Chapter 99 Vegetable Garden Helper, Planting Vegetables, Wooden Fence
As luck would have it, a thunderstorm struck just a few days after the potatoes were planted.
Although the rain didn't last long, the rainfall was quite heavy, thoroughly irrigating the fields and vegetable gardens.
By noon the next day, the sun was shining and the temperature was rising sharply. Most of the surface moisture in the ground had evaporated, and there was no sign that it had rained.
Taking advantage of the free time, Lai dug out the vegetable seeds he had stored at home. He planned to plant all the vegetables in one go once the ground had dried.
Most of the seeds were well preserved, but some were damaged by insects. The damaged ones were picked out and fed to the red rockbirds, while the good ones were soaked in warm water to encourage germination, so they can be planted directly in the ground later.
The sunflower seeds I sold last fall were bought from Helen's friend Neil's house, and Ray went to her house again based on his memory.
Helen's family warmly welcomed Lai and gave him two large handfuls of seeds for free, without accepting any payment.
During the conversation, he subtly inquired whether Lai had any plans to continue buying sunflower seeds this year. Upon hearing Lai's affirmative answer, he became even more enthusiastic towards him.
After that, Ray went to Hagrid's house again.
Hagrid's family started planting vegetables quite early this year. When Ray arrived, Hagrid was sorting through the seeds.
Fortunately, Ray had informed him in advance that he wanted to save some sweet potatoes for seed, and Hagrid had made sure to give him a small bag of them, otherwise they would have been planted in the ground long ago.
"How's the garden coming along?"
Hagrid asked Rye as he peeled the dried green beans meant for seed. The crisp sound of peeling the dried green beans echoed incessantly.
Linda poured Ray a full glass of honey water and brought him a plate of cookies and cakes. Her face was full of loving smiles.
"The potatoes are all planted, and the onion seeds have been sown as well. Grandpa Guge suggested that I plant more green beans, saying that they are easy to store and easy to sell. We don't have many green bean seeds at home, so I want to go to town to buy more seeds before planting."
"Okay, sure, sure."
Hagrid seemed pleased with Rae's progress in planting vegetables, and also seemed to agree with Gug's suggestion.
"You don't need to go to town to buy green bean seeds. I have plenty here. I'll have Lamb deliver them to you when I find them."
"Okay, thank you, Uncle Hagrid."
"It's nothing. Lai, what are your plans for this year? If you want to work in town, I can ask someone to help you find some."
Ray understood that Hagrid's question stemmed from an elder's concern for a younger person and had no other ulterior motives, and he appreciated Hagrid's gesture. However, he also had his own plans, so he simply refused Hagrid's offer.
"I want to grow more vegetables this year. Luckily, we have a mule cart at home. When the vegetables are ready, I'll get up early to take them to the morning market in town to sell and earn some hard-earned money."
"Sigh, that's a viable option, but it's quite tiring. It would be better to collect the vegetables in the village and then transport them to town, but that would increase costs. It's better to grow and sell your own produce. Can you manage it all by yourself?"
Hagrid's words silenced Ray for a moment.
He really couldn't handle all this work by himself. Even with Neil's help, it would still take a lot of effort for the two of them to pick enough vegetables to take to town to sell.
He originally planned to hire goblins as he had done last year, but Hagrid and the villagers were unaware of this, and he couldn't reveal it to anyone.
After all, racial prejudice cannot be resolved overnight.
"Lamb stays at home playing with cats and dogs, and he's always running around with his gang. I'll have him work for you, you don't need to pay him wages, just provide him with a meal. He's strong and capable, I feel at ease with him working for you."
"Huh? What are you talking about? Are you talking about me?"
Lamb held a long loaf of bread in his right hand, munching on it as he asked questions, his face full of confusion. Behind him was Luna, dressed in the same style, also holding a loaf of bread and munching on it.
"Hello, Uncle Lei!"
Luna greeted Lei excitedly.
"Hello, Luna."
"It's okay, you go out and play on Luna's back, I need to talk to your brother about something."
"Oh, okay."
Lamb carried Luna by the legs, carrying the little boy who had jumped up in frustration at seeing Leie. Luna had tied several small buns around the back of his head, though it was unclear whether he noticed.
Hagrid looked on with a disbelief.
"When the two of them are together, there's never a moment of peace at home. Farah, Luna's mother, is due to give birth this year. With Lamb going out to work with you, she can finally have some quiet time to recuperate."
Although Lamb had already carried Luna away from the living room, the sounds of Luna and Lamb arguing still drifted through the walls into the living room.
Rye immediately understood Hagrid's good intentions.
"good."
Hearing Ray's answer, Hagrid finally smiled with satisfaction.
"I'll send Lamb to your place tomorrow, along with the green bean seeds and some other vegetable seeds I prepared for you."
"Okay, sure."
"The rainfall seems to be quite good this year. After the rain, you can go for a walk in the woods and pick up a lot of mushrooms, which can be sold for a few silver coins at the market. Rhys will go to the mountains to hunt wild game later. I'll have him call you in advance so we can go together."
"That's great! I was planning to go up the mountain recently anyway."
"Don't underestimate this poor and remote place. There are many treasures in these mountains. In the past, we couldn't sell them because the mountain roads were impassable. But now, the tunnel has been built, and it's much more convenient for everyone to travel."
Hagrid talked about whatever came to mind, what things were rare and expensive, where to find them; what vegetables to plant and what to pay attention to when growing them, how to care for them, how to fertilize them and when; how to make dried vegetables that can be stored for a long time, and so on.
