Chapter 44 Stone Picker

Stones can be seen everywhere in many cultivated lands in China, especially in farmlands on the Tibetan Plateau and other mountainous areas.

The purpose of soil stone removal is to reduce soil erosion and facilitate farmland cultivation, sowing and field management.

For a long time, in order to improve the quality of cultivated land and increase production, local hardworking and simple farmers and herdsmen have relied on manually picking up stones from the cultivated land, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive.

The first domestically developed stone picker was probably born in the late 20s. It was a special soil loosening and stone picking machine developed by Liaoning Province.

However, due to various reasons, the early stone-picking machines developed domestically were not successfully applied.

The survey report of the Planning and Design Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture also pointed out that there are many plots of land with hard rocks in the alfalfa project area.

Therefore, the Xinjiang agricultural reclamation team that came this time also brought a stone picker, which was a farmland stone picker developed by scientific and technological personnel of the Xinjiang Construction Corps last year.

For this saline-alkali land management project, Xinjiang Agricultural Reclamation specially sought rental land from a sister unit.

The machine is towed by a Tieniu 55 tractor, is 11 m long, weighs 1.2 t, and has an operating depth of 8 to 10 cm.

However, it was found to be of little use in actual application in the project area.

Because the machine cuts into the soil in an almost tangential manner, it requires that gravel within 30 cm of the tillage layer be picked up during operation, so the cutting resistance is large and difficult to use in practice.

Compared with domestic, foreign stone picking machines were researched earlier, and many of their models have undergone many years of testing and improvement in stone picking operations.

Guo Yang thought of the machinery he had collected at Hanover Agricultural Machinery, among which there were two stone pickers: the American 'Rotoveyer' soil stone picker and the New Holland-Conskel stone picker.

Both brands are among the most advanced stone pickers in the world.

It can pick up all the large and small gravels and plant roots in the soil at one time, with high operating efficiency and good stone picking effect.

The disadvantage is that this type of soil stone picking machine has a large structure, high power consumption, high cost, and requires a high-horsepower tractor to match, and is not suitable for stone picking operations in small plots of land.

It seems that American agricultural machinery all consumes a lot of power and has high horsepower.

Thinking of this, Guo Yang thought of the two Fendt 930s that he entrusted Yu Honghai to buy on his behalf. Those were also high-horsepower guys.

If there were two Fendt 930s in the project area at that time, there would be an option to quickly tackle the more difficult arable land and deep plowing.

But now these two agricultural machines are still drifting in the vast ocean.

Since there is a need, Guo Yang has decided to use natural energy to solve the problem of the stone picking machine first.

Moreover, two methods are carried out simultaneously. One is to directly improve the natural energy and transform the stone picking machine brought by Xinjiang Agricultural Reclamation;
The other method is to analyze the information of two agricultural machinery collected in the seed store. If the machinery fragments can be analyzed, use the machinery fragments for upgrading.

Compare the natural energy consumed by the two methods and the results achieved after transformation.

We just need to find a suitable venue for renovation and upgrading.

Guo Yang promised the construction leaders who came to complain that he would include the cost of picking up stones as measures fees in the supplementary agreement, but he still did not agree on the time nodes of the project progress. He only made concessions on measures fees, overtime allowances, high temperature allowances, etc.

The foremen left reluctantly. The project was too rushed! The acceptance inspection was to be carried out in early September, so there was only one month left at most.

In addition to picking up stones, the construction party’s biggest concern is that the excavator’s efficiency in turning the soil is slow and the cost is too high, while the power and material of the rotary tiller are not good enough.

After sending the construction parties away, Guo Yang looked at Lao Xiang who was standing aside. Due to being in the hot sun for a long time, Lao Xiang had become darker, but he looked energetic.

"Thank you for your hard work, Lao Xiang."

"Just don't forget your big red envelope." Xiang Tianshan said with a smile.

"Still thinking about it?"

"It makes money, it's not shabby."

"Does your family need money urgently? If so, I can give you an advance of half a year or a year's salary."

Xiang Tianshan was silent for a while, then shook his head.

"Once the seeds are planted, I may have to take a two-week break."

Guo Yang nodded. Thinking of the fact that Lao Xiang had been in prison for three years for embezzling scientific research funds, he couldn't help but guess the reason why he embezzled the funds.

Xiang Tianshan asked again: "Do you want to go and see the seed field prepared for 'Alfalfa No. 1'? The fencing has started today." Guo Yang originally planned to go and see it, but when he thought about the stone picker, he became a little impatient.

"Forget it, I won't go this time. I have an idea in mind. I plan to buy a stone picking machine from Xinjiang Agricultural Reclamation and see if I can improve it."

Lao Xiang was a little puzzled. How could Guo Yang know this? Didn't he study breeding?

Moreover, he also looked at the stone picking machines used by Xinjiang Agricultural Reclamation Company. There shouldn't be any major problems with the structure and working principle. The main problems were due to insufficient power and workmanship quality.

Guo Yang was destined to work in vain.

"Mr. Guo, are you sure you want to buy a stone-picking machine?" Hou Huaijie, the person in charge of Xinjiang Agricultural Reclamation, still had a look of surprise in his eyes.

When he got Guo Yang's affirmative answer, especially when he heard that Guo Yang wanted to transform the agricultural machinery, he treated it as a joke.

This news spread among several construction units in a short period of time.

But no one believed that Guo Yang could succeed.

"The stone picker often gets stuck on stones even when picking up stones in soft soil, and the chain stick is very easy to bend and break."

"That's right. I've used it so many times before, but the longest I've ever been able to pick up anything was only 400 meters."

"There is no basic theoretical research on stone picking machines in China. They are all improved on the basis of other existing machines."

"The money Boss Guo spent on the stone-collecting machine is doomed to go down the drain."

"Not only the stone picker, but Mr. Guo also bought a tractor that was scrapped before."

"What, what else can that thing do?"

"I want to turn waste into treasure!"

"Ha, then you might as well just buy a new one."

……

In an empty warehouse.

In front of Guo Yang were the stone picker he had just bought and the half-scrapped Dongfanghong tractor.

With a thought, natural energy gathered in front of the half-scrapped tractor.

"Whether to consume natural energy to upgrade this agricultural machinery. The potential level of this agricultural machinery is primary."

Potential level? I think it depends on the agricultural machinery itself.

"Yes."

I saw the invisible natural energy instantly wrapped up the tractor like a rice dumpling.

"Ding, agricultural machinery is being upgraded..."

After a moment, Guo Yang opened his eyes wide and saw that the tractor seemed to be reborn.

But after looking carefully for a while, it seemed that apart from being newer, it was no different from the other old tractors he had seen in the project area!

Could it be that natural energy is just repairing itself?
That’s too much!
You have to know that with the money he spends on accumulating a few natural energy points, he can buy many new machines of the same kind.

Guo Yang was unwilling to believe that the seed store’s agricultural machinery service was so poor.

So he climbed into the cab, and the first feeling he had when he sat down was comfort!
But how could domestic tractors at that time be associated with comfort!
The fire was lit.

The engine roared low, like a lurking tiger.

Guo Yang gently pressed the accelerator with his right foot, and the speed of the power response made him feel relaxed and happy. The steering wheel with excellent feel was easy, precise and flexible to control.

No adaptation process seems to be required.

The appearance seems unchanged, but the power, comfort and control are so appealing that you can’t stop driving it after driving it once!
Awesome!

(End of this chapter)