Chapter Ten Planting Vegetables

  Grandma pulled Fang Mo Nan back home, where his aunt had already set the table and was teasingly looking at him, saying "Our 'college student' is back home. Come on, you must be tired, hurry up and eat!"

  Dinner was served in the corridor, without a fan, it's better to eat outside. Fang Mernan missed the air conditioner so much, not afraid of the heat at this time, and now there is no more sweltering heat at noon. There was no TV, only listening to the small radio installed by the county government for each household, listening to the Central Radio Station's broadcast, it can be said that some understanding of what happened outside can be gained, at least not being completely in the dark.

  Dinner was not as sumptuous as lunch, the millet porridge cooked with mountain yam eggs, the mountain yam eggs were small, only the size of Fang Mo's thumb. In a rattan basket, there was a white steamed bun, two cornmeal pockets, and no dishes from noon were left, so there was only a plate of pickled cucumber, topped with garlic and ginger shreds.

  Three people sat down, seeing Grandma and the others pick up their chopsticks to start eating. Fang Mo Nan then held his bowl and slowly ate. The porridge wasn't scalding hot, it was just right for drinking, it should have been cooled for a while. There was a sweet fragrance of millet, and the mountain yam egg was very tender and sweet, unlike those in later generations which were hard and crispy.

  Auntie was absent-minded while eating, a stark contrast to her earlier smile, and could even be said to be somewhat dejected, muttering to herself, finally venting her frustrations about work.

  From her complaints, Fang Mo Nan heard that there was originally a chance to turn regular. Both of them had the same qualifications and education, but unfortunately, their backgrounds were not as strong as others, so they couldn't even talk about relationships. It's a pity that she was above him, which is very normal.

  "What else can we do, if your father were still alive, maybe he could help. Now, sigh... Grandma sighed and accepted the reality, which was stronger than human efforts. "Be content with what we have, at least we have work to do." Grandma's consolation sounded so pale and powerless, as if there was no other way."

  "Why? I'm not willing to accept it. But what can be done?" Little Aunt muttered to herself.

  "It's simple, if one's academic qualifications are stronger than others, then that's it. Let's just work hard and study." A sweet voice rang out, and Fang Mo Nan put down his bowl.

  "I'm so old and still learning, what does a little kid like you know?" Little Aunt retorted.

  "Yes, we didn't say that in the past. The radio said two years ago that the college entrance exam had already been restored, and it's not like before when people weren't allowed to study. Besides, our family is not as difficult as when your father passed away, and we couldn't afford for you to go to school. You're lucky to have graduated from high school. Reading more books will always be beneficial. I also attended a literacy class back then, but if it wasn't for having many children and no one to take care of them, I wouldn't have stopped halfway.

  Grandma put down her chopsticks and felt a hint of regret. "Look at those intellectuals who were sent to the countryside before; they're all back in the big cities now. It's clear that reading books is still good, otherwise you'll miss out on good opportunities again. Think about it carefully, is this not the reason?"

  Rarely able to let her little daughter pick up a book again, Grandma spoke with added emphasis."

  Fang Mengnan is also very strange, his illiterate grandmother married a knowledgeable grandfather. I remember that Grandfather's ancestral background was a landlord, but the family declined later. During the movement, no one held it against him, but he couldn't stop those with ulterior motives. Grandma's background was a genuine poor and lower-middle peasant, they should have been brought together by the times.

  "Auntie, you're not afraid, are you?" Please don't be so provocative, Fang Mo Nan said with a smirk, looking her up and down.

  "Afraid? What are you afraid of?" her aunt asked, looking at her in confusion.

  "Of course, I'm afraid of not learning, afraid of not persisting, making excuses for my weakness. But most importantly, I'm more afraid of not being better than you." Fang Mo Nan said with a look of disdain, puffing out her small chest proudly.

