Chapter 272 Taking care of a baby

After two major battles, the Nanyue Army could be said to have suffered deep damage to its foundations; the Central Corps had suffered over fifty percent casualties, and the Xuanjia Army, drawn from various circuits, had also lost sixty percent of its strength.

Although they had gained over twenty thousand new recruits, it would still take a long time for them to integrate.

Coupled with the fact that the government treasury had been emptied of money and grain, the theme for the entire Nanyue Kingdom for a long time to come would be recuperation, or rather, healing from their injuries.

With no opportunity to go out and fight, Gao Yuan stayed at home all day, practicing martial arts and taking care of the children, becoming a full-time stay-at-home dad.

Having missed the birth of his eldest legitimate son, Gao Yuan felt very guilty towards Zhao Xiyao and the others, so he naturally spent these days accompanying them with the utmost tenderness.

As the eldest legitimate son of himself and Zhao Xiyao, the boy would have to inherit the Great Qian in the future, so he had to take the surname Zhao; Gao Yuan named him Zhao Cheng, hoping that he would be able to inherit the career of himself and Zhao Xiyao in the future.

As for the daughter born to Xian Ying, Gao Yuan named her Gao Qiong.

With two children already at school age in the house, plus two infants, it was truly lively.

Gao Yuan also enjoyed it, bringing them along even when leaving the city to inspect the experimental fields, and also bringing along the bored Chu Yue.

Having not seen her for over half a year, the girl had become even more vibrant, though her height was truly worrying.

Seeing the Prince's mansion carriage arrive at the experimental fields, Zao Zhi, wearing a short jacket with his pant legs rolled up and his feet covered in mud, hurriedly came over with his men to greet them.

"Your subordinate Zao Zhi, along with the yamen subordinates, pays respects to the Commandery Duke."

"Zhongfang, you have worked hard; everyone, please rise."

Gao Yuan gave a gesture as if helping Zao Zhi up and smiled kindly.

"I came today just to visit everyone and, incidentally, to see how the experimental fields are doing."

After speaking, Gao Yuan beckoned, and soon several soldiers walked over carrying some food boxes.

"These are just some pastries, braised meat, and the like; treat yourselves, don't turn your noses up at it!"

How could everyone turn their noses up at something given by Gao Yuan? Moreover, these pastries and braised meats looked delicious at first glance.

Zao Zhi saw the eager looks on everyone's faces and also smiled helplessly.

"Alright, alright, it just so happens to be mealtime; everyone take some and eat."

After the crowd dispersed, Zao Zhi pointed to the cornfield in the distance.

"My Lord, please this way."

Walking in the dense cornfield, Zao Zhi began to introduce the situation of planting these improved seeds.

"Just as you said, My Lord, the second season's crops, judging by the seedlings and leaves, are not as good as the first season;"

"Your subordinate estimates that the yield per mu for this second season will likely drop by twenty to thirty percent, and I don't know what the third season will be like, sigh..."

Seeing his somewhat dejected appearance, Gao Yuan patted him on the shoulder.

"It's already very good; after all, these are foreign crops, and there will inevitably be some acclimatization issues at first;"

"As long as we do a good job with seed selection and breeding, the yield will soon stabilize and even gradually increase."

Although he was not very satisfied with the results of his work, Zao Zhi was still full of confidence in the future.

"Rest assured, My Lord, This humble general will definitely achieve this as soon as possible, striving to promote it within five years and achieve region-wide planting within ten years."

Gao Yuan walked around and, seemingly not seeing any traces of fertilization, couldn't help but ask.

"Zhongfang, are the fields not fertilized on a regular basis?"

"Reporting to my Lord, these fields had already been spread with ash fertilizer before planting."

Gao Yuan slapped his forehead; only then did he remember that he seemed to have never promoted biological organic fertilizer.

"My fault, my fault; it was my oversight. Come, come, let me teach you a type of biological organic fertilizer;"

"Take some of this fertilizer, mix it with water, and sprinkle it on the fields; it can increase yield by at least ten percent."

Next, Gao Yuan began to explain to Zao Zhi and his students how to produce biological organic fertilizer.

