Chapter 104: It’s Really Different [seeking Monthly Votes]
Arriving at the field, the two people carefully picked up the small stones in the field again, and also pulled out the newly grown weeds.
Shi Tou held the cloth bag in one hand and grabbed a handful of vegetable seeds in the other, “Sis, I’m scattering them.”
Shang Wan nodded, watching as Shi Tou scattered handfuls of vegetable seeds into the field.
After the vegetable seeds were scattered, Shang Wan picked up the hoe and evenly covered them with a thin layer of soil.
She turned her head and asked Shi Tou, “What next after covering with soil?”
“Water them.” Shi Tou recalled Old Man Liu’s words, “Just make the soil wet, too much will soak the seeds and ruin them.”
Shang Wan felt the order seemed backward, “Won’t the water wash away the layer of soil on top? The seeds will also get washed together.”
Shi Tou had never planted a field either, scratching his head he said: “How about I go ask Uncle Liu again?”
Shang Wan waved her hand, “No need, you go back and get a water ladle, we’ll splash the water lightly.”
Shi Tou quickly ran back to get the water ladle, and only after his figure was gone did Shang Wan use a branch to draw a square frame half a meter long and half a meter wide in the plot of land in front of her, pressing down the four corners with stones.
She used the vegetable seeds in the frame as a control group.
Cupping a big handful of water from the bucket, Shang Wan had a thought and added a drop of spiritual spring water to it, then gently sprinkled it on the soil inside the frame.
By the time Shi Tou returned, Shang Wan had already watered the soil in the frame.
Seeing it, Shi Tou didn’t ask much, just assuming Shang Wan was bored and watering for fun.
He used the wooden ladle to scoop water and splash it onto the field, and it didn’t take much kung fu for one mu of land.
Wait until seedlings grow, then transplant them to the adjacent field.
Shang Wan said: “Don’t touch these four stones, I added something to this small plot of land. As for what it is, I’ll tell you later.”
The question Shi Tou wanted to ask was stuck in his throat.
Looking at the wet vegetable patch, he worried: “Sis, what if birds come eat our vegetable seeds?”
It was indeed possible, Shang Wan recalled that in the base, planting vegetables seemed to require covering with a film, but this world had no plastic film.
After thinking for a moment, she said: “You go find Yuan Yuan for help.”
Shi Tou: “…”
Seeing his expression was off, Shang Wan asked doubtfully: “What’s wrong?”
Shi Tou: “Sis, Yuan Yuan won’t summon a bunch of things to bite me again, right?”
He had a trauma from being besieged by field mice!
Shang Wan said firmly: “No.”
Only then did Shi Tou relax, and he scurried off happily to find Yuan Yuan for help.
Shang Wan went to the village for a stroll, and when she returned, she had a bunch of fresh bok choy produced by the space in her arms.
“Xiao Huan, use this bok choy to make soup for lunch.”
“Sis, you bought this from the village?” Xiao Huan asked in surprise, “We still have quite a bit of wild vegetables we picked yesterday.”
“Wild vegetables can be eaten in the evening.” Shang Wan said, “I want to eat bok choy, you can make soup or stir-fry it plain.”
Hearing Shang Wan wanted to eat it, Xiao Huan immediately had no objections, “Might as well make both, we’re making meatballs for Yuan Yuan anyway, we can chop some up and add them in, Yuan Yuan loves them too.”
Speaking of meatballs, Shang Wan asked: “How much meat do we have left at home?”
This meat came from wild boar, pheasants, wild rabbits, roe deer, snakes, and a series of other edible small animals.
Xiao Huan said: “The wild boar pork is gone, but there’s still more than half of the roe deer meat from yesterday, enough to eat for several days.”
“We’ll go into the mountains again after it’s finished.” Shang Wan said, “Too much can’t be stored, it will spoil easily.”
“Okay.” Xiao Huan nodded, thought for a moment and said, “Sis, how about we stop hunting wild boar from now on. Wild boars aren’t castrated, the flavor is too gamey, every time we cook we have to add a lot of spices, not worth it.”
