Song Tan’s Chronicle - Chapter 123.1

Song Tan turned and carried her hoe up to the back mountain.

The mountain was bustling with activity.

There was still a patch of land where the excavator hadn’t finished, and the young workers, unlike Zhang Yanping, were working diligently.

At Zhang Wang’s house, weeds and small branches were piled up in small heaps, layered with pig manure and soil, and sprinkled with various fermentation agents.

At the edge of the peach orchard, a rather impressive pile of compost was forming.

In three months, this compost would be ready for use.

Meanwhile, Song Sancheng, as usual, was in the chestnut grove, flipping and airing out the black fungus. The Golden cherry planted earlier had already sprouted, its tender green leaves unfolding, full of vitality and particularly delightful.

The only one who didn’t seem to fit in was Zhang Yanping.

To avoid looking too lazy, he had taken the opportunity to head down to the pond to observe the fish fry.

The fry were small and delicate, and to prevent them from being eaten by larger fish, they had fenced off a section of the pond. Once the fry grew bigger, they would open the pond, ensuring a safe environment for them to mature.

Right now, Zhang Yanping was walking around the pond, roughly estimating where the duck shed should be built and where to place the water pump.

If the peach trees arrived this afternoon, they would need to start watering them tomorrow or the day after.

The mountainous terrain was not perfectly flat and rectangular; there were inevitably some awkward corners that the excavator couldn’t handle well.

Song Tan, holding a hoe, was leveling the land with three other uncles who were helping. Someone spoke up:

“Tan Tan, you’re planting hundreds of fruit trees on this one acre of land. With such a large area, it will be impossible for us to finish planting tomorrow.”

“If you’re in a hurry, you’ll need more people.”

In a hurry? Of course, they were in a hurry!

At this time of year, some peach trees in other places were already blooming. They were just now planting theirs—how could they not be in a rush?

Song Tan looked at the empty stretch of mountain. When she had rented it, she thought it was a bit small and had even considered expanding in the future.

But now that they had started working, these twenty acres felt endless!

She asked, “Uncle Zhou, how many people would we need?”

Zhou Banli, always straightforward, looked around and asked, “How big are your saplings?”

Song Tan gestured, “About six centimeters.”

Despite his laziness, Zhang Yanping was reliable when it came to business.

He had managed to get five-year-old saplings at the price of three-year-old ones, a considerable achievement.

So, even if Zhang Yanping’s labor reform seemed half-hearted, Song Tan turned a blind eye.

Zhou Banli let out a sigh of relief. “The trees aren’t that big. One person can plant around seventy to eighty trees a day.”

But she had twenty acres to cover!

Sighing, she realized there was no choice but to call in more help.

Song Tan put down her hoe and went to the chestnut grove to find her father.

When it came to recruiting people in the village, only her father could handle it.

First, her father knew who could be relied upon to work hard and who would cut corners.

Second, regardless of how big her business became, for now, she was still seen as a young girl who might not know how to farm. Naturally, she didn’t command as much trust as her father, Song Sancheng, the head of their household.

Song Sancheng, realizing the number of people needed, grimaced and said, “Do we really need that many people?”

Twenty people or so… there were only about thirty households left in their village!

The only consolation was that this task didn’t require a lot of strength, so both men and women could do it.

Song Tan thought for a moment. “Let’s call for twenty people.”

“Uncle Zhang said I should go to his field and haul all the fertilizer over. We’ll need to lay a base layer of fertilizer before planting, and we’ll need people for that too.”

It was already past two in the afternoon, and they were still clearing the mountain. By the time the saplings arrived around four or five, they wouldn’t be able to plant today. They would aim to finish it all tomorrow and water everything by evening.

There was no other option but to mobilize everyone!