Chapter 76 Plant as you like

"Here, here." Aunt Yao called out, "Master, come out quickly, the scholar and his wife are here."

Old Man Wu was repairing the cabinet in the house. When he heard the shouting, he immediately came out in his slippers.

Lu Chengjing came over to talk about the disaster relief food. When Old Man Wu heard this, he immediately asked his youngest daughter to find Old Man Liu and others.

He didn't mention Village Chief Lin, so Lu Chengjing naturally wouldn't mention it either. Anyway, the Lin family wasn't involved in the village's reconstruction, so it didn't matter whether Village Chief Lin was invited or not.

Aunt Yao brought hot water and a small basin of juicy red cherries to entertain the guests.

Lu Chengjing now has a wheelchair, which makes his movements much easier and also allows him to protect himself. Shang Wan sat with him for a while before taking Yuanyuan's leave and driving the ox cart home.

The house was the same as before he left. Xiao Hui heard the noise and came out to scare the yellow cow.

Shang Wan tried to comfort them forcefully, putting Yuanyuan on Xiaohui's back and letting the two stay away from the yellow cow.

She unloaded the things from the ox cart, then removed the frame to let the ox loosen up.

Shang Wan found a random stone to sit on, opened the space, and glanced at the cabbage seeds scattered into the spiritual field in front of him.

The pakchoy has already sprouted leaves, which is indeed faster than planting it outside the space, but Shang Wan still lacks a reference for how much faster it is.

When she went to the Zhang family to borrow vegetable seeds, she asked Aunt Zhou. Under normal circumstances, it takes thirty to forty days, or more than a month, for the cabbage to grow from sowing to a normal edible size.

If you want to save the seeds, you have to wait for the cabbage to sprout and produce seeds, and it will take about two months for the seeds to mature.

Shang Wan planned to keep a small portion of the vegetable seeds, not only so that he could continue to grow them himself, but also so that he could give some back to Aunt Zhou.

Xiaohuan came back with three big, round white radishes covered in mud. Seeing that Shang Wan seemed to be thinking about something, she didn't disturb him and rolled up her sleeves to pack up the things she bought.

Tung oil cloth is used to cover the roof to prevent rainwater from leaking in through the gaps when it rains.

Put away the chipped bowls at home and replace them with new ones to avoid scratching your mouth while eating.

Throw away the chopsticks of different lengths and replace them with new bamboo chopsticks.

The rice and flour are packaged separately, and the salt and oil jars are cleaned and dried before use.

Wash the radish, cut it into strips, and dry it on a clean stone slab. You can use it for cold dishes or stews later.

There were so many chores that Xiao Huan was busy all the time. Shang Wan wanted to help, but Xiao Huan said no and told him to sit down and rest for a while.

Shang Wan was busy and couldn't sit still, so he changed into a simple cloth shirt, found a saw, and started sawing wood skillfully.

Before starting work, we have to build a wooden shed for He Sizhi and his three companions to rest.

Not long after, Shitou came back with four big white radishes in his arms, which were given to him by Aunt Zhou.

Xiaohuan was about to do the same when Shang Wan brushed the sawdust off his sleeve and said, "Take two and make pickled radishes, like they do in noodle shops."

The pickled radish in the noodle shop is sour and spicy with a hint of sweetness, and is crispy when you bite it. It is both appetizing and goes well with rice.

Xiaohuan has never made pickled radish, but she can try it.

After cutting and pickling the radish, Xiaohuan took off her apron and walked out holding her purse. "Most of the spices for stewing meat at home are used up. I'm going to go to the Yuan family and bring back my brother-in-law's medicine."

The spices she mentioned, which are Chinese medicinal herbs, could have been bought in the pharmacies in the city, but Xiaohuan thought they were too expensive. Anyway, Doctor Yuan also had them at home, and they were cheaper than in the pharmacies.

Xiaohuan's father was a skilled cook who worked in a restaurant until his death. Xiaohuan grew up in the kitchen, and was very familiar with it.

