Tian Jing buried seeds in wooden boxes while chatting with Sister-in-law Niu, "Sister-in-law Niu, my reason for planting pumpkins in boxes isn't just because the soil has been sifted. It's also because I can move the boxes indoors when the sun sets in the evening and bring them out during the day when the temperature is suitable."
"Once the pumpkins start to vine, I can insert thin bamboo sticks around the edges of the boxes to act as trellises. The boxes can still be moved in and out. If they grow successfully, we'll have pumpkins or other vegetables to eat in the winter."
Tian Jing nudged the gaping Sister-in-law Niu, "Do you understand?"
Sister-in-law Niu snapped back to attention, "Yes, yes, I understand. If you say so, I can plant anything I want, right?"
"You could say that, but it also depends on how good the sifted soil is. And since they need to be moved indoors, we can't use farm manure."
Tian Jing mentioned this in advance, in case using farm manure would prevent her from moving them inside.
"Of course, that's not possible. We can use wood ash. Oh, you didn't mix any wood ash into the soil just now."
I plan to use my abilities, so why would I use wood ash? "I'll mix wood ash with water. Watering them during the day will be the same. I'm afraid the ratio might be wrong and burn the seeds."
"That's true, that's true." Sister-in-law Niu agreed. Seeing Li Min carry another basket of soil, she was about to help sift it.
Tian Jing glanced at the sky and urged her to go home, "Sister-in-law Niu, Li Min and I can handle things here. You should go back now and come see the starch again tomorrow morning."
"Alright then." Sister-in-law Niu was also eager to go home and cook.
"By the way, does Sister-in-law Niu's family have garlic? Can we trade ten heads of garlic for a pumpkin?"
"No need, no need. I'll bring you a few heads tomorrow."
Sister-in-law Niu felt she had learned a lot from Tian Jing, and ten heads of garlic were nothing.
However, she couldn't refuse Tian Jing's insistent pressing and could only carry a pumpkin weighing about ten catties home.
Li Min didn't understand.
Tian Jing glanced at her indifferently, "What you see is her learning skills from me. What others see is her helping me with chores."
"The skills she learns won't show results immediately, but the chores she helps with are real. It's also true that she's already past cooking time. If she goes home empty-handed, won't her mother-in-law scold her? Won't her husband yell at her?"
"Tomorrow, if she brings me garlic, won't it cause bigger conflicts and misunderstandings? If something happens, will you feel alright? Will it be easy to get along with her in the future?"
Li Min lowered her head, reprimanded.
"Go heat up the pork liver and steam some pumpkin."
Tian Jing sent Li Min off to do chores, while she continued to sift soil and plant pumpkins.
...
While Sister-in-law Niu was preparing sweet potato starch, her mother-in-law, Granny Niu, already looked displeased.
After her elder daughter-in-law finished her preparations and left, and still hadn't returned past cooking time, Granny Niu's expression darkened. She waited outside the fence gate, curious to see if this elder daughter-in-law still cared about this family.
Sister-in-law Niu, who saw her mother-in-law from afar, looked down at the pumpkin in her hands and suddenly understood why Tian Jing wanted to trade pumpkins for garlic.
Doesn't every family have a few bunches of garlic? Of course, except for the impoverished Li family. Tian Jing knew she was returning late and it would be difficult to explain.
"Mother."
Sister-in-law Niu presented the pumpkin to her mother-in-law, "This is what Tian Jing asked me to bring back for you to try. Tian Jing is Zhenguo's young wife. She asked me to bring her some garlic tomorrow and said that I helped her with chores for half the day."
"Actually, Mother, you know I wasn't really helping. I was shamelessly learning her skills."
"Tian Jing didn't mind and taught me openly. Tomorrow morning, after the slurry settles, it can be dug out and dried. She also said that once it's dried, she'll teach me and Li Min how to make sweet potato noodles. Those noodles can be cooked with cabbage and tofu, and dried ones can be stored for later. Every autumn when we divide the grain, those rotten sweet potatoes that are dug up are such a headache, aren't they?"
The last sentence from her elder daughter-in-law extinguished Granny Niu's anger. She chuckled and scolded, "Only you are thick-skinned enough to go learn skills without a word."
"Zhenguo's young wife is indeed a good person. You should get closer to her, protect her, and learn from her way of handling things."
"Yes, yes. She insisted on giving me this pumpkin. I didn't understand at first, but when I saw you waiting for me at the door, Mother, I understood." Sister-in-law Niu seemed completely unfazed.
Granny Niu, who had turned to walk into the courtyard, stopped, turned around, poked her forehead, and chided, "I call you thick-skinned, and you really dare to say anything. Go to the kitchen and get to work. The second daughter-in-law is cooking. You'll help her for a meal tomorrow too."
"Okay, okay, I'll definitely help tomorrow. I'll cut a piece of pumpkin to cook in the porridge. When I was at the Li family's, I could smell the pumpkin, it was so fragrant, it almost made me drool."
"That's good. It's been a long time since we've had pumpkin. I'm a bit craving it too."
In the kitchen, Sister-in-law Niu, who was cooking, pouted. Everyone was eager to fawn over the Li family, just because crippled Li Zhenguo brought back a wild boar? She glanced up at the cured pork hanging above the stove, that was something truly mouth-watering. A pumpkin was nothing special; she had eaten enough of them at her own home.
When the pumpkin porridge was ready, no one ate more than she did. She shamelessly said, "Sister-in-law, you said you're going to the Li family to work again tomorrow, right? Ask for another pumpkin, the remaining amount is only enough for two more bowls of porridge. My baby in my belly just wants to eat this."
Granny Niu only had one bowl of pumpkin porridge. Seeing her younger daughter-in-law's greedy look and thinking of her pregnancy, she tolerated it. Who knew she'd become so demanding?
"What? Is the baby in your belly more precious than me? This pumpkin was given to me by Zhenguo, who asked your sister-in-law to send it. The rest, I'll have a piece steamed every day. No one else is allowed to eat it."
Granny Niu felt a wave of comfort in her stomach and felt even more strongly that she shouldn't give it to these ungrateful wretches. For more than half the year, they ate sweet potatoes, and even a tough stomach couldn't handle it.
Sister-in-law Niu glanced at her sister-in-law's belly and sneered inwardly. She had already given birth to two sons for the Niu family, and the Niu family didn't lack male heirs. If her sister-in-law dared to fight with the gluttonous mother-in-law for food, she couldn't help but admire her.
She took out about a dozen pumpkin seeds and changed the subject, "Mother, these are seeds Tian Jing collected from the mountain. I've never seen seeds so plump and lustrous."
"She also taught me how to plant pumpkins and vegetables in wooden boxes. I want to try it. It just takes time, and making a few wooden boxes isn't difficult. If I can grow them, we won't have to worry in the winter."
Granny Niu took the seeds. They were indeed very good. She had never seen such good seeds before, but her elder daughter-in-law wanted to grow vegetables in winter... "Those seeds?"
"Don't worry, Mother. I'll bring some back when I visit my parents' home in the first lunar month. Those relatives can also spare some."
"Alright then, you try it. Everything is difficult at the beginning. Start small. If it doesn't work, there will still be some seeds left."
"Yes, I'll listen to you, Mother. Give me a few seeds, and you can keep the rest."
...
On the Li family's side, after Sister-in-law Niu left, Li Zhenguo tidied up the things by the roadside and came to help Tian Jing.
All four wooden boxes were filled with soil. Tian Jing only planted pumpkins in two of them; she also wanted to plant some vegetables.
Li Zhenguo moved the boxes into the main hall and cleaned the entrance.