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After dinner, the Summer Old Man truly settled down here. He had a good night's sleep, and as soon as dawn broke, Xia Muxin got up and removed the wood ash from the stove.
Yesterday, she had bought some vegetable seeds. At this time of year, without a greenhouse, it was difficult to grow any vegetables. Her home didn't have a vegetable garden, but there was a small patch of land next to the thatched cottage where she could plant some string beans and amaranth.
Aunt Xia ground some cornmeal, glutinous rice flour, and some rice flour according to Xia Muxin's request. With no extra furniture at home, she had temporarily asked Xia Tieshu to make a few larger bamboo tubes. Once they were ready, Aunt Xia saw Xia Muxin handling the wood ash and hurriedly said, "Muxin, what are you doing? These things take up space; your father will have to get rid of them later."
Aunt Xia thought she was preparing a meal and complained that the wood ash was taking up space in the stove, making it inconvenient to start a fire. With that, she went to call Summer Forest.
"Mother, these are all good things; it would be such a waste to throw them away."
Xia Muxin was covered in wood ash, fanning her nose as she looked up and spoke. She had scooped two handfuls of ash into a basket and was struggling to carry it to the door under Aunt Xia's surprised gaze.
At that moment, Xia Tieshu was sitting cross-legged on a round stool loosening the soil with a hoe. Seeing Xia Muxin bring over two baskets of wood ash, he asked, "Muxin, can this really be used as fertilizer?"
Just then, Summer Forest brought over a bucket of manure. Without hesitation, Xia Muxin poured the wood ash onto the freshly loosened soil and said, "Father, can you pour this on top?"
Following Xia Muxin's instructions, Summer Forest poured the contents of the bucket onto the wood ash. Xia Muxin then asked Xia Tieshu to mix it all together before adding a layer of topsoil. As they spread this mixture over a small patch of ground, Xia Muxin began to sprinkle amaranth seeds on top and finally added a thin layer of clean soil.
"Is this digging up corpses or burying them? It stinks to high heaven; how can anyone live like this?"
Once they finished these tasks, the sun was already bright in the sky. Xia Muxin started working on the string beans. Although this wasn't an ideal time for planting them, Daimiao Mountain was picturesque and even in the heat of midsummer, the temperature wasn't as high as outside. So she decided to give it a try. Just as she scattered a few seeds, voices from the Wu Family came from one end.
Except for Xia Muxin, everyone else was at a loss for words, their gazes colliding without knowing what to say.
"Which fertilizer smells this good for farming? Or can someone eat it and still have it smell good coming out? Truly, it's like worrying over a salted radish!" Xia Muxin kept her eyes focused on her work, ignoring the commotion. Wu Family's loud voice attracted some neighbors, who shrugged and returned to their own fields after hearing Xia Muxin's remarks.
"Brother, hurry up! We need to chop some fence posts to enclose our little yard, or else any mad dog could come in barking," she said. Noticing Xia Tieshu's face turning red as he struggled between laughter and seriousness, Xia Muxin playfully blinked at him, urging him on.
Breakfast was prepared by Aunt Xia, consisting of porridge and a plate of wild vegetables. She had tried to make a cold dish with the wild vegetables, but the taste was far from Xia Muxin's standards, making her reluctant to cook again.
Fortunately, everyone enjoyed the meal. Summer Old Man had already gone out early to gather firewood and stubbornly headed to Town after breakfast. On the way, he ran into Wu Family and exchanged some light banter but did not engage in any arguments.
- End of Chapter -
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