Chapter 33 – Prone to Pests

“Pretty much,” Xu Xia said cheerfully. “In the countryside, chickens and ducks are usually free-range. They can forage for their own food, so raising them isn’t all that difficult.”

Zhou Yu nodded, indicating he understood.

On the other side, An’an had just woken up and gained another 0.01 energy point. Still a bit dazed, she heard Aunt Zhao and Qin Ying talking about how Zhou Yu might take them out to dig a well again.

Qin Ying frowned, “It’s fine for us adults, but An’an is still so young. And it’s cold in the mountains. That’s too harsh for her.”

Aunt Zhao sighed. “There’s no helping it. Lord Zhou has already spoken—can we really refuse?”

An’an shakily stood up by holding onto the edge of the kang table and suddenly pounced into Qin Ying’s arms, giggling. Mother, you truly have no idea what your precious daughter is capable of!

Seeing her smiling face, Qin Ying’s heart melted. She kissed her lightly on the cheek and said, “The wind is strong these days, and we don’t have any face cream. I’m worried it’ll chafe our darling’s soft little face.”

“That’s true,” Aunt Zhao said affectionately as she looked at An’an. After a moment of hesitation, she asked, “Why don’t we ask Lord Zhou if he has any of that kind of good stuff?”

“Mother!” Qin Ying said helplessly. “Please don’t. Everyone’s already struggling just to fill their stomachs—who’s got time to worry about that? You’ll only end up giving people something to gossip about.

“I was thinking, if we go with the officials, it’ll be a big commotion, too eye-catching—not good for An’an.

“The place isn’t far anyway. How about we carry An’an and walk around ourselves first? If we actually find something, then we can inform Lord Zhou and the others.”

Aunt Zhao looked troubled. “But if we do that, won’t we expose ourselves?”

“Mother,” Qin Ying smiled slightly, “why would we say anything directly? Just like before, we’ll find a way to lead them over. No need to show ourselves.”

“Silly me,” Aunt Zhao chuckled and slapped her own thigh. “What a wooden head I have!”

Qin Ying’s eyes fell on the wooden troughs on the floor. As soon as they had returned, they had planted some scallions, garlic, and small greens. Now a layer of tender green shoots had already sprouted—it was a heartening sight.

She picked up An’an and pulled Aunt Zhao along toward Zhao Hu’s room. “Mother, come see our mushrooms. In a few days, we’ll be able to eat them!”

On the racks in Zhao Hu’s room, three wooden troughs were neatly arranged. Mushrooms had already started growing here and there—about half a finger long.

Aunt Zhao was overjoyed. “Oh my, this is great news! Our An’an will be drinking mushroom soup soon!”

Qin Ying was happy too, though not completely. “It would be better if more grew… I wonder what went wrong.”

Sensing a thought, An’an decided that with things progressing the way they were, her mother could only think of so many possibilities—perhaps she should lend a hand.

Qin Ying handed An’an to Aunt Zhao and went to turn over the mushroom substrate that hadn’t grown successfully.

A fat, pale white worm wriggled out.

Unfazed, Qin Ying pinched the worm between her fingers. Watching it squirm, she frowned and said, “Why are there worms?”

An’an secretly covered her eyes—thank goodness her mother wasn’t afraid of bugs.

“What’s so strange about worms in the soil?” Aunt Zhao said indifferently. “There are all kinds! The worm eggs are tiny—you can’t see them. It’s normal. There’s no way to prevent or treat it.”

Qin Ying furrowed her brow in thought. “How can there be no prevention or treatment? What are worms afraid of?”

Aunt Zhao answered casually, “They’re afraid of the sun. Catch a worm and leave it in the sun, and it’ll dry up and die pretty fast… Or not—it might just get dragged away and eaten by ants.

“When we raised chickens in the past, letting them roam around helped too—they’d eat the bugs.”

Qin Ying threw the worm on the ground and stomped on it. She dug a bit deeper into the substrate. “No wonder this patch isn’t growing mushrooms—it’s all been eaten by worms!”

Aunt Zhao cursed the worms along with her.

An’an found it hilarious and truly laughed.

Seeing An’an happy, Aunt Zhao became even more animated, stomping her feet and pointing as she continued to curse the worms—but refrained from using foul language.

An’an found it all so funny, she couldn’t stop laughing.

After some playful moments, seeing that Qin Ying was deep in thought, Aunt Zhao carried An’an back into the house.

Since the household used a lot of firewood, Zhao Hu had gone out to chop some again.

When he returned and saw Qin Ying still squatting by the mushroom substrate, he came over and asked what was going on.

Qin Ying shared her concerns, and Zhao Hu grinned. “Sister, take your time thinking it through—you’ll definitely find a solution!”

He went to wash his hands and then play with An’an.

Aunt Zhao shooed him away. “Can’t you see she’s sleeping? Go to the cellar and get a cabbage. I’ll start cooking.”

Qin Ying quickly came out to help too.

While tending the fire, she casually asked, “Mother, after we harvest the crops, why do we dig up the roots and burn them in the field?”

“No one wants to go to the trouble of dragging those roots back,” Aunt Zhao explained. “Burning them is easier. Plus, people found that if you burn the field, there are fewer pests the next year.

“If the family isn’t short on firewood, they’ll even burn the bean stalks—just get it over with.”

Qin Ying’s eyes lit up and her voice rose with excitement. “Then, Mother, do you think if we burn the soil we use for growing mushrooms first, it might stop pests from showing up?”

Aunt Zhao was stunned. “That… actually makes sense?”

Qin Ying immediately sprang into action. She called for Huzi to help with the fire, moved all the growing mushrooms into one trough, and emptied another. She brought it outside, dumped out all the substrate, and gathered straw to burn it.

The evening wind was bone-chilling. Zhao Hu rushed out and called, “Sis, your body’s still weak—let me do it. Just teach me if I don’t know something.”

Aunt Zhao called out from inside, “Once you two get the fire going, hurry back in! Don’t freeze out there like fools!”

The siblings exchanged a smile, spread out the substrate evenly, then stacked the firewood. Once they saw it catch, they returned indoors.

After a while, thinking it should be about done, they went out again to stir it up.

In this way, the moisture in the substrate was quickly burned off. By the time they finished dinner, it had burned thoroughly.

After it cooled, they repacked it into the wooden box and brought it back indoors, placing it near the stove. Then they watered it thoroughly. By tomorrow, they’d be ready to inoculate the mushroom spores.

Qin Ying exhaled softly. “We’ll know in a few days if it works. If it really does, we can teach the rest of the village how to grow these mushrooms too.”

An’an rolled over on the warm kang. Of course it’ll work! Soon the whole village of Tongshu Tun will be enjoying all the mushrooms they want!

As for the mushroom spores, that wasn’t something to worry about—she’d just help nurture the first batch. These things grow fast, and once they had one round, they could keep their own seeds.

According to the original plan, Qin Ying and Zhao Hu were supposed to visit a nearby village during the day.

But An’an had slept too much during the day and was restless that night—clamoring to go outside.