Chapter 37: Space Farming ①
“Okay, I understand.” Nie Qiu nodded, indicating she understood. She changed her clothes and planned to go to the market to buy some seeds before Nie Aifang returned. Since this was a mutually beneficial matter, Nie Qiu didn’t intend to refuse any further. As for how to harvest these plants after they matured and how to give them to Nie Aifang, she would only make plans for that tomorrow.
Nie Qiu arrived at the vegetable market and walked directly towards the stall selling seeds. The seeds were packed in bags or contained in containers. Nie Qiu had no experience, but she thought that since she couldn’t see the seeds packed in bags, she would buy the ones in containers.
She asked the boss for a bag and began scooping the seeds from the containers into the bag.
“Little girl, are you buying so many mung beans to make congee at home?” A farmer who was also buying seeds saw Nie Qiu’s actions and couldn’t help but ask.
Nie Qiu scooped while replying, “I’m buying them to plant at home.”
“Plant?” The farmer uncle was stunned. “These mung beans have all been dried out; how can they possibly grow? If you want seeds to plant, you should buy the ones in bags. These in the containers are meant to be cooked and eaten directly; they can’t be used as seeds.”
Nie Qiu stopped, her face turning bright red. “I didn’t know. It’s my first time buying seeds.” She had lived in the city since she was a child and had never been to the countryside. Even when she went to the countryside, it was for tourism. She had never done farm work, so how would she know how to sell seeds or plant seedlings?
“Hahaha, ignorance is forgivable.” The farmer uncle picked up a bag of seeds and asked Nie Qiu, “What seeds did your parents ask you to buy? I’ll help you pick them out; I guarantee I’ll pick the best ones. I know which brands of corn are good, which brands of peanuts are good, and which brands of soybeans are good.”
“All of them! Uncle, please help me pick them out; I want them all,” Nie Qiu said happily.
The farmer uncle was taken aback. “How much land do you have? Will you get scolded if you buy too much and bring it home?”
“No, Uncle, please help me pick them. I’ll pay for what you buy, is that okay?” Picking seeds was actually a skill. Nie Qiu never knew that the things in containers could be cooked and eaten; they were dead seeds and wouldn’t grow.
“I’ll only buy a bag of peanut seeds. It’s just the beginning of summer, so it’s time to plant the second crop of peanuts.” After picking out over a dozen bags of seeds for Nie Qiu, the farmer handed them to her. “Why would I need you to pay me? You’re such a young girl; you’ll get scolded if you spend too much money.”
Nie Qiu shook her head, had the boss pack the dozen or so bags of seeds she was holding into a plastic bag, and asked, “Boss, how much are all these seeds in total?”
“Eighty-five yuan in total,” the boss said.
Nie Qiu was stunned. “Seeds… are this expensive?” A bag of seeds wasn’t even two ounces, how could it be so expensive?
The farmer uncle laughed. “Little girl, I told you you don’t understand, didn’t I? These seeds are much more expensive than the harvested produce. Let me tell you, a pound of long beans is two yuan, but two ounces of long bean seeds cost twenty yuan.”
The boss also smiled. “Little girl, I’m giving you a discount because you’re buying so much! This one bag of seeds can plant two to three mu of land!”
Nie Qiu’s face turned a little red. Was this what they called not knowing the value of food? She had eaten a lot of rice and many dishes but didn’t know where they came from. She remembered someone in university making a joke about not being able to distinguish between soybeans and green beans. Nowadays, how many city children knew when rice ripened, when wheat was planted? How many seasons did cabbage have? How many types of green onions were there?
And her? Wasn’t she the same?
Nie Qiu opened the packed bags and took out the peanut seeds, long bean seeds, tomato seeds, and rice seeds. Wanting everything? Nie Qiu found it a bit funny herself. Could these things be used for barbecue? Although she could plant some to eat as dishes, buying too much wouldn’t be good, right?
“Boss, how much are all these remaining ones?”
“Thirty-eight yuan. Little girl, is this your first time buying seeds? You deserve a reward. Wait a moment, I’ll give you something.” Saying that, the boss went inside and came out with a few ounces of black rice in a bag. “Here, take this black rice home and cook it for porridge; it’s good for blood and energy.”
Nie Qiu smiled and accepted, paid the money, and left the vegetable market amidst the admiring glances of the boss and the farmer uncle. Another thirty-eight yuan was gone! She originally only had ninety-nine yuan, and now another thirty-eight yuan was gone, leaving her with sixty-one yuan.
She looked at the bright sun in the sky and remembered that before, in her tutoring class, there was a male teacher who was born in the countryside. That teacher had proposed taking the students to the countryside to experience life and feel it, but she had rejected this proposal with the excuse that it would affect their studies.
Actually, thinking about it now, it wasn’t a bad idea. Only by experiencing the hardships of life could one strive harder, right? Just like her now.
When Nie Qiu returned home, Nie Aifang had not yet returned. She opened all the seeds and put them in a bag, then entered the space, holding a shovel in her hand, which was the garbage shovel used at home for sweeping.
As soon as Nie Qiu entered, the little rabbit listlessly walked to Nie Qiu’s feet and rubbed against her. Nie Qiu stroked the little rabbit’s fluffy head, then looked up at the sky and asked, “Dà, where can I plant them?”
Dà smiled. “Just leave the seeds here, and I’ll make sure they have suitable places to grow. However, you must take out the plastic bag and shovel you brought into the space. These things will affect the spiritual energy of the space.”
Nie Qiu nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. “To be honest, I’ve never done farm work. No, to be precise, before doing heavy work, I’ve never even washed clothes.” She knew how to iron clothes, but she had never washed them.
Dà chuckled softly. “If you can, you can also buy some animals to raise. The more living things there are, the denser the spiritual energy will become.”
Nie Qiu smiled. “I understand. Mom should be back soon, so I’ll go out now. Goodbye.” Without waiting for Dà to reply, she poured the seeds onto the grassland, picked up the plastic bag and shovel, and left the space.
As expected, as soon as Nie Qiu left the space, she heard sounds from the kitchen. She walked out of her room and saw Nie Aifang cooking on the balcony kitchen. “Mom, is the car fixed?”
Nie Aifang finished washing the rice and poured it into the pot. “Yes, we’ll use the new car to set up the stall tonight, but… we didn’t make dumplings today… sigh…”
Nie Qiu heard the regret in Nie Aifang’s tone and smiled. “What does it matter? We can make them next time. I believe everyone knows what happened yesterday, so they won’t blame us today. We’ll just make more dumplings tomorrow.”
Nie Aifang smiled. “That’s right, we’ll make more tomorrow.”
