Farmhouse life after traveling back to ancient times

The cicadas are chirping one after another in the summer nights. The summer at this time is not as hot and stuffy as it is now, making people unable to sleep. Instead, the cool breeze blows away the day's fatigue and is very comfortable.

People like to sit under the ginkgo tree at the entrance of the village after dinner, chatting and talking until they feel sleepy and then go home to sleep.

There was a knock on the courtyard door. The Lu family, who were about to go to sleep, opened the door and saw Mrs. He and her husband, who were farming their two acres of land, standing outside.

"Well, Fang Hai, your brother He and I have something to talk to you about..." Mrs. He rubbed her hands back and forth with a restrained smile on her face.

"Oh, Brother He, Sister He, please come in quickly." Lu Fanghai led them into the house and called Du Wenxiu to bring out a stool.

Boss He followed behind his wife, with his head lowered and not saying a word.

Mrs. He turned around and nudged him with her elbow. Seeing that he still didn't say anything, she smiled awkwardly at Du Wenxiu.

"Mrs. He, what's the matter that brings you here so late? We are not strangers here, so just tell us what you want to say." Du Wenxiu took the initiative to speak when he saw that they seemed to be hiding something.

Mrs. He laughed dryly and hesitated for a moment before speaking: "It's like this, Fang Hai, Xiuniang, you see, we are planting your land, and we haven't come to sit down with you since Fang Hai came back, and we haven't discussed the next plan with you. It's just that we are about to plant winter wheat, and the head of the family and I were thinking, why don't we come and ask you what you think?"

Du Wenxiu and Lu Fanghai looked at each other and probably understood what Mrs. He meant.

When Lu Fanghai was not at home, some of the Lu family's land was gradually sold, and the remaining two acres were given to He Sao and her husband to farm. They paid some food rations to the Lu family every season, so that the orphans and widows had something to eat.

Now that Lu Fanghai is back, the Lu family has strong laborers. They are afraid that if they plant the seeds, the Lu family will take them back, so they simply come here to ask for details before making any plans.

"Sister He, I was not at home a few years ago. My mother and sister were weak and could not work in the fields. It was thanks to you that they got some harvest from the crops that they survived. I want to thank you for this."

"Well, we are all from the same village. This is what we should do. Why are we talking about these things?" Mrs. He said bluntly.

"In the past six months, Qiu Yong and I have been going into the mountains together, hunting and selling game, which is also a way to make a living. What I mean is that you can still cultivate the two acres of land at home, and we can continue to do it as before, as long as we can earn enough food. If the harvest is not good, we can think about it later. Do you think this is okay?"

"Okay, now we have an idea. When the harvest is good, we will pay more to your family." Upon hearing this, Mrs. He smiled happily and nodded continuously.

The two of them had just discussed at home that after the seeds were planted, the Lu family would take back the land and plant it themselves. The seeds could be priced, and they were all from the same village, so how much could they ask for the labor? Even if they were paid for it, they would still feel they had lost money.

The more Mrs. He thought about it, the more uneasy she became, so she pulled Boss He, who was unwilling to move, over.

Now that he had received the confirmation, he felt relieved. He ignored Lu Fanghai and his wife's attempts to keep him, and said that it was too late and he had to work in the fields tomorrow, so he wanted to go back immediately.

A few days later, Mrs. He packed a few pounds of soybeans, turned in and put them in the yard when she passed by Lu's house, and ran away without looking back no matter how they called her.

Lu Fanghai also had an idea in his mind. After so many years, Boss He learned how to take care of the crops. The two acres of land that were poor land in the past might have been developed into fertile land. It would be better to let them continue to farm with it. They would not give him less while he was at home.

What's more, during the years when he was away, Fang's mother and daughter relied on the harvest from their farming to survive until he could return home.

The Lu family wanted to live a good life, but relying on these two acres of land was useless, and they were not good at farming.

It is better to go into the mountains more often. If you are strong and healthy, it is better to hunt game more often than to rely on the weather to farm.

Du Wenxiu didn't take it seriously, but the soybeans sent by Mrs. He made her want to make fermented soybeans.

In the past, my family would make watermelon fermented beans every year. The fermented beans were made from the sandy watermelons in late summer. They would be stir-fried and sandwiched between steamed buns. They were so delicious.

But I haven't heard of anyone selling or growing watermelons here. Maybe it hasn't been introduced here yet.

Now that I have soybeans, I might as well try making soybean sauce without watermelon.

In addition to drying black fungus and selling it to Hoi An House, Du Wenxiu now also provides a stable supply of pickles to Hoi An House. Although people at that time also use the pickling method to make pickles as a side dish, the taste of her pickles is different. Cucumbers, beans and garlic are pickled together, which has a different flavor. It is crisp and refreshing, sweet and salty, and has the aroma of aniseed.

Although it cannot be said to be the signature dish of Hoi An Lau, it is still a specialty as a side dish.

For this reason, the shopkeeper of Hui'anlou raised the purchase price by another 10% and also reminded customers not to interrupt the supply.

Du Wenxiu also began to purchase large quantities of cucumbers, beans, garlic and other side vegetables suitable for making pickles, and later added radishes. The families in Taohua Village who grew side vegetables kept some for themselves and sold the rest to her, saving them the trouble of carrying them to the town to sell.

Most people still hope that she will do well, except Aunt Lu.

Ever since that incident, Aunt Lu had been mumbling to herself all day long, saying some nonsense she made up to slander the Lu family to everyone she met. At first, some people would respond to her, but later, everyone had more or less side dishes to sell to the Lu family. They were afraid that their casual response would reach the ears of Du Wenxiu's family, so they thought it was better to have less trouble than more, so they just avoided Aunt Lu every time they saw her.

Over the past few months, every ten days Lu Fanghai would ride Old Yang's ox cart to deliver a few jars of pickles to the town. Many people were jealous and said that the Lu family must be making a lot of money with Du Wenxiu's craftsmanship.

Some people also said some bland words in front of Fang, saying that Fang was lucky now, her wife could earn money to support the family, and she didn't have to take care of her grandchildren, and that she was destined to be a rich and idle person.

At first, Fang would go home and make a fuss about it, but when Du Wenxiu got tired of it, he couldn't help but criticize her. If he felt that the extra money was a burden, he could stop the business and they could all take a break together.

Plus, Lu Fanghai and his sister were also persuading her, isn't life better now than before when they were hungry? Fang was speechless.

Later, the chickens raised at home started to lay eggs. Du Wenxiu tried to make salted eggs and preserved eggs, and also supplied them to Hui'an Tower. However, due to the strange appearance and smell of preserved eggs, some people here could not accept them. They needed some time to get used to them just like they did with wood ear mushrooms.

Qiao'er has grown a lot in the past six months. She has become taller and her complexion has become rosy. When she puts on the new clothes and ties her hair with a red ribbon, she has become a pretty little girl.

The Lu family used to be on the edge of the village, but now the village chief would specially call for Lu Fanghai to be present during village meetings.

Life was going well and matchmakers came to the door every now and then.

Qiao'er is almost fourteen years old, it's time to discuss marriage.