Chapter 5: Transplanting Rice Seedlings – Wuyou Grass

The wild chicken was sold for 220 wen, the various fish combined were sold for 75 wen, the basket was sold for 34 wen, and the wild vegetables were sold for 118 wen.

Mrs. Shen strung one hundred copper coins together with a rope, and surprisingly, she was able to string four full strings and still had 47 copper coins left over.

Altogether, she earned 447 wen, almost half a tael of silver. (In this dynasty, one tael of silver equals 1,000 wen, one qian equals 100 wen, and half a tael equals 500 wen.)

Mrs. Shen did not expect to earn so much money today, nor did she expect that wild vegetables could be sold for money, and everything had sold out.

Carefully, she took out the earthen jar where she kept the money from under the bed. After adding today’s earnings, she had saved over four taels and twenty wen.

After counting the money, Mrs. Shen hid the jar back under the bed.

Seeing his wife’s excitement, Li Youyin teased, “I will work hard to earn money and fill up the money jar, so you can count it as much as you want!”

Upon hearing her husband’s teasing, Mrs. Shen blushed and urged him to rest early, before going to bed herself.

The next day, Mrs. Shen decided to reward the children by making dumplings with shepherd’s purse filling from the leftover lard. Although the dumplings were made with coarse flour, they were a rare treat, and the children ate them with greasy faces.

After the meal, she prepared the small garlic from their home and pickled it in a jar to use with porridge.

The villagers had already started planting rice, and Li Youyin planned to start working in the fields in the next few days.

Mrs. Shen noticed that their eldest daughter had been looking preoccupied lately, and she wondered why. So, she asked her daughter.

Li Guo asked her parents to sit down in the hall. “Parents, I do have something on my mind, but I don’t know how to bring it up with you.”

Li Youyin and his wife listened attentively and reassured her, “Guo’er, if you have any concerns, you must tell us. If you can’t resolve it, your father and I will help you.”

Li Guo smiled and replied, “It’s nothing serious, really. It’s just that since we’re going to plant rice soon, I was thinking, maybe this year we should try a different method.”

Upon hearing this, Li Youyin and his wife immediately stood up in surprise. “What method do you want to try?”

Li Guo continued, “In the past, after we planted the rice, many of the seedlings were dug up by birds, and sometimes, if it rained right after planting, the seedlings would be washed away. The rice plants were always sparse, and we harvested less grain in the fall.”

“I was thinking, what if we plant the seeds at home first, and once the seedlings grow a little bigger, we can transplant them into the field? That way, we won’t have to worry about missing seedlings.”

Her parents’ eyes lit up when they heard her suggestion, but they also had concerns. “But will the seedlings survive when transplanted? What if they don’t?”

Li Guo reassured them, “We can leave more seedlings at home, and if any die, we can replant them. A few days ago, I moved the eggplant seedlings in the garden and replanted them in the corner of the yard. They survived, so I think the rice seedlings will be fine.”

Although her parents were somewhat doubtful, they saw how worried Li Guo had been for several days and decided to support her idea. “If it doesn’t work, we will find a way. I’ll go to the town to work for a big family, and we won’t let you or the children go hungry.”

Li Guo cleared a piece of land in the yard, dug it with a hoe, and leveled it with a rake. She also built ridges around the field.

The family sifted through the rice grains, removing the bad ones and keeping the full ones as seeds.

They soaked the rice seeds in warm water in a large wooden basin and placed them under the sun. By the third day, the seeds began to sprout.

“Father, mother, the seeds have sprouted. Tomorrow, we can start growing the seedlings.”

At the edge of their rice field, a crowd of villagers had gathered, whispering among themselves.

Some were curious, some were watching to see if they could make fun of the Li family, and others were gossiping. Only the village chief stood there, observing the new planting method.

Li Youyin had grown up under the village chief’s watch, and the chief believed that Li Youyin was not someone who acted recklessly—there must be a reason behind his actions.

A few men were discussing on the side, saying, “It’s because they don’t have an elder at home to oversee things. This is clearly a mess.”

“I’ve never seen anyone take the seedlings out first and then plant them again.”

Meanwhile, the Li family was busy and energetic. At the heads of the fields, there were two large bundles of rice seedlings placed.

Li Guo grabbed a handful of seedlings and scattered them across the field. She didn’t throw too many at once; just enough to cover one pass.

She would turn around and continue after a moment. There was no need to scatter an entire section of the field at once, as it would be a waste if they couldn’t plant all the seedlings properly.

She took three or five seedlings at a time, planting them together. Li Guo then demonstrated the process for her father and younger sister.

Li Wen wanted to join in the planting, but Li Guo refused, saying he was too young. Instead, he went to the field’s edge to gather grass for the rabbits.

“Father, we need to space the seedlings out as we usually do when planting rice,” Li Guo instructed.

Li Youyin and his daughter nodded, understanding, and began following Li Guo’s method. With their left thumb, they separated the seedlings, while their right hand planted them into the soil.

At first, they struggled. As soon as they took a step, the seedlings floated up because they weren’t planted firmly enough.

As they gradually got the hang of it, the process became smoother, though their backs ached from bending.

The villagers, watching from a distance, started mocking the Li family, saying, “Look at this! It’s as if they’re just playing around with farming!”

When the father and daughter duo were about to call Li Wen back to the field, they realized that most of the seedlings had already been scattered in the remaining part of the field.

It turned out that, feeling bored after cutting grass for the rabbits, Li Wen had casually scattered the remaining seedlings himself.