Chapter 69
Sure enough, after the wheat harvest was over, the village chief organized the able-bodied men in the village to start digging ditches in the fields.
For the villagers, growing rice was a huge challenge, with an uncertain future, but also a great temptation, since they would not have to pay taxes for two years. So even though they hesitated, they all carried their hoes and went out.
The men were working hard outside digging ditches, while the women and their husbands in the ancestral hall were listening attentively to the old foreman explaining how to plant rice.
Li Xin called Qi Shuning over and asked him to write down everything the old foreman said.
"I believe everyone knows how to sun-dry and select seeds, so I won't go into detail here." The old man had a slight accent, but it wasn't too difficult to understand.
"Let's start with the first step. Planting rice is not like other crops where you can just sow the seeds. It needs to germinate in the soil first and grow into seedlings that are a handful long." He said, holding up his hand to show the length.
"Then, in the paddy field, we mixed silt with fertilizer to create a muddy plot, and planted the seedlings little by little. The planting method is very simple; you just need to gently tap the seedlings with your finger."
The old foreman cleared his throat: "At this time, the paddy fields don't need too much water."
"Once the rice seedlings in the muddy field grow to about the height of an adult's calf, they will be transplanted a second time."
Those listening below frowned, including Chen Qing: "Why is it so troublesome? Two transplants!"
Grandma Sun, too, looked somewhat serious: "It is indeed troublesome."
"After the second transplanting, the water in the field needs to be increased to fully mix with the mud before planting the rice seedlings. The water depth should be about the middle of the rice plants, neither too much nor too little. Pay attention to the spacing between the seedlings and do not plant them too densely."
"After the rice is planted, to prevent tits from eating the rice leaves, you can make a flag out of strips of cloth to scare them away."
"Fertilizing is the same as for ordinary crops," the old foreman said. "Rice is generally planted after the wheat harvest, in late April or early May, and matures in late August or early September."
This time, everyone was still confused.
"No rush," the old foreman said. "We'll know once we all plant them together."
On the way back, Chen Qing followed behind Aunt Sun: "Mother, are you sure?"
Grandma Sun smiled and said, "No one is born knowing how to farm. Everyone learns gradually."
Chen Qing wasn't as optimistic as Aunt Sun; he was still frowning when he got home.
Zhou Yuan returned just then; he had gone to dig ditches with them today. When Chen Qing saw him return, he looked at his hands.
Sure enough, another blood blister appeared in his palm.
"I already told you I'd go," Chen Qing said helplessly, then helped him with the task. "Why can't you learn it?"
Zhou Yuan didn't feel any pain: "Everyone else's men go, what am I doing sending you?"
Chen Qing laughed, and then told him what they had heard today: "It's so difficult."
“We’ll plant together then. If you have any questions, just ask. It’s okay,” Zhou Yuan comforted him. “After we finish helping Mom plant the rice, we’ll set off. When we come back, we can help Mom harvest the rice.”
Chen Qing nodded, then seemed to want to avoid the question: "But we won't be back until August or September. By then, Qi Shuning will be taking exams, and Li Xin will be about to give birth, but we won't be there."
“Aqing.” Zhou Yuan held Chen Qing’s waist with his uninjured hand. “Don’t think about running away. You’re doing better than those people now. You’ve forgotten, we’re not going back to see those people. We’re here to bring Dad and Little Dad here.”
Chen Qing lowered his head and said, "Okay."
After Zhou Yuan returned, he couldn't stay in the village all day. There were many things he needed to do at the escort agency, so he simply bought a horse so that he could leave in the morning and return at night.
At this time, the most important standard for measuring whether a family was doing well or not was their land and livestock.
Zhou Yuan now owns a cow, has also bought a horse, and has several acres of fertile land. In the entire village, he can be considered to have the best conditions.
Aside from their family and Meng Qi and Meng Shuanzi, no one else knew about the escort agency's affairs, and they hadn't told anyone else, since a big tree catches the wind.
When the ditch was dug, the village chief gathered all the households together. Today, seeds were to be distributed. Rice seeds were distributed according to the number of acres of fields near the Luo River in each family. Zhou Yuan received the most.
Because we were well prepared, we had already selected the right seeds and taken measures to prevent pests before planting, so all we had to do was plant the seeds.
Chen Qing followed behind Granny Sun. Granny Sun also had fields near the river, but she heard from the old foreman that the first seedlings didn't need to be planted in the fields, so Granny Sun simply chose a piece of land and planted the rice seeds just like any other seed.
