Chapter 59. Watching the Fields

"Dad, what's the direction you're pointing? Our fields aren't that far away. I think we just missed the way."

"No, there are saplings growing in the fields along the way. I have cleaned our fields before, so they are very clean. You must have taken the wrong turn."

"No, there are only three forks, and ours is the last one. I'm counting them, so it must be right. When did you clean it up?"

"Just the first two years."

"Two years?"

"Then three years? That means the year when the Winter Olympics will be held."

"It's been five years. We cleaned it up five years ago, and now the trees and grass have grown back."

The father and son quarreled as they returned the same way. It took them several turns before they found their own fields.

It was such a desolate place. Not to mention the weeds that were growing all over it, there were also small saplings sticking out of the soil, the tallest of which was two meters tall. It was no different from the surrounding wasteland.

It’s all “blame” on the pioneering team that came from the army during the mass production period.

Why make the ground so flat? It's so straight and even without any landmarks.

The ridges of the fields are covered with weeds and are unrecognizable.

Luo Yihang parked the car and the father and son got out.

Luo Yihang jumped into the field in two steps, parted the weeds, walked a few steps inside, and then retreated.

"I'm afraid the drain is blocked and there's water accumulating in it."

"Then we'll go along the stalk." Luo Cheng stretched out his hand and pointed to the side, picked up a dead branch to clear the way, and led the way down.

Grass has grown on the ridges of the fields, and we have to use a stick to push it away. Fortunately, the ridges are high, so there is no water accumulation. Occasionally there are a few collapsed ridges, but we can just step over them.

We walked along the ridge of the field for a few minutes, only about two hundred meters.

Luo Cheng stopped, turned around and pointed to the back and said, "This is a whole piece of land. Twenty acres can be connected together. We are the only one in the village."

Luo Yihang also looked back.

Twenty acres of land is about two hundred meters long and seventy meters wide, which is about the size of two football fields.

I remember when I was a child I thought the field at home was so big, but now it doesn’t seem that big.

"This piece of land belongs to us. Is it contracted or something? How many years will it take?"

Luo Yihang was still young when he was farming on the platform, and the adults didn't tell him how these fields came about.

By the time Luo Yihang grew up, the fields on the platform were no longer cultivated and no one mentioned them anymore.

So, he really didn't know.

"There's no need to lease the land. This piece is our private land." Luo Cheng said proudly.

Luo Yihang thought to himself, I haven't heard the term "private plot" for a long time.

He raised his eyebrows and looked at Luo Cheng, waiting for his father to tell him some stories.

Sure enough, Luo Cheng began to tell stories to Luo Yihang by counting on his fingers.

"It started in the 1950s when the land was distributed during the land reform. At that time, our village was still on the stage, and your grandparents were allocated a piece of land of seven mu. Later in the 1970s, the village distributed land for the second time, and your grandparents, me, your second uncle, and your third uncle were allocated a total of 21 mu. Later, when your second uncle grew up and was able to work, your grandfather went to the village and exchanged some land with your fifth uncle, seventh uncle, and third uncle, and finally got all our land into one piece."

"What about me?" Luo Yihang asked curiously, "Why don't I have any?"

"When were you born? You lost your private plot in the 1980s."

"That's not right. Seven acres plus twenty-one acres makes a total of twenty-eight acres. How come there are only twenty acres here?"

"Why are you so annoying, kid? Are you listening?" Luo Cheng was interrupted and cursed before continuing, "In 1976, when there was a big production, the village had to move downstairs, to where we live now. Your grandfather gave the land on the platform to the village collective to farm together. At that time, we still had a big pot and worked together. A few years later, the contract responsibility system was implemented, and the 20 acres were taken back and we farmed on our own. The other eight acres were moved to the side of the house downstairs."

"Oh, that's the land that grandpa is planting now, right? It's less than eight mu." "No, what we are planting now is your grandpa's private plot. Your grandpa is planting contracted land. When your third uncle moved his household registration, he handed the private plot back to the village, and your grandpa took it over again. Oh, and there's also the plot that your uncle Da gave to your grandpa. You are planting beans there."

