Chapter 39: Space Farming ③
Nie Aifang paused, put down the things in her hands, and ruffled Nie Qiu’s hair with some effort. “Qiu Qiu, I’m sorry, I completely forgot. Besides pork skin, we haven’t eaten meat in a long time. Don’t worry, I’ll go buy a few pounds of fish tomorrow and make fish for you.”
Nie Qiu nodded and said with a smile, “Okay. Then I’ll go buy ingredients for the barbecue tomorrow?”
Nie Aifang remembered Nie Qiu using the money for exam papers to buy dumplings before. She knew her daughter might need money for something. Without any objection, she took two hundred yuan from inside the house and handed it to Nie Qiu. “Okay, you can start by learning to buy groceries. Oh, and I need to tell you, chicken wings, fish balls, and fried chicken legs are all bought from the frozen refrigerator in the supermarket. Just buy one bag of each. Don’t buy ham sausages at the supermarket; they’re more expensive there. Buy them at the wholesale market. You also need to buy some steamed buns, dried tofu, and gluten at the vegetable market.”
Nie Qiu nodded, indicating she understood, then looked at the money in her hand. She actually… didn’t want Nie Aifang’s money. But if she didn’t take Nie Aifang’s money, how would she explain where the vegetables she brought out came from?
She felt helpless, unable to think of any other better solution.
In the evening, she entered the space. The area that was originally a lawn had been developed into a plot of land. Walking along, she saw that these vegetables were growing very well. Looking at the plump fruits and the beautifully grown vegetables, she couldn’t help but gasp in surprise, “These seeds… are so good?” The farmer uncle didn’t lie to her.
“It’s my space that’s good. Even inferior seeds, as long as they are living things, can grow in the space.” Seemingly satisfied with Nie Qiu’s surprised expression, Da also couldn’t help but boast happily.
Yes, they were very good, exceptionally good. The chili peppers weren’t crooked or misshapen, nor were they particularly large, but they looked smooth and shiny. The chives, celery, and green onions were growing very well, not too old, not too tender, just right. The sweet potatoes, asparagus, and corn all looked very good.
Even lotus root had grown in the stream.
Nie Qiu looked up at the sky and smiled, “Da, I don’t remember buying lotus root seeds.”
Da chuckled and said, “You need lotus root for the barbecue, right? Here, as long as the spiritual energy is sufficient, it’s not a problem to grow anything. You won’t need to buy seeds anymore. After these plants come into contact with spiritual energy, when they mature, they will drop seeds themselves and continue to reproduce and grow in a cycle.”
Nie Qiu smiled, “If that’s the case, that would be great.”
Nie Qiu looked up at the sky. “Da, plants need photosynthesis, and they also need nighttime, right?”
“Look at the trees and flowers here. Do you think they would grow well without nighttime?” Da asked with a smile.
Nie Qiu put aside her worries and smiled. It seemed there was no need to worry about these things; the trees and flowers here were surviving very well.
The next morning, after breakfast, Nie Qiu and Nie Aifang left home and went their separate ways. One went to the vegetable market, and the other went to the market to buy live animals. After Nie Qiu bought the ingredients she didn’t have in her space from the supermarket and vegetable market, she returned home. Because she didn’t haggle when buying groceries, she returned quite quickly. She took out the plastic bags she had bought and returned to her room, then entered the space.
With the help of Da’s space’s spiritual energy, each vegetable was packed into a large bag. Nie Qiu carried the bags out of the space one by one, then out of the room, and placed them with the ingredients she had bought.
After finally packing a bag of corn, Nie Qiu looked at the large area of unharvested vegetables. “Da, you said there are four seasons a day. Will these vegetables spoil tomorrow?”
“Of course! New ones will grow tomorrow, and the old ones will naturally die! Natural replacement is unavoidable!” Da’s voice sounded matter-of-fact.
Nie Qiu looked at the cleared land with some regret. It was such a shame! Yes, a real shame. When she didn’t understand the hardships of life, she never thought about being frugal. At the dining table, she always finished the food in her bowl, but the leftovers on the plate would be thrown into the trash can by the nanny. It was the same when eating at restaurants. But now, knowing that life is not easy, she felt it was a great pity to waste food.
However, whether it’s the outside world or this space, natural replacement and the succession of old and new are unavoidable. It’s like people; even though they know they will die one day, they still live on instead of choosing to die.
When Nie Aifang returned, she was surprised to see the vegetables Nie Qiu had bought. “Qiu Qiu, where did you buy these? These vegetables look so good.” The vegetables looked very vibrant, but they must not have been cheap.
Nie Aifang put the fish she was holding back in the kitchen, then walked up to Nie Qiu. “Qiu Qiu, how much did these vegetables cost per pound?”
How much per pound? Nie Qiu was stunned. How could she have forgotten to ask about the market price of vegetables at the vegetable market! How would she answer Nie Aifang now?
Seeing Nie Qiu’s startled expression, Nie Aifang couldn’t help but smile and comfort her. “Don’t be scared, Mom isn’t blaming you for buying them expensively. It’s just that we’re buying for a barbecue, and all the vegetables need to be washed and cut. People can’t tell the size or quality. I’m not saying we have to buy bad vegetables, but buying cheaper ones is better.”
Nie Aifang took a potato out of a plastic bag. “Like this potato. This potato must be at least four yuan a pound. But if I bought potatoes at the market, I would buy potatoes for two yuan a pound. Although there might be some bumps and bruises, and they’d be much smaller than this potato, we could save twenty yuan by buying ten pounds. Qiu Qiu, do you understand what I mean?”
Nie Qiu lowered her head. She naturally understood what she meant. However, besides the money spent on seeds, she had spent almost no money on these vegetables. But she couldn’t say that. She didn’t know if such a thing would be acceptable to people, because it was too astonishing. If she hadn’t been reborn into someone else’s body, she herself would have found it hard to accept.
Nie Aifang smiled and put the potato back in the bag. “Mom isn’t blaming you, Qiu Qiu.”
Nie Qiu looked up and forced a smile. “I know.”
Nie Aifang affectionately stroked Nie Qiu’s head and went to the kitchen to prepare lunch. Nie Qiu looked at the table full of ingredients and sighed. Would this really work? Starting tomorrow, she would have to go to school, and she would only have time on Saturdays and Sundays to tell lies like today. But if she went to school, what about the vegetables in the space?
How could she help this family? How could she truly help Nie Aifang? How could she truly earn money?
She still had a full two hundred yuan in her purse. The money she spent today on ingredients not available in the space came from the money left over from buying seeds.
