Chapter 103

Qin Dasao's concerns are not without reason.

Fruit is not a necessity in the lives of ordinary people.

Especially in Xi Bei, the variety of seasonal fresh fruits available on the market is limited.

Usually, farming households casually plant a few fruit trees, and when a year yields a good harvest, they take the excess fruit they cannot eat to sell for money.

Delicious fruit is indeed worth far more than grain and vegetables.

However, planting and maintaining fruit trees is extremely difficult, and one must wait years for them to bear fruit, meaning the land yields no harvest for several years.

Even if one ends up not getting to eat the fruit, it's fine; but if a person has no food to eat, that is truly a matter of life and death.

Therefore, the vast majority of ordinary farming households in the countryside hardly ever specialize in growing fruit trees.

Except for landlords who own large tracts of land, and wealthy families who possess countless estates and lands.

Only they are willing to set aside a few plots solely for growing fruit, just to satisfy their cravings.

Gu Xixi said, "I have examined our village's soil and climate; most of the fields are suitable for growing pinpo fruit."

"Pinpo fruit?" Qin Dasao wondered. "Besides wild fruits, the only fruits our locals grow that I have eaten are peaches, apricots, crisp pears, and persimmons. I have never heard of pinpo fruit before."

Gu Xixi explained, "The pinpo fruit is a variety transmitted from the Western Regions."

"Good fruit is crisp, sweet, and juicy, with a flesh that is crisp yet not hard, and it also has a special fragrance."

"Of course, achieving those points I mentioned is not easy either; I also need to examine the saplings before I can decide."

Qin Dasao asked, "Then, do you already know where to buy this pinpo fruit?"

Gu Xixi nodded, "After the New Year, I will set out to select saplings."

"If suitable material is found, using grafting, they can bear fruit in two years."

"Two years — that is much faster than imagined."

Qin Dasao felt a bit surprised and delighted, but soon her brows furrowed again.

"Being able to bear fruit in two years truly lives up to you, Gu Xixi."

"I also believe that if we endure two years until the pinpo fruit grows, we will surely be able to exchange it for silver."

"But the difficulty lies in this: if I plant fruit trees on all two mu of land, I might not be able to sustain my livelihood during those two years..."

Gu Xixi placed a cup of tea before Qin Dasao, looked at her with a smile, and said, "I have already thought this through."

"The spacing between fruit trees is large, making intercropping most suitable."

"What is intercropping?" Qin Dasao put down her tea and listened attentively.

Gu Xixi said, "The first method is to nurture the garden with medicine, planting medicinal herbs between the fruit trees."

"For example, the herbs suitable for our locality — huangqi, banlangen, chaihu — and along the edges of the orchard we can plant shanyao."

"These medicinal herbs can themselves fetch a price, and they are also beneficial for maintaining the land."

Qin Dasao listened with interest, "Goodness, I now realize that even farming involves learning!"

"It's like Mr. Chen teaching the children — one set after another, and it's not easy to master."

Gu Xixi chuckled, "That's exactly the idea."

Qin Dasao followed up, "Are there still a second and third kind?"

Gu Xixi continued, "The second is to plant some shallow-rooted, quick-growing vegetables, such as greens and bok choy."

"The third is also to grow vegetables; rapeseed and similar types sprout just by scattering seeds, with the purpose of feeding chickens. Chickens are free-ranged in the orchard, they eat the vegetables, their droppings are collected, and after decomposing they become fertilizer for the fruit trees, and these chickens..."

"I know!" Qin Dasao interjected, "Eggs can be exchanged for oil, salt, needles, and thread, and can be sold for money."

"If we raise many chickens, the chickens themselves can also be sold — it's all money!"

When Qin Dasao spoke of making money, her face lit up.

Gu Xixi nodded with a smile, "Not bad, you can now apply the lesson to other situations."

Qin Dasao embarrassedly touched her cheek, "I don't even know how to apply the lesson to three things."

"I am merely familiar with our farming household's daily routine; as for the specifics, I still need to follow your directions!"

After discussing a few points, the two decided to wait until after the New Year, when Gu Xixi would conduct an on-site inspection before making further plans.

At this moment, Qin Dasao opened her mind, and her whole person felt relaxed.

"Not planting staple crops, she can grow medicinal herbs, vegetables, and raise chickens!"

"Anyway, with Gu Xixi's guidance, she feels no panic at all."

Zhang Shen took out the buns Qin Dasao had brought, filled the basin with her own steamed buns, and presented them as a return gift.

Gu Xixi saw Qin Dasao out the door.

Before leaving, Qin Dasao hesitated a moment, then said, "There are a few things I feel I shouldn't keep from you."

"Several families in the village are waiting to see what you will plant."

"When the time comes, if they come to your door, what do you plan to do?"

Gu Xixi thought for a moment, did not directly refuse, and repeated, "Just wait a bit longer, until after the New Year."

As she turned and went back inside, Mu Nan Zhao was standing in the courtyard.

"Farming is not like becoming a bandit on the mountain; the more people, the better."

"If one day you gather these people together, you won't have to worry about troubles coming one after another."

Gu Xixi understood Mu Nan Zhao's meaning.

"So-called small farmers, farming families have long been accustomed to operating as individual households, working alone."

"Getting such a group of people to all obey her — how could that be easy?"

"But what Mu Nan Zhao does not know is Gu Xixi's ambition."

"What she wants is to unite Huachi Du Cun, and even a larger area, to create a reputation effect for fruit."

"Just like Shu brocade from Shujiang, Jiangnan tribute satin, Dongzhou porcelain, and the northeastern cold lands' eastern pearls."

Thus we inevitably need unified scientific planting and standardized management of fruit quality.

However, nothing has been implemented yet, so talking more is pointless.

"Maybe," Gu Xixi chuckled, saying, "But, nothing can be established without first being broken."

"The fertile fields under heaven, I alone cannot finish planting them; if everyone plants together, it would be better."

Mu Nan Zhao calmly said, "I'm just reminding you."

"What you do is none of my business."

Gu Xixi slightly furrowed her brows, seeing he was about to leave, she blurted out, "Wait a moment."

Mu Nan Zhao turned his head to look at her.

Gu Xixi stepped forward two steps, raised her head to size up Mu Nan Zhao, "I've long wanted to ask, why have you been acting so strangely lately?"

Mu Nan Zhao lightly said, "Is it because the school is on break that I've been doing too few chores at home, or because I've been staying home and running into you too often, affecting you?"

Gu Xixi's inner alarm bells rang loudly.

He is indeed off!

Previously, seeing him eat, drink, and interact normally, she had let her guard down.

Gu Xixi moved close to Mu Nan Zhao, staring intently at his body from all sides, observing carefully.

"Are you feeling unwell?"

When she looked up, she clearly saw Mu Nan Zhao roll his eyes.

"No, I'm fine, thank you for your concern."

This time, Mu Nan Zhao left decisively, and the door of the west room slammed shut.

In the old doctor's room in the rear courtyard.

"You're asking about Chen Fang? He won't die anytime soon."

"If you're asking whether he has any ailments, there are too many: new injuries, old injuries, and that most deadly poison."

"His deficient qi and blood I've basically regulated; logically, with sufficient qi and blood and rising yang energy, unstable emotions and yin-yang imbalance should decrease."

Gu Xixi walked out with her head down, sighing, wondering what on earth had happened to Mu Nan Zhao.