26 Chapter 26
◎Winter◎
It took a full month for Xiaoqi to turn over a new leaf.
Winter is coming. There is a cow, three sheep, four chickens and two geese in the barn. The vegetable seedlings in the greenhouse have grown a lot taller and will be ready to eat in a few days.
The first snow fell that day. Snowflakes fluttered down, instantly covering the ground and roofs with a layer of white.
Yu closed the door of the main hall and turned the brazier in the main room on to a brighter burner.
The water on the stove was steaming, but not boiling yet.
She lifted the thick felt curtain and went into the east wing. Dong'er was changing Xiaoqi's diaper, and Cheng Mu was leaning on the headboard reading a book.
"Madam Cheng, it's snowing outside. What are you going to cook today?"
"Is it snowing?" Cheng Mu asked Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi, who were sitting on the kang, with great interest, "Do you want to go see the snow?"
Yu wanted to say that it was cold outside and that Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi should not catch a cold, but seeing that Madam Cheng was in high spirits, she kept silent.
Wrapping Xiaoliu and Xiaoqi warmly, Cheng Mu and Dong'er each held one in their arms, standing in the backyard watching the snow.
Cheng Mu caught a snowflake and showed it to Xiao Qi, "Look, this is snow."
The snowflakes were delicate and transparent. Cheng Mu said, "This is solid water. Do you want to try it?"
Put a piece in Xiaoqi's mouth, and Xiaoqi took a sip, frowning in a serious manner.
Cheng Xi asked with a smile, "What does it taste like? Sweet or sour?"
Soon the snow became denser, and the wind blew the snow into balls and flakes, which fluttered down heavily, making my eyes dizzy.
This kind of weather is perfect for stewing.
Cheng Mu said to Yu, "It's snowing, let's eat mutton."
She bought three sheep just for this winter. She would eat one sheep a month. The weather was cold in winter, so she could keep the sheep in the open air after slaughtering them, which became a natural refrigerator.
The words "eat lamb" are very encouraging and everyone is in high spirits.
Gui'er set up the bench and whetstone and started sharpening the knife.
Yanbei had been occupied by foreign races for many years, and many people had learned to slaughter sheep like the Mongols. Gui'er had seen it, but this was her first time personally taking part in the battle.
Yu prepared a clean basin and boiled hot water in a large pot.
Qi Song drove a sheep to the open space at the back door of the yard.
Dong'er wanted to go out and see, but Cheng Mu didn't dare and stayed in the side room to look after the two children.
Dong'er had not returned for a long time after the sheep's bleating had died down. Seeing that the two children were soundly asleep, Cheng Mu went out to see that Dong'er and Yu were busy cleaning the internal organs.
Dong'er saw her and said loudly, "Madam Cheng, let me help you stuff the blood sausage."
The village women have an extraordinary passion for cooking.
I heard that Gui'er was not very good at slaughtering sheep at the beginning, but later she got better and could skin a sheep very well.
When Cheng Mu returned to her room, she opened the main hall door and looked out. A black dot appeared on the white ground. As the black dot slowly moved, it could be seen that it was a man wearing a straw hat driving an ox cart.
Mu Yun has been getting up early recently to pick vegetables from the greenhouse and sell them in town. These juicy green vegetables are very popular in winter. At first, he was selling them at the market, but later he was seen by a buyer from the restaurant, who took him directly to see the owner.
The owner of the restaurant was named Hu. He had dealt with Mu Yun twice. When he saw him and found out that the vegetables were grown in his own greenhouse, he was very surprised and even wanted to come and see his greenhouse.
Later, Mu Yun was asked to have vegetables delivered to him every three days.
Mu Yun came back and Cheng Mu went to greet him.
Mu Yun bought some pens, ink, and paper today. Cheng Mu said he had nothing to do during the winter months, so she told him to start practicing his martial arts again. However, in this northwestern borderland, literature is not very popular. Pens, ink, and paper are still available, but there is no study to be found.
