Spring scenery in the fields

Chapter 255 Picking up dirt

Ji Wenhe looked in the direction of the fields and said, "Let's buy the fields first. Don't worry about it. After the wheat is harvested next year, you can go find the head of the village."

Shen Rongshan nodded and responded: "Okay, we will discuss it again next year."

After lunch, the two went to work in the fields.

"Brother Shen, put it down and let me pick it up." She put down the dung shovel and walked over.

All the soil from the vegetable field was carried over. First, the water from the small puddle was carried to irrigate the fields, and then the soil from the wasteland with chicken manure was carried to the vegetable field.

"It's too heavy. I'll carry it." Shen Rongshan put the rope on both ends of the pole and easily lifted the two wooden barrels. "Wen He, give me the dung scoop."

Ji Wenhe quickly picked up the dung shovel on the ground and ran over to it: "Is our wheelbarrow at the headman's house?"

He replied: "The head of the village wants to sell grain, and they need to use the wheelbarrow for a few days and return it after use."

Well, she planned to push the soil back and wash it in the creek after use.

Seeing him going to the vegetable field, he turned around, picked up the shovel, and walked to the westernmost end.

The shovel scooped out the top layer and piled it into a mound.

After the summer, there were fewer and fewer flies, but there were still quite a few in the wasteland.

It hasn't rained during this period. If it had rained, the ground would have smelled even worse due to the rain water.

Ji Wenhe raised his head and glanced at the person who was walking over: "Brother Shen, sprinkle the soil on it and turn the ground over."

"Look at the upper layer. There's chicken manure. It looks better than the soil in the vegetable field. The only good fertilizer we farmers can get is chicken manure."

"I want to raise a few more chickens next year. We have fifteen now. If we raise twenty or thirty, they will lay a lot of eggs, which we can sell in town. We can also get chicken manure to fertilize the paddy fields."

Shen Rongshan picked up the borrowed shovel from the ground, walked to her side, looked at the foot of the mountain, and said in a negotiating tone: "Wen He, how about we raise fifty at home."

Following his gaze, he saw a few chickens digging the soil with their claws and eating the tiny insects in the earth.

"Okay, there's no harm in raising more, but there's no wild vegetables to feed them in the winter. We have to eat the cabbage ourselves, and even if we give them half, it won't be enough."

He replied, "This winter, we will feed them with black flour and dried wild vegetables mixed together. Next year, we will fence off half of the land and drive them in."

"If we plant corn on the empty land, we won't have to worry about having nothing to feed them next winter."

Ji Wenhe originally wanted to plant wheat on the wasteland, but considering that the wheat would have nothing to eat in the winter, it would be more appropriate to plant corn.

"Next spring, we will cut more wild vegetables, dry them, and store them in the cellar."

Shen Rongshan shoveled the soil with a shovel and said, "In the spring, I will take Wenshan and the others into the mountains, but we won't go deep into the mountains."

There are many wild vegetables in the mountains, but villagers dare not go too far inside for fear of encountering blind bears and flower bugs.

After the wolf came down from Baiyun Mountain, the villagers didn’t dare to go to the middle of the mountain for a while. They could only look for wild vegetables and pick up branches at the foot of the mountain.

"We need to buy a few more paddy fields." Ji Wenhe looked up at the easternmost part and continued, "After Wenshan and his wife get married, each family will need at least three acres of land."

"Two acres of land is too little. Oh, and there's also a vegetable garden."

She almost forgot that the family only had three acres of vegetable garden, divided into three parts, and not many vegetables could be grown on that piece of land.

"Buy the two paddy fields and the dry land together, and buy the remaining paddy fields separately."

Shen Rongshan asked, "Didn't you say before that we don't want to buy dry land? We can grow vegetables on wasteland."

"I've thought about buying two more vegetable plots. It takes too much time to maintain wasteland. What if they get married at the end of next year? How can I give them the land to grow vegetables if I don't maintain the wasteland well?"

Some things are unpredictable. To avoid trouble in the future, it is better to buy two vegetable plots.

"Sure, I listen to you."

Ji Wenhe raised his eyebrows and smiled: "I'll discuss it with the two brothers when I get home."

"No need to discuss, they all listen to you, and I will listen to you too."

She makes the decisions on all matters big and small at home.

"What do you mean by listening to you or him?"

A voice sounded behind the two of them.

They both turned their heads and looked behind them, and saw Zhao Sanniang walking towards them from the foot of the mountain.

Shen Rongshan called out, "Aunt Zhao."

The number of words they had spoken could be counted on one hand.

Ji Wenhe asked, "Aunt Zhao, are you going to the mountain?"

"I didn't go up the mountain. I just wandered around halfway up the mountain and went to pick up branches with your Uncle Ping. He's behind me and hasn't come back yet."

"Aunt Zhao, please don't think I'm nagging you. If you're pregnant, don't go to the mountains. You have to be careful."

"Oh, I know." She was grateful that someone cared about her, so how could she complain about being nagged?

"At home, your uncle Ping doesn't let me do anything, not even play the game of knitting, because he's afraid that my waist will get uncomfortable if I sit for too long."

"I was bored at home alone, so I followed him up the mountain to pick up branches, being very careful."

Ji Wenhe walked to the fence and said, "Aunt Zhao, please don't come over here. The smell is strong and irritating to the nose."

Zhao Sanniang smiled and shook her head: "I'm used to it. You guys carry the chicken manure to the vegetable garden."

"Yes, let's swap the soil on both sides."

"Oh, that's quite troublesome. Why don't you just carry the chicken manure to the vegetable garden? Why do you have to carry the soil over there?"

She explained: "We are worried that the soil in the vegetable field will pile up higher and higher, and the wasteland will become less and less. If there is a heavy rain, the land will be flooded."

"I plan to plant corn next year, but the land is too low and I'm afraid the rain will kill the crops."

Zhao Sanniang nodded in understanding: "There are no gullies on your wasteland. It will be difficult to drain water after it rains. You have to dig gullies."

"We'll dig out the ditch next year after we plant corn. There's no rush now."

As they were talking, Shen Ping was seen coming down the mountain holding a branch.

Ji Wenhe shouted, "Uncle Ping, you went to the mountain to pick up branches, why did you bring Aunt Zhao with you?"

"I didn't let her go with me, but she insisted on going with me. It's a good opportunity. You can talk to your aunt and let her go to your house to play when she's bored. I'm worried about her being alone at home."

"You stay at home and spend more time with Aunt Zhao. When you go to work in town, you can let Aunt Zhao come to our house to play."

Shen Ping walked to the edge of the wasteland with a smile on his face: "I will go to the town to work in a few days. Please come to my house when you are free. I am really worried about her being alone at home."

He went to work in town, and he couldn't bring her with him, nor could he stay at home with her all the time. He had to make money so that they could live a good life.

Ji Wenhe nodded with a smile: "No problem, Uncle Ping doesn't plan to stay at home for a few more days."

"I can't stay here any longer. Find a good job and come back at the end of the year." He looked at Zhao Sanniang, "I'll come back to see you when I have time. If there's anything at home, come find Wen He, or go find An Guo's mother."

Shen Ping glanced at Shen Rongshan who was picking up soil by the vegetable field and said, "Rongshan's family is easy to talk to. If there is something going on at home, I asked him to go to town and tell me something."

"Yeah, I know." Lan Qiuhua and Ji Wenhe are the two best friends she has had since she came to Shenjia Village.