The Little Widower (farming)

69

Sure enough, after the wheat harvest was over, the village chief organized the prime-age labor force in the village to dig ditches in the fields.

For the villagers, growing rice is really a big challenge. The road ahead is uncertain, but the temptation is also great. After all, they don't have to pay taxes for two years, so even if they hesitate, they all go out with their hoes.

The men were busy digging ditches outside, and the women and husbands in the ancestral hall were listening to the old man's instructions on how to grow rice, and each one was more serious than the other.

Li Xin called Qi Shuning and asked him to write down everything the boss said with pen and paper.

"I believe everyone knows how to dry and select seeds, so I won't go into details here." The boss has a slight accent, but it's not difficult to understand.

"Let's talk about the first step first. Rice planting is not like other methods. You just need to sow the seeds directly. It needs to germinate in the land and plant a bunch of small seedlings." He said, stretching out his hand to compare the length.

"Then in the paddy field, use silt mixed with fertilizer to create a silt land, and plant the seedlings into the ground little by little. The planting method is very simple, just tap it in gently with your fingers."

The old man cleared his throat. : "You don't need too much water in the paddy field at this time."

"When the seedlings in the muddy field grow to about the height of an adult's calf, they will be transplanted again."

Everyone listening below frowned, Chen Qing also said: "Why is it so troublesome, transplanting twice."

Aunt Sun also said with a serious face: "It is indeed troublesome."

"After the second transplanting, there will be more water in the field, and water is needed. Mix it thoroughly with the mud in the field, and then you can plant the rice seedlings. The depth of the water should be approximately in the middle of the rice, not too much or too little. Pay attention to the gaps between the rice seedlings, and don't plant them too densely.

" After planting, in order to prevent tits from eating the rice leaves, you can use cloth strips to make a flag to scare them.

"Fertilization is the same as for ordinary crops," the old man said, "Rice is usually planted after the wheat harvest. , sown at the end of April and early May, and matured at the end of August and early September."

Only this time, everyone was still confused.

"Don't worry." The boss said, "We will know

after we plant it together once." On the way back, Chen Qing followed Aunt Sun: "Mom, are you sure?"

Aunt Sun smiled: "No. People are born with the knowledge of farming, don't they all learn it slowly?"

Chen Qing was not as optimistic as Aunt Sun, and he was still frowning when he got home.

Zhou Yuan also came back at this time. He followed him to dig ditches today. When Chen Qing saw him coming back, he went to look at his hands.

Sure enough, there was another blood blister in his palm.

"I've been told to go." Chen Qing had no choice but to help him, "Why can't you learn?"

Zhou Yuan didn't feel the pain: "Others are all men in the family, so what does it mean if I ask you to go? ?"

Chen Qing laughed, and then told him that they heard it today: "It's so difficult."

"We will plant together when the time comes. If you have any questions, it's okay." Zhou Yuan comforted him, "I'll help my mother finish planting the rice." , let's set off. When we come back, we can help my mother harvest rice."

Chen Qing nodded, but wanted to escape again: "But it will definitely be August or September when we come back, and Qi Shuning will have taken the exam by then. Li Xin is about to give birth, but we are not here."

"Ah Qing." Zhou Yuan held Chen Qing's waist with his uninjured hand, "Don't think about escaping, you are better off than those people now. "You forgot, we didn't go back to meet those people, we came here to bring daddy and little daddy."

Chen Qing lowered his head and said, "Okay."

Zhou Yuan can't stay in the village all day after he comes back . There were many things he needed to do, so he simply bought a horse so that he could go out in the morning and come home at night.

At this time, the most important criterion for measuring the quality of a family's life was the fields and livestock.

Zhou Yuan now has a cow, he has also bought a horse, and several acres of fertile land, which can be regarded as the best in the entire village.

Except for their family and Meng Qi and Meng Shuanzi, no one else knew about the escort agency, and they didn't tell anyone about it. After all, big trees attract wind.

When the ditch was dug, the village chief summoned all the families again. Today they were going to distribute rice seeds. Rice seeds were distributed according to the acres of fields near Luohe River to each family. Zhou Yuan received the most.

Because we are well prepared, we have already selected the seeds and taken steps to prevent pests before planting, so we only need to plant the seeds.

Chen Qing followed Aunt Sun. Aunt Sun also had a field next to the river, but after hearing the boss said that the first breeding did not need to be planted in the field, Aunt Sun simply chose a piece of land at random and planted the seeds according to the type. The rice seeds were also planted.

