...

At the end of August, the sesame seeds planted by Chen Xu matured and entered the harvesting stage.

Compared with grain crops, Chen Xu prefers various cash crops, so there are many fruits, vegetables, green onions, ginger, garlic, pepper, cattle, sheep, pig, duck, fish, and fish. As for the common grain varieties, there are fewer and fewer.

The two bags of wild sesame seeds brought back last year were screened and transplanted, and more than ten acres of planted. On weekdays, farmers and students from the Agricultural College were arranged to teach weeding and loosening the soil to take care of them carefully. They are now mature.

Because these sesame seeds are wild seeds collected by the Yuezhi people, they have not been selected and artificially cultivated, they have different quality. The sesame pods are of different heights and thicknesses. The sesame pods on them are also of different sizes. Some are dense, and some are sparse and only two or three. Therefore, this time, Chen Xu will come to direct the harvesting of sesame seeds. Those with thick stems and many pods will be selected first. At that time, they will be used as a spare seed. As for those with poor quality, they can be used to squeeze oil and make sesame candy and other snacks.

Chen Xu rode around the large sesame seeds on his horse first, then walked into a few fields and opened some sesame pods and took a look. He felt that except for the messy number and color of the sesame seeds inside, there was no difference.

Hundreds of Hou Mansion servants who had already prepared the harvesting tools, farmers in the farm and students from the Agricultural College were all standing outside a few sesame fields, watching these strange crops full of interest.

Almost no one has heard of these flax as small as corn before, let alone seen them. Everyone just cultivated, weeded and watered them according to Chen Xu's instructions. During this period, they also heard that this thing can be squeezed oil or made delicious pastries, and the taste is extremely fragrant, but everyone has never tasted it yet.

Moreover, the more than ten acres in front of me seem to be quite large, but it can be seen that the yield of this kind of crop is not good, with the maximum yield per mu, or even less than a stone. In other words, this is a crop with very low yield, just like pepper.

This year, the pepper planting area on the fief has expanded several times to nearly twenty acres, but the yield is also very low. A mu of land can only be used as three or five dou. However, pepper is a valuable spice and its value is comparable to gold. Most of the harvested on the fief will be continued as seeds. Not many of them can be left to eat. Therefore, the market is still in a state of pricelessness and no place to buy it if you have money. Chen Xu only allocated some to the palace and some princes and princes. People like Chen Ping can only provide a small amount of one and a half pounds. As for other unfamiliar people, even the third and fourth rank officials can only stare at the pepper steak and drool.

"The harvest starts. The Agricultural College is responsible for harvesting the high-quality sesame seeds we just mentioned. They are harvested and dried separately. The remaining ones are harvested in a unified manner and then dried in a concentrated manner. After a few days, the pods are dried and cracked and opened, they are threshed and collected."

After Chen Xu gave the order, everyone spitted into their palms and picked up the sickle to start harvesting. Soon, the sound of people in the sesame field became loud and noisy.

As another new crop that the empire Chi Xiang Qinghehou is preparing to promote, the newspaper will naturally not miss this opportunity. Ji Tong, the editor-in-chief of the agricultural sector, personally brought two reporters to watch the harvesting situation, and was preparing to write a few press releases about sesame in the Daqin Metropolis Daily to promote sesame planting in advance so that people all over the world can first recognize this crop called shi.

After harvesting, sesame seeds must be tied up in stacks and dried for a few days. The seeds can only be poured out after the pods are dried and cracked and opened. There should not be rainy weather during this process, otherwise the sesame seeds will rot. However, it is already mid-autumn and Guanzhong also belongs to the northwest. Therefore, the weather will be sunny after autumn, and Chen Xu is not too worried.

"We Central Plains people have always thought that the northwest is a bitter and cold place without crops. Unexpectedly, there are good things like sturgeon and pepper, but these crops have too low yields!" Ji Tong said with emotion.

