Chapter 100
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Gu Ran finally arrived in Donglin Township and witnessed the parade of gods that he had missed last year.
The God Parade is a blessing activity held at the beginning of the year, where the gods are invited to celebrate with the people and to bless the people with good health and good weather in the new year. It is also called the New Year.
Generally, the golden statue of the Great God enshrined in the temple is placed in a sedan chair, or a virtuous and prestigious person is asked to dress up as a god and then be welcomed to parade through the streets.
Each village has its own gods and saints to worship, so the gods invited by each village during the New Year are not close to each other, and the villages are used as boundaries when patrolling the streets.
Of course, Xiaxi Village is too small and is under the jurisdiction of Donglin Township. During the New Year, it will be merged with Donglin Township to welcome the gods together. That is, the five villages under the charge of the village head Weng will welcome the gods together.
Gu Ran only now realized that the ancestor god worshipped in Xiaxi Village was the Kitchen God, the god worshipped in Donglin Township was the God of Land, and the other three villages also had their own holy kings. As for those near the sea, most of them were the Dragon King or the Sea God.
The statues of the gods are carried in sedan chairs through the streets, with gongs and drums leading the way. The procession is accompanied by colorful flags and lanterns, and firecrackers are set off. People wear new clothes and rush to worship the Buddha and chant, hoping that they can be blessed with good luck and protection in the coming year, so that they can travel safely and have everything go well.
Gu Ran had just bought a deserted island and would start planting orange trees next year. Of course he had to go and pay his respects, hoping that these gods and saints would bless his orange planting plan to go smoothly, so that he could have a good harvest in autumn and make a lot of money from selling them.
"By the way, is the God of Wealth here?" Gu Ran asked Pei Liu as he watched the parade go away amid the laughing and cheering crowd and slowly followed behind.
If you want to get rich, you must also worship the God of Wealth, right? After worshipping so many gods and saints, don't forget to worship this most important deity.
"What?"
The sound of firecrackers mixed with the sound of gongs and drums, as well as the shouts and laughter of the crowd. Pei Liu didn't hear clearly what Gu Ran said for a moment.
"I say, did we worship the God of Wealth just now?"
Gu Ran leaned close to Pei Liu's ear and shouted.
Pei Liu's ears turned red, and then he couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth and smiled: "No, let's go and worship again."
"good."
So the two of them held hands and squeezed towards the welcoming team in front.
Perhaps the incense offered to the gods during the New Year was of some use. On the sixth day of the first lunar month, Manager Xu, who had been waiting for a long time without any news, traveled thousands of miles from the provincial capital to Xiaxi Village.
Send a New Year gift to Gu Ran, and tell her that the seller of the orange tree she wanted has finally been found. When do you plan to get it?
Gu Ran decided on the period from the end of February to the beginning of March.
Then, He Qinghuan came with Uncle He and Aunt He to wish her a happy new year, and told her that the grass jelly shop they opened in partnership with Lin San and Chen Er had been rented and renovated, and would be open after the Lantern Festival, so she would have another stable source of income.
Then, Mrs. Lin Ersao, who had given birth to a son and was promoted to mother, finally recovered and was able to go out and see people. She often came to the small house again.
There are also Xiaohua and Xiaohei, who became mothers when they were less than one year old.
After they both gave birth to their first child, Gu Ran asked Pei Liu to give the two grandchildren a blow: You both already have your own precious babies and have become mothers, so don't give birth to so many more.
Fortunately, not many kittens were born. Looking at Xiaohua's belly, which was as big as when Daju gave birth, she only gave birth to one kitten. Xiaohei was better, giving birth to two.
Keep them all and make them into lucky cats to bring her wealth!
While every household in the village is enjoying the joy of reunion and family happiness and celebrating the New Year, on Dunzi Island, the newly built houses stand quietly in front of the valley, silently.
Only from the window of the small room guarding the house, a wisp of smoke occasionally drifted out, revealing that there were still residents living in the house.