"Dig a deep pit, throw in human, livestock, and poultry manure, along with some rotten leaves, straw, and the like, and pour water on it;"

"Be sure to maintain the temperature inside the deep pit during the fertilizer maturation process;"

"Wait two or three months until the odor of the manure disappears and it turns brown, then it can be used;"

"By the way, this deep pit must be kept away from fire sources, otherwise it is very easy for danger to occur."

This explanation from Gao Yuan opened the door to a new world for everyone, and many people couldn't wait to start trying it.

Chu Yue stood on the side, watching Gao Yuan finish showing off in front of others, and then she leaned over and asked.

"Brother-in-law, isn't it fine to just throw the poop directly into the fields? Why go through all this trouble?"

Gao Yuan looked at the fair and tender little girl, knowing that she certainly hadn't learned about these things, and patiently explained to her.

"There are a large number of bacteria in manure; if you use it directly, you might end up with bacteria infecting the crops;"

"Composting uses the high temperature generated by the manure itself to kill bacteria and convert various organic substances inside into fertilizer that is easily absorbed by crops."

The little girl excitedly pulled on Gao Yuan's arm, her big, sparkling eyes shining with little stars.

"Wow, Brother-in-law, Brother-in-law, you know so much!"

Being looked at with such admiring eyes by such a little loli, Gao Yuan also felt very gratified.

After lunch in the afternoon, the students of the Agricultural Research Institute began to get busy digging composting pits.

This made Gao Yuan, who was full of strength, unable to resist joining in, and even the two little children, Gao Yu and Gao Nan, wanted to come and help.

Their gorgeous little dresses were soon covered in mud.

Seeing the children playing happily, Gao Yuan did not blame them for getting their clothes dirty, but instead played along with them.

They played until dusk, and only then did Gao Yuan take the several reluctant little ones and board the carriage.

Perhaps they were tired from playing; after swaying slightly in the carriage, all the children fell asleep.

The two little children, Gao Nan and Gao Yu, were sleeping so soundly that drool was running from the corners of their mouths, and they would smack their lips from time to time.

It was as cute as could be; Gao Yuan couldn't help but thank the heavens for letting the children come to his side.

Even though Chu Yue was young, she was very attentive when taking care of children; having run after the two little ones all day, she was also exhausted and was now sleeping sounder than a pig.

Gao Yuan smiled and shook his head, covering her with a blanket.

But not long after he covered her, the girl woke up, opened her sleepy eyes to look at Gao Yuan, then looked at the blanket on herself, with a confused expression.

"Brother-in-law, did you cover me with this?"

"Yes, I saw you sleeping so soundly and was afraid you would catch a cold; no need to thank me, no need!"

However, the plot went completely differently than Gao Yuan had imagined; Chu Yue directly threw the blanket forcefully at Gao Yuan.

"Brother-in-law, we are in the South of the Ranges now, it's August! In such hot weather, you cover me with a wool blanket—are you trying to make me break out in heat rash?"

Gao Yuan looked at the blanket in his hand, then re-felt the temperature inside the carriage, and suddenly felt very awkward.

If it were midsummer, both ice chests in the carriage would usually be filled with ice, making it very cool, but the weather today was no longer that hot, so only a small amount of ice had been put into one ice chest, barely managing to keep it from being hot.

Embarrassed, he scratched his head, and Gao Yuan smiled sheepishly.

"Yue Yue, don't be angry, okay? I'm just used to it, I really didn't mean it."

"Hmph, I think you did it on purpose; you must be jealous that I have such delicate skin and want to ruin this beauty!"

"This..."

Gao Yuan looked at the girl's expression that said she had him figured out; he knew she must want to make a demand, so he could only helplessly shrug his hands.

"Alright, alright, whatever you say goes. Tell me, how do you want your Brother-in-law to compensate you?"

"What do you mean 'whatever I say goes'? Brother-in-law, do you think I am deliberately making things difficult for you?"

"No, how could that be? Don't talk nonsense. I really feel I was wrong. Tell me, what compensation do you want?"

The little girl had clearly planned it long ago and blurted it out directly.

"I want a good horse!"