifu and others coming, he hurriedly greeted them respectfully, and led Huang Laifu and others to patrol around the horseshoe slope.

"Young master, there are two thousand lambs in this sheepfold. Each sheep needs to eat forty catties of leaves and grass every day. If you buy dead leaves, the price of leaves is three yuan per thousand catties. In winter, the price of leaves is seven thousand yuan per thousand." It costs about three taels per catty. For example, if you buy sheep grass, it costs about four renminbi per seven thousand catty, and about two taels per four thousand catty of firewood.”

Huang Daliang, an old shepherd who has been herding sheep for decades, is naturally familiar with the market.

"Very well, let's leave it at that for now. You can report the cost to Steward Yang, but..." Huang Laifu smiled, looked at the large area of ​​alfalfa at the foot of the mountain, and said, "Perhaps in summer and autumn, those things will no longer be needed." Goat grass."

The alfalfa and rapeseed on the hillside and at the foot of the mountain can greatly alleviate the problem of insufficient feed after harvesting in autumn.Large-scale planting in the future can fully meet the needs of pigs and sheep.

In addition to being used to feed sheep in winter, rapeseed can also be used to extract oil for food or lighting.Sheep manure can be mixed in feed to feed pigs, pig manure can be fed to ducks, and duck manure can be fed to fish.Moreover, these sheep manure, pig manure and other fertilizers can be used on farms to fertilize the fields.It can be said to be recycled.

Although alfalfa and rapeseed were widely planted in various places in the middle of the dynasty, such large-scale planting as Huang Laifu is still rare.And what puzzled everyone in Wuzhaibao was that Huang Laifu's sheep were raised in captivity instead of letting the sheep graze on various hillsides.

On this point, only Huang Laifu understands the advantages of putting sheep in pens, and the disadvantages of scattered sheep.Wuzhai Fort is close to Inner Mongolia, so the risk of desertification is very serious. The pasture where sheep have grazed can be said to be: "The sheep eat their hooves and plan, the wind blows a trench, the sheep are thin and bad, and the green is in vain."In order to avoid desertification, planting grass and raising sheep in pens are the best methods.

The experience of later generations has proved that the breeding method of sheep in pens is far better than that of spreading sheep outside. There are always sayings that sheep live in summer, fat in autumn, thin in winter, and die in spring, and the losses have always been relatively large.From the experience of nomads on the grasslands, we know that every winter, their cattle and sheep will die, and they also have to look for pastures everywhere, wandering around indefinitely.

As for sheep house breeding, as long as the forage grass is prepared and then fed with scientific methods such as nutritional feed, the growth rate of the sheep will double. Sheep mortality can also be greatly reduced.According to the experience at this time, if the sheep are grazing outside, it usually takes one to two years or even two to three years for the sheep to be slaughtered.Which method works better, you can tell at a glance.

These are all common sense in later generations, but not to mention He Fuqianhu and others don't understand, even the old shepherd Huang Daliang doesn't understand. He has been herding sheep for decades. From his point of view, sheep herding is just relying on mountains for food. Mountains rely on water to drink water.As long as there is grass, just let it go, why should it be raised in enclosures?
But this was what Young Master Huang meant, and he didn't dare to say anything, and the facts proved that no matter what decision Young Master Huang made, it would prove his correctness in the end.In this case, what do you want to do so much?Just do what the young master tells you to do?

※※※

Huang Laifu inspected the horseshoe slope sheep pen and was generally satisfied, but the sheep pen had not been fully built yet.The feed is not fully prepared, and for a period of time, it needs to be stocked outside.

There are 800 lambs, each of which costs 1 qian per lamb, and [-] lambs cost [-] taels of silver.It is estimated that the individual cost of raising a sheep is [-] yuan, but after the sheep grow up, each sheep can have [-] catties of wool every year, which costs about [-] taels.There are also cashmere, lamb, sheep dung, mutton, etc. are also part of the harvest.

What makes Huang Laifu regretful is that he cannot buy Tibetan sheep and large-tailed sheep, especially large western sheep. These sheep are not only fat and fleshy, but also have thick hair. They can be used as raw materials for woolen fabrics. woolen industry.

In the Jiubian area, there is a huge demand for cotton cloth, but cotton is generally only grown in the Central Plains area, and it is too far away from the source of goods. If it is transported for processing, the cost will be too high.The wool spinning industry is more suitable, and it is close to the source of goods in Inner Mongolia. Compared with cotton cloth, woolen cloth is less bulky, but its warmth retention is not bad at all, so it has great prospects.

The current sheep can be said to be of little use except for some goat milk and some mutton. Let's talk about that kind of good sheep later.

However, although pigs, sheep, and ducks are raised in Wuzhai Fort, there are no cattle.Cows are of little use to Wuzhai Fort, and the Ming Dynasty expressly stipulates that cattle cannot be easily slaughtered, and those cows are of little use for the time being.Raising cattle can take a while to talk to Huang Laifu.

Standing on the hillside, looking at the scenery below, Huang Laifu said boldly: "Now we only raise [-] sheep, and in the future we will raise [-] sheep, or even [-] sheep. Wuzhaibao will become the granary of northern Shanxi. It must also become a pasture in northern Shanxi."

Gu Yunniang looked at Huang Laifu with a bright face, and He Fuqianhu just kept inhaling.During these times, Huang Laifu had impacted him again and again, and he couldn't bear it psychologically. He murmured: "It's too much, can it be less?"

Qu Yuanrui beside Huang Laifu looked calm, even though Huang Laifu spent all his money.

※※※

Qu Yuanrui: "Boss, after spending so much money on me, should I get a recommendation ticket?"

Huang Laifu: "..."

(End of this chapter)