Qin Junyao sighed. She and Zhao Liangcai had already done the most intimate things, so it would be hypocritical to say she was unaccustomed to being held.
Forget it, Zhao Liangcai often went to the Salt Lake and wasn't home much.
“If you want to buy medicine, you have to find Sister Man Shuang. As for the price and how much medicine, I don’t know.”
Zhao Liangcai continued to peel chestnuts and eat them. “Alright, the day after tomorrow we'll go to Yan County to ask her.”
After chatting about some more household matters, they washed up and got into bed.
Zhao Liangcai wanted to do something, but Qin Junyao lulled him to sleep with a zither melody. Qin Junyao saw the redness in Zhao Liangcai's eyes and knew he hadn't slept for a long time. Sleep was more important.
The next day was Laba Festival, and Laba porridge had been prepared in the kitchen early.
“Share the rest of this porridge among yourselves. We won't be back for lunch,” Qin Junyao said to Granny Ma, holding a basin of Laba porridge in the kitchen.
“Madam, this basin is heavy. I'll take it,” Granny Ma offered to take the basin, but Qin Junyao dodged her.
“It's not heavy, I can carry it.” Qin Junyao carried the porridge basin out of the kitchen and ran into Granny Wang. “Granny Wang, how are those little cotton jackets coming along?”
“Replying to Madam, only two more need to be finished.”
“Alright, go and have some porridge.”
Qin Junyao was carrying the porridge basin to her maternal home. She had given the ingredients for making Laba porridge to the Qin family, but she knew her mother would be reluctant to use all of it for porridge.
Zhao Liangcai came in from the courtyard gate with a bowl of porridge, handed the bowl to Axe, and reached out to take the basin from Qin Junyao’s hands.
“I'll do it myself. You're still injured. Have you smeared porridge on the doors and trees?”
The custom here for Laba Festival was to smear the remaining Laba porridge on the doors, stove, and trees outside the house after eating it in the morning, to ward off evil spirits and bring a bountiful harvest in the coming year.
Zhao Liangcai still forcibly took the basin. “It's all done. Let's go.”
They walked ahead, and Axe placed the bowl on the stone table in the courtyard and followed behind.
Upon arriving at the Qin family's doorstep, Axe ran ahead into the courtyard, shouting as he ran, “Grandma, Auntie, Second Aunt, I'm here again!”
Qin mother heard the sound and opened the door first. “Who is it? It’s our Axe!”
“Liangcai is here too. Come in quickly, it's cold outside. Give me the basin you're carrying.”
Qin Junyao stood beside Zhao Liangcai and said to Qin mother, who had opened the door, “Mother, you don't see me?”
“You come back almost every day, what's so special about it? Hurry into the house.” Qin mother led Zhao Liangcai and Axe into the house.
Qin second aunt came out and walked to Qin Junyao’s side. “I was just about to bring you some porridge, and I didn't expect you to arrive so early.”
“Second Aunt, where are my father and the others?” Qin Junyao didn't see anyone else when she entered the house.
“They went to deliver porridge to the neighbors and will be back soon. It's cold today, why aren't you wearing more clothes?”
After putting down the porridge basin, Qin Junyao and Zhao Liangcai went to see Qin grandmother.
Qin grandmother's health had not been good since the weather turned cold. She was taking medicine but had no energy.
“Grandma, I’m here.”
Zhao Liangcai entered Qin grandmother's room and saw her leaning against the kang. Her usually sharp eyes were also listless.
Qin grandmother sat up, patted the kang, and said to Zhao Liangcai, “Sit down. Are you still leaving before the New Year?”
“No, I’m not leaving.”
“That’s good. You and Yao Yao just got married three days ago and you've been gone for almost a month. It's not proper.”
“Yes, Grandma. Has your health not improved?” Zhao Liangcai was worried seeing Qin grandmother like this.
“It’s fine, it'll get better after a while. I heard that Yao Yao's father is back. Go and talk to them.”
