Old Lin rushed over from the field, but his foot slipped and he almost fell. Fortunately, a villager nearby caught him in time.
"Anan, the soil around the roots of these rice seedlings is all gone. How can they survive?"
Everyone looked at Lin Yinan with surprise and doubt. Could she really grow rice?
Everyone looked at Ding Gui and Chen San, who were equally surprised, and felt uneasy. They kept questioning their choices back then. Had they trusted the wrong people?
Lin Yinan, however, remained calm and composed, saying, "Washing the soil off the roots helps the seedlings survive and take root more easily."
People were skeptical of her words, but they still did as she said.
Seeing that the rice seedlings had been pulled up almost completely, Lin Yinan asked the villagers to use winnowing baskets to carry the seedlings to the prepared paddy fields.
Standing on the ridge of the field, Lin Yinan immediately felt a chill run down her spine when she saw the leeches swimming in the field and the dead earthworms that had turned white from being soaked in water.
A childhood trauma that will haunt me for a lifetime!
She was a little frantic, but she quickly calmed down.
"Do you want to go to the paddy field?" Yun Mo asked, noticing her staring blankly at the paddy field.
Lin Yinan shook her head, "No, I'll just stand here and give them pointers."
Lin Yishuo rolled up his trousers and went into the paddy field without saying a word, followed closely by his brothers Lin Yizhang and Lin Yizhang.
"Anan, you can't stand steadily in the paddy field, don't get down. Let your brother-in-law support you. You just need to tell us how to transplant the rice seedlings," Lin Yizhang said, picking up a bundle of rice seedlings.
"Okay." Lin Yinan agreed, then turned to Yun Mo and asked, "Did you take the rope I asked you to get?"
Yun Mo looked at the guards beside him, one of whom handed him a bundle of rope.
"Anan, what do you need the rope for?" Lin Shuo asked, standing in the field, puzzled.
Lin Yinan handed him the rope, a faint smile on her face.
"Second Uncle, you and your cousin each hold one end of the rope and stretch it straight along the ridges on both sides of the paddy field. The required row spacing for the rice seedlings should be controlled at about seven inches. Finally, fix the rope in place so that we can plant the rice seedlings according to the straight line stretched out by the rope."
"Sister, this way the rice seedlings we plant won't be crooked, right?" Lin Yisong was quick-witted and soon understood the purpose of pulling the rope.
Lin Yinan nodded approvingly, "That's right."
Lin Shuo and Lin Yizhang pulled on the rope and walked to both sides of the paddy field. The clan chief and Lin Fu measured the row spacing as Lin Yinan had instructed.
The rope was secured, and the father and son walked over.
Lin Yinan then began to teach them how to plant rice seedlings. She untied a bundle of seedlings, took out three or four seedlings, and squatted down with difficulty on the ridge of the field.
"When separating the seedlings, be gentle to avoid damaging the roots or stems and leaves. Hold the roots with your index and middle fingers, and then firmly insert them into the soil downwards along the roots. Be careful not to break the seedlings."
"The spacing between the seedlings should be about two fist widths. The seedlings should not be planted too deep into the soil, just enough to make them stand firmly in the paddy field."
After explaining, he demonstrated how to plant four or five rice seedlings for them.
After seeing this, Ding Gui, Chen San, Lin Fu, and several other young men from the village went to the fields to practice.
With their large numbers, they quickly finished planting a row. As they retreated, the newly planted seedlings were lifted up by their movements.
"How...how could this be?"
They looked at Lin Yinan with bewildered expressions, like children who had made a mistake.
Lin Yinan smiled and comforted her, "It's okay. When you're in the muddy field, remember to walk backwards after you've planted the rice seedlings, otherwise you'll trample or knock them over. Stand a little further away from the field."
Everyone suddenly realized what had happened and quickly put the seedlings back in place.
Gradually, everyone quickly mastered the essentials of rice planting and planted the rice quickly and well.
Looking at the somewhat wilted rice seedlings that had been planted, the clan chief, with his hands behind his back and a furrowed brow, asked with some concern, "Anan, how long will it take for these seedlings to survive?"
"It will take at least five to seven days."
The baskets of seedlings that had been pulled up were quickly planted. Seeing that it was still early, the group wanted to pull up some more seedlings after coming up from the field, but Lin Yinan stopped them.
"The seedlings that have been pulled up cannot be left overnight, otherwise they will easily die. We must pull up and plant the same amount every day."
Lin Fu scratched his head with his large, white hands, chuckling, "We were originally planning to pull up more while it's still early and plant them first thing tomorrow morning."
“It’s alright, Brother Fu, we’ll come and pull it up early tomorrow,” the other villagers said.
Lin Yinan carefully instructed again, "Try not to break the seedlings when you pull them out. Control the force in your hands. If you break too many, you will have to replant them later. I'm afraid there won't be enough seedlings then."
Everyone nodded, keeping it in mind.
As the sun sets, the clouds in the sky are tinged with orange-yellow afterglow, resembling a beautiful painting.
In the distance, the rolling mountains meet the sky.
The afterglow of the setting sun shines on the paddy fields, creating a shimmering, warm, and tranquil scene that evokes a sense of the grandeur and magnificence of nature.
People carried hoes and baskets, walking happily home.
The entire town of Longtan was bathed in the golden afterglow of the sunset, and the places where wisps of smoke rose were their homes.
During dinner, Yun Liu talked about the weather he had observed recently, predicting that the weather would be sunny and dry for the next two weeks.
Lin Yinan immediately instructed Lin Yiheng to convene a meeting with everyone, except for the secret guards and retainers responsible for security patrols.
She shared Yun Liu's weather forecast with everyone, and they unanimously decided to temporarily halt the construction of the house and instead put everyone into the fields to try and complete the transplanting of all the rice seedlings during this period.
The clan chief and Wu Xu, along with Wu Xingwang and others, agreed that since they already had houses to live in, food was of paramount importance.
However, some of the older members of Liang Wen's group did not share this view. They did not care how much food Lin Yinan and his group had; they only hoped to move into their own houses as soon as possible.
Some voiced their discontent, attempting to stir up controversy, but the villagers quickly deflected their concerns with a few words.
The village chief secretly took out a notebook and wrote down these people's names, planning to keep a close watch on them later to see if they were slacking off or cheating at their work.
To enhance team cohesion, Lin Yinan specifically asked a respected elder from the village to oversee everyone's daily activities.
In the evening, Lin Yinan sat by the window by candlelight, reading and taking notes as she read.
She needs to record these valuable experiences for future reference and improvement.
Yunmo didn't go out today. With the city walls completed, the secret guards' patrols weren't as strenuous as before. They only went a little further during the day to be on guard against the appearance of Japanese pirates.
He lay listlessly on the bed, gazing at Lin Yinan, whose face was resolute in the dim candlelight, his eyes filled with tenderness.
"Anan, aren't you afraid of failure?"
"Don't worry, we haven't even used a third of our money." Lin Yinan said confidently without even looking up, "Besides, I'm confident we won't fail."
The only concern is yield. Without pesticides and fertilizers, the yield per acre is shockingly low.
Thinking of the money, Yun Mo slapped the bedside in frustration.
"I was careless. I should have moved more money back in Luo Chu City. That golden throne must be worth a lot of money!"
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