Chapter 137: Planting Peanuts
Translator: Lonelytree
The next day, Ning Weiyi and the guys pleaded to go along to the fields to plant peanuts.
The farm was huge, and it would take some time to fill it up. Xiao Lingyu planned to have six Mu of strawberries, three Mu of peanuts, three Mu of soybeans, four Mu of dragon fruit, and five or six Mu of vegetables. Other than strawberries and dragonfruit, all the others had to be planted within two days. In other words, there were twelve to thirteen Mu of land that needed to be planted. In addition to her own family, Xiao Lingyu hired her fourth uncle and aunt as well as six women from the village.
Xiao Lingyu brought a part of the seeds to plant in the farming space while she handed the rest to Mother Xiao. Mother Xiao grew them into seedlings, and they would be transplanted now.
The villagers of Taoyuan Village were confused by Xiao Lingyu’s decision. Mother Xiao had grown vegetables to sell before, but business was bad, and most vegetables were left to rot at home. Now, Xiao Lingyu was walking her mother’s old path. Furthermore, she started with such a large piece of land.
Many villagers didn’t have high hopes. However, this was the Xiao Family’s money, so why should they care?
With this in mind, someone sighed. Back then, Xiao Zhengyang was the poorest family in the village when he was separated from the Xiao Family. He and his family lived in an old house that leaked during rain and was cold in winter. Their lives were hard. But now, Xiao Zhengyang had a new house, good savings, and his daughter was rich. It was enviable.
Mother Xiao arranged everyone their job, including Xiao Lingye and his three roommates. Of course, Mother Xiao gave the three the easiest job. Xiao Lingyu, Xiao Lingye, and Liu Chunhua would lead the three kids to plant peanuts.
Mother Xiao and the others had already tilled and fertilized the land. The fertilizer came from Little Light. Xiao Lingyu said that she would grow only organic stuff. She would not use chemical fertilizer or pesticides. Her fertilizer was organic. Big and Little Light contributed a lot to the natural fertilizer. Their manure had the effect of the spring water.
Xiao Lingyu, Xiao Lingye woke up early in the morning. They moved around quietly to not wake up Ning Weiyi and the rest. However, their movements still woke up the guys. Kang Le opened his hazy eyes and looked out the window. There was barely light. “Ye, what are you doing so early in the morning?”
Xiao Lingye explained, “We’re going out to work! You guys can sleep longer. You can join us after breakfast.”
Xiao Lingye’s words woke them up immediately. “What?” The three sat up and gasped in shock. “Ye, you need to start work so early? But the sun isn’t even up yet!”
Xiao Lingye explained, “Such is the life of a farmer. If you work early in the morning, the weather won’t be hot, and the soil will be naturally damp, so the seedlings will take to root more easily.”
Ning Weiyi scratched his head. “I thought we’d go to the field at 9 am, like a normal 9 to 5 job.”
“I thought so too.” Yang Baolin echoed. “I didn’t expect that we’d need to get up so early in the countryside.”
Xiao Lingye rolled his eyes at these young masters and said, “You should plan your year in spring, and your day in the morning, that is from Wu Ming Si. The farmers rely on the heavens for their food. Our daily plan and yearly plan are heavily impacted by weather. Look at the sky now. The sun will be hot around noon, so we better finish our work before then.”
Kang Le said in a daze. “Who knew there’d be such deep philosophy to farming! Yi, Bao, come up, let’s get to work too!”
“Okay!” The three lifted the quilt and got out of bed.
Xiao Lingye said, “Why don’t you guys sleep a bit longer? You already study so hard normally. Use this chance to take a break.”
Yang Baolin rolled his eyes and said, “You study even harder than us. But you’re already up to work. We need to follow your example.”
“That’s right!” Ning Weiyi rolled out of bed and put on his shoes. “As you said, you should plan your year in spring and your day in the morning. If we continued to sleep, we’d become pigs!”
“But…” Xiao Lingye still wanted to persuade them.