  "Hmph, you think you're so big just because you learned a few words? You're acting like a college student with your tail wagging all the way to heaven. I'm still in junior high and I don't want to be compared to you, it's utterly ridiculous." The aunt was furious and retorted without thinking, not considering that her opponent was just a kid and she shouldn't be arguing with him on equal terms.

  "Yes, my little swallow is not stupid either. She has endured a lot of hardships and has been working hard, biting her teeth to hold on. Who says she can't read well? Maybe if she persists, she might even get into university." Grandma's timely remark added fuel to the fire.

  "Really? Xiaoyi can get into college." As they spoke, Fang Mo Nan also felt that it was about time. Seeing Xiaoyi getting excited, "When the time comes, Grandma will definitely kill a chicken to celebrate, okay?"

  "Ghost girl, just eat." Little aunt laughed and stood up, walking into the house.

  "Wait! You haven't finished your meal yet!" Grandma shouted loudly.

  "I won't eat anymore, in order to celebrate with chicken earlier, I must work hard now. I'll go find the books that were put away first." Xiaoyi's heart felt sour, although their family conditions were a bit better than before, if they wanted to eat meat, they had to wait until New Year's, and normally couldn't even see any meat dishes. She held back her tears, clenched her fists tightly, and worked hard, determined to celebrate early. She had already endured the bitterness of having low education.

  Fang Mo Nan and his grandmother exchanged a smile, and an understanding was instantly reached.

  "By the way, mom, I forgot to tell you that the tenant in the north house is not renewing the lease and has already settled the rent. I think they will move out in two or three days." Little aunt said as she turned back after stepping across the threshold.

  "Oh dear, it seems we have to find someone to rent the house again." Grandma said as she cleared the bowls and chopsticks.

  At that time, the south house, north house and west house were all inhabited by Grandma's relatives. Later, they became successful and either moved away or followed their children to big cities for a better life. The houses were left empty, as the relatives wouldn't return, so they decided to sell them to Grandma at a low price. Luckily, Grandma was still alive then, and with someone in the family who could handle things, they managed to buy all three houses by tightening their belts. Now, at least there's some income.

  After dinner, Grandma and Little Aunt were busy with their own things. Fang Mo Nan wandered aimlessly to the garden behind the east house, which was about 1 mu in size, over 300 square meters. It was very flat, with loose soil and some scattered weeds that had just sprouted, suggesting that Grandma often came to pull them out.

  The north wall root still has a row of five or six pumpkin seedlings, the seedlings have climbed high along the wall, and have already bloomed, not far from fruiting. The south wall side is still stacked with some wood, like beams, and beside the wood are neatly stacked red bricks, not many in quantity.

  Fang Mò Nán remembered that later on, two more rooms were added to the back of the house. Originally, they hadn't been built yet, but it was not possible, and he had to dispel this idea from his grandmother's mind. She still wanted to use this piece of land to grow some vegetables in the space, so not only could they harvest a lot, but also have an excuse to cover up, and then they could openly eat the vegetables. Now he went to find his grandmother, Fang Mò Nán returned to the front yard.

  "Grandma, are we going to build a house in the back?" Fang Mo Nan ran into the kitchen and asked, hugging her leg.

  "Oh, yours." Grandma said, while pouring cold water into the pot on the fire.

  "Oh, I saw the wood and red bricks placed by the wall in the backyard, which looked similar to the wooden beams at home. I guessed it." Fang Mo Nan replied cleverly, being young was a trouble indeed.

  "Our Nannan is really clever," Grandma flattered.

  "Grandma, let's not build a house, okay? Let's plant vegetables like Auntie's backyard instead." Fang Mo Nan didn't care about Grandma's praise and hastily expressed his idea.

  "This isn't good, we've almost finished preparing. Besides, after building the house and renting it out, we can collect rent." Grandma covered the pot with a lid, wiped her hands with a towel, and headed into the house.

