Ridge Cultivation Method

Mountain Forest Town is quite large. Luo Ning spent the entire afternoon inspecting it and only managed to cover the wheat fields and vegetable patches on the east side.

If he wanted to walk around his entire territory, it would probably take him two or three days.

When he set out in the afternoon, he was full of anticipation, hoping to make some surprising discoveries. But when he returned, it was the opposite; his heart felt heavy with disappointment.

Not only did he fail to find any surprises, but he also discovered a series of problems, particularly concerning grain cultivation.

Luo Ning took a sip of Barley Tea and sat down at his desk. He began to recall what he had seen in the wheat fields, thinking about how to solve the problems.

"The wheat growth is uneven, likely due to being too dense. The random scattering method of sowing seeds results in chaotic seedlings, and the seedlings are too close together, affecting not only their sunlight but also their growth."

"Furthermore, this dense situation prevents farmers from entering the fields to weed, fertilize, and water during the growth process. When mature, some of the wheat ears will also rot for this reason."

After much thought, the fundamental cause of this situation seemed to be the sowing method.

A term from history books popped into Luo Ning's mind—the Ridge Cultivation Method.

The Ridge Cultivation Method is a farming technique where the cultivated land is divided into ridges and furrows, and the crops are planted on the ridges.

This farming method has many advantages:

For example, planting on ridges higher than the ground, with furrows separating the two ridges, ensures the distance between crops, allowing for more sufficient photosynthesis and also preventing the crops from being too dense, which can lead to poor root development.

The significant height difference between the ridges and furrows facilitates drainage and flood prevention, and also makes it convenient to irrigate along the furrows.

Luo Ning also inquired with many locals in the afternoon. The rainfall in Mountain Forest Town is quite abundant, and digging furrows is beneficial for drainage, which can greatly reduce the possibility of wheat seedlings drowning.

In addition, the furrows between the ridges provide space for farmers to weed and fertilize, unlike the current situation where there is nowhere to step.

Of course, there is also a very important point: using the Ridge Cultivation Method helps maintain soil fertility.

This year's ridge becomes next year's furrow, and this year's furrow becomes next year's ridge; this is a form of rotational fallow.

"This method is worth promoting!"

He took out a Quill Pen and Parchment and began writing about the Ridge Cultivation Method on the paper, while also drawing a simple diagram illustrating the cultivation.

The night grew deeper. The Manservant Gallon had already lit candles in the study early on. The candlelight reflected on Luo Ning's serious face, making the Maid serving nearby a little lost in thought.

She had heard that nobles loved to indulge, always eating, drinking, or having fun. Many young noblemen would even call their Personal Maids to their beds.

But this Baron in front of her was completely different.

Throughout the day, Bella noticed that except for the afternoon nap, the Baron was almost always busy, as if he had endless things to do and endless words to write.

"Master~"

Chahar walked in carrying a cup of milk. Upon seeing him, Gallon and Bella bowed their heads and exited the room, standing outside the door.

The Butler in the castle, although not a noble, had some status, and Chahar was also one of Luo Ning's old subordinates.

Therefore, the new servants in the castle were very respectful of Chahar and obedient to his management.

Chahar also felt what it was like to be a Butler.

However, his respect for Luo Ning had never decreased; instead, it had greatly increased.

"Ah, Chahar."

Luo Ning looked up for a moment, then continued writing with his head down.

He had finished describing the Ridge Cultivation Method and was now planning how to fertilize.

Along the way, Luo Ning had noticed that whether it was Wushan City, Lakeside Town, or his Mountain Forest Town, the scenery on the streets always included feces.

In the afternoon, Luo Ning had stopped a farmer and asked him. He really wanted to understand why the farmers in this world didn't know how to use fertilizer.

After a general inquiry, he found that it wasn't that the people here hadn't thought of using fertilizer, but their method of using it was incorrect.

That person said that when they threw feces and urine on the ground, it didn't make the crops grow better; instead, it caused scorching of the seedlings.

As a result, they came to believe that feces were a harmful substance and shouldn't be thrown into cultivated land, which led to feces having no value.

Things with no value are naturally not managed by anyone. Nobles didn't care, and people regarded it as garbage, which led to the situation of feces and urine being everywhere on the streets.

How to effectively utilize these feces was the problem Luo Ning was currently considering.

Fortunately, he was from a farming background in his hometown on Earth. He had seen many people farming when he was young, and later in high school and university, he studied science and knew about chemistry and microorganisms.

To reasonably utilize human and animal feces, one could choose composting, maturation, or fermentation.

Promoting this method within the territory could not only solve the fertilizer problem and maintain a certain level of soil fertility but also address the issue of poor environmental conditions in politics.

When farmers knew the importance of feces, they would no longer defecate and urinate anywhere.

For Luo Ning, this was killing two birds with one stone.

However, neither the Ridge Cultivation Method nor composting could be implemented by everyone just by saying a word.

Luo Ning planned to find two people and specifically designate two experimental fields for verification.

If these two methods were effective in this different world, they could be fully promoted during the spring plowing next year.

"Master, you've been busy all day today, you should rest!"

Chahar placed the milk he was holding beside Luo Ning, thoughtfully urging Luo Ning to rest early.

"I'm not tired yet."

Luo Ning put down his pen and picked up the cup, taking a sip of milk.

The taste of milk in this different world wasn't that good; it even had a faint fishy smell.

However, not everyone could drink fresh milk; it was a rare commodity.

"How are the other servants in the castle settled?" Luo Ning asked casually.

"Everything is arranged smoothly!"

Butler Chahar was quite satisfied with the new servants. At least they were eager to learn what he said and taught, and they performed well.

"Please rest assured, my lord. In just a month at most, the servants in the castle will be almost at the level of Wushan Castle."

Luo Ning chuckled, "Remember my previous reminder, the hygiene in the castle must be well maintained. Damp areas need to be dealt with quickly. I don't want to see rats or insects in my castle."

"You can rest assured, I have emphasized this repeatedly, and I will inspect each area every day to ensure there are no problems!"

"I'm confident leaving the castle matters to you."

Luo Ning said with a smile, "Tomorrow morning, have Administrator Wilson come to see me. I have something I need you and him to handle together."

Chahar was a little surprised. What kind of matter required both him, the castle butler, and the administrator to complete?

"Understood, my lord. I will inform Wilson tonight."

"Let Gallon inform him. You find me a relatively large ceramic vat; I will need it tomorrow morning."

Chahar was puzzled again. What did his lord want him to do? He couldn't figure out his lord's thoughts at all. Sometimes he even doubted if he was truly an incompetent butler.

However, he also understood that some things didn't need so many questions; he just needed to do as his lord instructed.

"As you wish!"

Chahar left the second floor with Gallon and got busy.

Luo Ning, meanwhile, continued his designs.

His purpose in having Chahar prepare a ceramic vat was very simple: he wanted to build the most basic toilet in the castle.

Since he was preparing to collect feces for fertilizer, the necessary facilities should be in place, and a toilet was indispensable.

Luo Ning did want to design a flush toilet, but that would be time-consuming and laborious, and he didn't have a mature idea for how to design the plumbing yet.

He could only settle for the next best thing and build a basic toilet first, then gradually promote the use of fertilizer to give everyone a basic understanding, and then introduce toilets to improve hygiene.