After the three returned and recounted their ordeal, they immediately received six pairs of sympathetic glances.
"The road ahead is arduous and difficult!" Jiang Nuan sighed.
Sure enough, I knew it wouldn't go so smoothly.
"Not a single one of the five is good?" Old Mrs. Huang's brows were so furrowed they could trap a mosquito.
She was furious, blaming her sisters-in-law for being ungrateful, offering her the opportunity to learn a trade but refusing to give her their clever son.
“No,” Huang Xiaosan added, “My fourth uncle’s little cousin is very good at math; he can remember everything he’s taught.”
“I can remember it,” Huang Lao Er said with a sneer, “but I’ll forget it as soon as I turn around.”
"He did that because he can do the math," Huang explained. "I taught him too simply, and he didn't take it to heart."
“You’re all just bored,” Grandma Jiang said, shaking her head. “Teaching a bunch of farmers to do math? How did you even come up with that idea?”
"Mother," Jiang Nuan said somewhat guiltily, "Why, is it not allowed?"
"It's not that it's impossible, it's unnecessary, it's both difficult and troublesome."
“It is indeed quite difficult,” Grandma Huang chimed in. “Although arithmetic is good, it cannot be eaten or drunk, and they have never been exposed to it before, so it’s no wonder they can’t learn it.”
This is like trying to run a child who can't walk yet, putting both sides in a difficult position.
"It was my oversight," Jiang Nuan sincerely admitted her mistake.
She should have thought of this when she learned that the replacement would be made, instead of clinging to a sliver of hope.
People who have been isolated from society for too long in later generations tend to be autistic and quite different from ordinary people; those here are no better off.
“What does this have to do with you?” Old Mrs. Huang waved her hand. “You meant well, but your father did something wrong.”
“Okay,” Jiang Nuan said after thinking for a moment, “If they can’t learn the difficult stuff, just teach them the simple stuff, like how to compost.”
Aside from being a bit dirty and tiring, nothing could be simpler.
Like piling up soil, layer by layer, and finally make sure to seal it.
If you still can't learn it, then use the simplest method: skip the sealing and let it ferment as long as it doesn't burn the crops.
"Compost?" Old Mrs. Huang had never heard of this term. "What's it used for?"
“It’s for strengthening the soil,” Jiang Nuan explained. “We’re currently using wood ash to strengthen the soil, but it’s not fertile enough. We need to nourish the soil every two years. Using human and animal excrement as fertilizer will be much better.”
“We all know how to do this,” Grandma Jiang reminded her daughter. “You can go for a walk in the fields when you have time.”
“The current method loses too much fertility and isn’t effective enough,” Jiang Nuan explained. “Composting can solve this problem.”
In this era, the common practice for applying fertilizer was to use wood ash and rice dung.
However, people did not know how to ferment rice pudding; instead, they poured it directly onto the ground.
To avoid burning crops, manure is usually applied one or two months before plowing. However, this results in the loss of a lot of nitrogen and phosphorus, and the utilization rate is not high.
"Will it work?" Grandma Huang asked.
“It’s useful,” Jiang Nuan explained. “If there’s enough manure, we only need to fertilize the land once every five years.”
"Really?" Grandma Huang's face lit up with surprise. "This is great, it will allow us to harvest a lot more grain."
"Mother, don't be too happy yet. Our family has only a few dozen acres of land and so few people. We don't have enough rice and grain. We also need to raise some livestock."
“Then raise them. Food is what matters,” Old Mrs. Huang said dismissively. “You can sell the livestock you raise, so you won’t lose money.”
“That’s right,” Grandma Jiang slapped her thigh, “Such a good method, let’s teach it to our own family first, and let’s wait for outsiders.”
“It’s very simple, but nobody thinks of it,” Jiang Nuan said. “Just pile up the excrement and keep piling it up until it’s taller than a person, then cover it with mud. You can just dig it up whenever you need it.”
"So simple?" Grandma Jiang's eyes widened. "You don't need to be taught this. You'll understand it as soon as I explain it."
“You can’t say that,” Grandma Huang shook her head. “Don’t underestimate its simplicity. If Ya Ya hadn’t said anything, no one would have thought of it.”
“That makes sense,” Grandma Jiang agreed, then immediately asked with concern, “How’s the effect? Is it useful?”
"It's very useful; the vegetables are growing exceptionally well," Huang Lao Er said eagerly, looking like he wanted praise.
Upon hearing this, the old lady's face hardened. "Girl, what does the waiter mean by that?"
"Could it be that the vegetables we eat are all treated with excrement?" Old Mrs. Huang asked with a dark face.
Good heavens, this is a bit hard to accept!
Actually, that's not the case!
The vegetables we're using now have been replaced by ones that Jiang Nuanquan grows in his space.
But this matter cannot be discussed.
Under the heavy gazes of her two mothers, she slowly nodded.
Immediately, both of their faces turned green.
Seeing this, Jiang Nuan explained dryly, "Mom, after fermentation, the rice dung has become farmyard manure, so don't feel too much pressure."
"Which idiot," Grandma Jiang's sharp eyes swept over her three grandsons, "watered the vegetable garden with dung?"
She wanted to kill him!
"Grandma," Huang Lao Er said guiltily, "it's nothing really, we were the ones who pulled it out anyway."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Nuan kicked her son and quickly stole a glance at her mother's expression.
Just as I expected, his face was ashen, like a storm was about to break.
"Grandma," Huang Laoda said, scratching his head, "the food is delicious, sweet and fragrant, much better than before."
"Big brother," Huang Xiaosan asked in a low voice, "did you really eat the vegetables?"
Because of this, he has been eating meat all the time lately, and his lips are so hot that they've even developed blisters. He still doesn't dare to touch any vegetables.
"I ate it. Why can't I eat the vegetables that have been washed?"
These words left Huang Xiaosan speechless.
"Waiter," Old Lady Jiang asked through gritted teeth, "did you water it?"
"I guess so," a sense of crisis rose, and Huang Lao Er quickly took a few steps back. "I feel like it's still somewhat useful."
"It worked, didn't it?" The old woman took off her shoe and threw it at him. "You're going to get a beating."
After finishing her sentence, Old Lady Jiang walked angrily to the backyard and instructed her husband, "Old man, go get a rattan cane and give that brat Xiao Er a good beating."
"What's wrong?" Grandpa Jiang asked, puzzled. "You can't hit people for no reason."
Upon hearing this, Grandma Jiang recounted what had happened.
Upon learning the truth, Grandpa Jiang was even angrier than his wife, grabbing a fist-thick stick and charging towards his grandson.
Then, Huang Lao Er was chased all over the yard.
"That's terrifying," Huang Xiaosan said, shrinking back and clutching his arms tightly. "Second Brother is doomed."
Grandpa won't stop until he beats my second brother so badly he can't get out of bed.
"What are you saying?" Old Huang glanced at his younger brother. "Why don't you hurry up and stop them?"
"We still have our mother," Huang Xiaosan said, dawdling and refusing to go. "What's the rush? Nothing will happen!"
Hearing this, Jiang Nuan's face turned pale.
What a coincidence, that's what she thought too.
Who knew my son would be so unreliable?
They dared not face their maternal grandfather's wrath, but dared to confront their own father?
Honestly, that's not thoughtful at all!
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