Chapter 75: Super Farm System (41)

The letter the other party tucked into the package verified Xie Yang's conjecture.

She packed one portion separately, intending to quietly head to the foot of Banyue Mountain later, once the work-end whistle blew and everyone was rushing home for dinner.

She divided her own share into several parts, planning to mail some to her aunt, Lin Xi, and Xu Shengnan later, and keeping a little for Zhaodi and Fu Rongrong, so everyone could taste the specialties of the Northwest.

However, there was only one wool blanket, so she kept it for herself.

She would mail all the cashmere yarn balls to her aunt; she had to help the sub-system upgrade in her spare time, so how could she have time to knit a sweater?

She would simply ask her aunt to help her knit a thin cardigan for spring and autumn, and let her aunt keep the remaining yarn as a fee for her craftsmanship.

Speaking of which, the package her aunt sent this time contained two pairs of sleeve covers made from fabric scraps and two pairs of cloth shoes sewn by her mother-in-law.

Knowing that working in the countryside wore out shoes, the old woman made cloth shoes whenever she had free time.

Although her eyes were dim and her hands and feet were not as nimble as before, the workmanship was still very meticulous; the thick, sturdy thousand-layer-soled Old Cloth Shoes were especially comfortable to wear on the feet.

After changing into them, Xie Yang couldn't bear to take them off, so she simply kept the new cloth shoes on while continuing to read the letter.

Her aunt mentioned that cheap father and the stepmother's family in the letter—

"... My brother and that sweet-faced, bitter-hearted step-sister-in-law of mine had a fight a few days ago, the cause being that she discovered my brother was secretly sending you money.

But even if she made a scene at the Cotton Textile Factory Union, no one would help her argue her case. The children she gave birth to have food to eat and clothes to wear at home; you are alone in the countryside as an Educated Youth, so what is wrong with the family sending you 5 yuan?

She didn't dare to make a big scene, at most she just wiped away tears and argued a few words in front of my brother. After the argument broke out, my brother won't have to be sneaky or secretive about sending money in the future; he can just send it to you openly..."

Xie Yang: "..."

It seemed her aunt hadn't been attending literacy classes for nothing lately; she was using idioms quite fluently.

Her aunt also asked how she had friends in Mingdao City; the dried seafood sent last time had made the whole family overjoyed. Her uncle didn't even go to the Canteen to buy food at noon anymore; he would take a small pinch of Dried Laver and Shrimp Skin, cut a few strips of pickled mustard greens, and when it was time for lunch, he would put them in an enamel mug and pour boiling water over them—it served as both a dish and a soup, delicious and convenient!

She also said that she found a day off, cooked a table of dishes stewed with dried seafood at home, and invited her father over to have a meal together.

"... I didn't call your stepmother. Because of how she treats you, I couldn't bear to let her touch a single thing you sent.

My brother doesn't know these were sent by you; he thinks they are rare goods your uncle entrusted someone to get. It's better that he thinks this way, so he doesn't let anything slip when he goes back..."

Her aunt wrote several pages in a rambling, chatty manner; Xie Yang read it patiently and smiled.

In truth, she wouldn't care whether her aunt invited that cheap father over for a meal or not.

Since she left for the countryside, she would no longer have any intersection with that family.

Compared to her aunt's nagging, Lin Xi's letter was much more concise and clear:

The first paragraph wrote about his recent situation, saying that it was very chaotic at school and he doubted whether there was any need to continue studying;

The second paragraph wrote about his admiration for her: being in the countryside and still able to get to know people in Mingdao City? Being an Educated Youth and still able to find Wild Ginseng? Too amazing! He claimed to be impressed to the point of prostrating himself.

The third paragraph expressed his expectation in the same old way: hoping she could come to Heng City to play sometime.

Xie Yang also wanted to walk around and look at things, but she needed a referral letter to leave the Commune, so she couldn't go that far for the time being.

What Lin Xi sent her were, once again, pastries and dried fruits that were hot sellers at the Heng City Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

There were mountains in the suburbs of Heng City too, but compared to Chuan Nan, those mountains could only be called hills; the low hilltops were planted with various fruit trees by the brigades they belonged to, and in May or June, fruits would ripen in large quantities, with a portion being processed into dried fruits.

