The Farm Life Of a "Fool"

Chapter 42

Liu Tong told Xu Ran that he had discussed the matter of strawberry seedlings with Qin Shuwen, who agreed to help them in locating the seedlings. Xu Ran pressed his finger against Liu Tong's nose and said, "We're both on the same page, Tongtong. I've also told Zhuo Yun."

Liu Tong said with a shy smile, "I always want to help you do something."

Xu Ran embraced him and walked over to Liu Tong's bedside, his arm around his shoulders. "Then please have another child for me!" 

Liu Tong blushed but said softly, "OK."

___

Xu Ran went to the village head at six a.m. in lunar January because he wanted to buy ten mu of low-grade fields.

"Xu Ran, I have to remind you that you've just bought thirty mu of uncultivated fields," the village head said, a little surprised. "You won't be able to afford ten more if you buy ten more! If you want to grow rice, five mu will suffice for your family of four. Your fields are almost as good as the ten acres of low-grade fields as long as they are good."

He knew that the village head said this with a kind heart, but he didn't buy the fields for growing rice, so he didn't care about the reminder.

"Thank you for your generosity, village chief. You don't have to think about that because I don't buy rice-growing fields. You simply assisted me in asking if anyone in our village or the surrounding villages wants to sell their property. I'd like some nearby fields because it would be easier for me to maintain them."

Seeing that his persuasion didn't work, the village head sighed and said to Xu Ran, "In this case, let me go and ask about it for you, but you have to be mentally prepared. Such land is 1.5 times as expensive as the uncultivated land at least."

Xu Ran knew it and thanked the village head, saying that he was going home to prepare the silver, but he didn't turn and leave until he gave the village head the money to show his gratitude.

Strawberries were not easy to grow. All was simple, from fields to manpower to strawberry seedlings. He also had to make fertilizers to keep the leaves from getting sick. He didn't know much other than how to eat strawberries. Not only could no one offer him advice in this era, but it was also difficult for him to find a book in which he could get a referee.

This will undoubtedly be a long and exhausting journey, but Xu Ran was confident in his abilities because his beloved one had fully embraced him. Xu Ran hummed songs as he walked home. Passers-by stared at him a few more times, and some of those who knew him well came over to inquire if he had met anything good.

Xu Ran smiled but shook his head. "No, I just feel happy. One should be happy if he has enough food to eat and warm clothes to wear while being alive."

Those people thought what he said was reasonable, but they couldn't comprehend it, so they quit bothering him with questions. After returning home, he began discussing fertilizer locations with Liu Tong. There was just human waste in this period. Pig and cow dung, on the other hand, was uncommon. No family was willing to give it to others, for they all wanted to put it in their fields to make their crops grow better.

Their family had nothing, so this was a difficult problem. More terribly, they couldn't use the fertilizer when growing strawberries because strawberry seedlings couldn't absorb it. Thus, they could only put ash into the fields like growing potatoes and also add some pig dung or the kind into the ash.

They should raise one or two pigs, according to Xu Ran. They could make cured meat and not have to buy meat in town when the time comes. They could also raise some chickens and ducks. They'd probably feed them grass in any case. These domestic birds could not only produce fertilizers, but they could also lay eggs once they matured.