BXBX NOVEL Chapter 501 - 501: Planting, Check
Chapter 501 - 501: Planting, Check
He Dachun smiled awkwardly. “That’s why we say that true feelings are revealed in adversity!” When Li Yu’s carriage arrived at the entrance of the manor, Han San and Haitang went up to bow. “Madam, you’re here!”
Li Yu got out of the car and smiled at the two of them. “Yes! I’m here to see how the sweet potato seedlings are growing.”
Haitang smiled and said, “It’s growing well!”
Li Yu saw that the fence at the door had already been erected. Two tenants were busy inside. She stood outside the fence and looked around. She saw that the field ridges had been opened and the drainage ditches around them had been dug.
Seeing Li Yu look at the land, Tang Yong and He Dachun bowed to Li Yu cautiously.
Li Yu smiled and nodded. Chu Fu got out of the carriage and walked forward. He smiled at Li Yu and said, “Madam Li, the Wang Family Village is really not bad! It’s just that it’s a little far from the capital.”
“It’s a little far. It’s all thanks to His Majesty’s gift that such a manor can exist!”
Chu Fu smiled and nodded. “That’s right! Where else is there a manor near the capital? It has long been divided up by others. Yesterday, I heard that the rich businessman who bought the Zhou family’s manor wanted to sell it. I wonder if
Madam Li is interested in buying it back.”
Li Yu was a little tempted. “Oh! Did the news only spread yesterday?”
“Yes, that piece of land is beside the Imperial Plantation. If Madam wants to buy it, I still have some ties with him.”
“Alright, sorry to trouble you, Manager Chu. Buy it back at the current market price.”
Chu Fu nodded in agreement. Li Yu turned to Han San and his wife and said, “This is Steward Chu, the chief steward of the Imperial Manor. He will come to the manor to see the sweet potato seedlings these days.”
“Yes, Madam.” After Han San and Haitang agreed, they bowed and said, “Greetings, Head Chief.”
“Chief Han, Sister-in-law Han is too polite.” Chu Fu also smiled and returned the greeting.
The few of them entered the courtyard and arrived at the pit where the sweet potato seedlings were growing. Seeing that the sweet potato seedlings were well managed by Han San and his wife, Li Yu looked at Haitang in satisfaction.
“You’re indeed growing well.”
After receiving Li Yu’s affirmation, Haitang was also very happy. “Madam, wait for me. I’ll go get a bag and scissors.”
Haitang brought the hoe over. Li Yu brouzht the apricot flowers and Haitmu to cut off the sweet potato seedlings and the two leaves at the roots. She carried them to the field outside the house and saw that Tang Yong and He Dachun had already left after finishing their work.
Li Yu brought a few people and began to transplant. Chu Fu and Ji Xiang also got busy.
Li Yu transplanted a row. Haitang smiled and said, “Madam, it’s just this area. We’ll plant it. Go up and rest.”
Seeing that Haitang and Xing Hua were planting efficiently, Li Yu stood up and told Chu Fu, who was planting at the side, some things to take note of.
“Manager Chu, the field ridges where the sweet potato seedlings are planted have to be dug high. More fertilizer has to be applied under the seedling bed. The seedlings can be transplanted when they grow to six inches long. After transplanting, sprinkle a trace of plant ash to encourage the sweet potato seedlings to pass the slow seedling period.”
Chu Fu nodded and asked in confusion, “Madam Li, everything else is planted vertically. I saw that when you planted these sweet potato seedlings, you planted them and placed them on the seedling bed. Why did you plant them like this?”
“The yield of the sweet potatoes planted like this is higher. After this batch grows, it can be transplanted again. Each sweet potato seedling can be cut to a length of five to six leaves long.”
“When planting, cut off two leaves and plant them according to the method just now. After planting, lay them on the seedling bed and cover it with soil. Two or three leaves will be exposed to the ground. My master said that this is called one insert, two should lay down, and three should look up.”
“When the sweet potato vine grows to a certain extent, it still has to be fertilized so that it can’t grow too many roots and affect the yield of the sweet potatoes.”
“No wonder Madam Li’s crops were planted well. Every one of the procedures is so particular. Fortunately, Madam Li selflessly taught us these so that we wouldn’t take any detours.”
Chu Fu calculated in his heart. “Madam Li, if this batch of potato seedlings can grow, we can plant a lot of land after cutting a batch.”
“Yes, when the sweet potato vines grow, you can pick sweet potato poles and sweet potato tips to stir-fry. They taste good too. The sweet potato vines can also be fed to the pigs.”
Chu Fu nodded repeatedly. “This thing is good. It’s as precious as corn. Madam’s master must be an otherworldly expert who lives in seclusion in the forest.”
Li Yu could only say, “Probably! I haven’t seen him for more than ten years. I don’t know if he’s still around.”
“It depends on luck to meet an old immortal,” Chu Fu said with a smile.
Old Madam Yun brought tea to the edge of the field. “Madam, Old Madam Han broke off some spring bamboo shoots and asked if you wanted to bring some back to the city?”
“Alright, bring more back. Send some to each family.”
Old Madam Yun agreed and went back to cook. Li Yu saw that Chu Fu and Ji Xiang were busy planting sweet potato seedlings together. Thinking of the black thing she had seen that day, she went back and walked towards the back mountain with a hoe.
When she walked to the lotus pond, she saw that the fence door had been removed and placed on the ground. A few well-dressed men were sitting in the pavilion and discussing something loudly. Li Yu frowned and walked over.
When a man saw Li Yu walking past the lotus pond, he shouted, “Look, there’s actually such a beautiful woman in the countryside.”
“Lower your voice. Don’t offend someone without knowing,” a man said.
“Brother Liu is right. His Majesty bestowed the manor near the lotus pond to Lord Zhou of the Ministry of Revenue. He’s a person who dotes on his wife. Last time, Lord Gu of the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs…”
Li Yu heard them discussing Zhou Jia and thought about where Zhou Jia had gone.
At the foot of the mountain, she looked at the chickens and ducks feeding in the bamboo forest. Li Yu followed the path up the mountain.
She walked to the back of the mountain and dug out a few blocks with a hoe.
They were black and metallic and shiny. She smiled happily. “Not bad. It’s coal.
This area should be an open-air coal mine. I wonder what kind of coal it is.”
With a gentle knock with the hoe, the stone scattered. Li Yu realized that the coal had broken into a shell.
She took the hoe a few steps and dug. She kept walking. It took her more than an hour to finish the exposed coal layer.
Thinking that she had been here for so long, she had never seen anyone use coal to heat up and cook. Li Yu dug up some vines and formed a small net. She picked up the shattered coal and packed it in. She carried it back.
Thinking back to the beehive coal and the look of the coal stove, she planned to go back and find a brick and tile kiln to make a few coal stoves.
When she walked to the bamboo forest, Old Madam Yun had already found her. When she saw Li Yu, she smiled and said, “Madam, the food is ready. Xing Hua said that you came to the foot of the mountain. As expected, I found you here.”
As she spoke, she took the hoe Li Yu was carrying and saw the black stone in the vine net. “Madam, what is this? It’s black and shiny.”
Li Yu smiled and said, “I’m not sure either. I was a little curious, so I dug up some and brought them back to take a look.”
“You have good taste. You might find another good thing..”