Pushing open the back door of the store, it turned out that seedlings had grown on the empty ground. The wheat and corn seedlings were already three inches tall. The green crops added color and hope to the land. The fruit trees had grown to the height of his shoulders. The tender green leaves curled up. Meng Yunshu couldn’t help but reach out and touch them gently. The fine hairs on the leaves felt a little itchy.

Meng Yunshu’s eyes lit up. He was amazed at the growth rate of plants in the space. It was less than a day since he planted the seeds. He could boldly guess whether the wheat and corn would mature on the third day? Would the fruit trees bloom and bear fruit?

After he touched the apple tree, it showed that it was short of water. He touched the peach tree next to it and it also showed that it was short of water. He didn’t believe in evil and touched all the crops one by one.

After understanding the needs of the plants, he carried a bucket and walked to the pond next to him. As he expected, duckweed and lotus roots also poked their heads out.

 Standing on the edge of the pond, he could easily fill a bucket of water from the pond without any effort, but he was in trouble when he wanted to lift it.

He was thin and had just recovered from an illness. Even though he had the foundation of rough work in his original body, he couldn’t lift the water at this moment. With a helpless sigh, Meng Yunshu had to pour out half a bucket of water. Now, he stood up easily with the water.

The gourd water scoop was placed on the ridge. Meng Yunshu picked up the water scoop and scooped water under the tree. The moist soil quickly returned to its original state. When he was about to continue using the water scoop, he stared at the water scoop in his hand and gave up decisively. He directly lifted the bucket and poured it under the tree, and the speed was instantly increased.

He used more than half a bucket of water to water two trees. After carrying more than ten buckets of water back and forth, the plants were finally not short of water.

After taking a few more steps and shaking his body, he knew that he could not stay in the space for long, so he hurried out.

 He appeared in the yard again. Yu Jinhuai had woken up and was still working on his bamboo frame. He turned his head and saw Meng Yunshu with a pale face in front of him. He hurriedly dropped the work in his hands, took two steps forward and helped him sit down.

He glanced at him with a frown, turned around and went to the kitchen. When he came out again, he was holding a bowl of water.

The two dogs at home saw him coming out with a bowl, thinking that he was holding something delicious. They climbed up from under the jujube tree, wagging their tails and running to him, looking up at him eagerly.

The two dogs around his feet made him unable to walk, and Yu Jinhuai kicked them with a cold face and scolded: “Get lost.”

The dogs had a very sensitive nose. They sniffed the air and found that there was no smell that attracted them. After being kicked, they left with their tails between their legs.

Meng Yunshu, who was resting, heard the sound and looked at him. Seeing the humanized expressions on the faces of the two dogs, he couldn’t help but smile.

Yu Jinhuai walked up to him and handed him the bowl.

After Meng Yunshu took it, his fingers touched the warm bowl wall, and his heart couldn’t help but warm up. He held the bowl and took a sip. The warm water flowed from his mouth to his throat. His stomach warmed up and his heart warmed up at the same time. He leaned back comfortably on the chair and squinted his eyes happily.

Yu Jinhuai on the side caught a glimpse of the emotions on his face, and raised a barely visible smile at the corner of his mouth.

When he woke up just now, he couldn’t find Meng Yunshu’s figure, and he looked around the house anxiously. Just when he was about to go out, he suddenly remembered the matter of the plane store. He sat in the yard waiting for him with the possibility that he might have gone to the store. Sitting there would make him panic and make him think too much, so he continued to make his bamboo rack, even if he didn’t pay attention to it.

When he saw Meng Yunshu appear, his heart was lifted up and his hands moved faster.

It was still early, and the sun had not yet set.

 “Someone came to the store today.” Meng Yunshu held the bowl, feeling the residual warmth, and said calmly: “I made some money. In two days, I will pick some corns planted in the space for you and Ah Ning to taste when they are ripe.”

“Okay.” Yu Jinhuai had never heard of corn as a crop, so he asked: “What is corn?”

After his question, Meng Yunshu remembered that corn and potatoes had not appeared in this era, and even sweet potatoes were officially promoted by the government a few years ago. Cangnan Village belongs to Weiping Prefecture, not far from the imperial capital Chang’an, so it can promote crops faster than other prefectures.

For example, Weiping Prefecture has been eating sweet potatoes for two years, while the slightly farther Jiangnan Prefecture only started planting it the year before, not to mention the farther northwest border, where the promotion of sweet potatoes only started last year. It can be said that Weiping Prefecture is the first test point for the government to promote crops to other prefectures.

 “Corn is long and sticky, and mature corn is yellow. The corn kernels are half the size of beans and neatly arranged on the corn cob. After the tender corn is cooked, it is soft and sticky in the mouth, with a faint sweetness.” Meng Yunshu described it to him, and he also craved boiled corn. His favorite food is boiled corn and roasted sweet potatoes.

The former is soft and sticky, and the latter is sweet and soft, both of which are his favorites.

“You will know when you eat it.” Meng Yunshu said with a smile.

“Mm.”

For farmers, as long as it is food, they like it. It can also give them an extra way to survive in the year of famine.

