21 Chapter 21
◎This kind of land has a name, it is called salt-alkali land◎
A woman from an unknown family saw Yu coming back and called her at the door.
Cheng Mu heard Yu Shi exchanging pleasantries with her and saying that she had returned and would not go out again. She asked who these people were, and Yu Shi said that she had sold all her land and houses, and this was the landlord.
There were a few sentences that Cheng Mu didn't hear clearly, but there was one sentence that was particularly clear. The woman asked, "Which landlord would come down to farm on his own?"
Cheng Mu: ...
The woman left after a while, and Yu came in with a smile, "Madam Cheng, the Sixth Miss and the Seventh Young Master are so lucky. The Dong family just said that their eldest daughter-in-law just gave birth and has milk. Do you want to..."
Cheng Mu had not one, but two babies in her hand. She asked, "Is her daughter-in-law's milk enough for so many children?"
Yu's face darkened. "Her little grandson almost died before he was one month old."
A mother who has just lost a child is undoubtedly grieving, and asking her to feed someone else's child at this time feels cruel. Cheng said, "It has to be her willingness. If she's not in a good mood, it's definitely not okay."
"Madam Cheng, it was the Dong family who asked. They heard from Gui'er that you gave birth to twins and were frightened by a tiger on the way here. Now the children can only drink rice soup."
Cheng Mu: ...
"Then please, Aunt Yu, go and invite her over so I can meet her and let her meet the children. If possible, please invite her. Let's meet her first and we'll talk later."
Yu quickly brought the person over.
The daughter-in-law of the Dong family felt a little reserved when she saw Cheng Mu. She was about twenty years old, of ordinary appearance, with a simple bun on the back of her head, wearing a short brown suit that was washed white, and a belt that made her chest look more bulging.
Cheng Xi asked, "What's your name?"
"Dong'er."
"I'll call you Sister Dong. Sister Dong, come and see, these are my two children."
When Cheng Mu heard her call her Sister Dong, she shook her hands and said she didn't deserve it. She knew that this was Yu's boss, and she wouldn't have the nerve to let the boss call her Sister.
She leaned forward cautiously to look at the two children. "The eldest lady and the young master look so energetic."
Cheng Mu said, "This girl is called Xiaoliu, and this boy is called Xiaoqi. You should call them that from now on."
Cheng Mu asked her to sit on the edge of the kang and chatted with her about other things, and finally they inevitably talked about the death of her child.
Dong'er's sadness was very restrained. "I have a three-year-old son, and the one I just lost is a daughter. How can everyone be so lucky? I'm not the only woman who has experienced this kind of thing. What else can I do if I don't let it go?"
Seeing that she was in good condition and there was nothing else to complain about, Cheng Mu asked her to breastfeed the children for six months, provide them with food and accommodation, and give her an extra tael of silver.
Dong'er was very satisfied and almost knelt down to express his gratitude.
The house is too small, and with one more person, it's even more crowded.
Since the first day that Cheng Mu arranged for Mu Yun to live in the main room, Qi Song had been thinking about how to get an extra room.
The house was surrounded by a chest-high wall. Apart from a damaged section, the rest was quite solid. Qi Song walked around a few times and came up with an idea. He used the tip of his pick to draw a line on the ground, measuring the size and finding it was sufficient.
The courtyard was laid out in a U-shape, with a central courtyard. The left and right sides not only accommodated two additional rooms, but also a warehouse and a toilet. The stove in the main hall was removed and moved through the courtyard to the end, where it became the kitchen.
He shared this idea with Cheng Mu, who immediately agreed.
With two more rooms available, Yu and Gui'er can also live in a wing room of their own.
These days, Gui'er and Muyun went out to visit relatives and friends, and Qi Song followed them around to look around.
If he wanted to raise the wall and build a roof on it, he would need some materials. He looked into what materials were available in the village and finally decided to use loess to ram the walls and build a vaulted roof with earth.
Mu Yun didn't understand the farming details Cheng Mei wanted to talk about, but he'd been learning them these days. Only about ten households in Zhaojia Village still farmed. The rest either learned a trade or worked nearby, either in the ranches or in the shops in town. Most farmers grew alfalfa, which they sold to the ranches to feed the horses. Others also grew soybeans, sesame, buckwheat, and other crops.
As usual, Mu Yun got some local crop seeds and dug some soil from the fields.
He reported his gains of the past few days to Cheng Mi truthfully.
In northern Yan, crops are destined to be more resistant to drought, cold, and infertility. Cheng Min analyzed that the reason locals say the land doesn't produce crops is the soil in their hands: poor soil structure, easy compaction, poor nutrients, and low seedling emergence rates, which hinder crop growth.
Cheng Mu crushed the dirt and asked Mu Yun, "Is there a river nearby?"
Mu Yun said, "Yes, it's called the Three-Headed River. The closer you get to the river, the less crops grow."
Cheng Mu said slowly, "Salt comes with water."
Mu Yun knew nothing about farming, but he also knew that good land was expensive and barren land was not cultivated. It was said that farming required water, so why was it impossible to farm around Santou River?
Cheng Mu explained to him, "This type of land has a name: saline-alkaline land. There are many reasons for the salinization of the land, the most important of which is water. First, the drought in northern Yan, with little rain, leads to high evaporation, which causes salt to accumulate in the soil. This is the same reason why we sweat salt in the hot summer. Second, it's also related to groundwater. I don't know if you have seen the wells in the villagers' homes. Are they deep or shallow? Is the water salty? Third, it's related to poor drainage in the terrain. There are high mountains in the northwest for border defense, and the Yanyun Mountains in the east. This area is low-lying, and water flows from the high mountains to the lower center. Fourth, our ancestors did not irrigate the land properly, only irrigating without drainage."
