After fleeing famine, I have thousands of acres of fertile land

Ye Qing squatted down and dug the soil under the sweet potato vines. It was still damp underneath, so he would have to carry water to irrigate the fields unless it rained.

"Second brother, have you spread fertilizer in the paddy fields?" Ye Qing was not sure.

"No, we don't have much fertilizer at home, so we'll use it on the dry land and wasteland first. We'll save some for the winter and spread it in the paddy fields." Ye Erlang was very clear about his family's plans.

Ye Qing disagreed. Even after applying fertilizer to the wasteland, it was still barren. It was the second season for sweet potatoes, and they needed to be fertilized again while they were growing.

Ye Qing was going to go back and discuss it with Boss Ye. Accumulating fat this way was too slow, so he needed to use other methods.

The sweet potato vines have not yet spread out, so there is no need to turn them over now. Ye Qing and his second brother took a look around and then went back.

The two were walking on the road, chatting about what else to plant in the woodland, and maybe something that would fetch a high price.

"Second brother, what do you want to do in the future?" Ye Qing wanted to hear Ye Erlang's plan.

"Qingya, help dad at home. There are many fields at home, and not enough people to handle it." Ye Erlang is a filial child.

"Second brother, eldest brother can do the housework. Grandpa and dad always take eldest brother with them no matter what they do. Fifth brother is studying and will pass the imperial examination in the future. He won't have to worry about it. What do you want to do?" Ye Qing said a little more deeply.

"Qingya, do you have any ideas? I'll listen to you. You are the one with the most ideas in the family." Ye Erlang trusts Ye Qing very much.

"Second brother, look at our two uncles. Second uncle has carpentry skills, so he won't starve even if the family is divided. Third uncle is good at business and can make a lot of money every month."

"Qingya, do you want me to learn a skill? I'm not suitable for it and I can't leave home. Besides, I'm grown up now and I can't afford to eat for free at home." Ye Erlang waved his hands repeatedly.

"Second brother, this depends on what you like. If you learn a skill, you can hire someone to do the housework. Once you learn it, you can earn money for a lifetime, so two or three years won't make a difference." Ye Qingzhen didn't think that fifteen was old, because at this age before, he was still in junior high school.

"Wulang and I both spend money, and the burden on the family is too heavy." Ye Erlang is still very worried.

"Brother, you have quite a bit of money from raising ducks. There's also money from selling lobsters. Even though you bought the yard, you still make money every day. Don't worry about money. Just think about what you want to learn."

Ye Erlang fell into deep thought. He was the second child in the family, and then he had a younger brother and a younger sister. He received much less attention than his older brothers and younger sisters.

Ye Erlang had not thought so far into the future. He just followed his father to work in the fields every day and did whatever he was told.

Ye Erlang thought for a long time, and only spoke when they were almost entering the village.

"Qingya, I want to learn to be a chef. Every time I eat something delicious, I feel happy. I want to eat it anytime."

Ye Qing was a little surprised. He didn't expect Ye Erlang to be so interested in food.

"Second brother, it's okay. Look how powerful the chef of Fu'an Pavilion is. You can earn a lot of money every month." Ye Qing encouraged.

"I'll tell dad when Qingya goes back. Please put in a good word for me." Ye Erlang asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, second brother. Dad will definitely agree. He loves us the most."

The two chatted for a few more words and then arrived at the door of their home.

Ye Erlang couldn't wait to go to the backyard and found Boss Ye who was feeding grass to the cows.

Ye Erlang handed over the grass while talking to Ye Lao Da, "Dad, I want to learn cooking so that I can have a skill to make a living in the future."

After saying that, Ye Erlang carefully watched Ye Lao Da's reaction, worried that Ye Lao Da would not let him go.

Boss Ye was stunned for a moment, then quickly reacted.

"Erlang, if you want to go, go ahead. I've been thinking about telling you about this these past two days. Our family didn't have the conditions before, which delayed your studies. Now that conditions are better, you can go and learn something." Boss Ye was very pleased that his child had his own ideas.

"Dad, am I being too selfish? I can't do much housework." Ye Erlang was still a little hesitant.

"Your father is not old yet, and the family doesn't need you. Follow the master and learn well. I will give you three years at most. How much you can learn is up to you."

Only then did Ye Erlang put his worries aside, but nowadays some masters do not accept apprentices, and if they do, they let the apprentices do odd jobs for a year first.

"Is it easy to find a master, Dad? I'm not afraid of hardship."

"Don't worry, Dad will go to the city to ask around tomorrow. Go and pick up the duck eggs. I saw a lot of them in the nest just now." Boss Ye thought his son was getting in the way.

Seeing that she was no longer needed, Ye Qing ran to find Zhou to do needlework.

"My second brother wants to learn cooking, and my father has already agreed to his request." Ye Qing told Zhou the news he knew.

"This is a good thing. I have always been worried about how Erlang will support his family in the future. Now that he has learned this, he is not afraid anymore. It's just that being an apprentice is too tiring." Zhou felt a little sorry for her son.

The two chatted for a while, and Ye Qing also began to learn to embroider some simple lines, and the afternoon passed.

In the evening, Zhou called her son into the kitchen, gave him two carrots, and asked him to practice cutting vegetables. Since he was going to learn this, he had to strengthen his training in his daily life.

When Ye Wulang came back in the evening, he looked at the thick and thin radishes on the plate and fell into deep thought.

"Is the knife from my mother's house broken? There's something wrong with this radish." Ye Wulang couldn't help but asked.

"The knife is not broken. This was cut by your second brother. Your brother wants to learn cooking in the future, so he should practice first. This is his first time cutting, and it's not bad, right?" Zhou praised her second son.

Ye Wulang was a little speechless. Was this a blind compliment?

Still, he praised it against his will, "Yes, it's good. I was wondering how delicious the radish is today."

Ye Qing stood by and watched his fifth brother's insincere praise, secretly covering his mouth and laughing.

Ye Erlang was a little excited. He didn't realize that his brother was just trying to fool him. He even happily said that he would be the one to cut the breakfast.

Li cooperated and started praising him, and Ye Erlang's confidence reached an unprecedented high.

Boss Ye couldn't stand it anymore and quickly changed the subject.

"Goro, how did you do on today's test?"

"Dad, the teacher said I did okay in the test, but I still need to work on my handwriting." He took out his paper from the bag.

Boss Ye took it, looked at the teacher's comments and thought they were good, and nodded with satisfaction.

"Not bad. I'll practice calligraphy more in the future. The teacher must be right."

Old Man Ye was also worried about the other children in the family. "Wulang, how did your brothers do in the exam?"

"Grandpa, we all did well in the exam. We arrived late, so our scores were a little worse than those who arrived earlier. We will try to surpass them next time." Ye Wulang was very confident.

Old man Ye happily asked his son to take out the wine at home, and they each drank a glass.

My child has made great progress and our family has bought a yard. I will tell our ancestors about it during the New Year.

Ye Dalang and Ye Erlang helped the slightly drunk old man back to the room. They fetched some water and cleaned up the old man before leaving the room and going back to sleep.