Looking in through the window with smoke floating in the air, one can see the large bunk bed where the original people who built the house lived. Next to the bed squats the white-haired Grandpa Lu, warming himself by the charcoal brazier.
Fortunately, when the house was built, in addition to the branches and firewood left after the forest was cut down, there were also many wooden boards left over from building beams and doors, so there was no shortage of firewood.
Grandpa Lu stared at the charcoal fire, not knowing what he was thinking. After roasting it for a long time, he finally felt hungry. He got up with the help of the stick, walked out of the dormitory, and went to the kitchen at the back.
In order to allow Aunt Yang to cook, Uncle Wu also built a kitchen in the middle of the house.
But now, the kitchen was deserted, with no food except for some pots and bowls that had not been removed.
Grandpa Lu searched for a long time but didn't find any rice. He rubbed his hands, went back to the dormitory, took out some of the charcoal in the charcoal basin, and then covered it with the charcoal ash next to it to let the charcoal burn slowly. Then he grabbed the animal skin hanging nearby, put it on, tied it up, and walked out of the house.
He walked slowly toward the back of the valley.
After crossing this valley, there is another cleared forest.
I may have been here for many years, but this is the first time I see someone coming up to the island. In an instant, the valley that I have seen for many years has changed its appearance from front to back.
Grandpa Lu went to look at the leaves on the tower and felt vaguely that he seemed to have seen them somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where.
So he gave up thinking about it, walked through the woods, through the nanmu trees and dense forest belts, and came to the river.
A wooden bridge had been built across the river by placing several large wooden planks on the original stepping stone piers.
After crossing the bridge and walking through a dense forest, we saw a meadow.
Originally, this was a rocky land filled with rubble, but many of the rocks were moved away and used to build the house, so the rocky land is no longer a rocky land. Less than one-third of the rocks remain, so it can only be called a pile of rocks.
After the rocks were removed, the weeds and flowers that were originally suppressed were not afraid of the cold and instead began to thrive. When spring comes and the weather gets warmer, it is estimated that even more plants will grow.
Grandpa Lu walked slowly across the grassland and soon arrived at the foot of the hills.
He groped his way into the bushes on the middle mountain and after a while he saw a cave.
This was where he lived on the island for many years.
The cave is not big, and the things piled up inside are all broken and tattered.
He slowly bent down, pushed aside a pile of dry firewood and branches, and pulled out a bamboo basket: it was the one Gu Ran had given him before.
Most of the food inside has been consumed, but there is still some left at the bottom.
He picked up the bamboo basket, put it on his back, and when he turned to leave, he saw a long sword hidden inside.
The long sword was without its scabbard, and after many years, it was already covered in rust.
He hesitated for a while, but ultimately did not draw out the sword. Instead, he gathered the dry firewood and branches together and carried the bamboo basket out of the cave.
Following the same route, accompanied by the early spring breeze, he returned to the house.
It was such a big house, and there was no one living in it. Although it was locked, with his skills, he could have gone in and chosen a better room to live in.
But he didn't, and still walked into the big bunk bed in the guard house where he used to stay as usual.
After putting down the bamboo basket, he took off the outer layer of animal skin and placed it on the bed. He first scraped away the charcoal ash in the charcoal basin and blew on it to make the dimming fire burn more vigorously. Then he added fine firewood and charcoal. After the fire was strong, he stretched out his hands, which were like dry firewood, and started to roast it.
After warming up, he took out the remaining food from the bamboo basket: there were biscuits, sweet cakes, tribute candies and meat jerky, all of which could be stored for a long time. Those that could not be stored had already been picked out and eaten.
Grandpa Lu grabbed a fried cake and ate it. He ate too fast and choked from time to time, but he still swallowed it hard.
Already, for many years.
For many years, I haven't lived in a warm house, slept in a warm bed, or eaten proper food.
These days, he almost thought he was dreaming.
So many people came, so many people left!
I was left alone again.
Is it a dream?
If so, when will they wake up?
After eating, he moved the charcoal brazier next to the bed, tidied the bedding on the bed, placed the cotton quilt on it flat, then pulled the animal skin over himself, curled up and closed his eyes.