Qin Junyao followed Zhao Liangcai out to greet Qin father and the others, then returned to Qin grandmother's room.
“Grandma, I brought you some more ginseng slices. Did you go to the cave again?”
Qin grandmother glanced sideways at Qin Junyao. “What if I went? You're quite bossy.”
“Grandma, I don't object to you buying those orphans, but you can't get so sick for days after every visit.”
“I'm willing. Are the clothes finished?” Mentioning the children in the cave, Qin grandmother seemed more energetic.
“Only two more to be finished. Grandma, why don't you come and stay with me?”
Qin grandmother picked a small ginseng slice and put it in her mouth. “Qian Duo isn't here. What am I doing there? When is she coming back?”
“I'm not sure. Zhao Liangcai has people following her, so I haven't asked.”
Qin Junyao thought for a moment and continued the topic of the cave. “Grandma, why are you buying so many children?”
“If I don't buy them, should I watch them freeze to death in winter?” Qin grandmother rolled her eyes at Qin Junyao.
Qin Junyao muttered in a low voice, “Then why are you being so selective about buying them?”
“They don't look good and are an eyesore. Don't talk about me. Haven't you bought the servants you wanted to buy yet?”
“Hehe, I asked Sister Man Shuang for help…”
While Qin Junyao chatted with Qin grandmother, Zhao Liangcai talked with Qin father and the others.
Qin father said, “Liangcai, are you still raising camels? The neighbors living around here have seen that the land I cultivated is yielding well, and they all want to cultivate more land. What are your plans?”
It was no secret that Zhao Liangcai was raising camels, and he had already told his subordinates about it.
Therefore, the military families living in the Qin family's area had been waiting to raise camels without cultivating the land. Now, more than a year had passed, and there were no camels, let alone camel wool.
The families of soldiers serving at the Salt Lake could receive their pay every month and get some meat during festivals, but this was not a long-term solution.
Not only was the price of grain high, but it was also difficult to buy.
Some families even wanted to celebrate weddings but didn't have enough money.
They didn't dare to ask Zhao Liangcai directly, so they asked Qin father to inquire for them.
“Father, everything has been arranged. The camels will arrive after the New Year.” Zhao Liangcai looked at Qin father. “We also need to plant sand artemisia. This might require your help in teaching us how to grow it.”
Qin father waved his hand. “It's good that everything is arranged. Teaching you to plant sand artemisia is not troublesome at all. We have too much farm work to do, but no work to do is worrying.”
“It’s already difficult to get grain from heaven and earth here. Every extra grain counts.”
“Junyao's mother learned to make noodles with sand artemisia seeds, and they taste good. Planting more sand artemisia is good…”
Zhao Liangcai continued to chat with Qin father and the others about raising camels and planting sand artemisia.
When Qin Junyao came out of Qin grandmother's room, they started discussing planting *Cistanche deserticola* and grid-based desertification control.
“Yao Yao, you want the villagers to plant *Haloxylon ammodendron* on fertile land?” Zhao Liangcai asked, extracting something he didn’t understand from Qin Junyao's plans for the next year.
Qin Junyao explained, “It's not fertile land for planting *Haloxylon ammodendron*. *Haloxylon ammodendron* grows in sandy soil.”
“What I mean is to have the villagers plant *Haloxylon ammodendron* on the Gobi. When the seedlings are about a foot and a half tall, I will buy them and transplant them into the desert.”
“Some of the seedlings in the *Haloxylon ammodendron* fields are small, but they get buried by the sand when the wind blows.”
“So, we need to build grids first, then plant *Haloxylon ammodendron*. When the *Haloxylon ammodendron* grows, we can plant *Cistanche deserticola*.”
Then Qin Junyao explained how to use sand artemisia stems or wheat stalks to build grids in the desert for sand fixation.
Qin Sen tapped his thigh after listening to Qin Junyao’s introduction. “Niece, your plan will take a considerable amount of time and require a significant investment of labor and money.”