"Two ponds?" The planting area on the rooftop isn’t large, and the compost from one small pond would be enough.
"The smaller one for composting, the larger one for storing water. Both ponds will get tin lids. It’s not necessary to lay any pipes; when it rains, just open the lids to collect water, then there’s no need to keep carrying water up and down." These words flowed smoothly from Xiao Xian’s mouth, leaving the plasterer and Zhuo Feng couple taken aback.
This kid who grew up in the mountains, why is his brain so sharp? It’s such a natural thing to use ponds to collect rainwater, yet these city-dwellers who are used to tap water have long forgotten this innate human instinct to harness the natural environment.
"Feng, Xiao Xian’s grandpa really did a good job educating him. A ten-year-old kid is so..." Feng Xing wanted to offer more praise but was silenced by Zhuo Feng’s look and obediently mixed the cement.
Zhuo Feng, unable to help, felt inferior thinking her four years of university education couldn’t compare to Xiao Xian’s four years of rural life.
"Miss, let’s not stand around idle. It’ll take a while for the ponds to be ready and dry, so for now we have to use tap water. Let’s carry a few buckets up and let the water warm up under the sun. Once it’s heated, we can water the vegetables." Xiao Xian felt the leaves—without water soon, they’d turn into dried vegetables.
No sooner had she spoken than the plasterer chuckled, "Young lady, surely you didn’t come from the northeast. I’ve only heard that in the cold northeast, to prevent freezing during some winter projects, hot water is used to mix concrete. But I’ve never heard of using warm water to water plants."
How to explain so these city folks would understand? Xiao Xian pondered, "It’s false that you can’t water at noon. If the plants are dying of thirst, you must water them right away. Grandpa always used sun-heated water for the job, whether in paddy fields or vegetable patches, and none of the plants ever wilted—all thrived."
"People say Beijing’s water isn’t clean, has chlorine smell, and it’s groundwater. It’s better to water with it after it’s been sunned, the same principle as with fish farming." Zhuo Feng didn’t bother to investigate further. Speaking more would lead to talks about Ge Village’s march towards prosperity. Zhuo Feng didn’t want Xiao Xian to reminisce too much about Ge Village, attributing her agricultural knowledge solely to Zhu Shijun’s teachings.
"Starting from tomorrow, no, from tonight, I’ll review all the textbooks I’ve skipped. I’ll also interact more with the planters and buyers at the flower and bird market. I refuse to believe I’ll be outdone by that old man from the Zhu Family," Zhuo Feng resolved as she carried water back and forth. Unknown to her, Xiao Xian’s words and actions were inspiring her.
The neighbors downstairs couldn’t help but be disturbed by the moving of cement and bricks upstairs. Old Man Bai heard the bustling footsteps above and cursed the tenants on the fourth floor for their new antics.
When the sun was at its harshest at noon, the pond was only half-built, and Xiao Xian’s family went downstairs for lunch.
Old Man Bai took the chance to head to the rooftop. Looking at the scattered cement bricks and the half-built pond, he didn’t let on anything. Glancing at the basins and buckets of water being sunned, he twitched his goat beard, "Didn’t expect that young couple to be quite smart, using the sun-warmed water for their plants." Little would he suspect that the idea came from Xiao Xian.
Xiao Xian’s planting ideology, tough to articulate clearly, was plainly evident to an expert like Old Man Bai. The reason not to water in summer heat or high temperatures is because sudden cold water can shock the plants’ roots, hindering normal water absorption—at its most evident with herbaceous crops. Once the water is sun-heated, watering poses no issue.
After lunch, Zhuo Feng watered the seedlings with nearly thirty-degree heated water. She was extremely tense while watering; only after seeing the leaves perk up an hour later did she breathe a sigh of relief.
"I don’t know if it’s my imagination, but the plants seem much bigger after watering," Zhuo Feng nudged Feng Xing, who was enduring the heat with her.
"That can’t be that quick. You must be seeing things. If it were so, these plants would be demons," Feng Xing commented, promptly deflating Xiao Xian’s proud expression.
Both Zhuo Feng and Feng Xing were educated and firm believers in science. Xiao Xian dared not show any sleight of hand in front of them. In fact, ever since joining the Sacred Heart Middle School basketball team, through video learning and teachings from senior players, Xiao Xian realized that the effects of her Space Immortal Liquid and Cloud Ascension Technique, in the eyes of city folk, were supernatural, even eerie. She had to avoid revealing too much in public, even in front of "her" own family.
"Xiao Xian, what’s wrong? Are you tired? It’s rare to have a weekend off. Go downstairs and rest properly. Later, your aunt will take you for a nice meal," Zhuo Feng, noting Xiao Xian’s changing complexion, insisted she rest for fear that the sun had taken its toll.
Lost in thought, Xiao Xian absent-mindedly walked downstairs. Coming back to her senses, she found herself at the third-floor stairwell. There, the door to Old Man Bai’s apartment—where he had given her a Xiangtan scallion the night before—was wide open.
A young man stepped out, cursing, "Old fool, hogging the house and messing with plants all day."
Xiao Xian hurriedly stepped aside. With no one responding inside Old Man Bai’s apartment and the young man having left downstairs, quietness returned, punctuated by occasional scraping sounds.
Xiao Xian peered curiously at the doorstep for a while but ultimately didn’t go in.
It seems that today is Fu Zi’s history with the most words written in a day, seeking compliments in the comment section below. The way to compliment is to help fill out the author survey beneath the text. Let me understand the direction you expect the story to take, thank you!~(To be continued. If you work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with your recommendation ticket and monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation.)