Chapter 19

“Let me go to the orchard, is that really happening?” Wu Xiaoxiao hadn’t heard about it.

“Yes, I overheard my dad talking about it. I’m not sure if it’s official or not, but I think going to the orchard isn’t that great. It’s so far away, how much time would it take for you to go back and forth every day? Plus, there are lots of bugs on the trees, it’s disgusting and troublesome. And last time, when I went with them to pick apricots, the branches scratched my hands, and I still have scars now.” Wu Ningfang stretched out her arm, showing a few scars.

Wu Xiaoxiao didn’t respond, her thoughts drifting elsewhere. Perhaps Captain Huang and the others were planning to try the grafting methods from the agricultural newspaper, but it was a bit late to start now.

Wu Ningfang nudged her. “Xiaoxiao, what are you thinking? You look spaced out.”

“I was thinking about the orchard. I haven’t heard anything about it here. But if I go to the orchard, the house won’t be as well taken care of.”

Wu Ningfang saw that she was still thinking seriously and threw some cold water on her idea. “It hasn’t been decided yet, it’s probably not going to happen.”

To her surprise, two days later, the brigade office actually notified Wu Xiaoxiao to go help at the orchard.

“What should we do about the weed removal in the fields?” Wu Xiaoxiao was still a bit confused.

—-

In front of everyone, Wu Laosan put on the demeanor of a kind elder. “Don’t worry. Before you joined the labor force, didn’t your mom and the others manage fine? After you go to the orchard, just reduce the weed removal tasks a bit.”

“No wonder Captain Huang praised our daughter for being so filial, always thinking about her family no matter where she goes,” Wu Changfa said with a smile, “Xiaoxiao, after hearing you, I went back and read the newspaper for a long time, then found some related books. They say that using a few methods can really increase the fruit yield. If we can improve our orchard, we’ll get more fruit in the fall and be able to sell more at the market. That way, our team can share more money.”

Wu Changfa sighed and added, “But looking at those words in the books, it’s really tough. I can barely understand a little. If it’s too complicated, I can’t make sense of it at all, so I’m asking you, the educated one, to help me think of a solution. Let’s figure out what to do together.”

With the brigade’s order, going to the orchard was a done deal. And since Uncle Changfa was so enthusiastic and came to personally pick her up, Wu Xiaoxiao couldn’t refuse.

Wu Xiaoxiao quickly packed up at home, said goodbye to her mom, and went with him to the orchard.

In the entire Beixian County, Wujia Village’s second brigade had over six hundred acres of land, including an orchard and a subsidiary food team. The food team raised chickens, ducks, pigs, and some cows and sheep, with the cows mainly used for plowing the land and the sheep providing some meat for the winter.

The orchard was built on a small mountain. The land wasn’t suitable for farming, but it was perfect for planting fruit trees.

The orchard was filled with many peach trees, apple trees, pear trees, date trees, and grape vines. When added up, the annual output of this orchard was quite significant.

Because of the orchard and the provision team, the second team was the one with the best conditions in all of North County’s teams.

The orchard was about ten or so miles away from Wu Jia Village, which would take quite a bit of time to walk.

Uncle Changfa had come to find Wu Xiaoxiao today and was well-prepared. After leaving the team office, Uncle Changfa patted his bike and said, “Come on, girl, I’ll take you there by bike. Just sit sideways, don’t worry, sit down, and I won’t let you fall.”

Uncle Changfa had even tied a soft cushion to the back seat to make sure Wu Xiaoxiao could sit comfortably.

Wu Xiaoxiao had never seen such a bicycle before. She only knew from the original owner’s memory that this bike was a precious item, not something everyone could afford, and the original owner had never even seen one.

Once Wu Xiaoxiao sat down, Uncle Changfa pushed off with his long legs, and the bike immediately started moving.

After sitting for a while, Wu Xiaoxiao quickly figured out how to balance herself and didn’t need to hold onto the seat to stay steady.

As Uncle Changfa rode, he began to tell Wu Xiaoxiao about the orchard: “Right now, the fruit tree blossoms have fallen, and it’s about time for the fruits to start growing. I’m not sure if the grafting methods you mentioned will be useful, but if not, we can think of something else. Oh, by the way, I’ve subscribed to a newspaper, the agricultural science newspaper that Captain Huang mentioned. Oh, it’s hard to get a subscription, we had to submit a report.”

Uncle Changfa grumbled a little before proudly saying, “But this orchard is one of the best around, and once the report was sent to the county, they approved it right away. When you arrive, you’ll have the newspaper to read. I also borrowed some books for you. Actually, it wasn’t me, it was Captain Huang who borrowed them for you. He borrowed some books on agricultural science. Do you know Professor Lu? He’s the old professor who used to work with Dr. Chen’s grandfather in the cattle barn. He has a lot of books and even sent me some, saying they’d be useful for us.”

From Uncle Changfa’s introduction, Wu Xiaoxiao quickly understood the situation with the orchard.

As she had expected, they had invited her here to try the methods mentioned in the agricultural newspaper in the orchard.

“Alright, no problem. When we get there, we’ll figure it out together,” Wu Xiaoxiao replied cheerfully.

She loved the environment of the orchard and the fruit trees. Compared to weeding in the fields, her special abilities could be better utilized here, and with the scientific planting methods, she believed they could make the orchard even better.

“Okay, girl, hold on tight, I’m going to speed up!” Uncle Changfa laughed heartily and rode the bike quickly, reaching the orchard in just over half an hour, despite the ten-mile distance.