Seeing that the farming season was wrong, the old man Xiao Manye became anxious and angry for a while.
But he had said that it was up to Jiang Zhi to plant crops, and he, an old man, couldn't carry it on his shoulders or carry it in his hand, so there was no point in being anxious. He could only run to the ground again and again, and even had to urinate on the ground.
Now that I see Jiang Zhi making another fat ball to raise seedlings, my head is really buzzing with anxiety.
But...he still kept his head down and helped with the work.
After Jiang Zhi mixed the sand mixed with plant ash evenly, he mixed the dung water and decomposed starch water into wet mud. Finally, he kneaded the dung soil into fist-sized dung balls and arranged them neatly in the terraces.
This is the seedling ball that scares her. Not only corn seedlings must be rubbed like this, but cotton seedlings must also be rubbed like this.
Xu Errui and the others had never done this before, and they were laughing and joking. They found it interesting, so they were like dung beetles, rolling balls around the smelly dung.
Knead everything well and press the corn kernels into the fat balls one by one.
Mr. Xiao Man is an old farmer. When he saw this, he came to his senses and said, "Er Rui Niang, the corn root is stuck in the fat ball. Are you not afraid of drying it or lack of fertilizer?"
Jiang Zhi's legs were numb from squatting, so he stood up and moved around before saying: "Yes, there is no need to pour manure, and this way you don't have to worry about missing seedlings. You only need to pick good seedlings when transplanting!"
Little Man clicked his tongue and exclaimed: "That's right, I'm not afraid of patching up the seedlings, alas! It's just that the work is too detailed, and when there is too much land, it will be too busy."
It's true that Jiang Zhi now has more than one acre of land and three strong laborers, so he doesn't find it troublesome.
Raising seedlings and transplanting seedlings requires intensive farming. It would definitely not be possible if it were replaced by dozens of acres of land.
Moreover, during this seedling cultivation, Jiang Zhi also discovered a problem, which was also the reason for the low grain yield.
These corns are all native varieties. They are round and plump, crystal clear like beads. They taste delicious, but they are too small, not much bigger than soybeans.
Moreover, a corn stick is only more than ten centimeters long. Even if it is full of grains, there are not many. A yield of two hundred kilograms per mu is a bumper harvest.
well!
In order to have a full stomach in the future, Jiang Zhi began to rack his brains, recalling the little things he did when he helped his parents grow crops.
Press the corn seeds into the wet mud ball one by one, and cover it with a layer of fine soil evenly.
Dozens of cotton seeds were processed in the same way, and two seedlings were arranged in one place to facilitate future water and fertilizer management.
This busy period lasted for another three days. When the work of planting seedlings was finished, it was time to have free time again.
Even if there is no time, there is no time to finish the farm work.
Moreover, Xu Errui wanted to chase rabbits all over the mountains and fields, and Jiang Zhi wanted to collect herbs.
Xiao Manye walked around the field every day. After walking around the field, he took a hatchet to chop down the dead trees that could no longer sprout, and then chopped them into pieces and piled them up.
Xiao Mannai and Qiaoyun spin and weave, and even Nini has to hunt rabbit grass every day.
The only idle person is Xu Dazhu.
But because the weather was warm, he could sometimes leave the kang and lie in the courtyard to bask in the sunshine.
In addition, my energy is much better now than before, so I try to find things for myself to do.
Unable to move while lying down, he could move his fingers and wrists, but his arms lacked strength, so Xu Dazhu twisted cotton threads to make it easier for his grandmother to weave.
Among everyone, Jiang Zhi is the most free-spirited and busiest. In addition to digging herbs, she also digs bamboo shoots.
The last time the three of them went down the mountain to cut bamboo at night, they found some bamboo shoots. They were just worried about being discovered, so they didn't dare to dig it out, so they hurriedly brought the bamboo back.
Those tender bamboo shoots made Jiang Zhi restless for several days.
