From afar, you could see the patch of land that she had cleared of weeds.
Forget about being happy; looking at the burned-out forest above the ditch, Jiang Yimian felt a lingering fear.
Fortunately, they found that small depression; otherwise, they would have all died in the wildfire. Even if they had hidden in the cave, they would have suffocated or been choked to death by the thick smoke.
The once tender and fresh water celery along the ditch has also disappeared, leaving only some burnt black ash.
Fortunately, the water in the ditch blocked the way, and this side of the land remained intact. The various grasses that were growing tenaciously were still green, though some looked wilted.
Jiang Yimian carefully examined the land beneath her feet. Apart from the plot where she planned to plant rice, the rest of the land consisted of small hills.
The soil is very good and suitable for farming. Even if you don't grow rice, it's fine to grow other things after clearing it out.
As for the small depressions, planting some melons, fruits, and vegetables there would be a good idea to make them into small vegetable gardens.
Because the area is full of towering trees, clearing it out is not easy, and it would be troublesome to plant crops on a large scale.
This is different. Apart from weeds, there are only small shrubs, and the trees are sparse, making them easier to clear.
After thinking everything through, she looked around again to make sure that only the lotus pond led into the small depression before returning the way she came.
Back at the lotus pond, I could see fish swimming faintly in the basket I had put down.
Taking advantage of the fish's inattention, Jiang Yimian lifted the basket on her back, and the water that was originally full of it instantly poured into the lotus pond.
There were indeed four lively fish in the basket, each weighing about four or five pounds.
Jiang Yimian was somewhat pleased. She took out the stones and weeds from her basket and left.
When they got home, Wang Fengqin was making clothes for the group.
Jiang Yimian took a small basin from the thatched shed, filled it with water, put the fish from her basket into it, then took out a small bucket, scooped out two fish, and went to the Liu and Chen families.
The two houses were next to each other. When Jiang Yimian arrived, Zhao Xing'er was talking to Liu Xiaoyun in the courtyard, her face full of worry.
Upon seeing Jiang Yimian arrive, everyone greeted her with smiles.
"Yimian is here, please sit down." Zhao Xing'er invited her to sit on the low stools in the courtyard.
Jiang Yimian waved her hand and handed the bucket to the two women, saying, "I caught a few fish in the lotus pond over there. I brought two for you ladies. Where did Grandpa Liu go?"
The two were somewhat surprised and repeatedly waved their hands, refusing to accept it.
"Keep the Yi Mian for your own consumption. The fish in that lotus pond are very slippery and difficult to catch," Liu Xiaoyun said with a smile, but she didn't reach out to take it.
She has already troubled Yi Mian's family too much; she really feels bad taking this fish.
Last time, Yi Mian gave her a lot of ginseng and goji berries. After stewing them into soup, she felt much better and wasn't as tired all day.
She didn't even have a chance to thank him then, so how could she possibly accept the fish now?
Zhao Xing'er had the same thought. If Yi Mian hadn't discovered this small depression and saved the refugees when they came up the mountain, they wouldn't be alive to be talking here.
Now that her own family is almost out of food, Yi Mian's family must be in the same boat. Catching a few fish is not easy, so she was too embarrassed to ask for them.
Jiang Yimian knew they were too embarrassed to accept the fish, so she didn't say anything more. She just took one fish from the bucket and put it in the Chen family's kitchen, then took another one and put it in the Liu family's kitchen before calling out, "Grandpa Liu, are you home? What do you think about the farming thing I mentioned last time?"
Liu Xiaoyun and her companion were stunned and stood there for a while before they came to their senses. They smiled helplessly. This girl was really too kind-hearted. She probably didn't even have enough food for herself, yet she still thought of them.
Upon hearing about farming, Old Liu immediately ran out of the house and said repeatedly, "Jiang girl, I think you're right, let's farm together."
His family only has three jin of rice seeds left. They had originally prepared more than ten jin, but unfortunately, they are running out of food. If they use all of it to plant rice, his whole family will probably starve to death before the seedlings even grow.
Moreover, there are too many trees in this small depression, and the area they can clear for planting is limited. They can't possibly use up all these seeds.
Jiang Yimian nodded and looked at Liu Xiaoyun, "Auntie, why don't you farm with us too?"
The land next to the ditch is quite large. In addition to the cleared land, she also plans to build terraced fields on those hillsides to grow rice and corn.
The hillside and the gentle slopes allow for a mere little over an acre of land that can be cultivated.
If it were ordinary seeds, it would probably take four catties to plant one acre, not to mention modern hybrid rice, which only takes two catties to plant one acre, and there would even be some left over.
But in ancient times, the quality of rice seeds was not that good.
You need to prepare at least 20 jin (10 kg). After deducting the seeds that cannot sprout and the bad seeds, it would be good if half of them could be planted.
She had plenty of grain in her storage space, but not much rice seed. She had only managed to gather about six pounds of it from the town, which was definitely not enough to plant.
That's when I thought of planting together, so we could transplant the rice seedlings together and it would be faster.
Liu Xiaoyun paused, thought for a while, and then nodded hesitantly, "My family doesn't have many rice seeds. We can probably only take out seven or eight catties, but we have quite a few other seeds."
These seeds were brought back by Gousheng and Yimian when they went down the mountain last time. They originally planned to plant them in the village, but they suddenly went up the mountain and found that the land there was not suitable for farming, so they put the plan aside.
She realized that there wasn't much food left in the house, so she planned to boil the seeds to fill her stomach.
Jiang Yimian nodded and looked at Old Man Liu.
Old Liu was a little embarrassed. He touched his nose and said in a low voice, "I have more than ten catties of seeds, but I don't have much grain at home. I was thinking of taking out some hulled grain to use as food. I can only give you a little over three catties."
It wasn't that he was reluctant to part with the grain seeds, but rather that his family simply didn't have much food left. If he hadn't collected a lot of burnt chickens and rabbits in the mountains a few days ago, his family would have been out of food long ago.
Hearing this, both Zhao Xing'er and Liu Xiaoyun had the same worried look on their faces.
They really needed to cultivate the land, but they really had no food left.
Jiang Yimian was a little annoyed; she had been so busy that she had forgotten about it.
Her family had plenty of food, so sharing some with the other two families wouldn't be a problem. Besides, she could find food in the forest, so she wouldn't starve to death.
After thinking for a moment, she said, "I still have a lot of grain at home, and I can share some with you. Moreover, I know a lot about food, and I will teach you in a moment. Take out your grain seeds, and I promise I won't let you starve to death."
As he spoke, he started to carry the empty bucket back.
Old Liu grabbed her arm, somewhat disbelieving, "Jiang girl, don't try to fool us with these words. We know you're not having a good time in the Jiang family."
"Old Jiang wouldn't leave you too much food. Don't share it with us, keep it for yourselves. We'll eat less, and dig up some wild vegetables, tree bark, and tree roots. We'll definitely be able to survive until the new harvest."
The forest has no shortage of tree bark and roots. They can eat these and not starve to death. Why would they need to ask the Jiang family for more grain?
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