Chapter 516: Chapter 266 Corn_2
Although she had an additional year, she still felt just as grateful to Shen Qian.
"No inconvenience at all, leave this matter to me, Manman, you can rest assured," Shen Qian said confidently.
"Alright then. Xiao Jiu, if it’s not available, then it’s fine. But if you can really get more maize, remember to send it to me as soon as possible," Lian Manman instructed. If Shen Qian returned and immediately got the maize, having someone send it to her would not delay the spring planting at all.
"Got it, don’t worry, Manman," Shen Qian nodded.
...
After Lian Manman left, Shen Liu quickly set off with Shen Qian and returned to Prefecture City.
By evening of the same day, in the Lian’s West Wing Room, Lian Manman carefully placed a small Chinese basket full of stripped maize kernels on the table. She took out two handfuls and, much like germinating sorghum, kidney beans, and cucumbers, she put them into two large bowls, watered them, covered them with gauze, and set them atop the kang.
The whole family gathered around the table, watching Lian Manman’s actions.
"This maize thing, is it really edible?" Lady Zhang was the first to ask.
Of course, it’s edible, Lian Manman thought. But she couldn’t say that with certainty, as she had never heard anyone talk about eating maize, it would not be right to assert so confidently.
"I think it’s edible," Lian Manman said purposely with a bit of hesitation, "Even if it’s not, if it grows, it can also be sold for money... Shen Xiaojiu said this is a rare thing, the maize seeds were even given to his family by the Empress. He also said that the grown maize looks very nice... As the Empress and the Shen Family both value maize so highly, if we grow it, we can certainly sell it for a good amount of money."
"Manman is right, such a precious thing, once grown, would surely fetch a good price," Lian Shouxin contemplated before speaking up.
Lady Zhang also nodded in agreement.
Lian Zhizhi, Wu Lang, and Xiao Qi, of course, had no objections to Lian Manman planting maize.
Lian Manman breathed a sigh of relief. Actually, she had another thought in mind. When they grew the maize and let everyone know its benefits, and popularized the way to eat maize, then just selling the seeds next year could earn them a handsome profit.
Moreover, by promoting maize, she would also be doing a good deed. Not only enriching the variety of food for the people but also enabling more people to have enough to eat.
This kind of beneficial activity for both others and herself, how could she not give it her all.
"Manman, do you know how to plant this maize? Is this way of germinating going to work?" Wu Lang asked.
"Why wouldn’t it work? I think planting maize should be quite similar to planting sorghum. Germinating it like this couldn’t be wrong," Lian Manman replied. In her previous life, she loved eating tender maize. She had watched her grandmother plant maize in her home garden. Tender maize needed to be planted earlier than field maize in order to harvest it sooner, which required germination. For the field maize, before planting, it just needed to be soaked a bit.
"If this doesn’t work, we still have plenty left," Lian Manman added, even though she was quite certain in her heart.
"Dad, Mom, let’s clear out a bit of land next to our vegetable garden. When this maize sprouts, let’s plant it, okay?" Lian Manman discussed it with Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang.
"Okay, why not. Anyway, that plot of land is lying fallow," Lady Zhang responded.
The plot of land they had bought was not yet fully utilized. Besides reserving space for future house construction, some parts could be used for planting vegetables or crops. Their family, consisting of six members, had limited energy, and the garden area they had already cleared was quite extensive.
...
Tenant farmers start planting during Grain Rain season. The season has not yet arrived, so while Lian Manman waited for the maize to germinate, she also looked forward to Shen Jiu bringing more maize.
The kite that Shen Qian exchanged with them was carefully stored by her. The brocade pouch from Shen Qian was also placed in the cabinet for safekeeping. It wasn’t just because of the value of these two items, but also because the friendship from Fatty Shen was worth cherishing carefully.
Even if everyone grew up later and the friendship dissolved due to differences in status, it would not change the present.
During this time, the family was very busy. Thanks to Shen Liu’s previous visit and the steamed buns that he had eaten from them, their breakfast shop became even more popular, and the number of customers coming for steamed buns surged. Lady Zhang was considering hiring another helper.
The laundry service business was also doing better. Seeing her steadily growing personal savings, Lian Manman could not conceal the smile on her face. Lady Zhao and Lian Yeye also started saving more private money with her.
In preparation for spring farming, after finishing the work in the shop, Lian Shouxin would drive the ox cart full of well-rotted manure to the fields each day. At this time, Lian Shouxin deeply felt the benefits of having the ox cart.
"If it weren’t for this cart, just transporting the manure to the field with my flatbed cart, I’d have collapsed from fatigue these past few days. Fatigue is one thing, but we’re short on time right now," Lian Shouxin, after feeding Little Yellow Ox and returning to the shop, spoke to Lady Zhang with a sense of relief.
"Definitely, having this ox has really saved us a lot of trouble," Lady Zhang agreed.
"When it comes time to plant, the ox will be even more useful. This money was well spent," Lian Manman said with a smile.
"Yes, truly well spent," Lian Shouxin nodded.
While the family was chatting, someone knocked on the door of the shop from outside.
Lian Shouxin went to open the door.
Zhao Wencai, with two wrapped cakes in his hands, stood at the door with a beaming smile. Seeing Lian Shouxin, the smile lines on his face deepened.
"Brother Old Fourth, your Brother Zhao has come to visit you," he said.
**...****
The second watch, asking for pinks. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast recommendation votes, monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)
