Song Tan’s Chronicle - Chapter 15

The siblings set out joyfully.

In the end, only one came back joyfully.

“Where’s Qiao Qiao?” Wu Lan asked.

Song Tan burst into laughter, “He’s behind!”

Just as she finished speaking, a tall, skinny boy with a shiny, round buzz cut turned the corner on the path. He was wiping his tears with his sleeve, looking pitiful, sniffling and sobbing.

“Pfft!” Wu Lan couldn’t help but laugh as she took the basket from his hand. “What happened? Why are you crying? Oh dear, look at our Qiao Qiao, you’ve cried so much your face looks like a little cat!”

Feeling pitied, Song Qiao cried even louder.

“Mom… boohoo… Mom… my sister… my sister didn’t plant the seeds properly!”

Song Tan wouldn’t take the blame, “Nonsense, I planted all the seeds. How did I not plant them properly? Didn’t I leave you some seeds to plant slowly?”

She then quietly explained to Wu Lan: The milk vetch seeds just needed to be scattered on the soil, but Qiao Qiao only knew how to plant corn, so he insisted on planting them one by one.

In the end, Song Tan scattered all the seeds, leaving Qiao Qiao a small patch and a handful of seeds, maybe thirty to fifty, for him to plant in individual holes.

Song Qiao cried even harder, “But you… you scattered the seeds all over. Corn won’t grow like this! I…”

He rubbed his face with his sleeves, making it even messier, and continued, “Boohoo, Mom, I planted so carefully… If there isn’t enough corn, we won’t have enough to eat… boohoo…”

He looked at Song Tan with tearful eyes, “In the future… I won’t be able to support my sister… boohoo…”

Oh, this silly boy!

Song Tan’s heart softened immediately. No wonder Qiao Qiao cried so much; he must have remembered when she said he would support them by farming!

He must have been heartbroken and upset, thinking that scattering the seeds meant they wouldn’t grow enough corn to eat.

Sure enough, Wu Lan also glared at her and quickly comforted Qiao Qiao, “It’s okay, Qiao Qiao, Mom will farm and support you!”

Song Qiao stopped crying, hesitated for a while, and then started sobbing again, “And… and support sister too.”

As soon as he finished, Song Tan hugged him, “Good brother! Sweet Qiao Qiao! Sister is so touched—come on, stop crying, wipe your face, and let’s watch Peppa!”

“You can watch two episodes today!”

In the end, the pink pig ended the tears.

…

Early March.

The third day of the second lunar month, Awakening of Insects (Jingzhe).

Everything begins anew, and insects and plants revive.

Song Tan had been back for half a month.

During this time, Song Sancheng, with the help of the villagers, had almost cleared the hillside. The fields were now covered with a layer of green fuzz—

That was the milk vetch just starting to sprout, its tender green emerging from the brown soil, trembling as if a gust of wind could break it.

The villagers marveled, “Seeds nowadays aren’t afraid of the cold! Look at this, we used to dare not plant until March, and now it’s already sprouting in March.”

The continuous stretch of twenty acres was covered with this fuzzy green, the fields varying in height, making the sight joyous at first glance.

Everyone who passed by couldn’t help but stop and take a second look.

As the saying goes, “The color of the grass looks distant but is unseen up close,” and that’s exactly how it was.

An old man from the village, leading an ox, asked, “Tan Tan, when the milk vetch grows, can I let my ox graze in the fields?”

Milk vetch is nutritious and tender, cows and sheep love it! They used to feed the ox when it was needed for plowing, but since they stopped farming, the ox got old, and no one planted milk vetch anymore.

Song Tan quickly agreed, “Sure, Grandpa Li! When the milk vetch grows, you can bring the ox to graze in the lower fields.”

Milk vetch grows fast, and starting from the green leaves, it can be grazed for a month!

Old Li thought for a moment, “You’re only planting in these two fields this year, right? How about I let my ox plow the fields for you?”

An ox can’t compete with a tiller, which can do five or six acres a day. But Song Tan’s fields were just under four acres!

Otherwise, Old Li wouldn’t have been willing. “But my ox is old, so we’ll have to plow slowly, you can’t rush us.”

“Two days to plow the fields, okay?”

Song Tan laughed, “Sure! That’s great! Grandpa Li, then I won’t mention money. When we harvest the rice, I’ll send you fifty pounds!”

The elderly eat little, fifty pounds would last almost half a year.

Old Li was very happy!

Nowadays, young people always talk about money. It’s not that paying for help is wrong, but sometimes neighbors lending a hand feels more personal.

Young people aren’t unwilling to help more, they just don’t know how.

For the older generation, who value community, it feels awkward.

Tan Tan was just right.

And besides, homegrown rice! How fragrant would that be!

He hadn’t had any for twenty years…

He never expected to taste it again.

The old ox, sensing his joy, mooed loudly, and Old Li patted its head, “Let’s go home! Soon there’ll be good food!”

…

Song Tan was also pondering:

Milk vetch, green leaves, purple flowers, an old ox…

Perfect materials!

Song Tan had already thought it through. The addition of the ox would make it feel even more lively.

As for whether she could sell it after it became popular—that was a given!

Why else would she go to all this trouble?

She was sure: once people tasted it, no one could resist becoming a repeat customer.

She had spent a hundred years planting on the back mountain of Moon Peak, mastering pest control, weeding, and flavor enhancement techniques!

She couldn’t believe that vegetables grown with spiritual energy wouldn’t have a market!

She planned to grow many durable vegetables, like black fungus and white fungus, which were perfect for online sales.

With today’s logistics, most cities could receive deliveries the next day if they were willing to pay, meeting online shopping demands.

For the less durable ones, once they were famous, local consumption could handle it.

Her main goals were to satisfy her appetite and make money.

As for how much, as long as she broke even, she was satisfied.

With this in mind, she realized there was still much to prepare.

She needed to get filming equipment ready and brush up on her editing skills. Whether she became popular depended on this wave!

After thinking it through, Song Tan stood by the field, moving her fingers slightly, quietly channeling strands of spiritual energy…

The white mist, barely visible to the naked eye, slowly merged into the field, making the green milk vetch even more vibrant.

A gentle breeze blew, deepening the lush green.

The roots of the milk vetch absorbed nutrients rapidly, and the pale yellow root nodules were enriching the soil.

That’s the rhythm of life.

The cycle repeats, in harmony.

Today there will be more.

Hiring someone to plow is expensive. With the aging population in rural areas, many tasks requiring machines may involve more villagers.

Don’t just calculate the economic costs; you’ll surely lose. But harmony between people and nature is always worth it.

Of course, some elders are unreasonable, but Tan Tan won’t suffer losses.

Also, it’s time to eat wild vegetables during the Insects Awaken season… What’s your favorite?