Chapter 613: The Imperial Examination Family-Building System (22)

Besides the dowry coins, her maiden family also provided a dressing table with a copper mirror, a washbasin stand, a large double-sized wooden bathtub for bathing, a large screen capable of blocking the tub, ten sets of bedding, and two rosewood dowry chests.

One chest contained a stack of cut fabric and sewing supplies, as well as combs, scented balm, round fans, handkerchiefs, face towels, and other gifts from the female relatives.

The other chest held her seasonal clothing, shoes, and socks, including two new sets. Tucked inside the pile of clothes was a small, soft bundle containing a few pieces of jewelry, a set of rouge and powder, and a... ahem, unspeakable illustrated manual.

She placed the clothes and fabric into the wardrobe newly crafted by her husband's family for the bridal chamber, arranged the daily necessities in their respective places, put the jewelry into the vanity box on the dressing table, set the rouge and powder alongside the combs, and tucked the sewing supplies into the dressing table drawer...

The emptied rosewood chest was used to store the bedding not currently in use.

As for that reference manual for the wedding night... Xie Yang decisively left it at the bottom of the chest, pressed beneath the quilts.

She would likely never open it again in this lifetime.

He was already capable enough without learning; what would happen if he actually studied it?

The autumn rain drizzled for three days. Because the roads were muddy, Xie Yang couldn't go anywhere during these three days; she spent her days chatting with her mother-in-law and sister-in-law or preparing food, and once it turned dark, she basically spent her time in the bedroom living in their own little world.

On the third day after the wedding, the sky finally cleared.

It happened to coincide with her return to her maiden home.

It was as if the Heavens were her relative—timing the barometer perfectly so that neither her wedding nor her return visit would be ruined by rain.

After successfully completing the return visit ceremony, Xie Yang couldn't sit still. Taking advantage of the moist ground right after the rain, she quickly had the farm steward hitch the carriage and made a trip to Qingshan Village to haul back the tea tree seedlings that the Lin family had helped her raise, racing against time to transplant them onto the mountain.

The alfalfa on the south slope had already been sown ten days ago.

This variety of Alfalfa Seed was also collected during those years in the Northwest military camp in the previous plane; it was not only a high-quality, cold-resistant, and drought-resistant variety, but it had also been soaked in Spirit Spring.

Main System: 【Speaking of this, doesn't your heart ache, Host? The Spirit Spring System is about to be returned to the factory, and you've still squeezed it dry—not only filling every container in the empty Aircraft Cargo Hold with Spirit Spring, but also soaking all the seed inventory...】

Xie Yang raised an eyebrow: "If my heart aches, it's because you refused to let me buy on credit. If I could have bought another Flying Vehicle, I would have had enough space to hoard Spirit Spring; would I have needed to be so busy soaking seeds?"

【...】

Regardless, the seeds she had on hand now were not only high-yield, high-quality seeds selected over and over again, but also Imitation Immortal Seeds soaked in Spirit Spring.

They could easily grow even in the cold and arid lands of the Northwest, let alone in an environment similar to Jiangnan.

And so, they sprouted in less than five days after being planted. After this autumn rain, they even entered the heading stage ahead of schedule.

At this rate, even if the temperature drops below zero and the stems and leaves on the surface might wither, the underground parts have already grown quite robustly and can basically survive the winter successfully. When they sprout new plants and bloom with small purple flowers next spring, they will be the natural fodder that cattle and sheep love most.

In short, the south slope is done; now the focus is on the tea trees on the east and west slopes.

When transplanting the tea tree seedlings, she specifically left small paths for tea picking. Even so, the 5,300 tea tree seedlings only barely filled the east and west slopes.

There was no time for temporary seedling cultivation; the open space at the top of the mountain might as well be planted with pine trees, just like the north slope.

Fortunately, pine and cedar trees are very common locally, so it won't be too late to put out the word that she is buying them after the New Year.

As long as the errand fee is sufficient, she won't need to send people out to purchase them everywhere; there will be plenty of people pulling flatbed carts to her door.

