Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 25: Can We Really Reap So Much
"Feng Xi, is what your sister said really true?" Uncle Hui looked at Feng Xi in disbelief, while the entire family’s gaze fell upon him, some in surprise and others in astonishment.
Feng Xi regarded everyone’s expressions as if seeing his own initial reaction, and understood very well the feelings of his aunt and uncle at this moment. He pressed his lips together and smiled, "Uncle, Auntie, it’s true."
Uncle Hui’s mouth trembled as he said, "Where did you get so much silver?" This was the question that was on everyone’s mind.
Feng Xuxu saw the reactions of everyone and once again explained. A quarter of an hour later, the family finally let Feng Xuxu be, all of them sighing with admiration. The Feng Family had given up on a person who could bring benefits to their own clan, and was not short of respect for Feng Xuxu’s courage to be able to cooperate with the big restaurant in town.
"Uncle, it’s like this, if we change the way we cultivate rice, I believe each mu can yield a thousand jin of rice, and at the very least seven hundred jin," Feng Xuxu dropped another bombshell after purchasing the land.
"What? Xuxu, is it really true?" Auntie Hui felt like the past half-hour was like watching an opera, a little dizzy and unable to tell north from south.
"Can’t you keep your voice down? Why are you yelling like that?" Uncle Hui knew Feng Xuxu wouldn’t make jokes about such matters. Out of caution and to prevent eavesdroppers, if someone caught Feng Xuxu and treated her as a sorceress, it would be a huge loss. After all, it was the first time he had heard of this in his life.
Auntie Hui came to her senses, turned around to check if there was anyone nearby, and whispered, "I just couldn’t keep my voice down for a moment." After speaking, she looked at Feng Xuxu apologetically and gave an embarrassed smile.
Zhang Yijiang, who was sitting to the side, asked Feng Xuxu with a puzzled frown, "Sister Xuxu, when you talk about changing the way we plant rice, what exactly do you mean?" He asked the substantial question and grasped the key point.
Feng Xuxu nodded and explained succinctly, "The rice we plant now is simply sown directly into the field, but the rice I’m going to plant is not like that. First, I choose the finest varieties. Second, I cultivate seedlings and select the strongest ones after the seedlings are successfully raised. We plow the land, fertilize it, and third, we flood the field. Fourth, we transplant the seedlings, and fifth, we finally top-dress with fertilizer. This way, the rice will mature faster than the current method, and most importantly, we can harvest rice twice a year." She said so much she became thirsty, took the water jug from the table and poured herself a bowl of water, gulping it down. After wiping her mouth with her sleeve, she realized that everyone was looking at her as if she had discovered a marvelous new path.
"Feng Xuxu, where did you learn this from? I had no idea," Zhang Jiaojiao suddenly asked.
"Hmm... I read it in a book. I’ve forgotten which one exactly. Anyway, it contained a lot of information," Feng Xuxu came up with a barely plausible explanation. She couldn’t very well say that Feng Xuxu had already died and she had come through time travel, nor that she was a doctorate in agronomy and that planting rice was well within her reach.
"Dad, why don’t we give it a try?" Zhang Yijiang wasn’t a conservative man, seeing a chance for the family to live better, he was eager to experiment.
Zhang Hui fell silent for a long while before finally making up his mind, deciding to try the rice cultivation method Feng Xuxu described. "Alright, we’ll plant this kind of rice this year." Seeing the resolute look on Zhang Hui’s face, everyone knew that there would be no changes to the plan, and they were certainly going to plant the new rice.
"Honey, shouldn’t we keep a piece of land for the traditional rice, just in case the new rice doesn’t grow, so we still have some grain to eat?" Auntie Hui hesitantly suggested, for while Uncle Hui aimed to lead the entire family to a better life, Auntie Hui was more concerned with the family’s sustenance. There’s a good saying: seven necessities to open the door—fuel, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea...sigh.
"We won’t keep any, we’ll just plant the new rice this year. Cut off our path of retreat so that we can focus on tending the rice paddies with all our hearts," declared Uncle Hui with determination. He showed a look that suggested he was ready for sacrifice.
Auntie Hui wanted to say more but, seeing Uncle Hui’s decisive expression, she swallowed her words and could only worry in silence.
"Sister Xuxu, tell us, what should we do now? Uncle will listen to you completely," Uncle was action-oriented, his energy ready to be poured into the rice fields, his eyes shining as he fixed them intently on Feng Xuxu.
Feng Xuxu looked amusedly at Uncle Hui’s family. Seeing Auntie Hui’s worry, Brother Yijiang’s hopeful eyes, Uncle Hui’s full expectation, and Sister Jiaojiao’s admiring gaze, Feng Xuxu felt the urge to run. That look was too much to handle—do you know the feeling?
