Perhaps due to the drought, although the two of them watered different crops every day, the amount of fruit produced this year was still much less than last year.
During this period, Lu Chuan did not go hunting in the deep mountains. In his spare time, he would just take the dogs hunting near his home. He would not go far, and the distance would be limited to ensure that he could return that night.
Because the dogs have all grown up, and with Lu Chuan's special training, they have hunted quite a few prey during this period.
Xu Han was completely trapped at home. For half a year, not a single drop of rain fell. Her crops couldn't survive without water, so Xu Han couldn't go on any long trips.
I can only stay at home every day, and in my spare time I wander around the valley near my home.
During this period, I not only watered the plants every day, since the amount of plants I could grow was limited, but I also picked a lot of honeysuckle and some seasonal wild fruits near my home in my spare time.
Early that morning, just as dawn was breaking, Xu Han and Lu Chuan got up, quickly ate breakfast, and went to the wasteland together.
The peas and broad beans planted before the Lunar New Year are now ripe and ready to be harvested, and the peas have turned completely yellow.
A few days ago, when the peas were still green, Xu Han picked a lot of peas, some of which were shelled and stored in her space.
You can use it to cook porridge or add it to stir-fries whenever you want.
The other part was cooked and eaten by Xu Han. After washing it, she put it in a pot and cooked it, eating it as a snack.
Because the yield is not particularly abundant, there are not many pea pods on the pea vines at present.
Although some pea vines are still flowering, the plants have already turned yellow and won't produce many more fruits. Plus, they need to be watered every day, so continuing to plant them is not worthwhile at all.
Lu Chuan and Xu Han unanimously decided that it would be more appropriate to accept it directly.
The pea vines were cut down with a sickle and piled on a tattered oilcloth. When there was no more room to pile them, Xu Han put the oilcloth into her spatial storage, then carried it home and put it in the yard to dry.
Harvesting peas is very easy. By around 10 o'clock, we had almost finished harvesting them. We originally planned to finish harvesting them all in one go and then rest, but unfortunately the sun was too strong, and our backs ached from the heat, so we had to go home to rest and come back to harvest them in the afternoon when it was cooler.
After returning home, Xu Han took out some ice jelly from her spatial storage, ate a serving for each of them, and rested for a while before saying, "This weather is so hot! Doing any work feels like it's killing me."
"It's really hot, much hotter than in previous years. I thought it would be hot because of the drought, but I didn't expect it to be this hot. It's only the beginning of May, and it's going to get even hotter!"
"Luckily we froze some ice, otherwise we could use it now! Didn't we also buy saltpeter? That can also make ice, but I haven't tried it yet!"
"Okay, take out a piece to use first! We'll try making ice in a bit. I'll go get the wooden basin." With that, he got up and left the room.
After Lu Chuan brought over the two wooden basins, Xu Han took out ice from her spatial storage, put one piece in each basin, and then placed them in the room where the two of them were staying.
Then close the door. It was very stuffy at first, but after the ice melted a little, the room gradually cooled down.
Perhaps due to the high temperature, the ice melted very quickly; a block of ice melted completely in a short time.
"This is too extravagant! If we use it like this, the ice in the space won't last us long at all," Xu Han said with a bitter face.
Lu Chuan also noticed the problem and said, "Let's try using the saltpeter you mentioned first. If we can make it, we won't have to worry. If we can't, we'll try to use it sparingly."
The two got right to work and immediately began preparing the materials. However, they then realized that the sun was too strong outside, and they couldn't possibly do it in the yard. The ice would probably melt as soon as it formed, making the process much slower.
The two had no choice but to make ice in the bathroom, but the bathroom was small and hot, making it really uncomfortable to stay in.
So Lu Chuan put the ice cubes in the bathroom, thinking that this would make it less hot!
To make ice with saltpeter, you need to prepare two containers, one large and one small. Lu Chuan prepared a large water vat and a large bucket.
Fill the large water tank about halfway with water, then add a large water bucket inside, and then add water to the bucket.
After everything is prepared, add saltpeter into the large water tank. When the saltpeter dissolves in the water, it will absorb a lot of heat. Once it reaches a certain temperature, the water in the tank will turn into ice.
When Xu Han put the saltpeter into the water tank, she waited for a long time but didn't see any ice, so she asked, "Didn't I add enough? Why isn't there any reaction?"
Hearing this, Lu Chuan looked bewildered and touched the water in the tank. "The water is getting colder. Don't worry, let's wait a bit longer."
After waiting another half hour, it still hadn't frozen. It was the first time for both of them, and they didn't know the proportions.
Xu Han then added some saltpeter to the large water vat, thinking that adding more heat would help it be absorbed faster.
It should be fine! It doesn't matter if it doesn't work out; saltpeter can be reused.
Once the water temperature drops, or after it's exposed to the sun to evaporate the water, the saltpeter in the tank will settle again and crystallize, which can then be collected for continued use.
Xu Han knew this, but despite it, Xu Han and Lu Chuan still bought a lot of saltpeter last time just in case.
The water tank still hadn't frozen by lunchtime, so the two decided to stop waiting and go take a nap since it was so hot!
Around 3 a.m., Lu Chuan and Xu Han got up. The first thing Xu Han did after getting up was to run to the bathroom to check if the ice-making was successful.
"Lu Chuan, come here quickly, it looks like we've succeeded!" Xu Han shouted loudly to Lu Chuan inside the house.
Hearing the noise, Lu Chuan quickly came into the bathroom.
"Look, it's frozen! But the ice isn't very thick yet, so we'll probably have to wait a while longer," Xu Han said excitedly.
"Hmm! It seems this can be successful. It should be almost done by tonight."
Lu Chuan was also extremely excited, after all, it was the first time he had ever seen something so amazing!
From putting saltpeter in to the water slowly cooling down, and finally turning it into ice, isn't that amazing?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
