Opening Up New Land

In the first month of the year, it is the most leisurely time for rural people. Even Zhou Erlang, who is always busy making bamboo baskets, stopped his work. During the Lantern Festival, he was occupied for a few days selling bamboo baskets in the county town with his older brothers. Apart from that, he had very little to keep him busy.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Manbao suggested the idea of exploring new lands to her elder sister.

Before Zhou Xi could refuse, Zhou Dalang quickly finished his meal and said, "Alright, after breakfast, we'll go together." I've seen the piece of land that Manbao chose. It's not very large, and there are no trees, so it's easy to clear.

Qian Shi nodded and said, "Yes, let's go with Manbao's plan."

She then said to Zhou Xi, "Consider that piece of land yours, and you can keep all the proceeds from it in the future."

Zhou Xi felt a bit uneasy and nodded in response.

After the meal, the whole family went to the field, with even Lao Zhoutou following along, his hands behind his back. Qian Shi stopped Zhou Xi and said, "Since you have been studying, your younger sister has become even smarter." There are many things we don't understand. Since she suggested planting ginger, you should do it carefully. "It won't take much effort, and we have plenty of people in our family."

Zhou Xi had been home for more than ten days and noticed the differences. In her impression, Manbao was perceived as a soft and weak younger sister. During this visit, she discovered that the family still showered her with affection as they did before, but there were noticeable changes.

For example, a few days ago, when selecting seeds, Lao Zhoutou called Manbao over and asked her to calculate the amount of seed to sow in the family's fields.

During the Lantern Festival a few days ago, Er Lao expressed his desire to go to the county town to sell bamboo baskets. He specifically inquired if Manbao would like to accompany him.

Manbao complained that the weather was too cold, and she still had unfinished homework, so she didn't go. Instead, she sent Si Lao, Wu Lao, and Liu Lao. When they returned home, Er Lao handed all the money to Manbao to count how much was for the family and how much he had left. Manbao calculated everything clearly.

Zhou Xi watched silently, but she was shocked in her heart. She couldn't help but wonder at night, "Are daughters really like their fathers?" If the father is smart, does that mean the daughter is also smart?

Now, with her mother's mention, she couldn't help but sit beside her and ask, "Mother, if Manbao is so smart, what will happen in the future?"

Qian Shi paused her sewing and then said, "It's a good thing for a child to be smart." "What's there to worry about?"

Before Zhou Xi could say more, Qian Shi said, "You should also go and take a look at the land." After all, it's your land, and you shouldn't let your brothers and sisters-in-law do all the work.

Zhou Xi responded and went to catch up with Zhou Dalang and the others.

Manbao and the other children rushed ahead, shouting and diving into the wild grass.

Zhou Dalang couldn't help but scold them, reminding them to be careful not to get pricked by thorns.

Manbao, or rather Keke, had chosen the piece of land next to Zhou Sirlang's, separated only by a stone.

Lao Zhoutou observed that the land was small, only about two acres, but it was covered with abundant wild grass. Since it was just past winter, the grass was dry and yellow, but there were some new shoots coming up.

He dug a bit with a hoe and found the soil to be good. There were no big trees or large rocks in the area. Although it was small, two acres were enough.

Lao Zhoutou handed the hoe to Dalang and nodded, saying, "This will do." Let's begin by cutting the grass.

Then he went to talk to Zhou Sirlang, "Look at you, look at your sister." What kind of land did you choose? It took two months to clear it.

Zhou Sirlang was indignant, "Mine is big!"

Lao Zhoutou snorted, "What's the use of being big?" If the land isn't fertile, can anything be grown on it?

At this point, Lao Zhoutou was angry and declared, "From now on, no one is allowed to take fertilizer from the house." If you want fertilizer, make it yourself. How much fertilizer did you take to the fields recently? "Are you done with farming now that spring has arrived?"

This made Zhou Sirlang feel guilty, and he hung his head.

Manbao, who was happily throwing stones, heard this and ran away because the fertilizer was something she had asked her fourth brother to fetch.

Little Qian Shi clearly knew it was her idea. When she ran over, Qian Shi pointed at her forehead with her finger.

With many people, the land was cleared quickly, especially with Zhou Dalang, Zhou Erlang, and Zhou Sanlang being skilled workers. They also had little Qian Shi and the others to help cut grass and pick stones.

Each of them took a corner and worked hard, and within a day, they had cleared the land. Of course, clearing it wasn't enough. The next day, they had to remove the grass roots, break up the clods of soil, and then turn the soil over again. It would be best to spread some fertilizer and let the soil rest.

However, Lao Zhoutou was being very stingy and did not allow anyone to touch the household fertilizer. In his view, nothing was more important than planting in the spring. It was the family's food for the year, and there was no room for mistakes.

Zhou Dalang planned to go to the mountains to dig up some soil for Zhou Xi. However, they didn't choose a good location, and the soil they dug up was full of undecomposed leaves. Manbao looked at it with disdain and said, "How can we plant on this?"

Zhou Dalang smiled and asked Manbao, "Then what should we do?"

Manbao squatted down and asked, "Can't we compost it like we do at home?"

"This isn't fertilizer," Zhou Dalang said. The fertilizer at home was a mixture of manure, straw, and river mud.

Manbao was the first to suggest using soil mixed with leaves from the mountains. But Zhou Dalang was a skilled farmer, and he noticed that the layer of soil they dug up was indeed more fertile than the cleared land.

So, he was willing to do it.

But Manbao didn't have fixed ideas. She believed that if Keke claimed fallen leaves could fertilize trees, then fallen leaves must possess fertilizing properties.

Keke explained that the dark layer of soil under the trees resulted from the long-term decomposition of fallen leaves. She also mentioned that the vegetation in the mountains could thrive without human fertilization due to the presence of fallen leaves. Since that was the case, they could use them for composting. Composting is simply a method to accelerate the decomposition process, isn't it?

Of course, she wouldn't do the composting herself, so this task should be left to her older brothers.

Zhou Dalang asked her, "Is there anything written in the books?" How do you compost?

"I don't know," Manbao said. "I haven't seen a book like that yet." But don't worry, big brother, I'll look it up when we get back. For now, simply follow the composting method at home without adding fertilizer. "We'll just use river water and sprinkle some tree leaves in it."

Zhou Dalang:...

It was the first time he had heard that composting didn't require fertilizer, but instead, tree leaves. He didn't fully trust Manbao, but she was insistent. Therefore, he had no choice but to dig a large pit next to the land with his brothers and pour all the soil mixed with tree leaves into it.