Chapter 186: Creating Ecological Farming
Those who stayed in the village worked without a break.
The men were building temporary thatched huts, and the women were cultivating wasteland to use as vegetable gardens.
Because Shen Qinglin had instructed them to build a thatched hut before leaving, Jiang Xiangdong and his companions also built a thatched hut for temporary residence.
However, compared with the people in the village, it was much easier for them to cover themselves with a large piece of oilcloth.
Eight trees are used as pillars to separate three rooms. The roof is built with thinner trees and covered with oilcloth. It is clean, fresh and rainproof.
Since it is not too cold now, we just need to block the wind, so we cover the surrounding area with large pieces of oilcloth and fix them with wooden nails in various places.
The Jiang family's cottage was built in just half a day.
Jiang Xiangdong looked at the results of his morning's hard work and said proudly, "The house we're going to live in is now built. This can be used as a firewood shed, so it won't be wasted."
"This house is better than the one we have in Qili Village. It would be a waste to use it as a firewood shed! We can use it to store fodder. We have so many large livestock, so we must store more fodder," Jiang Xiangnan argued.
Jiang Xiangzhong curled his lips, looking speechless.
He wanted to know what the difference was between using it as a woodshed and storing fodder?
One is for people to make fire and cook, the other is for livestock to eat. Which one is more important? Which one is more noble?
Jiang Xiangbei walked around the house and joined in the discussion after hearing this: "There are three rooms. Can't half be used for firewood and the other half for fodder?"
Jiang Yu sighed, "Whatever it's used for, it's a shame." The thatched hut they used to live in was low, dark, and damp, with a musty smell that lingered year-round. From time to time, grass clippings would fall from the roof.
Now this house covered with oilcloth is clean and fresh, and it is suitable for people to live in. It would be a waste to use it as a firewood room or hay room.
However, “These are not our decisions. Let’s wait for my sister-in-law to make a decision. Maybe it will have other uses by then;
Have lunch first, then go and clear a piece of land. You also need to hurry and build a few houses."
Jiang Xiangdong asked blankly: "Aunt, isn't the house already built? Why are you still building a new one?"
They built the roof of the shed for the livestock yesterday afternoon, and will build the walls with leftover materials when they make adobe bricks later. There's no way to rush.
Jiang Yu simply repeated what Shen Qing said: "My sister-in-law said that our place is big and it would be a waste to leave it empty, and it's not easy to go to the city. If we want to live a self-sufficient life, we must be more diligent, right?
So today she went to the city, not only to buy a plow and vegetable seeds, but also to see if there were any chickens, ducks, geese, and chicks. She could buy some and raise them for eggs, so at least she wouldn't have to go back to the city to buy them. The chickens would lay eggs and hatch chicks... Her sister-in-law said she could eat the chickens, ducks, and geese whenever she wanted, and their manure could be used as fertilizer, and there would be enough vegetables and food.
My sister-in-law also said that after we get familiar with the place, we will look for springs in the back mountain, divert the water down to form a small spring for drinking and washing, and also dig a large pond to raise fish.
There are also some requirements for raising fish, which is called ecological farming. A hollowed-out area is built with wooden boards, and chickens, ducks, and geese live, move around, eat, and drink on it during the day. The straw, chaff, and insects that leak down are food for the fish, and even the feces of the chickens, ducks, and geese are food for the fish.
Can feces be used as fish food?
But my sister-in-law said that the fish can grow faster this way. The cold-water fish raised with spring water taste good, and the water in the fish pond is very fertile, which is perfect for fertilizing the land. The harvested vegetables and grains can be used to feed chickens and ducks. This is a virtuous cycle of ecological farming.
She didn't understand what benign cycle ecological farming was, but she understood and knew that it was a good way to kill two birds with one stone!
Jiang Xiangdong and Jiang Xiangnan didn't know what ecological farming was, but they knew there was a constant supply of chickens, ducks, geese, eggs, fish, vegetables, and grains to eat.
No need to say anything, just open your eyes and get to work!
Jiang Xiangdong and his three younger brothers quickly filled their stomachs, and then carried sickles, axes and hoes to the wasteland they had previously spotted.
Opening up new land is not easy, it can even be said to be extremely difficult.
Looking at the weeds that were taller than people, the four of them bent over with sickles and cut them one handful at a time. Because they wanted to cut them right at the roots, they had to bend very low, with their heads almost touching the ground.
As the edge was cut, Jiang Xiangzhong felt like his waist was about to break!
He stood up, pounded his waist with his right fist to relieve the pain, and looked at his three brothers who were far ahead of him, his eyes deep and uncertain.
He hadn't touched a book or pen for a long time. In the past, he didn't have to do these farm chores. Whether it was spring plowing or autumn harvest, he only needed to sit quietly and concentrate on reading the books of sages.
But since his mother woke up from her hunger strike in March, he has been doing all the housework.
It was only after doing the work that he realized that none of the work at home or in the fields was easy!
He used to think studying was hard and tiring, but compared to these farm chores, studying was the easiest thing to do...
"Don't worry, little brother. Cut as much as you can. Big brother, do more. Mom won't notice." Jiang Xiangdong comforted him honestly.
In the past, his mother only protected his younger brother, and he had a lot of complaints about him. However, since his mother treated them the same way, his complaints suddenly disappeared.
Although his mother's treatment of him was not much different from before, and she was not as close to him as she was to Ah Bing, after learning that his mother treated her beloved younger brother the same way, he somehow felt that his status had improved significantly!
Jiang Xiangzhong's eyes flashed with gratitude, and he pursed his lips lightly, "Thank you, big brother."
Jiang Xiangdong's face flushed instantly, and he scratched his head with his rough hands, saying uncomfortably, "Well, what's there to thank me for? We are brothers, and it's only natural for us to help each other."
He didn't care about doing more work. Really, doing a little more work was nothing. He just wanted to be seen and recognized by his mother, instead of doing the work and then telling his younger brother that it was his job alone and had nothing to do with him.
He likes his younger brother very much now. He thinks that the extra work he does is to help him, rather than taking it for granted.
*
Jiang Yu, Jiang Shui and Huo Bing moved their food and belongings into the newly built simple house. After putting everything in place, they came to the reclaimed land with bamboo spades.
Jiang Xiangdong and his three companions have already cleared out about one or two acres of land.
All the bushes above were cut down, leaving only two trees of unknown origin.
My mother said not to cut it down yet, and to see what kind of fruit it bears next year. If it is not edible, we will cut it down. Our family does not keep idle people, and the same goes for trees. If the fruit is not edible, we will plant a new batch of fruit trees.
From now on, there will be endless fruits to eat all year round.
Jiang Xiangdong and his three companions were waving hoes to dig out the roots of the bushes. These roots were thin, dense, and complicated, and digging them out was not only laborious but also time-consuming.
Seeing the three people coming over, Jiang Xiangdong was stunned: "What are you doing here?"
The work of clearing land is too tiring and not something that girls should do.
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