Although Shen Xiaoyan was there to guide, it was actually she who was doing the work.
Yue Qingxin was unaware of Sima Han's thoughts at the moment, and even if she had known, she would only have been happy. After all, she was about to have a second skill to show off, one that was even better than Sima Han's.
Zheng Wei and Sima Han didn't just stand by and watch; they immediately joined in to help.
Shen Xiaoyan had prepared a lunch of rice, accompanied by several stir-fried and stewed dishes. It didn't take long to prepare, but the meal was a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate, with a particularly flavorful soup made from mushrooms.
Just as the meal was ready, Shen Xiaoming returned from school, and the group sat down together to eat.
In the afternoon, they resumed planting trees. This time, they had bought nearly 500 saplings, and the four of them worked for two days to finish planting them all.
Shen Xiaoyan chose cherry trees, golden osmanthus trees, and orange trees. A few pomegranate trees were planted in the courtyard where they were currently living and in the front yard.
As they were nearing the end of planting the trees, Shen Xiaoyan pulled Yue Qingxin along to water them. Naturally, Shen Xiaoyan brought the water, and together with Yue Qingxin, they used ladles to water the saplings, adding some immortal spring water to the water buckets while refilling them.
The rest was left to wait for these fruit trees to sprout and grow.
After planting the fruit trees, it was time to plant flowers.
The courtyard where they were living, as well as the front and back yards, were planted with various trees. Shen Xiaoyan gathered many pebbles from the riverbank and laid them out to create a small path among the flowers and plants.
Although there was no pavilion, they had custom-made stone tables and stools. When the flowers bloomed in the spring, sitting amidst the blossoms, enjoying tea and conversation would surely be a delightful experience.
Yue Qingxin was very enthusiastic about this project, so the planting of flowers and plants in the courtyards and the arrangement of the paths were all planned by her and Shen Xiaoyan.
As for Zheng Wei and Sima Han, they were purely the laborers.
As if by divine providence, just two days after they finished their work, the spring rain began to fall.
This year, the rainfall was not as abundant as the previous year, but it was not a drought either, thanks to the heavy snowfall.
The snow accumulated over the winter melted into the fields, thoroughly watering the land.
With the rain, there was nothing they could do, so the four of them, Shen Xiaoyan, Yue Qingxin, Zheng Wei, and Sima Han, had no choice but to stay indoors.
Of course, Zheng Wei and Sima Han stayed together, and Shen Xiaoyan and Yue Qingxin stayed together.
Shen Xiaoyan watched Yue Qingxin, who was sitting opposite her at the kang table sewing clothes, and let out a quiet sigh before turning her gaze to the window.
"Sister, you've sighed several times. Is there something troubling you?" Yue Qingxin asked without looking up, her voice gentle.
"There's nothing troubling, I'm just a bit bored," Shen Xiaoyan replied lazily.
"Sister, you truly have a restless spirit," Yue Qingxin said with a smile.
"Yes, I'm restless. But, once the rain stops, we'll be busy," Shen Xiaoyan said.
"Busy with what?" Yue Qingxin looked up at her in surprise, hearing her say that. Hadn't all the trees and flowers been planted?
"We promised the villagers that this year we would help them cultivate striped watermelons, and we need to start nurturing the striped watermelon seedlings," Shen Xiaoyan said.
"Striped watermelons?" Yue Qingxin was even more astonished.
She hadn't eaten or seen striped watermelons before, but she never expected Shen Xiaoyan to know how to grow them.
"Yes, last year I accidentally obtained some striped watermelon seeds and then, I experimented with planting them. To my surprise, it was successful. Otherwise, where would we have gotten the money to build such a house?" Shen Xiaoyan said with a light laugh.
Yue Qingxin nodded. Indeed, building such a house was not an easy feat.
As Shen Xiaoyan had said, two days later, the rain stopped, and they began nurturing the striped watermelon seedlings.
Last year, Shen Xiaoyan had saved a lot of striped watermelon seeds, all of which were large and plump. They had also been soaked in immortal spring water, so the germination rate was guaranteed to be one hundred percent.
In the cross-courtyard where the kitchen was located, the open ground was turned over, and roots, stones, and other debris were removed. Then, it was divided into plots, and the striped watermelon seeds, which had been soaked in immortal spring water, were planted.
Since they had promised the village head, Bai Yonggui, to provide striped watermelon seedlings, they dedicated a full mu of land solely to nurturing the seedlings this time.
Fortunately, the cross-courtyard was large enough. Apart from the kitchen and the stable, it was all open space, originally intended for growing vegetables in the future. Now, it was used for seedling cultivation. Once the seedlings were dug up and planted, it would be perfect for growing vegetables.
Because Shen Xiaoyan had soaked the seeds in immortal spring water, the striped watermelon seedlings this year sprouted exceptionally quickly.
Just two days after planting, they had all emerged.
Yue Qingxin and Sima Han had never planted anything before, so they instinctively felt this was normal and had no doubts.
As for Zheng Wei and Shen Xiaoming, they attributed the rapid sprouting to the recent rain and the moderate temperature, and they didn't think much of it.
Another half a month passed, and Qingming Festival arrived. It was time for sowing in the village again, and Bai Yonggui, along with several village elders, came to Shen Xiaoyan's house.
Zheng Wei and Shen Xiaoyan welcomed Bai Yonggui and the village elders and then led them to the main room in the front courtyard to sit.
Bai Yonggui sat down and got straight to the point: "Young Zheng, it's time to start planting crops now. What's the plan regarding your promise last year to help the villagers cultivate striped watermelons together?"
"Yes, are you going to distribute the seeds to everyone, or how will it be done?" the other village elders also inquired.
Zheng Wei smiled gently and said, "Even if the village head and the elders hadn't come today, I would have sought you out. We agreed last year that we would help everyone nurture the striped watermelon seedlings this year, mainly because we were afraid that if everyone tried to plant them themselves without experience, they would waste the seeds."
As soon as Zheng Wei finished speaking, Bai Yonggui nodded and said, "Young Zheng is right. For farmers, the worst thing is to waste seeds. As for the seedlings..."
"Please follow me, sirs," Zheng Wei said, standing up without further ado and leading them towards the backyard.
Bai Yonggui and the others exchanged glances and followed Zheng Wei to the back. Shen Xiaoyan naturally accompanied them.
The group arrived at the cross-courtyard, and everything became clear.
The ground was lush and verdant, presumably the striped watermelon seedlings.
"These are the striped watermelon seedlings we have nurtured. They may not look like many, but when planting striped watermelons, the distance between each pair of plants is quite far, so one mu of land doesn't require many seedlings. Besides, I also thought that not everyone in our village would abandon their grain crops entirely to plant striped watermelons, so each household would probably only need a small amount," Zheng Wei explained.
Bai Yonggui and the village elders listened and nodded. Zheng Wei's words made sense. Although Zheng Wei had made money planting striped watermelons last year, it didn't guarantee that they would also make money if they followed suit.
Although most people were eager to share in the profits, land was precious to everyone, and it was impossible for them not to plant grains. This mu of seedlings should be sufficient.
"Young Zheng is indeed thoughtful. When can these seedlings be transplanted, and what should we pay attention to during transplantation?" Bai Yonggui asked again.