Perhaps, one day, when I wake up, the dream will end.
The dream is also long, reviving little by little from the abyss of the winter month, and becoming warmer and greener under the warmth of spring.
One day, he opened his eyes and heard a familiar voice outside.
He immediately got up and saw the charcoal brazier next to the bed that had been extinguished for a long time. Then he grabbed the stick and staggered out.
Outside the house, he saw people coming again.
"Oh, it's Grandpa Lu!"
The ones who came were naturally Gu Ran and his group.
She planned to come and see the situation on the island before the orange trees were transported over, and to dig the holes for transplanting the orange trees.
It was also the busy farming season in the village, so Gu Ran couldn't find many helpers. In the end, Pei Liu and Li Ji came.
Pei Liu is a partner. As for Li Ji, ever since he saw Gu Ran clearing the land and building houses on the island, he also learned from Gu Ran that he wanted to plant orange trees here. Since he hadn't hired anyone yet and he hadn't found a good job, like everyone else, he volunteered to be a helper for the prisoners he had escorted before.
Well, making money to make a living is not shameful.
For a talent like Li Jie Guan, Gu Ran naturally agreed without hesitation.
So the three of them came over on a boat, which was Liu the boatman's boat.
Last year, Liu Changong made a lot of money from Gu Ran and other people in Xiaxi Village. Now he saw that they were very enthusiastic. After sending them here, he gave each of them a dried fish that they had dried at home.
They are all cured grass carp, which are quite heavy and perfect for making something to eat on the island.
After the three men unlocked the door and entered the house, they unloaded their bags and went to the front and back of the valley to see how the orange fields were doing after the winter.
Without other trees and weeds, the soil became soft, so Gu Ran told Pei Liu and Li Ji how to dig a planting hole - that is, a mud pit that should be big, deep and large enough to accommodate the roots of the orange tree.
After digging the planting hole, you need to spread a thin layer of base fertilizer at the bottom of the hole, and then spread a thick layer of soil on it - because when transplanting orange trees, it is best not to have the roots of the orange trees directly contact the fertilizer.
The roots of orange trees are allergic to the chlorine in fertilizers. If they are directly touched, it will cause root damage and hinder root growth, and the orange tree will not grow well. In addition, orange trees are not trees that require a lot of fertilizer. Excessive fertilization will also cause fertilizer damage.
The base fertilizer was easy to deal with, because when the house was built, she asked Uncle Yang to dig a deep pit specifically for them to relieve themselves, and then the filth from the toilet was poured into it every day. When she left, she dug a lot of soil, dead leaves, etc. and filled the pit with it to use as compost.
If you treat the leftovers from cooking in the same way, you will get two kinds of fertilizer.
Of course, she had to dig four hundred planting holes this time, maybe even more, and there might not be enough fertilizer, but it didn't matter. She remembered that there was a swamp near the river behind the valley.
When the fertilizer here is used up, we can just dig the soil from the swamp.
Birds love to go to that swamp, and there are many aquatic plants growing there. I guess the soil there is also very fertile.
We have to dig more than 400 planting holes, which is not an easy task.
If one person digs twenty to thirty holes a day, he can only dig sixty to ninety holes a day, and it will take at least seven days to work, not to mention that it takes time to apply base fertilizer after digging.
Gu Ran and Liu Xiegong still agreed on three days, so this time during their stay on the island, they could only complete about 150.
For the rest, Gu Ran planned to go back to the village and find a few more people to dig together.
Because there are about sixty orange trees in one acre, the spacing between them is naturally fixed - the larger the distance between the orange trees, the more suitable the growth of side branches. The more side branches, the more fruit-bearing branches there are, and the more oranges are produced.
After deciding the distance with Pei Liu and Li Ji, the three of them each picked up a hoe and started digging.
Grandpa Nalu was still the same as before, leaning on a stick and watching silently from the side. When he saw the holes dug by the three people, he would take a look at them one by one.
In this way, he worked until the afternoon, when he felt hungry and thirsty, and Gu Ran stopped to prepare food.