Qi Shuning's letter has just been sent out; it will probably be a few more days before Li the blacksmith and the others return.
Li Xin didn't close the shop because of her pregnancy; she still made some small things, which made Qi Shuning very distressed. He even wanted to help Li Xin with blacksmithing, but he was too weak and couldn't withstand the heat, so Li Xin eventually kicked him out.
With few orders these past two days, Li Xin had some free time and went to play in the fields with Chen Qing and the others.
Grandma Sun said he wasn't resting properly in this hot weather, but Li Xin always had a point: the child also needed to get some fresh air.
Grandma Sun and Chen Qing hoeed and turned over the soil, while Zhou Yuan went to the Luo River to fetch water.
"Just plant them like this?" Li Xin grabbed a handful of seeds and looked at them carefully. "These don't look like rice."
"Rice has a husk on the outside. You have to pound it off to get the rice inside," said Grandma Sun, who was very knowledgeable. "You'll see that later."
They turned the soil over, planted the seeds, covered the soil that had been pushed aside with a hoe, and then watered the soil with a ladle when Zhou Yuan returned.
There were other villagers farming nearby. Aunt Liu stood in their field, wanting to ask Aunt Sun if she had any confidence in the situation.
Grandma Sun said, "We have to plant anyway, and we don't have to pay taxes. If we can't grow rice, I still have two cornfields on the mountain. That should be enough to make a living."
The auntie sat down by the edge of the field: "That's all we can do."
Grandma Sun comforted her again: "You've been farming all your life, why would you be afraid of farming? Don't worry."
Aunt Liu nodded.
Once the seeds are planted in the soil, you can simply wait for them to germinate.
Zhou Yuan no longer needed to work in the fields, so he would ride his horse to the county town in the morning to handle matters related to the escort agency, and then ride back in the evening to have a nice sleep with Chen Qing.
On the day the water was released, the village chief, for good luck, set off a string of firecrackers in the ancestral hall.
There are no villages downstream of Luohe Village, so diverting water from the Luohe River will not affect other villages, which is why they chose to grow rice in Luohe Village.
The banks of the Luo River were filled with villagers. The village chief had invited someone to choose an auspicious time. When the auspicious time arrived, the village chief used a hoe to open the ditches they had already dug. The Luo River water flowed slowly into the fields along the ditches.
As the water flowed, the hearts of the villagers in Luohe Village were filled with suspense.
Will it really grow well? Farmers who have worked in the fields all their lives are filled with doubt, but once the arrow is released, there's no turning back. In any case, let's do our best to grow this season's crops!
After the Luo River was drained for a day and all the fields were moistened, the water was diverted from the other side of the ditch and flowed back into the Luo River.
Grandma Sun glanced at the rice seedlings in the field. They had already grown to about an inch long. According to the old foreman, they should be ready for the first transplanting. However, the land needed to be tilled before transplanting.
The water level is low at this point; it just turns the soil into a muddy mess. The soil needs to be leveled before the rice seedlings can be planted.
While sleeping at night, Chen Qing kept thinking about how to flatten the ground. Chen Qing, who usually slept soundly and without moving, dreamed about flattening the ground and slapped Zhou Yuan across the face.
Zhou Yuan has been very busy lately. The escort agency can't always stay the same as before. They have to take on big escorts and also do small tasks.
Zhou Yuan first had Meng Qi take a bunch of local specialties to Yunxi Town. When they returned from Yunxi Town, Manager Tian told Zhou Yuan that they could get three truckloads of persimmons and cucumbers every year, with production starting in May.
This is also a way to make money. Zhou Yuan needs to support his family, so he naturally won't give it up. Besides, the Tian family doesn't seem like a simple family, so it won't hurt to be on good terms with them.
Zhou Yuan has been running the escort agency for about six months. After deducting all expenses and the monthly wages of each escort, the agency has already made back what Zhou Yuan invested. He believes things will only get better in the future.
These days, because Chen Qing has to farm, they don't even have time to be intimate at night, and Zhou Yuan can only relieve the tension by kissing and rubbing against each other.
The next morning, Zhou Yuan went to the county town as usual, while Chen Qing and Aunt Sun went down to the fields to level the land.
Walking in the muddy ground was difficult, and swinging the hoe was also difficult. Every swing would bring a handful of mud, covering everyone in mud. Fortunately, Aunt Sun was watching over them, and then the two of them slowly began to level the ground. After a whole morning, they finally managed to create the field that the old foreman wanted.
