148 Learning to Farm
Chen Yaohui and the others looked around outside and saw that most of the victims were sallow and thin. They were wearing thin clothes on a cold day and had to fight for a few copper coins to carry bags. Only then did they know how beautiful their lives were.
After this episode, Li Yu felt that the people in the village were a little strange these days. Every time they saw her and Zhou Jia, they were respectful. Even the few people who have been shoddy had changed.
The days in Phoenix Village returned to peace. In the blink of an eye, it was spring again. Shopkeeper Chu sent a few farmers to Li Yu’s manor to study.
After those farmers saw Li Yu, they all felt that it was too embarrassing for them to learn farming from a young girl. Most of them looked disapproving.
Li Yu didn’t care about the attitude of those farmers at all. She was happy to see that Shopkeeper Chu had also brought a cart of salt for choosing rice seeds.
Li Yu brought Er Ya and Ruyi to the manor with Shopkeeper Chu.
Li Yu smiled and said to Shopkeeper Chu, “I’ve long wanted to try the salt solution that Master mentioned, but I gave up because the salt was too expensive.”
Shopkeeper Chu smiled. “Miss Li, this salt has just arrived. Try it. If it’s indeed effective, we’ll provide salt for your farm in the future.”
Li Yu waved her hand. “There’s no need for that. It’s not worth it to use salt to choose the species. I just want to try.”
When the farmers saw that Li Yu still wanted to soak the soil in salt water, they stood at the side and muttered, “We’ve been farming for most of our lives and have to come to learn farming from a young girl.”
An old man advised, “Old Wang, stop muttering. Since we’re already here, let’s take a good look.”
“Alright, we’ll listen to Brother He and see if she can grow a flower.”
Ruyi and Er Ya filled a large vat with water. Li Yu weighed the salt and mixed it according to the ratio. She took an egg and placed it on it to test the buoyancy of the salt water. Seeing that half of the egg had sunk, she added some salt to the water. She only stopped when only the size of a copper coin was revealed.
Li Yu asked Ruyi to bring over the rice seeds that had been exposed to the sun and dried. Master He grabbed a handful of rice seeds and looked surprised.
He turned to Old Wang and the other farmers and said, “Come and take a look at the rice seeds on their farm.”
Old Wang and the farmers surrounded the wicker basket. After grabbing a handful of rice seeds and looking at them, they said in a sour tone, “These rice seeds are really plump! Do we still need to choose such seeds?”
Er Ya looked at their sour gazes and thought to herself, Weren’t you muttering just now that my Miss is just a little girl? You must be envious and jealous now!
Li Yu looked at Old He and smiled. “Master He, you have to choose the seed before planting. After I do it and show it to you, you can try it.”
Master He was already somewhat convinced by Li Yu. He cupped his hands and smiled. “Thank you, Miss Li. I’ll remember it well.”
Li Yu poured the rice seeds into the vat with salt water and stirred the rice seeds forcefully. She scooped out the shriveled seeds floating on the water. After the basket of rice seeds was soaked in salt water, she scooped out more than a catty of shriveled seeds.
Li Yu lifted the wicker basket out of the vat and said to Ruyi, “Hurry up and pour the rice seeds into clear water to wash them clean. Then, pour them into the prepared lime water to soak them.”
“Yes, girl.” Ruyi and Erya carried the rice seeds to be washed and soaked.
Old Wang asked Li Yu in confusion, “Miss Li, your rice seeds are already very full. Why are there still so many shriveled seeds? We didn’t have so many shriveled seeds when we were planting in the past.”
Li Yu looked at Old Wang. “It’s not enough to choose a seed with ordinary clear water. The buoyancy of salt water is even greater. No shriveled seeds or hazelnuts can escape salt water. Do you remember what I did just now?”
Master He cupped his hands respectfully at Li Yu. “Miss Li, as the old saying goes, you’ll learn as you age. I didn’t expect to have to learn from scratch.”
Only then did Shopkeeper Chu say to them, “Old He, you’re all old men. This is a rare opportunity. Learn from Miss Li and see how she farms.”
The few of them cupped their hands and said, “We’ll remember, Head Shopkeeper.” Shopkeeper Chu handed a few village heads to Li Yu and returned to Tongzhou.
Li Yu got them to do it in the wooden basin using the salt water selection method. When she was satisfied, she handed them to Ruyi.
Er Ya came back after soaking the seeds. Looking at the salt, she said with heartache, “Miss, choosing with salt water is better than choosing with water. There are a more shriveled seeds, but I think we can buy a lot of food if we exchange these salt for silver.”
Seeing Erya’s pained expression, Li Yu smiled. “Seeing your heartache, remember to let them screen a few more times later. We’ll still use clear water to choose the seeds next time.”
Enya kept nodding. “Got it. Next time, I’ll watch them personally and screen them together.”
The few farmers sent by Shopkeeper Chu stayed in Phoenix Village for a few days. They learned from Li Yu to use salt water to choose seeds and soak them in lime water to stimulate growth. Li Yu handed them to Ruyi and Erya.
They also learned how to fertilize the rice and pollinate the flowers. Only when Shopkeeper Chu came to pull the rice seeds after the autumn harvest did they follow him back to the manor.
After the autumn harvest, it was already late August. The Zhou and Li families began to busy themselves with the wedding banquet.
At the beginning of September, Zhou Jia went to Tongzhou to retrieve the custom-made phoenix crown and jewelry. On the way, he went to the school to bring Li Qing back to the residence in Osmanthus Alley.
When they arrived home, Li Qing bowed to Zhou Jia and said, “Sir, my sister has suffered a lot. I hope that you will cherish her after getting married. Don’t make her sad. Otherwise, no matter how difficult it is, Ah Qing will definitely bring her home.”
Zhou Jia looked at Li Qing and replied solemnly, “Ah Qing, don’t worry. Your brother-in-law will definitely love Xiaoyu and not let her down. He won’t let you down.”
Li Qing nodded and looked at Zhou Jia with a sense of loss. “Sir, after you and my sister get married, when are you going to the capital?”
Zhou Jia walked up to Li Qing and looked at him. He patted his shoulder. “Ah Qing, we’ll set off at the beginning of winter. It’s more than two months away from Tongzhou to the capital. I got someone to buy a few military horses that the Shen family’s army used to pull supplies. It should be faster.”
Li Qing lowered his head and tears fell unconsciously. He thought sadly, I don’t know when I’ll see my sister and Sir again.
Seeing that Li Qing was hanging his head in silence, Zhou Jia couldn’t bear to see him like this. He went forward and hugged him to comfort him. “Ah Qing, Mr. Lin said that you can go down next year. If you can achieve scholar status next year, you can go to the countryside to take the test. Brother-in-law has written down by memory all the previous questions and placed them in the bookcase in your room. You’re the head of the Li family. You can’t cry and make your sister worry.”
Li Qing wiped his tears and looked up at Zhou Jia. “Brother-in-law, don’t worry. I won’t let my sister worry. Please wait for me in the capital with my sister.”
After the master and disciple communicated, they returned to the house, packed up the cart, and rushed back to Phoenix Village.
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