Thus, after transplanting the tea tree seedlings, the planting project for Xiao Chai Shan this year was considered successfully completed.

As for the Farm—

The corners and edges where she planned to plant alfalfa were sown at the same time as the mountain, so she didn't need to worry about them; the thin Dry Land where she planned to plant millet and Corn had already been deep-plowed once. She would plow it again around the Winter Solstice, then leave it empty to be hit by frost and ice. After the ice melts in early spring, she would deep-plow it once more. This would not only improve the soil and reduce pests but also enhance fertility and drought resistance.

The village chief had originally seen her leave so much land empty and not plant anything even after plowing, thinking it was a waste, and had specifically come to remind her.

After the autumn harvest, which family doesn't plant some cabbage or radishes? If they don't plant them, what will they eat in winter? They can't just eat dried wild vegetables every meal, right?

Wealthy families in the city can afford to pay for fresh vegetables, but rural families are too poor to even have enough grain to eat; who would be willing to spend money to buy vegetables?

Song Zhisheng and his wife also felt it was a pity when they saw such a large piece of land left empty at the time, but after asking about Xie Yang's plan and learning that she was "nurturing the land," they thought that the land indeed lacked fertility, and perhaps nurturing it would lead to a better harvest next year, so they didn't try to persuade her further.

Xie Yang arranged for the winter vegetables to be planted by the artificial lake at the Farm.

There was plenty of mud left over from digging the lake that was used to pad the foundation, so she laid it in a circle around the lake, which was perfect for planting vegetables.

She had replaced the vegetable seeds with high-quality ones soaked in Spirit Spring Water. From sowing until now, it had only been about forty days; the Chinese cabbage was lush and full-hearted, already at the maturity stage, and the radishes had also bulged above the ground, with the large ones ready to be pulled and eaten.

Therefore, after finishing the tea tree seedling transplanting, the farm steward took several hired laborers and began harvesting the cabbage and radishes in full swing.

Song Zhisheng and his wife had also been helping out at the Farm recently.

After the Farm was built, besides planting vegetables, Xie Yang also had the farm steward collect some chickens and ducks from other villages to raise.

However, they weren't chicks or ducklings, as there was a concern they wouldn't survive in this season; they were hens and ducks in their laying period. They collected some eggs every day, and when they hatched a few broods of chicks and ducklings in the spring, they would have a flock.

After obtaining Xie Yang's consent, Song Zhisheng clipped the wings of the wild pheasants he hunted and kept them in the Chicken Coop. He also used bamboo to build a rabbit hutch to raise the wild rabbits he had brought back in litters.

Wild rabbits have strong reproductive capabilities; in less than two months, four does were pregnant and gave birth, resulting in a harvest of thirty bunnies.

It is foreseeable that by next spring, the rabbit fur alone will sell for a good amount of money.

Xie Yang knew her father-in-law was a skilled hunter, but she hadn't expected him to be so quick to learn about animal husbandry. She immediately gave him support for the space, stating that as long as it didn't affect the environmental hygiene and overall operation of the Farm, he could raise the pheasants and wild rabbits however he liked.

Encouraged by his daughter-in-law, Song Zhisheng, who had been eager to find a way to make a living for the family after his back injury healed, began raising the animals with high spirits.

Wang and the others watched with extreme envy.

It wasn't that the old Song family didn't raise chickens, but when the family split, Wang couldn't bear to give the chickens she had worked so hard to fatten up to the bedridden Lao San and the grandson with the broken leg, so she didn't give a single one.

Besides, the chickens at home were kept for laying eggs; she couldn't bear to kill them for meat. But the ones Lao San raised at the Farm were all hunted from the mountains and didn't cost any capital. What was wrong with asking for a few to eat?

Thus, Wang went to the Farm to find Lao San, but was retorted with, "These are all things I earned after the family split; they have nothing to do with the old Song family," which made Wang so angry she cursed him for being unfilial.