"If I, the official, do not say," An Jing continued with a smile, "when the time comes, all the lords might still ask me where is the appropriate place to choose for the seedbed. Lords, would you say I am correct?"
However, due to Tong Nongzhi’s identity as a Farmer official, no one present agreed with An Jing, saying he was right.
Tong Nongzhi was instantly choked up, his ears reddening slightly. Clearly, An Jing’s words had embarrassed him and also caused him to bitterly note this against An Jing in his heart.
Guo Nongzhi also took note of An Jing in his heart, but after seeing the exchange between Tong Nongzhi and An Jing, he thought to himself that An Jing was sharp-tongued and that if he himself wanted to vent, he needed to be more cautious. To avoid not just failing to vent his anger but also losing face like Tong Nongzhi.
"Do any of the lords have anything to say? If not, I, the official, shall continue discussing the matter of the seedbed."
"Lord An, please speak."
Seeing that no one else spoke, An Jing continued: "Once the location of the seedbed is chosen, we must start preparing the seedbed. The land for the seedbed needs to be prepared to the suitable hardness for forming Nutrition Bowls, and it should also be made a bit more fertile."
"Perhaps the lords do not yet know what to use to form the Nutrition Bowls, so just watch, lords. We have the bowl-forming tool here, but this soil is too dry and too hard; it’s not suitable for forming Nutrition Bowls."
An Jing pointed to the bowl-forming tool at her feet for everyone to see.
Though everyone knew what the bowl-forming tool looked like, they still did not understand what the Nutrition Bowls looked like.
An Jing simply explained: "Eventually, this device will form an earthen cylindrical column with a small hole recessed in the middle of the top, which can hold cotton seeds. Later on, the seeds will be covered with soil."
Everyone imagined it for a moment and roughly understood.
Seeing that everyone was no longer in a fog, An Jing turned to Xiao Changyi with a smile and said, "My lord, the next steps will be hard work for you."
Xiao Changyi, expressionless and saying nothing, nodded at An Jing, then, without even glancing at the thirty Agricultural Officials, selected a small patch of land to use as the seedbed.
Then, he spread wood ash on the seedbed land.
After that, he watered it a bit.
Finally, he turned the soil.
Meanwhile, An Jing explained: "Lords, as you all know, spreading wood ash in the fields can help the crops grow better. My lord husband is scattering wood ash here with the same intention, to eventually help the cotton seedlings grow better."
"As for turning the soil, one reason is to better mix the wood ash with the soil, and the second is to keep the soil from being too hard later on, so it can be formed into Nutrition Bowls."
The twenty-eight Farmer officials present nodded in understanding as An Jing explained.
Only Tong Nongzhi and Guo Nongzhi did not seem to have come to learn; rather, they appeared more like supervisors who were there to observe.
Although Tong Nongzhi and Guo Nongzhi were actually listening attentively and seriously learning, both felt superior as they were Farmer officials, believing themselves to hold a higher status than An Jing and her associates, and thus they kept up their pretenses.
An Jing could sense the unfriendliness of Tong Nongzhi and Guo Nongzhi towards her, but it did not affect her, and she was too lazy to bother about it.
After Xiao Changyi finished turning the small patch of seedbed land, he spread some more wood ash on it, sprinkled some more water, and then covered the seedbed with an oilcloth, pressing it down with soil around the edges.
An Jing went on to explain the purpose of covering with the oilcloth, and after finishing the explanation, she said, "In about two or three days, we will come back to lift the oilcloth, sprinkle some water, and then cover it again with the oilcloth. We will repeat this cycle three or four times, after which the soil of the seedbed should attain the hardness suitable for forming Nutrition Bowls."