"The Western Regions are not only stout flax and pepper, but also something better than these two. There is also a kind of grape near Tianshan Mountain to the west of Yuezhi. It has huge grains. It is not only delicious and juicy, but also much better for making wine than the mountain grapes in the Central Plains. There is a fruit called Hami melon near the desert, which is more than ten times more delicious than the cantaloupe of the Central Plains. The most important thing is that there is also a thing called cotton, which produces an extremely soft and snow-white velvet that can be spinned and weaved without any treatment. The clothes made are extremely soft and more than a hundred times better than linen..."

I was bored, Chen Xu began to popularize Ji Tong's knowledge of the Western Regions again, and Ji Tong's eyebrows were trembling and his eyes were flashing.

He would not have anyone doubted every word Chen Xu said.

"The Marquis knows everything about astronomy and geography. Ji Tong admires him and is full of all his strength. Now General Meng Tian is already in charge of Xichui, and General Li Xin's army of 10,000 has already stationed in Yuezhi. I think that by next year, our Qin Dynasty will be able to capture a large area of ​​the Western Regions. I will definitely bring back all the fruits and cottons that the Marquis said!" Ji Tong was very excited.

"There are many tribes in the Western Regions, but they are all small countries. They are commanded by General Li Xin and Jiang Hu. In addition, the Liang King is in charge of Yuezhi. As long as you train a few servants to assist, you should be able to take all the Western Regions under control within two years. By the way, after you go back to the newspaper, you will have Secretary Chen published an advertisement in the newspaper, and encourage the caravan to go to the Western Regions to acquire various specialties that I did not have in the Central Plains. At the same time, you can arrange for reporters to follow the army to record the situations in the Western Regions, and then publish them in the newspaper to let the people of the Central Plains understand the Western Regions!"

"The newspaper office has arranged this matter and has sent out more than ten reporters one after another, but because of language barriers, many things are not going well!" Ji Tong shook his head with a wry smile.

"Language is indeed a big problem. What you said is a reminder to me. It seems that we need to prepare a translation library!" Chen Xu nodded with his chin.

The communication of human civilization and language have always been a big problem.

The tribes such as the Hunter and the Yuezhi around the Great Qin were adjacent to the Central Plains and had contact with each other. Therefore, most of the people on the border and the soldiers guarding the border understood some of the Hunter and Yuezhi languages. There were also many of the Hunter and Hu and Yuezhi languages ​​in the Hunter and the Yuezhi language, and many of them were very proficient in the Central Plains dialect, just like the warm and unbreakable ones. However, as the Qin Dynasty continued to expand further away, language would become a great obstacle to communication between each other.

The language of the Yuezhi people is similar to that of the Xiongnu, but it is very different. It is not the same system as the Chinese language in the Central Plains, and it only has a pronunciation but no characters. It is a language that cannot be recorded at all. There are some written records about the Hun and Hu in the Central Plains, but it is limited to a few words, such as Shanyu, Yanshi, Gutu, Jushi, etc. Most of these words represent only official positions or relatives. As for daily communication, they are almost blank, and they are all based on transliterated records. Only Hu people like the Xiongnu and Yuezhi themselves know the true meaning.

Scholars who are proficient in foreign languages ​​have always been the biggest promoters of human civilization exchange. With the development of human civilization, various civilizations are constantly colliding and communicating, and languages ​​are constantly developing and changing, absorbing and integrating each other. However, if no one forcibly promotes intervention, the process will be very slow.

When Chen Xu felt a headache and dark-faced when he thought of foreign languages.

It is said that Chinese is the most difficult language in the world, and Chen Xu definitely disagrees with this. In his opinion, except for Chinese, any other language is the most difficult, regardless of each other.

When I was in college, I failed English countless times, which was an unbearable past.

Except for Japanese, he could understand seven or eight words without a teacher when he closed his eyes, and he could also think of meticulous scenes in an immersive way. The sound of the pulse ties sounded, and his head was covered with a white body.

"Hiss~" Thoughts diverged too far, Chen Xu couldn't help swallowing.

In half a day, more than ten acres of sesame seeds were harvested and tied up neatly placed in the ground to dry. It would take several days to get the sesame seeds out. Therefore, Chen Xu temporarily put this matter down after returning home. Ji Tong reminded him in time. He wanted to get someone to get out of the translation hall and gather a group of people with language talents to start systematically learning foreign languages.

