Tiger and the others were reluctant to leave, repeatedly emphasizing to Jian Xin that...
"I'll come tomorrow morning."
“Yes, we’ll water them; you can’t carry them.”
Will it sprout tomorrow? When can we eat it?
The questions were getting more and more irrelevant, leaving the old lady speechless. She herded them like chickens.
"Alright, alright, let's go home."
It can't be that fast. It won't be ready tomorrow; it'll take three or four days. We'll have to wait to eat it. Go home and check the garden. When the ones in the garden are ready, this one will be ready too.
"You'd better take care of it when the grass grows, otherwise it'll all get overgrown and won't grow well."
"Okay, Third Mistress, I'll definitely be diligent."
"Yeah, I can weed too,"
"Me too! Me too!"
The younger ones, after being given watermelon seeds, stared longingly at Jian Xin.
"Sister Xin Xin, the watermelon is ripe, can I have some?"
Jian Xin, acting like an older sister, waved her hand.
"Here you go, here you go, you get paid if you work, but you don't get paid if you don't work."
"I'll come and water it for you tomorrow."
After lingering at the door for a while, the two groups finally separated.
Jian Xin developed a new interest and became busy every day. In the morning, she would rush to check her plot of land to see if any seedlings had sprouted before returning home for breakfast.
I'm reading a book, and sometimes I suddenly remember to run outside. Sometimes I even sit nearby with a book in my hand and read. Jian Dan didn't stop me. I just finished doing this, and the novelty hasn't worn off yet.
After following the old lady home, Tiger kept his eyes on the garden, glancing at it every now and then, sometimes even leaning on his cane to look inside. This made Sun Xiang feel strange, and she started looking into the garden too.
"What's in this garden? It was just planted, it hasn't even grown yet, what's there to see?"
The garden is finished. It's just like last year. I'll plant a few sunflower seeds along the base of the wall whenever I have time.
She didn't plant too many other things, just a few zucchini and hanging gourd vines. Neither she nor her children really like to eat them, so planting a few to change things up is enough.
However, we planted a lot of squash. These things are filling and sweet. They taste good in dishes or steamed. Kids like them, and they keep well in the cellar.
The house is almost ready, and the seedlings in the field have all sprouted.
Many corn seedlings haven't sprouted yet and need to be replanted, which is where the life comes in.
Compared to previous years, the number of seedlings that failed to sprout wasn't that many, but still, about one-tenth of the area was lost in a short time. This meant that people had to remove the healthy seedlings—those with several sprouting in one hole—and pull out the weaker ones, leaving only one or two healthy ones with enough space and nutrients to grow better. They had to retain their roots and transplant these seedlings into the holes where no seedlings had sprouted. This is called replanting.
This applies not only to crops in the fields but also to gardens at home. This practice is most common with cabbage. However, cabbage has a high germination rate, and the thinned cabbages usually become a dish on the table.
At this time of year, crisp bok choy, dipped in homemade soybean paste, would be even better with some chopped scallions. It's a popular dish here all year round.
Replanting seedlings isn't tiring, but it's quite urgent, since the crop's growth period is all here. If it's too early, the seedlings are too tender; if it's too late, they're too big, and they might not survive.
However, there are only so many seedlings to replant, and at this time, most of the workers are villagers from the village; the educated youth usually don't go at this time.
The seedlings emerged, and so did the weeds. At this time, there were no herbicides available, so everything had to be done manually. Not long after the seedlings were replanted, weeding began.
This is a long-term survival task, since the grass grows in batches, even faster than crops. It grows very rapidly, and if you don't keep an eye on it, it can bury the corn seedlings in just a few days.
Grass competes with crops for nutrients and sunlight, while people race against grass for time.
The corn seedlings are small now, so weeding is mostly done by hand, pulling them out by hand.
Once the corn seedlings grow big and the leaves are so thick that it's hard to squat down, you'll have to use a hoe.
However, after a day, their hands suffered quite a bit. Wearing gloves was fine, but those educated youths who didn't wear gloves complained of pain quite a bit.
Simple didn't want to be separated from the road, so basically everyone went to work when it was time to go. After a day of weeding, my hands were fine, and the pain wasn't obvious because I was wearing gloves, but my legs were really sore. I had to squat down and stand up repeatedly, and my back was also uncomfortable.
As I walked along, doing small movements, Jian Xin came running towards me, beaming with joy.
Why are you so happy?
"Sister, it's out, it's out!"
The little girl was beaming; her eyebrows practically flew off her cheeks.
"So many came out, all green, just a tiny bit,"
I finished work early and didn't even have time to look at it.
"Really? You all saw it? It's a seedling, not grass?"
Little hand holding big hand, swaying back and forth, the child skipping and jumping along.
"No, Tiger knows grass, it looks different."
"Really? You guys are really amazing, you've managed to grow them all."
Have any others been released?
"Really? I only saw the watermelon planting area; I didn't see the other side."
The little girl scratched her head, "I think so, I even heard Tiger Brother laugh."
Jian Xin was interested in watermelons, while the other children were more concerned about the growth of sweet potatoes and potatoes; after all, their primary goal was to fill their stomachs.
The seedlings have sprouted, which is great news. The little girl was in high spirits all day. She quickly and diligently prepared a few dishes, and just as she put them on the table, she heard Jixiang and the others shouting wildly.
I glanced up briefly, put the plate down, pushed open the door, and went outside. There seemed to be a car parked outside the gate.
A knock sounded at the door.
"Xin Xin, is it simple?"
"Xinxin, Brother Cheng Chao is here!"
"Brother Cheng Chao, oh? It looks like... Uncle?"
Jian Dan also felt that the other voice sounded quite familiar.
"Yeah?"
"Yes, yes, Uncle, I'm here!"
Without Jian Wenxiu saying anything, the child went to push open the door. Sure enough, it was Jian Wenxiu, whom he hadn't seen for quite a while, with Cheng Chao standing side by side with him.
After the last time he moved the things away, Cheng Chao was probably busy and hadn't come over. The little girl missed him too, and even while nestled in her uncle's arms, she reminded him.
"Brother Cheng Chao, roast chicken!"
Cheng Chao's face was full of a loving mother's smile.
"Okay, roast chicken, I'll make it for you in a bit, alright?"
She could be impolite with Cheng Chao, but with Jian Wenxiu, she simply didn't feel as close.
"Let's go inside and talk," Cheng Chao said, closing the door behind him.
The little girl was already chattering away to her uncle, telling him about her experiences. Jian Wenxiu listened, nodding and agreeing as he spoke.
"Yeah?"
"Really?"
"Really? Xin Xin is that amazing?"
Simple trailed behind, quietly asking Cheng Chao,
"Why is he here? Didn't you go back to investigate? Why did you come with him? Why did you come at this time? Have you eaten yet?"
Cheng Chao opened his mouth, but couldn't keep up with the string of questions, so he answered the last one.
"I haven't eaten yet."
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