Of the four plots of land in the space, she has only planted one so far, and has not started planting the other three. One reason is that she wants to use the first plot of land as an experiment first. If the soil quality can really be improved, she can start planting the other three plots. The other reason is that she is too busy during the spring planting period and has no time to take care of the other three plots.
Because the soil was malnourished, the vegetables that had finally grown alive in the space were now half-dead. Every time she wanted to pull out the vegetables, there was always a voice in her head telling her that she had to wait until the vegetables could be harvested, as pulling them out in advance would be of no use in improving the soil quality.
This plot of land is planted with eggplant, peppers, Chinese cabbage, cucumbers, leeks, and tomatoes. The eggplant growth cycle is about 2 months, the peppers and cucumbers growth cycle is 2-3 months, and the tomato growth cycle is 4-5 months.
Leeks and Chinese cabbage have the shortest growth cycles. Generally speaking, leeks can be harvested 20 days after planting, while Chinese cabbage can be harvested 30 days after planting.
As soon as the two vegetables are ready for harvest, Chen Qiangwei can't wait to harvest them all. The leeks can be harvested multiple times, once every 20-25 days. The Chinese cabbage has to be pulled up by the roots. Although the leeks and Chinese cabbage look wilted and malnourished, they are still suitable for feeding chickens.
Especially leeks, which can not only promote the appetite of chickens, but also prevent diseases, killing two birds with one stone.
So she chopped up the vegetables in the space first, and fed them to the hens in the yard when no one was around. Because there were only two hens, it took Chen Qiangwei many days to feed them all.
Wang Xiaomai was still wondering why the hens at home ate little during that period but laid eggs diligently, basically two eggs a day. She also kept telling Gu Sannai that the hens at home were sensible and understood their hard work.
Chen Qiangwei wiped a sweat off her forehead after hearing this. It was not easy to do such a sneaky thing.
Chen Qiangwei continued to plant pakchoi in the field where she had previously grown it. She observed that the soil quality in the two rows planted with pakchoi and chives was indeed better than in the fields where nothing was planted, though the change wasn't very noticeable.
However, the color changed from the weathered dusty yellow to a slightly more normal yellow earth, but it still greatly encouraged Chen Qiangwei.
She didn't expect the soil in the space to turn into the red soil or black soil of the Northeast, but she would be satisfied if it could reach the soil quality of the south in her previous life.
There was also that small broken well. She had previously thought that the water quality in the well could be improved by rotating the water. However, when she secretly changed the water in the river several times and the water quality remained the same, she realized that she was overthinking it.
Everything in the space is interdependent, and it is not feasible to change something by taking shortcuts. She found that when she harvested a crop of leeks and bok choy, the water quality in the well was better than before. It was no longer turbid water, but a little clearer.
Chen Qiangwei came to the second piece of land. This piece of land was used to grow oil-bearing plants. Tomorrow happened to be a day off, so she would work overtime tonight to prepare the land, and then take time out tomorrow to plant peanuts and sesame seeds.
When planting peanuts, Chen Qiangwei thought that if the soil could really be changed, she would plant peanuts and sesame on the land where oil-bearing plants were planted. For this purpose, she also exchanged a lot of peanuts with several aunts such as Bi Dazui.
Before she went to the countryside, her aunt found a way to exchange a small bag of sesame seeds for her, and now the sesame seeds can be put to use.
Chen Qiangwei got down to work right away. She took out a shovel, plowed the land first, and then divided it into five ridges, planting peanuts in three ridges and sesame in two ridges.
After finishing a set of work, she was sweating profusely. She picked up a set of clothes and returned to the thatched house, which was no longer so shabby, to take a shower.
After a tiring night, Chen Qiangwei slept very soundly. Thinking of Wang Xiaomai, she couldn't bear to wake her up.
But Wang Xiaomai couldn't bear it, because some people are "hard-hearted".
Gu Linger came to Third Grandma Gu's house: "Third Grandma, good morning, have you eaten?"
Gu Sannai: "Eat it, what made you want to come to me?"
Gu Ling'er was a little afraid of Gu Sannai. She touched her nose and said, "I'll go find Qiangwei to rake the pine leaves together."
Gu Sannai: "That girl hasn't woken up yet, go and call her yourself."
On weekends, Chen Qiangwei always stays in bed. Gu Sannai and Wang Xiaomai are already used to her habit, so they won't call her and let her sleep until she wakes up naturally.
Gu Linger pouted. She was outdone again. Wanting to sleep in at home was wishful thinking!
If she dared to stay in bed, her mother would slap her on the butt without mercy.
However, Gu Linger did not enter Chen Qiangwei and Wang Xiaomai's house without permission. She knocked on the door and shouted, "Chen Qiangwei, you lazy bum, get up and go to work!"
Chen Qiangwei was so disturbed that she finally woke up to Gu Linger's persistent voice. She scratched her head and said, "Wake up, wake up, stop shouting, it will be fine soon."
There are many pine trees on Nanshan Mountain. The leaves usually fall in December every year, but the time of falling leaves is not very fixed, so there are still many pine leaves on the mountain now.
Pine needles catch fire at a touch, making them the most flammable plants Chen Qiangwei has ever seen. In her previous life, her grandmother was very diligent and would go up the mountain to rake pine needles whenever she had time. The kitchen and woodshed at home were always piled with pine needles.
In their place, no one ever bothered about what kind of fire starter to use. Every household had a wall of pine needles, neatly and tightly stacked.
After washing up and eating a fist-sized taro, Chen Qiangwei picked up the dung basket and bamboo rake. Wang Xiaomai had to clean the pigpen today, so he didn't join them.
The piglet has been bought. Wang Xiaomai treats the piglet as her ancestor and cleans the pigpen every day. In the words of Gu Sannai, she is not treated as well as the piglet.
The second wave of leeks and Chinese cabbages were ready to be harvested. After the harvest, Chen Qiangwei decided to mix some into Wang Xiaomai's pig feed when she cooked it. There happened to be cabbages and leeks in the yard, and the quantity was not large and would not arouse suspicion.
On the way, I met many people who went up the mountain to collect firewood. In the countryside, people cook on earth stoves. Without firewood, they can't even eat. So every household is very active in collecting firewood. They always feel at ease until half of the firewood room at home is piled with dry firewood. If there is a little less, they have to go up the mountain to collect firewood.
When they reached the foot of the mountain, the two headed straight for the pine forest with a clear goal.
There was a layer of pine needles under the pine tree. The two men were like mice falling into a rice jar. They took bamboo rakes and started raking the pine needles. After raking a high pile, they put them into the dung basket. The dried pine needles were not heavy, so the two men stuffed the dung basket tightly before carrying it down the mountain. They first put it at the foot of the mountain and continued to go up the mountain to pick it up.
This process repeats over and over again until all the raked pine needles are carried to the foot of the mountain before continuing to carry them back home.
No one will come to take the pine needles placed at the foot of the mountain. This is an unwritten rule that the pine needles raked by others and the firewood collected in a pile cannot be touched at will.
It was not until dinner time that the two of them carried all the pine needles back home. After counting carefully, they found that they had carried them seven or eight times in total. Although the pine needles were not heavy, they were packed tightly and still had some weight. Moreover, the journey was quite long, and going back and forth was really tiring.
After dinner, Chen Qiangwei went back to her room to rest as she had other things to do in the afternoon.
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