Just then, the old foreman was checking the water depth by the field. Grandma Sun quickly asked Chen Qing to fetch him. Chen Qing didn't dare to hesitate, as this was related to his livelihood. He got up and ran to the old foreman.
"Would you please come with us to see the field? Is it this level?"
The old foreman followed behind Chen Qing. When he saw their field, he nodded and said, "That's it. If your seedlings are good, you can try transplanting them."
Chen Qing breathed a sigh of relief. His family was the first to come up with this, which could serve as a reference for the villagers.
Then the old foreman followed them and went to check on their rice seedlings, teaching them how to lift the seedlings up.
"Put the shovel in deeper, dig it up along with the soil below, and then carry it to the horizon." He picked out a rice seedling, bent down to demonstrate to them, "When transplanting rice seedlings, like this, gently plant them in the field, pay attention to the spacing, don't plant them too densely, that's all."
Chen Qing nodded to Grandma Sun, mentally mimicking her actions.
When the villagers saw Chen Qing's fields, they knew what to do, and soon all the fields in the village were transformed into this state.
The next day, Zhou Yuan didn't go out. He planned to plant rice seedlings with Chen Qing and the others. Chen Qing said that he was just doing it for fun, and Zhou Yuan didn't object.
Chen Qing and Aunt Sun went to shovel the seedling boards first. After they finished, Zhou Yuan carried the seedling boards to the field.
Wearing slippers, Chen Qing stepped into the paddy field. The water was still a bit cold, and he shivered. He took a handful of rice seedlings and, like an old foreman, planted them by pressing the roots.
Zhou Yuan was also imitating Chen Qing, but he grabbed a handful haphazardly and inserted them all. Chen Qing quickly said, "One at a time, don't use too many."
Looking at all these rice seedlings, he wondered, "How long will it take to grow them one by one?"
“If there are too many plants, they won’t grow well if they’re too dense,” Chen Qing said matter-of-factly. “Why don’t you go play in the mud over there?”
Zhou Yuan looked embarrassed and stopped causing trouble. He tried his best to plant rice seedlings like Chen Qing, but he was too tall and got tired after bending over for a while, so he went to sit down.
Grandma Sun was old and her back wasn't very good, so Chen Qing was the only one planting rice seedlings. Zhou Yuan felt sorry for her and soon came down to help her. Although he wasn't very skilled, at least he was able to help her.
The surrounding fields were also filled with rice seedlings. The villagers in Pingtian Village, including Grandma Sun, went back to cook. They needed to finish their work quickly while the weather wasn't too hot these past few days.
Chen Qing spent two days transplanting rice seedlings. Qi Shuning also came to help in the middle. Although he looked frail, he was still meticulous in his work. While transplanting the seedlings, he told Chen Qing to teach him needlework when he had time, as he wanted to make hats for the two children.
Chen Qing: ...
Once their rice seedlings were planted in the fields, the blacksmith couple, who had been away from home for a long time, finally returned, and Qi Shuning breathed a sigh of relief.
The seedlings transplanted the first time grew very quickly, and soon it was time for the second transplant. The well-grown seedlings were pulled up, and then the field was flooded with much more water than the first time. The field was then turned over again, and then the much larger seedlings were planted back into the field.
That sounds like another tough job.
They were planting rice seedlings in the field, and Zhang Yin wanted to help. Her health had really improved a lot, so Li the blacksmith didn't stop her. Because Li Xin was pregnant, there were some orders piling up in the shop, and Li the blacksmith had to go and deal with them.
Li Xin would cook for them at home and deliver the food to the fields.
With more people involved, the work progressed much faster, and Grandma Sun's small plot of land was quickly planted.
After the rice seedlings were planted, Zhou Yuan and Chen Qing prepared to go out.
Before leaving, Zhou Yuan invited both families to his home for a meal. Both families had elders, and Zhou Yuan hoped they would take care of each other. He also said they would be back soon.
Zhang Yin told them not to worry, that everything would be fine at home, and urged them to come back quickly, otherwise they would miss the birth of Li Xin's child.
It was also said that Qi Shuning was to set off for Yuancang Prefecture in August, and Zhou Yuan had already made arrangements for him, having someone from the escort agency accompany him along the way.
After arranging everything, Zhou Yuan rode his horse with Chen Qing early the next morning, heading towards Chen Qing's hometown.
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