"Qin Feng, judging by the weather, there's going to be frost tomorrow morning. You need to prepare your vegetable plot on Daqing Mountain, and dig out the potatoes on Xiaoqing Mountain as soon as possible. Once the frost sets in, it'll get cold very quickly."
Qin Feng saw that it was the village chief holding a pipe and talking to him while walking towards his yard, so he said to the village chief, "Okay, I understand. Thank you, village chief. I will go to the fields in a while."
He casually handed the village chief a stool and asked him to sit down. He picked up the kettle and poured him a bowl of water. "Last night, we were still discussing how to prepare the plants on these two mountains for the winter. And now you tell us there's going to be frost tomorrow. Village chief, you're really a timely help."
The village chief laughed heartily. "Qin Feng, you are a capable person. Next year, you can give us more guidance. If you want to fix the sand and grow grass on the three barren sand hills here, plant potatoes and sweet potatoes in suitable places, and provide subsidies to the villagers, so that the children can have enough food." As he spoke, his expression became serious and he sighed. "Qin Feng, village chief, I'm leaving it to you. You don't have to do the work. Just tell us what to plant there and when, and that's it."
Qin Feng looked at the village chief, whose eyes were full of hope. He nodded and said, "Okay. I'll take a look next year. If you can plant with us, I'll let you know and plant at the same time. If not, we'll decide based on the soil conditions on the three mountains in the village."
After hearing Qin Feng's words, the village chief stood up happily and held Qin Feng's hand tightly. "Thank you, well done. Your family has managed the Daqingshan and Xiaoqingshan mountains. The village has also benefited a lot from you. This year, we can have a good year."
"I'm leaving."
"Won't you sit for a while?"
The village chief waved his hands and strode out of the yard.
Qin Feng's family sat down at the table. Qin Muxiao asked anxiously, "Uncle, what should we do if there's frost? If the vegetables that are growing so well get frozen, there won't be any vegetables to send to Li Dahao. What should we do?"
Qin Feng looked at Qin Muzhou and asked, "Qin Muze, do you have any good ideas?"
"I read in a book that smoke can be used to create a temperature blockade on the land to be protected."
Ke'er said, "Daddy, I can guarantee that the vegetables in the garden will not be affected by frost."
Qin Feng shook his head. "No, Ke'er, we must have an effective and transparent solution. You can do it in private, but it must not be too outrageous."
Ke Er nodded and said, "I understand. It's fine as long as it's roughly the same."
Ke'er covered her mouth and chuckled, and everyone burst into laughter. Qin Feng scratched the back of his head embarrassedly. "Don't laugh, isn't it just a vague statement? I'm just afraid that others will know about Ke'er's superpowers. People nowadays are very cunning, and we all have to be careful. Tell us how the grass and plants on the two mountains can survive the winter safely."
Everyone stopped laughing and started thinking. Xiao Si slapped his hands on the table and said, "Daddy, I get it. We can put clothes on the trees so that they won't freeze. Mommy makes warm winter clothes for me every winter. They are so warm and I never freeze, right, Mommy?" After saying that, he turned around and asked Li Shuwan with starry eyes.
Li Shuwan looked at Xiao Si with tenderness in her eyes and whispered softly, "Yes, our Xiao Si is the smartest." Xiao Si looked around proudly, raised his head and chest, and saw Ke Er. He frowned and said, "Mother, my sister is the smartest in our family."
Ke'er deliberately pouted and said, "Humph, Daddy and Mommy don't love me anymore." She even pretended to shed tears and wiped the corners of her eyes. Li Shuwan pulled Ke'er into her arms and patted her back gently, "You're just pretending. You're not smart, you're quirky. You're imaginative all day long, and then you disappear in a flash. I'm afraid even Mommy can't catch up with you on horseback."
"Hahaha." Everyone laughed. Ke'er also felt embarrassed and snuggled into Li Shuwan's arms, burying her face in Li Shuwan's neck without looking up.
Li Shuwan stroked Ke'er's back again and again.
The family finally reached a consensus and went to the vegetable garden in the evening to light a brazier to create smoke to prevent frost the next day. As for the other trees, they "dressed up" the jujube and sand date trees planted on Daqing Mountain.
After lunch, Qin Feng and his family carried clay basins, dry firewood, sickles and shovels and went up the Daqing Mountain. They took the whole family to the Stipa nest to cut Stipa branches, preparing to weave them into mats to cover the base of the trunks of the jujube trees and the sand date trees, to protect the branches of the trees that had just grown up this year and were not yet strong.
Under Choudan's guidance, everyone learned quickly, but the only difference was the quality of the woven Stipa mats.
Seeing Ke'er holding a bundle of Achnatherum splendens to weave, Li Shuwan quickly stepped forward and pulled Ke'er over, "Ke'er, you are a girl, your hands are delicate, you can't weave, mother will do it."
Qin Feng also said to Ke'er, "Ke'er, go around and see if there are any flowers or fruits you like. Pick them and play with them."
The brothers echoed in unison, "Yes, yes, sister, go and have a look. You can't weave an Achnatherum mat, it pricks your hands. We are boys, so it doesn't matter if our hands are a little rough."
"Sister, just stand there and look good. We'll do the weaving," Xiao Siduo Ke'er said. He came running over, grabbed Ke'er's hand, and pulled her to sit on a small stool. He pulled a handful of peanuts out of his pocket and stuffed them into Ke'er's hand. "Sister, just sit here and weave the peanuts," he said. Then he ran to where he had been weaving the mat, picked up the grass, and continued weaving.
Ke'er's heart was filled with a warm feeling called "family love." "Daddy, Mommy, and brothers, Ke'er loves you and will make sure you're all well."
Qin Feng looked at the sky getting dark, and then looked at everyone who had woven quite a few Achnatherum mats, so he said to everyone, "Okay, let's stop weaving here today. It's getting late, we should go to the vegetable garden."
Everyone stood up and deftly piled up the woven mats beside the sedge nest, put them away, dusted themselves off, picked up the clay basins, and walked towards the vegetable field with dry firewood in their arms.
Qin Feng brought his family to the vegetable garden and saw a large field of emerald green vegetables, which made him feel happy.
Everyone busily and methodically began to work. They placed a clay pot at each corner of the vegetable plot, and a row of pots along the central ridge. Shallow pits were dug about five meters apart on either side of the plot. Then, they placed broken dry firewood in the pots and the pits, lit them, and once the fire started, they placed a few bitter beans on top.
The bitter bean leaves were fresh, tender and wet, so when they were pressed on the burning fire, smoke immediately arose. The smoke spread over the vegetable field, providing good protection.
Qin Feng looked at the vegetable garden and saw that the work of preventing frost had been done. He said, "Okay, go home. Come back early tomorrow morning to check the situation of the vegetable garden."
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