The father and daughter finished arranging the potatoes and came out of the greenhouse, just as the sun was setting.
It was hot, so Zhao Gang made a tomato and cabbage soup for dinner, sprinkled it with scallions he had just picked from the vegetable jar, and served it to cool for five minutes before drinking. It was a refreshing and delicious appetizer.
Zhao Xiaoxiu ate a sip of nutritional drink, a sip of appetizer soup, and a bottle of chilled yogurt, thoroughly enjoying her meal.
After dinner, Grandma Meng and Uncle Meng came over to ask how to sprout potatoes.
So Zhao Gang took his daughter and went to the Meng family again, repeating the steps he had taught his daughter that afternoon, and taught them to the Meng mother and son.
Grandma Meng treasured the five evolved potato seeds like gold nuggets.
The thought of harvesting a batch of "evolved potatoes" at the end of the year and achieving "potato freedom" the following year kept Granny Meng's expectant smile on her face.
Potatoes are the main planting task in July, but the main purpose of this large-scale land reclamation is to expand the planting of mutated rapeseed in winter.
The soldiers at the patrol post have been very busy lately, not only urging the lords to complete the large-scale land reclamation, but also taking stock of the rapeseed that they hadn't had time to harvest before the rainy season.
Eighty percent of the rapeseed produced in all territories of Zone B was bought back by the government at a price of 3.5 points per kilogram.
The remaining 20% of rapeseed, after the lord deducts 15 catties of seeds, can be disposed of freely.
Based on this calculation, Zhao Xiaoxiu's family only has 85 jin (42.5 catties) of the product they can freely dispose of.
Zhao Gang gave 5 jin of it to the Meng family, which would be planted together with the five evolved potatoes on the land he had allocated to them.
One pound of rapeseed can plant about two acres of land. The mandatory task of planting 15 pounds of rapeseed is equivalent to planting at least 30 acres.
Zhao Gang had calculated it precisely in his mind, so his conclusion was 32 mu of rapeseed fields.
If Xiwa can't build a tiller and a seeder, this workload would be fatal even for a 'monster' lord like Zhao Gang.
Other lords will have it even harder, as most are alone and will definitely need to hire workers to help with such a demanding planting task.
After listening to her father talk about these planting arrangements, Zhao Xiaoxiu belatedly realized that what she had done last autumn and winter and this spring was just preparation for planting.
From this moment on, we'll truly be farming!
......
In the sweltering heat of July, the constant whirring of machinery becomes the most unmistakable sound in the planting area.
Two farming machines were operating at Zhao Xiaoxiu's home at the same time. One was driven by Zhao Gang, and the other was driven by Grandma Meng and Meng Da in turns.
One of the machines was rented from the patrol station. All the lords in District B drew lots, and Zhao Gang drew the first batch of machines to be rented. He drove the tiller to his home the next day.
The primary task at present is to plant potatoes. The lords are divided into seven batches, and the three tillers are rotated according to the batches. Each person uses one day. Even if they are not skilled in the operation and cannot complete the tilling of the land in one day, they can rotate again after seven days, so as not to delay the farming season.
However, Zhao Xiaoxiu's family already has a tractor, so there's no need to worry about rotation issues.
On the first day, Zhao Gang brought the patrol station equipment over and completed the reclamation of five acres of potato fields all by himself in one day.
Zhao Xiaoxiu found it novel, and Zhao Gang initially took her on a ride to experience it once. After that, the little girl lost interest in the machine.
Clearing land is a tedious job. The machine moves at a steady pace, and the gurgling sound is particularly captivating, easily making people sleepy.
After the potato field was cleared, Granny Meng and Meng Da continued to clear the rapeseed field and their own 20 mu of land. The mother and son took turns every three hours, so they weren't so bored that they fell asleep.
Zhao Gang would occasionally take over for the mother and son, driving alone for a day.
As for Meng Er and Xiwa, they continued to modify the seeder. If they lacked materials, Meng Er would have to go out to find them for Xiwa.
Throughout July, Zhao Xiaoxiu was the most idle person in the family.
She's a four-year-old child, not considered a laborer; she just needs to take care of herself every day.
She would lie down after eating her fill, and then get up to eat again after lying down for a while. Zhao Xiaoxiu felt like she was becoming as lazy as a pig.
The weather in July is hot from morning till night, and she has no desire to go out and play. Her only pleasure now is guarding the convenience store.
When customers came to her door, she would do business; when no one was around, she would squat by the pool her father had helped build, turn on the water pipes from the well, and clean the meat of the mutated animals.
The hot weather attracted more people to the mountains. The patrolling soldiers in the planting area split into two groups to enter the quarantine zone in the morning and evening to carry out cleanup tasks. The low-level mutated animals they obtained were carried back and sold to Zhao Xiaoxiu.
Then, she used the points she earned to buy fresh ingredients at her convenience store to eat at home.
Other lords would occasionally buy some vegetables from Zhao Xiaoxiu's shop.
I don't know why, even though everyone is growing the same kind of vegetable, the mutated cabbage in Territory 13 just tastes better than the ones they grow.
"Hey! Boss, do you sell any iced drinks?"
A deliberately gruff voice rang out from in front of the counter.
Zhao Xiaoxiu squatted by the pond behind the house, playing in the water with Sister Monkey. She had separated the mutated animal meat collected today early in the morning, and it had all been bought by the soldiers of the A-sector patrol station.
The afternoon sun wasn't so strong, so I took off my shoes, put on a vest and shorts, and had a great time playing in the pool full of cleaning agent bubbles with Sister Monkey.
Hearing the inquiry coming from the counter, Zhao Xiaoxiu immediately looked up in surprise and exchanged a glance with Sister Monkey.
"Coming, coming!" Zhao Xiaoxiu shouted, not even putting on her shoes. She put her hands under the water pipe to rinse off the foam and immediately ran into the store.
Because I'm short, I have to stand on a stool to see the people outside the counter clearly.
"Strange...where is everyone?" Zhao Xiaoxiu looked at the counter in confusion, but didn't see anyone.
Just as I was wondering if the customer had left after waiting too long, a figure suddenly jumped up from under the extended counter, yelled "Hey!", and then burst into laughter.
Zhao Xiaoxiu's puzzled expression vanished instantly. She put her hands on her hips, looked at the smug little boy who thought she had been frightened, and scoffed, "Yang Hengjie, I knew it was you all along!"
Hearing this, Youyou, who was laughing so hard she was bent over, froze instantly, asking incredulously, "You noticed me a long time ago? Weren't you scared?"
“Of course.” Zhao Xiaoxiu jumped off the stool, walked out of the side door of the convenience store, and pointed to the green walls on both sides. “They notified me as soon as you arrived.”
"Oh, and those two too." Zhao Xiaoxiu pointed to two familiar guards squatting diagonally across the road, under the bridge pier. It would be hard for anyone not to notice them.
"That's boring." Youyou snorted, puffing out her cheeks in anger.
Zhao Xiaoxiu then burst out laughing, half-jokingly saying, "Okay, okay, actually I was a little scared."
"Little guest Youyou, would you like an iced drink?" Zhao Xiaoxiu ran back to the counter, stood on the stool, and asked seriously.
The child was carefree, and Youyou immediately said happily, "I want it!"
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