Chapter 134 Frost
Even before dawn, the sounds of busy activity could be heard in the courtyard.
Yunniang didn't know how long she had been asleep, but when she heard the noise, she immediately opened her eyes.
While putting on her coat, Wan Qiqi accidentally dropped her purse on the ground, making a crisp sound. She immediately gasped, then turned around and saw that her two little ones had just rolled over and hadn't been woken up, so she breathed a sigh of relief.
When she first arrived, she accidentally woke up her two little ones from their dreams and they cried for a long time. It wasn't until Chen Yongxing came back that he was able to calm them down.
Chen Yongxing is not home now; if she wakes Xiaobao, the consequences could be dire…
She had always wondered how Chen Yongxing, a tall man, managed to keep his two little ones so docile and charming. She wanted to learn!
When Wan Qiqi picked up the money pouch, she noticed that Yunniang had woken up, with clearly visible dark circles under her eyes.
She said softly, "Breakfast isn't ready yet, you can sleep a little longer."
Yunniang was startled upon hearing this.
Can she sleep until breakfast?
Shouldn't she get up earlier to do chores?
Whether as a daughter or a daughter-in-law, she had never been treated like this.
Wan Qiqi didn't notice Yunniang's expression. She put away the money pouch and quietly opened the door to leave.
As he stepped outside, he was met with Wang's disappointed expression.
"Mother, what's wrong?" Wan Qiqi rolled up her thermal underwear and hid it inside her coarse cloth garment.
Wang sighed heavily before saying, "It's gotten cold so fast this year. The vegetables in the garden are freezing to death as soon as they sprout..." She walked heavily toward the kitchen, "I guess we won't be able to eat any vegetables this year!"
Wan Qiqi doesn't usually pay attention to the vegetable garden and always thought it was just as cold in previous years, but now she realizes that's not the case.
On one side of the Chen family's house is Aunt Zhao's house, and on the other side is a vegetable garden. Standing on the wall, you can see the land enclosed by a fence.
The seedlings in the vegetable garden had turned yellow and withered from the frost, and looked like they wouldn't survive more than a few days.
Wan Qiqi had been used to living in the city and had no idea how to farm. She had only heard her grandmother say that it was best to build a shed for the vegetable garden in winter to prevent the vegetables from freezing to death.
She often sees news reports about greenhouse vegetables, so it should be the same principle.
When Chen Yongxing returned with water, he saw Wan Qiqi standing at the entrance of the vegetable garden. Curious, he looked inside and exclaimed, "Oh dear!" He was clearly distressed. "It's all over! The vegetables are dying. How are we going to get through the winter without vegetables?"
This year, the floods were followed by an epidemic, and no one had stockpiled any vegetables for the winter. Everyone was hoping that the vegetables planted in the fields would grow well before the heavy snow, but the temperature dropped rapidly, shattering everyone's hopes for getting through the winter.
Wan Qiqi stared at him for a while, then tilted her head and said, "Just like people wear clothes, wouldn't it be better to pile up some straw in the vegetable garden?"
Chen Yongxing blinked, as if that made sense.
If you cover it with straw or something similar, the chances of it freezing will be smaller, and the vegetable garden will still have a chance to grow.
He clapped his hands and shouted, "Yes, that's the way to do it! I'll go prepare it right away, and I'll make sure my sister-in-law gets to eat vegetables from the garden!"
Wang walked over, intending to see what they were about to do, but was startled by Chen Yongxing's shout. She grabbed a broom and hit him on the buttocks, saying, "Keep your voice down, your wife, Pingping, and An'an are still sleeping."
As soon as he finished speaking, the door creaked open.
Chen Yongxing quickly covered his mouth, indicating that he was wrong, and stared intently at the door, afraid that Pingping and An'an would come out crying.
Upon seeing that it was Yunniang who came out, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness... thank goodness...
Like Wan Qiqi, Chen Yongxing was helpless with Pingping and An'an when they woke up, and he couldn't coax them back to sleep.
Yunniang thought something was wrong and rushed over to ask. She found out it was a problem with the vegetables. "I encountered the same problem at the old house yesterday, and I guess everyone is in the same boat. If this continues, this winter will be tough!"
Relying solely on dried wild vegetables and brown rice porridge is simply not enough to survive the winter; the colder it gets, the hungrier we become, and it doesn't provide enough to fill our stomachs.
Wan Qiqi knew that there were few types of ancient dishes, and that the lack of greenhouses meant that the dishes were affected by temperature, but she never imagined it would be this serious.
She sighed and noticed that everyone was staring at her, as if she were certain she could solve the problem.
There were many things that didn't exist in ancient times, so even if she had ideas, it would be difficult to implement them.
For items grown in this season, frost protection is sufficient; there's no need to create a greenhouse.
“Burn some wood ash and cover it in the vegetable garden, then cover it with a layer of straw or weeds. See if the situation improves in a couple of days.”
"Okay!" Chen Yongxing nodded. He trusted his sister-in-law's abilities; if she said it was possible, then it was definitely possible!
Yunniang asked, "Cousin-in-law, is this really going to work?" If it really works, she'll do it the same way when she gets home so she can save the vegetables in her field.
"Who knows? We'll only know if we try." Wan Qiqi didn't know anything about these things; she was just guessing based on what she had seen before.
After exchanging a few words, the four went about their own business.
Yunniang burned wood ash, Chen Yongxing carried bundles of straw to the vegetable garden, Wang Shi made breakfast, and Wan Qiqi prepared the items for today's stall.
Although she currently has a dozen or so taels of silver, enough to last her for a while, she wants to send Pingping to an academy. The monthly tuition is one tael, plus four or five coins for writing materials and books. There are also various other expenses at home, so the money she has now is far from enough.
She checked yesterday and found that the restaurants and dessert shops in Baizhi Town were much better than those in Hefeng Town. If a cooperation agreement were reached, the sales would definitely be better than those in Hefeng Town.
So whether it's because of Lin Zhaodi's matter or for business, she still has to go to Baizhi Town.
"Sister-in-law Chen." Lin Dazhuang was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday, standing at the gate of the courtyard, a faint sorrow in his eyes.
Wan Qiqi glanced at him with her large eyes, then waved her hand, "We're going to Baizhi Town today. Can you drive?"
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