Chapter 494: Chapter 255: Germination_2
Lian Manman carried an empty water ladle as she walked back and saw Old Master Lian crouching down, standing in the vegetable garden underneath the eastern wing room.
"Grandpa, what are you doing there?"
As Lian Manman asked, she walked over and looked into the garden over the low wall.
Old Master Lian was standing next to a square vegetable patch. The soil in the patch was very moist, filled with green, sprouting seedlings, and beside it was a damp straw mat.
"I’m checking how the tobacco seedlings are coming along," Old Master Lian lifted his head and said.
Old Master Lian loved smoking dry tobacco, and it was said that this year, he planned to plant the entire eastern garden with it. Tobacco is a delicate species, needing to be grown from seedlings first before being transplanted. Old Master Lian dug a small vegetable patch and covered it with a straw mat to keep it warm, only revealing the seedlings to the sun at midday when it was warm.
This whole garden of tobacco seedlings was not only enough for Old Master Lian’s personal use but could also sell for an extra two to three hundred pounds. Tobacco fetched a much higher price than ordinary vegetables, but it also required more meticulous care, and the process of drying after harvesting was time-consuming and labor-intensive.
"They seem to be coming out quite well. Grandpa, when will you start planting them?" Lian Manman said.
"We have to wait a few more days, the seedlings are still too small. They need to be the length of a palm before we can plant them," Old Master Lian compared with his hand to show Lian Manman. As a seasoned farmer, he loved discussing the topics of planting vegetables and crops. Among the younger generation in the family, especially among the girls, only Lian Manman showed interest in these matters, hence Old Master Lian’s fondness for her grew even more.
"Later, ask your dad if you’re planting tobacco this year. There are enough seedlings," Old Master Lian said to Lian Manman.
"Okay, I’ll ask my dad later," Lian Shouxin didn’t have the habit of smoking dry tobacco, and Lian Manman’s family hadn’t planned to plant it this year. Nevertheless, Lian Manman responded this way.
By this time, Lian Zhizhi had finished feeding the chickens and ducks. Lian Manman put back the ladle in the house, and the sisters checked everything inside and out before locking the door and heading to the snack shop.
Once they reached the official road, the sisters separated. Lian Zhizhi went straight to the snack shop to help Lady Zhang cook. Lian Manman, on the other hand, headed to the new shop’s construction site to see Lian Shouxin.
In order to speed up the construction schedule and finish the building before the busy farming season, Lian Shouxin later hired more workers. Now, the beams of the new shop were in place, and the rafters and other parts had been fitted. Yesterday they worked on the roof, and today they were on the final important step—tiling, which is laying tiles on the roof.
Tiling requires specialized craftsmen to do it well, so there weren’t many people on the roof. Many more were busy with various bits of finishing work inside and outside the building.
Behind the shop, workers were building a wall to enclose a small courtyard. Inside the courtyard stood two rooms, built from leftover materials from the construction of the shop, intended for future hired workers’ living quarters and storage. In a corner of the courtyard was a pen prepared for Little Yellow Ox.
In front of the shop, a few workers were also busy laying out flower beds with broken bricks. This was at Lian Manman’s request. They were also tidying up the empty space next to the shop, where wooden stakes or stone blocks were being placed for future customers to tie up their horses or park their vehicles.
Lian Shouxin, busy coordinating everything inside and out, already had the demeanor of a supervisor.
Building a house is a draining and strenuous task. These past days of hard work had left Lian Shouxin with little to no proper sleep, he was eating more than before, yet he looked thinner, but his spirits were better than at any time before.
At this critical final stage of construction, there could be no slacking off.
"Manman, what are we having for lunch?" Lian Shouxin asked when he saw Lian Manman arrive.
"Mother said we’re having pork stewed with glass noodles," Lian Manman crisply replied.
"Did everyone hear that? We’re having pork stewed with glass noodles for lunch!" Lian Shouxin shouted to the people working on the house.
Cheers immediately erupted from above and below the house, in front and at the back. It was well-known that the Lian family provided excellent meals during construction. With the promise of a hearty meal of pork stewed with glass noodles ahead, everyone felt invigorated to work harder.
Lian Manman chuckled to herself, knowing full well that Lian Shouxin did this on purpose. This morale-boosting tactic was truly infallible.
...
After lunch, Lian Shouxin took people back to the new shop. Lian Manman discussed with Lady Zhang the matter of starting to plant vegetables.
"Mother, let’s put up the fencing today," Lian Manman suggested. It would take another day or two for the seeds to sprout. The land they bought was not surrounded by a fence, so they had to put up fencing around the vegetable garden to prevent chickens, ducks, and such from getting in and ruining the crops.
"Okay," Lady Zhang nodded.
Lady Zhao and Lian Yeye had lunch at the snack shop and didn’t rush back. Today, no laundry was urgently waiting to be washed, and both said they would stay to help. The Hall-Runner, Shi Wazi, also offered his assistance.
"Mom, Xiao Qi and I will go hitch the plough to the ox. If we can get the furrows ploughed before school, it will save you from having to dig them out one by one," Wu Lang said as he went to the back to lead the ox and hitch up the plow.
Xiao Qi led the ox, and Wu Lang followed behind with the plow, drawing a trench about half a foot deep around the perimeter of the vegetable garden. Lian Manman and the others followed and put up the fencing. They used cleaned straw without leaves, inserted it into the trench, refilled the sides with soil, and then stamped it down with their feet. To reinforce the fencing, they would usually top it with horizontal straw and bind it firmly with Malan leaves as twine.
With the help of the plow and the ox, this process saved a lot of time and effort.
After completing the fencing, Lian Manman returned to the shop where she was sorting out the accounts when she heard footsteps outside.
"Oh, Mr. Loo has arrived!"
***...***
I’m feeling unwell, hence the late update.
Here’s one installment for now. I’ll strive for a second one tonight. Begging for your pink votes. (To be continued. If you enjoy this book, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
