Qin Tongnuan did some calculations, hmm, it seemed that they had just received the payment, so she could demand more dishes without holding back. The exams were over and she could finally relax, not having to bury herself in books every day. She now had the chance to do something else, like farming.
She was planning to add some greenhouses to the land. They didn’t need to be of top quality, after all, they weren’t growing vegetables for sale, just for their own consumption. And there wasn’t anyone in the family with spare time, they could only rely on her brother Xiang Yang coming home on weekends. That was hardly enough time to get everything done in the fields.
Fortunately, her brother Xiang Yang also had summer vacation, and they had to get the greenhouse ready beforehand to avoid the rush when the weather turned cold.
She took another sip of water, still thinking about where to take Jian Zhiqing for a good, thorough fleecing.
After finishing a bowl of soup, Qin Xiangnuan’s stomach was full. The feeling of being well-fed was truly comforting. She patted her belly, quite satisfied, feeling that she didn’t need to eat anything else for the rest of the day.
Jian Zhiqing had packed some bones to take home, which were meant for Conghua to eat, and to give Ergou a better meal.
It’s said that people can suffer from adolescent angst, but who would have thought that even a dog could get it.
Luckily, Conghua was a male dog. Otherwise, Qin Xiang feared that the dogs from other families would come and indiscriminately pee on their door. The door of the neighboring house had already been peed on by countless dogs. If any dared to pee on her door, she would throw Conghua straight out at them.
When she got home, everyone had already eaten. Granny Lu knew that Jian Zhiqing had taken her out for a meal, so she hadn’t left any food for her.
"Woof, woof..." Conghua knew there were delicious treats, wagging its big butt while running out.
Qin Xiangnuan gave the bones she brought back to Conghua, letting him chew on them.
"Woof, woof, woof..." Conghua happily wagged its tail, looking just like a lovable and clueless Havanese, easily forgetting past scolding but endearing all the same.
She first went inside to change clothes, removing the restrictive tube top, and in an instant, that sensation of breathing freely, made her heave a sigh of relief.
When she came out, by coincidence, Jian Zhiqing was also idle, sitting at the stone table reading the newspaper. He saw the clothes Qin Xiangnuan was wearing and his lips curved slightly, yet he didn’t laugh or speak, since girls tend to have thin skins and might get upset.
In reality, he was overthinking it. Qin Xiangnuan never felt that her skin was thin. On the contrary, her skin was thick as a city wall.
She sat down as well and reached out for the newspaper.
Jian Zhiqing directly handed her a section, the entertainment part. In fact, with Qin Xiangnuan’s level of reading newspapers, that was all she could handle. As for other sections, she was simply not interested. Whenever anything happened domestically or abroad, Jian Zhiqing usually told her about it, to avoid her being ignorant and uninformed as though living in a well.
She didn’t like watching TV and only read the entertainment section of the newspaper. Other important news was spoon-fed to her by Jian Zhiqing.
"The plastic sheeting you asked for, I have ordered it for you. When will you need it?"
Jian Zhiqing put down the newspaper, talking business with her.
"Let’s just order it now, and wait until my brother is on vacation," Qin Xiangnuan thought and replied. Though Qin Xiangyang had only farmed as a child, he grew up in the countryside, and building a greenhouse was not too difficult for him, especially with so many people to help.
A few young men could get it done in a matter of days.
Since they weren’t looking to sell the vegetables, the greenhouses could initially do without the plastic sheets, but the main framework needed to be established. They planted a lot of staples like potatoes and sweet potatoes. In the future, these greenhouses would be for growing greens and such, more than enough to feed themselves, as well as supplying Lu’s Cake Shop. They would not have to purchase vegetables from outside anymore. Now, every day Granny Lu would take a stroll through the fields first, to check on her land and then bring some vegetables home.
The older generation had a deep attachment to their land. Without it, they felt like something was missing in their souls. To them, having land meant having everything. Both Dadao Village and Shenjia Village lived by farming, the inhabitants of both villages had sustained generations with just a few acres of land.
Granny Lu, originally from Shenjia Village, had no land even though she had the local hukou (household registration). Now that they suddenly had so much land, of course, she was happy. She could spend a whole day just talking about how the seedlings in the field had grown and such.
Granny Lu was in good health and enjoyed working in the field most, like pulling weeds.
She knew a few old ladies who sometimes went with her to the fields, helping each other out. On their way back, Granny Lu would pick some vegetables for them, enough to last a few days. This made her quite popular among these old men and women, and soon, she became well integrated with the locals.
Before long, Xiang Yang was also on vacation. His dormmates knew about the Qin family’s plan to build a greenhouse, so they offered to stay and help. The Qin family provided food and accommodation, and these sturdy young men worked tirelessly. After feeding well, they all rushed to the fields.
Besides building a greenhouse, they had weeding and sowing to do.
Xiang Yang’s friends were a good bunch. Perhaps due to fate, they were all children of farmers and had been no strangers to farm work at home. Now at an age perfect for hard labor, they could easily do the work of two during farm chores.
Even Jian Zhiqing, who grew up in the city, wasn’t idle.
In just a few days, they had built two greenhouse frames. Although it was only the main structure, places for stoves were already reserved for when the weather got cold. They could then install stoves and plastic sheets, and even the cotton curtains were custom ordered.
These two greenhouses were not made with the mud bricks still used in the rural areas. They were legitimately built with brick, sand, and cement. Moreover, the structures meant to replace bamboo poles were made of iron, so even if it snowed in winter, they were unlikely to collapse.
Such luxurious greenhouses were explicitly designed, and though they were expensive, they could last for many years, much more robust than mere bamboo poles. Qin Xiangnuan had done the math, estimating that they could use the land for at least five years. Five years was neither too long nor too short. Building a greenhouse required substantial human and material resources, so investing for a five-year use, despite higher costs, was worth it.
Li Dongsheng patted the red brick wall of the newly built greenhouse.