  "Planting vegetables, planting vegetables, this way we can save money on buying vegetables. If Little Aunt passes the university exam, she'll have living expenses." Fang Mo Nan thought only of planting the land and said without any consideration. "The rent is very cheap now, isn't it a bargain?" She was blocked by the high threshold and could only shout loudly into the house to Grandma.

  "Hmm, that's worth considering, but learning isn't something that can be done overnight." Grandma turned around and stood in the doorway, thinking seriously. If her little daughter could really work hard and make progress, it would be a good thing. But then she added, "Besides, that place isn't big either, how much food money can we save?"

  "Grandma told me to plant, let me try, now the weather is good and we'll definitely have a big harvest. Besides, even if there's a little left over, it's still something." Fang Mengnan stood outside the doorway, patted his chest and added with emphasis.

  Grandma shook her head, "Xiao Nannan, are you going to plant vegetables?" She looked at her suspiciously.

  "I will plow the land, sow seeds, water them, fertilize and catch insects." Fang Mo Nan counted on his fingers.

  Grandma listened to her and it really seemed like the real thing, probably following her to look at people's corn seedlings and telling her about it, didn't expect her to remember so clearly.

  Grandma thought that since the house construction hasn't started yet, let her try and see how enthusiastic she is, probably because she's been influenced by staying in the countryside for too long. Maybe it's just a temporary whim, don't discourage her enthusiasm, so nodded in agreement.

  Fang Mo Nan happily jumped and ran to the backyard, thinking of planting something.

  Her grandmother saw her enthusiasm and, as it was still early, followed to help out in the back. Holding a hoe from home, she started digging the land, which these little people couldn't do, so she helped her out. It's strange to say that after finishing one mu of land, the sky gradually darkened, and she didn't feel any waist or back pain, nor did she feel tired. Her body had obviously improved a lot compared to before returning to the countryside. Of course, she didn't think it was because of eating space vegetables, but just felt very capable, much stronger than before.

  "Alright, let's buy some vegetable seeds and we can start planting." Grandma still held the hoe and patted the mud off her hands.

  "We don't need to buy vegetable seeds, Shi Tou gave me some seedlings and seeds when we came." Fang Mo Nan quickly said, and ran to the corridor downstairs to take out a paper package, of course, that was just an excuse. Taking advantage of the gradual darkness, in a place where no one could see, he took out tomato seedlings, bean sprout seedlings, cucumber seedlings, and spinach seeds from his space.

  Grandma looked at the seedlings, which had grown a bit and were still straight and upright, well-preserved, without any signs of wilting. "It was planned long ago, let's plant them now."

  Fang Mo Nan and she held small shovels, bean sprouts, cucumber seedlings, tomato seedlings, needing to dig holes and bury them. It's best to plant spinach, the seeds are stuck in the mud and sprinkled into the ground, and then a layer of soil is lightly sprinkled on top. The two people worked quickly and finished planting soon.

  "Alright, that's enough watering." Grandma patted the dirt off her hands and saw that her granddaughter was also helping out, although slowly, but very seriously, it was clear that she really wanted to grow vegetables. She looked up at the sky which had already completely darkened, "Let's go, Nannan, we'll continue tomorrow."

  "Oh, I'll take another look" After Grandma left, Fang Mo Nan took a glance around to make sure no one was watching, then used the spatial spring water to sprinkle the ground slightly before leaving.

  After taking a bath and going to bed, I was still thinking about that piece of land. Although it can't be like space, from seed to maturity in two or three days, but planting on the ground should be faster than outside, right?

  As usual, he stayed in the room for two days, meditating and studying medicine. The next morning at 5 o'clock sharp, he got up on time, of course, Grandma also got up with him, carrying Fang Mo Nan over the threshold, and saw her running to the backyard.

  Fang Mò Nán saw the little sprouts standing upright, with tender green colors, swaying in the wind. She looked around and found no one nearby, so she not only watered them with the space's spring water but also sprinkled some of the space's soil next to each tender shoot. Of course, she also took advantage of the absence of people to water the jujube tree and pomegranate tree in the front yard with the space's water and sprinkle some of the space's soil on them, making their growth even better.

