When Li Yan returned home, Li Xiaomei and Lin were busy kneading dough, and Xiu'er was helping to wash the cabbage.
There are many people at home today, so Li Yan asked Xiu'er to come home to help her aunt, so that she can work faster!
Because there were so many people working, Li Xiaomei simply made a hotpot. She sliced the cleaned bacon into thin slices and first added it to the wok to stir-fry until the oil released. Then she added the tofu and cabbage. The freshness of the tofu and cabbage blended with the salty flavor of the bacon, filling the kitchen with a rich, alluring aroma.
Li Yan took a bite and nodded with satisfaction. The saltiness was just right and the taste was just right.
At this time, a question was heard outside: "Excuse me, is anyone home?"
Li Yan hurried out of the kitchen and saw three ox carts loaded with the seedlings that Li Yan ordered yesterday.
Li Yan didn't expect them to come so quickly. It was only the 9th hour now, so they must have set off at daybreak.
Li Yan warmly invited them into the house to sit down, have a cup of tea and take a break!
The old servant waved his hand and said, "Miss, you're welcome. We all carry water bags when we go out so we don't get thirsty. Where do you think we should unload these Isatis root, honeysuckle, and astragalus seedlings?"
Li Yan then led people to the foot of the mountain. The villagers saw three ox carts loaded with seedlings coming towards them, and they moved forward swiftly to unload the cargo.
After all, there is strength in numbers. In a short while, all the seedlings on the three ox carts were unloaded!
"If you have nothing to do, we'll leave!"
"You've come a long way, why don't you come home to rest and have dinner before leaving!" Li Yan tried to persuade him to stay.
"Thank you, young lady. But we also brought a cart of herbs with us on this trip and we need to deliver them to the shops in the city. We won't delay you!" the old servant refused.
Since others had important matters to attend to, Li Yan did not want to persuade them any further. After handing the money for the saplings to the old servant, she sent the group out of the village!
After everyone left, Li Yanfu returned to the fields and directed the women in the village to start planting seedlings, from digging ditches to planting plants to covering the soil. From being unfamiliar at the beginning to becoming proficient gradually, the villagers' movements became faster and faster!
It took two days for Mr. Li and the villagers to plant all the seedlings they bought, and only licorice and forsythia were left.
After the purchased seedlings were planted, Li Yan took a few aunts to visit Dr. Zhou's house and dug up five acres of licorice seedlings to plant.
After all the seedlings were planted, Li Yan paid all the villagers' wages in the evening. She earned more than 30 copper coins in just three days. The villagers were very happy and happily took the money home.
Of the thirty-six acres, only seven remain unplanted! Li Yan plans to plant forsythia on the remaining land.
Early in the morning of this day, Li Yan brought people to the mountain to start pruning branches. However, it is better to soak the cuttings of the Forsythia branches in water to take root and make them sprout quickly!
Li Yan told them how to start while she cut a tender branch. After watching for a while, they were able to get the hang of it quickly!
It took an hour to prepare all the branches for grafting, and Li Yan led people to bring the branches back home.
Li Yan brought out the rooting water that she had prepared yesterday, and then asked Grandpa Li to soak all the freshly cut branches in the rooting water!
Wu asked curiously, "What are you doing?"
"Grandma, this is the rooting water I made yesterday! Soaking these branches in the rooting water for two or three hours can speed up the rooting of Forsythia. Simply put, it will make it easier for Forsythia cuttings to survive!" Li Yan explained in detail.
Everyone was very curious. Even Mr. Li, who had been farming for most of his life, had never heard of such a practice before. He couldn't help but ask, "What exactly is this rooting water?"
Li Yan smiled and explained, "It's just some sugar and vinegar added to the water! These things provide nutrients and help them grow faster!"
Wu couldn't help but gasp in amazement, pointing at the branches: "These little creatures are really good at enjoying themselves, and they even know how to 'eat' these good things!"
Wu's metaphor was very vivid, and everyone couldn't help laughing when they heard it.
Li Yan: "Grandma, it's still early. You can go prepare the soil and apply fertilizer first. Once you're done with the forsythia, it will be almost time to plant the cuttings!"
The group rushed down the mountain with farm tools. Old man Li led his family to open ridges and dig holes, while old man Zhao took the Guo brothers to pick fertilizer.
After all, they were used to doing farm work, and they had a very good understanding of each other. By the time Li Yan brought the meal over, they had finished working on nearly half of the fields.
A few people finished their meal while sitting in the field, and they did not even bother to rest. They thought that if they finished the rest, they could understand something sooner!
After preparing the last few pieces of land, plant the forsythia branches soaked in rooting water into shallow and wide trenches.
They carefully inserted each branch into the groove, following Li Yan's method to ensure the cuttings were secure. Wu's hands kept moving, imagining that these cuttings would take root and grow into healthy plants.
By the time the sun set, everyone had finally finished the forsythia cutting work.
Li Yan stood in the field, looking at the originally barren land, which was now full of medicinal herbs and full of vitality.
The afterglow of the setting sun shines on the tender seedlings, and each leaf looks exceptionally green, as if announcing a bright future to her!
Although this patch of medicinal herbs is small, it is of great significance to the entire village. As long as this batch of medicinal herbs is planted, the demonstration effect at that time will be worth a thousand words now!
After finishing the last piece of field, this year's spring planting was completely over, and everyone returned home in the afterglow of the setting sun.
Hearing the noise outside, Lin came out of the kitchen and said to everyone, "Dad and Mom, please eat here tonight. I've prepared the meal!"
Everyone has been busy non-stop for a while, but after all, they are old and really don’t want to work so hard anymore!
Mr. Li nodded first and said, "Everyone is tired, so let's eat here with Erlang. After eating, we can go back and rest early!"
Mrs. Wu looked at the mud all over her body and hands and said, "Let's go back and wash first, and come back later!" After that, she led everyone home.
Lin returned to the kitchen and brought out the prepared food: soft and glutinous millet porridge, egg-scented flatbreads, and a few appetizers. Although it was not a sumptuous meal, it was very suitable for people who were tired after a busy day!
When Lin had set the table, Li Erlang also rushed back from the county government office!
Seeing her husband, Mrs. Lin said happily, "You're back just in time. Go wash up quickly. We'll be ready for dinner when our parents arrive!"
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