Fortunately, I brought the calligraphy copybooks from when I practiced calligraphy with Master Wen in Puyang City, so I have something to look at for now.
Cheng Mu said, "You can take my agricultural book and read it. It would be helpful to copy some of it and learn more words."
Seeing a large bag, Cheng Mu filled it with peanuts with her mind. In the cold winter, eating some fried peanuts was a good way to pass the time.
After the things were moved into the main hall, Mu Yun went to tie up the cow, Cheng Mu gave the peanuts to Yu, and took the paper into the house to cut.
The snow fell all day and stopped at dusk.
When the weather got cold, the eight-immortal table was moved into the main hall. The main hall had walls and doors on all four sides, and the brazier was very warm. It was much warmer to eat here than in the inner courtyard which was drafty on three sides.
The house was warm, the pot was steaming, lamb bones were stewed with white radish, fresh lamb was cut into thin slices, and the washed cabbage and spinach were placed in a basin, ready to be added at any time.
Guier's knife skills are impeccable. She slices the mutton into slices as thin as a cicada's wing. It can be eaten after just a few seconds of blanching. It is tender and delicious.
Although the Chinese New Year is still two months away, the atmosphere is almost there.
Speaking of preparations for the New Year, Cheng Mu asked Mu Yun to buy some red paper the next day. Zhao Shitou immediately took on the task and said he was willing to buy the red paper for their family. "Boss, I only ask that Master Yun write a few for my family as well."
He has a large family and many doors, so he needs to put up one for the main hall, one for the warehouse, one for the kitchen, and one for the side rooms. "Is it okay to write five?"
It was rare for the boss to have brushes and ink, and since Mu Yun could write, Dong'er also had an idea. She said to Zhao Shitou, "You can just put one on your front door. Why put these in the warehouse and kitchen? Boss, I only need one. Can you write one for me too?"
Zhao Shitou said, "Write a formal couplet for the gate, write "full" for the warehouse, and "full" for the kitchen. It doesn't take much ink or effort."
"Shitou is quite creative," Cheng Mu praised him. She then realized that there were no scholars in Zhaojia Village, and that during the New Year, they couldn't even get a pair of Spring Festival couplets. They could only cut some red paper and paste it on the doors and windows.
Mu Yun felt a little ashamed. He thought his level was low and he could only recognize and write a few words. He didn't expect that someone would come to him to ask for his calligraphy, and it was not easy to refuse.
"I'll write everything for you." Cheng Mu agreed on his behalf. "We have pens and ink here, so forget it. It's for writing anyway. But you have to bring your own red paper. If anyone else in the village needs it, just tell them to bring their own red paper."
"Sister-in-law..."
Cheng Mu didn't give him a chance to refuse. "Mu Yun, this is a good opportunity. It's a good opportunity to force you to practice calligraphy. Don't worry, no one can read, so it doesn't matter what you write."
Zhao Shitou went back and told his parents about this. His parents were very happy and agreed to buy red paper when they went to buy New Year's goods.
Later, some people in the village heard what Zhao Shitou's parents said, and they bought red paper and asked Mu Yun to fill in the words for them.
This winter, Mu Yun practiced calligraphy very hard.
Cheng Mu thought of several couplets with him, all of which were simple and easy to understand, such as "Welcome the New Year with joy and bid farewell to the old year with a smile", "Harmony between heaven and earth brings wealth to the family, peace and happiness bring happiness to people", and "Hard work brings early spring, and fertile land brings abundant crops".
After writing it, Gui'er delivered it to each household. She read out what she had written in it in a serious manner. They were all auspicious couplets. Every household was very happy to hear it and did not forget to praise her, saying, "You have a master who is educated. Gui'er can also read, right?"
Gui'er was just learning on the job. Cheng Mu taught her and she remembered how to say the words, but she couldn't recognize the words if they were placed somewhere else.
