Farming Beneath the Changbai Mountains

The Xu family settled down on the mountain, and it just so happened that it was time to build a shed. Now that they were here, the work could be done faster. The two brothers, the old man and Zhixin Zhiming, completed the shed in a few days.

Gradually, people from the village came to make sheds for Bangchui. At this time of year, the weather is still very cold. The villagers bring dry food to work and eat outside, with the cold wind filling their stomachs. When Jinghan saw it, she asked Mr. Xue to boil a large pot of hot water and let people come into the house to eat. Old Liu Tou never cared about this in the past, but now that the Xu family is here, everyone can have a place to drink some hot water. Now, many people are praising it.

After listening to Jinghan's words, Mrs. Xue told everyone that when they come to work in the future, they can put their rice here. I'll help heat it up at noon to avoid having to eat cold food all the time.

These people were very happy after hearing this. "Oh, sister-in-law, if this happens in the future, we will be blessed. Especially at this time, if you don't bring food, you will be so hungry in the afternoon. Bring food, because the cool breeze will choke you and make you feel uncomfortable. I have to thank my sister-in-law for this. "Farmers are honest, and if you treat him a little bit, he will remember it in his heart.

"There's nothing to thank you for. We have troubled everyone in the village a lot. It's not worth saying thank you for such a trivial matter." Mr. Xue smiled and went back to the house.

Time flies so fast, and in the blink of an eye, it has been almost a month since the Xu family came to the mountain. The weather is gradually getting warmer, the trees outside are starting to turn green, and the grass on the ground is gradually spitting out new green, adding a bright color to spring.

This time is also the busiest time for ginseng farmers. The pond surface of Bangchui must be covered with a thick layer of soil every winter. This is called cold-proof soil. In order to prevent it from being too cold in winter, the mallets were frozen. Because at this time, wooden boards were used to build a shed on the pool surface to protect the mallet from wind and rain. Unlike in Jinghan's previous life, plastic films were used. In winter, if the film was peeled off, the snow bar pool could be covered. This wooden shed cannot be dismantled once it is finished. It cannot be dismantled until the last moment when the mallet is lifted. Therefore, if the snow does not fall very thick, it must be covered with cold-proof soil.

At the beginning of spring, all the cold-proof soil must be raked downstairs. This is called columbine face. The rake is similar to the one held by Zhu Bajie in Journey to the West. Dice a row of large nails on the six-sided piece of wood, then drill a hole on the other side and put the handle of the rake on it. In this way, there is an angle between the teeth of the rake and the handle of the rake. When used, the rake will not be inserted directly into the ground, but will be tilted, so that the mallet will not be damaged.

Use a rake to remove the earthen buildings on the surface of the pool, and then loosen the soil underneath so that it is easier to dig out the earth with a hammer. Generally, those that are about to be finished are planted first, then the frozen ones are harvested, and finally the new ones are planted. These are some professional words from ginseng farmers. Generally, the sticks that were just planted last year are called new ones, the ones in the second year are called frozen ones, and the ones that are ready for production in the autumn of the third year are called goods. Since the ones that make the goods have been growing for two years, they sprouted earlier and should be the first to emerge. The second step is to beat the freeze. The new plantings were planted last year to slow down the seedlings, so they are the latest.

Since the Xu family has been living here this year, these tasks were done very quickly, and the three of them were all finished in a few days. But the villagers are different. They have to come from home every day and go back in the afternoon. Therefore, those who get up early and work late every day can finish their work two days later than the Xu family.

Now that I'm done with my face, I can rest for a few days. But Zhixin and the others did not rest, but started another job, which was to clamp the entire ginseng field on the stick. Because in this mountain, animals will break in from time to time.

One night, when Jinghan and the others were sleeping soundly, they heard something moving outside. Wenhan went out with a torch and took a look. He was almost frightened. It turned out to be a wild boar that had entered the ginseng field and was looking for something to eat. It was the old man who got up and knocked hard with the copper basin, which scared the wild boar away. Several times, while I was sleeping soundly, I suddenly heard a wolf howling, which scared everyone awake.

So Jinghan gave the idea to put sticks around it, so at least not so many animals would come in. Although this can't prevent much, at least it can give me some comfort. In addition, you can also dig some traps outside the stick and maybe catch some prey.

However, from then on, the old man asked all the children to learn martial arts from Zhixin. They had to box every morning and learn archery during the day. Otherwise, these children would be in danger if they encountered danger. So the children had a wonderful life every day, practicing martial arts in the morning, going up the mountain to dig traps during the day, and practicing archery in their spare time. Jinghan is a tomboy, but she is relatively talented in these things. She can learn it faster than Wencheng, which makes everyone dumbfounded.

