Heavenly Blessed Baby: Fleeing Famine, Busy to Prosper!-Chapter 209: Arranging the Empty Rooms

"Dad, these are all rewards from the official."

Qi Quanjin was the first to speak: "Isn’t this to show you first, and then we can think about how to arrange them."

"Rewards?"

Qi Zheng raised his eyebrows: "What do you mean by that? How did these rewards come about?"

Qi Quanjin recounted today’s events and added at the end: "There are two kinds of seeds we’ve never seen, but Meng Niang has read about them in books."

While speaking, Qi Quanjin took out the watermelon seeds and picked up an ear of corn.

Qi Zheng, being a true old farmer, was puzzled when he saw these two things, "Are these really edible?"

Qi Quanjin couldn’t answer that question and could only look towards his wife.

The others also looked at Yi Meng, waiting for her to give a clear answer.

Yi Meng picked up an ear of corn and said, "The book says they are edible. This corn is too dry now, but you can roast it straight off or boil it in water, though it’s hard and might hurt your teeth."

"But we can shell the corn kernels, grind them into flour, and use it to make porridge or steam it with dough."

Yi Meng looked at the dry corn ear in her hand, and her mouth started to water.

In her previous life, she didn’t think they were that tasty, but now, having not eaten it for many years, seeing it again made her crave it.

As for watermelon, she really had no solution at the moment.

Watermelon seeds are edible too, like melon seeds, but eating them like that is too wasteful; it’s better to prioritize using them as seeds.

Qi Zheng looked at the corn ear in his hand, thought for a while, and said, "Let’s first take ten and grind them into flour to try. If it really works, we’ll keep the rest as seeds."

After a pause, Qi Zheng asked Yi Meng: "When is the right time to plant these things?"

Yi Meng had considered this issue on the way back, and now, with no outsiders present, she shared her plan.

"It’s August now, and even if we plant, they may not grow. So I’m thinking we could clear out a room, pile up some soil, and try growing them indoors. If they bear fruit by winter, we can plant them directly come spring."

"This way, even if it doesn’t work, it won’t delay next year’s regular farming. Dad, do you think this would work?"

Yi Meng wasn’t sure when the best time to plant was, but experimenting indoors shouldn’t be a problem.

The house’s beams were high, and corn roots weren’t as developed as tree roots, so with more soil, it shouldn’t be an issue.

Qi Zheng nodded immediately after hearing this: "Alright, let’s do this first. Eldest, tomorrow, you and your younger brothers gather more soil, and let’s start in..."

Speaking, Qi Zheng paused to think: "Let’s try it in the eastern room in the front row. Jiulang is still young and won’t be living in a room by himself anytime soon."

Qi Shilang’s room is currently occupied by the two doctors, and next door is Qi Balang’s room, which isn’t used for now, but it also wouldn’t be appropriate to have the doctors living next to a gardening room.

Qi Zheng thought so, but the others had different ideas.

Qi Ercai said, "Dad, except for Dalang and Erlang’s rooms, the other rooms are mostly unoccupied. Why don’t we take advantage of the warm weather, dig out some soil, and tidy up those rooms first? Make more slots, so by winter, we can plant vegetables in both the city courtyard and our house, sell more during the New Year, and earn some extra money."

This suggestion won unanimous approval from everyone.

However, Qi Zheng didn’t immediately nod but instead looked at Qi Quanjin: "Fourth, go ask the two doctors if they mind."

His words brought to mind that this arrangement would effectively house the two doctors on the outermost side, which was not very polite.

Qi Quanjin responded, saying he would ask later.

Qi Zheng frowned: "Go ask now!"

"Alright, I’ll go now."

Qi Quanjin wasn’t annoyed, promptly got up to find the two doctors.

It was already dark, but Yin Cheng and Qin Minglang hadn’t gone to bed yet; they were playing chess on the kang in Yin Cheng’s room.

They didn’t have other hobbies and spent their time either studying medical books or playing chess.

They weren’t particular about the chess material—one side had smooth stones, the other had wooden blocks.

The board was pieced together from planks, with an engraved grid.

Though crude, they found it handy and played daily.

The younger members of the family weren’t disturbing them at this time; only the two elders were in the room.

Qi Quanjin knocked on the door and, getting a response, pushed the door open.

Seeing them playing chess, he didn’t disturb them, naturally refilling the two doctors’ teacups, then sat down to wait.

On the chessboard, Yin Cheng’s stones were clearly surrounded by Qin Minglang’s wooden blocks, about to lose.

Yin Cheng was frustrated with how to resolve it but couldn’t decide where to place his stone even after thinking for a long time.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Qi Quanjin enter without speaking, poured water, and just sat there, which made him more annoyed.

Darn boy, can’t you say something to interrupt this game? Isn’t he blatantly waiting to see me lose?

Yin Cheng, at a loss for what to do, simply tossed his stone into the small basket, waved to mess up the board, and said, "I’m done playing. Since Fourth is here, there must be a matter; let’s talk business."

Seeing the game about to end trashed like that, Qin Minglang was briefly stunned, then chuckled and shook his head, still agreeing verbally: "Alright, let’s talk business."

Did he really think I couldn’t tell that senior brother was cheating?

Even if I noticed, it didn’t matter; with senior brother playing tricks, as a junior, I had to comply.

While tidying up the game pieces, Qin Minglang asked Qi Quanjin: "Quanjin, what brings you here at this hour?"

Qi Quanjin couldn’t comprehend the chess situation, merely thinking the senior gentlemen wanted to discuss business, and felt a bit embarrassed, but without delay, quickly explained his purpose for coming.

Yin Cheng heard and grunted: "I thought it was something major; such a minor matter doesn’t warrant a special trip. Those rooms are empty anyway, using them to earn some money is good."

Qin Minglang agreed: "Yes! Previously we worried that the empty rooms in winter, if not heated, might damage the house. Now, using them for planting vegetables saves on firewood."

"Since neither of you mind, then it’s settled. But Mr. Yin’s room facing the West Mountain might be cold in the winter with the wind blowing."

Qi Quanjin had long wanted to move the two doctors to another room, but since summer made this room cooler than the others, they decided to let them stay for now.

The original plan was to move them to a central room come winter, but with other empty rooms now intended for winter vegetable planting, it wasn’t convenient to reshuffle, so he brought this up.

Yin Cheng waved his hand after hearing this: "The West Mountain doesn’t get that cold. This is a newly built house, not drafty."