Chapter 64

Grandpa Li had a new career and seemed to have found a second spring. He no longer dozed off in the fields; instead, he walked back and forth along the ridges, observing, as if he had already planned out the rice fields.

Song Tan went up the back mountain and carefully checked the five boxes of bees she had bought.

After feeding them sugar water for two days, the cherry blossoms at the entrance bloomed—pink and white clusters, very lively.

The only problem was... there was only one tree.

Without the spiritual energy mixed in, it wouldn't be enough for the bees to eat.

The entire tree was being sustained by Song Tan's spiritual energy, and every day it was surrounded by a buzzing swarm of bees; it looked quite frightening from afar.

But these days wouldn't last long.

As April gradually approached, more and more flowers bloomed in the mountains. Song Tan had already planned that after April passed, she would stimulate a patch of flower buds to bloom every day, giving the bees half a month to collect nectar, and then plow the land again.

She aimed to finish transplanting the rice seedlings by late April and officially enter the vegetable planting season.

As for that bumblebee—it was still hatching its babies!

This bumblebee was unlucky; it had just left its burrow and hadn't even eaten any pollen before Song Qiao Song Qiao caught it.

At first, it could survive on sugar water, but now it was absorbing spiritual energy in large gulps every day.

The babies in the beeswax pot hadn't hatched or grown much, but the bumblebee itself had grown another circle fatter; it was now rounder and fatter than a thumb.

The only thing that hadn't changed were those fragile little wings, which couldn't carry its heavy body at all, flapping in vain every day, to the point that Song Tan began to worry—

If it eats until it's this fat, won't it crush the whole flower when it goes to collect nectar?

She worried in her heart, but her hand couldn't help but touch that yellow-and-black, fluffy, chubby round tail again.

The bumblebee was probably used to being petted by now. After being stroked so hard, even the beeswax pot rolled forward a bit, but it didn't even extend its stinger; it was clearly quite zen.

Song Song Sancheng had already carried his shoulder pole to fetch pig feed again.

The five piglets ate non-stop every day. It was fortunate he was strong and sturdy; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to handle fetching so much pig feed every day, plus the flock of chickens and ducks chirping nearby...

It made him both happy and worried.

He was happy that the little guys were full of vitality and looked delicious.

He was worried that they were still a long way from growing up, and his pig-feeding career would likely last the whole year.

Song Qiao Song Qiao was sweating in the vegetable garden, obedient and honest. The entire Song family was in a busy state—

Except for Zhang Zhang Yanping.

He was currently sitting on a stool, playing on his phone with his feet up. Seeing Song Tan return with a frown, he couldn't help but tease: "Yo, what's troubling our little farmer girl?"

Song Tan didn't hide it:

"I have fencing all around the mountain, and I can keep an eye on the back mountain, but I've put a lot of black fungus and white fungus logs in the chestnut grove. I'm only using nylon rope netting to block it off, and I'm afraid I won't be able to stop people when it's time for the harvest."

The chestnut grove was on a gentle slope with small paths both above and below, but it was a distance away from Song Tan's house. The chestnuts were still growing leaves, and the fungus was still in the stage of being stacked for ventilation, so the fencing was fine for now.

But she was afraid that once the black and white fungus formed, someone would come and help themselves.

After all, no one who had eaten her family's produce could stop thinking about it.

Telling Zhang Zhang Yanping was also because she figured there was strength in numbers; if that didn't work, she would just arrange for her cousin to take the three puppies to patrol the mountain.

At most, she'd add Da Bai.

Zhang Zhang Yanping wasn't good at farming, and he hadn't noticed Song Tan's terrifying idea—

Those three little puppies chewing on his hand with their baby teeth by his legs—could they really patrol the mountain?

If they really ran into a thief, wouldn't that just be delivering food to them?

But he didn't know any of that. After thinking for a moment, he actually had an idea:

"Isn't your goal just to stop people? That's simple! Plant some thorny vines around the perimeter of the mountain to enclose them, preferably the kind with lots of thorns, the kind where there's nowhere to get a grip."

"Don't worry about how much fruit they'll bear; you need to be clear about what your biggest need is—if you want protection, focus on protection."

He raised his eyebrows, looking smug: "Tan Tan, brew me another cup of your tea. Brew me one, and I'll give you a trick."

Song Tan didn't mind her own family drinking the tea, but for Zhang Zhang Yanping? No way!

This cousin hadn't even stepped into the fields yet.

"No. At most, I'll pack a few liang for you when you go back."

That's enough, that's enough! What more could he ask for?

Zhang Zhang Yanping instantly became serious as he introduced:

"You should browse videos online when you have time."

"I saw one introducing Cherokee roses; aren't those the thorny vines on the side of the road here? It's just that they've disappeared nowadays."

"That thing is beautiful when it blooms, but it's covered in thorns all over! The fruit it bears is also full of prickly hairs, and the vines are stacked branch upon branch; there's simply no way to get a grip."

"And its fruit skin is edible, it can be used as medicinal material, and it can be used to soak wine; its economic and medicinal value is quite high."

"You don't need to take down those nets; just set up a sturdy post every so often for support, and plant a circle of Cherokee roses both inside and outside. It can block people and provide an extra income."

As he spoke, he suddenly chuckled:

"Tan Tan, if the Cherokee roses have a good harvest and you can't sell them, don't worry; I'll find people for you."

Song Tan looked at him suspiciously and then checked online—

Good heavens, no wonder Zhang Zhang Yanping's expression was so strange!

The biggest use for this thing among the folk was actually soaking it in wine to nourish the kidneys and strengthen the essence!

She looked at Zhang Zhang Yanping thoughtfully:

"Brother, no wonder my aunt said you needed to come to the countryside to exercise and work. Lying at home playing on your phone every day—no wonder you're so weak."

Zhang Zhang Yanping instantly bristled:

"Who's weak? What do you know as a young girl? I know whether I'm weak or not."

Song Tan hummed: "What's wrong with being a young girl? Do I not go online or learn knowledge? You're clearly hitting a sore spot and getting angry out of shame."

What hadn't a cultivator seen before!

She said, picking up her hoe again:

"However, Brother, for the sake of your Cherokee rose suggestion being somewhat reliable, when the chives in my field are ready, I'll cut a few extra bunches for you."

She had just taken a turn around the village when she returned and happened to see a fellow villager tidying up their vegetable garden, feeling that they had planted too many chives and they weren't growing strong because of the lack of fertilizer, so they were too lazy to bother and decided to plant something else instead.

Song Tan didn't mind at all; she carried a black fungus log from the mountain to trade for this large patch of chive roots, deciding to send them to the Chinese milk vetch field later.

Zhang Zhang Yanping stood there for a moment, then suddenly reacted, his face turning red and white.

Of course—chives also had a famous effect—strengthening male vitality!

As a young man, he couldn't bear to hear such things!

——————Aside——————

Cherokee roses are truly beautiful when they bloom; they're amazing! Thanks to "Ming Ming I'm Very Handsome" in the comments for the picture of the cold-climate plant; this one was selected!

I'll add a ten-thousand-word update for you at the end of the month.

There's more to come.

7017k