pjbooks Chapter 97 The Ranch is Completed
Chapter 97 The Ranch is Completed
Chapter 97 The Ranch is Completed
Because Shan Yaowen has been busy with other things these past few days, his father has been in charge of things at the ranch.
He had worked on the state-run ranch for so long, so he had a lot of experience.
My dad did a lot of work, especially in setting up the spring pasture and building the fence.
Every year in the spring, the state-run ranch needs to repair the fences and such. It's a familiar task, so it's something they're quite adept at.
So Shan Yaowen was quite at ease letting his father do these things.
The day after I returned.
The stakes have been driven in; all that's left is to install thorns and barbed wire.
Actually, there are few thorny bushes here. Most of them are fences made of willow branches. These simple nets are inexpensive, easy to make, and the raw materials are easy to find. They don't cost any money. You just need to have someone cut them down from the mountain and have the women in the family weave them.
However, cattle, horses, and sheep love to run and charge, so if we don't put something with thorns on them, these posts will probably be smashed to pieces.
Thorns are free; you can just go up the mountain and cut them down. Barbed wire is convenient to tie and can also be used to hang thorns.
"Awen, have you bought the grass seeds?" When the father saw his son coming over, he immediately arranged the next tasks for him.
"I bought it." Shan Yaowen nodded and patted the basket on the carriage.
The grass seeds were brought back by his older brother, who bought them from a state-run ranch.
It's not that the supply and marketing cooperatives and Boss Deng's place don't have it, it's just that the state-owned ranches are cheaper, and the state-owned ranches all use this, so to put it another way, it's the same grass seed as the official one, which makes people feel more at ease.
Furthermore, when ranchers like Shan Yaowen took over their contracts, the people from the state-owned ranch said that they could get anything related to the ranch from them, since they were the ones who would provide a safety net for the ranchers. They would take responsibility for any problems that arose, whether it was buying sheep or anything else.
"Go ahead and scatter them. I only have the northwest section left to seal. If we finish it today, we can herd the sheep tomorrow." Father Shan nodded.
"No, Dad, don't move towards the northwest."
Just as Mr. Shan finished speaking and was about to go to work, Shan Yaowen stopped him: "I have other plans for the northwest."
"What arrangements? What if the sheep escape if the northwest isn't sealed off?"
"I plan to contract out the pastures all the way to the state-run ranch; I've already submitted the application."
Mr. Shan did know that his second son had applied to contract a portion of the grassland, but he didn't expect it to be in the northwest.
"That area is close to the state-run ranch. Why would you contract that area? You'll just end up arguing with the state-run ranch and you won't win."
Although state-run ranches can provide a safety net for them, when it comes to matters like grasslands, how can an individual possibly compete with a state-run entity?
Therefore, when people contract grasslands, they usually do so far away from state-run ranches.
Not everyone can benefit from the public's resources.
They are only willing to lease out public pastures that are unmanaged, since they can simply eat the grass if they want.
"It's alright, I have plans." Of course, Shan Yaowen couldn't say now that the state-run ranch was going to close at the end of this year and that he was already prepared to take over.
If word gets out, the people working on the ranch might think they've cursed the state-run ranch to close down.
"Tell me what the arrangements are. If you're not going to seal it off, why leave a loophole?" Sometimes, the father really didn't understand what his second son was thinking. He didn't finish the work at once and left a loophole.
"I'm planning to create an artificial lake in that low-lying area. For now, we can just dig a ditch to keep the sheep out."
"lake?"
Sometimes, the father really wanted to open his second son's head and see what was going on; he just kept coming up with whatever idea came to mind.
Why dig a lake on such a beautiful grassland?
Shan Yaowen couldn't explain the plan in his mind; his ranch really needed a place to store water.
Not now, but for the future.
Actually, it doesn't need to be as big as a lake, just a pond a few acres in size is enough.
"Dad, if you think it's too much trouble, you don't have to dig. You can just pile up some things to block that side. I'm going to sow grass seeds now."