She told Ray everything in great detail, as if she wanted to cram all the knowledge she knew into Ray's head.
Ray sat at Hagrid's house for a long time before returning home with a bag of sweet potatoes.
Sure enough, after breakfast the next day, Lamb arrived at Lai's house on time with green beans and other vegetable seeds.
As soon as Ray opened the door, he saw the corners of his mouth that just wouldn't turn down.
"Brother, from now on I'll follow you, I'll do whatever you say!"
"..."
Lamb said with a chuckle, clearly very satisfied with Hagrid's arrangement. His tone was light and cheerful, full of eagerness and energy.
"Come in."
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Two people can definitely work much faster than one person.
In just one morning, all the sweet potatoes that were brought back from Hagrid's house yesterday had been planted in the ground.
The few rows that were deliberately left out were also planted with sunflower seeds.
In addition, the pre-soaked green bean seeds were also planted. Two rows of cabbage and two rows of purple cabbage were also planted, totaling about a hundred.
This stuff is popular for salads in spring and summer, so I won't have to worry about selling it.
Lamb was incredibly energetic, practically throwing himself into his work.
As noon approached, Lai told him to rest for a while and wait for lunch. In the blink of an eye, Lamb was running to the garden, wielding a hoe and digging holes.
In Lamb's words, the more work he did, the more he felt comfortable eating better food at Lai's place. What an honest young man.
Lai, of course, wouldn't treat Lamb, who had worked hard all morning, unfairly. For lunch, he made large steamed buns with sauerkraut and pork, and all-meat buns, along with wild vegetable and egg drop soup, and some refreshing side dishes. It wasn't a very lavish meal, but the fillings in the buns were absolutely generous.
Lamb was pleasantly surprised to eat sauerkraut-filled buns for the first time. He ate four at a speed of three bites each before he finally felt full and began to eat at a slower pace.
"Brother, what kind of filling is this? It's so sour, it goes so well with rice. Sister-in-law Farah would definitely love this kind of bun."
"It's sauerkraut filling, and there are only a few sauerkraut pieces left. After we finish this meal of steamed buns, there won't be any left. If I had known she liked it, I would have sent her a few to try."
"Pickled cabbage?"
"Yes, it's a kind of winter vegetable made by pickling cabbage. It has a sour taste after pickling, so it's called sauerkraut."
"oh oh."
Slurp.
Lamb picked up the bowl and took a big gulp of the wild vegetable and egg drop soup. The soup had the freshness of wild vegetables and the aroma of eggs.
Lai's timing in adding the egg mixture to the soup was perfect. The egg mixture entered the boiling soup in a cloud-like flocculent form, and then broke into pieces. Two small bird eggs instantly made up the whole pot of soup.
"Brother, this soup tastes better than the one we make at home!"
Glug glug.
Lamb didn't mind the heat; he poured himself a bowl of soup as if it were water, and then used a spoon to refill it.
"Brother, I'm not going to talk to you anymore."
"Eat up, I can afford to feed you too, even if I have another one."
"hey-hey."
Ray discovered it all: Lamb was a very diligent boy, and once he had eaten his fill, he had inexhaustible energy.
In less than a week, he not only helped Lai finish planting all the vegetables in the garden, but also expanded the garden to the side.
The wooden fence that Lai had prepared earlier was definitely not enough, so he had to take an axe and a hacksaw, drive the mule cart out again to find suitable wood to make a wooden fence.
Neil insisted on going with them, and Lamb naturally followed. So the three of them set off in a mule cart, working for several days and bringing back a considerable amount of timber.
Lai went to Timuche and bought several hundred iron nails.
Lay wooden strips or narrow planks horizontally on top and bottom, and place a plank, a whole thin stick, or a branch split in half vertically in the middle. The shape doesn't matter, as long as the length is about the same.
Leave a small gap between the two pieces of wood, then secure them with nails, and the wooden fence is complete.
Ray and Lamb dug holes every few meters around the vegetable garden and erected a thick log as a support, then put up the newly made wooden fence and nailed it to the log.
One fence after another eventually became a wooden fence wall. The vegetable garden was firmly protected within the fence, and not a single red rockbird could possibly get in.
"This fence looks really solid; it's no wonder we nailed it together bit by bit."
Lamb boasted with a hint of smugness. He had indeed worked very hard during this period.
The weeds along the fence had been cleared away, and Ray, carrying a small bag, walked back and forth along the inside of the fence, closer to his own garden. Lamb only realized as he got closer that Ray was planting something.
"Brother, what kind of seed is this?"
Lamb looked at the seeds he had taken out of the small bag with a puzzled expression.
"Pig ear bean, a type of string bean."
"Oh, is it delicious?"
"..."
"good."
"Brother, then you should grow more."
"Um."
The environment around the fence isn't good; it's not ideal for growing vegetables.
Pig ear beans are also a type of string bean, called flat beans here. They are also a type of vine vegetable that can climb up the fence through the gaps.
Lai just wanted to grow some beans for her family's consumption; she didn't intend to sell them and didn't care about the yield. So she planted them here to save herself the trouble of setting up new bean trellises.
At this point, except for some vegetables that weren't yet in season, the Lai family's vegetable garden was completely planted. Just watering these vegetables would take a lot of effort.
Excluding labor and time, Lai only spent a few silver coins on seeds. But just looking at this large, currently empty garden, one can tell that a bumper harvest is sure to follow in the fall.
"Brother, now that we've finished planting the vegetables, what are we going to do next?"
What are you doing...?
"Let's go for a walk in the mountains."
"good!"
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