Liu Xiaoyun came in from outside and saw the tears on her husband's face. Her eyes reddened as well. She closed the door, walked to the bedside, and held her husband's hand to comfort him, saying, "Husband, it's alright. Everything will be alright. Yi Mian and the others have found land. We can farm on the mountain and won't starve to death."
Chen Tiezhu became even more agitated and stretched his neck to bang his head against the wall behind him again. Liu Xiaoyun was so frightened that she quickly hugged him and cried out, "Husband, husband, please don't do this, please don't do this, waaaaah!"
Hearing his wife crying, Chen Tiezhu paused, then, as if thinking of something, said sternly, "Get out! Get out! I don't need you to take care of me! Get out now!"
The man was physically weak, and his words were somewhat feeble, but the disgust and pain on his face were clearly visible.
Liu Xiaoyun paused, two lines of tears streaming down her face. She was about to say something more when she heard the man continue, "Get out of here, or I'll kill myself here."
Having said that, he was about to forcefully slam his head against the wall again.
The houses are all made of wood. While they are unlikely to kill anyone, injuries are inevitable if people keep bumping into them.
Not wanting the other person to get hurt, Liu Xiaoyun quickly said, "Husband, don't bump into me, I, I'll get out right away, I'll get out right away."
After saying that, she wiped away her tears and left the house.
Xiao Ye was feeding the rabbits with Xiao Nuan'er and Daya when he saw Liu Xiaoyun come out. He was about to call her over to look at the rabbits when he noticed that Liu Xiaoyun's eyes were red, as if she had been crying.
She immediately ran over and asked worriedly, "Auntie, why are you crying? Did we make too much noise and disturb Uncle Chen?"
He had just heard an argument inside the house. Although he couldn't make out what they were saying, he could tell they were arguing.
Liu Xiaoyun was taken aback, then touched the corner of her eye and forced a smile. "Nothing's wrong. Auntie just accidentally got some wind in her eyes. You guys stop arguing and go feed the rabbits."
Seeing that the other party was unwilling to talk, Ono could only nod and go back to feed the rabbits.
*
On the other side, Jiang Yimian and her group started working as soon as they arrived at the ditch.
It wasn't until noon that the group finally sat down to rest under the shade of a tree.
Old Liu looked at the large tracts of land that had been cleared and was quite excited. "I estimate that in another three to five days, this land will be cleared."
Yi Mian has really found a good place.
The soil here is soft, and there are waterlogged ditches next to it, making it a great place for farming. It's also convenient for watering and easier to clean than small depressions.
There's just too little flat land; it's mostly gentle slopes. It's fine for growing corn, but not so good for growing rice. They soaked so many seeds, but some of them were wasted.
He should have come and taken a look before soaking the seeds.
Thinking about it, he felt a little annoyed. He hesitated for a moment before looking at Jiang Yimian and said tactfully, "Yimian, the only place where we can grow rice is that piece of land below. The surrounding area is all hillside, so we can't grow rice there. Did we soak too many seeds?"
Hearing this, the others also looked over.
After all, they were all farmers, so these were the first questions they thought of when they arrived, but they were too busy working to ask them.
When Old Liu asked, they all became curious as well.
Jiang Yimian simply smiled and said, "Of course, ordinary planting won't work, but we can build terraced fields."
There's nowhere to store water on the gentle slope, so rice can't be grown there.
But how could the farming genes ingrained in the five thousand years of Chinese civilization be defeated by a small, gentle slope?
All you need to do is build a flat area and construct field ridges according to the slope.
Building terraced fields not only increases the planting area, but also conserves water and protects the soil, offering many benefits.
She had considered it from the beginning, but the project was too large, and it might take her ten days or half a month to complete it by herself, so she didn't plan to do it.
But things are different now. With more people, there is more strength. They will definitely be able to build the terraced fields before the rice seedlings sprout.
Terraced fields?
The group looked at Jiang Yimian with confusion, clearly not understanding.
Jiang Yimian patiently explained to the group, and also talked about the benefits of building terraced fields. Only then did the group nod in bewilderment.
Old Liu quickly realized what was going on, his face beaming with joy. "Jiang girl, you mean to build a flat area on this gentle slope, and then build ridges around it, like a ladder, section by section, so that we can grow rice just like on flat land?"
He was somewhat excited when he thought about the scene of rice being planted on the hillside.
This method is really good. He has been farming for decades and never thought of this way. His family's several acres of land are all on the hillside. At most, he can only grow some corn each time, and it is often buried by soil sliding down the mountain. It almost made him angry.
If they had known this method back then, their family could have had so much more harvest. What a waste!
Jiang Yimian nodded, and seeing that the old man understood, she pointed to several hillsides and said, "The soil in these places is quite good, and rice can be grown in them."
Of course, you can plant other things too.
Once the seeds germinate, we'll sow them on the flat land below. Before the seedlings emerge, we'll build terraces, ensuring we can transplant them in time.
The group nodded repeatedly, overjoyed at the thought that their small plot of land could be planted with grain.
In the fall, they can harvest several hundred kilograms of grain, and then plant some corn and wheat in the low-lying areas, so they won't have to worry about starving to death in the winter.
The thought that the ground beneath their feet would be laden with heavy ears of grain in a few months immediately banished their desire to rest. Their hearts were burning with excitement, and after hastily stuffing a few bites of bread and drinking some water, they got back to work.
The group didn't return until sunset and darkness fell, when they finally rowed their raft back.
The group was exceptionally happy on the way, showing no signs of fatigue from work, their minds filled with thoughts of the days when they could eat white rice.
In the evening, after everyone had eaten, they went straight to bed.
We still have to weed tomorrow, there's a lot of work to do, everyone wants to go to bed early and get up early so we can get that plot of land ready as soon as possible.
Jiang Yimian had the same thought. After a quick wash, she was about to return to her room when Xiao Ye grabbed her clothes.
The little guy had finished washing up and was standing barefoot on his straw sandals. He stared at her, opened his mouth, but didn't know how to start, as if he had something to say.
Jiang Yimian looked at the little guy with curiosity, squatted down, and casually touched the little tuft of hair on his head before asking, "What's wrong? Did someone bully you today?"
Ono quickly shook her head, and after a moment of silence, she whispered, "Sister, can you help Aunt Xiaoyun? I saw her eyes were red today, and it looked like she had been crying."
Aunt Xiaoyun was very kind and gentle to them, and he was happy at her house, but he didn't want to see Aunt Xiaoyun cry.
His mother used to cry all the time, but then her health deteriorated, getting worse day by day. He was heartbroken, but there was nothing he could do to help.
Fortunately, my older sister has changed now. She's very capable and can stop my mother from crying all day long. She can also help my mother's health improve day by day.
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