CHAPTER 104: CHAPTER 104: FULL OF HARVEST (1)

The village chief Qin said, "I still have some bean seeds, radish seeds, cucumber seeds, rice seeds, and soybean seeds at home. Do you want them? You can’t just plant cabbage in the fields! The more variety you plant in the fields, the more it is called farming."

Li Yuzhu was delighted, "Yes, yes, yes, the more seeds, the better."

"Alright, just wait here, I’ll go fetch them right away," Mrs. Li Zheng said with a smile.

To make it easier to catch the big rooster, the village chief Qin tied both wings of the rooster with a cloth band.

"Now it won’t run away," he said with a smile.

"This is a great idea," Li Xing’an exclaimed.

Mrs. Li Zheng acted quickly and came over carrying several large and small cloth bags.

She opened them one by one to show Li Yuzhu.

This is what kind of seed, and that is what kind of seed.

To keep things organized and avoid mixing them up, Li Yuzhu had the village chief Qin use a brush to write the name of each seed on the bags.

The seeds included cucumbers, white radishes, carrots, corn, soybeans, and string beans. What she liked the most were the rice seeds, which weighed over three catties.

It would be enough to plant one mu of land.

The harvest from one mu of land, plus the yield from corn and soybeans, along with wild vegetables from time to time, would be enough to provide a family with a year’s worth of grain.

With harvests from the fields, there would be no need to buy, saving some expenses.

Li Yuzhu took the seeds and thanked them repeatedly.

"What’s the point of thanking? It’s not like you didn’t pay," the village chief Qin laughed heartily.

Li Xing’an carried the bags of seeds to the small cart parked at the door.

The village chief Qin placed the rooster and some vegetables like cabbages and beans that he had picked from the fields on the cart as well.

As for the few little chicks, Mrs. Li Zheng found an old basket to put them in.

Five light yellow chicks chirped "peep peep peep" in the basket, making the protective mother hen furious as she fluttered her wings outside the basket, wanting to rescue them.

"Go away, go away, you have so many chicks. What’s wrong with me taking five? Stingy!" Li Xing’an waved his sleeve, shooing the hen away.

This really annoyed the hen.

Cluck, cluck, cluck—

The hen angrily jumped onto the cart, spreading her wings and attacking Li Xing’an.

Caught off guard, Li Xing’an got pecked hard on the hand.

The pain made him jump.

Li Yuzhu laughed, "A mother hen protects her chicks even against hawks! Why provoke her?"

Li Xing’an was both angry and embarrassed.

Mrs. Li Zheng laughed as she took a broom and shooed the hen away. She caught the hen, "I caught it, you all should leave quickly."

"Quick, quick!" Li Xing’an helped Li Yuzhu sit on the cart and quickly pushed the cart away.

Behind them, the village chief Qin laughed heartily.

"As they say, ’a tiger finds itself mocked by chickens when it goes down from the mountain!’ " Li Xing’an ran out of breath, feeling dejected.

Li Yuzhu laughed, "In the village, it’s not just the hens that are fierce. There are also big geese and big dogs. All in all, just don’t provoke them."

"My lifetime reputation!" Li Xing’an sighed.

He turned a corner with the cart and went to Old Qin’s house.

When the cart stopped, Li Yuzhu jumped off on one foot, calling out to Old Qin, "Grandpa Qin!"

Grandpa Qin’s leg was already better, but because of his age, Li Yuzhu advised him to rest more and walk as little as possible.

The restless old man was, at this moment, sitting on a chair weaving bamboo baskets.

Several bamboo strips were scattered on the ground by his feet.

Li Xing’an, curious, immediately ran over to take a look.

Grandpa Qin was very happy to see them and kept calling Granny Qin to pour water for them to drink.

He also asked what had happened to Li Yuzhu’s foot.

"I twisted it while running fast," Li Yuzhu said with an embarrassed smile.

"Then you’re just like us old folks; you should rest and walk less," Grandpa Qin remarked with a smile.

Granny Qin called them over for water.

"No trouble, Granny," Li Yuzhu said, "we were just passing by and realized we hadn’t returned the salt we borrowed last time, so we brought it now."

Li Xing’an placed a paper bag with a pound of salt on the table.

"Oh dear, you brought over even a bit of salt," Grandpa Qin chuckled.

"There is nothing lacking at home now, how can we, the young ones, take advantage of Grandpa?" Li Yuzhu said with a smile.

"What good kids!" Grandpa Qin laughed. Then, seeing the cart at the door filled with things, he asked, "Where did you buy all that? Quite a lot."

"We just came from Uncle Li Zheng’s house. We bought some seeds and chicks from him," Li Yuzhu explained with a smile.

"What all did you buy?" Granny Qin walked over to look.

Li Xing’an worried she wouldn’t recognize the writing, pointed at each label and read them aloud.

But before he finished, Granny Qin had already identified all the seeds.

Li Xing’an, "... "

Li Yuzhu laughed, "Third Brother, villagers look at seeds daily, they recognize them without reading."

"Exactly. I’ve looked at seeds my whole life," Granny Qin laughed, "I still have some musk melon and watermelon seeds here. Do you want them?"

This is indeed tasty melons! Before Li Yuzhu could say anything, Li Xing’an immediately said, "Yes, yes, the more the better."

"I knew you’d want them," Granny Qin laughed, "These seeds produce sweet melons. Many people wanted the seeds last year, but I didn’t give them to most."

She went inside and came out with two paper packets, giving half the seeds to Li Xing’an, "Hold on to them well, don’t spill any."

"I won’t spill them," Li Xing’an held them in his robe like they were gold.

Li Yuzhu tore off half of the oil paper from another seed packet and wrapped the ten or so seeds.

Li Xing’an clutched them like treasures, hiding them in his chest.

After buying a cartful of things, full of harvest, the siblings turned back to the mountains.

Since they needed to entertain guests at dinner, the Xue Family had stayed on the mountain to prepare meals. Only the Great Princess and the Second Princess had gone to dig wild vegetables and herbs.

Seeing the cart full of things being pushed back, the Xue Family’s eyes lit up and they immediately began rummaging through it.

But to their surprise, apart from a few cabbages, some string beans, five tiny chicks, and a decent-looking big rooster, the rest were just seeds and such.

Disappointed, she frowned, "Is this what you bought? You truly don’t understand the value of money as children! Are these seeds useful? Can they be eaten?"

Li Xing’an raised his eyebrows and sneered, "Big Sister-in-law, how can they not be useful? These seeds are planted in the ground, grow into seedlings, become crops, and next year those crops yield seeds which are planted again, producing endless food. And these chicks grow up to lay eggs, then the eggs hatch into chickens, and chickens lay more eggs..."

"Alright, alright, that’s all theory. Is farming really that simple?" the Xue Family said coolly.

"That’s how villagers do it, and we just need to learn from them!" Li Yuzhu retorted.

"What have you all bought?" Princess Consort Luling came over to see, "Seeds? Chicks?"

"I want to see, I want to see," Li Jing came over, leaning over the basket, "Wow, five little yellow chicks."

He reached out to grab a chick, so quickly and fiercely, that he caught one in an instant.

The chick struggled in his hand, chirping non-stop.