  Fang Mo Nan finished his work and saw Grandma walking, carrying a water bucket. He quickly went forward, took the water bucket off her, and said, "It's agreed that I'll take care of the vegetables. You've already helped me with the weeding and planting. The rest, like watering, fertilizing, and pest control, should be done by me personally. There's no need for Grandma to work hard to help."

  "Oh really?" Grandma listened to her and nodded in agreement. "You must persevere, don't give up halfway." She reminded her carefully again.

  Fang Mo Nan took the water bucket left by his grandmother and poured it away when no one was looking. After a while, he went back to the front yard and said to his grandmother, "Grandma, I've watered all the seedlings." Then he ran back to the backyard and started running around the vegetable field. It's impossible for him to go jogging on the street in the morning, not only would his grandmother not agree, but he also didn't want to be stared at by others.

  Grandma heard Fang Mo Nan's voice in the yard, turned around and came out, but didn't see anyone. She ran to the backyard again, looked at the moist soil, the green vegetables were still dripping with water droplets, and saw Fang Mo Nan obediently circling around the vegetable field, so she started making breakfast.

  After finishing breakfast, Xiao Yi left. Fang Mo Nan coaxed Grandma to go to the county town to take a walk and get familiar with the road, so she wouldn't get lost on her way back home.

  "Grandma laughed and said, 'You still want to recognize the road? I don't even dare let you go out on the street, you're too young.' She thought for a moment, after so many days in the countryside, there were no more vegetables at home. Going to the market to buy vegetables was just right. At this time, it wasn't hot yet and the vegetables were still fresh."

  "Alright, now let's go out and take a stroll, you can get familiar with the roads using your own words." Grandma said with a smile. Locking the door, taking the money, the grandmother and grandson went out onto the streets.

  Grandma pulled Fang Mo Nan south for a few minutes and arrived at the intersection, where every morning the roadsides were filled with freshly picked green leafy vegetables, meat and egg vendors, although not many, only a few cats. The prices were significantly cheaper than those in the county's food stores, because these were all homegrown and homemade, selling them to supplement their household income.

  It's said to be a market, but it's actually people coming spontaneously. Over time, stalls were formed, and farmers earned a little bit of money. The front of the stalls are all clean, no need for anyone to sweep, because the rotten vegetable leaves were all taken back home by the farmers, chopped up and fed to the chickens.

  Grandma walked up to the meat stall, asked the price, carefully calculated it, still thought it was expensive, smiled and shook her head as she left.

  Finally bought some spinach and scallions. Had a bowl of noodle soup with pumpkin flower slices for lunch, which was just what I needed to cleanse my intestines.

  The dishes didn't have any oil or meat, and were easy to get constipated from. But the pumpkin flowers bloomed profusely, so I picked the tenderest ones, which had soft hairs on them. The most tender parts were pinched off and eaten to clean the intestines and treat constipation. These were all conclusions drawn from Grandma's life experiences. When I was little, I suffered a lot when I had diarrhea.

  Then Grandma led Fang Mernan to stroll around the commercial street of the county town, in front of the Hongqi Cinema, department stores, and large canteens, there were privately-owned four-wheeled carts with welding, watch repair shops, locksmiths, ice cream vendors, all lined up at the entrance of the cinema. There was also a vendor selling roasted buns, Fang Mernan stood here for a long time but didn't see many customers coming to buy, one bun only cost five cents.

  It seems that Fang Mengnan is cheap in death but expensive in life. In the future, who will have a few cents? Even a coin on the road won't be picked up by anyone.

  Fang Mo Nan pulled his grandma's hand, looked around with interest, entered the store to check the prices of goods, and went into a restaurant to look at the menu prices on the blackboard, also to get an idea of the market situation in advance.

  Is it?

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