Spring comes to the desperate place

Chapter 224 Tent

The construction of the new house was faster than Song Chunlin had expected. Not long after the septic tank was dug, the wall of the front yard was almost completed. As the saying goes, there is strength in numbers. With all the Ding family members working together, how could things not be fast?

What Song Chunlin has to do every day is to transport the food to the construction site, take a few walks around, inspect everyone's work, have lunch, and then go back to the city in the afternoon to supervise everyone's fertilizing in the fields outside the city.

The topdressing fertilizer used by Song Chunlin was provided by the herd of cattle and sheep in the military camp. Half of the livestock had been eaten, but the feces they excreted had not decreased much. Gu Fengyue knew that Song Chunlin needed fertilizer, so he went against the crowd and asked everyone to pile up the feces, mix it with wood ash, and use it after a simple fermentation.

However, the fermentation time was too short, and Song Chunlin put in only a small amount for fear of burning the roots.

Fertilizing is a tiring and smelly job. Song Chunlin's fields are large, and the girls and boys worked for more than half a month to fertilize all the fields.

While Song Chunlin was busy building houses and farming, Gu Fengyue was not idle in the military camp either. He taught the grappling techniques he learned from Song Chunlin's tablet to Gu Jiajun exactly as they were. Gu Jiajun thought it was just a fancy trick at first, but after practicing, they found that this grappling technique was a good thing that could improve their individual close combat skills, which was much more fun than their usual drills.

There was also the newly made compound bow. Compared with the bow that Song Chunlin had taken out, the ones they developed were basically the same in shape except for the different materials. Some people even learned from it and developed a new repeating crossbow with a longer range than Zhuge Liang's repeating crossbow. However, the materials for its manufacture were too scarce, and the entire Gu family army only made three of them.

Gu Fengyue tried it and found that the range was indeed long enough, but the stability was too poor, so it was taken back for re-engineering.

The two of them were busy at the border, and Gu Fengyun finally returned to the capital.

During this period, Song Dazhuang went to the town to wait every day, fearing that he would miss the convoy of the Marquis' Mansion returning to the capital. After missing out for several days in a row, he became very upset.

Today, as usual, he came to the teahouse in the town. This teahouse happened to be located at a three-way intersection. No matter which direction he entered Beijing from, he could see it first. As usual, Song Dazhuang chose a seat by the window, ordered a pot of tea, a plate of melon seeds and a plate of snacks, and took out a cake from his own stall from his arms, eating while waiting.

The waiters in the teahouse were all familiar with him, and when they saw him, they asked casually, "Uncle Song, are you waiting for your son again?"

Song Dazhuang nodded cheerfully. The waiter exchanged a few pleasantries and left tactfully after serving the food.

There were a few regular customers nearby who were chatting with Song Dazhuang. They were talking about family matters, but Song Dazhuang was preoccupied with something else and didn't pay much attention. His eyes were focused on the intersection.

An old man nearby shook his head and said, "How far has this child gone? Is it worth it for you to wait here every day for him? I see that you are dressed like a farmer. Now is the busy farming season. Are you not going to take care of the work in the fields?"

The younger man next to him also said, "Well, it's normal for him to be worried about his child who has gone thousands of miles away. As for the work in the fields, his mind is not on the fields. Even if you let him go, he won't be able to do much."

People around also agreed. Song Dazhuang was fully focused on waiting for his children to come back, so how could he concentrate on his work?

Song Dazhuang turned around and said, "I have hired a temporary worker for the farm work, so it won't be delayed. But this is the first time my child has left his family to travel far away, and I feel anxious if I don't take him."

As soon as he finished speaking, there were bursts of horse hoof sounds outside. Song Dazhuang turned his head and looked over, but it was not the Gu family's carriages and horses, but a team of guards wrapped in armor so that only their eyes could be seen.

The Imperial Guards came and went in a hurry, and not only Song Dazhuang but everyone else was confused. However, soon, Song Dazhuang saw the team with the flag of the Marquis' Mansion not far away.

"That's the carriage of the Marquis of Yongyi. Hey, where are you going?" The old man watched Song Dazhuang rush out and go straight in front of the carriage of the Marquis' Mansion. Just when he thought that the Marquis' Mansion would ignore Song Dazhuang and force his way through, a magical scene happened.

The carriage just stopped in front of Song Dazhuang. The people inside not only did not knock Song Dazhuang away, but also stopped for him?

