Chapter 148 Ji Xiuling's Wonderful Experience (Exclusively Published on Jinjiang Literature City) (No Male Characters...)
After seven days in Yunlu Village, Ji Xiuling finally left her room and disembarked from the boat.
The rain was much lighter than the previous days. Ji Xiuling was wearing the bio-suit that Lu Qing had lent her, with a raincoat over it. Apart from feeling a little coolness on her face, she felt almost no cold.
As Ji Xiuling stepped off the deck onto the damp ground, she turned around as if remembering something. When she saw just how magnificent the ship she had been staying on was, she was stunned.
Wu Yinyin said with a hint of pride, "Isn't it impressive? Our village spent a lot of money to get this boat. With it, we don't have to worry about the wind and rain no matter how heavy the rain is during the rainy season."
Ji Xiuling wholeheartedly agreed, "It is indeed very impressive."
While on the boat, she heard Aunt Miao and Granny Lin say that all the villagers in Yunlu Village lived on a boat, and she had a preliminary estimate of the size of the boat.
But after actually seeing the ship, she realized that her imagination was far too limited.
It could also be said that Yunlu Village has an amazing number of boats.
If the disaster victims of Fuyao Town could have such a large ship, perhaps she wouldn't have been abandoned by her husband's family?
Similarly, there would be no chance to encounter such an incredible group of disaster victims as Yunlu Village, where everyone survived.
Soon, Ji Xiuling also saw a larger ship next to ship number 2, which was smaller in size but had a more refined appearance.
That must be the No. 1 boat where Lu Xuan, Lu Qing's younger brother, and the Lu family of four lived, which Granny Lin often mentioned.
With only four people owning such a large boat, Ji Xiuling became even more certain that the Lu family held a unique and extraordinary position in Yunlu Village.
She also saw kayaks moored in the floodwaters around the two large ships.
The tents on the boat looked like small floating houses, and they seemed very convenient, making Ji Xiuling take another look.
Lu Qing, who was standing next to them, put on the hood of her raincoat and called out to them, "Okay, let's go. The mushroom picking will start soon at the mushroom house. Let's go help."
The three of them first passed a row of awnings on the shore.
Inside the shed, a group of women were busily processing the river fish that their families had just been allocated. Some were chopping the processed fish meat into minced meat to make fish balls, while others were pickling it to make salted fish.
Ji Xiuling stared in astonishment at the large basin of pure white salt in front of the women, exclaiming, "That's... salt? How can there be so much?"
And it's fine salt!
Using such precious fine salt to pickle salted fish? That's too extravagant!
Wu Yinyin explained with a smile, "Hey, we don't lack salt. We can buy as much as we want from the general store."
Ji Xiuling asked in surprise, "You even have a general store?"
“Yes.” Wu Yinyin tilted her head. “Didn’t Grandma Lin tell you? Maybe she forgot. The general store is on Ship No. 1. They sell all kinds of supplies there.”
"Salt, sugar, fruit, grains, fresh meat, dried meat, cloth, nutritional supplements, cooling and warming patches, camping lights, toilet paper, bio-clothes, blankets, bows and arrows... There's a lot of stuff. I'll take you there to see it later."
Lu Qing said, "At first, the salt we used for pickling vegetables was actually coarse salt that we exchanged with Ah Xuan. But in the last few months, we've had so many game and cabbages and radishes in the fields that we've run out of coarse salt for pickling vegetables without even realizing it."
Lu Xuan bought a full thousand catties of coarse salt in the prefectural city.
When Lu Qing first heard this number, she thought they would never use up so much salt in their lifetime. Little did she expect that if the whole village used it together, it would be gone in less than half a year.
Lu Qing sighed: "Coarse salt is best for pickling vegetables, but there's nothing we can do about it when it's unavailable, so we have to make do with fine salt."
Ji Xiuling: "..."
As we were talking, we arrived at the mushroom house.
Looking at the rows of iron frames covered with tree trunks and haystacks full of mushrooms of various colors, Ji Xiuling was inevitably shocked once again.
She exclaimed, "How can there be so many mushrooms?!"
Lu Qing smiled gently, quite proudly: "That's why it's called a mushroom house. This place is specifically used for growing mushrooms."
Ji Xiuling looked dazed.
She looked up and saw that the mushroom house was completely enclosed by a shaded and rainproof awning, so there was no need to worry about getting wet. The temperature inside was just as warm as on the boat, and she didn't feel like she was outdoors at all.
Wu Yinyin took out a few bamboo baskets, gave one to Ji Xiuling, and said, "Alright, stop gossiping and get to work. Although you're not a member of our village yet, you helped out today, so you'll get a share when it's distributed later."
Having nothing of value, Ji Xiuling straightened her expression, perked up, picked up her bamboo basket, and followed the two.
Upon getting closer to the thriving mushrooms, Ji Xiuling discovered that these mushrooms were much larger than those picked by the disaster victims in Fuyao Town during the rain. The mushroom flesh was visibly thick and plump, and one could tell at a glance that they would taste good.
While learning from Lu Qing and Wu Yinyin's methods, she used scissors to pick the perfectly grown mushrooms, and at the same time, she scanned the other areas of the mushroom house to estimate its size.
How many mushrooms must such a huge mushroom house harvest at once? It's probably going to be completely overwhelmed by mushrooms!
"Hahaha, how could that be?" Wu Yinyin laughed loudly. "Leaving aside the Lu family's share and the public supplies, the remaining dozens of households in the village will only receive three or four baskets each."
Ji Xiuling then realized that she had accidentally blurted out the words.