Mu Yun listened to her words as if they were divine scriptures. In addition to admiration, he couldn't help but ask sincerely, "Auntie, do you have any ideas for improving the land?"
Cheng Mu said calmly, "Where there's a cause, there's a solution. Salt comes with water, and salt water goes with water. Water conservancy, irrigation, and drainage projects, as well as improved materials, all require government leadership. I can only do my best to contribute in various ways."
After nearly twenty years of studying, isn't it all for the purpose of putting what you learn into practice? The town west of Zhaojia Village is called Tianma Town, which is more than twenty miles away from Zhaojia Village and takes half an hour to walk.
Mu Yun jumped onto the shaft of the cart and swung the rope that was leading the ox.
The ox cart started moving and Guier walked beside the cart. They were going to graze the cattle and go to town at the same time.
With a wet nurse now at home, Cheng Mu gave Mu Yun some ginseng to exchange for silver, asking him to buy some meat. Water was inconvenient at home, requiring them to fetch water from the village well. Cheng Mu wanted to dig a well at home and send Mu Yun and Gui Er to town to find a water provider. Construction was underway in the backyard, and Cheng Mu wanted to lay bricks and stones in the courtyard to prevent mud and wanted to find the stone miner.
The market in the town was bustling with people and there was a lot to do. Mu Yun suggested that he and Gui'er act separately and meet up in half an hour. Gui'er had no objection.
Mu Yun went to sell ginseng first. The town's medical clinic couldn't sell it for much, but there was a pawnshop that would take it. He pawned one and sold the rest to a restaurant. The restaurant had a famous dish, ginseng chicken soup, which required ginseng, and told him to come back and sell it directly next time he found wild ginseng.
The ginseng collected here in Tianma Town is not divided into several grades like in the pharmacy and the price is given according to grade. The pawnshops and restaurants just quote the price based on the quality. Several pieces of ginseng were sold for a total of twenty-five taels.
To be honest, you can get more money by selling it at the pharmacy, but Cheng Mu has a lot of ginseng on hand, and she is afraid that Mu Yun will compare the price and not sell it. So before leaving, she specifically reminded him that now is the time to spend money, and she still has to settle the bill with the escort agency for transporting grain in a few days, so she will sell it as long as he pays.
Gui'er asked around at the market and found out where the well-digger was. Since it was in a village outside the town, she could only wait until she saw Mu Yun and go with him.
There was a man selling old hens at the market, one chicken for 120 wen. Gui'er haggled with him about the price for a long time, and when Mu Yun found her, she was still trying to bargain with him.
The chicken seller was an old farmer in his fifties or sixties, with a wrinkled face and a hunched back. "Girl, the lowest price is 120 wen. These old hens can lay eggs even if you don't rush to eat them."
After Gui'er had been trying for so long, the gray old hen finally stood up with a cluck and actually laid an egg.
The old farmer quickly grabbed the egg and said, "Little girl, hurry up and buy it. This egg is yours. If it weren't for the urgent need for money at home, I wouldn't be willing to sell these chickens."
Gui'er stared at the egg in the old farmer's hand with eyes full of regret, as if she could take it away with her mind if she stared at it for long enough.
“How much are the old hens?”
Mu Yun's voice brought Gui Er back to her senses. Gui Er angrily called out to him, "Mu Yun, he won't give me a penny less."
The old farmer thought there was hope of selling it, but he didn't expect that they were in the same group. His face, which had just relaxed, wrinkled again.
Mu Yun: "I bought all three old hens."
The old farmer's face lit up. "Three hundred and sixty coins in total."
Mu Yun took out the money, but Gui Er stopped him. She said to the old farmer, "When we wanted to buy it, the egg was still in the hen's belly. You have to give it to us."
Mu Yun didn't care. He pushed his hand out a little, but Gui'er pushed it back hard.
The old farmer glanced at the lawsuit in their eyes and the pushing and pulling in their hands, compared an egg with 360 coins, and finally made up his mind, "Here you go."
After buying the chicken, I also bought two pig's trotters and half a sheep.
A peddler was walking by carrying goods on his shoulders. Mu Yun was attracted by the rattles and hurried over to buy two.
They walked through the market and headed north of the town. The crowds around them dwindled. Suddenly, Mu Yun stopped the ox cart. Gui Er asked, "Why aren't you moving?"
Mu Yun made a hushing gesture, flipped over the shaft of the cart, and from the other side to the back, he caught a man in two steps.
"Who are you and why are you following us?"
The man he caught was a forty-year-old man with a round head and blunt face. His skin was not dark, and his fingers were short and thick with scars and calluses. His clothes were covered with patches, and he wore a pair of straw sandals. He was frightened and grabbed Mu Yun's hand, "I, I just want to see her..."
"Who are you looking at? What are you looking at?" Gui'er prepared her moves and chased after him. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "Daddy!"
"Is it really Gui'er?"
Gui'er said to Muyun, "This is my eldest father, Zhao Datian."
Mu Yun let go awkwardly, "I'm sorry."
"It's okay, it's okay," Zhao Datian said with a silly smile, feeling a little flustered. "I just saw someone who looked like Gui'er. I'm afraid I'm dazzled."
"Dad, it's me, it's really me. Mom and I came back a few days ago."
"Oh, you're back. I'm glad you're back."
"Dad, where are you working? When are you coming home?"
"I'll be back in a few days. This is my nephew's husband, right?"
Mu Yun choked, "No."
Guier said, "That's not it."
"Oh oh." Zhao Datian thought, it will happen sooner or later.
"Dad, we're looking for a quarryman. Do you know where to find one?"
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