 ——

After dinner, Meng Yunshu, sitting on the kang, thought of the rabbit skins that he had turned over and dried every noon. After thinking about it, he realized that there was not much he could do in the Yu family. Yu Jinyue said that winter would come in a few days, and it was time to stop working in the fields. There were no other livestock in the family except chickens, dogs and horses. Yu Jinhuai had fed them early, and all he could do was cook.

Now, he could make a rabbit skin coat for Yu Zhining in the next few days. Wearing it on the body in winter would protect him from the wind better than coarse cloth. Although his skills in making clothes were not as good as those of craftsmen, he could make simple styles. Not to mention that he had learned from bloggers on the Internet, and the styles of ancient people’s clothes were easy to come by.

“Brother Huai, I see that there are still a lot of rabbit skins at home. I want to make a rabbit skin coat for Ah Ning, okay?” He looked at Yu Jinhuai, who was sitting on the ground washing his feet, and leaned over to his position with his hands on the quilt.

 Yu Jinhuai had originally planned to use rabbit fur to make clothes for his nephew, and he had always asked Aunt Sun to do it. When he heard Meng Yunshu say this, he nodded in agreement without hesitation.

Yu Zhining, who had been lying in his bed early, heard the two talking about making a rabbit fur coat for him. His dark eyes turned around, and his big and bright eyes flashed with anticipation. He asked excitedly, “Are the clothes you’re going to make for Ah Ning?”

“Yes.” Meng Yunshu replied with a smile.

His cold was cured when the system rescued him last night, so he slept in the middle tonight next to Yu Zhining, and the window side was left for Yu Jinhuai.

He touched Yu Zhining’s hair and his cheek lovingly. Meng Yunshu asked teasingly: “Ah Ning, do you want your little uncle to make clothes for you?”

Yu Zhining shyly avoided his hand and moved down into the quilt, revealing only bright eyes, which were filled with deep joy and happiness.

“Want.”

His voice was as soft as a mosquito, but Meng Yunshu still heard it. He smiled and touched his head again.

Yu Jinhuai, who was sitting on the ground washing his feet, saw this scene, and a warmth surged from the bottom of his heart. The expression on his face also softened unconsciously. His face, which always looked ferocious, now looked gentle, and even the scar that spread from his forehead to the end of his eyebrow was not so shocking.

 He thought that he would not have to bother Aunt Sun to make clothes for the family in the future, as his husband would make them for his nephew and for him.

It was a dreamless night.

——

The next morning.

Yu Jinhuai, who always got up early, got dressed and got up quietly as usual. The difference was that Meng Yunshu followed him when he walked out of the bedroom.

He didn’t understand why Meng Yunshu got up so early. He wanted to persuade him to go back to the room and continue sleeping, but his eyes were firm and his expression was resolute. He had no choice but to agree that he would get up with him.

Pushing open the door of the main room, the cold air outside hit him in the face. The white air in the air could be seen in the breath. A thick layer of white frost was on the ground in the yard. The sun had not risen yet, and a touch of white appeared on the edge of the sky, as if it was split by a sword, separating two worlds.

 Meng Yunshu, who followed Yu Jinhuai out, was blown by the cold wind and reflexively shrank his neck. His hands automatically reached into the sleeves of his clothes to absorb the warmth. Looking at the white air he exhaled and feeling the biting cold wind coming towards him, Meng Yunshu stopped walking out and stood in the hall without moving.

Yu Jinhuai turned his head and saw his ears and cheeks were red from the cold. He rubbed his palms and said, “Go back to the bedroom and wait for me to boil water and call you.”

Meng Yunshu knew that he was weak and didn’t want to take Chinese medicine anymore, nor did he want to add more burden to the Yu family, so he nodded and agreed. It was too cold, and it was not the time for him to show off.

Yu Jinhuai did not go out directly. Instead, he first lowered the thatched curtain hanging on the door of the main hall to block the cold air outside, and brought the washstand from under the eaves outside and put it in its original position.

After doing all this, he went to the kitchen.

After the last trip to the county town, there was only a little more than one tael of silver left in the family. Seeing that it was getting colder day by day, he did not plan to go to Daqing Mountain. He would take back the traps tomorrow. If there were not many prey, he would eat them at home to replenish his body.

Soon, the chimney of the Yu family’s kitchen rose with smoke, and the two dogs, Daqing and Dahei, also went into the kitchen and warmed themselves in front of the stove.

In previous years, when it was cold, Yu Jinhuai would let the two dogs go back to the main hall to sleep. This year, he planned to do the same, but he would leave a gap in the door of the main hall for them to go in and out.

 Meng Yunshu returned to the bedroom, took off his shoes and went to the kang. After a short while, his feet had become cold. As Yu Jinhuai was boiling water in the kitchen, the heat on the soles of his feet gradually rose. Feeling the warm quilt, Meng Yunshu moved comfortably.

Just as he was about to take off his cotton-padded clothes and go back to the quilt for a nap, the sound of wind chimes in the store rang.

Thinking of his own small money, Meng Yunshu silently entered the space. He thought the visitor would be Lu Renjia, who had made an appointment with him yesterday, but he never expected to see a strange face. He looked at the new guest with a little surprise.

He looked like a very rich kid.