Cheng Mu asked her if she wanted to learn calligraphy, but Guier thought it was too difficult. The characters were really complicated and hard to remember, and there were many strokes. She would rather practice with a knife.
At the end of December, Cheng Mu let Dong'er go home to stay for three days and gave her half a bag of wheat, a large basket of vegetables and a leg of lamb as New Year's goods. She only needed to come over to feed her a few times a day.
Not many vegetables can be grown in the greenhouse around the first month of the lunar year, so we have to rest for a full month and only plant vegetables again after the temperature rises after the first month of the lunar year.
Cover yourself with three layers of wheat quilts in winter, and you will sleep on steamed buns as a pillow next year.
After the first month of the year, the wheat in the fields began to grow and become lush and green.
Only then did Cheng Mu complete her actual walk through the 40 mu (approximately 1,000 acres) of land she rented. The jointing and heading phase is crucial for wheat to grow large ears and grains, ensuring a good harvest. Every morning, Cheng Mu would first walk through the fields. Although the wheat varieties she had developed in the space laboratory were drought-resistant and resistant to infertility, she still closely monitored and recorded the wheat's growth, assessing the need for topdressing with water and fertilizer.
As for fertilizer, there are many sheep farmers in Zhaojia Village and nearby villages. Zhao Datian’s two daughters came back around the Spring Festival. Cheng Xi paid them to collect sheep manure for her in their respective villages and made a few buckets of organic fertilizer. She could also negotiate for horse manure from the nearby horse farm. She has not made any move yet and needs to see how the wheat seedlings grow.
As for the water source, we have to wait for the spring rain. It is impossible that there will be no rain at all.
After a winter of hibernation, Zhao Datian and Zhao Shitou successfully made two wind buckets. This kind of agricultural product had mature samples for reference, and they had used it personally, so there were no difficulties in making it.
After three modifications, the sickle was finally usable. The spreader was relatively simple and was made successfully in one go.
The next step is to copy three sickles to prepare for the wheat harvest in a few months.
Zhao Shitou said that a few days ago, Mr. Zhao was called away by Zheng Lizheng to discuss farming matters. He came back yesterday and said that the county's agricultural promotion official would come to Zhaojia Village in a few days.
Zhao Shitou said, "Last year, the agricultural officials were urged to distribute millet. Our village received the seeds, but we didn't plant a single acre."
Although the Yanbei region is known for its drought, rice cultivation along river floodplains has a long history. Since the Qin and Han dynasties, thousands of hectares of canal fields have been reclaimed, attracting the Yue people to grow rice. The Jinshui area is said to have "the best rice and wheat in the province." Dryland crops are generally grown slightly further away on alluvial plains or in the mountains. Planting rice does not conflict with traditional dryland crops and can even fill the gap left by insufficient autumn grain harvests in dryland areas.
Judging from the fact that agricultural officials distributed Jin rice seeds for free last year, the imperial court and local officials were vigorously promoting rice cultivation.
Thanks to the agricultural officials, the rice in Cheng Mi's space is the best grain variety from the Jinshui River Basin.
Zhao Shitou was worried, "If the agricultural officials insist that every household grow crops, we won't have enough food to eat here."
Cheng Xi comforted him, "If the higher-ups take this seriously, they should be able to find a solution."
The government cannot just mobilize people without doing anything. If there is no water, water conservancy projects must be built, and salt and alkali in the soil must be quickly controlled.
Two days later, the agricultural persuasion official really came. The village head beat gongs and drums and called people from house to house. All the villagers of Zhaojia Village came out and went to the village drying yard.
Cheng Mu and Dong'er also went there with their two children.
The two of them stood further back, and the women and children all stood further back consciously. In front were the heads of the families, and there were so many people that Cheng Mu could not see what the agricultural official looked like, nor could she hear what he was saying.
A quarter of an hour later, the crowd dispersed and people could go home.
"Boss Cheng, please stay." Mr. Zhao called Cheng Mu, "County Magistrate Huang wants to see you."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