Pei Liu and Li Ji heard Gu Ran's call, turned around to look at her, and continued digging the hole.
It was the first time that Gu Ran cooked in the house on Dunzi Island. He went to the kitchen and saw nothing inside except the stove.
Just like the other rooms in the house, Uncle Wu built the house, but he was not a professional carpenter, so he only built the simplest large furniture such as beds and cabinets in the house, and the rest was empty.
Then I remembered that Aunt Yang had cooked before.
When we reached the side of the house, we finally saw the kitchen where Aunt Yang cooked.
There are pots and jars, kitchen knives and chopping boards, bowls and chopsticks, as well as leftover salt and other ingredients from cooking. Okay, let's cook here.
What to eat?
Isn’t there the cured fish that Liu Chengong just sent?
It just so happened that she brought vermicelli with her - well, she had stored some in the workshop. She had packed her own food when she came to the island this time. Pei Liu and Li Ji didn't know what she brought, so they didn't have to worry about using it to cook.
Just make some cured fish stewed with vermicelli, it’s simple and easy to make.
First, boil a pot of water, and then soak three, no, five portions of vermicelli until soft.
The water was brought down from a stream in the valley.
At first, Aunt Yang was asked to cook, but there was no water source, so they had to run a long way to the stream behind the valley to fetch water, which was time-consuming and laborious. Later, Li Ji found another stream on the hillside, so he asked Wu Sanbo and others to dig a waterway and divert the stream down from the mountain.
In order to make it easier for them to get water in the future, a water channel was dug behind the house and then led to the side of the guard house. In this way, the water used by the owner and the guards in the future would be suitable.
In order to prevent the stream from drying up, they diverted the stream down the valley and dug a large well to store water. There were three thin drainage troughs at the bottom of the well. The water flowing out of the drainage troughs could seep into the soil and spread to the bottom of the orange field in front, thus invisibly irrigating this large forest.
Therefore, experienced craftsmen were very thoughtful when building water conservancy projects.
Because the quantity is large, all three cured fish are cooked, cut into pieces, and the ginger slices that I brought are cut into shreds. Then put them all into the pot and fry them with a little oil. When the aroma comes out, add water to cover the fish pieces, pour some green sauce, add a little salt, stir well, and bring to a boil. Then you can add the vermicelli.
Then cover the pot with a lid, simmer over low heat until the vermicelli is completely soft and flavorful, then you can open the pot.
You can taste it at this time. If the taste is not good enough, you can add salt to make up for it, or you can add other sauces directly when eating.
When Gu Ran was busy in the kitchen, Grandpa Lu, who had been outside, came in. After seeing her light the stove and burn firewood, he walked around in a circle, then walked to the stove, called out to Gu Ran in a hoarse voice, and then squatted down to add firewood.
Seeing that he was burning firewood properly, Gu Ran let him continue tinkering.
When you want the fire to burn more vigorously or slowly, you can gesture to him, and he seems to understand and knows to add more firewood at any time.
In this way, this meal of cured fish and vermicelli can be regarded as the result of the joint efforts of the two.
When Pei Liu and Li Ji were called to come over to eat, Grandpa Lu, who felt that he had contributed a lot, was the fastest and most proactive to bring the bowl to the table.
Gu Ran moved the big pot of vermicelli directly to the table and served as much as he liked.
In addition, I secretly took out konjac sauce and bean paste so that everyone could adjust the flavor to their favorite.
Everyone enjoyed the meal of cured fish and vermicelli. Li Ji especially liked to eat the vermicelli mixed with konjac sauce. He asked Gu Ran if he could have a jar. Gu Ran chuckled and said, "Do you know how much money Xu Sanlang paid for my konjac sauce?"
Xu San? Oh, he was once a prisoner he released, and now he is the young master of Fusheng Trading Company.
Li Ji asked, "How much silver do you want?"
"A jar this small costs ten taels of silver, but a can like this only costs one tael of silver." Gu Ran gestured and said proudly.
One ounce of silver for such a small jar? Li Ji smacked his lips and stared at Gu Ran with wide eyes.
