Chapter 735 - 379: A World for Two (Part 2)

Chapter 735: Chapter 379: A World for Two (Part 2)

After lunch at her family’s home, Juhua waited for the twins to fall asleep. Seeing that the sun was lovely, she said to Huai Zi, "Let’s go check on the wasteland. We can take a walk while we’re at it."

They said their goodbyes to the Yang Family, and the couple set off for a stroll in the winter afternoon, enjoying a rare moment of peace. As they headed southeast along the base of the mountain, bursts of lively noise and the sound of children’s laughter drifted from the village houses. The occasional pop of a firecracker filled the air with the spirit of the New Year.

Huai Zi walked beside Juhua, his spirits high. He was busy during the day, as was Juhua. Outside of sleeping at night, they rarely had such quiet moments alone together.

Once they left the village and the last of the blue-brick, tile-roofed houses was behind them, Huai Zi took Juhua’s hand and asked with a smile, "So, what exactly do you want to plant on that land?"

Juhua smiled. "Bamboo." After a moment’s thought, she added, "We’ll plant some fruit trees around the perimeter, too. If they grow, we’ll keep them; if they die, we’ll plant new ones. We won’t make them a priority. Bamboo is easy to grow. As long as the soil isn’t too dry, it can grow into a large grove within two years."

Huai Zi was astonished. "You bought all that land just to plant bamboo? Is it for the shoots? Even so, you can’t plant bamboo on all one hundred and fifty mu. Juhua, have you really thought this through?"

Juhua shook her head but didn’t say anything. They had just arrived at the mountainside plot she had purchased. At the foot of the mountain lay a vast, rolling expanse of land that had already been tilled, exposing the yellow earth beneath—this was the first fifty mu she had bought. Further up the slope was land overgrown with low-lying trees, thorny brambles, and shrubs, along with a few oak and pine trees. This was the additional one hundred mu she had purchased later, which remained uncultivated.

From the midway point of the mountain on up, there was even more land, with the forest growing denser the higher it went. The entire surrounding area was wild, untamed mountain terrain. The village had originally planned to plant oak trees there this year, but the Zhang family and the Zheng Family had happened to buy up several hundred mu of the land, forcing the village to choose a different location.

Juhua quietly surveyed the wilderness before her. The withered grass and bare branches looked less bleak in the warm winter sun. Far from the village, the mountainside was peaceful; the only movement was a small sparrow hopping on a lonely branch. ’It’s still not quite enough,’ she calculated silently.

Huai Zi stroked her back and smiled. "Are you thinking you’d like to live in a bamboo forest? Our house is nice, but that neighborhood is getting a little too crowded."

Juhua laughed. "Yes and no. On the fifty mu at the base of the mountain, we’ll plant peanuts, soybeans, and other crops—whatever we need. Up the mountain, we’ll use fifty mu to plant bamboo and raise some free-range chickens in the grove. That way, the bamboo shoots are one source of income, and the chickens and eggs are another. We can plant some fruit trees around the edges and harvest fruit from them too. We aren’t very good with fruit trees, though. After all these years, we haven’t gotten any better. It’s like your wood ear mushrooms; it’s all up to fate. But we can’t give up on either of them. I think if we keep fussing over them, we’ll eventually get the hang of it."

Huai Zi’s interest was piqued. "Raise chickens? That’s a great idea. A bamboo forest would have plenty of bugs for them. And not only could we harvest shoots, we could also collect fertilizer, not to mention the chickens and eggs themselves. But how would you sell the chickens?"

Juhua smiled. "We’ll make lotus leaf-wrapped roasted chicken and have Mei sell it at the market."

Huai Zi nodded. "We could set up a small stall in Laixi’s shop for it. Selling a dozen or so a day wouldn’t get in the way of his business, and it would let Mei earn some pocket money. At that volume, the chickens we raise in the grove should be enough."

Juhua chuckled softly. ’Of course, that won’t be the only thing we sell. Otherwise, all of Liu Xiaomei’s hard work wouldn’t earn her much, and she’d never stand for that. Besides, if we’re raising chickens, there will be eggs. There’s no way I’m not finding a way to sell all those eggs!’

Huai Zi then asked, "And what about the other fifty mu on the mountain? What do you want to plant there?"

Juhua winked at him. "Take a guess."

When he saw that look on her face, he was instantly reminded of how she was before they were married. Although she had always been busy, she used to have a carefree, energetic air about her. Now, with the children, any sense of leisure was long gone, replaced by a touch of frantic energy.

He knew her better than anyone. He smiled. "For that other fifty mu, I bet you don’t care much about the harvest, whatever you plant. It’s for our own home, isn’t it? We went to all the trouble of moving to the mountainside, but more and more people have moved in, and it isn’t so quiet anymore. I was planning to set aside a plot on our wasteland to build a new house and garden for us to move into, but that plan pales in comparison to your fifty mu."

Juhua said, "Our home is perfectly fine. There are only a few of us, and Yangzi will be leaving again soon. Why waste the money on moving? Let’s just manage this land for now and worry about the rest later. I want to plant oak trees and bamboo, a grove of each. We’ll mix in some fruit trees too, of course. But no chickens in this section."

"More oak trees?" Huai Zi asked. "Doesn’t the village already have plenty?"

Juhua laughed. "They’re easy to grow and don’t need much care. The acorns can be used as food, and we can grow wood ear mushrooms on the logs when the trees are cut down. It’s no loss either way. Besides, I’m not counting on this plot to make a profit. Like you said, it’s for our future home. A bamboo grove and an oak forest will be beautiful once they’re grown. Collecting a few acorns and bamboo shoots will just be a bonus."

Huai Zi watched her with a smile. It seemed she had never entertained the idea of setting up a home in town. Even when they had bought land and built a house in Xiatang Market years ago, she had simply rented it out as a shop. Their only other property with a garden was being used by Doctor Qin and his family; she had no intention of living there herself.

Juhua would always love the wild mountains.

He held her hand, stroking it gently, and looked up at the mountainside with her. It was as if he could already see a grand courtyard home standing there, could already hear the cheerful laughter of their children ringing from the garden. For a moment, his heart was filled with pure, sweet happiness.

As he listened to her lay out her well-thought-out plans for the land, he felt a vicarious joy. He was no longer anxious, as he used to be, about not being her equal. He now understood what Juhua truly wanted.

To farm the land and raise chickens and ducks by her side. To snap bamboo shoots and gather mushrooms in the spring. To net fish, pick fruit, and collect lotus leaves in the summer. To harvest water bamboo shoots, peanuts, and sunflower seeds in the autumn. And in winter? Heh, in winter, they would eat until their bellies were full!

What she wanted wasn’t great wealth or high status, but a simple, carefree life in the countryside. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com and vote for it. Your support is my greatest motivation.)