I feel so good after dressing up as a peasant girl

Every time Gu Wenxuan saw how tired he was, she would advise him to take it easy.

Bai Jingzhou agreed verbally, but he still squeezed out the last bit of his energy every day.

In order to prevent Gu Wenxuan from using force against him, he also explained to Gu Wenxuan, "We need to burn more wood ash and spread it on the newly opened wasteland."

"Wood ash is an excellent potash fertilizer that is rich in nutrients. It can add potassium to the soil and change the pH value of the soil."

"Most importantly, wood ash is a mild fertilizer and does not require fermentation. When using it, you can directly mix the wood ash into the soil."

"Of course, there are two points to note. First, wood ash is alkaline and is not suitable for plants that are sensitive to soil pH or prefer acidic soil. Second, when using wood ash, be careful not to use too much to avoid adverse effects on plants."

Except for the first sentence, Gu Wenxuan basically forgot the rest as soon as she heard them. Of course, this did not prevent her from supporting him. Bai Jingzhou said that she responded seriously with words like "Oh", "That's good", "Is that so", "Anything else".

It was rare for Bai Jingzhou to see her interested in things other than martial arts, so he became more enthusiastic in his role as a teacher.

He racked his brains to recall, "Also, because wood ash contains alkali, it is also a good potash fertilizer, so it also has the effect of sterilization and disinfection."

"If you are planting tubers, such as potatoes and yams, the cut surface of the freshly cut tubers is full of moisture. Rolling them in wood ash can not only clean the cut surface and kill some bacteria, but also make the cut surface dry quickly, so it is not easy to rot after planting."

"In addition, because wood ash does not dissolve in water and will remain in the soil for a long time, and it contains a special smell that some pests in the ground do not like, so it can also play a role in preventing pests to a certain extent."

Gu Wenxuan was indeed very interested after hearing this. Few people know that she actually likes potatoes very much. They can be shredded potatoes, potato slices, potato strips, potato cubes, mashed potatoes, potato flour... fried, mixed, stewed, fried... as long as they are not cooked in a way that makes them unpalatable, she will generously say "delicious" for the sake of the word "potato".

A fertilizer that is suitable for growing potatoes and can prevent pests to a certain extent must be a top-notch fertilizer.

Rarely, Gu Wenxuan actually remembered some knowledge about wood ash.

The two men first reclaimed wasteland and cultivated it, and then collected and planted ready-made medicinal herb seedlings and seeds in the mountains, as well as existing fruit tree seedlings, branches, fruit cores, etc. in the village.

After finishing all these, the two began to transform the natural cave in the small valley.

They first built a cellar inside the cave to store valuables, and then got a stone with a color and texture similar to the mountain wall, and Gu Wenxuan used it as a stone door, blocking the entrance of the cave directly.

"We don't have that much time now. I will slowly get some wooden racks, backpacks, large baskets, bamboo tubes and other tools later. Then when autumn comes, we can directly put all the grain, dried vegetables, salt and so on on the wooden racks."

Gu Wenxuan nodded, "Then I will be responsible for preparing cloth bags for food, as well as oil paper, oilcloth, sandbags, etc. for moisture and water proofing."

The two of them discussed the follow-up matters in a few words. Gu Wenxuan smiled and put her arm around Bai Jingzhou's shoulder. "Let's go. Let's go back and have something delicious."

During this period, they were not only tired, but also basically ate dry food that was bought in advance in the town. Although there was meat in it, Gu Wenxuan and Bai Jingzhou still gradually lost weight because they consumed more and took in less.

Bai Jingzhou lowered his eyebrows and hummed. He did not tell Gu Wenxuan that his shoulders and the back of his neck, which were resting on Gu Wenxuan's arm, felt like they were being roasted by a bonfire. It was so hot that Bai Jingzhou was afraid that Gu Wenxuan would notice something was wrong with him.

Gu Wenxuan did notice it, but she didn't think anything else about it. She just thought that Bai Jingzhou's body temperature rose because of the hot weather and the heavy workload.

When the two went to the town to buy tools, they had already explored the lower reaches of the creek.

They walked along the river bank from the small valley to Queshan Lake next to Liulin Town. They did not find any place with fast-flowing water or large rocks blocking the way.

Although Bai Jingzhou had already guessed this based on the terrain on both sides of the river bank, the two were still very happy after confirming their guess with their own eyes.

At that time, Gu Wenxuan avoided those who were fishing, carrying water, or enjoying the scenery beside Queshan Lake, and whispered to Bai Jingzhou: "The deepest part of this river is only a little over one meter, and the river channel is so flat. Maybe we can build a raft and travel directly by water in the future."

Bai Jingzhou also thought her method was good. Compared with the method of transporting the goods by himself and Gu Wenxuan or using animals to carry them without leaving any trace, it would obviously be more convenient for them to keep the secret of the small valley.

After the two agreed, they would still take the first peak when entering or exiting the small valley instead of walking directly along the bank of the river.

This time was the same. The two men first went around to the foot of the first peak, wandered around in the woods and hunted five pheasants and three rabbits, and then carried the prey to the town.

Of the eight prey, they only sold one pheasant and three hares. For the remaining four pheasants, the two men planned to take two each back to Baijia Village to have a good meal with their families.

"Let's buy some noodles, too. My noodles should be almost gone." After the two of them sold their prey, Gu Wenxuan stared at the bags of noodles in the grain store. "There's also pork belly. I still have to eat it to satisfy my craving."

What could Bai Jingzhou say? It was just flour and pork, and he and Gu Wenxuan could afford it now.

The two of them then each bought ten pounds of flour and five pounds of pork belly, and then ran to buy some salt, which they planned to stock up on.

After returning home exhausted with delicious food, the two had no time to be happy about their reunion after a short separation, before the Gu family and the Bai family had already kept saying "You've lost weight, you've lost weight" and asked about their experiences during this period with some concern.

Bai Jingzhou and Gu Wenxuan had already prepared their story, so they half-truthfully explained to their family, "Master took us into the mountains. Although it was very hard, the harvest was still very good."

The two handed the pheasant, white flour, and pork belly they brought back to their respective mothers, "Mom, I want to have a good meal."

Jia Guizhi and Ning Cuizhi responded with “yes” in quick succession, and that evening, both homes were filled with the aroma of meat that could have made the village children cry with envy.

Gu Wenxuan's family was better off, after all, she lived at the end of the sparsely populated Baijia Village. Bai Jingzhou's family was in a more awkward situation. Before his family's meal was even served, several families in the village were already cleaning up their naughty children who were throwing tantrums and demanding to eat meat.