After saying that, Shan Yaowen drove away in his carriage.
Only the single father remained, muttering to himself.
When they arrived at the spot where the grass seeds were to be scattered, Shan Yaowen sat in the carriage, driving with one hand and grabbing a handful of grass seeds from the basket with the other to scatter them.
There are three types of grass seeds: Sophora flavescens, Satava, and sheepgrass seeds.
Their main crop here is alfalfa, which is a high-quality legume forage that is drought-resistant, cold-resistant, and highly nutritious for livestock. It has been the main grass species planted on ranches for a long time.
Then some alfalfa and sheepgrass seeds will be sprinkled in as supplements.
After all, if alfalfa doesn't grow well one year, there are alternatives; as the old saying goes, you can't put all your eggs in one basket.
It also serves as a change of pace for the livestock.
"Erguo~"
"I want to play!"
"Little Uncle~"
"I want one too." Xiao Bai came to play with his brother-in-law. The little guy was so happy to be visiting his maternal grandfather's house to play with his uncle. As soon as they arrived at the ranch, he ran away.
When Shan Yaowen was driving the carriage to scatter grass seeds, two little ones ran over from somewhere and insisted on getting on the carriage to scatter grass seeds and play.
Shan Yaowen picked up his younger sister and eldest nephew and placed them on the carriage. After starting the carriage, he began to teach the two little ones: "Come on, grab a handful and throw it out."
Unfortunately, the two little ones weren't very strong, and since it was their first time throwing a ball, they ended up hitting the carriage wheel directly.
Seeing this, the mother smiled and asked, "Did you have them scatter the grass seeds evenly?"
Shan Yaowen quickly added, "I have to teach you, don't I?"
"Mom, when Lin Hao arrives later, tell him to go to the floor."
"understood."
After sowing the seeds, to ensure the grass seeds adhere to the soil and prevent them from being blown away by the wind or eaten by birds, the herders tie leafy branches from several large trees together and attach them to the back of the horses.
When a horse runs around on the grass, the branches trail behind it, which can both lightly cover the grass seeds with a layer of soil and level the ground. This is called "raking the ground".
When it came to the back, the two little ones were just there to play, so Shan Yaowen had to do it all himself.
After all, they scattered it all together.
If grass could grow on the carriage, the two of them would be experts at scattering it on it.
Experienced farmers can sow grass seeds that will line up on the ground, creating a fan-like pattern in the air.
After all, sowing seeds too densely is wasteful, while sowing them too sparsely will prevent grass from growing. The old herders can rely on the wind to make the grass seeds fall evenly on the pasture like a drizzle.
After sowing the grass seeds, the work on Shanfu's side was almost finished.
The spring pasture is basically ready; the next step is to bring the sheep in.
After the grass seeds were sown, the sheep's hooves stepped over them, which was equivalent to a "biological suppression".
Sheep hooves can both push grass seeds into the moist soil, ensuring a high germination rate, and sheep manure can be used as direct fertilizer on the spot.
This is a local, traditional method. Without modern machinery, these are the only old methods we can use.
When Gou Dan arrived, Shan Yaowen had just finished scattering his dog around the stadium.
"Mosquito, you're fast! I only went out with my master for a short while, and you've already finished it."
After dismounting, Lin Hao looked at the spring pasture, which was already taking shape, and sighed.
He had already heard about it when he got back, mainly because Shi Zhang was a big mouth and wanted the whole world to know that he had captured a group of bandits.
It's a pity he wasn't there at the time, otherwise he would definitely have rushed up and taken them both down.
"You've come at the right time. Ride your horse around a couple of times and help me harrow the ground. After you're done harrowing, we can bring the sheep in when spring arrives."
"no problem."
For him, groping was a piece of cake, almost like playing a game.
After the spring pasture was settled, the people who came to help didn't leave. The Shan family still needed to build a new house, and then they would have to help herd the sheep over after spring. Until spring, the entire pasture was in a busy state.