"Alright, Lin Yuan ge!" Zhao Anjing's personality was the opposite of her name; she was far from quiet. It was fine with her if she got to do her own research.
There was actually quite a bit of free time each day, so she needed to find something to do.
"Right, we also need to arrange the farming. Food is paramount; we can't survive without it. Let's discuss now what we can plant at this time."
"There's a lot we can plant and harvest in the latter half of the year. It's August 1st now. Tomatoes can be planted, cowpeas can be planted, and Chinese cabbage can be planted. In mid to late August, we can plant radishes and spinach. It's a pity that the planting season for late-season rice has passed. Also, given Shu State's high humidity and frequent stripe rust, without systematic management and pest control, it's not ideal for planting wheat, otherwise, now would be the perfect time to sow wheat.
In September and October, we can plant potatoes. These are delicious; when cooked until soft, they're more fragrant than meat, and the yield is good."
What he said was not wrong. Potatoes were a bit more particular than sweet potatoes; they preferred slightly acidic soil and sufficient fertility, otherwise, the yield would be very low. Coincidentally, most of the land in Shu State was slightly acidic red soil, and with proper composting, high yields could be achieved.
Although the fields at the mountain stronghold had been abandoned for a long time, pulling out the grass, burning it to ash, and then tilling the land would turn the grass ash into fertilizer.
"Moreover, the second crop of sweet potatoes planted less than two months ago will be harvested in September-October. Several families in the village, including your uncle, planted mid-season rice, which will also be harvested in mid to late September. Corn has also been planted; the current corn hasn't been harvested yet, and there's still some in the fields, but it won't be ready for the second harvest.
There's also a field of pumpkins that are now maturing and will be ready for harvest in mid to late August," Lin Qingshan chimed in, detailing what was generally planted in the village fields.
"It's a shame there are no lychee orchards around here; otherwise, we'd have a treat," Lin Yuan sighed. They had already traveled south to the vicinity of Fan City but still hadn't found any lychee orchards. His hometown hadn't developed this either. kAnshu伍.ξà
Lin Qingshan smiled and replied, "No one plants lychees anymore. It's all small farming households. The land here is uneven and of varying sizes, not suitable for large-scale cultivation.
However, I remember there are a few old lychee trees on Longqi Mountain, probably near a certain pool. I can't recall their exact location due to age."
"Then we must go look! Grandpa, you don't know how expensive the lychees sold in our county town are! They put on airs, charging several yuan for a jin, so expensive we can't even afford to eat them!" Zhao Anjing, with her sweet words, called him Grandpa.
She also craved lychees; they were truly delicious.
"It's alright, it's alright. When we went to Longqi Mountain and Fengming Mountain, we saw many wild prickly pear trees. They'll ripen in a while, and you can eat your fill. Moreover, every household in the village has several dozen wild sugarcanes, planted in clumps not far from their doors. We'll water and fertilize them, and they'll grow well even in winter.
And it's okay if we don't find lychee trees. Your third grandma has a longan tree, over 10 meters tall, and the fruit is still on it. I'll take you to pick them tomorrow."
Lin Qingshan's words made Lin Shouyi blush. He hadn't collected so many things from the village.
He could only helplessly look at his elder brother.
Now it was Lin Qingshan's turn to be displeased: "Why are you looking at me? You didn't ask either! Didn't you say when you were young that you disliked your third aunt the most? So I just didn't bother to mention it."
Lin Shouyi was dumbfounded. He didn't realize there was a bit of social etiquette involved. He himself didn't remember saying such a thing.
"Hahaha, that was ages ago," Lin Shouyi said with a laugh, and then focused on fishing.
The initial planting plan was now established.
At this point, Zhu Mingjun had a question: "Are we keeping the houses here?" Fortunately, Zhao Anjing had gone to accompany Jiang Ziqi and Mu Qingtian, otherwise, he wouldn't have had a chance to speak.
The team had gained another henpecked husband; how joyous.
Lin Yuan knew there were enough rooms in the abandoned mountain stronghold. After thinking carefully, he finally said, "No, we won't. We'll find a place in Fengming Mountain to establish a backup camp. I remember there's a cave there, which can be used as a backup."
"Why don't we just live in the cave? Wouldn't that be safer and more concealed?" Zhao Mengnan hit the nail on the head.
Lin Yuan already had an answer for this question. He said, "First, we go to the mountain stronghold just to not be easily found, not to be completely undiscoverable.
Second, it's easy to set up defensive positions. This place is limited in size, with only a few entry points; we just need to guard them well.
Third, if you're in a cave and someone throws grenades or bombs into it, the cave might collapse, making it unsafe. Plus, it's inconvenient for production and living, not suitable as a long-term base.
Besides, do you want to sleep in a cave like a caveman forever?"
Zhu Mingjun believed him, thinking about his animal hide clothing, dark skin, and the weeds and leaves all over him, and quickly shook his head.
"Let's forget about it. I still prefer living in houses."
"Hahaha, fishing, fishing! Whether we can have fish soup tonight depends on us. Didn't you see Ziqi and the others already got a bucketful?"
He didn't want to think about it anymore. Hsac probably wouldn't come. They were merchants; the risks outweighed the profits, so they wouldn't take the chance. He was just afraid of that organization that used insects. They seemed like a cult; they were rational lunatics, and they had no idea what they were doing.
Whatever, where there's a will, there's a way.
After Lin Yuan spoke, everyone quietly went back to fishing.
After so long, only Lin Yuan had caught a fish. They couldn't go home empty-handed.
Fishermen never go home empty-handed!
Fortunately, they had good luck today, and the large pond did have plenty of fish. They also caught two buckets full of crucian carp and carp to take home.
So, of course, they had fish soup for dinner!
The carp and crucian carp were gutted, a few were thrown to Peigie for an appetizer, and the rest were washed clean and set aside.
Heat oil in the pot, grease it, sprinkle a bit of salt evenly. At about 50% oil temperature, start adding the fish. Don't move the heat or the pot initially; pan-fry slowly. After about a minute or two, shake it. At this point, the fish can be moved. When both sides are golden brown, add water, cover the pot, and boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat.
As for the shrimp, these small river shrimp were very small. After rinsing them and filtering out any debris, reduce the oil temperature, and slowly fry them in the pot until they turn red. Remove them, sprinkle with a mixture of finely chopped Sichuan peppercorns and salt, and the flavor was also exceptional.
"Fish soup, fish soup! Fresh fish soup, everyone come and get a bowl!" Wang Yixin stood at the door and shouted when the fish soup was ready.
Everyone took a bowl, sprinkled some chopped green onions on it, and the aroma was incredible.
Taking a sip of the soup, popping a few small shrimp, and listening to the good news from the country on the radio.
Tsk tsk, this feeling is beyond words.
(Enough writing, the author is hungry!! Time to eat!)