bookcurios Chapter 190: National Mobilization
Chapter 190: National Mobilization
After taking stock, Yun Xi felt that she had done a lot.
It was she who took the initiative, and then relatives and friends came to help and got things going.
"Next year, let's focus on breeding. Let agriculture develop on its own. We must trust the creativity and enthusiasm of the people. We will raise livestock and poultry so that we can eat meat and use fur. I also want to be able to wear light down jackets in winter."
"The system is always at the host's service."
The words were powerful. It was rare for the host to take the initiative to do things, so we must actively support him.
After the Spring Festival, everyone started to get busy. Among them, Yun Dad was the most busy. He now had 1000 acres of land to plant and had become a farming maniac.
Mu Xuan was also very busy in the Ministry of Industry, and he was a person who was particularly good at observation and discovery. When he found a problem, he subconsciously came to Yun Xi.
He said: "Since soybean oil has become popular, I have found that people have more oil at home and are more motivated to grow soybeans. However, people still rarely eat stir-fried dishes."
Yun Xi said: "Because they don't have an iron pot."
Ordinary people mainly use pottery at home, and it is good to have a copper utensil. How to stir-fry? What to stir-fry?
"That's the problem. So, if we want to improve everyone's diet, we have to make iron pots available to everyone. This is difficult."
"What's the difficulty?"
"The amount of iron produced from iron ore is limited, and it is mainly used in weapons and farm tools. There is not enough iron to make pots."
"Can't we develop new iron mines? One more mine means a lot more iron."
"How to develop it? Who knows where there are iron mines? Nowadays, iron mines are all discovered by accident."
"Send out some people to look for it. First, take a look at what the current iron ore looks like, and thoroughly study the characteristics of iron ore. Then send people to investigate across the country to see where this kind of iron ore can be found. Maybe we can find a new iron ore."
The system does know where the mines are, but pie won’t always fall from the sky, so everyone still has to learn how to make them themselves.
Mining is still necessary, and social development cannot be separated from iron.
"Perhaps, we can issue notices in various counties and prefectures, clearly explaining the characteristics of iron ore and mobilizing the people to look for it." Mu Xuan said, "There are hunters, woodcutters, and farmers in every place who often go into the mountains. They are more likely to find ore."
Yun Xi: "..."
She gave Mu Xuan a thumbs up. Great, Second Young Master! You came up with the ancient version of the national mobilization.
Mu Xuan left in a hurry. He still had to think carefully about the specific plan for letting the people go to find iron ore, as this matter was quite urgent.
Iron is needed to promote the curved plow and the plowshare, and a hoe is needed to dig sweet potatoes and peanuts. Most of the hoes nowadays are made of wood with iron blades. It would be better to replace them with pure iron hoes.
Craftsmen also invented a tool for slicing sweet potatoes - a grater. They cut an opening in a wooden board, installed a blade, slightly misaligned it, and left a gap, and then they could slice the sweet potatoes. It is simple and easy to use, but it also requires an iron blade.
If you want to dry the sweet potatoes to extend their shelf life, you have to cut them into slices when you dig them out, spread them out on the ground, pick them up and pack them in bags after they are dried. The whole sweet potato cannot be dried in the sun, it will only go bad.
There were too many things to do, and Mu Xuan felt that time was not enough, so he hurried back to the Ministry of Works to start work.
The second son of an official like Mr. Mu worked so hard and actively, and other officials in the Ministry of Industry were also deeply "motivated" and all of them joined in.
Mu Xuan looked at his colleagues whose mental state changed day by day and who were all as excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood, and he felt deeply confused.
What's going on? You guys are working so hard, I feel bad for being lazy. I used to go home for lunch, but now I have to make do with it at the department!
Among the few people, Mu Sheng was the most leisurely one, and he could often accompany Yun Xi at home.
In late February, when Yun Xi was about to give birth, the midwife hired by the old lady had already moved into the Mu family.