If her hometown had not suffered a disaster, her father had not been beaten to death by a young general, and her mother had not abandoned her and remarried with her younger brother, Xiaohuan would not have fallen into the hands of human traffickers, nor would she have found a chance to escape. When she was about to freeze to death, she was spotted by Lu Chengjing and bought into the mansion as a maid.

"Auntie Yi!" Yuanyuan came over on Xiaohui and waved her little hand at Xiaohuan, "Nest! Let's go!"

"You can go, but you can't take Xiaohui with you." Xiaohuan reached out and hugged Yuanyuan, helping the little guy straighten the little tuft of hair on his head that was tilted.

"Okay." Yuanyuan nodded her head and waved her hand at Xiaohui who was looking up at her. "Come back and play!"

Xiao Hui stood there for a while and watched the two people leaving. Then he slowly walked to Shang Wan and lay down, swinging his tail to the other side.

Shang Wan stroked it and saw that its eyes were half-closed, as if it was about to take a nap. He pushed it and pointed in the direction of the forest. "Now that there are people at home, you might as well go back and check on those wolf cubs."

Hearing this, Xiao Hui stood up, rubbed Shang Wan's leg with his head, spread his limbs, and ran towards the forest.

"Sister, why don't we buy a dog to look after the house?" Stone suggested. "Little Gray has a large family of wolves to take care of. It would be tiring to run around on both sides."

Shang Wan placed the wooden board on the ground and said, "Even if you chase it away now, it won't leave."

Do you really think that her spiritual spring water is given to you for free?

Shitou silently admired Shang Wan's skill in taming wolves. Suddenly, he had an idea and asked, "Sister, can you tame tigers? I think tigers are more majestic than wolves."

"You're so impressive! I can eat you without even spitting out the bones." Shang Wan threw a small piece of wood at his head without even looking up. "Don't think about it anymore. Get to work."

"Oh." Shitou touched his head and said while planing wood, "Sister, everyone in the village has land. They grow crops and vegetables. They grow whatever they want to eat and don't have to spend money to buy them. Why don't we buy two plots of land to grow crops?"

Shang Wan looked at him, "What did you hear again?"

Shitou chuckled, "I heard that we don't have to pay taxes on the wasteland we reclaim ourselves. Sister, I think the land at the foot of the mountain is good. It's close to our home and easy to take care of."

"Your brother-in-law is a scholar. As long as the land under his name does not exceed 80 mu, regardless of whether it is wasteland he reclaimed himself, he does not have to pay taxes." Shang Wan asked, "Who told you this?"

Shitou said, "I came out of Zhang's house and passed by Luo's house. I saw Brother Luo and a few other men from the village standing together and chatting. I stood there and listened."

"The earthquake toppled a lot of wheat seedlings in everyone's fields. Everyone thought it was a bad omen and worried that the wheat they planted last year would not yield a good harvest. They all planned to reclaim land on the north slope. They also planted a few acres of millet while the season was right, so they wouldn't be left without food in the winter."

"I think what they said makes sense. Sister, we live in the village. If we can manage a few acres of land well, we won't have to worry about having nothing to eat in the future."

"You're talking about a good year." Shang Wan poured cold water on the impulsive boy. "In a famine year, when there's no harvest, aren't there many people who sell their children just to have enough to eat?"

In this world, there is neither greenhouse farming nor artificial rainfall. Farmers rely on the weather for their livelihood. It is too naive to expect to live a stable life by relying on a few acres of land.

"I didn't think that much." Shitou lowered his head in frustration and asked, "Sister, are we still farming?"

"You can plant if you want," Shang Wan said. "But the land in the village has already been divided up, so we really have to open up wasteland ourselves. I don't know the specific rules, but when your brother-in-law comes back, we can discuss it together."

"Okay." Shitou nodded happily, and the frustration he had just felt disappeared.

(End of this chapter)