Chapter 407 - Chapter 407: Sowing Season
Chapter 407: Sowing Season
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Yes, young man. We heard we can extract oil from the rapeseed, and the yield will be better than peanuts.”
“We heard that from your mother. She also says one acre of peanuts can’t yield as much oil as rapeseed.” Everyone was polite to Su Wenxiu because he said Shen Qiuhua was his mother.
Besides peanut oil, people could also use lard from pork for cooking. However, pork would yield very little oil and be too costly. People were typically reluctant to buy pork, let alone roast it. Ultimately, it was better to use peanuts or rapeseed for oil extraction.
Su Wenxiu understood what some of the people said. He remembered his mother telling him about it during dinner the night before. He said, “Wait a moment while I go and talk to my mother.”
Su Binglan also heard the commotion and approached the noise. Su Wenxiu told her about the situation without waiting for his sister to ask.
Su Binglan replied to Su Wenxiu, “There’s no need to go to the factory to call Mother home. I’ll handle it.”
“Let me help you, Little Sister.” Su Wenxiu knew his sister would go to the warehouse to gather rapeseed.
Su Binglan nodded and said to the eight people at the door, “Come in and sit for a while. I’ll go to the warehouse to get the rapeseed. How much do you guys want to buy?”
“Miss Su, we’d like to know the price first, if that’s okay,” someone asked hesitantly. Everyone was nervous as they would be unable to afford rapeseeds if they were too expensive. Therefore, they knew they had to ask about its price first.
Su Binglan answered, “It’s five copper coins for 500 grams of rapeseed. Six hundred grams of seeds can cover one acre of land, producing more than 400 pounds of rapeseed. You can use 600 grams of them to yield about four oil bottles.”
However, that was only an approximate number. The rapeseeds yield would be higher since Su Binglan had planted them in her pocket dimension.
Everyone was stunned when they heard her explanation. They could yield
more oil than peanuts.
A woman recovered from her initial shock first and asked tremblingly, “Only five coins for 500 grams of rapeseed?”
“How can rapeseed be so cheap if it can yield that much oil?” Someone asked again because they were still in disbelief.
Su Binglan nodded. “Yes, five copper coins for 500 grams of rapeseed.
This time, everyone heard it more clearly. “I’d like to buy 500 grams of rapeseed, Miss Su.”
“I’ll buy two pounds of rapeseed since I have a large plot of land. We can plant more and extract more oil with this production. We can even sell our oil for money if we can’t finish it quickly.”
“Yes, you’re right. I’ll take two pounds of seeds, too!”
“My family doesn’t have much land, so I’ll only buy one and a half pounds.”
“Do you guys know how to plant and harvest these rapeseeds? When will you be planting them?” Su Binglan’s question puzzled everyone.
“Don’t we use the same method as peanuts?” No one knew how to plant or harvest rapeseeds properly and just guessed instead.
Immediately after, they looked at Su Binglan and wondered if she would explain it.
“Does it cost money to learn how to grow rapeseed?”
“I don’t think so. The Su Teng villagers say Miss Su is kind and has helped many people. Besides, if she wanted to profit from us, she wouldn’t sell rapeseed so cheaply.”
“Also, I heard from Miss Shen that we can harvest and eat rapeseed as vegetables. We simply must plant such a beneficial thing.”
Su Binglan noticed everyone’s uneasy expressions and patiently explained, “Rapeseeds are diverse, but there aren’t many requirements for their temperament. Everyone can use their land to grow rapeseed.
“If you crush corn husks and wheat stalks before burying them as a fertilizer, the rapeseed can absorb their nutrients. When planting, ensure the rapeseeds are in rows with a specific interval. Also…” Su Binglan gladly shared her knowledge of growing rapeseed.
The eight visitors listened attentively and understood everything she said because they were farmers who relied on harvesting for a living.
“Thank you, Miss Su. We’ll remember everything and plant the rapeseed properly when spring arrives.”
Su Binglan was shocked when she heard that lady’s words. Su Binglan thought that most people planted their crops during the spring and harvested them in autumn.
‘So, that’s why these people think rapeseed is the same as peanuts.’
She said, “You can plant the rapeseed during winter and harvest them in the spring of next year. Of course, you can still plant them in early spring and harvest them two to three months later.
“You can also eat them as vegetables or wait for the rapeseed to bloom and then pick them for oil extraction.”
Everyone only wanted to buy rapeseed for its oil but did not expect to gain another benefit from it.
“We can plant them during winter?”
Everyone had completed their autumn harvest and had nothing else to do, so they wanted to grow more crops to continue earning money. They could not plant regular crops during autumn and winter. Especially when it got too cold, causing the crops to die.
However, Su Binglan told these people they could plant rapeseed during winter.
‘Isn’t that too magical?!’
“M-Miss Su, are you telling the truth?”
Some people were so excited that their jaws dropped. They were so hurried to buy rapeseed that they could not wait for Shen Qiuhua to return to them after discussing things with her daughter.
They wanted to store the rapeseed at home and plant them when spring arrived. No one expected to be able to plant them now.
They also did some calculations and realized the rapeseed would bloom during spring. Then they could harvest them and use the land to plant crops.
Nonetheless, their land was vacant since the autumn harvest had passed. Now, they could plant their rapeseed. It was equivalent to having double the amount of land, and their rapeseed yield would be high.
They could also sell rapeseed oil if they could not finish it. After all, oil was costly, so they should make a decent living with it. Then their days would improve.
Everyone looked at Su Binglan and felt like she was glowing. It was as if a goddess had descended to the mortal world to help them.
“Planting during winter and harvesting in spring is efficient land use. That means we can now plant rapeseed on our vacant land.”
Everyone hurriedly changed their minds about their orders. “Miss Su, I’d like to buy five pounds of rapeseed since my family has five acres of land.” “I changed my mind, Miss Su. I’m buying two pounds instead of one.” “Thank you, Miss Su. We wouldn’t have known that if you didn’t tell us.”
“Thank goodness I went to get oil that day. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have met your mother and learned about such a thing as rapeseed..”