It was difficult for Grandma Qin to teach Qin Junyao how to make socks in one day.
She couldn't understand why fingers that could play the piano couldn't handle a spatula or needle and thread.
Compared to making socks, growing Cistanche was a top priority for Qin Junyao.
In the morning, Qin Junyao helped her mother and second aunt slice the cleaned wolfsbane roots that had been soaked in rice vinegar. After spreading them evenly on drying mats, she took the Cistanche seeds and followed her father to the Haloxylon grove.
"Junyao, do you need to plant them this far apart?" Qin's father asked, standing about a meter away from the Haloxylon roots.
"Dad, half that distance closer."
Qin's father took half a step closer to the Haloxylon. "Alright, Dan Niu, Er Niu, conserve your energy when digging holes. Rest if your arms get sore; it'll take several days."
"Junyao, you should go back. Don't get sunburned."
How could Qin Junyao, who was secretly watering the Haloxylon, go back? She had come with a hoe to plant Haloxylon.
"Dad, I'll go back after I finish planting the Haloxylon."
"Big Sister, where are the Haloxylon saplings you mentioned?" Qin Er Niu hadn't seen any Haloxylon seedlings.
"They're with the food."
Qin Er Niu watched Qin Junyao's retreating back as she walked away from the Haloxylon trees and asked Qin Da Niu, "Brother, which ones did Big Sister mean?"
Qin Da Niu pulled up the scarf covering his mouth and nose. "It should be those bundles of firewood."
"Those are saplings? Dry branches without leaves?"
"There's nothing else. Hurry up and work, talk less. The wolfsbane roots will probably be dry tomorrow. After Junyao asks Dr. Sheng if he'll buy them, we'll have to dig up more wolfsbane roots."
Qin Er Niu rubbed his hands and swung his hoe. "A hundred jin of wolfsbane roots can yield thirty jin of dried goods, right? Fifteen wen per jin is 450 wen. We can earn a lot of silver in spring and autumn. We can prepare more dowry for Big Sister."
"No matter how much we prepare, it'll be a drop in the bucket for the Zhao family. I'm just worried that if General Zhao bullies Junyao, we won't be able to help."
Qin Da Niu was genuinely worried. If she married into an ordinary family, they could all go to their home to seek justice if she was bullied.
The Zhao family, they might not even be able to get through their gates.
Qin Er Niu patted his chest. "Brother, don't worry. Master Yan praised my talent. I'll practice martial arts diligently. If I can't beat General Zhao, I'll beat his gatekeeper."
"As long as our Grandma can get in, there's no injustice we can't right."
"Alright, I'll go home and tell Grandma you praised her."
"Brother, we're just talking casually, no need to go back and learn..." Su Dan Novel Network
Qin's father, Qin Da Niu, and Qin Er Niu were digging trenches next to the Haloxylon trees. Qin Junyao watered the area and then came back to scatter Cistanche seeds in the trenches.
The trenches for planting Cistanche should be half a meter to a meter deep. Qin Junyao first watered the trenches with spatial water before scattering the seeds, covering them with a thin layer of soil, and then fertilizing with camel dung or sheep dung.
Camel dung and sheep dung were not rare here. Qin's father brought back a cartload without spending any copper coins. The owner even thanked Qin's father for helping with the cleanup and told him he could take as much as he needed.
More soil was added on top of the fertilizer, just enough to create a shallow trench on the ground for easy watering.
Qin Junyao had finally mastered a skill that could be used and bring wealth in ancient times.
Planting Cistanche for a whole day, less than a third was finished. Qin Junyao had overestimated herself. She had only planted one bundle of the newly rooted Haloxylon branches.
Fortunately, the rooted Haloxylon branches were covered with straw mats. Sprinkling them with water would preserve them well.
.
At the Qin family's dinner table in the evening
"Dad, I'll go with you tomorrow," Qin Xiaoyu said after listening to her second brother describe how they planted Cistanche today, suddenly wanting to go to the Haloxylon grove.
