I've been transported to the orc continent.

Chapter 355 Rice

As spring was drawing to a close, many houses had already been built in the central village. Like the Gaoshu village, this was also the first place to build houses for families with young children and elderly people.

After the house is built, the ground needs to be filled, floor tiles need to be laid, whitewash needs to be applied, and a kang (heated brick bed) needs to be built. The owner of the house will ask his clansmen to help with these tasks, so Bai Ling doesn't need to worry about them so much.

Bai Ling focused his attention elsewhere; he wanted to plant rice and cotton.

The beastmen had already witnessed the benefits of cotton; it could be spun into thread, woven into cloth, and made into quilts and clothes. Although they had never seen the benefits of rice, seeing how much Bai Ling treasured the rice seeds, the beastmen still reclaimed the wasteland near the lake with great enthusiasm, as Bai Ling had requested.

After the wasteland is reclaimed, it needs to be plowed and leveled once, then the accumulated fertilizer is spread on it, the land is plowed deeply, and then watered.

To grow rice, you must first breed seeds. Bai Ling led the orcs to soak the rice seeds in clean water: "Don't plant seeds that float in the water. These seeds are all shriveled, and even if they are planted, the crops won't grow very well."

The surrounding beastmen shouted, "I know that! That's how we select seeds when planting millet!"

"You can also use a winnowing basket to select seeds. As long as you shake the basket, the bad seeds will fall off."

…………

After the beastmen discussed it for a while, Bai Ling selected the seeds and soaked them in a ceramic basin: "Rice is different from other seeds. It loves water. Before planting, it must be soaked, at least for a day and a night."

Bai Ling soaked a pot of seeds, while the rest were soaked by the beastmen.

The soaked seeds should be placed in a burlap bag. Bai Ling puts a layer of seeds in, then sprinkles a little water into the earthenware bowl: "The seeds must be kept moist so that they will germinate."

The beastmen followed Bai Ling's example, putting seeds into sacks and sprinkling water.

After filling the sack to more than half full, Bai Ling placed it in a shady spot in the house and said, "Sprinkle water on it every morning and evening. After two or three days, the rice seeds will sprout."

The beastmen had many questions: If rice seeds sprouted here, could they still be planted in the ground?

Bai Ling smiled and said, "Rice has a very strong vitality. As long as there is water, it can grow."

Just as Bai Ling said, the rice seeds in the sack sprouted two days later.

Bai Ling and the beastmen pushed sacks in carts to the prepared fields. The first field was not far from the lake. The field was surrounded by embankments made of silt, and there was water about an inch deep inside.

Bai Ling led the orcs to scatter the seeds into the water. Yue followed beside Bai Ling and asked, "Ling, is it okay to just scatter the seeds like this? Don't we need to cover them with soil?"

The other orcs also looked at Bai Ling, and they all had the same question: Doesn't farming require burying the soil? Without burying the soil, plants simply cannot grow.

Bai Ling smiled and said, "We are breeding, so we don't need to bury the seeds yet."

Since he had said so, the other orcs did not doubt him and followed Bai Ling's example, scattering the already sprouted rice seeds into the water.

Just to be on the safe side, Bai Ling selected several locations for breeding. By the time they had sown all the rice seeds, the clouds in the western sky had turned golden.

After finishing the rice planting, Bai Ling led the beastmen to plant cotton. Cotton planting was much simpler; they just soaked the seeds in water and then planted them in the soil.

With ample sunshine, suitable temperature, and sufficient water, the rice seeds grow rapidly, and by the third day, their sprouts have turned green.

Bai Ling would go to the fields several times a day to check on them. When he saw that the rice stalks were as long as two finger joints, he would lead the beastmen to release water.

"Once the rice plants have grown this big, they need to establish their roots. The water needs to be drained so that the rice seeds can continue to grow."

The beastmen listened attentively to Bai Ling's words. Dozens of them gathered around, and after Bai Ling finished speaking, they began to dig an opening in the silt-built embankment, allowing the water in the rice paddy to slowly flow out.

As the rice plants grow taller, they need to be transplanted when they have five or six leaves.

When the beastmen saw Bai Ling about to pull the rice out of the field, they were very puzzled. Bai Ling explained, "Rice needs to be transplanted. If you plant the rice directly in the ground, it will waste the seeds. Moreover, rice will grow better after being transplanted."

Seeing that Bai Ling was going to do this, the beastmen stopped feeling sorry for him and followed behind him, pulling the well-grown rice out of the field.

The beastmen were very strong, and they were all very careful when doing this, afraid that they might accidentally use too much force and damage the roots of the rice.

Transplanting rice seedlings isn't difficult, but mastering the tricks of the trade is not easy. Bai Ling used cotton threads as a reference in the paddy field, planting ten rice seedlings between every two threads. The seedlings shouldn't be planted too shallow, otherwise the roots won't penetrate the soil; nor should they be planted too deep, as this will affect the rice's subsequent growth.

It was the first time for the beastmen to plant rice seedlings, so they worked quite slowly. Bai Ling also slowed down and bent over with Yue to plant the seedlings.

The rice paddies are located in different places, by lakes, rivers, and in muddy fields, and they are all far apart. This way, in case of drought or flood, the rice will not be completely destroyed.

*

The rice plants changed almost every day, and the wheat ears were slowly turning yellow.

Wheat fields are now the orcs' favorite place to go. After a busy day, the first thing the orcs do is not go home, but stand in front of the wheat fields and take a look.

Orcs who have eaten flour all praise its taste, saying that wheat flour is the most delicious thing, even more delicious than beast meat.

The central tribe had been trying to grow wheat for two years, but no matter how carefully they took care of it, the wheat just wouldn't grow well, and sometimes they couldn't even harvest the seeds.

The orcs of the central tribe were not discouraged. They continued to bring seeds from the Hightree tribe, determined to grow the wheat.

It turns out their method was wrong; wheat isn't planted in spring and harvested in autumn, but rather planted in autumn and harvested in summer.

Seeing the wheat growing well in the fields, the orcs were overjoyed. When the wheat was ripe, the elders selected the most careful orcs from the ten tribes to harvest it.

While the wheat was being harvested, the silkworms were also being taken up the mountain. Bai Ling and his tribesmen were busy as well, leading the orcs of the central tribe to clean the silkworm rearing rooms and catch silkworms to take up the mountain. Once all the silkworms were caught, the silkworm rearing rooms had to be cleaned up and the silkworms were waiting to spin their cocoons.

After the silkworms spin their cocoons, they teach the beastmen how to reel silk, spin thread, and weave cloth. When they see the beautiful silk being woven, all the beastmen cheer.