Everyone in the teahouse was sweating for Song Dazhuang. When they thought Song Dazhuang was about to meet with an accident, he actually climbed onto the carriage of the Marquis' Mansion so skillfully?

"What is he, he, he, he, doing?" the old man screamed.

The young man next to him also gasped: "That was the carriage of the Yongyi Marquis's mansion. He actually climbed onto the carriage? No, the Yongyi Marquis's mansion didn't throw him off?"

Not only did the carriage from the Marquis' Mansion not abandon Song Dazhuang, it also kindly invited Song Dazhuang to sit down.

Song Dazhuang looked around. Well, the water that Gu Fengyun drank was mineral water, and there was almost a small packaged bread. In the corner there was a piece of instant noodles that he was reluctant to finish. The carriage was full of modern food packages, but the person who provided these was not in the carriage.

Song Dazhuang held his breath and asked Gu Fengyun, "My Lord, I wonder which carriage my Chunlin is in?"

Gu Fengyun looked embarrassed: "Well, uh, Uncle Song, where is Chunlin? He's walking slowly and is not in my convoy."

"Not in your convoy? Then is it in the convoy behind?"

Gu Fengyun shook his head guiltily, and Song Dazhuang fell silent.

"So how long will that brat stay there?"

Gu Fengyun could tell that Song Dazhuang's words were filled with anger. He considered carefully before he began to explain.

"Well, maybe, I won't be able to come back before autumn..."

Gu Fengyun's voice became lower and lower, and Song Dazhuang's eyes were sharp: "So, Lord Hou is saying that Song Chunlin will not be back until winter?"

Very good, the full name was called out. Based on Gu Fengyun's limited experience, if a parent can call a child by his full name, then he must be really angry.

Despite Song Dazhuang's anger, Gu Fengyun was responsible for moving down all the "specialties" for the Song family when he sent him home, and did not let the Song family members do anything during the whole process.

Grandpa Song looked at the subtle atmosphere between Gu Fengyun and Song Dazhuang and felt a little confused. Before he could ask what was going on, Gu Fengyun had already run away in a hurry, saying that he had to go back to the palace to report.

After seeing Gu Fengyun off, Grandpa Song finally had time to ask his son, "Why didn't I see Chunlin come back? Is he in the team behind?"

Song Dazhuang explained to the old man with a dark face: "Chunlin will not come back for the time being. According to the Marquis, he may stay there until winter before coming back."

"What?" Song Amao didn't understand.

"It's bitterly cold over there, what can Chunlin do there?"

Speaking of this Song Dazhuang, his heart ached. He covered his head and said unhappily, "What else can I do? That brat is farming over there!"

"..."

Everyone was speechless. Did this kid travel thousands of miles to the border just to farm?

"Isn't the land at home enough for him to farm? Why does he have to travel so far to farm? Is it because he has too much energy?"

After scolding her, Song A-mo also felt a headache, but Song Qinshi still had some rationality. She rummaged through a pile of "specialties" and found the letter that Song Chunlin had stuffed in. Wow, this kid didn't even have an envelope, but he just stuffed it in, not afraid that the letter would fall out and be lost.

Song Qinshi was literate now, and she could understand everything Song Chunlin wrote in plain language. After reading the thick stack of letters, Song Qinshi smiled.

"You all blame Chunlin wrongly. He didn't go there just to farm. He saw injustice and came to the aid of the weak."

Song Dazhuang didn't understand what was going on, so Song Qin handed him the letter and said, "Here, take a look."

Song Dazhuang read through the entire article quickly, but his brows furrowed further and further.

"This kid, isn't this just nonsense? Are grapes so easy to grow? He just asked for dozens of acres of land. Tsk tsk tsk, he is so shameless. I feel embarrassed just looking at him."

Grandpa Song also took the letter and read it, and whispered something to his wife. Although Grandma Song looked confused, she felt relieved after reading the letter.

"Okay, okay, it's a good thing that the child is helpful. He also said that the climate and soil over there are very suitable for growing grapes. Not only grapes, but also corn and cotton. Chunlin is doing a good thing, and he has the ability to protect himself. Let's not hold the child back. Taking care of the family is the most important thing."

The head of the family made the final decision. Although Song Dazhuang and his wife were still a little worried, they kept these worries to themselves. After all, they knew Song Chunlin's ability to protect himself. However, as parents, no matter how capable their child is, they will still worry.

