Chapter 63: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 63: A Bountiful Harvest (Part 2)
Just like the Eastern Market, which concentrated nearly half of the aristocratic and influential families of Da Chu, the Southern Market was the domain of wealthy merchants and tycoons. The Western Market where they were located was where ordinary commoners resided, while the Northern Market, the smallest in size, was known as the "beggar's nest of the affluent neighborhood". This was because those who lived there were either paupers or beggars, often engaging in petty theft and mischief, leading to disorder.
If Li Zhong's daughter truly appeared there, it could only mean that her days were very difficult, which was why he was so worried.
Thinking of this, Mo Qingze comforted him, "Any news is good news. As long as Shu'er is still in the capital, we'll find her sooner or later. If you need any help, Uncle Zhong, just say the word."
Li Zhong gratefully patted his shoulder, feeling fortunate countless times that he and his granddaughter had encountered the Mo family.
At this time, they heard Mo Yan calling them to dinner from the main hall, so they didn't continue their conversation and went to have their meal together.
Seeing that her father and Grandpa Li didn't look too good, Mo Yan couldn't help but speculate whether there was any news about Li Grandpa's daughter these days. However, both of them didn't seem like they were going to say anything, so she didn't inquire further.
Since the seeds had germinated, the most important thing now was insulation and moisture retention.
When planting the seeds, Mo Yan had listed a series of precautions and explained them carefully to the several old farmers responsible for planting. For example, when there was sun, they should lift the oil cloth near noon to let in more sunlight. When the temperature dropped, they should lower it again.
If there was frosty weather, and the temperature dropped too low at night, they would need to light the stove to warm the greenhouse. Some vegetables needed ample water, so they should be watered every other day, while others needed less, so they would be watered every five or six days, and so on.
Although she explained it very clearly, Mo Yan would still go to Liu Yang Village every two days to check, mainly to inject the irrigation channels with spring water. These areas were slightly higher than the riverbank, so they needed to use a waterwheel to draw water from the river into the channels.
In this era, there were already manual waterwheels, usually operated by two people. It took a full two days to fill the irrigation channels for twenty acres of land.
In reality, wheeling water was a tiring job, so Mo Yan didn't hire people on a daily basis but paid them monthly. It cost five hundred wen per person per month, and there were about fifteen to twenty days of work per month. It was slightly higher than the twenty wen per day wage.
When hiring people, many were eager to take up the job upon hearing such generous wages. After consulting Mo Qingze's opinion, Mo Yan chose Zhang Erniu and Zhang Dayou, who worked very diligently.
As for the ten old farmers responsible for taking care of the greenhouse, some were from the Lin family, and some were from other families. They were all experienced in farming, and they needed to guard the fields every day, even at night. This was also very exhausting, so they were paid eight hundred wen per month.
These twelve people all had large families and were short of food. Mo Yan wanted to help them, and since they had worked diligently before and had offered many suggestions, she had a good impression of them, so she hired them.
It proved that she had chosen the right people. They were all very responsible and took good care of the vegetables in the fields. In just half a month, leafy vegetables such as greens, spinach, and lettuce grew one after another at a surprisingly fast rate, exceeding everyone's expectations. The old farmers kept saying that the Feng Shui in Liu Yang Village was good; otherwise, how could the vegetables grow so quickly? Hearing this, Mo Yan couldn't help but smile to herself.
Mo Yan deliberately went to Liu Yang Village to take a look and found that the appearance of the vegetables in the greenhouse was much better than the small vegetable garden in their courtyard. There were still two or three yellow leaves on each vegetable in the small vegetable garden, but there were none in the greenhouse. They were all lush, like jade dripping with dew.
It could be seen that even with the "cheat" of spring water, certain environmental conditions were needed to ensure that the vegetables grew fast and well. Now that the first batch of vegetables was ready to be sold, Mo Yan and Mo Qingze had differing opinions on how to sell them.
In the end, it was decided, under Li Zhong's analysis, to sell them Mo Yan's way, which was to set up a stall in the vegetable market street and promote the "greenhouse vegetables" of the Mo family...
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