Farm Girl's Manor
Chapter 61 The Greenhouse is Completed_1

Chapter 61: Chapter 61 The Greenhouse is Completed_1

The farce had once again turned the Lao Mo’s House into the laughingstock of the entire Liu Yang Village. Mo Hong’s family had not only cemented her fierce reputation by laying hands on her husband but even Mo Yongxi had become the villagers’ favorite topic of mockery during their leisure time. Upon hearing her name, many villagers would shake their heads repeatedly and even admonish their daughters not to associate with her.

And the thoughtless words she spoke also sparked a lot of speculation about the Mo Family. However, because they had received help from the Mo Family and, after all, were neighbors who would see each other frequently, they did not dare to gossip recklessly. Some upright men didn’t even allow their wives and children to talk about it at home.

Mo Qingze had to go to Liu Yang Village every day, inevitably encountering some peculiar stares, but he wasn’t a person prone to rash or narrow-mindedness. He had long come to terms with certain things and didn’t feel embarrassed. However, he was worried that idle chatter might reach the ears of the three children.

Fortunately, after a few days, there seemed to be no talk in the village, which relieved Mo Qingze greatly. Besides, the framework of the greenhouse had been set up, the ditches were all dug, and he was too busy to think about anything else.

Ever since the construction of the greenhouse framework began, Mo Yan had been running to Liu Yang Village every day, worried that the greenhouses were not being built properly. Luckily, the work wasn’t too complicated, and everyone was very dedicated, resulting in a well-built and stable structure.

The most challenging part of the whole greenhouse was constructing the warming stove. Though it might not always be necessary, should they encounter snowy weather and a sudden drop in temperature, even with the Spiritual Spring, Mo Yan couldn’t guarantee the vegetables wouldn’t freeze. Therefore, she took extra care to hire an experienced mason to build it according to the enclosed fireplace design from her previous life.

"Little boss, this fireplace is truly wonderful. It burns without any smoke or dust and isn’t harsh at all!"

After the fireplace in the first greenhouse was built, Mo Yan had someone light it and add wood for a trial run. The result was better than she had expected. The onlooking villagers touched and observed it with great curiosity, and some even directly expressed their desire to have one in their homes.

However, Mo Yan did not support their wishes, "This device is indeed convenient, but it’s easy for sparks to escape from the chimney and start a fire. Sometimes, if the chimney gets too hot, it can also cause a fire!"

In the ancient era where construction materials were relatively primitive, using a fireplace to heat a greenhouse didn’t require much concern for safety. Yet if brought into homes, especially when most villagers lived in thatched cottages, the risk of fire was far too great.

Upon hearing this, the villagers who initially had been tempted, started sweating profusely from the fright. They were thankful for the little boss’s warning. Otherwise, if they had rashly built one at home and an accident occurred, they wouldn’t even have a place to cry.

Seeing that they had taken her warning to heart, Mo Yan didn’t say more and continued instructing others to build fireplaces for the remaining greenhouses.

A total of twenty greenhouses were built on the twenty mu of wasteland, roughly one per mu, with two fireplaces for each greenhouse.

As for what to plant on the twenty mu of wasteland, Mo Yan had long calculated her plan. Jing City, located in the North, had a cold climate in winter. Apart from cold-resistant radishes and Chinese cabbage, there were no other vegetables available. Even radishes and Chinese cabbage had to be harvested before the ground froze and stored properly, or they would freeze and rot.

Besides leafy greens like bok choy, spinach, and lettuce, which had short growth periods and were popular, Mo Yan also planned to plant longer-growing vegetables like luffa, cucumbers, and tomatoes. These vegetables did not mind the long growing period, because even in May of the following year, they could still be sold at high prices; she also planned to plant two mu of seasoning vegetables like garlic, green onions, and bell peppers.

With the entire Jing City being so large and the numerous nobles and wealthy merchants, Mo Yan believed that selling these off-season vegetables in winter would definitely bring in a handsome profit, easing the financial worries for next spring’s purchase of mountain land to plant fruit trees.

A few days passed, and all forty fireplaces were constructed. Mo Yan handed over the prepared vegetable seeds to a few elderly farmers who were proficient in gardening and asked for their help in planting them.

In addition to the few types of vegetables originally from the Space, all other seeds were bought from the seed shop and then grown several times in the Space before being collected; this greatly improved the quality of the seeds. Not to mention other qualities, the germination rate and disease resistance were much stronger than what was sold outside.

After all the seeds were planted, Mo Yan secretly infused quite a bit of Spirit Spring Water into the irrigation channels. She didn’t dare to pour the Spirit Spring Water directly onto the ground, as that would cause the seeds to sprout the next day and bring her trouble.

Mo Yan, with the Spirit Spring in hand, was brimming with confidence, but Mo Qingze’s hair had gone white with worry. At first, he supported his daughter and had impulsively agreed to the idea of "greenhouse vegetables", the first time he had ever heard of it. Later, when the wasteland had been cleared, the irrigation channels dug, and the greenhouses constructed, and various kinds of vegetable seeds had been sown, he belatedly realized that he had been too rash.

"Dad, just rest easy, okay? The temperature in the greenhouses is sufficient, the humidity is right, and we have people to tend to the plants. We’ll definitely be able to grow vegetables!"

In the main hall, Mo Yan watched with a headache as her father paced back and forth, making her so dizzy that for the first time, she found this stead-fast father of hers to be unsettled.

"Yanyan, Dad checked today, and not a single seed has sprouted. After all this hard work, wouldn’t you be sad if it doesn’t work out?"

Mo Qingze stared at his daughter speechlessly, thinking how heartless she was. The greenhouse vegetables were her endeavor; was he not worried that she would be upset?

However, Mo Yan was even more speechless, "Dad, did you not sleep well last night? The seeds were planted the day before yesterday; if they had sprouted today, that would have been really strange!"

Mo Qingze frowned uncertainly, "Really planted the day before yesterday? Why does Dad remember that they were planted many days ago?"

Mo Yan rolled her eyes and continued focusing on her task. These past few days had been so busy, she still hadn’t finished the cotton clothes and pants she was making for San Ni!

Mo Qingze touched his nose sheepishly, feeling slighted by his daughter’s contemptuous look. Ever since people in the village learned that their family was starting to grow greenhouse vegetables, many had advised him against taking the risk. Today, when he went to Liu Yang Village, the old farmers who helped with planting had cautiously said it might not work out, causing him to feel anxious, wouldn’t he?

Xin Er and the others couldn’t help but cover their mouths to stifle their giggles at the sight of their father (uncle) looking lost and dazed, earning them a fierce glare from Mo Qingze. He realized that in the eyes of the children, his authority as a father was not as high as that of his eldest daughter—whatever she said, the little ones never doubted.

Sitting beside Xin Er and hugging her brother to warm up by the fire, San Ni looked enviously at Uncle Tang’s family as they laughed and played together, feeling an indescribable warmth. If she and her sisters teased their parents like that, they would surely be scolded for being immature, and their grandparents would like them even less.

Having lived in Uncle Tang’s house for nearly ten days, it was the most comfortable time she could remember, with no quarrels or beatings. Every day, they had enough to eat and warm clothes to wear, and Uncle Tang, his daughter, and son were good to her and her brother. However, tomorrow their mother would come to take her and her brother back home. Sigh!