Although the spices bought from the Yuan Family were cheaper than at the apothecary, they couldn’t withstand how much more the wild boar flavor required.
Especially the offal, which had to be washed with flour and de-gamed with wine, and although the final taste was good and everyone was satisfied, making it once really wasted ingredients, it hurt her to use them.
“Pork has lots of fat, it’s satisfying.” Shang Wan glanced at the master and disciple three people working, “For hard labor, the meals can’t lack fat.”
Xiao Huan understood this reasoning, but still couldn’t help sighing.
“Alright, don’t make that bitter face, earning money is on me and your brother-in-law.” Shang Wan patted her head, “Qiao Yu’an hired your brother-in-law to help with the accounts, four taels a month, minus his brush and ink expenses, we can save one or two taels, not enough for you to buy spices?”
“But we need to save money too.” Xiao Huan counted on her fingers, “After brother-in-law’s injury heals, he’ll study, which will take the biggest expense. Shi Tou is already sixteen, in two years he’ll marry a wife, we need to prepare a bride price. When there are more people the house won’t be enough, we’ll need to build a new house. Besides the big expenses, clothes and food all cost money.”
Xiao Huan couldn’t sleep just thinking about these things.
“Not big in age, but plenty of worries.” Shang Wan thought Xiao Huan was just like a little steward, and couldn’t help teasing her, “You’re only thinking of saving a bride price for Shi Tou, what about your dowry?”
Xiao Huan’s face turned red, she shyly glared at Shang Wan, “Sis!”
“Okay okay, won’t say it.” Shang Wan bent down to pick up the wooden basin of bok choy, “I’ll go wash the vegetables, alright?”
Xiao Huan rolled up her sleeves to help, puzzled: “Sis, hasn’t this vegetable already been washed? Why is there no dirt?”
Shang Wan thought to herself, of course there’s no dirt since it didn’t come from the ground.
“Ah, I rinsed it in the river, the dirt on the roots should all be washed off.”
Up close, Xiao Huan smelled a fresh fragrance coming from the bok choy, feeling it was different from usual bok choy.
She sniffed carefully, curiously: “Sis, whose vegetable is this, the smell is different, and quite fragrant.”
“Fragrant?” Shang Wan hadn’t noticed, “Don’t all vegetables smell like this?”
Xiao Huan: “…”
Don’t question a cook’s nose!
She held up the bok choy close to Shang Wan’s nose, “Sis, smell it carefully, it’s really different.”
Shang Wan sniffed as told, there was indeed a fresh fragrance, but didn’t all vegetables smell like this?
Xiao Huan insisted it was different, to prove her point she stopped washing and pulled Shang Wan running to the nearest bok choy patch.
She pointed to a bok choy at the edge of the field, “Sis, smell this one.”
Shang Wan helplessly leaned in close, to be honest, the difference really wasn’t big.
But seeing Xiao Huan’s serious face, she still nodded, “Indeed different.”
Xiao Huan could tell Shang Wan was just going along with her, and couldn’t help doubting there was something wrong with Shang Wan’s nose.
This bok choy patch belonged to the Li Family, Li Xiaomei and Li Xiaoshan were squatting in the field pulling weeds, seeing the two sniffing one bok choy over and over, they asked doubtfully: “Sis, Xiao Huan sis, what are you doing?”
Xiao Huan said: “Xiaoshan, sis wants to buy a few bok choy.”
“Why buy just a few vegetables?” Li Xiaoshan chuckled, “There’s so many in the field, our family can’t finish them, take whichever you want.”
Before Xiao Huan could move, Li Xiaomei nimbly pulled up about ten fresh ones, bundled them with nearby wild grass stems and handed them to Xiao Huan, “Here.”
The little girl was quite shy, her voice soft, completely different from Li Xiaoshan’s loud voice.
Xiao Huan thanked her, Shang Wan flicked her wrist, two candies appeared in her palm, she held them forward and smiled at Li Xiaomei: “One for you and your brother.”
Li Xiaomei waved her hands repeatedly refusing to take them.
It was just a few vegetables, how could they accept candy?