So, the twenty acres on the platform belong to the entire Luo family, and below, next to their home, Luo Yihang's family is now planting more than eight acres that belonged to grandfather; grandfather's land was originally owned by uncle San, which was less than three acres, and Uncle Da gave him more than three acres, and now he is planting beans.

Add them up...the numbers don't seem to match?
But it’s really messy.

The time span is more than fifty years, and so many major historical events have occurred in between. Fortunately, Luo Cheng can still remember them clearly.

In short, once you have made sure that the plants are yours, you can plant them wherever you want.

No, there is another person who I haven't contacted for a long time. "What about my second uncle?"

"Your second uncle." Luo Cheng was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Your second uncle wanted to go out and make a living that year, and he said he didn't want the land anymore. I kept growing corn for him, and every year I would transfer the money from the corn sales to him. It's been more than ten years. I can't remember, I can't remember."

...This casual question made my dad sad.

This time the numbers match.

Luo Yihang quickly interrupted, "Dad, it's okay, it's okay, isn't Second Uncle still calling? Let's see what to do with the field first."

"It depends on what you want to plant. Anyway, we have to open up the land first." Luo Cheng was also worried when looking at the land. "I'm afraid we need to ask people to use machines to open it up. We can't do it ourselves."

……

Isn't it impossible?

It’s not the past now. There are many people in the village, and a large group will come when you call.

Now, only Luo Cheng’s old friends and the grandfathers in the village are still able to work.

Even if they are able to do it, we dare not let them do it. It will be troublesome if they get hurt by overwork.

Just spend money to hire someone to do it. It doesn't matter how much it costs. Luo Yihang has money. The medicinal materials factory has already paid him the 22.8 yuan from the sale of Poria cocos.

The hundreds of thousands of dollars from selling vegetables will come in gradually.

I still have 20,000 yuan left from selling the pepper sprouts, so I have plenty of money.

As for what to plant, Luo Yihang had already thought about it: "I plan to plant peppers, the Qin peppers we have here."

Qinjiao is a variety of pepper native to the 800-li Qinchuan area. It is mainly used to make dried peppers. It is fragrant but not spicy. When paired with local rapeseed oil, it is made into oil-splashed chili, which is the soul of oil-splashed noodles and dough.

Luo Yihang grows Qin peppers with the intention of making chili oil. As the old saying goes, there is no money to be made in selling primary agricultural products, and deep processing is required.

Of course, fifteen yuan for dishes where you can’t choose the variety is a special case and doesn’t count.

"Chili?" Luo Cheng shook his head and taught Luo Yihang, "Your kid is always thinking big. What time is it now? The chili seedlings have to be planted in March. The seedlings have already been planted. It's too late to do it now."

Luo Yihang didn't listen to this old experience and retorted: "You should change your mindset. There are so many greenhouses now. People plant seeds all year round. Who would raise their own seedlings? They all go to the nursery to buy seedlings. They have all sizes, including fruit-bearing seedlings for sale. Qiangwa knows a lot about them."

"This..." Luo Cheng stopped talking. He just couldn't come to his senses for a while and was still thinking about doing everything by himself.

But since we're talking about greenhouses, "Should we build a few greenhouses? Those two families who buy vegetables want more. If they keep asking for vegetables, we won't have any to sell to them in the winter."

"That's the plan." Luo Yihang nodded, and then said, "But we won't deduct it here."

"If we don't build a shed here, where else can we build one?" Luo Cheng was puzzled again today. "The land below our house is very narrow, so we can't do it."

"In front." Luo Yihang pointed forward, "Whose field is that?"

　Brothers, I'm floating.

　　Last week, I had 40 collections in one day, and I was very happy all day.

　　I added 408 favorites yesterday, and I actually thought that was just a tad bitch.

　　Thank you so much
　　Thank you so much for the support of all my brothers and sisters!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)