The next afternoon, Zeng Ruixiang took Zi Fu to buy some daily necessities and ordered plows, hoes and other farm tools at the blacksmiths shop. In the afternoon, he reluctantly left with his family for the county town, and it was said that they would not be able to return home until the end of February. Zi Fu also started school, going out early every day and only returning home after sunset.

  The old hen at home hasnt hatched yet, and on the 20th of the first month, Shens wife went to the market again and brought back 50 chickens. Shens wife said that such a big yard is too wasteful without raising chickens. Ziqing wanted to raise ducks and white geese, but Shens wife said that they need to be put in the village pond, and its really hard to spare hands at home, so raising chickens is still more convenient.

  Shen returned to the city and went to see the land, saying that the rape flowers were in full bloom, and a small plot of peas had also begun to pod. The wheat seedlings had grown several inches long. There was nothing much to do on the land these days, so Shen took Zi Lu to pick up pine needles and gather firewood, instructing the three younger ones to watch the house.

  After they left, Zi Qing had Zi Shou accompany Zi Xi and went to find the seeds she had bought, as well as the potatoes. When she opened them up, she saw that they had all sprouted. In her previous home in a small county town, her mother loved growing vegetables, but her brother was always busy, so it was usually Zi Qing who helped her mother with the gardening. Her mother would often talk while working, and as a result, Zi Qing still had some confidence when it came to planting. Thinking of her mother, Zi Qing couldnt help but feel sad, perhaps at this moment, her mother was also thinking of her.

  Ziying thought it was the season for planting potatoes, but she couldnt turn over such a large piece of land by herself. However, she still scattered the potatoes and put them outside. The temperature at night was around 10 degrees Celsius, which is suitable for sprouting. Additionally, Ziying found a bowl with a missing corner and soaked several chili pepper seeds in warm water, changing the water about once an hour, then putting them out to sunbathe. She found a hoe and dug up a small piece of land by the wooden house, less than one square meter, taking breaks in between. Shen Shi came back carrying a load of pine needles, Zi Rong was holding a basket with pinecones on top and a pile of mushrooms underneath, and also dragged back several large branches of dead trees.

  When Zi Qing saw her mother return, she asked Zi Lu to accompany her to wash clothes, as the village was still unfamiliar and she feared getting lost. Zi Qing saw that there were many thin water caltrops in the pond, which would be perfect for feeding chickens. When they got home, she had Zi Lu cut a thin bamboo stick, found a piece of gauze used for repairing mosquito nets, sewed a circle with an empty center, and since there was no thin iron wire, she used a toothbrush handle made of willow to thread through it, then tied it up with a rope. From then on, every time they washed clothes, Zi Qing would have Zi Lu scoop up the water caltrops, and when they got back home, the little chickens would eat them happily.

  In the late afternoon, Zifeng returned. Ziqing asked him to flatten that piece of land and turn it over a bit more, dividing it into two ridges. After dinner, Ziqing said to Shen Shi: "Mother, lets invite Grandpa over to use an ox to till the ground in our courtyard. If we use hoes, when will we finish? The sweet potatoes have sprouted, and we need to hurry up and plant them."

  "Mother said youre a housekeeper and its true, you worry about everything. How did you know that sweet potatoes can be planted? Weve never planted this thing in our family before."

  "Mom, the owner of the grocery store said that it can be planted when it sprouts. Our yard is empty now."

  As for this empty land, Shen said that its just right to turn over the soil and scatter some small white vegetable seeds. This grows quickly, and once it sprouts, you can pull it out and eat it. At home, there isnt a vegetable field, and we cant go to the old house every day to pick vegetables.

  Who would have thought that the next day, Shen Shi had just opened the gate of the courtyard wall when she saw her maternal uncles third son, Shen Wanfu, carrying a basket and a cloth bag coming over. It turned out that He Shi knew that Shen Shi was moving out these past few days and wasnt at ease, so he let Shen Wanfu come over to take a look and see if there was anything he could help with.

  Shen brought in three nephews, Shen Wanfus basket had vegetables on top and eggs at the bottom, about twenty of them. The cloth bag was filled with soybeans. He said that He knew that Shen didnt have any vegetables to eat here, so he brought some over to sprout some beans for her. "Young aunt, is there anything you need me to do? Grandma and my mother both entrusted me, uncle isnt home, let me work hard a bit."

