The Chief Minister’s Ferocious Wife

129 Worried That Zhao Chuchu Will Be in the Red

Madam Zheng had never heard of plants that required seedling raising before.

Zhao Chuchu would always be found messing around with strange and unusual things.

“Hehe. You’ll understand once you see it. If you trust me, leave a few ridges of dryland to grow them.” Zhao Chuchu kept her in suspense.

At first, Madam Zheng wanted to reject her. After recalling the two cans of powdered milk Zhao Chuchu gave the children, she held back the words she wanted to say and replied, “Okay, I’ll listen to you. Speaking of which, what are you going to grow on Tripe Mountain? You should start the planning now.”

“I have my plans already.”

“It’s all good as long as you know what to do. Otherwise, you’ll miss the proper season and waste the remaining time of the year.”

“It won’t happen. I’ll need Uncle Dashi and the other’s help for the hard labor.”

Zhao Chuchu could not manage all the fields on the hill by herself.

Madam Zheng knew Zhao Chuchu would hire her husband to take care of the uplands. The former was a little excited at the idea of it.

Cultivating the wastelands on Tripe Mountain for the past month had been much better than the odd jobs he had taken elsewhere.

Nevertheless, Madam Zheng smiled and uttered, “You just have to inform Uncle Chen at that time. The things outside are beyond us women.”

After Madam Zheng left, Zhao Chuchu looked at the farm, thinking about whether to grow sponge gourd or tomato.

Tomato was pretty delicious.

Those were the thoughts in Zhao Chuchu’s mind as she returned to the house.

At that time, Xie Jun was preparing rice for the dogs.

Xie Heng didn’t like dogs. So, the pets had to stay inside a hut in the courtyard. They could not enter the house.

“Junjun, should we have some steamed buns today?” Zhao Chuchu entered the kitchen and asked, “Do you wanna eat meat buns or vegan buns?”

“Meat buns!”

“Alright, we’ll have meat buns then!”

Xiaolongbao and char siu bao would be the ideal choice.

Since she bought the buns from a long-established stall, the taste was better than the hot meals from her carry-on space.

Zhao Chuchu was pretty busy when Xie Heng was away from home.

She ordered a custom-built stone mill from Old Mrs. Chen’s relative and took some time to check out the wasteland cultivation on Tripe Mountain.

After the land available for farming had increased, Zhao Chuchu ordered Chen Dashan and the others to burn the wood ash. Then, they would plow the land according to her instruction.

“Chuchu, what are you going to plant?” Chen Dashan questioned.

“A kind of crop called potato. These are the ones I bought from some traveling merchant. Now is the most suitable time to cultivate them.”

“Why have I never heard of it before?”

“It should be from overseas. As you know, traveling merchants move from place to place. They have all kinds of things we’ve never seen before in their collection.”

“What if it won’t grow? Won’t you waste half a year of cultivation for nothing?”

“No. I’ve asked the merchant the correct way to grow this thing. After the harvest, you can grow them next year as well.”

Chen Dashan thought Zhao Chuchu was fooling around. So, he tried persuading her to grow other crops. “Why don’t you grow some soy?”

“I’ll be growing that as well.”

“Didn’t you say you’ll be growing potatoes earlier?”

“I’ll be doing relay cropping. I’ll grow potatoes first, then soy later. This way, I can fully utilize the land.”

Chen Dashan did not know about this cultivation method before. “After cultivating the soy, what will you do with the potatoes?”

“We can begin harvesting the potatoes by the end of the sixth month. We’ll have to be careful not to damage the seedling of the soy at the time.”

“Chuchu, where did you learn all these from?”

“I learned these from the traveling merchants and the books. There are many methods for relay cropping in the books.”

Chen Dashan did not say a word after hearing that she had learned it from the books.

Nevertheless, he was worried that Zhao Chuchu would be in the red at this rate.

Still, Zhao Chuchu did not give any further explanation.

After the plowing, she meticulously cut the potatoes according to the buds into many tiny pieces. Then, she hired workers to sow them with twenty cents per day’s wage.

“Chuchu, can it grow with just a tiny piece like this?”

“I’ve grown many things in my life, but I’ve never seen this so-called potato before. Are you sure the merchants did not scam you?”

“Are you sure you don’t wanna grow the soy first? I’m worried that they will be impractical for staples.”

…

Zhao Chuchu was around when they were growing the potatoes. The women were chiming in, trying to convince her to change her mind.

Zhao Chuchu knew they were saying those things out of goodwill. So, she explained patiently, “If they wouldn’t grow, we could start sowing the soy around the end of the fifth month. I’ll be wasting some labor costs at most. It’s alright. I can afford to spend this much.”

Since she made her statement, the others stopped trying to persuade her. They could only let out sighs secretly. They all thought Zhao Chuchu had become more impulsive after her personality change.

Needless to say, Zhao Chuchu knew their thoughts and heard their remarks.

The following day after the potatoes were sowed, 2000 catties of soy arrived at the grocery store.

The villagers in Lengshui Village were blown away by Zhao Chuchu’s conduct once again.

Even Niu Tongsheng couldn’t help but ask, “Chuchu, I know I shouldn’t comment on how you spend your money, but what are you going to do with this much soy? We don’t need this many seeds. You can’t be eating this every day, right? Are you sure the merchants did not swindle you?”

“Chief, I wasn’t ripped off by the merchants. I have plans for the soy. Don’t worry. It’s not easy for others to pull a fast one on me.” Zhao Chuchu chuckled. “Soon, you’ll know what I’m going to do with the soy. Oh, by the way. If you trust me, you should grow more soy.”

The villagers were staring at one another. They did not understand what Zhao Chuchu had up her sleeve.

The more they observed the current Zhao Chuchu, the more they couldn’t associate her with her previous timid and taciturn self.

Just then, Xie Heng returned from his trip looking weary.

Noticing the villagers in front of his house, he thought something must have befallen his household. Taking a deep breath, he strode ahead and pushed through the crowd.

“What is going on?”

Everyone’s attention was on him upon hearing that.

After seeing him, Niu Tongsheng remarked, “Welcome back, Da Lang. Here’s the thing. I noticed Chuchu bought a huge amount of soy. Worried that the merchants ripped her off, I came to see what happened.”

“I was the one who asked Chuchu to buy the soy.” Xie Heng immediately covered up for Zhao Chuchu so the others wouldn’t misunderstand her. “I’m planning to experiment with a new type of dish. But I’m not sure whether it will work or not. So, I bought some extra ones for spare.”

The crowd remained silent after hearing that it was Xie Heng’s idea.

Xie Heng was an educated person. For some reason, they had blind faith in people like him.

“So that’s how it is. I thought the merchants hoaxed Chuchu,” Niu Tongsheng commented.

Xie Heng turned to gaze at Zhao Chuchu and replied, “I don’t think anyone can trick Chuchu. So don’t worry about it, Chief.”

“In any case, we’re glad that you’re back. Let’s go home and leave these two lovebirds alone. They’ve seen each other for days.” Niu Tongsheng evacuated the villagers. “We should let them spend some time alone.”

The crowd chortled after hearing what he said.

His words were that of a banter toward Xie Heng and Zhao Chuchu.

Although Zhao Chuchu was okay with it, Xie Heng’s ears were visibly red.

But none of them thought much about it. They assumed it resulted from Xie Heng’s hastened journey back home.

Xie Heng closed the door of the courtyard after the villagers left. Then, he turned around and gave Zhao Chuchu a simple yet exquisite box.

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