Chapter 8
After the things in the two large suitcases were put away, the house felt a little more lively. Before officially moving the supplies in, Chao Youqian wanted to buy the planting kit he had thought of before.
I stumbled upon H City's largest farmers' market on a review website. Like H City, which is focused on tourism, many of its shops have become internet celebrities. The market, which has been featured in numerous vlogs, is renowned for its comprehensive selection of products, cleanliness, and convenient transportation.
We rented a small truck and changed into work clothes that could withstand dirt. When we arrived, we felt that the market was indeed well-planned and had all the products in a clear and organized manner.
Chao Youqian and Lang Xin had never imagined they'd one day grow their own vegetables, but they couldn't escape the situation. Their canned food, combined with whatever else they had stored at home, would last them for years. But as Chinese, especially those who had spent the first decade or so of their lives in Cantonese Hong Kong, without fresh vegetables, even a balanced diet felt inadequate.
Each store was welcoming and attentive. I asked about the best varieties of vegetables for home cultivation that were pest-free and easy to care for, and the owners answered all my questions. I ultimately made my purchase from a store with the highest online reviews. Their walls were covered with pictures of bountiful balcony vegetable harvests.
After informing them of the balcony's dimensions and requesting easy-to-care-for vegetables that could feed two people, the owner immediately provided a complete set of equipment and seedlings. Since people in metropolitan areas are pursuing green and healthy living, their request was not unusual.
A balcony of about 60 square meters can accommodate a lot of things. The boss recommended vertical intelligent hydroponic soilless planting equipment, special pots and soil for planting tuber vegetables such as potatoes, sweet potatoes and radishes, and a plant wall for planting strawberries, blueberries and other fruits.
These crops have been selected and screened for seeds, are insect-free, bear abundant fruits, and are easy to use. In the most expensive set, the owner has carefully dried and screened the soil, raised the seedlings, and transplanted them.
I paid promptly and the owner gave me a variety of crop seeds, each in individually labeled bags. I also sent an electronic copy of seedling raising methods, crop growth times, and common problems and solutions to them via WeChat.
The boss also promised that if there is anything, we can ask him at any time. He is experienced and has medicines and treatment methods for various situations, and he can handle it at home.
The family breeding shop next door is also owned by this boss. Chao Youqian's generosity in the first transaction made him continue his enthusiasm, and he strongly recommended his breeding cages.
Their balcony is large and well separated from the living area, so raising a few chickens is not a problem. The owner explained that nowadays, there are special cages for raising chickens at home. Just add some food and water every day and change the tray and garbage bag every other day, and you can raise chickens conveniently and odorlessly without any noise.
Entering the breeding store next door, the owner's six chickens were placed in the middle as samples. There was one male and five females, all in their prime. They could lay several eggs a day. They were cleaned once a day and kept in the store without any smell.
I asked the boss to introduce a set of cages for raising chickens at home. In addition to the equipment for growing vegetables, there is also plenty of space for XXL cages that can hold 4-12 adult chickens. The cages are 1.5 meters long, 0.6 meters wide, and 0.7 meters high, and are equipped with water troughs and food troughs. The bottom tray can be pulled out for easy cleaning.
In order to buy everything in one stop and avoid the hassle, they asked the boss to help them select the chicks. There are many live animals in the farmers' market, and they are directly put into cages.
A 6-jin chicken consumes 4.5 kilograms of feed from the moment it's slaughtered. They ordered six chicks and bought two bags of the most expensive chicken feed, totaling 100 kilograms. An incubator was needed to prevent a generational gap and hatch chicks. Tray trash bags were essential for saving water, so they bought a large bundle of 1,000.
I declined the boss's offer to come and install the equipment, only asking him to send me the installation instructions. The van then brought everything back in one go. I took a panoramic photo of the balcony and sent it to him. Under his guidance, I arranged the plant pots according to the sunlight exposure, connected the hydroponic rack with a circulating water pump, and installed the chicken coop with universal wheels so it could be moved according to the layout of the space.
After everything was arranged, the balcony was only slightly filled with space. The chicken coop, some vegetable growing equipment and the balcony storage cabinet only took up one-third of the space.
The bottom layer is filled with several large bags of chicken feed, potting soil, seeds and fertilizer. The middle layer is filled with pallets of garbage bags, incubators, vegetable growing tools and ten cans of insect spray. The top layer is reserved for purchasing items to fill in the gaps after a few days of planting.
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