A husband found in the village? I bought a regent for a penny!

Sister-in-law Qin's concerns are not without merit.

Fruit is not a necessity in the daily lives of ordinary people in Da Ye.

Especially in the Northwest, the variety of seasonal fresh fruits available on the market is limited.

Typically, farmers would simply plant a few fruit trees at home, and if they had a good harvest in a particular year, they would sell the fruit that they couldn't eat.

Delicious fruits are indeed much more valuable than grains and vegetables.

However, planting and maintaining fruit trees is extremely difficult, and one has to wait for the trees to bear fruit, which means that the land will not yield any harvest for several years.

It doesn't matter if you don't get to eat the fruit in the end, but it's really deadly if you don't have food to eat.

Therefore, almost no ordinary farmers in rural areas are engaged in fruit tree cultivation full-time.

Besides landlords who owned vast tracts of land, and wealthy families who possessed countless estates and estates.

They were willing to set aside a few plots of land to grow fruit, just to satisfy their appetites.

Gu Xixi said, "I have seen the soil and climate of our village, and most of the fields are suitable for growing Pinellia ternata."

"Pinpo fruit?" Sister-in-law Qin asked curiously. "Besides wild fruits, the only fruits grown by us locals are peaches, apricots, pears, and persimmons. This is the first time I've heard of Pinpo fruit."

Gu Xixi explained, "The Pinpo fruit is a variety that came from the Western Regions."

"Good fruit is crisp, sweet, and juicy, with a crunchy but not hard texture, and a unique aroma."

"Of course, it won't be easy to do what I've said. I'll have to see the saplings before I can make a decision."

Sister-in-law Qin asked, "So, you already know where to buy this Bodhi fruit?"

Gu Xixi nodded, "I'll set off to select saplings after the New Year."

"If suitable materials are found and grafting is used, the fruit can be borne in two years."

Two years, that's much faster than I imagined.

Sister-in-law Qin was pleasantly surprised, but then her brows furrowed again.

"To get results in just two years, you truly live up to your reputation, Gu Xixi."

"I also believe that as long as I can endure for two years and the fruit of the Bodhi tree grows, I will definitely be able to exchange it for money."

"But the difficulty lies in this: if I plant fruit trees on both acres of land, what if I can't make a living for the next two years..."

Gu Xixi placed a cup of tea in front of Qin Dasao, looked at her with a smile, and said, "I've thought it all out."

"The large spacing between fruit trees makes intercropping ideal."

"What is intermittent work?" Sister-in-law Qin asked, not bothering to drink her tea, and listened attentively.

Gu Xixi said, "The first method is to use medicinal herbs to support the orchard, planting medicinal herbs among the fruit trees."

"For example, local herbs such as astragalus, isatis root, and bupleurum are suitable for planting, and yams can be planted on the edge of orchards."

"These medicinal herbs can fetch a good price, and they are also beneficial to soil conservation."

Sister-in-law Qin listened with great interest, "Goodness, I see now, even farming has its own science!"

"It's like Mr. Chen teaching the children, one lesson after another, and they don't learn it easily."

Gu Xixi chuckled, "That makes sense."

Sister-in-law Qin pressed further, "Are there any second or third options?"

Gu Xixi continued, "The second option is to plant some shallow-rooted, fast-growing vegetables, such as bok choy and Chinese cabbage."

"The third method is still growing vegetables, like rapeseed, which can grow simply by scattering seeds. The purpose is to feed the chickens. Chickens roam freely in the orchard, eat the vegetables, and their droppings are collected and decomposed to become fertilizer for the fruit trees. And these chickens..."

"I know!" Sister-in-law Qin answered quickly, "Eggs can be exchanged for oil, salt, needles and thread, and can be sold for money."

"If we raise more chickens, we can sell them; it's all money!"

When Sister-in-law Qin talked about making money, her face lit up.

Gu Xixi smiled and nodded, "Not bad, you can apply what you've learned to other situations."

Sister-in-law Qin touched her cheek embarrassedly, "How could I possibly oppose anything like this?"

"I'm just familiar with the daily life of our farm. As for the specifics of how to do it, I still need to follow your instructions!"

The two discussed it for a few minutes and decided to wait until after the New Year holidays, when Gu Xixi would inspect the site in person before making any plans.

At this moment, Sister-in-law Qin opened her mind and felt much more relaxed.

If she doesn't grow crops, she can grow medicinal herbs, vegetables, and raise chickens!

With Gu Xixi's guidance, she wasn't worried at all.

Aunt Zhang cleared out the steamed buns that Sister-in-law Qin had brought and filled the basin with steamed buns from her own home as a return gift.

Gu Xixi saw Qin Dasao off at the door.

Before leaving, Sister-in-law Qin hesitated for a moment, but still said, "There are a few things I feel I shouldn't keep from you."

"Several families in the village are waiting to see what you're going to plant."

"What are you going to do if they come knocking on your door?"

Gu Xixi thought for a moment and did not refuse directly. She said the same thing again, "Wait a little longer, after the New Year."

When she turned back, Mu Nanzhao was standing in the courtyard.

"Farming is not like becoming a bandit in the mountains, where the more people the better."

"If one day you bring these people together, aren't you afraid that trouble will follow?"

Gu Xixi understood what Mu Nanzhao meant.

The so-called small farmers are those who have been accustomed to working as family units and individually for generations.

Getting a group of people to listen to her is no easy task.

What Mu Nanzhao didn't know was Gu Xixi's ambition.

What she wants is to combine Huachidu Village, and even a wider area, to create a reputation for her fruit.

Just like the Shu brocade of Sichuan, the tribute satin of Jiangnan, the porcelain of Dongzhou, and the Dongzhu pearls of the cold Northeast.

Therefore, it is necessary to adopt unified scientific planting methods and standardized management of fruit quality.

However, nothing has been implemented yet, so there's no point in saying more.

"Maybe," Gu Xixi smiled and said, "but you can't build something new without breaking down the old."

"I can't cultivate all the fertile land in the world by myself. It would be better if everyone could cultivate it together."

Mu Nanzhao said calmly, "I'm just offering a reminder."

What you do is none of my business.

Gu Xixi frowned slightly, and seeing that he was about to leave, she blurted out, "Wait a minute."

Mu Nanzhao turned his head to look at her.

Gu Xixi took two steps forward, looked up at Mu Nanzhao, and said, "I've wanted to ask you this for a while now, why have you been acting so strangely lately?"

Mu Nanzhao said calmly, "Is the school holiday because I haven't been doing enough housework lately, or because I've been spending too much time at home and running into you, which has affected you?"

Gu Xixi's inner alarm bells were ringing.

He was definitely acting very strangely!

She had been careless because he seemed to be eating, drinking, and communicating normally.

Gu Xixi moved closer to Mu Nanzhao and carefully observed his body from all angles.

Are you feeling unwell?

When she looked up, she clearly saw Mu Nanzhao roll his eyes at her.

"No, I'm fine, thank you for your concern."

This time, Mu Nanzhao left resolutely, and the door to the west room slammed shut.

In the old doctor's room in the backyard.

"You're asking about Chen Fang? He won't die anytime soon."

"If you ask him if he is unwell, there are too many things to say, new wounds, old wounds, and the most deadly poison."

“I have almost finished treating his blood and qi deficiency. Logically speaking, when blood and qi are sufficient and yang qi rises, the situation of unstable emotions and strange behavior should decrease.”

Gu Xixi walked out silently, sighing. What was wrong with Mu Nanzhao?