Although Xiang Dejin and his group were going to live on the mountain, they were going to build their own shacks that wouldn't leak rain or wind, and they would only be able to stay there for two months before leaving once their injuries healed.
They can handle any weather outside, they're not delicate.
Finding a good plot of land for building a house in the mountains is not easy, so if you're just building a shack, you don't need to be too particular.
The shack was not located near the two other houses; they did not like living next to tall oak trees, but chose a sunny slope instead.
Because the area had been burned and there were fewer shrubs and weeds, the wounded soldiers felt that the place was finally bright and airy, so they wouldn't be unable to see the sun in the days to come.
A dozen or so laborers worked together, digging and leveling the slope to create a flat area for two rooms.
The above is simple: tie wood to tree trunks, cover with tarpaulin, and you can build two shacks in half a day.
As dusk approached, the laborers came down the mountain, and the shacks were already habitable.
The remaining repairs and renovations will be done by Xu Errui and Xiaoman on their own.
All we need to do is cover the roof with thatch, and then we won't have to worry about anything.
It's habitable, but there are no beds.
Fortunately, it's still autumn, with bright sunshine during the day and not too cold at night.
The handymen carried up a few door panels, laid out mats woven from straw by Grandpa Xiaoman, and then covered them with quilts. It was better than the large communal sleeping area in the medical tent.
Xiang Dejin and the others delivered the grain to Xiaoman's family, and everyone ate together. Since Li Laoshi wanted to stay, he naturally did the laundry and served others.
With more people in the mountains, the area became more lively. Over the next few days, Xiaoman and Xu Errui brought thatch to cover the shack, cut wood to make some fences and benches outside the shack, and paved a path with stones to make it easier for people to walk.
With Xu Errui and the others keeping an eye on him, Li Laoshi became obedient and worked diligently every day.
Because if he doesn't work, he won't have anything to eat.
Xiang Dejin and his companions lived quite well on the mountain. They ate at Xiaoman's house every day, having stewed medicinal meat soup, and spent the rest of their time playing and recuperating on the hillside.
With these people around, Xiaoman and Xu Errui were the happiest.
After finishing their work each day, the two would go out at night with torches to listen to stories about the outside world and practice their martial arts.
For two rural boys who had never been exposed to society, this was a rare and valuable classroom, much more interesting than their previous literacy lessons.
The most unhappy one should be Peppa Pig.
With the arrival of strangers on the mountain, the little wild boar was initially very wary, and followed Xu Errui to launch several sneak attacks.
Two fists can't fight four hands. The opponent is a group of people. It's just a little pig. Every time, it gets held down and can't move. It's so angry that it squeals.
Finally, in retaliation, it moved its latrine next to the shed and went there to relieve itself every day.
Pigs are very clean animals; they always have a designated spot for their excrement.
Peppa's old toilet was in the composting area outside the chicken coop, but now it's next to the wounded soldiers' shed, forcing Xu Errui to apologize to people every day.
Every time he dragged Peppa home by her pig ears, it was like pulling a boat; both the pig and the man were exhausted.
This was just a minor incident on the mountain.
……………………………………
Autumn is intensifying, and all the miscellaneous trees on the hillside have shed their yellow leaves, except for the evergreen oak forest, which remains lush and green.
Grandpa Xiaoman and Jiang Zhi were watching the rice fields by the terraced fields, both of them on edge these days.
The rice was planted too late. According to the season, breeding should have started in February, but it has been delayed by more than a month.
Autumn weather is unpredictable, and the two families were most worried about the rice harvest being reduced due to frost. Now they can finally relax and wait a few more days to harvest the rice.
After the rice flowers bloomed a while ago, water management was needed, and Xu Errui dared not be distracted every day.
As a result, chaos erupted on the mountain, with people and animals running wild. Once things calmed down, everyone was busy planting wheat, and the rice paddies were neglected. Now, when people look at them again, the rice paddies have dried up.