Lin Xi sent her several kinds of dried fruits: salted waxberries, sugar-preserved peach slices, as well as dried plums, dried apricots, and raisins.

Xie Yang took a few items to show the sub-system: "Xiaomengmeng, when our peach trees bear fruit and the grapes ripen tomorrow, will you be able to simulate a fruit-drying environment to make such delicious dried fruits?"

【...】

Xie Yang was just teasing it; in fact, she wanted to do something else.

She had been pondering this matter ever since Zhao Wanqing left the Yuewan Brigade.

The fertile, oily Black Soil in the Super Farm System was indeed conducive to crop growth.

With the same cabbage seeds, those grown in the Black Soil grew larger, fuller, and tasted better.

With the same Corn seeds, the corn cobs grown in the Black Soil were not only large in size, but the corn kernels were also arranged tightly.

Moreover, during the tender corn stage, the texture was crisp and tender, not getting stuck in the teeth; the mature corn was powdery, glutinous, and heavy, and when ground into flour and steamed into buns or flatbreads, it was also more filling than ordinary corn flour foods.

Therefore, she recently planned to apply to the Brigade Leader for a fixed piece of Experimental Field.

She indicated that when she was in school, she heard an old teacher mention a Scientific Composting and Field Breeding Method, but it was only hearsay, and she wasn't sure if it was feasible.

She just wanted to apply for a separate piece of land to try it out; if the experiment succeeded, that would be great, and if it didn't, the land wouldn't run away—whatever seeds were sown would yield whatever grain, so it wouldn't be a waste.

The Brigade Leader thought that Xie Yang had been working very hard since she came to the countryside and was indeed wholeheartedly thinking for the brigade.

Recently, she even helped the brigade form a partnership with the Hongqi Brigade in Mingdao City, allowing the commune members to have the good fortune of eating meat during the season when it was scarce.

Thus, he waved his hand and approved her application.

However, since it was an Experimental Field, it couldn't be fertile Paddy Field, otherwise the commune members would have opinions.

After thinking it over, he handed the terraced fields of Banyue Mountain, which the commune members liked the least, to her.

Xie Yang implemented her plan for cultivating improved varieties in the oily Black Soil in the terraced fields of Banyue Mountain, where no one else would disturb her.

The commune members had a shadow over Banyue Mountain, so when they learned that the terraced field had been taken over by Xie Yang for some Experimental Field, they all breathed a sigh of relief, fearing they would be assigned to work there by the Brigade Leader.

While exclaiming that "Xiao Xie is a kind person," they never set foot there.

At first, the Brigade Leader would come over to look around, and every time he came, he saw Xie Yang working seriously in the fields.

And he heard the commune members working at the foot of the mountain say: Comrade Xiao Xie used to leave early after finishing her work-point tasks, but ever since she came to the Banyue Mountain terraced fields, there hadn't been a single day she left early; they never saw her come down the mountain until the work-end whistle blew.

The Brigade Leader expressed that he was very gratified, thinking to himself that Comrade Xiao Xie was quite responsible.

After that, he came less often; after all, patrolling was very tiring for the legs, and if he had that time, he might as well go and keep an eye on those lazy commune members in the Production Team who always liked to slack off.

In fact, Xie Yang was still the same as before, finishing work early once it was mostly done, but since there was no one else on Banyue Mountain, she was too lazy to climb over mountains and valleys, and would simply find a hidden bush nearby to enter the Farm Space.

After finishing the work in the space, she would chop some firewood on the hillside of Banyue Mountain on her way out, and she could still fulfill her duties when returning to the Youth Hostel.

Moreover, she discovered that the soil from the hillside of Banyue Mountain and above was a bit special; perhaps because there had been a major fire before, the trees and bushes were all burned to ash, and the wood ash covered the soil, which, after being exposed to wind and sun, caused the soil in this area to be particularly alkaline.

It was just right for neutralizing the slightly acidic soil of the terraced fields.

Thus, while chopping firewood, she collected alkaline soil and transported it to the terraced fields.

She accidentally discovered quite a few bird nests.

She did not touch the bird eggs in the nest; the Gugu Bird is too prolific, so now she is not only free to eat seafood, but also free to eat eggs.

Instead, she shoveled the bird droppings around the nest into a dustpan one by one to take back for composting.