The room for delivery has also been cleaned up. Yun Xi will give birth in the delivery room and then return to the bedroom to recuperate after giving birth.
All the things needed for childbirth and the items required for the newborn have been prepared, and the maids have gone through several drills to ensure that they will not make any mistakes when the time comes.
The old lady also sent an experienced nanny to help. The baby was just born, and the new parents might not even know how to hold the baby, so they needed guidance from experienced people.
Yun Xi planned to breastfeed herself, and the old lady was worried that she didn't know how to do it, so the nanny could teach her when the time came.
There is someone watching over me twelve hours a day, and the whole yard is filled with tension.
Yun Xi: “…” There’s no need, really no need.
She has a system, as she had asked before, which can help block out pain, which is equivalent to painless childbirth in later generations. The system also has pills for normal delivery, which can ensure smooth childbirth and quick recovery after giving birth.
But these cannot be said.
Moreover, everyone is so nervous, which shows their importance to her and the child. All Yun Xi can do is to try her best to cooperate with everyone and not make trouble.
Yun Xi chose a wet nurse from Madam Mu and kept her. She told her in advance that she could breastfeed when needed and that she would only hire her for one year.
The nurse was also a smart person. She understood Yun Xi's meaning immediately. The lady was going to breastfeed the baby herself and the nurse was just a backup. If the milk was not enough or something happened and she couldn't breastfeed the baby herself, she would fill in the gap.
The nurse's surname was Li. She had just given birth and was still in confinement. Yun Xi asked her to go back and rest. She would send someone to call her on the day of her birth.
Nanny Li came with trepidation and left happily.
When she came, she was afraid that she would not be selected. Her parents passed away early, leaving behind three siblings. Her brother had already started a family and she was married, leaving only the younger sister. Even though the younger sister was very well-behaved and could do housework, her sister-in-law still couldn't tolerate her and wanted to sell her.
The younger sister ran out secretly to find her. She begged her husband to pay money to buy out the relationship between her younger sister and her brother's family, and from then on, the younger sister lived with her.
But her husband's family was not well off, and part of the money given to her brother and sister-in-law was borrowed.
She wanted to find something to do to lighten the burden on her husband. When she heard that the General's Mansion was looking for a wet nurse, she came to try, and unexpectedly she was chosen. The master seemed easy to get along with, and only needed to take care of the young master for a year, and the monthly salary was not small.
This is really great! In addition to paying off her debts, she can also save a lot of money from her monthly salary for the year.
Yun Xi felt that she was about to give birth in the early morning of the fifth day of March. She was sleeping when she felt a pain in her stomach.
The pain was not severe, and after the pain, there was no movement for a long time. She thought that this was probably a sign of imminent delivery, which should happen in the next two days.
When she woke up in the morning, Yun Xi had breakfast as usual and asked Mu Sheng to accompany her for a walk in the yard as usual.
Then she felt the pain in her stomach again. This time, it came back half an hour later.
The system reminded: "Host, you are about to give birth."
"I feel it now."
She didn't continue walking, as she didn't need to cram for an exam, so she needed to take a rest.
The time between contractions became shorter and shorter, and by noon, the time between each contraction was only ten minutes.
Is the labor progressing pretty fast?
When there were only about five minutes left between contractions, it was time for her to push.
"System, block the pain."
She ordered the maid, "Go call the midwife, I'm about to give birth."
Mu Sheng, who was walking with her, was stunned. After he came to his senses, he picked her up and walked towards the delivery room.
Chun Yu yelled out loudly: "My wife is about to give birth!"
Even Mu Sheng was startled by her sudden shout.
Yun Xi looked at her with a complicated expression and said, "I never knew you had such a loud voice."
Chun Yu: "Don't worry about my voice now, just go to the delivery room and lie down."
Mu Sheng put Yun Xi on the bed, holding her hand, and trembling with nervousness: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I'm with you."
I don’t know whether he was comforting Yun Xi or comforting himself.