When the whole village had finished harvesting rice and planting rice seedlings for the next season, and were preparing to clear the wasteland, Old Zhou's family had already cleared their wasteland. The government required each household to clear at least three mu of wasteland, but Old Zhou's family had cleared three more mu because they had started clearing wasteland before the summer harvest.
The land that has been reclaimed is currently being used to help the imperial court grow sweet potatoes for disaster relief. However, once the disaster situation stabilizes, this land will belong to the family. Otherwise, Zhou Laoda wouldn't have reclaimed a few more acres.
Once the wasteland for planting sweet potatoes was cleared, Zhou Laoda's family began digging sweet potatoes in their own land. They first cut down the sweet potato vines, tied them into two bundles, and then carried them to the wasteland on the mountain to plant them.
Zhao Guihua, Zhao Guizhi, and the five brothers Fu were in charge of digging sweet potatoes. Zhou Laoda led Mo Tianzhu's family to the wasteland to plant sweet potato seedlings. The two men each carried a load of seedlings and walked in front, while the two brothers Mo Baoshan and Mo Baodi each carried a smaller load behind them.
Zhong Miao and her daughter Mo Baolu each carried a bucket and walked at the back. After planting the sweet potato seedlings, they would need to water them, so they needed to carry two buckets. Zhou Laoda had previously cleared the land closest to the water source, so that carrying water would not be too far and would be much easier.
To make sweet potatoes grow big, it's best not to cut the vines too often, otherwise the sweet potatoes will be small and won't grow big. This is an experience gained from growing sweet potatoes for two years. Zhao Guihua usually takes good care of them, so the sweet potatoes that have been unearthed this time are all quite big.
Apart from the sweet potato vines that were to be planted on their own dry land and wasteland, all the rest were handed over to the government, supposedly to be transported to the north for planting.
"Isn't there a drought in the north? Will so many sweet potato vines survive if we transport them there?" Zhao Guizhi said in a low voice.
"It's not that the whole north is suffering from disaster. Some places are doing better, so the crops should be able to survive." Even if they don't survive, it's not their problem. At most, it's just a waste of sweet potato vines. If they don't hand them over to the government, the remaining sweet potato vines can be used to feed pigs.
"I really hope the crops can survive, so they won't have to torment us again. As long as this disaster doesn't subside, the people won't have a moment of peace." Zhao Guihua said, digging up sweet potatoes with increased force, as if she was venting something.
Beside them, Xingxing and Ruru each held a small hoe, imitating the adults as they dug the soil with great effort. However, the two little girls were not strong enough, and after digging for a long time, they still hadn't seen a sweet potato.
"Ugh, this soil is so hard, it's exhausting!" Xingxing said, a tiny handkerchief draped over her shoulder. She dug a few times, then stopped to wipe the sweat from her forehead with the handkerchief. "Are we digging in the wrong place? The sweet potatoes in this field have all burrowed underground. It's so hard to dig!"
"Can sweet potatoes run away?" Ruru tilted her head and thought for a moment. "I've heard people say that he shou wu (Polygonum multiflorum) can turn into little babies and run around everywhere. Could sweet potatoes also turn into little babies?"
"Sweet potatoes won't run away. Only storytellers say that the ginseng and flowers in their stories can turn into people and run around everywhere. The flowers and plants around us won't turn into people." Xingxing had an expression that said, as if she understood everything.
“Why not? Maybe some plants have already become people, we just don’t know it.” Ruru said stubbornly, firmly believing that the characters in those myths and legends existed.
"No, no, I just know." Xingxing said firmly, then ignored her and started digging sweet potatoes with all her might.
The argument hasn't even reached a conclusion yet, so why are you ignoring me?
Ruru pouted and muttered defiantly, "You know nothing. There must be spirits in this world, maybe dolls transformed from he shou wu or ginseng, or flower fairies..."
Although she spoke very softly, Xingxing, with her sharp ears, heard everything. She quietly wrinkled her nose, thinking that Ruru's idea was whimsical and that she was very suitable to write picture books in the future.
"Wow, I dug up a sweet potato! It's huge!" Xingxing exclaimed excitedly, as if she had discovered a new continent. She swung her little hoe even harder and finally dug up a big sweet potato.
Ruru quickly ran over to take a look and sure enough, she saw a big sweet potato lying in the pit. It would be easy to dig it out after a few more digs. It looked really big, so she picked up a hoe to help dig it out.
"Ruru, dig the soil next to you, but don't ruin the sweet potato." Xingxing valued the first sweet potato she dug up and carefully preserved it intact.
Zhao Guihua and Zhao Guizhi found the two little girls' innocent chatter amusing, but they didn't go over to join in the fun. They continued working, as digging up all the sweet potatoes in two acres was no easy task, and they had to hurry.
Zhou Erfu strode over in two steps, and when he saw the sweet potato in the small pit, he was surprised and raised his voice, "Oh, we can't underestimate our little sister, she really is a big sweet potato."
Even Zhou Erfu said so, so it must be unusually large. The other four Fu also stopped what they were doing and came over to take a look, and they were all surprised when they saw it.
"This must be the biggest of all the sweet potatoes, bigger than Xingxing's head. It can really grow! This big sweet potato must have drunk the most fertilizer, otherwise how could it grow so big?" Xingxing concluded seriously.
As soon as Xingxing finished speaking, the five Fu brothers all had indescribable expressions. This girl really knows how to make people sick. What does she mean by drinking the most greasy water? After hearing her say that, even the sweet potato king doesn't taste good anymore. How can anyone eat it?
"Oh dear, it's so heavy, I can't lift it." Xingxing tried to lift the Sweet Potato King, but couldn't manage it.
Zhou Erfu was about to reach out to lift it when Ruru was even faster. She squatted down and said in a sweet, childlike voice, "Let's lift it together."
So the two little girls groaned and carried the sweet potatoes, their little hands and clothes covered in dirt, turning the two clean little girls into two dusty little dirt babies.
"Second brother, don't move. Ruru and I can carry it over. All the brothers, don't move." Xingxing shook her head, indicating that no one should help them; they had to rely on themselves.
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