We are about to go to India, and at least we must cultivate a group of translators who are proficient in Sanskrit.

Only with these general translators can we go to Western countries to preach and instill Central Plains culture into those Western barbarians.

The book and the same pronunciation are made by people of all races, and they make people of different races shake their heads and read Ziyue Shiyun when they meet, they ask what they have eaten. Although it is a beautiful ideal, it is very difficult and some deeply rooted habits cannot be eradicated.

Western languages ​​have their own special advantages, and Chinese cannot be completely replaced, especially the commonly used numbers and letter symbols in chemical physics. Chen Xu has become accustomed to it. It is neither necessary nor in line with the Chinese habit of using Chinese to make a politician, and it will make him feel even more awkward. Therefore, it is best to make others feel awkward, just use it yourself.

What's more, in the future, the popularization and literacy work of Chinese language will be promoted. The pinyin of Chinese characters is also a good medium, and the pronunciation method of Chinese characters is too complicated.

"Dad~~"

Just as she walked into the backyard, Chen Xi, who had been one year or two months old, had begun to learn how to walk and speak slumbered down from the slide and stumbled over. A group of maids surrounded the little girl like a treasure.

"Haha, be good!" Chen Xu smiled and picked up his daughter and kissed her hard on her tender cheeks. "Where has your mother been? Why didn't you play with me?"

Xiao Chen Xi grabbed Chen Xu's chin with her little hands and looked back at the study. Chen Xu walked into the study with his daughter in his arms and saw Shui Qingrou, Ying Shiman and Wanwan were huddling in front of the desk and talking about something.

"Husband~"

"Mr. Marquis!"

Hearing the footsteps, the three women turned around at the same time, and after seeing Chen Xu, they quickly stood up and saluted.

"No gifts are not allowed. It turns out that there are distinguished guests coming to the house. How can Miss Wanwan have free time to come to play in the house today?" Chen Xu waved his hand.

"A few days ago, I heard at the academy that the Marquis told a new myth. Whit came to watch it, and I also wanted to adapt it into several new dramas with the two Marquis to perform at the Qinghe Theater!" Wanwan said quickly.

"Okay, this is a good thing. I haven't been to the theater for a long time. After the Eight Immortals cross the sea to rehearse, I must notify me to watch it!" Chen Xu teased his daughter while smiling.

"Don't worry, Marquis, I will definitely invite Marquis to watch it. Since the Legend of the White Snake and Miss Tiansnail, the theater has not performed wonderful repertoire for a long time. Now there are some short songs and dance dramas, and the audience is a little dissatisfied. If there is no good new drama, I am afraid that the Marquis' Qinghe Theater will be closed?" Wanwan said with a wry smile.

"I have very little free time now, and I have indeed not told new stories for a long time. However, you have to collect more legends and stories from folk to adapt them. Now the School of Literature has compiled a complete set of ancient mythological stories. If you ask the manager of the theater to borrow a few books from the School of Literature, you can rehearse and write the music and dance yourself..." Chen Xu reminded.

"What the Marquis said is that we have also tried to adapt some of them and invited some folk novelists to write some short stories, but they are always not as exciting as the song and dance performed by the Marquis after the guidance of the Marquis!" Wanwan picked up a novel about the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea written by Shui Qingrou on the desk. "The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea is extremely exciting, the story is vivid and attractive. The audience likes the stories of these gods and demons the most. I was asking the Marquis to help adapt it into the script, but I was afraid of often disturbing and affecting the Marquis’ life of the Marquis and Concubine. Hehe!" Wanwan covered her mouth and chuckled.

Shui Qingrou's cheeks were blushing and gently pinched Wanwan's waist.

Chen Xu was not shy at all and joked: "You and Dean Shi are now living a happy life with their husbands and wives. I am still too envious. You and Qingrou Shiman discussed this matter. By the way, what has Dean Shi been busy with recently? I haven't had tea and chatted together for a long time. A few days... Well, it's about August 15th. Then come to my mansion to enjoy the moon and have a tea dinner in the mansion together!"

"Thank you for the invitation of the Marquis. Hui and Shilang will definitely come to join in the fun!" Wanwan bowed excitedly.
Chapter completed!