Gu Qingcheng asked Uncle Kang to spray some diluted salt water on the fodder.
Uncle Kang said with relief, "These cattle are fortunate to have Young Master Gu. They can even eat salt."
Gu Qingcheng casually checked the loyalty of the eight villagers in the breeding farm. All of them had reached 80 and 80-something points, indicating high loyalty. It seemed the cohesion of the village had been greatly strengthened.
Gu Qingcheng instructed, "Uncle Kang, pay attention to collecting manure in the future. We'll need to distribute it to each team for fertilizing the land."
"Crops bloom beautifully, all thanks to good fertilizer. I understand these principles, Young Master Gu. Don't worry, I won't waste a single bit of manure."
The village was overjoyed to have cattle, and their daily conversations revolved around them. However, no one noticed that Liu Ding and Wu Sheng, after finishing their meals, headed towards the supply and marketing cooperative separately.
"Brother Wu, I've already said it, we are not fated. There are so many girls in the village, you can surely find someone who suits you, no need to pester me anymore." Qin Yue refused helplessly when she saw Wu Sheng had brought a piece of cured meat.
"I don't care, I've set my heart on you," Wu Sheng said, his dark red face showing his thick skin.
"Xiao Cui, don't ignore me. Once the first harvest from the fields is in, Young Master Gu will distribute land to us. I'm a team leader, and my contribution to grain production will earn me a large plot of land. I promise you won't have a hard life." Liu Ding pleaded with Liu Cui at the back of the supply and marketing cooperative.
"Forget it. We are not meant to be. I feel my life is okay now, and I don't want to get married again." Liu Cui coldly refused.
Liu Ding, having been snubbed, lowered his head and walked to the front yard, where he saw Wu Sheng with a similar dejected expression. As their eyes met, and they saw the expressions on each other's faces, they felt a wave of awkwardness, yet also a sense of understanding.
The next day, after breakfast, Gu Qingcheng naturally went to see how the teams were using the cattle. Gu Qingcheng had already purchased the plows. Upon reaching the fields, she saw Liu Ding skillfully harnessing the oxen to the plow and then plowing the land. The land that would have taken over a dozen people all morning to clear was turned over in less than half an hour with the help of the oxen. The plowing was deep and thorough, bringing up all the grass roots and tree roots. Others just needed to use rakes to gather the roots and stems, pile them up, and let them dry.
Gu Qingcheng was very satisfied and said, "Once these tree roots and grass roots are dried, along with the previously cut shrubs and dry grass, we can refine the land."
Liu Ding also reported good news, saying, "Young Master Gu, the millet seeds have germinated. The germination rate is quite high." Gu Qingcheng's spirits lifted upon hearing this and she said she would go see after finishing work.
The weather was also suitable for planting sweet potatoes and potatoes. Before, the land wasn't ready, but now with the oxen, efficiency had greatly improved.
"We only have enough millet seeds to plant about ten mu of land. We'll have to wait for the next harvest to expand. However, we have plenty of sweet potato and potato seeds, so you need to clear more land and plant more sweet potatoes and potatoes. My requirement now is to complete the clearing of an additional one hundred mu of land within ten days."
Fifty mu had already been cleared. Adding another one hundred mu would only bring the total to 150 mu, which still did not satisfy Gu Qingcheng.
Liu Ding sounded a bit troubled, "Ah, this, Young Master Gu, it's a bit rushed! But we'll do our best."
Gu Qingcheng gestured with her hand, pointing to the valley they could see. "The entire area of this valley, as far as the eye can see, needs to be cleared."
Liu Ding was startled and asked, "Young Master Gu, can we plant all this land? Can we eat all of it?"
Gu Qingcheng smiled and remained silent. Liu Ding immediately felt he had said something foolish. Of course, who would complain about having too little land?
In the evening, Gu Qingcheng strolled through the cattle shed again. The oxen, after a day of hard work, were likely hungry. They were eating fresh, tender grass, not even lifting their heads. The chickens and ducks were also busily pecking at their food. The sheep pen was empty, as they had been taken to the mountains to graze and had not yet returned.
Uncle Kang was tending a fire in front of a makeshift shelter. Seeing Gu Qingcheng arrive, he quickly stood up respectfully, rubbing his hands nervously. "Young Master Gu, I've just refilled the water troughs and sprinkled salt on the fodder. I just sat down."
"Oh, it's alright. Rest and work in moderation. Remember to transport the cleared manure to the field head tomorrow. Once the mountains are refined, we can directly fertilize the fields. By the way, who is on night duty tonight?" Gu Qingcheng asked.
"I'm on duty for the first half of the night, and Xiao Gu and Da Dao will be on duty for the second half. Tomorrow, another group will take over the second half. Those on the second half will sleep in the morning, and those not on duty will work as usual tomorrow."
"That's good, well arranged. Ensure someone is here to watch. These cattle are treasures to our village." Gu Qingcheng handed him a bronze gong and said that if anything unusual occurred, he should strike the gong immediately, and the village hunting party would come to help.
Uncle Kang recognized the bronze gong. He gently struck it once, producing a clear and resonant sound. He knew that if he struck it with force, the entire village would be awakened.
"That's wonderful! This is much more useful than shouting. Besides, this place is a bit far from the village. I was just telling Xiao Gu, if we encountered wild beasts or someone came to steal the cattle, how would we notify the village? I didn't expect Young Master Gu to have such a brilliant idea. You've thought of everything." Gu Qingcheng smiled subtly.
The bronze gong was something she had acquired from the gatekeeper's quarters of a wealthy household when she was stockpiling in Jinsha City. She figured it was used by the servants for night patrols. Gu Qingcheng had thought at the time that metals were quite valuable and decided to collect any she saw, not expecting it to be so useful.
"Uncle Kang, I've spoken to Meixiang in the village. From now on, she'll cook two bowls of noodles every night and send them over for the night shift workers."
"Young Master Gu, you are truly kind." Uncle Kang was a true countryman, very simple and honest. He didn't know how to say flattering words, but he kept praising her as a good person.
Xiao Gu was a young man in his early twenties who enjoyed the work of feeding cattle and chickens. He had volunteered for the task. Although he had no prior experience in animal husbandry, Gu Qingcheng found him to be sincere and assigned him to assist Uncle Kang.
"Uncle Dai hasn't returned since descending the mountain today. I wonder if we'll find a veterinarian. That would be even better." Gu Qingcheng said casually.
A veterinarian? Xiao Gu's eyes lit up when he heard this. "Young Master Gu, if we manage to recruit a veterinarian, can I learn from him? One veterinarian in this area might not be enough, right?"
"Of course, you can. We planned to recruit several apprentices anyway."
As they were talking, Gu Qingcheng saw specks of torchlight illuminating some sections of the mountain path below. There seemed to be quite a few of them, heading towards Phoenix Village. Gu Qingcheng narrowed her eyes, feeling a sense of caution.
She moved to a spot with a clear view and took out a pair of infrared binoculars. It was dark, and even if Uncle Kang and Xiao Gu saw Gu Qingcheng holding something to her eyes, they wouldn't know what it was. In any case, Young Master Gu had many strange and wonderful gadgets, and they assumed these were items only possessed by wealthy families, so they didn't dare to ask.