She glanced at the bamboo baskets that were more than half a meter tall beside her and said, "Three or four baskets is quite a lot, isn't it?"
If an ordinary disaster victim got this many mushrooms, it would be enough to eat for at least half a month, and if they were careful, it would last for a month or two.
Wu Yinyin shook her head repeatedly, "How can we eat this for that long? The people in our village have a big appetite. These mushrooms, along with other vegetables and meat, will only last about seven days."
However, a considerable amount was gathered from the wild. Some families with few members could exchange some for other mushrooms, and some could even be dried and stored, or made into mushroom sauce.
"Let me tell you, Aunt Chen's mushroom sauce is absolutely amazing. It's so delicious with rice, noodles, or even rolled in pancakes."
Wu Yinyin then turned to the next row of shelves planted with cave mushrooms and said, "And those meat mushrooms over there, just add a little meat and stir-fry them, and they taste exactly like meat. With them, we can save a lot on meat consumption."
Ji Xiuling listened with great interest.
Many of those responsible for picking mushrooms in the mushroom house were elderly people who were not suitable to go out to pick them. There were also women like them who were not assigned to pick them. There were more than 30 people in total, and the mushrooms in one acre were picked in less than half an hour.
Lu Qing and Wu Yinyin were both skilled pickers, each picking more than seven baskets, while Ji Xiuling picked fewer, only five baskets.
Putting the picked mushrooms in the corner, Wu Yinyin explained, "My mother-in-law will come over later to collect these mushrooms and count the quantity. She'll then distribute the shares to each family tonight. After you receive your wages for today, you can take them to the general store to exchange for some supplies you need."
After leaving the mushroom house, the three of them went to the larger field next door.
As expected, Ji Xiuling was once again amazed by the overly advanced planting methods of Yunlu Village.
She stared blankly at the agricultural drone flying overhead, her expression dazed: "Weeding, sowing, fertilizing, watering—all can be done with that... agricultural drone? Does that mean the villagers can harvest without doing anything?"
Lu Qing shook her head and said, "How could we do nothing? After the plant protection machine sows the seeds, we are responsible for covering them with soil. If the seeds grow too densely, we also need to thin them out. Furthermore, the plant protection machine can only carry enough water to irrigate one acre of land each time. We planted two hundred acres, so we need to change the water two hundred times a day."
Even if there is one plant protection machine in the hilly area and one in the mountainous area, each plant protection machine needs to change the water dozens of times a day, not to mention that in addition to watering, it also needs to spray plant nutrient solution, which makes the frequency even higher.
Moreover, operating agricultural drones back and forth on fixed routes every day is actually a very tedious job. When we first got the agricultural drones during the hottest season, everyone was overjoyed, but as time went on, we also realized how hard it was.
Now, at least ten to fifteen people are responsible for operating the plant protection machines every day, working together in three different areas of the field.
Finally, the crops also need to be harvested manually, so the villagers still have quite a lot to do.
However, it is undeniable that it is much easier than before, and the gains are also much greater.
...
After touring the fields, the three went to the vegetable garden and orchard.
The vegetable garden covers a total of five acres, with each family receiving about sixty square meters. Each family grows their own favorite fruits and vegetables.
Lu Qing picked some newly ripened tomatoes for Ji Xiuling. "Try them, they're delicious. Everyone in the village loves them; they can be eaten as a vegetable or as a fruit."
Ji Xiuling picked up a bright red tomato and tentatively took a bite. She was immediately amazed by the taste, which she had never experienced before.
"It really is delicious. Is this the tomato that Grandma Lin was talking about?"
She has had tomato dishes and soups twice in the past two days, and they both suited her taste perfectly.
Wu Yinyin was also holding one in her hand, eating it with relish. "Yes, Lu Xuan got this in Yangshan County. My son and other children in the village love to eat it."
Lu Qing introduced the harvest time of the two gardens to Ji Xiuling.
Ji Xiuling learned that the vegetables in the garden, like mushrooms, could be harvested in about seven days, and some could even be harvested and eaten in three days. She silently calculated in her mind how much she could harvest in a year...
It's simply impossible to calculate.
The fruit ripens a little slower in the orchard, and the trees and vines can't be picked yet, so Lu Qing only picked some fast-growing strawberries, raspberries, and berries.
They discovered raspberries and berries after they came here, and they also cultivated mutated varieties that were large and sweet. Even Ji Xiuling, who thought she had never eaten many good things before, couldn't resist eating quite a lot.
...
After exploring the hills, Lu Qing and Wu Yinyin each carried a basket of cleaned fruit and took Ji Xiuling to the water park.
From the window of Ji Xiuling's room, you can see a corner of the water park.
Her greatest joy each day was watching through the window the chubby, well-fed children of Yunlu Village playing and laughing carefree outside.
However, after seeing the water park up close, Ji Xiuling was astonished: "Why is there water inside? Won't the children catch a cold playing in the water?"
Wu Yinyin popped a raspberry into her mouth and said with a smile, "Don't worry, the water is warm. Besides, the children are all healthy. After playing, each of them will have a bowl of ginger soup. Nothing will go wrong. If any of them are unlucky enough to get sick, they can just ask Doctor Lin for some fever reducer and they'll be fine in no time."
Lu Qing pointed to the indoor playground next to her and said, "The younger children, who are indeed a little weaker, play over there. There is no water there, but the children like it very much."
Ji Xiuling turned her head and saw several little girls 'swimming' in the ball pit. The joyful smiles on the girls' faces made her tense expression falter.
She couldn't help but imagine how happy her daughter would be to play in a place like this when she grew up.
"Aaaaaah—!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com