As for the 'specialties' that Song Chunlin asked Gu Fengyun to bring back, Song Dazhuang and Song Dahao opened everything. Inside were new cotton packed in compression bags, which were for making new clothes and bedding for everyone in winter, various dried fruits and nuts, which were for everyone as snacks, and of course the most important spiritual spring water. All of them were packed by Song Chunlin in large briefcases, filling up ten large briefcases, which was enough for the Song family to use for a long time.

The water should be stored directly in the cellar, and the dry goods and various mushrooms should be placed in the attic for ventilation.

Song Qinshi and Song Amo spread out the cotton to dry in the sun. In two days, they could prepare winter clothes for everyone.

The Song family now hired people to do the work in the fields. Song Dazhuang now had nothing to worry about, so he also went to the fields to harvest the crops for a few days and finally brought in all the grain.

Nowadays, the Song family no longer needs to hand in their potatoes and sweet potatoes, but there are still many people who come to buy seeds from them, because everyone thinks that the potatoes and sweet potatoes grown by the Song family have higher yields and better seed quality.

This year's corn is still supplied to the Ministry of Agriculture first, and the Song family only kept a small portion for themselves. What's interesting is that the corn given to the Ministry of Agriculture are all old corns that can be used as seeds, while the portion kept by the Song family for themselves is young corn, which is for their own consumption.

In addition, the Song family also secretly planted a crop of sweet corn. The corn cobs of this variety are larger than sticky corn, taste sweeter, and are very popular with human cubs.

Sweet corn cannot be circulated on the market yet. According to Song Chunlin, it will take a few more years until corn is widely grown in Dajing's land. Then, when new varieties of corn appear, it won't be too abrupt.

The Song family grows sweet corn, and Song Chunlin also grows sweet corn at the border. There is also sweet corn, glutinous corn, and an old corn that is specially grown for livestock. Song Chunlin planted two acres of each, but the quantity was not much as he was afraid that too much would be conspicuous.

Because the planting here is slower than in the capital, the flowers have only just begun to bloom. When Song Chunlin went to the fields to take a look this morning, he saw that the corn had already begun to produce corn cobs, and even the cotton fields were beginning to produce flower buds.

Lu Jiming was transferred to follow Song Chunlin. He also looked at the swollen cotton buds curiously and asked Song Chunlin if they were to be eaten. Song Chunlin smiled back at him.

"No, you can't eat it."

Hearing that they couldn’t eat, not only Lu Jiming felt confused, but the brothers Luo Chen and Luo Yi also felt a little confused.

Since this thing cannot be eaten, why does the owner plant such a large field of it? This large field of cotton has more than all the corn fields combined.

Song Chunlin smiled and said, "Although this thing cannot be eaten, it is more valuable than food. So, you have to watch it carefully. Now is the time for the flower buds to grow. Don't let anyone pick the buds away."

Hearing that this was something valuable, the three of them looked determined and assured Song Chunlin that they would take good care of the cotton field and not let anyone steal the corn.

Luo Chen and Luo Yi almost wanted to sleep in the cornfield. Lu Jiming looked at their attire and shook his head silently.

"You two little brothers living in this remote place, isn't that a clear sign for people to come and do bad things?"

What Lu Jiming said was true. Luo Chen and Luo Yi were speechless.

Song Chunlin also felt that it was not a good idea to let them keep watch at night, and the boys and girls in the courtyard were even less capable of doing so, so he turned his attention to Lu Jiming.

Lu Jiming realized it later and pointed at his own face and asked, "Me?"

Song Chunlin patted his shoulder with a smile and said, "You are a teachable kid. Wait, I will make you the strongest tent!"

Lu Jiming: “…” I’m digging my own grave?

Song Chunlin did not lie to him. The tent was indeed the largest and the strongest. Not only did it have a tent, but it also had a simple small pot that could be used to boil water when he was bored in the middle of the night.

In addition to water, you can also cook some midnight snacks to fill your stomach.

Lu Jiming looked at the fully equipped tent and fell into deep thought. Why did he always feel that Song Chunlin had planned this in advance? Otherwise, who could prepare so thoroughly in advance?

Look at this exquisite little pot, and the ceramic stove is also small, just right for one person.

In addition to the hardware facilities, Song Chunlin also prepared noodles, instant noodles, eggs, fruits, and even tea and coffee to choose from for him.

Lu Jiming had drunk tea but never coffee, so he followed Song Chunlin's instructions, scooped a small spoonful into the cup, and then what awaited him was to stay awake until dawn.