Traveling through ancient times: living a different life

It was past five o'clock. In addition to my second aunt who was at home making breakfast, my fourth and fifth brothers were still young and needed an elder to look after them.

The others all went to dig in the fields. This was the second time to loosen the soil. It was cool in the morning and the sun was not too hot. There was strength in numbers, so most of them returned after ten o'clock.

Biyue went to Doctor Lin's house today to ask for leave, and her master readily agreed.

After dinner, Bi Yue asked her grandparents, "How many acres of land do we plan to plant? I have only prepared potato seeds for one acre. If we want to plant another acre, we should buy seeds now and plant in ten days."

Grandpa said, "Yueyue, I thought about it this morning while working in the field. Since the yield of potatoes is so high, I think we can plant two acres first. If the yield is as high as you said, we will plant more next time."

Grandma went on to say, "Nannan, this is our first time planting potatoes too. We are crossing the river by feeling the stones. Although the paper you gave me tells us how to plant, we still have to take our time. Do you think it's okay?"

Then I will buy another acre of potato seeds today, put them in the original place, wait for them to germinate, and then plant them after ten days.

After that, Grandpa, Father, and Second Uncle went to move the potatoes from the woodshed to the empty house next to the gate, laying them flat in bags.

Biyue taught the elders to separate the big and small potatoes and not to press down the seeds that had already sprouted. They should put the big ones aside and cut them in the afternoon. They were also told to wait 2 to 3 hours after cutting before planting. So while several people were dividing the potatoes, a few others went to fill the dung buckets with wood ash, and the others would do it in the afternoon.

It was a little before two o'clock in the afternoon when everyone got up. Those who were hungry went to eat something and began to cut the big potatoes. There were two or three buds on each cut surface. Since the potatoes were not much different in size this time, the small ones had more than half of them, and a small half could be cut. The cut ones were then put aside.

"Yueyue, these potatoes, whole and cut in half, can cover about one and a half acres of land. You bought another acre of land today, so there will be a lot left."

"Mom, go ask grandma if they can grow it. Ask them to plant an acre or half an acre. I wonder if they dare to grow this new food."

"Then I'll go to your grandfather's house tomorrow and ask."

When Second Aunt heard the mother and daughter say this, she was a little hesitant and was struggling over whether to speak or not.

"Second Aunt, if your parents want to plant some, you can go ask them tomorrow, but don't overestimate the amount. Just say about 2,000 kilograms. If they take good care of it, it would be a surprise if the yield exceeds that, right?"

Second Aunt was delighted, thinking that her little niece was so thoughtful.

"Oh! Then I'll go ask tomorrow. Second Aunt thanks Xiao Yueyue in advance."

"You're welcome. We're all family, so let's not talk nonsense. I'll help you if I can. I'll write two sheets of potato planting methods and precautions, one for my mother and one for you."

My grandparents, father, second uncle and fourth uncle all feel really warmed up.

At 4pm, everyone had lunch early. The three little ones wanted to go, but were suppressed by their father and second uncle, who said that they would take them along as it was the second planting day at home, and today was also a trial planting day, so they had no time to take care of the three of them. They would run around in the fields and have to look for people everywhere, which would delay things.

So the three little ones and Coal Ball stayed at home to look after the house, while the elders led the cows and put the hoe, shovel, potatoes, and wood ash on board, as well as a few empty buckets and water ladles, and closed and bolted the back door.

The family went to the east to the five mu of inferior farmland. Along the way, there were farmers digging in the fields. They saw ox carts with a lot of things on them. People who knew them greeted them and asked:

"Brother Chen, it's not too hot to go to the fields to farm at this time."

Grandpa replied, "Yes, the sun is too hot this noon, so it's more relaxing to go to the fields in the morning and evening."

Villager A: "Yes, if you are exposed to the sun at noon, you will get a heat stroke."

Villager B: "Ah! Uncle Chen, why did you bring Yue with you? A little girl like that can't help."

Grandpa complained in his heart: You know shit, my granddaughter is better than your three sons.

We chatted and laughed on the way until we got to the fields. These five acres of fields were connected, and the soil was not as good as the best fields.

Backed by a mountain, there is a big river next to it, but it is far from the fields and not easy to get water. In ancient times, there were no pumps. It took manpower to get enough water for the rice fields, so it was more laborious and the harvest was much worse than that of the better fields. One mu of paddy field in this area yielded less than 190 kilograms. This year, the harvest was good, only more than kilograms. It rained for two days and the soil was loosened twice. The soil is a bit sandy, which is good soil for growing potatoes.

So everyone started to get busy. The six of them worked quickly. Some dug holes, sprinkled wood ash on them, and buried the potatoes one by one.

Biyue looked around her own fields. Installing a water truck here would make water use more convenient. Not only would her family benefit, but people in the neighboring fields would also not have to quarrel over water.

I went back to talk to my grandfather and asked the families whose fields were next to my own if they were willing to load the water truck together, and everyone could contribute some money and share the burden.

It took me about an hour and a half to finish the work. I watered the potatoes and waited for them to grow slowly. When they were about to bloom, I added some farmyard manure to ensure that the roots were well nourished. By then, it was not far from harvest.

After finishing their work, the family followed the ox cart. The father pulled the ox cart slowly towards the afterglow of the sunset. The breeze gently brushed across everyone's faces, soothing the heat from their bodies.

The second uncle walked to the door first and asked his son to open it, then went to the backyard. His father drove the ox cart in through the back door. Everyone entered the house and went about their own business.

Biyue went to the room and placed an order for the drawings of making the waterwheel in the system, and then went to find her grandfather.

"The five fields on the east side can be equipped with a waterwheel, which will make water supply more convenient and less tiring for workers."

So I gave the blueprint to my grandfather and told him that he could ask the villagers whose fields were close to his house and ask them to contribute some money to join in the project.

Grandpa agreed and said he would go and ask tomorrow.