As mentioned before, Dahua's family has more than four acres of land. Xiaohua is still young, so Dad and Dahua cultivate the land together.
More than four acres of land is not a lot, but it is enough to produce food for the whole family.
After much consideration, Dahua applied to the county for some camphor tree species and prepared to plant them in the fields.
Camphor tree seedlings can be grown in spring and autumn, with spring being the best time. This is the beginning of the seedling growth period, as the weather gradually warms up and the soil begins to thaw, creating a good environment for seedling growth.
But it is already the end of October, and the weather will get colder. Camphor trees prefer warm and humid conditions, so it is not easy to grow seedlings at this time.
Therefore, this time we mainly focus on experiments and only use half an acre of land. If we can grow 2,000 trees in one day, it will be considered a success. It will be enough to give some to each household.
After the busy farming season, the fields were empty. Dahua loosened the soil, sowed the soaked seeds, and watered them thoroughly. They germinated in 20-30 days. When the seedlings reached 10 centimeters, they were transplanted. This meant selecting strong seedlings and spacing them about 7 centimeters apart.
Dahua works in the fields as if he is nurturing his own children. Aren’t seedlings as delicate as children?
"Dahua, are you here to look at the seedlings again?" An uncle from the same village was turning the soil to prepare for planting rapeseed.
"Yes, come and see, the seedlings are sprouting now, so we need to pay more attention."
He walked around carefully, squatting down from time to time to look. It was estimated that there would be frost in two days, and Dahua was a little worried.
The uncle saw that the seedlings were growing very well, so he squatted down to take a closer look. He was also present at the last discussion meeting, and he was one of those who took a wait-and-see attitude.
He felt that what Dahua said made sense, and what everyone else said also made sense. His family had always grown rice and rapeseed, and had never planted trees, so he felt uneasy.
But what Dahua said is also true. The children have gone out to work, and food can be bought with money. Growing crops is also labor-intensive, unlike planting trees. If you are more careful at the beginning, you won’t need to spend too much time later.
I also want to leave more for my younger generations. What do you think if I plant some fruit trees, my descendants will remember me every time they eat the fruits, right?
"Dahua, how long will it take for this camphor tree to grow?"
"Uncle, camphor trees grow slowly, only about two centimeters per year. It takes at least ten years before they can be sold as lumber."
"Oh, it's been so long." He couldn't help but frown, and the scales in his heart tilted towards continuing to grow crops.
"But look at the seedlings I grow. They can grow to half a meter in a year. People want half-meter seedlings!"
Dahua pushed aside the seedlings to take a look, his movements gentle and patient.
"Can it be sold in one year?" the uncle asked in surprise, and now the balance tipped a little to the other side.
"Yes." Dahua patted the dirt on his hands and said, "Even the seedlings in my field have people who want them, at every stage of growth.
People buy the seedlings to plant, the bigger ones are used for landscaping or roadside planting, and when they grow up, they are bought for timber."
The uncle listened and thought it made more sense, so he continued, "Are you going to sell these seedlings to us to plant trees? Then you have to sell them at a low price."
"How can that be, uncle? If you want to plant trees, I'll give them to you. No money required. These seedlings are grown for everyone."
The uncle nodded, feeling warm in his heart. This generation of young people is really great, and everyone is capable of taking on responsibilities.
Liang Genfa has really made it big. Thinking back to the time when he earned few work points and his family was not well off, everyone was struggling at that time and he could not help. Now he has to rely on Dahua's help, and he can't help but feel a little ashamed.
Dahua is raising saplings, and Xiaojuan is pregnant, both are new hopes.
Xiaojuan has gotten less sleepy these days and feels much more energetic, but she is gradually becoming more greedy.
I crave watermelon in November. People say pregnant women are picky, and that's true. They crave things that don't exist.
There was no watermelon, but Mom had picked a small basket of persimmons last month and was hiding them in the house. Seeing Xiaojuan was greedy, she took one out and squeezed it, and it was very soft.
These persimmons were carefully selected by my mother. They are all big in size. She also carefully wiped off the white frost on them. When she took them out, they were shining yellow and very tempting.
The persimmon flesh was sweet and soft. Xiaojuan ate two at once. When she was about to take the third one, Dahua grabbed the basket and hid it.
"Eating food is like applying fertilizer. If you apply too much, the saplings will die."
Xiaojuan licked her fingers, still unsatisfied, and said, "You keep talking about trees, but I'm a real person!"
Dahua comforted her and said, "How can a tree be compared to you? But the principle is the same."
After all, she is a sensible person, so a slight pout will be fine. It is always very easy and comfortable for the two of them to get along with each other.
That day Xiaojuan wanted to eat spareribs, and Dahua agreed.
That day Dahua said he wanted to graft a peach tree in front of his house, and Xiaojuan agreed.
The two of them always discuss things and always reach a consensus.
As the weather grew colder, Dahua became more worried about his camphor tree seedlings and would go over to check on them from time to time.
This year seems to be colder than previous years. It’s only December and I’m already breathless.
The first snowflakes came, each one bigger than rice, and fell on the roof with a loud crash. Xiaohua and Chunhua were as happy as puppies. Xiaohua opened an umbrella and held it upside down to catch the snowflakes for Chunhua to play with.
The little ones were happy, but Dahua was very worried. The snow beads hit his heart, making a painful sound.
"Xiaojuan, do you think I was wrong to rush into raising the seedlings? I should have waited until spring."
Dahua even began to doubt himself.
Xiaojuan is a little fuller than before, and looks more round and beautiful. Perhaps she is going to be a mother, and her temperament has become more gentle.
“Didn’t you say that we can also grow seedlings in autumn? You can’t predict whether it will be cold or snowy this year.
You have considered everything you should consider. There aren't many seedlings, so it doesn't matter even if there aren't many left. Doesn't this give you some experience?
Besides, if you start growing trees first, you can have more seedlings than in spring, how great is that!"
He hugged Xiaojuan and felt calm. This family and this woman were so important to him!
Xiaojuan hugged him back and slowly stroked his back. Men are sometimes mature, sometimes childish, sometimes strong, and sometimes fragile.
When the snow stopped falling, many vegetables in the fields had gone bad. The villagers were all complaining, and the situation in Dahua was not much better.
The original plan was to keep 2,000 trees, but now it seems we are lucky to be able to keep 1,000.
However, after this snowfall, everyone realized the fragility of crops and began to place orders for camphor tree seedlings from Dahua.
One thousand trees are far from enough!
Now Dahua's fighting spirit was aroused again. If everyone wanted to plant trees, then the plan would be accomplished. Next spring, they would plant another 10,000 trees!
With the addition of fruit trees and flower trees in the future, Hetou Village will surely become prosperous!
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