Traveling Through Farmhouses: Taking the Baby on a Famine Escape

Zhang Xixi carried the pheasants and rabbits back home and asked Cuihua to cook them for dinner tonight as a treat for everyone.

Because Wang Daniu was given all the work of tending to the cattle, Zhang Xixi only needed to provide food.

After dinner, Wang Daniu led a group of people to feed the cattle. The cattle had a better diet that night, consisting of rice bran and grass mixed with water.

They were initially worried that someone might steal the cows and wanted to arrange for people to live in the cowshed, but Zhang Xixi stopped them.

Since the village was attacked by bandits, Zhou Dashan had each family send one person to form a patrol team to take turns keeping watch at night. Of course, families like Zhang Xixi's, who were orphans and widows without adult men, did not need to participate.

It rained late into the night; the first rain of spring always comes so unexpectedly!

However, spring rain is as precious as oil, and the villagers were very happy about this rain.

I got up early the next morning. Although the rain had stopped, the air after the rain was exceptionally fresh and filled with the fragrance of grass, which made the villagers feel much more relaxed and relieved their fatigue.

Because of the rain, the Zhang family and Wang Daniu's land clearing speed increased considerably in the following days.

Other families are busy building houses, as the rainy season is coming soon, and they should get their houses built first.

Since someone else was in charge of all the chores at home, Zhang Xixi became a hands-off manager. Sometimes she would take her two children to herd the horses and mules, and go up the mountain to find some food. Other times she would go to cut grass for the cattle.

This leisurely life only came to an end when Niu Da delivered six buckets of manure.

Fortunately, the excrement was in a wooden bucket with a lid, otherwise the stench would have been unbearable.

Zhang Xixi had Niu Da move them all to the low-lying area below, which was the place where the leaves and weeds had been piled up before.

"Yujie, let's not collect today. Go tell your friends that we'll collect in a few days. When you settle the bill with them later, give them an extra coin."

Smelling the foul odor, Zhou Yujie asked in confusion, "Sister-in-law, what are you doing?"

"Go and inform them about the fertilizer project, then come back and help me."

"Okay, I'll go right away."

Zhang Xixi paid Niu Da and also reserved the excrement from him for later.

After Niu Da left, Zhang Xixi started digging a pit nearby, intending to dig a large, long pit a meter deep. When Zhou Yujie returned, he also helped dig the pit. The two of them dug quickly, and the pit was finished in an hour.

"Yujie, go to the wetlands over there and dig up some more mud."

Seeing that Zhou Yujie had gone to dig up the sludge, Zhang Xixi looked around to make sure no one was there, then hid behind a haystack. She opened the system shop and bought 100 kilograms of lime, as well as some protective gear, such as masks and gloves.

Then, following the method she remembered, Zhang Xixi first cut the weeds and leaves into several pieces.

After lunch, with all the materials prepared, Zhang Xixi took Zhou Yujie to the low-lying area. They put on masks and gloves before starting to make the food.

Although Zhou Yujie was curious about the mask and gloves, he didn't ask any more questions because he thought of Zhang Xixi's mysterious master. Such magical items must have been given to him by his sister-in-law's master.

He should just focus on his work!

First, a thick layer of sludge is laid at the bottom of the pit. Then, the treated material is soaked in water and piled up layer by layer. A small amount of lime is evenly sprinkled on each layer. After piling, it is sealed with sludge and finally covered with tarpaulin. A small ditch is dug around the pit for drainage.

"Yujie, have you memorized the steps? After you succeed, you should pass this method on to the villagers. After all, I'm just a woman, and it's not appropriate for me to show my face in public."

Zhou Yujie mentally reviewed the steps to make sure there were no mistakes before replying, "I've remembered, but I really need to hand it over to someone else!"

Zhang Xixi nodded, "We'll hand it over to the villagers after it succeeds. Who knows, it might not succeed in the end!"

Zhou Yujie said righteously, "Sister-in-law, there's nothing you can't do if you set your mind to it, so don't worry!"

Zhang Xixi smiled and said, "It would be best if it succeeded. This method is not complicated, so there is no need to hide it. Just consider it a contribution to the village."

"There will be some management work to do later, and you'll be in charge of it from now on!"

"Okay!" Zhou Yujie agreed as he packed his things. He was finally able to do something for his family!

Ten days later, many families in the village had finished building their mud-brick and tile houses. Since every household was building a house, Zhou Dashan and the elders of the clan discussed that each family would not hold a housewarming banquet. Instead, they would hold a banquet together to worship their ancestors after the Zhou Clan Ancestral Hall was completed.

Since those with different surnames cannot participate in the ancestral worship ceremony with the Zhou clan, they are allowed to decide for themselves whether to hold the ceremony separately or together with them!

Zhang Dacheng and Wang Gensheng both decided to hold a banquet together with the Zhou clan. They had gone through thick and thin with the Zhou family members to get to this point. Although they were not from the same clan, they were closer than clan members. It would be more lively if everyone held the banquet together!

At this time, the first batch of compost in the depression has passed the high-temperature stage, and most of the organic matter has formed humus. It will be mature in another ten days or so, and the remaining batches are also fermenting.

Zhang Xixi was explaining composting management methods to Zhou Yujie, while Zhang Wenhong and Niu Da were listening nearby, as Zhou Yujie had been guiding them through the production of the later batches of compost.

Zhang Xixi thought that if more people learned the skill, she could confidently hand over this job in the future. Although she aspired to be a rich woman, she didn't want to worry too much, otherwise she would definitely not live long.

Her lifelong wish is to be a wealthy woman with lots of land and money, and to take good care of herself so she can live to a ripe old age!

Zhang Yuhong noticed that Zhang Xixi was in a daze, smiling brightly without saying a word.

"Little sister, are you done talking?"

Zhang Xixi snapped out of her daze, "Ah! I've already told you everything I need to be careful about."

"Alright, I'll have Niu Da send me a few buckets of night-blooming jasmine tomorrow, and I'll find a place to get some fertilizer myself."

"Second Brother, you can have the night soil that Niu Da delivers tomorrow! My house will be closed for a few days, and you can do it right downstairs from my house, there's plenty of space here!"

Zhang Wenhong nodded, looked around, walked to the corner of the depression and started digging a pit to do the preparatory work first!

"Hey little sister, could you give me a few more of those masks and gloves tomorrow? This stuff really stinks!"

"Okay, I'll get it for you tomorrow."

Zhou Yujie also helped Zhang Wenhong dig the pit. These past few days, he has stopped collecting leaves and weeds and his main job is to manage the compost.

Niu Da went to the wasteland to continue clearing land, while Zhang Xixi went to cut grass for the cattle and bought some rice bran to bring back. There was plenty of food for eleven cows, and the five hundred catties of rice bran from last time had already been eaten.

On the homestead, the houses in the yard are almost finished. The toilets were also built on both sides of the cattle and horse shed according to Zhang Xixi's requirements. They were flush toilets, with one side for men and the other for women, and patterns were painted on the walls to distinguish them.

I'll soon have my own home, that's wonderful!