Pei Liu was also surprised.
"I heard from Xu Sanlang that the wealthy and powerful in the capital love to eat this, and they already ordered this year's portion from me. I guess the price might go up in the future."
Li Ji touched his nose, went to get another bowl of vermicelli, and then scooped out a large spoonful and poured it into his own bowl.
Such an expensive sauce is only available to the rich and powerful. How can you have the chance to taste it normally?
Of course, we have to take advantage of the opportunity now and make the most of it.
Pei Liu watched Li Ji using chopsticks to mix the konjac sauce and vermicelli together, and then eat it with big mouthfuls. He glanced at Gu Ran, silently picked up a big spoonful, and then mixed it evenly with the vermicelli, and slowly slurped it up.
Grandpa Lu, who was standing by, saw that they all liked to pick out something from the jar. Perhaps he guessed that it was something good, so he followed their example and picked out a big spoonful of it. After pouring it into the bowl, he stirred it a few times and started to eat it with slurp.
Gu Ran stared wide-eyed and leaned over to see that the whole jar of konjac sauce he brought had been eaten up. He looked at them angrily.
After eating and drinking their fill, Pei Liu and Li Ji walked out of the house, took a long breath into the fresh air, and then continued to dig the hole with full energy.
Grandpa Lu, who had eaten and drunk his fill, also walked out of the house with the help of a stick and continued to watch them work. On his face, which was as dry and wrinkled as old tree bark, there was actually a hint of satisfaction.
They work from sunrise to sunset and sleep in their houses at night.
This house is jointly owned by Gu Ran and Pei Liu. Since both of them are the hosts, they naturally live in the main wing without any hesitation.
As for Li Ji, he lived in the lower room outside.
Li Ji did not feel wronged. When he was a low-ranking official, he lived in a worse place than this. Now that he was a hired servant after being exiled, he could not ask for too much. Besides, the room was spacious.
So, three days later, they left Dunzi Island again, planning to hire more helpers to dig the pit.
Grandpa Lu watched them leave, his expression as calm as before.
But after they left, I looked at the holes that appeared on the ground, walked from one end to the other, tilted my head, and looked for a long time.
Four days later, Gu Ran came with the extra hired men, Lin Erlang and Uncle Yang.
When we arrived at the forest outside the valley, we were surprised to see a dug hole in front of us.
"No, did we dig so many pits last time?" Li Ji thought he remembered it wrong and wondered.
"No." Pei Liu replied.
The pits were of the same size and had spacing between them, neither too long nor too short, which was exactly the distance Gu Ran required.
"Who will help us dig up this area?"
Who else?
Who remains on the island?
“It’s Grandpa Lu!”
Everyone went into the house to look for Grandpa Lu, but they didn't see him, so they went to the woods behind the valley.
Sure enough, Grandpa Lu was holding a hoe and digging a hole with great effort.
A lot of planting holes have been dug on the several acres of forest land in the back mountain.
"Grandpa Lu?"
Hearing the shouting, Grandpa Lu straightened up, turned around, and saw a group of people suddenly appearing. He uttered two muttering words.
Gu Ran actually seemed to see a smile on that face.
"You are amazing, Grandpa Lu. You dug so many pits by yourself!" And they all met her requirements.
When Grandpa Lu saw Gu Ran smiling at him in amazement, he made two hoarse noises, obviously very happy.
Since Grandpa Lu had dug a lot of planting trees when they were away, Gu Ran and the others had much less to dig.
In less than three days, four hundred planting holes were dug quickly, so Gu Ran taught them to pour an appropriate amount of base fertilizer into each hole, and then fill it with the dug soil.
When the fertilizer ran out, he took a wooden bucket and a shovel to the other side of the river, dug a bucket of fertilizer from the swamp, and added it as base fertilizer to the acres of planted mounds behind the valley.
In this way, all the preparations before transplanting the orange trees are completed.
Next, we just have to wait for the orange trees that Manager Xu ordered at this time to be shipped over. After they are moved here, we can plant them one by one.
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