Yang Baolin immediately wrapped his arms around Xiao Lingye’s neck. “Ye, I heard that the morning air in the countryside is the freshest. We also want to go and breathe some fresh air.”
“Alright!” Xiao Lingye stopped persuading them, “Then, hurry up and brush your teeth and wash your faces. I’ll lead you to the farm. Sis and fourth aunt should have left already. They’ll be back around eight for breakfast. The work will continue after breakfast.”
He was a country boy. He was used to getting up early for work since he was young. However, it was different from these three young masters. They were there basically for a tour.
“Okay, we got it. Let’s go!”
The sky was bright when they departed. The air was fresh, and the birds chirped. On the way, they saw many villagers who were already hard at work. Some were weeding, and others were planting. There were villagers checking the water level in the fields and the conditions of the seedlings. Children were picking snails to be fed to the ducks and geese. Everyone looked so energetic and diligent.
This was something the three had never seen in the county town.
When they arrived at Xiao Lingyu’s field, Xiao Lingye and his friends were surprised.
Xiao Lingyu saw them and said, “Little Brother, why did you wake them up so early in the morning?”
Xiao Lingye mumbled, “Sis, I’m innocent. I didn’t wake them up. They got up on their own and wanted to come with me.”
Xiao Lingyu asked the guys. “Why didn’t you guys sleep more and come after breakfast?”
Ning Weiyi smiled, “Sis, we’re here to work. We can’t keep on sleeping when we know Sis and fourth aunt are already here working.” The three of them looked at Liu Chunjiao, who was already working with another woman. Liu Chunjiao put the peanut seed in the trench, and the other poured the fertilizer around the seed.
The three studied for a while and asked, “Sis, we’re here to help, not to have fun. Teach us how to grow peanuts!”
Xiao Lingyu pointed at the ditches. “See those ditches? You put the peanuts in the ditches, two nuts each time. Then, you’ll move down another 15 cm and repeat. You three can start with planting the seeds. Ye ‘Er, help me with the fertilizing.” The fertilizer was rather smelly, so she didn’t let the guests deal with that.
“Okay!” Xiao Lingye had no issues. He used to help his parents do this.
Ning Weiyi and the two knew their limits. They were beginner farmers. They would start with the easy work first. They studied Xiao Lingyu and clumsily tried to imitate her.
Each of them picked a trench and started to seed. They couldn’t gauge the distance well like experienced farmers, so they found a stick about 15 cm and used that as a guide.
Xiao Lingyu and Liu Chunjiao covered their mouths and snickered. The kids were too cute. Xiao Lingye rolled his eyes.
Soon, the three got used to the farm work. They didn’t need to use the stick anymore. They came around 6 am. When it was 8 am, they stopped for breakfast. The three of them had seeded one Mu of land.
However, they were also extremely tired. They felt that their waists were not even their own. They felt sore and painful. They finally understood the hardships of being a farmer.
Mother Xiao commented with concern, “Kids, you’ve done good enough work for the day. Perhaps you should go back home to study or rest. Look at how tired you are. You can’t even straighten your waists.”
The three of them refused immediately, “No, Auntie. We can’t quit just like that!”
Ning Weiyi added, “Auntie, it is tiring, but we’re enjoying ourselves. We’ll continue to help out after breakfast!”
Mother Xiao tried to persuade them a few more times, but since they were so insistent, she stopped.
“Auntie, this porridge is so delicious!” It was the first time Yang Baolin had tasted such delicious porridge. “I feel much better after drinking this porridge. My waist doesn’t feel so sore anymore!”
“Yeah, I have the same feeling!” Ning Weiyi and Kang Le also said, “Auntie, it’s a blessing to eat your food.”
Mother Xiao laughed. “If you like my cooking, you should eat more!”
Liu Chunjiao asked, “Sister-in-law, how did you make this porridge? It’s so delicious!”
Xiao Lingyu drank the porridge and ate the buns to cover her expression.. They had no idea the spring water was used in the preparation of the porridge.