"Look at your brother and sister, covered in dirt. It's better to stay home," Qin's father didn't want to take Qin Xiaoyu. It would be hard to find her if she got lost in the Haloxylon grove.
Qin Xiaoyu poked at the millet rice in her bowl with her chopsticks. "There's too much grass in our field. Other people's fields don't have as much grass as ours. My legs hurt from squatting."
"Don't poke your rice with chopsticks. If you don't want to eat, get down from the table," Grandma Qin hit Qin Xiaoyu's hand with her chopsticks.
"You worked for half an hour and played for an hour. You pulled up wheat as if it were grass, and I didn't beat you. You should be grateful. You want to go play with your father?"
"I only pulled up two stalks, and you saw me."
Grandma Qin repeatedly tapped Qin Xiaoyu's head with her chopsticks. "Talking back, talking back! Listen to what I say. I haven't hit you for a while, and you're getting cocky again."
There was never a shortage of liveliness at the Qin family's dinner table.
At night, when everyone was asleep, Qin Junyao entered her space.
She would be going to Yan County tomorrow, so she could take the flowers to Ting Yin Ge.
The flowerpots were ordinary ones sold in the general store, and the soil was from the forest floor on the mountain. Qin Junyao couldn't bring out a single grain of spatial soil. Fortunately, she would be watering with spatial water later.
The courtyard of the tiled house was now filled with flowers and plants planted by Qin Junyao. She didn't recognize many of them.
Some were grown from seeds, and some were beautiful ones she saw in the mountains and moved into her space.
"This is a Phalaenopsis orchid, right? It smells fragrant, but the flowers are too small. Plant three pots. Two pots for Ting Yin Ge, one pot for Dr. Sheng."
"There are azaleas on the mountain. These two tall ones are blooming beautifully. Putting them at the entrance of Ting Yin Ge would look nice, and no one would pick them."
"And a wild flower platter, covered with green moss. It'll be beautiful."
Qin Junyao talked to herself in her space, enjoying herself.
Qin Xiaoyu slept soundly at night and didn't get up to use the restroom. If she entered the space, she wouldn't be discovered.
Therefore, when she wasn't planting food, Qin Junyao liked to enter her space, take a bath, prune flowers and plants, and sometimes change into a beautiful dress and admire herself in the bronze mirror.
The next day, Yan County, Ting Yin Ge.
"Little brother, is your boss here?" Qin Junyao stood at the entrance of Ting Yin Ge, looking inside. She didn't see Ling Manshuang and asked the sweeping shop assistant.
"This young lady knows our Miss?"
"Yes, tell her my surname is Qin and I'm from Yangshu Village."
"You are Miss Qin? Please wait a moment. I'll report to her now." The shop assistant tucked the white cloth in his hand into his waist and ran to the back courtyard.
After a short while, Ling Manshuang walked out gracefully with two maids.
"Jun Yao sister, please don't mind. My servants are new and haven't been well-trained yet. I should have invited you in," Ling Manshuang said, holding Qin Junyao's hands as usual.
"Sister Manshuang, why are you being so polite? I told you last time I wanted some flowers and plants. Is it too late to bring them now?"
"Not at all. This place hasn't even opened for business yet. Let your sister see what you've brought!"
Qin Junyao pulled Ling Manshuang to the hired ox cart. "They are in these baskets. Sister Manshuang, place these two pots of azaleas at the entrance. These orchids..."
"Jun Yao sister, you said you'd give me these flowers? Do you know their value?" Ling Manshuang held Qin Junyao's hand tightly and asked with uncertainty.
Qin Junyao could tell from Ling Manshuang's expression that there might be something extraordinary about these flowers.
However, a gift was a gift, and she had plenty more in her space anyway.
Qin Junyao smiled and held Ling Manshuang's hand. "Sister Manshuang, a zither is for those who understand it, and flowers are for those who appreciate them. If you like them, they are priceless. If you don't, they are just a few weeds."