Grandpa Xiaoman squatted down and touched the drooping rice ears in the field, then looked up at the sun in the sky and said with relief, "We've finally made it through! The rice is full of sap, and after a few more days of sunshine, the yield shouldn't be reduced this year."
During the initial stage of grouting, ensure that the paddy field retains three centimeters of water; keep it moist during the middle stage; and dry the field in the final stage to prevent lodging. During this period, careful attention to water and moisture is required.
This is the first year that rice seedlings have been planted on this terraced field. The soil layer is not thick enough. It's okay to grow dryland plants, but it's difficult to grow rice.
Because of severe water seepage, water needs to be released into the fields in the morning and evening during the hottest periods.
The water stored in the ditch above is not enough, so the two families have to conserve their spring water to meet the needs of the fields.
If the rice can be successfully harvested, the yield can be guaranteed.
Jiang Zhi was most concerned about the rice in one of the terraced fields, which looked no different from the others.
The secret was known only to Qiaoyun and herself.
There are about a hundred rice plants here that have undergone "emasculation," which is a process of artificial hybridization.
That was before the "bandits" came up the mountain. The cotton harvest had just been completed, and it was also the rice flowering season.
Dissatisfied with the yields of wheat and corn, Jiang Zhi thought of high-yield hybrid rice.
Everyone knows that there are hybrid varieties, but very few know the specific techniques involved. Even experienced farmers are used to buying seeds from professional seed companies.
There are also techniques for the artificial industrial cultivation of medicinal herbs in pharmacy, but Jiang Zhi didn't study them carefully and had long forgotten those standardized greenhouse techniques.
But she understands the "male" and "female" plants of rice, as well as "flowering" and "artificial pollination".
So, in order to eat white rice in the future, she wanted to use the most ancient hybridization technology to cultivate superior varieties.
During those days, she would gather herbs during the day, and in the morning and evening she would quietly squat on the edge of the field with Qiaoyun, using specially scraped bamboo strips to pull out the highest silk thread at the top of each rice flower from the green rice husk.
Rice is hermaphroditic and self-pollinating. The stamens you usually see are the male flowers, while the ones below are the female flowers.
Rice flowers
When flowering, female flowers on the same spike can only be pollinated by their own male flowers.
If hybridization is desired, the male flowers on the spike must be removed before sunrise to prevent self-pollination.
The remaining female flowers can then be used as the female parent and crossbred with other male parents to produce hybrid rice varieties.
When Jiang Zhi explained it to Qiao Yun, Qiao Yun didn't understand and kept asking questions, forcing Jiang Zhi to use her ultimate move: "It's like killing your own husband and then going out to borrow a sperm donor to have a child!"
Qiaoyun was stunned, her worldview shattered, and she felt as if she had been struck by lightning, so she dared not ask another question.
Jiang Zhi found it amusing. What was this? If the naive Qiaoyun knew that the cultivation of various delicious citrus fruits was actually a large-scale "incestuous" history, that would be the most shocking.
Joking aside, Jiang Zhi didn't want to reveal this technique to anyone.
Qiaoyun is his daughter-in-law, and as the top of the family food chain, he can completely control her.
Qiaoyun couldn't understand what he said, nor did she dare to refute it.
If old people like Grandpa Xiaoman heard these words, even the most reasonable person would probably consider them heretical.
Moreover, she, a peasant woman, knows too many things, which repeatedly exceeds the capacity of Xiaoman and the others, and will cause trouble.
Only when everyone accepts reality like a frog being slowly boiled in water, and even becomes unable to escape it, will there be fewer questions, and they might even help to defend the situation.
After marking the rice stalks with stamens, Jiang Zhi harvests and stores these rice stalks separately as seeds.
The rice flowers only last for about 10 days. We remove the stamens in the morning and evening, and at noon we use thin branches to urge the flowers to pollinate.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law rushed around day and night to catch the flowers, leaving Jiang Zhi with a sore back and aching waist.
But thinking about how we'll be able to eat our fill of white rice after several generations of crossbreeding, all the hard work is worth it.
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