Chapter 127: Farming (1)
Editor: Atlas Studios
Standing on his tiptoes slightly, Old Hu saw that there was indeed ice on the cart. As the wooden bucket on the cart was too far away, he could not see it clearly and could only vaguely see the ice on the surface of the bucket.
“Children like to fool around. This river is dangerous. Don’t get too close and be careful not to fall into it.”
Mu Yangling responded and pulled the cart back to the backyard. Seeing that the two children’s hands were red from the cold, Shu Wanniang couldn’t help but feel sorry for them. “Alright, alright. This is enough. You’re not allowed to go again. Aren’t you afraid of freezing?”
Mu Yangling took out the bucket. There was a piece of ice on it, and under it was a struggling big fish.
She first put the ice in and piled up half of the cellar before carrying the vat in and freezing it with ice.
There were still a few lively fish in the wooden bucket. Little Bowen put them in water to be raised, so that they would get to eat fresh ones these few days.
Mu Yangling took two out for Shu Wanniang and drooled. “Mother, braise one and poach the other.”
Shu Wanniang tapped her forehead with a smile. “Gluttonous cat.”
The fish that Mu Yangling picked out weighed three to four catties. Shu Wanniang was originally worried that she wouldn’t be able to finish it, but surprisingly in the end, it was picked clean by the children. By the time they were done, there was only a set of fish bones and some soup left on the table.
Mu Yangling hugged her stomach and said, “The fish that are naturally caught in the river are delicious. I’ll go to the river to chisel ice tomorrow.”
Shu Wanniang said with a smile, “You’re lucky today. It’s only because the ice surface hasn’t been broken yet that you could catch so many fish after digging a hole. Today, after you broke the ice surface, the ice on the top started to melt. Since the oxygen in the water won’t be as scarce as before, how can you catch as many as today again?”
Mu Yangling chuckled. “Let’s give it a try, regardless. If there are fish, I’ll take them. If not, I’ll just transport the ice back and put it in the cellar.”
Shu Wanniang was stunned. “Why are you going again? Isn’t there enough ice?”
“It’s enough, but I just want to get more to store in the cellar. Perhaps this ice might not have melted by the time summer arrives and can be used to reduce the heat.”
Shu Wanniang looked at her daughter helplessly. “Don’t you find it cold?”
“I like to play with water.”
Hearing her daughter’s words, Shu Wanniang didn’t stop her. She just said, “Then be careful. Don’t fall.”
Mu Yangling agreed happily.
The next day, when Mu Yangling went to the river again, someone was already knocking on the ice. It turned out that early in the morning, someone came to the river and saw that there were fish in the hole Mu Yangling had created. So, he ran home to get a net to catch the fish, which triggered the ‘ice-knocking battle’.
After Mu Yangling loaded two carts of ice and netted a bucket of fish, she stopped. Instead, she squatted at the entrance of the canal and watched the speed at which the ice melted.
Two days later, there was only a thin layer of ice left on the river. Some of that ice had even melted into the water. The water level rose to the edge of everyone’s farming land. Only then did everyone snap out of their enthusiasm for fishing and look at the river nervously, afraid that it would rise further and drown their land.
Mu Yangling saw that there was already water leaking into the canal from the river, but because there were still some ice blocks blocking the way, there was not much water coming out. After looking up and down, Mu Yangling finally knocked off the layer of ice with her stick. The water that had been blocked instantly spewed into the channel.
At this moment, Qi Haoran was also standing at the entrance of Reservoir No. 1. Seeing the ice on the river melt and the water level rise, he took the hoe from Mu Shi and shattered the ice at the entrance. Then, the water in the river slowly changed course and flowed into the reservoir…
Qi Haoran returned the hoe to Mu Shi and said, “Go and smash the ice at the entrances of the other two reservoirs. Also, clean up the ice at the mouth of the canal. Announce to the entire camp that they will have a seven-day break after training for a day tomorrow. After seven days, regardless of the situation of your farming, I want all of you to return to the camp for training. Do you hear me?”
“Yes!”
Only then did Qi Haoran leave with his sword. Following behind him, Fan Zijin said, “Considering the other camps didn’t give their soldiers a break, is it a good idea for you to do this?”
“What’s not good about it? Anyway, Big Brother said that it’s not our turn to go to the battlefield for the time being. In that case, we might as well guarantee next year’s rations first,” Qi Haoran said gloomily. “Big Brother Jiang has already faced the enemy three times with his troops…”
Fan Zijin smiled when he heard that. “Alright, next year at the latest, I’m sure you will get to go to war.”
“I’m going to fight with my trained soldiers.”
Mu Yangling did not know about Qi Haoran’s lofty aspirations. Her biggest goal now was to become a farming expert and lead her family to a rich and healthy life.
On the night Mu Shi returned home, Madam Ma-Liu poured out the seeds she had brought back and said, “Tomorrow, we’ll plant wheat first. As for rice, we’ll use the 13 acres near the river to plant rice. We’ll plant wheat on the remaining land. Coincidentally, the seeds given to us are also mostly wheat.”
As Mu Yangling squatted on the ground and touched the rather plump seeds, she asked, “Then when are we going to start raising rice seedlings?”
“We’ll go down when the weather clears.” Madam Ma-Liu was used to farming and had already calculated in her heart before the ice melted.
“Tomorrow, we’ll take out the plow and plow the ten acres of high-grade land in the south first.”
Mu Shi and Mu Yangling did not know anything about farming, so they did whatever Madam Ma-Liu said.
The next day, the family carried their things to the edge of the field in the south. When Madam Ma-Liu saw the tender green seedlings on the ground, she said with a happy smile, “Now that the temperature of the ground has risen, the grass is sprouting. We can start planting now. Come, bring the plow over. I’ll teach you to start planting.”
Mu Yangling eagerly carried the iron plow over and let Madam Ma-Liu help her plow two lines. “Rocky, did you see it clearly? Plow this depth at this speed. When you plant the seeds later, cover the mud with your feet and it’ll be done.” Madam Ma-Liu said regretfully, “It’s a pity that we don’t have fertilizer. There isn’t even base fertilizer this year, so we can only plant without any fertilizer. Later, I’ll get your uncle to go to the city to ask around and see if he can buy some night soil to make up for it.”
Mu Shi and Mu Yangling widened their eyes. “N-night soil?”
Madam Ma-Liu glared at them. “What’s there to make a fuss about? If there’s not enough fertilizer in the fields, don’t we have to go to the city to buy night soil? Since we have a lot of land, we are buying in large quantities. Plus, we’ll go with your uncle and the others to see if we can lower the price.”
Mu Yangling felt her stomach churn. After a while, she heard herself ask, “Do you use the night soil directly after buying it?”
“Of course not. Dream on. How can our family have so much money to buy night soil? We still have to dilute it with water and mud. Moreover, too much of it will damage the seedlings. Anyway, this is a matter for the future. Let’s plant the land first. Rocky, you help with the plow. I’ll go plant the seeds.”
Mu Shi stared at the iron plow in front of him and couldn’t bring himself to do it. He knew very well that he hadn’t mastered it at all.
Seeing her father’s conflicted expression, Mu Yangling hesitated for a moment before saying, “Why don’t I do it?”
Mu Shi immediately stuffed the iron plow into his daughter’s hands. “Alright, you do it. I’ll do the pulling.”
Mu Yangling: “…”