The head of the estate personally welcomed Jiang Shuyue into the backyard. Before he could even explain the affairs of the estate to her, he went to fetch tea.
Qiuju took the teapot. "Uncle Zhang, go and get busy. I can handle things here."
"Miss and Qiuju, please wait a moment. Lunch will be ready soon."
After leaving, Zhuang Tou went straight to the kitchen.
When Aunt Cao saw the head of the farm come to the kitchen, she said without stopping, "Quickly go to the field and pick two tomatoes for the young lady to try."
A moment later, the head of the village returned carrying two large, red tomatoes.
The couple worked together, one rolling out the dough and the other tending the fire, and soon they had cooked a pot of fragrant hand-pulled noodles.
To make the noodle soup taste better, Aunt Cao added a few scrambled eggs while cooking the tomatoes.
Gao Mu and Cang Yun unloaded the carriage and led the horses to graze in the open space outside the wall.
When they estimated it was about time, the two headed to the kitchen.
As soon as I reached the kitchen door, the aroma of noodles wafted towards me, and I saw Zhuang Tou and Aunt Cao each carrying two bowls of rolled noodles out.
The two quickly stepped forward to take it, and Gao Mu said, "Aunt Cao can take it to Miss and Qiuju, we'll do it ourselves."
Aunt Cao said repeatedly, "Okay, okay, please sit in the dining room and enjoy your meal."
Then he hurried toward the inner courtyard.
In the courtyard, Jiang Shuyue drank a few sips of tea without feeling tired, and walked towards the small garden in the inner courtyard.
The garden here doesn't have any rare plants; it's mostly lush evergreen trees.
She walked to an orange tree and saw that tender buds were beginning to sprout on the branches, which was the perfect time to graft fruit trees.
"Miss, come and have your meal. The orange tree is still a long way from blooming."
Aunt Cao brought in noodles and saw Jiang Shuyue standing under the tree, looking up at the view.
"Aunt Cao, how does the fruit from this orange tree taste?" Jiang Shuyue asked as she walked back.
Inside the house, Aunt Cao put down her bowl and urged, "Miss, Qiuju, please try the tomato noodles. They'll get soggy in no time."
Jiang Shuyue gestured for Qiuju to sit down and have dinner together.
Seeing Jiang Shuyue pick up her chopsticks, Aunt Cao glanced outside and said with a smile, "Miss has a good eye. The orange tree in the garden was found by the eldest son from elsewhere. The fruit it bears is big and sweet, but unfortunately it didn't bear any fruit last year."
"There's no such thing as a 'resting' period for fruit trees; it must be a lack of fertilizer."
Jiang Shuyue took a sip of the soup and praised, "Aunt Cao's cooking skills are really good. She makes simple ingredients into a fresh and delicious dish."
Aunt Cao was so embarrassed by the praise that she rubbed her hands on her apron. "This old servant doesn't have that ability. It's all thanks to Miss. Miss mentioned this method once and I remembered it."
The tomatoes have started to ripen, and several baskets have already been sent to the city. Aunt Cao heard from Zhang Man that the money from selling two tomatoes was equivalent to a pound of pork.
Thinking that tomatoes were too precious at this time of year, the head of the farm and she agreed that Zhang Qiu should keep an eye on them during the harvest, just in case someone stole them. They themselves were even more reluctant to taste them.
Aunt Cao waited on them until Jiang Shuyue and Qiuju finished their lunch.
Before she could even clear the dishes, she asked, "Miss, you just said that the orange tree needs fertilizing. Tomorrow, I'll have Zhang Qiu bring a basket of rabbit droppings to bury under the tree. Is that alright?"
Qiuju: "Aunt Cao, go ahead and do your work. We can talk about this later. Miss will have to stay here for the night."
Aunt Cao suddenly realized and said remorsefully, "I'm sorry, I'm so confused. Miss has just eaten, it's not appropriate to bring this up."
As Aunt Cao spoke, she picked up her bowl and chopsticks and turned to leave.
