When they woke up again, it was already around 3:30 in the afternoon.
Xu Han carried Ze'er and led Mu'er out of the room.
"There's no one in the courtyard. Where did Father go?"
"Father might be outside. Let's go out and check."
After Xu Han finished speaking about the child, she walked outside. As soon as she stepped outside, she saw Lu Chuan and Grandpa Zhao filling in a hole next to the courtyard wall.
When we planted bamboo thorns, we dug very deep pits around the courtyard wall.
Now that the bamboo splinters have been removed, the pit must be filled in.
Otherwise, it would be dangerous if the child accidentally stepped into the pit.
Moreover, Xu Han planned to plant something next to the courtyard wall, so it wouldn't work if the pit wasn't filled in.
So even if they had just a little bit of free time, Lu Chuan and Grandpa Zhao would come over with shovels to fill the hole.
I shoveled it a few times each day when I had time, and soon the hole was filled up quite a bit.
After all, the courtyard wall is really close to home, so I can do a little work whenever I have time, and it will be almost finished in time.
"You guys are really proactive, you're here to fill in the gaps right after waking up!" Xu Han said with a smile.
"That's all we have left. We should be able to finish filling it out today," Lu Chuan replied.
"It's such a small plot of land, and it's been dragging on for so many days. We've finally finished filling it today. You two can plant the flowers tomorrow when you have some time," Grandpa Zhao said.
“Okay, tomorrow morning Lu Chuan and I will go get some leaf mold. It’s not difficult; we can easily get several baskets of it near our home.”
After Xu Han finished speaking, she put Ze'er in the cart and then joined the team filling the hole with a shovel.
"Oh right, I forgot to tell you, the Taoist priest is coming back," Grandpa Zhao suddenly said.
"Really? When will the Taoist priest get home? Will he come back by himself? Do we need to pick him up?" Xu Han asked happily.
It's been almost half a year since I last saw the Taoist priest, and I really miss him.
I wonder if the Taoist priest will leave this time, and how long he can stay at home.
"He said he would arrive home in about half a month, but I think at his speed, it shouldn't take that long."
The letter didn't mention anyone else coming, so it's probably just him. We don't need to pick him up. He'll come on his own when the time comes.
"Alright then, I'll take the Taoist priest's quilt out to air it in the next couple of days, and I'll also clean his room when I have some time, so that he has somewhere to stay when he comes back."
"Okay, you can handle it. It should arrive in about ten days."
"It's just in time to plant sweet potatoes when he gets back. He's been away for so long, he's missed all the chores around the house, we can't let him be idle this time. Hahahaha," Grandpa Zhao said with a laugh.
"If the Taoist priest knew we were waiting for him to come back to work, he probably wouldn't have left so quickly," Lu Chuan added with a smile.
"Hahaha, that's hard to say. It's been so long since I've had Xiaohan's cooking, I'm sure I want to come back and eat something delicious soon."
Besides, the Taoist priest hasn't even met Ze'er yet; he's probably eager to come back and see him soon.
The three chatted as they filled in the holes. They worked until it gradually got dark before they finally finished filling in all the holes outside.
In the evening, Xu Han simply cooked two home-style dishes, and after everyone finished eating, they all went to rest.
The next morning, after breakfast, Lu Chuan and Xu Han first took a walk in the orchard outside, and then walked to the hillside next to them.
That's the good thing about living deep in the mountains; if you want to find some leaf mold, you don't have to put in any effort at all, it's everywhere.
This place is simply a paradise for flower lovers. Anyone who loves growing flowers would be unable to resist taking all of these plants home.
“We can just find a big tree, sweep away the dry leaves from the top, and then all that’s underneath is rotten leaf soil,” Xu Han said.
"Let's do it here then, there seem to be quite a lot here," Lu Chuan said, pointing to a spot to the side.
"Okay, let's get started. Let's take a lot back with us. There are so many empty flower pots at home, it's time to plant some flowers."
After Xu Han finished speaking, the two began to take action.
After sweeping away the large leaves, a thick layer of black, rotten leaf mold remained underneath, which looked very fertile.
The two of them carried ten large baskets before they finally stopped.
"We'll go to the pine forest next door and collect some pine needles later. They're great for planting flowers; they're very breathable," Xu Han said.
"Let's go home and tell Grandpa Zhao first, otherwise he'll worry if we don't come home for a long time."
"We should go back and tell them. Anyway, it's not far from home. We can just dump the soil outside the yard and use this basket to collect pine needles later."
The two talked as they walked home.
After arriving home, Lu Chuan was in charge of clearing the soil, while Xu Han went to tell Grandpa Zhao that she wouldn't be coming back for lunch, since the pine forest was still quite a distance from home.
"Then be careful and come back soon."
"Okay, we'll be back in no time. After you finish lunch, take a nap. Just leave the gate open for us when you're done."
"Okay, go quickly. Take some warm water with you."
The two walked under the blazing sun to the pine forest, only to find that almost all the pine trees were dead, with only a few remaining.
"It seems we won't be able to eat pine nuts this year, and probably not for the next few years either," Xu Han said with a regretful expression.
"It's alright, there are still some pine trees alive. Let's come earlier this year to pick pine cones. Although there won't be as many as in previous years, we can still pick some."
Xu Han looked at the saplings next to her, thought for a moment and suggested, "When these pine trees next to us grow up, we can transplant them. That way, we can eat pine nuts again in a few years."
"Sure, but the saplings are still too small. They'll be ready to be transplanted next year."
"Next spring shouldn't be as busy as this year. We can take a walk around the mountains then. We'll transplant the ones that can be transplanted, and leave the ones that can't be left alone. It would be terrible if they died after transplanting," Xu Han said with a smile.
"Hahaha, you're right. We can't do good deeds that end up doing bad things. Nature definitely has its own laws of survival, and excessive intervention might backfire."
The two talked as they rubbed pine needles into their baskets.
Pine needles are even easier to fill than humus, they're so fluffy. A whole basket can be filled in no time.
The two of them filled 20 baskets before heading home, satisfied.
When we got home, the house was quiet; Grandpa Zhao and the children must have been asleep.
Xu Han and Lu Chuan quickly washed their hands and faces and went back to their room to rest for a while.
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