Her Cultivation Diary-Chapter 97 - : 97. What to plant on the back hill_1
Chapter 97: 97. What to plant on the back hill_1
So, with a plastic bag in each hand, Qiaoqiao carried all those fry back home.
At home, Grandma Wang Lifen and Wu Lan were both washing and rinsing in the yard, bustling around nonstop.
There was no other way, following local customs, when you hire villagers to work, you have to provide them a meal. There were four in Song Tan’s family, grandparents included, along with Zhang Yanping, the young man operating the excavator living in their home, and Song Sancheng’s three old buddies who helped out on the back hill…
In total, eleven people—and, given the tasty meals at home, apart from Song Tan who ate a moderate amount, everyone else could put away two to three bowls each meal.
Cooking meals was no small feat.
Song Sancheng was now so busy he hardly touched the ground, and Wu Lan was no different, getting up early in the morning to pick Milk Vetch with Song Tan and Qiaoqiao.
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As the weather warmed, more Milk Vetch in the fields began to bud, and once like this, they couldn’t be picked anymore—they were too old and no longer edible.
Therefore, to ensure quality, the time spent picking and sorting each day increased.
Besides, ever since people knew Milk Vetch wouldn’t last much longer, more and more buyers flocked to the market, purchasing it in tens of pounds, then blanching and freezing it at home, so it could last until the New Year.
Just this morning, Song Tan had added another order, “Mom, today we need to ship out another two thousand pounds to other regions.”
For this, the whole family was mobilized.
Wu Lan was puzzled, “He resells them?”
Song Tan shook his head, “No, he said his family runs a farmstay. The Milk Vetch, once shipped, is all blanched and frozen, and then every dining guest gets a serving.”
Whether it’s stir-fried, made into soup, or anything else, they just say it’s wild greens from the local area, limited in quantity, hence they don’t sell it, only give it away as a gift.
Goodness me, during this period the guests came like clouds!
Spring was already prime time for wild greens, and with this little trick, everyone knew the reputation of this farmstay was outstanding, and the earnings substantially increased.
Of course, the buyer never revealed these details, but Song Tan had guessed as much.
In the past, the prospect of making money brought joy to Wu Lan alone, but now she also had to consider how to work both quickly and well, without delaying lunch preparation.
Too much work could also be a source of worry.
However…
“Oh my, this order is forty thousand yuan, plus the money from the veggies sold these past few days, isn’t that enough to cover the remaining contract fee?”
Otherwise, it felt uncomfortable always owing the money.
Song Tan ruthlessly shattered her illusions, “Mom, since we plan to get subsidies for planting fruit trees on the back hill, once we plant them, we can’t just leave them be; we have to start seeing returns this year.”
For the large saplings that would take three to five years to mature, one wouldn’t say it’s a lot, but planting a hundred trees per acre could cost nearly twenty thousand yuan.
“After that, you will need to hire people to plant and irrigate, right? Depending on that pond at the bottom of the hill, you’ll have to buy an electric pump with a long hose reel; these small miscellaneous costs might not seem like much, but they also add up to a considerable expense.”
“And then there’s our farm…”
Song Tan hadn’t even finished explaining when Wu Lan already closed her eyes in pain:
“Enough, enough, stop nagging.”
She then asked, “Have we sold the honey yet? That’s also money!”
How could there be any left unsold?
With a shout in the group chat, the distant customer buying two thousand pounds of Milk Vetch also snapped up ten bottles on the spot.
Out of thirteen bottles in total, now only one bottle remained for their own use, clearing out the inventory.
The bees still need a few more days to make honey after gathering nectar, so we’re temporarily out of stock.
When asked why they wanted to buy honey wholesale, they said they also planned to mix honey water as a giveaway.
Song Tan pondered, if it weren’t for the short time and the profit margin not yet calculated, this insightful young man might have turned their tea leaves into their signature product too!
Wu Lan was tidying up the vegetables while directing Song Tan, “When you have a moment, go back to the mountain and feed the pigs, and the chickens and ducks too.”
After running up the mountain, Song Tan checked on a flock of ducklings and came back with another idea:
“Mom, I see the ducklings are molting. Why don’t we build a duck house by the pond on the back mountain?”
The original plan was to raise them in the pond next to the fields, but that pond was a neatly outlined rectangle with rounded edges, whereas the back mountain pond was more like a mirror with a handle. Right at the mirror’s handle, they could build a simple duck house; with Big King overseeing the whole back mountain, everything would be in plain sight, making it easier to manage.
Wu Lan thought for a moment, “No rush, let’s take care of it after we’ve tidied up the mountain. Right now, the fruit trees are the top priority!”
April waits for no one, ah!
That’s when she remembered to ask, “What are you planning to plant anyway?”
Song Tan was still huffing and puffing:
“Here, the courier service is, after all, a bit inconvenient, and the mountain roads are bumpy. I don’t see the town allocating any money to fix our roads in the next couple of years.”
People in the suburbs could set up orchards for on-site picking and selling, but that wasn’t feasible for them.
Even those not prone to motion sickness would feel queasy after such a trip; the roads were simply too rough.
“That being the case, we should grow something that can last, something tough that won’t be easily damaged by bumps.”
Wu Lan considered, “So, apples? Pears? Pomegranates? Dates? Grapes?”
She couldn’t think of anything else.
In any case, a fruit like the local cherry tree near their home was definitely out of the question. Tasty it might be, but it wouldn’t last after being picked—it can’t be covered, squeezed, or knocked about, and it barely keeps half a day.
Song Tan hesitated as well, “I haven’t decided yet.”
This move was truly a case of relying on ‘Spiritual Energy’ to act boldly and without planning—something unheard of for most farmers. To act so recklessly without planning would be odd if they didn’t lose money.
While they were discussing this, Zhang Yanping came back with a straw hat and a rake, slouching his shoulders like a genuine old farmer.
He wore a long face:
“Sis, whatever you plan to plant, I have people; I’ll get you in touch. Take me with you, let’s go pick out some seedlings.”
He really didn’t want to climb the mountain again.
Wu Lan laughed heartily, “Yanping, if it’s too much for you, you should go home. If you keep working here at your aunt’s place day after day, your mom’s really going to worry about you.”
Zhang Yanping wanted to cry with no tears: Did he not want to go back? It was his mother who called every day, insisting that he must stay here!
But his aunt eventually spoke a fair word, “Tantan, you really should ask Yanping about what to plant. Your eldest auntie said he has picky taste! He eats whatever is delicious, and he’s cleared out all the imported fruits in the store.”
“Since our stuff sells for so high, if you plant, plant something expensive.”
Zhang Yanping perked up, “Right! You’ve got to listen to me on this! Let me think—apples and oranges don’t grow well here, no other reason than the climate, so they’re out.”
“Grapes won’t do either, Zhengjiagou grapes are famous throughout the city. If we try to enter the market now, it’s going to be much more difficult.”
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“Nowadays, domestic big cherries and blueberries are quite popular, but we can’t compete with others in terms of sunlight, plus many people in the suburbs grow them in their plantations. As beginners, the risk is a bit high for us.”
“Oh, Huacheng’s kiwifruits are very famous. Our climate is similar to theirs. Have you considered kiwi fruits? They’re vine plants, and they last quite a while before they ripen.”
