Hard Work

Old Zhou also thought so. Given that this business can be sustained, it should operate for an extended period. Although the family's vegetable garden is large, the variety of vegetables grown is limited. Some vegetables, such as bitter gourd and zucchini, can be harvested once and regrown. But the family also needs to eat, so not all the vegetables can be sold. Therefore, planting more trees is a good idea.

But he didn't expect his wife to be so enthusiastic. He hesitated and said, "That piece of land is over an acre." Can we sell so much?

He glanced at Man Bao, who was leaning against Mrs. Qian, and asked, "Man Bao, did you give your mother the suggestion?"

Man Bao hid in his mother's arms and stole glances at him.

Mrs. Qian hugged her and said, "Stop scaring the child." She had originally intended to plant more vegetables. After all, the rice in that piece of land is almost washed away. It is pointless to leave it there; therefore, it is preferable to plant vegetables.

Originally, she only wanted to plant half of the seeds because she was unsure if they would be able to sell all of the produce.

But as Man Bao suggested, if they can't sell it, they can pickle it to eat during the winter.

Moreover, by planting more, if they cannot sell everything themselves, they can sell it at a lower price to other vegetable farmers, thus saving time and effort.

In fact, Mrs. Qian had another plan in mind. If this year's harvest really doesn't go well, they will have to tighten their belts and live frugally.

If there's not enough grain, eating vegetables won't cause starvation. Even though they may get hungry quickly, they can still have two vegetable meals a day.

Old Zhou touched his tobacco pipe and asked, "What about the seeds?" "Do we have enough vegetable seeds at home?"

After having just resumed smoking for six months, Old Zhou, in order to make money, had ruthlessly sold all his tobacco, so now he had no tobacco to smoke.

Once he craved tobacco, he could only satisfy himself by touching the tobacco pipe.

Mrs. Qian waved her hand nonchalantly and said, "Don't worry about that; I have a solution."

When it comes to vegetable seeds, she didn't have any, but other families have an abundance.

The next day, while everyone was busy, Mrs. Qian walked along the wall and started going door to door.

She first went to look at everyone's vegetable gardens to see how their vegetables were doing. The quality of the vegetables is also important.

If a family grows good vegetables, it shows that they are well taken care of, and the vegetable seeds are probably of good quality as well.

After making the rounds, Mrs. Qian had collected quite a few seeds. Each family had some dried large tree leaves, so she took some to wrap the seeds. Several families gathered together, and it was quite a collection.

Someone smiled and waved goodbye as they sent Mrs. Qian off, saying, "Sister-in-law, if my daughter-in-law feels uncomfortable again, I'll come to you for some ginger."

Mrs. Qian smiled and said, "Of course, if you didn't plant well this time, when you have time, come to my vegetable garden and dig some for planting." If you have a stomachache, ask my eldest daughter-in-law for some dried ginger and red sugar to cook with. Ginger soup with red sugar is very effective.

The person happily agreed.

Mrs. Qian happily carried several small packets of vegetable seeds back home.

When Zhou Lilang, accompanied by his wife, sister-in-law, and two younger brothers, finished hoeing the vegetable garden, he looked up and saw his mother carrying several bunches of tree leaves. Curiously, he asked, "Mother, what is all this?" Why so many?

"Vegetable seeds."

Zhou Lilang: ...

Fang Shi exclaimed and quietly said to Zhou Lilang, "Mother is truly amazing to have received so many vegetable seeds from everyone."

Zhou Lilang closed his open mouth and said, as if it were commonplace, "Of course, that's our mother."

Basically, whatever his mother sets her mind to, there's nothing she can't achieve, just like Man Bao.

He couldn't believe that Man Bao was not born to his mother.

Before Zhou Lilang even had a chance to settle into his seat, Mrs. Qian instructed Xiao Qian to plow the field. "With over an acre of land planted with vegetables, when will we finish plowing with just a hoe?" The sun has been shining recently, and the ground is nearly dry. Please go check if the ground is muddy or hard. "If it's just right, have Lao Si plow the field, and later it will be easier to break up the soil."

Xiao Qian agreed.

Zhou Lilang also heard this and felt a sharp pain in his shoulders. He hesitated, "Mother, can I go to the field with father to catch insects and weed, and let the eldest brother come back to the field?"

They didn't have a cow at home, and they probably couldn't borrow one from the neighboring villagers. Therefore, plowing the field could only be done by pulling the plow by hand, a task that Zhou Lilang detested the most.

Handing off the heavy work to her husband in front of her, Xiao Qian didn't hesitate and smacked him on the head. Looking fierce, she said, "What nonsense! Hurry up and come with me to the field to take a look." "I still have to cook at the school later."

Zhou Lilang made a face and said, "Elder sister-in-law, you can't just care about the eldest brother; you should care about me too."

Before Xiao Qian could speak, Mrs. Qian glared at him and said, "Both of you are married men." "Don't talk back anymore, or I'll smack you."

Xiao Qian married into the family when Zhou Lilang was only seven years old. The key point was that before she got married, they were cousins, and when Zhou Lilang was very young, he had been rubbed on the ground by this cousin.

Once his mother spoke, Zhou Lilang would shrink back and leave.

Seeing this, Fang Shi smiled slyly and whispered to Zhou Lilang, "Exactly!"

Xiaowan, the bend in the river, is called Xiaowan by the locals on the opposite side of the bend. The Zhou family owns over five acres of land in that area, all under Old Zhou's name.

When the land was divided, there were few people in Qili Village, so this fertile land was allocated to him. But now it's not as good as it used to be.

After several sunny days and efforts to drain the water, the field had dried up. Xiao Qian hoed the field, but the soil was compact and difficult to work with due to its nature.

Xiao Qian stepped on the clods she had hoed up, kneaded them, and tested their moisture, saying, "It's ready for plowing." "Go get the plow, and have Laowu help you pull it. Your second sister-in-law will support you while plowing." "I have to go cook now." I'll come to help later.

Zhou Lilang was taken aback and said quickly, "Eldest sister-in-law, please don't harm me." "How can I teach you to plow?" "Not to mention my eldest brother, even my father and mother could beat me to death."

In their family, there were many men, but the wives never towed the plow.

Xiao Qian didn't see any issue with it and said, "When Mother was young, she used to plow the fields quite often." You better hurry; it's best to open the field today. I'll have your eldest sister and your wife come with the hoes to loosen the soil. If we work quickly, we can plant tomorrow.

At this time, the seeds were easy to grow. As long as there was enough water and sufficient sunlight, the seeds would sprout in three to five days.

After instructing Xiao Qian on the fieldwork, she quickly washed her hands in the river and went to the school to cook.

As soon as Man Bao arrived in the kitchen, Xiao Qian had just finished cooking and was inspecting the dishes coming out of the pot. She sighed in relief, glad she hadn't delayed.

When Man Bao rushed in, she noticed that her bowl was still empty. She quickly ran over to help and asked, "Sister-in-law, where did you go?"

Upon her arrival in the past, not only was her bowl filled with food, but Bai Shanbao's was as well. The food was already on the table, waiting for the students to line up and get their meals.