  Shen Wanfus expression as he touched his head was really silly, no wonder he was the only one left at home to farm, and when I heard him say that his younger brother Shen Chunfu also went out to apprentice this year.

  Its really sleepy to send pillows, Shen also didnt follow her own nephew politely, took him to the old house to pull the cow, and went to take the custom-made plow head to install the wooden handle. Zi Qing took the opportunity to evenly sprinkle the soaked pepper seeds on the ground, covered with a thin layer of soil, sprinkled some rice washing water, and brought some straw over, preparing to cover it at night for warmth.

  Shen Wanfu got to work as soon as he arrived, and after a days work, he had turned over about one mu of land and leveled it. Zi Qing and Zi Lu threw out the stones and grass roots, and Shen Wanfu divided the land into ridges five meters long and half a meter wide. After finishing his meal, he hurried home, saying that he would come again tomorrow.

  Thus, Shen Wanfu was busy for five or six days, coming every morning and returning every evening. He finally managed to flatten the ground in the courtyard. Shens wife scattered two mu of small white vegetables, and Zi Qing taught her mother to cut the potatoes into seven or eight pieces according to the sprouts, with the sprouts facing upwards buried in the soil. After finishing planting the potatoes, Shens wife also told Shen Wanfu that he didnt need to come over anymore, as there was nothing much to do at home. If there were things to be done and he couldnt come, she would just ask someone to deliver a message for him. Shen Wanfu agreed and left. Shens wife still lamented that there was really nothing in the house to give to her nephew, just these three or two silver coins. The family didnt even have any stored grain, and every item had to be carefully calculated.

  Next, Shen began to take her son Ziru out to collect firewood every afternoon, wanting to stock up on firewood during the agricultural off-season. Ziru thought of his experimental land and turned over a thin layer of soil, seeing that the pepper seeds had sprouted, he was so excited that when he returned home, he soaked all kinds of vegetables such as cucumbers, eggplants, beans, and celery in warm water. Ziru thought that this way, the vegetables she planted would at least come out half a month earlier than others, grabbing an early opportunity to sell them at a good price.

  Then, every morning, Zi Qing would come out to move the straw away and cover it again at night. Finally, one day, she discovered that the potatoes were the first to sprout green leaves, and the small white vegetables also sprouted small green buds. Next, the small peppers also emerged. About ten days later, all the vegetables had sprouted, and some could be transplanted. Every afternoon, Zi Qing would go out with her second brother to wash clothes, except on rainy days. In addition to picking water caltrops, they also had another task: collecting long branches and bamboo shoots, piling them up together, preparing to make a trellis for the beans and cucumbers in the future. Every day after school, Zi Fu would go outside to find thorny shrubs and dig them up to surround the vegetable garden. One day, he even dug up several golden flower plants with flowers still blooming on them. This made Zi Qing extremely happy, and she asked him to find more golden flowers to dig up.

  Zi Qing brought her mother to see the vegetables that had grown, Shen Shi was very surprised. She was busy outside every day and didnt know when Zi Qing had sown the seeds, how could they sprout so quickly, it seemed not even the right season yet.

  "Mother, I saw you were too tired, so I scattered the vegetable seeds. Didnt Qinger see you scatter small white cabbage seeds before? Qinger learned from you and scattered them like this, and they came out."

  "Really? My daughter is so clever! Im overjoyed!" Shens mother was indeed delighted, hugging Zi Qing and kissing her several times.

  "That girl had a small hoe made for Qinger, but its too heavy for her to handle. It was always the older brother who helped out. The small hoe that Qinger wanted was only about one foot long."

  "Alright, mother agrees with you. Just be careful not to hurt yourself and try to get your two older brothers to help you with the plowing."

  The next day, Shen didnt go out and moved the vegetable seedlings with Zi Lu. Its good that it rains a lot in southern spring, so you dont need to water much, saving a lot of trouble. After moving all the pepper seedlings from the experimental field, Zi Qing thought that the watermelon seeds should also be sprouted. So, she found those watermelon seeds, which had thick shells, and soaked them in warm water for two days before burying them in the experimental field.

  Newcomers new work, welcome everyone to give advice, ask for recommendation and collection. Thank you all.