Jiang Shuyue smiled faintly, "It's alright. Rabbit droppings are smooth and won't make you feel disgusted. You can bury some under the tree, but don't bury them too close. Three feet away from the tree roots is the most suitable."
"Thank you for your guidance, Miss."
After Aunt Cao left, Qiuju went for a walk around the dormitory.
The room was spotless, the canopy bed was immaculate, and the bedding was neatly folded when the wardrobe was opened.
Qiuju took out bedding and sheets from the wardrobe and quickly made the bed.
"Would you like to rest for a while, Miss?"
Jiang Shuyue stood under the eaves looking into the distance. The courtyard was lush and green, and the trees that had lost their leaves in winter were beginning to sprout new buds. The air was filled with the fragrance of leaves and grass, which was refreshing.
On the opposite roof, there was a patch of tender green on the upturned tiles, like moss growing after a spring rain.
Jiang Shuyue had no desire to sleep. She turned to Qiuju and said, "I'm not sleepy. I won't take a nap today. Let's go to the greenhouse together."
Just as I stepped out of the inner courtyard, Aunt Cao came over with pastries.
Qiu Ju had specially bought it for her to try, but Jiang Shuyue had her take it back.
Aunt Cao had no choice but to take the pastries and leave to prepare dinner.
Since the head of the estate was a man, it wasn't appropriate for him to go to the inner courtyard all the time. After arranging accommodations for Gao Mu and Cang Yun, he went out.
Jiang Shuyue and Qiu Ju walked out of the courtyard gate and looked around. Everywhere they looked, spring was in full bloom.
In the fields not far away, villagers were wielding hoes, and the scene of spring plowing was everywhere.
Perhaps it was due to the angle from which I was standing, but the sunlight shining on the glazed glass roof of the greenhouse was a bit dazzling.
Jiang Shuyue raised her hand to her forehead as if to create a canopy, and then walked towards the greenhouse.
"Miss has arrived."
Before Jiang Shuyue even got close, Zhang Man and Zhang Qiu quickly came to greet her.
The two brothers bowed, and Zhang Qiu pointed first to the busy figures in the field in the distance and said, "Miss, look, that field will be ready for planting soon. Spring will come and flowers will bloom soon, and we can grow vegetables without greenhouses."
Jiang Shuyue glanced in the direction Zhang Qiu pointed and nodded slightly. "That's right, you can plant any vegetables after spring, but they won't fetch a good price."
Zhang Man chimed in, "Miss is right. I've thought about it. If we want to get a good price, we need to put it on the market earlier. We've already collected straw, and we'll cover it up after the seeds are planted. Maybe that will work."
“That’s good. You thought of using straw to keep the seedlings warm. You can give it a try. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t work. The village doesn’t rely on seasonal vegetables to make money.”
Jiang Shuyue had no experience in this area either. The restaurant business had always been good, and the money she earned was enough for her and her son to live very well.
The idea of growing greenhouse vegetables was purely on a whim, so that I wouldn't have to frown at cabbage and radishes every day.
Zhang Man said, "I saw that the weeds on the ground grew faster after the leek sprouts were covered with straw, so I thought I'd give it a try."
"Hmm, that's right, it should be the same principle."
"Miss, go and see the tomatoes. They're growing so well, much bigger than the ones we used to grow ourselves on the estate. One of them is as good as three."
Zhang Man and Zhang Qiu stepped aside to make way, and Jiang Shuyue continued walking forward.
All the doors and windows on the greenhouse walls have been opened, allowing a clear view of the entire greenhouse from the outside.
The head of the village anticipated that tomatoes would sell well, so he planted two greenhouses.
Since they were just ripe, there weren't many fully red fruits.
The peppers and eggplants in the other greenhouses are also growing very well, especially the lettuce, which is tender and green. They are of different heights in the same greenhouse.
Jiang Shuyue immediately noticed that in order to grow more vegetables, the head of the farm turned over the soil and planted new ones immediately after harvesting one plot.
Jiang Shuyue looked at the vegetables and then turned to look at the fruit trees by the roadside outside the courtyard.
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