The addition of large livestock to the household directly doubled their productivity.
That evening, Zhao Guihua prepared several extra dishes.
Shredded mustard greens stir-fried with meat, cabbage stewed with tofu, a young chicken stewed with mushrooms, bean sprouts stir-fried with pickled cabbage, and wood ear mushrooms stir-fried with cabbage slices.
A basin of steamed egg custard was prepared, along with a bowl of fried chili paste.
By spring, wild vegetables were already growing in the fields.
Fresh dandelion greens were dug up, washed clean, and eaten dipped in sauce, proving to be the most appetizing accompaniment.
Little Xi Tian, who was just teething, had itchy gums and enjoyed gnawing on hard things.
"Oh dear, little daughter, you can't bite the chopsticks!" Gu Shi took the chopsticks from Little Xi Tian's hand.
"Ah ah! Eat, eat!"
Little Xi Tian's small hands flailed, reaching for a plate of stir-fried wood ear mushrooms on the table.
Gu Shi, torn between laughter and tears, kissed her daughter. "You can't chew them yet, darling. How about Mama feeds you some steamed egg custard?"
The old hens in the house laid eggs every day.
In early spring, Zhao Guihua had hatched a brood of chicks by the kang.
They had now grown to a decent size.
Little Xi Tian drank the steamed egg custard until her little belly was round and full.
The meals on the table became increasingly abundant, and the family members' laughter filled the air, their faces beaming with happiness and contentment.
Little Xi Tian also felt genuinely happy.
After eating her fill, she crawled behind the pile of quilts.
This was her "secret little nest."
Closing her large eyes, she drifted back to the space base.
Here stood over a dozen workshops and factory buildings, along with endless rice paddies.
As an agricultural base, it was planted with all sorts of fruits, vegetables, and new crop varieties.
Clusters of purple grapes hung from the vines, and ripe citrus and apples awaited picking.
In the livestock pens, dozens of dairy cows mooed.
Hundreds of fine horses ate their feed, their coats glossy, each one more spirited than the last.
The vast warehouses stored countless grains such as corn, rice, wheat, and oats.
On the hillsides, herds of deer and sheep frolicked, and as the breeze blew, waves of grass surged.
Little Xi Tian expressed her satisfaction.
For some unknown reason, ever since she had transmigrated into an infant, the agricultural base had become a separate spatial medium.
It was uninhabited, and only Little Xi Tian could enter.
The grass on the hillsides seemed to be inexhaustible.
When the livestock were hungry, Little Xi Tian would let them out to graze freely.
When the crops were thirsty, with a wave of her small hand, dense clouds would gather, bringing rain.
She was the true master of this place!
"Oh, little aunt is sleeping so soundly!" Yun Jinhe quietly crept closer.
Seeing the little treasure nestled in the quilts, pouting, her tender little face squashed.
Yun Jinhe's girlish heart melted, and he gently pinched Little Xi Tian's cheek. "Little aunt is so cute!"
Little Xi Tian opened her eyes and giggled.
To reward her eldest nephew for praising her, Little Xi Tian decided to give the whole family a little surprise.
Then, a rustling sound came from the kitchen.
Old Man Yun paused as he was serving food, his eyes widening. "The chickens are on the stove again?"
Gu Shi put down her bowl and nudged Old Man Yun. "Go and see!"
"Okay!"
Old Man Yun got off the kang and put on his shoes. As he reached the kitchen doorway, he was stunned.
"Old... old woman, Da Man, Er Man, quick... quick, come over!"
The whole family exchanged glances and crowded over to look.
Liu Cuirong, about to give birth, was lying on the kang, unwilling to move.
But she stretched her neck as long as possible, peering out the door.
As Gu Shi entered the kitchen, she saw the floor piled high with bright orange tangerines.
They varied in size, but all were fresh.
"My heavens, where did so many tangerines come from?" Zhao Guihua was dumbfounded.
They filled the entire kitchen.
Gu Shi, overcome with emotion, shed tears. "It's our daughter... our daughter who gave these to us!"
Old Man Yun embraced Gu Shi, his voice choked with emotion. "What good deeds did our family do in our past lives to have such a blessed daughter as Little Xi Tian!"
In Dashui Village, the villagers could not afford tangerines.
Firstly, the price was too high, and the villagers couldn't afford them.
Secondly, the climate here was not suitable for growing tangerines.
Therefore, this fruit was extremely precious.
Upon hearing that there were tangerines to eat, Liu Cuirong, with her bulging belly, got off the kang and rushed into the kitchen.
"Oh, we've struck it rich! How much money will these tangerines sell for!" Liu Cuirong exclaimed as she ate.
Gu Shi returned to the room and picked up Little Xi Tian. "Daughter, did you bring these tangerines?"
In fact, ever since their escape journey, Gu Shi had noticed her daughter's unusual nature.
Dairy cows, eggplants, japonica rice, hazelnuts, crabapples, large spotted deer, and so on.
Even when Yun Jinshan had a cold and fever, there were ready-made pills.
Gu Shi knew it all in her heart, but she wanted to confirm it with her daughter.
Little Xi Tian hugged her mother's neck and nodded. "Ah ah! Eat!"
"Daughter, my good daughter, sob sob!" Gu Shi could no longer hold back her tears.
She rarely lost her composure like this.
But thinking of the family's difficult experiences during their escape, her heart felt a pang of sorrow.
Little Xi Tian wiped away her mother's tears and giggled.
Mother, these tangerines were not being eaten in the space.
Rather than let them rot, it was better to let the family enjoy them!
If they couldn't eat them all, they could sell them to supplement household expenses.
Gu Shi did not want to become her daughter's "vampire."
No one in the family did.
But since these tangerines were a gift from their daughter, Gu Shi had no choice but to accept them.
"Er Man, go to the granary and get some sacks to pack the tangerines."
"Da Man, pick some of the larger tangerines and send them to the village chief's house and our neighbors."
"If they ask, tell them you bought them from the county town, and don't say anything else!"
"Understood, Mother!"
The two brothers hurried out.
Old Man Yun smiled and said, "Old woman, these tangerines won't keep. If they're going to rot, let's keep some for ourselves, and sell the rest!"
"Mm!" Gu Shi bounced Little Xi Tian. "After selling them, we'll buy some cloth to make two new outfits for our daughter."
The weather was getting hotter, and Little Xi Tian could no longer wear her padded jacket.
"Alright!"
Old Man Yun was overjoyed, and then he remembered something. "Let's also make a small satchel for our daughter!"
Little Xi Tian often picked up small bones and uniquely shaped pieces of wood.
They were piled up at both ends of the kang.
Making a small satchel would allow her to carry them wherever she went.
"Okay, we'll do as you say!" Gu Shi hugged her daughter tightly and smiled.
The villagers were deeply touched upon receiving the tangerines.
They took out their brown sugar and eggs and pressed them into Yun Da Man's arms as a token of gratitude.
In Dashui Village, eating tangerines was like Yang Guifei eating lychees.
They were hard-won and more precious than silver.
The remaining tangerines were taken to the county town and sold for a full twelve taels of silver.
Keep in mind that the Yun family had only spent fifty taels to buy this large house.
A few tangerines selling for such a high price as twelve taels showed the people's fondness and appreciation for this fruit.
With the addition of horses, the plowing speed increased more than threefold.
It only took five days to plow all thirty mu of land.
After applying the base fertilizer, they began planting wheat.
Dashui Village was joyfully busy with farming, with men, women, old, and young all pitching in.
Good news also came from the Old Yun family: Liu Cuirong had given birth.