“I heard from your uncle that in one of the towns in our city, half the village bought fake seeds. They only realized something was wrong when the corn was in bloom. By then, it was too late to plant anything else. All that fertilizer and pesticides wasted, and half a year's hard work for the whole family was wasted.”

"Yes, some unscrupulous merchants have taken advantage of the fact that many of us don't know anything about this industry. They've made the news about fake seeds, fake pesticides, and fake fertilizers."

Fortunately, we don't have much land here, so the actual loss is only a dozen or so acres. Imagine a major agricultural province like Northeast China, where every family cultivates dozens or even hundreds of acres; if they were to get a counterfeit product, it could cost a farmer their life.

The government needs to intensify its crackdown efforts, imposing hefty fines so they can experience the consequences of financial ruin. This will deter future acts of exploiting farmers.

The mother and daughter chatted for a while about how farmers are being cheated and harmed, a topic that every farmer cares about.

After Chen Hong finished eating, Aunt Guo was going home. They still had chickens and ducks at home, and these live poultry needed to be fed.

Before leaving, they told Chen Hong that they wouldn't be coming for the next few days, and that she should rest well. They would come back when she went out to sea again.

Chen Hong knew she couldn't keep them; the elderly couple had strong boundaries. She could only pack them extra fish, shrimp, and crab to take home and eat.

After seeing Aunt Guo off, Chen Hong began a thorough cleaning. First, she took down the bedding from the room where the village elder and his wife lived, washed the sheets and blankets, and then aired them out in the sun when it got warmer.

I changed and washed both my and my son's bed sheets and duvet covers. I also washed and hung up all the clothes, including the ones taken from the ship.

This morning the sky was overcast, it didn't rain, but the wind was quite strong. The clothes, sheets, and duvet covers I washed dried in no time.

Chen Hong started cleaning the house again. It was already 11 o'clock when she finished cleaning the first and second floors. She had to make a proper lunch for herself.

There's no other way at sea, so try not to fire and just eat the food stored in your space.

At home, Chen Hong has to prepare three meals a day in a routine, which is part of her sense of ritual in daily life.

If you don't cook at home every day, what's the difference between that and staying in a hotel? A home needs the smell of cooking.

After cleaning a large bowl of sardines, Chen Hong prepared the batter, mixing half flour and half starch until it reached a consistency where it could be easily licked with chopsticks. Then she added a little cooking oil and mixed it well.

Wash and drain the sardines, add cooking wine, scallions, ginger, and a little salt, mix well and marinate for ten minutes before frying.

I fried a big basin of crispy sardines for lunch, made a tomato and egg soup, and ate a steamed bun and I was full.

She set aside one plate for her son, and stored the rest in her spatial storage to prepare for future voyages at sea.

Chen Hong was tired of cleaning, so she locked the third floor. Since no one was living there anyway, she figured she could clean it later. She then took a nice afternoon nap.

I got up and went to the backyard to feed the chickens and ducks. There were only five hens and three ducks left in the house. The rest were killed before and after the New Year.

When Chen Hong was about to go to the market, she would catch a dozen or so half-pound chicks and ducklings. After raising them for a month or two, they would start laying eggs. The half-grown chicks and ducklings had a high survival rate, so they required less worry.

In the afternoon, Chen Hong dug up all the vegetable garden plots at home, prepared the land and made ridges. The seedlings she had grown in her space were ready to be transplanted, and she took advantage of the cloudy day to plant them all quickly.

Cucumbers, tomatoes, loofahs, pumpkins, zucchini, peppers, and bitter melons were planted in rows, with cucumbers and tomatoes growing in abundance.

The loofah, pumpkin, and bitter melon are all planted at the base of the wall. Once the vines are transplanted and trellises are erected, they can climb directly onto the top of the wall.

I planted a row of three kinds of vegetables: chili peppers, eggplants, and zucchini. It's just the two of us left at home, so planting a little bit is enough for us.

I planted another row of green beans and string beans, and half a row of potatoes. The lettuce I planted after the New Year is ready to eat; it's so tender that even the leaves are edible.

I also planted a small patch of cilantro, bok choy, and rapeseed. When they grow a bit bigger, I'll make them into noodles or as a side dish.

The chives need to be taken back to the old courtyard. I can just dig up some chive roots and plant them when I have some free time. There's no need to sow new seeds.

After finishing planting the vegetables, Chen Hong checked the time and it was only 4:30. Now that her son doesn't need to be picked up from school anymore, she could make dinner a little earlier.

She carried a basket on her back, took an iron rake and a sickle, and went to the orchard. When she arrived, she saw the ground covered with fallen leaves and dry grass.

Chen Hong used an iron rake to gather all the hay and fallen leaves together, twisted them into a hay rope, tied them up in bundles, and put them into her spatial storage. She planned to pour them into the septic tank when she got home and use them to make compost.

The branches were pruned half a month ago, and after tidying up the ground, the orchard finally looks presentable.

Chen Hong decided to take out the hand tractor tomorrow to plow the land first, in case it rains heavily and the tractor can't get into the field.

It's time to change crops this year. Plant corn where peanuts were planted last year, sweet potatoes where corn was planted, and peanuts where sweet potatoes were planted. Leave a small plot of land to plant some sesame and soybeans.

Other crops cannot be planted. These few crops are relatively easy to grow. Planting too many or too varied crops will interfere with your fishing, which would not be worthwhile.

I take advantage of my spare time to cultivate about ten acres of land, which can also change my mood and prevent me from being idle at home with nothing to do.

There's work every day, but it's not heavy or tiring. This kind of life is perfect for me; I can treat it as exercise.

When I got home, I threw all the withered leaves and dry grass into the septic tank, and then connected the water pipe and filled the septic tank halfway with water. The more water there is, the faster the dry grass and leaves will decompose.

Chen Hong went back to the front yard to wash her hands and prepare to cook. Her son had already come home from school and was watching TV in the living room. Xiao Hao and Wang Xin were also playing with him.

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!