Zhang Hongmei dug a pit next to the sweet potato trough. The cut potato pieces were to be placed in the pit, similar to the sweet potato trough, so that they would sprout.
Suddenly I remembered that I had a lot of plastic film at home, so I covered the potato rows with it. This time I didn't need to set it up; I could just cover it on the ground. It would also allow me to plant earlier, which was much easier than using a sweet potato shed.
"The red plum blossoms are such a waste!"
"Why don't you try it and see? I think I read in a book that covering the film with plastic film can not only retain moisture, but also prevent weeds from growing and increase yield. Besides, I have plastic film at home, so I don't need to buy any."
"Didn't you buy it at home?"
I was momentarily speechless. Yes, it's something you pay for. But I'll give it a try; what if it really is highly productive?
Zhang Hongmei decided to ignore Liu Erya and just tell the truth.
Li Cuihua came over at this moment, "Why are the potatoes sprouting so early?"
"Mom, Hongmei wants to cover the potato rows with plastic film. She says it will help with planting earlier."
"Okay, Er Ya will go and roll the chopped potato pieces in the ashes later, so they'll sprout better."
"Third Aunt can do this?"
"Yes. I'll go pick some sand for you to cover the potatoes with, and remember to water them too." After saying that, Li Cuihua picked up her basket and went out. She was strong, and one trip was enough for her.
By the time Zhang Hongmei had finished digging the pit, Er Ya had already rolled the potato chunks in ash. The two of them worked together to lay the potato chunks flat in the pit. Now they just had to wait for Li Cuihua to get the sand.
When Li Cuihua returned, she didn't need Zhang Hongmei or the other two. She simply spread the sand on top, sprinkled it with water from the spiritual spring that Zhang Hongmei had mixed with, and then covered it with a thin film. That was it.
Before leaving, he told Zhang Hongmei to cover the sweet potato and potato kang beds with straw curtains when it got dark to keep them warm.
After she got home, Zhang Hongmei and Er Ya went to work on the potato rows again. There wasn't much work; the two of them worked together and finished working on about half an acre before dark. Zhang Hongmei was so tired she could barely straighten her back.
However, the two of them felt quite accomplished looking at the plastic film ridges in the yard after they finished.
Potatoes are supposed to be planted in mid-April. Maybe this way, they'll actually grow.
Er Ya helped her cover the straw mats in the storeroom, but it wasn't enough, so the two of them had to go to Er Ya's house to borrow some.
"Auntie, we don't have enough straw mats. Do you have any? If not, lend them to me."
"No need, Jianguo, you push the cart back to Hongmei."
"Hey Hongmei, how many pieces do you need?"
Er Ya spoke up, "I think it still costs three yuan. Brother, why don't you push two more? If you can't handle it, you can push it back?"
"Hey, can the willow branches you stuck in your sweet potato kang (heated brick bed) withstand the straw mat?"
Zhang Hongmei was stunned for a moment, looking at Li Cuihua with a blank expression.
“It can withstand it, but Jianguo, you should insert another layer outside the membrane for her, just to be safe.”
“Okay, let’s take the willow branches from our house. I’m afraid we won’t have any and we’ll have to come back for them.”
"It's getting dark, or we won't be able to see anything soon."
Liu Daya was tending the fire in the kitchen during spring planting. It was hard work, and everyone was only getting three meals a day. Hearing their words infuriated her; they treated outsiders better than her own daughter, sister, and older sister. Grandma said her mother was only after Zhang Hongmei's pension. She hadn't admitted it before, but now it seemed her mother really was like that. Humph! She wouldn't give them any money when she had it.
The three pushed the cart to Zhang Hongmei's house. Men are quick to work; they quickly inserted the willow branches and covered it with straw mats. The remaining two straw mats weren't pulled back; they were used to cover the potato kang (a heated brick bed).
These potatoes don't need to be grown into seedlings; they just need to sprout. So if the temperature is right, they can sprout in a few days.
Therefore, they needed to water the potatoes when the temperature was high at noon. With the blessing of the spiritual spring water, Liu Erya discovered the potatoes had sprouted when she checked the air on the third day. The two quickly put aside everything else and planted the potatoes. They dug them all up first.
However, the two of them felt they dared not plant it, so Er Ya went to call Li Cuihua over.
“Planting potatoes isn’t difficult. You just need to make holes in the plastic film, about three forks (60 centimeters apart). I’ll make the holes, Er Ya, you put the potato seed in, the sprout must be facing upwards. Hong Mei, you cover it with soil, this soil is just a mixture of sand and ash from the potato roasting.”
"Let me mix the soil for you first, that will be faster." Li Cuihua went to scoop up all the sand, put it in a basket, and carried it to the backyard. Hongmei had already dug out all the ash, but it wasn't enough, so she shoveled a few more shovelfuls from the ash pile.
The three of them worked together and finished planting in two hours. Li Cuihua checked their work and thought they had done a good job.
"Mom, what about the remaining basket of potato sprouts?"
"Auntie, you can plant the rest at your house. I have some plastic film here, and the three of us can finish planting in no time."
“Okay, let’s go plant them at our house. Let’s try it this year. If the potatoes grown under plastic film are high-yielding, we’ll plant them like this from now on.”
Daya was inside when she heard a noise outside. She went out to check, then went back inside. Her mother was just making a fuss. She didn't care about doing any work herself.
The remaining potatoes were planted in two rows.
"Hongmei, have dinner at home before you leave."
"No, Auntie, I still have a lot of food left. I should go back. I'm too tired to do anything. I'll just grab a bite and go to sleep."
"Okay, go ahead. Check on it often. If it's dry, water it around noon, but not too much."
"Okay, Auntie, I'm going back now. Are you turning over the furrows tomorrow? I can come over and help."
"You don't need to. There's not much anyway. Your eldest sister will finish it in one day tomorrow. You and your second sister can just focus on your studies."
Liu Daya was so angry that she threw her pillows on the floor. Why should she do it herself? People come to her for work, but she doesn't have to do it; all they do is order her around.
Zhang Hongmei returned home and fed the sheep. The lambs had grown a lot in the past two weeks. It seemed that she would have to hire someone to build a sheep pen after the spring planting. Besides, the weather was getting warmer, and it would be too dirty to keep them in the woodshed.
Zhang Shouyi treated himself to braised chicken and steamed rice for dinner—this was such a luxurious lifestyle! As for the leftover cornbread from lunch, well, forget it; it'd be too rough on his throat. He wouldn't have deprived himself if it weren't for what others were saying. Thinking about the forty tons of rice in his storage space, he felt incredibly confident.
Nothing was planted in the open space; I figured the land should rest. Besides, I could only grow soybeans anyway. This had used up some of the crop stalks, so the freed-up land would be enough to grow vegetables for my own consumption.
The next day, Liu Erya still didn't come in the morning, so she turned over the vegetable patch in the front yard and thought about planting three rows of green beans. She also covered them with plastic film. Her mother used to plant green beans under plastic film, which allowed them to be harvested more than ten days earlier.
As for cucumbers and eggplants, you'd have to ask Hongmei and Li Cuihua. From what I remember, it involved planting rice seedlings, and also planting rows of chives and bok choy. You'd have to get the seeds from Li Cuihua for all of that; you couldn't just give them your own. They'd be ready around the New Year.
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