Song Tan’s Chronicle - Chapter 8

Song Sancheng frowned, “Are you planning to plant rice on dozens of acres?”

Otherwise, there wouldn’t be a need for so much Chinese milk vetch to enrich the soil. Dozens of pounds? It only takes five or six pounds of seeds per acre.

Now it was the end of February, with everyone still wearing down jackets and thick coats. Once March passed, the temperature would rise quickly. As long as there was no late spring cold snap and the temperature difference between day and night wasn’t too large, most crops could be planted.

If she planted Chinese milk vetch, at the earliest, she could re-till the land in late April or May to plant other crops…which was fine. It wouldn’t delay other planting.

According to Song Sancheng’s farming experience, May was the best time for planting in rural areas. Every year in March and April, there was a late spring cold snap with large temperature differences between day and night, which could freeze sprouting seeds to death, making it unsuitable for planting.

However, he felt uneasy about spending so much money and time right from the start.

Song Tan had thought about it for a long time last night and was unhurried now. “We’ll plant rice on the two fields at the bottom, just for our family’s consumption.”

Those two fields added up to about three or four acres. Nowadays, the yield of rice was high, enough for the family to eat and to give some to friends and relatives.

Song Tan didn’t plan to plant more rice because it was hard work.

She could also try raising fish in the rice fields.

“We’ll plant Chinese milk vetch in the other fields first to enrich the soil, and when it gets warmer, I’ll plant vegetables.”

Song Sancheng didn’t object this time. “Planting vegetables is good. They’re easy to sell. You can ride a tricycle to the market and sell them.” The cost was low, the harvest was quick, and it was easier than planting rice.

Song Tan smiled, “Yes, that’s what I plan to do.” Not really. How many people were there in the town?

If she went anywhere, it would be the city.

Actually, Song Tan had some new ideas after reflecting on her work last night—nowadays, people loved watching countryside videos to relieve stress and feel at peace. But with so many rural areas, how could she quickly capture attention?

It had to be either beautiful or unique.

Her hometown, Yunqiao Village, was quite ordinary.

So, she needed to focus on making it “beautiful.”

Chinese milk vetch had a short growth cycle, was hardy and easy to plant, and its flowers were beautiful. She could shoot a video of the vast fields of blooming Chinese milk vetch to attract viewers.

Otherwise, with so many people farming and planting vegetables, when would she be able to make a name for herself?

…

At the end of February, the agricultural supply store was not crowded. When Song Tan asked for 70 pounds of Chinese milk vetch seeds, the shop owner was curious:

“How much land are you planting? It only takes five pounds of raw seeds or ten pounds of treated seeds per acre. The price is the same, 10 yuan per pound.”

Raw seeds were untreated seeds.

Treated seeds were coated with pesticides to prevent pests and diseases, making them more resistant.

Song Tan thought, I didn’t spend a hundred years growing spiritual plants for nothing. I know how to repel pests, so she made a decisive choice:

“I’ll take the raw seeds!”

Besides Chinese milk vetch, she also needed other seeds, like vegetable seeds—from fast-growing bok choy to peppers, eggplants, and cucumbers that required seedlings—all had to be bought.

The local seeds might not be as comprehensive as those online, but they were the most adaptable for a beginner. By the time Song Tan finished shopping, she had spent over a thousand yuan, making Song Sancheng’s heart ache.

Song Tan kept asking:

“Do you have rice seeds? Good tasting ones.”

The owner looked and said, “Yes, this long-grain fragrant rice is delicious. You can’t buy it for 10 yuan a pound. The yield is low, only about 800 jin per acre.”

Song Tan couldn’t help but marvel—technology truly was productivity!

In the cultivation world, those spiritual grains without hybrid optimization, even with all her spiritual energy, yielded only five or six hundred jin per acre.

“How much does it cost?”

The owner didn’t hesitate: “These seeds are expensive, 80 yuan per pound. You need two pounds per acre.”

Four acres would need eight pounds of seeds. How expensive could it be? Thinking of the fragrant, pure rice, Song Tan’s mouth watered:

“I’ll take it!”

…

Two thousand yuan was spent on seeds. Song Sancheng took a drag on his cigarette and said earnestly:

“Tan Tan, you don’t need to buy everything at once. Tilling the land is also expensive. You need to prepare a lot of money.”

The tiller required different plows for different depths. If they bought it, these needed to be equipped separately. Since they were renting, they didn’t have this trouble.

But their fields hadn’t been tilled for years, with weeds and small trees needing to be cleared, which required hiring people. It would cost at least 150 yuan per person per day. To finish in one day, they needed about ten people for seven fields, costing another 2000 yuan.

If they didn’t hire people, it would delay the planting.

Then they needed to burn the field before tilling. After two days of turning and drying, they could plant.

Even with machine operations, their fields could only be deeply tilled five acres a day, meaning three days for fifteen acres, costing 1500 yuan.

Then there were fertilizers and pesticides…thinking about the expenses, Song Sancheng felt his daughter was spending too much!

“You’re planting so many vegetables. Don’t you need greenhouses for the seedlings? And you said you wanted to dig the mountains. What are you planning for the mountains?”

Adding all this up, Song Tan also felt overwhelmed.

Before even starting, she had already planned to spend over ten thousand yuan.

Song Tan made a quick decision: “Dad, let’s not dig the mountains for now. I plan to grow black fungus and silver ear mushrooms on the mountains. We’ll use the oak trees on our mountain to plant the mushroom spores, so we don’t need to clear the area.”

Their local area had many oak trees, also called chestnut trees. These trees were sturdy and good for firewood. Song Tan’s family used this wood for their stove.

Of course, it was also good material for growing black fungus and silver ear mushrooms.

Nowadays, most people used mushroom spore bags, but this method hadn’t been used for years. Consequently, tree-grown mushrooms were more expensive.

Song Tan vaguely remembered that her family used to grow black fungus and silver ear mushrooms this way when she was young.

In the end, everyone in the village planted them, but the promised buyers didn’t come, and they ended up drying and storing them at home, eating them for years.

Song Sancheng was shocked.

—Growing black fungus and silver ear mushrooms?

—Wouldn’t they have to cut trees and process the logs? Suitable logs had to be cut, drilled with holes, and filled with mushroom spores…

Because it took up space and had low yields, it was gradually replaced by mushroom spore bags. But Tan Tan had a point—nowadays, people preferred natural and pollution-free products. Mushrooms grown from spore bags, regardless of pollution, just didn’t taste as good as those grown on trees.

Song Sancheng sighed.

But on second thought—never mind, they had plenty of oak trees on several hills. Cutting some wouldn’t hurt.

It was better than spending money outside.

Let the money be spent. Once it’s gone, he wouldn’t have to see it anymore!

He mumbled, “I’ll ask the seller about the mushroom spores.”

Seeing her dad like this, Song Tan felt guilty—because she had also ordered a computer and several accessories online last night, spending 8000 yuan to ensure efficient editing later.

But, the money was already spent.

Song Tan seized the opportunity: “Dad, let’s clean up the pigsty by the entrance and raise three or four pigs this year.”

Good vegetables needed good meat to go with them!

Song Sancheng almost jumped up: “With so much work, do you want to exhaust me and your mom?”

Thinking about the high price of pork, he was tempted and softened his tone:

“We can’t build a pigsty at the entrance. The village says it ruins the aesthetics, and even the firewood shed needs to be tidied up.”