After Jiang Zhi and Xiao Man visited the burned village that day, Xiao Man and Er Rui dug kudzu while monitoring the situation on the official road outside the village.
If something like what Aunt Jiang said happened, this place would become a battlefield, and people like me would have to hide deeper.
After several days of observation, Xiaoman and the others did find that there were more and more homeless people on the road, and sergeants riding horses also appeared one after another. The official road in Xujia Village was busier than before.
But those people only looked at the burned-to-white village for a few moments before turning around and leaving, and showed no interest in the similarly burnt mountains next to them.
Such a discovery made Jiang Zhi relax. When the regimented sergeants passed by, there would be control on the road, which would make it safer invisibly.
The location of the battlefield was uncertain. At least for now, it seemed that refugees would not gather together to rob in this area, so she put digging bamboo shoots on her agenda.
It was different from eating locust flowers and folded ear roots. When the two families saw Jiang Zhi carrying back a bunch of bamboo shoots with fur in their shells, they all exploded.
Even Xu Errui, the most supportive person, didn't give his mother face. The bamboo shoots had prickly hairs on them and he didn't dare to touch them. He could only kick the bamboo shoots away with his feet: "Mom, these things don't taste good!"
"Why doesn't it taste good? Bamboo shoots! If you don't want to eat the tender bamboo shoot tips, I will eat them!" Jiang Zhi slapped Xu Errui away, who was causing trouble.
Next to her, Qiaoyun, who is more than six months pregnant, also frowned: "Mom, these bamboo shoots are so bitter that I can't eat them!"
Some people have dug bamboo shoots and eaten them before, but no matter how they are washed and stewed, they are extremely bitter. After a long time, no one eats them anymore.
I don’t like eating bamboo shoots!
Jiang Zhi couldn't believe his ears. He felt like he was being struck by thunder for leaving such a refreshing delicacy.
"It's okay, I have a way for you to eat it!" Jiang Zhi happily peeled off the bamboo shoots.
Stir-fried meat with bamboo shoots, roast beef with bamboo shoots... Don't think about it, the oil here is too precious and expensive, and Jiang Zhi has never eaten stir-fried food, so he can only stew some spicy rabbit meat with bamboo shoots.
Jiang Zhi just wanted to make his mouth sour, and he didn't realize there was anything wrong with what he said.
Next to him, Xu Errui's face turned green: Mom wants to eat it herself! Those bamboo shoots are really painful.
Every family in Xujia Village has a bamboo forest, and there are young bamboo shoots almost all year round.
But there are many varieties of bamboo shoots. Except for a small number of spring bamboo shoots, the most common bamboo shoots in summer are bitter bamboo shoots. They taste extremely bitter and are really inedible without careful handling.
First peel off the outer skin of the bitter bamboo shoots, revealing the spire-like heart. At this time, they look white and tender, but they are actually bitter and inedible.
Jiang Zhi cut the bamboo shoots in half and put them into a large pot that had been filled with water in advance. After the water boiled, he added the bamboo shoots and cooked for one to two hours.
Boil the bamboo shoots until they become soft, take them out and rinse them, then cut them into thin slices and soak them in water for a day, changing the water two or three times in the process.
She was busy boiling and soaking a basket of bamboo shoots for three days, and the two families also paid close attention to it silently for three days.
Seeing that Jiang Zhi wanted to eat bamboo shoots, Xiao Mannai couldn't say much, so she quietly said to Qiaoyun: "Your mother wants to cook, how much salt do you have? I don't eat enough light salt at home. If you don't have enough, take some from my house." .”
Qiaoyun thought about the salt shaker at home that was about to bottom out, but shook her head: "Mom said the salt can still be used for a while, so don't worry."
The salt in the salt shaker is almost gone, but there is still a large bag of salt stones collected from the village. Unfortunately, they have to be broken up before they can be used when eating. Otherwise, if they are thrown in hard and hard, the bottom of the pot will be pierced.
