Chapter 31: When People Fool the Land, the Land Fool the Belly

Old Man Ji was taken aback. “You can buy land and build a house so soon? Girl, do you have enough money?”

Hu Zhaodi smiled lightly. “Mr. Ji, it’s enough. If it’s not, we can buy the land first and take it step by step.”

“That works. Which piece of land do you have your eye on? Tell me, and I’ll go talk to the village head.”

“Mr. Ji, I don’t want to build a house in the village. I’m looking at that large open space next to the little pine forest.”

Old Man Ji and his wife gasped. That big piece of open land wouldn’t be cheap!

Old Man Ji asked, “Zhaodi, do you want all that land?”

Hu Zhaodi nodded. “Yes, I want it all. I plan to build a courtyard house, plus two pig pens and a chicken coop, so I can raise livestock. We can also develop the surrounding area into a vegetable garden and an orchard.”

Old Madam Ji said, “Zhaodi! You are supposed to get married in the future. If you build such a big house, what will happen to it when you get married?”

“Who says girls must get married? Why can’t I just hire a son-in-law? Besides, I’m still young; it’s too early to talk about marriage.”

Old Madam Ji laughed affectionately. “You’re not that young. By next year, when you turn fifteen, there will be people coming to propose. If you meet a good young man, you can’t miss the opportunity.”

Old Man Ji chimed in, “Exactly! If you delay for a few more years, all the good young men will be snatched up. Just wait and see what you’ll do then!”

Hu Zhaodi joked, “Then I’ll just rely on you for the rest of my life.”

Old Madam Ji laughed. “Silly girl, don’t say such foolish things! We actually hope you’ll stay with us forever, but with how capable you are, how could you possibly stay with us for a lifetime? Maybe in the future, you won’t even want this poor mountain village anymore.”

“Auntie, you shouldn’t say that. Our place isn’t poor at all. There are plenty of treasures in the mountains! Besides, I actually prefer living in a quiet mountain village away from the hustle and bustle. That’s what enjoying life is all about.”

Old Man Ji readily said, “Alright then, after we finish eating, I’ll go find the village head and ask how much silver it will take to buy that piece of land.”

“Then I’ll trouble you to ask. I won’t show my face to avoid making the village head uncomfortable.”

Old Man Ji nodded. “No problem; you don’t need to show up. The village head should give me some face.”

“That’s why I trust you.”

After finishing their meal, Hu Zhaodi organized some medicinal herbs.

Seeing that there was a plot of land in the small courtyard that was empty, she fetched a hoe to till the ground, preparing to plant some vegetables.

With the original owner’s memories, tilling and planting vegetables was not a difficult task at all.

Old Madam Ji came with a basket, intending to check the fields, and seeing Hu Zhaodi bent over tilling the ground in the courtyard, she hurried over, snatched the hoe from her, and said, “Zhaodi what are you doing? You don’t need to do this. Your Mr. Ji will be back to till it later. Go rest!”

“Auntie, it’s not that much empty land. I’ll finish tilling it soon and then plant some garlic. Once the garlic sprouts grow, we can eat them stir-fried with meat.”

“Even so, you don’t need to till it. If you’re really too restless, just accompany me to stroll through the fields.”

After saying this, she took the hoe and set it under the eaves, pulling Hu Zhaodi out.

Arriving at the fields, Hu Zhaodi smiled at the crops growing in Old Madam Ji’s fields.

Compared to the crops in the Hu family’s fields, they were vastly superior.

Indeed, when people fool the land, the land fools the belly!

Diligent families always have bountiful crops.

It wasn’t that the original owner was lazy; she simply couldn’t get enough to eat and didn’t have the strength to work.

Moreover, the Hu family hardly worked the fields, so all the fieldwork fell to her alone, and she could only manage so much by herself.

After wandering around, Hu Zhaodi discovered a patch of Artemisia selengensis in the nearby cornfield, blooming with small yellow flowers.

Artemisia selengensis, also known as Qingming grass, has various medicinal properties; it can clear heat, detoxify, resolve phlegm, stop coughing, lower blood pressure, and dispel wind and dampness. Not only does it have medicinal value, but it can also be eaten as a wild vegetable.

Artemisia selengensis can be served as a cold dish or made into wild vegetable pancakes, which taste quite good.

Excited, Hu Zhaodi shouted, “Auntie, come quickly! Let’s pick some Artemisia selengensis; there’s so much here!”

Old Madam Ji ran over upon hearing her call. Looking at the Artemisia selengensis with yellow flowers in the cornfield, she frowned and said, “Zhaodi, this Artemisia selengensis looks a bit old. How can we eat it after we pick it? Isn’t this something you eat around the Qingming Festival? Can we still eat it now?”

“Auntie, as long as there’s Artemisia selengensis, it can be picked and eaten at any time. We can pick the flowers and take them home to make pancakes; pancakes made from the flowers taste even sweeter than those made from the leaves.”

“Really?”

“Of course! If you don’t believe me, let’s pick some and try making them.”

Old Madam Ji nodded. “Alright, since you say it tastes good, let’s pick some to take home.”

“Yes, we can pick quite a bit from this patch.”

The two of them bent over and continuously picked Artemisia selengensis flowers in the cornfield, chatting and growing more excited as they picked.

An hour later, Old Madam Ji’s basket was full.

Hu Zhaodi lifted her clothes and started putting the Artemisia selengensis flowers into her pockets.

Seeing this, Old Madam Ji also lifted her clothes and began to put some into her own pockets.

By the time both their pockets were stuffed full, they finally started heading back.

They chatted and laughed along the way, soon they return home.

The courtyard had already been tilled by Old Man Ji, with smoke rising from the chimney.

Entering the kitchen, they found Old Man Ji starting a fire.

When he saw the two return, he smiled and said, “Old woman, I’ve tilled the land. Whatever vegetables you want to plant, just give me the seeds, and you can cook.”

Old Madam Ji replied with a smile, “Zhaodi wants to plant some garlic. Once the garlic sprouts grow, we can stir-fry them with meat. Go see how much garlic we have left and plant some.”

Upon hearing this, Hu Zhaodi turned and walked toward her room.

Once inside, she focused her thoughts and took some garlic from her space, carrying it out to the courtyard.

She broke the garlic into cloves, then used a hoe to loosen the soil, placing the garlic cloves into the ground and covering them back up with soil.

By the time Old Man Ji came out with some garlic, Hu Zhaodi had already planted a small patch.

Old Man Ji looked on incredulously. “Zhaodi, where did you get this garlic?”

Hu Zhaodi smiled and replied, “I bought it last time! These are the ones I didn’t finish eating when I went to the mountains, so I brought them back. This is enough to plant.”

Old Man Ji set the garlic down. “Alright, I’ll plant some too. Give me the hoe; I’ll dig the soil.”

Hu Zhaodi handed him the hoe, and as Old Man Ji dug up the soil, she placed the garlic in.

After they finished planting the garlic, Old Madam Ji still hadn’t finished cooking.

Hu Zhaodi washed her hands and went into the kitchen to help.

In the wash basin, there was a prepared wild rabbit. Hu Zhaodi picked up a cleaver in one hand and the rabbit in the other, then began to chop the rabbit into small pieces.

Old Madam Ji said, “Girl, go take a rest! I can do this.”

“Auntie, cooking and eating together is much more enjoyable! Today, I’ll show you my skills and make some spicy rabbit meat for you to taste.”

“Alright, I’ll assist you. Just tell me what you need!”