Qi Shuning's letter has just been sent out, and it will probably be a few days before Li Tiejiang and the others come back.

Li Xin did not close the shop because of her pregnancy. He was still making some small things. This made Qi Shuning feel bad. He even wanted to help Li Xin blacksmith, but he was too weak and intolerant of heat, so he was eventually killed. Li Xin rushed out.

There was nothing to do in the past two days, so Li Xin had some free time and went to play in the fields with Chen Qing and the others.

Aunt Sun said she couldn't get a good rest in such a hot day, but Li Xin always made sense and said that children also need to be grounded.

Aunt Sun and Chen Qing were digging the land, while Zhou Yuan went to Luohe River to fetch water.

"Is it okay to just plant it like this?" Li Xin grabbed a handful of seeds and looked at them carefully, "This doesn't look like rice."

"There is a shell on the outside of the rice. You have to pound the shell off, and there will be rice inside. "Aunt Sun is well-informed and said, "You can see it later."

They plowed the ground, planted the seeds, and then used the hoe to lift the soil to the side and wait for Zhou Yuan to come back. Watered with a ladle.

There were also people from the village farming around. Aunt Liu stood in their fields and wanted to ask Aunt Sun if she was sure.

Aunt Sun said: "You have to grow it anyway, and if you don't pay taxes, if rice can't be grown, I still have two corn fields on the mountain. Anyway, I can make ends meet."

The aunt sat down on the edge of the field and said, "That's the only way. "Yes."

Aunt Sun comforted her again: "You have been farming all your life, so you are still afraid of farming. Don't worry."

Aunt Liu nodded.

Once the seeds are planted in the soil, they wait quietly for germination.

Zhou Yuan was no longer needed for the work in the fields, so Zhou Yuan rode to the county town in the morning to deal with the affairs of the escort agency, and then rode back in the evening and had a good sleep with Chen Qing in his arms.

On the day when the water was released, the village chief also went to the ancestral hall to set off a firecracker for good luck.

There are no villages downstream of Luohe Village, so their diversion of Luohe River water will not affect other villages. This is why Luohe Village was chosen to grow rice.

Villagers from the village were standing beside the Luo River. The village chief invited people to see the auspicious time. When the auspicious time came, the village chief used a hoe to open the ditch they had dug. The water of the Luo River flowed along the ditch. Slowly entered the field.

With the movement of the water, the hearts of the villagers in Luohe Village also increased.

Is it really possible to plant it? The farmers who have been doing farm work all their lives are in doubt, but there is no turning back when they open their bows. No matter what, let's plant the crops well this season!

The water from the Luo River was left standing for a day and when it wetted all the fields, it was led out from the ditch on the other side and flowed back into the Luo River.

Aunt Sun took a look at the seedlings in the field. They were already one finger long. According to what the boss said, they should be ready for transplanting for the first time. However, before transplanting, the ground must be plowed first.

Not much water was put in at this time, but it just turned the soil into a silt-like shape. The soil needs to be smoothed before the seedlings can be planted.

When Chen Qing went to bed at night, he always thought about how to level the ground. Chen Qing, who always slept peacefully and motionless, dreamed of being on the ground at night, and slapped Zhou Yuan on the face.

Zhou Yuan has also been very busy recently, and the escort agency cannot always be the same as before. The big escorts have to be picked up, and the small ones have to be covered.

Zhou Yuan first asked Meng Qi to take a lot of their specialties to Yunxi Town. When they came back from Yunxi Town, shopkeeper Tian told Zhou Yuan that he could give them three carts of red persimmons and cucumbers every year. , output has been available since May.

This is also profitable. Zhou Yuan has to support his family, so he won't give up. Moreover, Shopkeeper Tian's family doesn't seem simple, so it won't hurt to be friends with him.

Zhou Yuan took over the escort agency for about half a year. After deducting all expenses and the monthly salary of each escort, the entire escort agency has made back what Zhou Yuan invested, and I believe it will get better and better in the future.

These days, because Chen Qing has to farm, they don't even have time to get close at night, so Zhou Yuan can only kiss and relax.

Early the next morning, Zhou Yuan went to the county seat, and Chen Qing and Aunt Sun began to go to the fields to Pingtian.