There is no need to rush about clamping the stick, just take some time to do it every day. The most important thing is that we are about to start farming now. The Xu family's land has been sold, and there is no land for farming. But if they don't farm, food for the whole family will be a problem. So Jinghan came up with another idea, which was to plant seeds in the ginseng soil where the ginseng was grown last year.

"Jinghan, does what you say work? We have never planted it before with this thick soil? What can we do if it doesn't grow well?" The old man didn't believe it, so he asked.

"Grandpa, think about it, the soil is so wet. It means that if you plant a stick, you can grow enough food for a year. We won't plant it until the saplings in the sticki grow up. They will be planted every year. The Bangchui land is about 2,000 feet, which is equivalent to about 20 acres of land. If we plant these, it’s enough, what do you think?” Jinghan remembered that she had done this in her previous life. Plant a few crops of grain in the ground that has just been plowed. When the saplings in the ground grow up, you can no longer plant any more.

"If that's the case, we can give it a try. Anyway, we don't have any land anymore. If we get a harvest from planting, we get it for free. If we don't get a harvest, it's just like we've lost some seeds. Okay, I see Jinghan's idea. Okay, let’s do it this way.” Chen made the decision and did as Jinghan said.

The old man also agreed, so everyone began to grow food in the Bangchui field. Since the soil in this Bangchui field is very soft and moist, the plow can move through the land quickly. The family's old cow is reluctant to sell it, so it comes in handy this time. The whole family went to farm, Wenhan led the cows in front, and Zhiming helped the plow. Behind them, the old man, Chen, Xue, Zhixin and others dug up some seeds, while Jinghan and Wencheng covered the seeds in the pit with soil with their feet and stamped them firmly.

In this way, the family planted all the land in three days. There is no fertilizer used in this land, so everyone has no idea what the food will grow into. However, even if the growth is worse, the harvest can still be a little better, so everyone is still full of hope.

What they planted was the place where sticks had just grown last year. The remaining grass from the year before last has already grown a lot, so we can't plant it anymore. However, Zhixin and Zhiming still found a nearby place, turned over the soil again, and planted some vegetables. You have to grow some delicious vegetables, otherwise what will you eat?

Jinghan didn't care about this. She took Wenxuan and Wenchang together to pick wild vegetables. It's much more convenient here than at home. Once you get out of the garden, there are a lot of wild vegetables in the woods outside. It doesn't take long for Jinghan and the others to pick a lot of wild vegetables.

The days are a bit tight this year, so Jinghan doesn’t dare to talk about making dumplings. So when you harvest the celery, you just blanch it in water, cut the green onions, add some salt and mix it. Or boil it and eat it with dipping sauce, so that everyone eats it very delicious. Because there has been no food for a long time, we finally got some fresh food, and everyone eats it very delicious.

On this day, Jinghan and the others went to pick celery. Although they were getting a little old, they had no choice but to make do with it since there were no vegetables. They were walking west today, but unexpectedly they encountered a large number of thorny shoots. This is a good time to prick the buds, which are about two inches long, tender and plump. When Jinghan saw it, she immediately became happy, "Brother, let's prick the young shoots quickly and make some to eat at night."

Wen Han and the others also saw this patch of thorny buds and hurried over to break them off. There were many more thorn buds here than the place they went to last year, and they were thicker. After a while, everyone broke off a lot of them.

"Second sister, are these almost done?" Wenchang asked.

"Let's break some more. Tomorrow morning, my eldest brother and I will go to the town to sell them. By the way, we can give some to my little aunt. I guess her family won't be able to eat this." Jinghan was still breaking off the thorns and shoots.

When Wen Han heard it, he was right. Last year the sales were very good, and it looks like it will be good this year too. It would be nice if they could sell it for some money and bring it back in exchange for some oil, salt, sauce and vinegar. Money at home is too tight this year, so it would be nice if they could earn some. "Okay, listen to your second sister, let's break some more and sell them to you to buy candies tomorrow." Wenhan particularly loves these younger brothers and sisters.

As soon as they heard that they could come back in exchange for candy tomorrow, the children became excited and happily picked up the thorn buds. It took about two hours for everyone to break off the two baskets. Jinghan saw that it was almost done and said to go back. So everyone went back to the venue together.

Mrs. Chen was a little puzzled when she saw the children bringing back so many thorn buds. It was Jinghan who told Mrs. Chen that she finally understood. "Okay, you guys go to town and give it a try. Tomorrow we will drive the ox cart and let your third uncle accompany you. It's time to see your sister-in-law. I don't know how she is doing these days?" Ms. Chen also missed her daughter a little. .

"Don't worry, grandma, we will definitely go see my sister-in-law." Jinghan said.

"Good children, it's rare for you to be so sensible at such a young age. I asked you to follow them up the mountain this time, but you were tired." Ms. Chen looked at the children at home and felt very happy.