Chapter 151 Sprouting

The afternoon sun was a little weaker, and Lu Mingyue sat at the gate of the courtyard to cool off, but her eyes kept glancing at the vegetable garden next to her.

The weeds in the field have grown to knee height, and the bok choy we planted earlier has already been pulled up. If the empty plots aren't turned over soon, we won't be able to plant vegetables in time for the last time.

Huo Zheng had just returned from training, wiping his face covered in sweat, when Lu Mingyue waved to him: "Huo Zheng, come here, I have something to tell you."

He walked over and sat down beside her: "What's wrong? Are you tired? I'll carry you back to the house."

"no."

Lu Mingyue pointed to the vegetable garden, "Look at our land, it's so overgrown with weeds. You're going to participate in the military region competition soon, and you'll be even busier in the future. Take advantage of the free time today to quickly tidy up the land and plant some eggplants, peppers, and green beans, so as not to delay our vegetable harvest in the fall."

Huo Zheng slapped his forehead, only then remembering the vegetable garden: "Oh dear, I was so busy with training that I forgot about it. Don't worry, I'll go and get it done right away, I promise I'll plant it before dark."

As he spoke, he turned to go to the tool shed to pick up a hoe, but Lu Mingyue quickly called out to him, "Wait, take a break first, have a bowl of mung bean soup before you go, don't get heatstroke."

She brought over the cooled mung bean soup and watched Huo Zheng drink it all before letting him go to the vegetable garden with peace of mind.

Huo Zheng carried a hoe to the vegetable garden, first pulling off the weeds one by one and piling them up as green manure.

He worked quickly and soon cleared a space, then picked up a hoe and turned it over.

Lu Mingyue was worried that he would get tired, so she moved a small stool to sit by the vegetable garden, handed him water from time to time, and even helped pick up the small stones that had been turned over.

"Go back inside and rest, it's sunny here," Huo Zheng said with concern when he saw sweat on her forehead.

"It's okay, I'll stay here with you and lend you a hand."

Lu Mingyue smiled and shook her head, her gaze falling on the turned soil. "Let's plant some eggplants, Yao Yao loves them. We'll also plant some green beans, and build a trellis for them to climb and provide shade. We'll also plant some chili peppers."

Huo Zheng listened and responded. He quickly finished turning the soil, then dug small ditches in the field, sowed the vegetable seeds he had saved, watered them, and covered them with a layer of grass for shade.

As the sun was about to set, the vegetable garden was finally filled with seedlings.

Huo Zheng straightened up, looked at the neat vegetable patch, and wiped his sweat: "Alright, it's all planted. They'll sprout in a while."

Lu Mingyue walked over, looked at the vegetable seeds in the soil, and said with a smile, "Once the vegetables grow, we can eat fresh ones, and we won't have to trouble our sisters-in-law to deliver vegetables all the time."

Tender sprouts in the vegetable patch: the protection of little hands and the hope for growth.

On the morning of the fifth day after planting the vegetable seeds, Lu Mingyue had just opened the courtyard gate when she caught a glimpse of tiny green shoots emerging from the direction of the vegetable patch.

The vegetable seedlings have sprouted.

She quickly took Yao Yao's hand and ran towards the vegetable garden, her steps becoming much lighter.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that the vegetable patch was sprouting countless tender shoots.

Eggplant seedlings wear small purplish-brown caps, bean seedlings unfurl their two tender yellow cotyledons, and chili seedlings resemble tiny green needles poking into the soft soil.

"Mommy, Ya Ya."

Yao Yao squatted down and gently touched the bean sprout with her little finger, afraid of breaking it. "It's so small, when will it grow beans?"

"We have to wait for it to grow slowly. Once it grows vines and flowers, it will produce beans."

Lu Mingyue brought over a small watering can and sprinkled water into the vegetable patch. The water droplets landed on the tender sprouts, sparkling.

Yao Yao followed her example, bringing her own little watering can and watering the base of the eggplant seedlings, muttering, "Grow quickly, grow big, so that the little brothers and sisters can eat."

