??Chapter 152: 152. Farm work is endless_1
Chapter 152: 152. Farm work is endless_1
In a rush and a panic, Mao Li didn’t even have ti to check the ti. She quickly dug out a piece of cardboard to place the shredded asparagus lettuce on and set it on the windowsill.
Let the night breeze cool it off, then she could take it out for the sun to dry it further tomorrow.
However, no sooner had she just entered the kitchen to clean up the dinner, than the door was pushed open, and her son Song Xuehai ca in looking like a drowned rat.
“The rain ca down too suddenly,” he said.
It started pouring the mont he got out of the car, and he ran all the way ho, getting completely drenched. Hurrying back to his room, he prepared to change his clothes, but then paused, and with a start, he called out:
“Mom, I sent you a ssage this afternoon telling you to close the windows. Why didn’t you close them? The bay window is all wet with rain.”
As for the asparagus lettuce shreds she had painstakingly prepared in the afternoon — no need to look, the cardboard beneath was soaked to a mush.
Mao Li looked at the ssage she had missed and truly felt breathless.
…
Song Tan didn’t know that her grandaunt’s blood pressure rose three tis a day, making her life so lively.
But instead of going back, she reconsidered and steered the wheel, driving straight into the shopping mall.
If she planned to do live-streams regularly, she really needed to buy a mobile phone dedicated to that purpose. Otherwise, Qiaoqiao constantly using her own phone could cause delays.
Plus, her dear younger brother had been behaving well lately, so she decided to buy him a tablet so he could watch cartoons.
Alas, she had promised to make ti to take him to the amusent park. Now looking at her schedule, it turned out she had underestimated the workload of farm life.
She had just paid when Song Sancheng called: “Tantan, when you co back, could you pick up so colored steel tiles from the construction material market? Your grandfather and I are building a stove and we need to put up a shelter for it.”
Otherwise, the rain and wind could really be a nuisance.
These so-called colored steel tiles, which had replaced asbestos tiles, were a popular, economical material of the day, about a ter in width and cut to length as needed.
A single piece wasn’t expensive; even the most basic of a standard size wasn’t more than twenty or thirty yuan.
Putting up a temporary shelter seed just about right.
But that money… after buying the phone and tablet, she was already a bit out of pocket. Now with these steel tiles… it was like working for nothing all day!
She thought of her debts and sighed as she got into the car.
…
Back ho, she saw that Song Sancheng had already erected a simple shelter up against the courtyard wall.
The shelter looked barren at the top, but the large stove in the middle, built from red bricks, was particularly striking.
Nothing to be done, it was just a makeshift solution, which made the entire courtyard appear even more cramped and unsightly, with absolutely no planning to speak of.
What could Song Tan do? A penny can stop a hero, after all.
Song Sancheng was helping to build a wooden fra on the side to hold Seventh Uncle’s various seasonings, condints, and chopping board.
In his spare ti, Song Youde packed a pinch of tobacco leaves into his smoking pipe: “Tantan, what do you plan to plant in those fields on the back hill? The land has been fallow for many years and it doesn’t look too fertile now.”
Altogether, there were about three acres of land. Song Tan pondered for a mont:
They had no shortage of vegetables. So then…
“Soybeans, sesa, and sweet potatoes — for our own consumption, it feels safer to grow them ourselves.”
ntioning sweet potatoes didn’t exactly stir fond feelings in Song Youde, but he knew the younger generation liked them. He considered:
“I’ll have to see whose sweet potatoes taste good in the village, and when the ti cos, you can buy those varieties.”
Once bought, after all, the land was already prepared. They would just need to create so ridges and transplant the sweet potato slips into them.
Anyway, it’s about ti for the sweet potatoes to sprout, so we’ll chop them up based on the sprouts to show the kids sothing new.
Song Tan nodded and then rembered sothing, “Right, Grandpa, leave so space for Qiaoqiao to plant corn.”
Qiaoqiao, that silly kid, the only thing he knows how to do is plant corn. What would we do if we didn’t give him so room to grow?
What’s with this ‘bit by bit’ with land?
Song Youde pondered, “Since we’re going to plant corn, then we can just split it half-and-half with the sweet potatoes. To be honest, corn can even feed the chickens, anyway, it’s better than planting sweet potatoes.”
The drizzle gradually grew heavier, and Song Tan only had ti to secure the newly brought color steel tiles before glancing at the sky and gauging that a heavy rain was imminent as she climbed down from the ladder.
“That’s also strange,” Song Youde said with a nod and a chuckle:
“Heaven’s looking out for you, it doesn’t usually rain this much during Qingming Festival. Just sprinkled the seeds and seedlings yesterday, why bother watering them ourselves? It takes a heavy downpour from the heavens to soak them thoroughly. The ones due to sprout will probably do so in a couple of days.”
Song Sancheng also got cheerful, “But this rain better not be too heavy, or it’ll wash the seeds away, and then the magpies will be back in the fields eating away.”
Song Tan’s expression stiffened.
The locusts in the Milk Vetch fields had the chickens stuffed to the point of rolling their eyes.
Now, having just sown the seeds, she had to watch out for those flying overhead. With the attraction of Spiritual Energy, no amount of seeds would be enough for them to eat.
Alas, she had accumulated just this little bit of Spiritual Energy, and tonight still had to go sprinkle it evenly in the Chestnut Woods. Day by day, nothing truly remained.
Before, back in the Cultivation World, she could have set up formations for everything from hastening growth to repelling pests and birds.
But in this world, what could she use to set up formations?
All she could do was to count on Old Man Li to be stationed in the fields daily, scaring birds away.
As for the bugs… she’d have to wait until the seedlings were a bit more substantial before using Spiritual Energy to disperse them.
Thinking about it, the workload seed to be ever increasing.
But how could farm work be just that?
Seventh Uncle had returned from the back mountain and was now inspecting the Ya pears Song Tan had bought, examining them over and over before finally nodding in satisfaction.
Then, unable to wait, he asked her, “You’ve kept your pigs in the back mountain, when will you open up the pigsty and let them roam the mountains?” That way, the at would taste better.
Song Tan thought for a mont, the ti was indeed about right, the piglets were now robust, and letting them run around—eat, drink, and sleep well—would allow them to contribute by year-end.
But…
“Seventh Uncle, don’t be in a rush. I haven’t completely sealed off the back mountain with wire sh yet; I’m waiting for it to be delivered along with the ones for the Peach Forest,” she replied.
“What do you need a sh for?” Seventh Uncle asked nonchalantly,
“Qiaoqiao took
specially to see Big Wang in the back mountain. That’s a good dog. With it around, you don’t need to worry about losing pigs with or without the wire sh!”
“Besides, if dogs can herd sheep in the grasslands, herding a whole flock at once, with Big Wang’s size, herding just five pigs shouldn’t be an issue, right?”
Seventh Uncle was also adept with smartphones, those online sheepdogs herding sheep, so clever! And Big Wang, he had seen it, what a large size! Such a fine breed, it would be a pity not to herd pigs with it.
Song Tan was taken aback: Big Wang wasn’t originally a security dog…
But after thinking about it, Seventh Uncle’s suggestion wasn’t unfeasible. With only five pigs to raise in her own back mountain, it was fine for now.
In the future, if she were to raise more, would she really enclose them from all sides?
It would be better to train Big Wang to herd pigs properly while they were still young… ah no, to let the pigs out!
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