It was difficult to walk in the muddy ground, and it was difficult to swing a hoe. Every time I swung it, mud from the hoe was smeared everywhere on my body. Fortunately, Aunt Sun was watching, and then the two of them slowly began to level again. After the morning, I finally got the appearance of the field that the boss wanted.

It happened that the boss was at the edge of the field looking at the depth of the water. Aunt Sun quickly asked Chen Qing to invite people over. Chen Qing did not dare to hesitate. After all, this was related to his livelihood. He got up and ran to the boss.

"Can you please come with us to see the fields? Is it so flat?"

The old man followed Chen Qing. When he saw their fields, he nodded: "That's it. If your seedlings are ready, you can try it." It's time to plant the rice seedlings."

Chen Qing sighed. Their family was the first to do this, so it could also serve as a reference for the people in the village.

Then the boss followed them to see their seedlings and taught them how to pick up the seedlings.

"Insert the shovel deeper, dig up the soil below, and then carry it to the horizon." He twisted out a seedling, bent down and showed them, "When planting, insert it gently into the field like this, paying attention to the gaps. , Just don't be too dense."

Chen Qing nodded to Aunt Sun and imitated his movements in his mind.

When the villagers saw Chen Qing's family's fields, they knew what to do. Soon the fields in the village were transformed into this.

Zhou Yuan didn't go out the next day and planned to plant rice seedlings with Chen Qing and others. Chen Qing said that he just did it for fun, but Zhou Yuan didn't object.

Chen Qing and Aunt Sun went to shovel the rice seedlings first. After shoveling, Zhou Yuan carried the rice seedlings to the field.

After going to the field in slippers, the water was still a little cold. Chen Qing shivered. He took a handful of seedlings in his hand and inserted the seedlings by the roots like an old man.

Zhou Yuan was also imitating Chen Qing, but he grabbed a handful randomly and inserted them all. Chen Qing quickly said: "One by one, don't be too many."

He took a look at so many seedlings . : "When will we get it one by one?"

"If it's too dense, it won't grow well." Chen Qing said sternly, "Why don't you go play in the mud next to it."

Zhou Yuan's face was sullen, no longer He made trouble and tried to imitate Chen Qing in planting rice seedlings, but he was too tall. He was too tired after bending for a while, so he went to sit next to him.

Aunt Sun was getting older and her waist was not very good, so she had to rely on Chen Qing alone to plant rice. Zhou Yuan felt sorry for him and soon came down to help him. Although he was not skilled in the movements, he was still able to help him.

The surrounding fields are also full of rice transplants. The villagers in Pingtian, Aunt Sun, went back to cook. She had to finish the work quickly while the weather was not too hot in the past two days.

Chen Qing planted the rice seedlings for two days, during which Qi Shuning also came to help. Although he looked weak, he was still very meticulous in his work. When he was planting the rice seedlings, he told Chen Qing to let Chen Qing teach him needlework when he was free. He wanted to give two The child makes a hat.

Chen Qing: ...

After their rice seedlings were all planted in the fields, Li Tiejiang and his wife, who had been away from home for a long time, finally came back, and Qi Shuning breathed a sigh of relief.

The seedlings transplanted for the first time grew very quickly, and soon it was time for the second transplant. The grown seedlings were pulled up, and then water was added, which was much more than the water in the field for the first time. Then plow the field again, and then insert the much grown seedlings into the field.

It doesn't sound like an easy job.

They were planting rice in the fields, and Zhang Yin also came to help. Her health was really much better, and Li Tiejiang didn't stop him. Because Li Xin was pregnant, there was a backlog of orders in the shop, and Li Tiejiang had to deal with it.

Li Xin cooked for them at home and sent it to the fields.

After there were more people, the work became much faster, and Aunt Sun's small field was quickly planted.

After planting the rice seedlings, Zhou Yuan and Chen Qing were ready to go out.

Before leaving, Zhou Yuan called both families to his home for dinner. Both families had elders. Zhou Yuan hoped that they would take care of each other and said that they would be back soon.

Zhang Yin told them not to worry, everything would be fine at home, and asked them to come back quickly, otherwise they would not be able to catch up with Li Xin's child.

He also said that Qi Shuning would leave for Yuancangfu in August, and Zhou Yuan had already made arrangements for him, so that someone from the escort agency could escort him along.

After arranging everything, Zhou Yuan took Chen Qing on horseback early the next morning and set off towards Chen Qing's hometown.