While watering the vegetable patch, Lu Mingyue noticed a few weeds sprouting by the edge. Just as she was about to reach out and pull them out, Yao Yao interrupted, "Mom, let me pull them out. I won't pull the sprouts, I'll only pull the weeds."

She lay on the ground, carefully distinguishing between the seedlings and weeds with her little hands. She pulled up the weeds one by one by the roots, held them in her hand, and proudly showed them to Lu Mingyue: "Mom, look, I pulled up a lot of weeds."

Looking at her earnest expression, Lu Mingyue felt a warmth in her heart and reached out to wipe the dirt off her nose.

"Yaoyao is so capable, she's a great little helper in taking care of the seedlings."

Yao Yao looked up and smiled, her little face covered in dirt, like a little kitten: "When the seedlings grow big, I'm going to pick the biggest eggplant for Mom to eat."

When Huo Zheng returned from training in the evening, he heard Yao Yao's laughter coming from the vegetable garden before he even entered the courtyard.

He quickened his pace and walked over, immediately spotting the tender shoots sprouting in the vegetable patch, a lush green expanse.

"Wow, the seedlings have grown so tall." Huo Zheng put down his training bag, strode to the edge of the vegetable patch, and gently touched the tender vines of the bean seedlings, his eyes full of surprise.

When Yao Yao saw him come back, she immediately jumped up and said, "Dad, I pulled up a lot of weeds so the seedlings can grow faster."

"Our Yaoyao is so sensible, she even helps take care of the seedlings." Huo Zheng squatted down and picked up his daughter.

Then she looked at Lu Mingyue and said, "You're pregnant, don't always squat in the vegetable garden, it's not good for you to get tired."

Lu Mingyue smiled and waved her hand: "It's just watering and weeding, it's not tiring. Seeing these sprouts come out makes me happy."

Huo Zheng stood up, his gaze falling on the bean seedlings: "These bean seedlings will start to grow vines in a few days. We need to build a trellis, otherwise the vines will have nowhere to climb and won't produce many beans."

He turned to Yao Yao and said, "Tomorrow, Dad will find some bamboo poles, and we'll build a trellis for the green beans together, okay?"

Yao Yao's eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously: "Okay, I'll help Dad hold the bamboo pole."

The next morning, Huo Zheng actually carried back a bundle of bamboo poles and found some rope.

He first inserted a thick bamboo pole at each end of the bean patch, then inserted a thin bamboo pole every foot in the middle, and then tied the bamboo poles together with rope to form an A-frame.

Yao Yao was his little helper, standing on tiptoe to hand him the rope, and occasionally holding the bamboo pole with her little hands, afraid that it would fall over.

Lu Mingyue sat on a small stool by the edge of the field, watching. The sunlight shone on Huo Zheng's sweaty back, and beads of sweat trickled down his cheeks, but he was smiling happily.

Before long, rows of neat bean trellises were erected, like green tents supporting the vegetable patch.

"Once the bean vines cover the trellis, we can enjoy the shade under them in the summer and pick beans to eat."

Huo Zheng patted the dirt off his hands and said to Lu Mingyue and Yao Yao.

Yao Yao lay on the edge of the trellis, imagining the vines climbing all over it, and couldn't stop smiling.

In just three or four days, the tender vines of the bean sprouts seemed to have grown legs, quietly climbing up the bamboo trellis.

When Lu Mingyue went to water the vegetable garden in the early morning, she found that several light green vines had already climbed onto the trellis, and the tendrils at the top were still swaying gently, as if they were groping for the direction to continue climbing.

"Huo Zheng, come quick! The bean vines are climbing the trellis!" Lu Mingyue called out into the yard.

Huo Zheng had just finished washing up when he heard the shout and immediately ran over. Seeing the vines twining around the trellis, he smiled and said, "They're growing really fast. We need to tie the vines up quickly so they don't climb around and produce more beans."