The three of them were busy until it got dark before they started packing up and heading home.
During dinner, the Taoist priest took a sip of porridge and instantly felt refreshed.
"Ah, after a day of farm work, a bowl of porridge for dinner is so comforting."
"Snoring, snoring. Who says otherwise? Congee is still the best." Lu Chuan chimed in.
"After a long day of work, a little porridge before bed is so comforting," Grandpa Zhao chimed in.
"Hahaha, it seems I've gotten you all used to it, now you all really like drinking porridge," Xu Han said with a laugh.
"We don't eat porridge every day in our family, but we still have to have it every two or three days."
"Whether it's the porridge in the morning or the porridge at night, it's delicious," Lu Chuan said.
"Yes, let's prepare more tender corn this year. Corn porridge is quite delicious, it's sweet and delicious."
“Okay, when the corn is ripe, we’ll pick more tender corn. It’s delicious to boil and eat. There’s almost no tender corn left. We prepared a lot, but we’ve eaten almost all of it,” Xu Han agreed.
"Then let's plant a little more this year. I think Mu'er really likes corn," Grandpa Zhao said.
"Okay, then let's have more of these."
"By the way, let's go turn over the manure pile again tomorrow morning. It's been several days since we last turned it, and we haven't been there in the last couple of days. We wonder how it's doing?" Xu Han changed the subject.
“I checked this morning, and the temperature is about right. I was planning to tell you when I got back, but I got busy and forgot,” Lu Chuan interjected.
"You can forget something so important? If this compost goes bad, it'll all be your fault," Xu Han said irritably.
When Lu Chuan heard his wife say that, he didn't know how to respond for a moment.
"Hahaha, just kidding. It's been raining and the temperature is low these past two days, so the fermentation will be slower than before. Don't worry, I've timed it."
"Such a big thing, of course I'll take it to heart. If the composting is successful, we won't have to worry about manure fertilizer anymore," Xu Han said with a smile.
Lu Chuan was somewhat relieved after hearing Xu Han's words; he had really been quite frightened just now.
The Taoist priest, who was completely bewildered, finally couldn't help but interrupt, "What manure pile? What dung? What are you talking about?"
Grandpa Zhao explained, "It means that the manure at home isn't enough for farming, so Xiaohan came up with a way to increase the amount of manure. It's currently being tested, and if it succeeds, we'll have fertilizer for farming."
"Make the manure more? How can that be done?" the Taoist priest asked, puzzled.
"It's a composting method, which involves adding dead branches, rotten leaves, and weeds to manure, allowing the bacteria inside to multiply and ferment, rotting all the dead branches, leaves, and other mixed-in materials into fertile soil, which can then be used for planting," Xu Han explained in a general way.
"This is the first time I've heard of this method. Is it likely to succeed?" the Taoist priest asked.
"We are currently trying to do it, but we don't know yet whether it will work. We'll have to wait a while for the specific results."
Xu Han did not guarantee success; let's wait and see.
"The method is quite simple, you can learn it in no time. We turned over the compost heap a few days ago, and so far the results seem pretty good," Grandpa Zhao said with a smile.
Upon hearing what everyone said, the Taoist priest became interested and said, "I'll go with you tomorrow to take a look."
“Okay, get up early tomorrow, turn over the manure pile, and then come back for dinner,” Lu Chuan said.
“Okay, wake me up tomorrow. The roads outside aren’t too wet anymore. Lu Chuan, let’s go to the bamboo forest tomorrow. I want to dig up some bamboo shoots. We don’t have many dried bamboo shoots left at home. We should dig up more while the bamboo shoots are still tender and dry them.” Xu Han asked Lu Chuan.
"You two go ahead. Tomorrow we'll stay home and plant sweet potatoes, while you go dig bamboo shoots," the Taoist priest said.
Upon hearing this, Lu Chuan nodded in agreement. After all, it was all the same – it was all work, no matter what it was.
Going to dig bamboo shoots with my wife would allow me to spend some time alone with her, so I certainly wouldn't object.
The next morning, Xu Han was woken up by Lu Chuan, "Wife, get up, let's go turn over the manure pile."
Xu Han rubbed her eyes and asked groggily, "What time is it?"
After saying that, he looked out the window. The sky was just beginning to brighten, and the sun had not yet risen.
Lu Chuan paused for a moment, realizing that Xu Han was asking about the time, and said, "It's just dawn, the sun should be up soon. Let's go turn over the compost pile first, and then we can come back and dig for bamboo shoots after we've had dinner."
"Okay, I'll get up now." Xu Han took the clothes Lu Chuan handed her, went out to wash her face, and the three of them set off to turn over the compost heap.
Grandpa Zhao stayed home to look after the two children who hadn't gotten up yet, and also did breakfast and housework.
"Is this the compost heap you're talking about? It looks quite large. If it's successfully composted, it'll be enough to plant a lot of land." The Taoist priest circled the compost heap again and again, eager to open it and see what was inside.
Seeing this, Xu Han took out gloves from her spatial storage, put them on, and then began to check the temperature inside.
"This time it took longer, and the temperature is even hotter than last time. Let's open it and take a look."
Upon hearing this, Lu Chuan immediately removed the tarpaulin covering the area, and the Taoist priest helped him as well.
Xu Han took a shovel, scooped some out from the middle, picked it up and looked at it, saying, "Not bad, not bad, it's fermented very well."
The high temperature this time must have killed most of the insect eggs and grass seeds inside.
"I have to say, the smell isn't as strong this time as it was when we turned over the pile last time. The smell last time was really awful," Lu Chuan said with a laugh.
"Hahaha, this proves we're close to success. Look, the pine needles here are starting to rot, and most of the withered grass has already decayed."
“Your manure pile looks pretty decent. Just looking at it now, it looks almost like manure. It's all black and looks quite fat.”
The Taoist priest had never farmed and didn't know much about these things, but looking at the manure pile in front of him, it didn't seem much different from the manure piles he had seen before.
"That's not enough. It needs to ferment further. Only when it's fully decomposed will it have greater fertility. If you just spread it on the ground now, it will burn the crops," Xu Han explained patiently.
"How much longer will it take? Can it be spread directly on the ground after it's fully decomposed?"
"It will take some more time. This is only the second time the pile has been turned over. It will take about five or six more times to fully decompose."
A well-fermented compost pile doesn't smell bad, and all the pine needles and other materials inside will rot and crumble, turning into black fertile soil.
When it reaches this stage, you can scatter it on the ground, or you can leave it here temporarily and use it when needed.
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