HPDBC Chapter 148
Chapter 148
Chapter 148
After the new year, they experienced a few snows, but then there was no heavy snow, and she could move around.
Therefore, the neighbor on the other side of the river started to discuss the boundaries with Wen Qian.
According to their previous agreement, the two families would walk around the area together, make markings, and then install fences together.Vissit for updates
However, it was inconvenient for Wen Qian to join them, as they would need to chop down trees and install fences on-site, which would not allow her to use the materials she had prepared.
So they agreed to each take care of half the area, and after completing their parts, they would check together and make adjustments if needed.
The neighbor thought for a moment and agreed since their family was larger and believed they could work faster than Wen Qian alone.
They said if Wen Qian couldn't complete her part, they would help.
With stones marking the boundaries, Wen Qian decided to prepare the fence materials for her area at home first.
That way, she could just install the fences directly on the ground, which would be much faster than gathering materials on-site.
However, she didn't quickly install the fences along the boundary with her neighbor. Instead, she did a bit each day, spending the rest of her time on the boundaries not adjacent to her neighbor.
It was still quite cold, so the bears should still be hibernating. She needed to install her fences before the weather warmed up.
After spring arrived, she wouldn't have time for such tasks, as cultivating and tending to the crops would require a lot of effort.
No one knew if there would be more neighbors in the future, so she secured the boundaries without neighbors first.
When the neighbors finished their part and saw Wen Qian's progress, they remarked on how quickly she worked.
They didn't know that in the same time, Wen Qian had also marked the other areas.
Wen Qian mentioned to her neighbors that it was best to fence off their own areas first, in case more people arrived.
The neighbors agreed to leave markings on the stones as well.
As the weather warmed, she felt there would only be more people coming, not fewer.
Although not all might come to hunt, some could be coming to cultivate rice.
After getting to know each other better, Wen Qian asked if they wanted to go dig up fruit trees together.
The neighbors had more people, so later they brought their grandma and children along.
They planted ten trees around their home, expecting to have plenty of fruit in the future.
Wen Qian planted more trees since she didn't need to worry about storage issues, while the neighbors couldn't store too much without having means to trade or exchange the excess.
After completing this task, they began working in the fields.
As Wen Qian tilled the soil, she realized without machinery or cattle, the time required would be longer.
While sowing wheat, looking at the individual grains, she suddenly wondered if she could make wheat-related foods besides flour, like sugar.
After sprouting, the wheat could be used to make malt sugar, a flavor Wen Qian enjoyed and had purchased jarred or solid forms of online before.
In her hometown, malt sugar was called "ding ding" sugar, named after the sound made by sellers striking iron blocks to attract customers. The adults would bring the sugar home, coat it with flour, and when children wanted some, they would knock off a piece. As long as the weather wasn't hot, the sugar remained hard.
So Wen Qian soaked some wheat at home, planning to make malt sugar after it sprouted.
She could find the process in books and remembered it, so she could only make it herself now.
While Wen Qian was sowing seeds in her fields, the neighbor's child came over to ask a question.
The adults had sent the child to ask if they could trade game for some wheat or other grains.
Because after the spring sowing, the harvest was an autumn affair, and during this time period, they didn't have too much grain food to eat.
During this time, they could eat the vegetables they planted, and they could also go hunting, so they had enough meat.
The only thing they didn't have enough of was staple foods like rice and flour, so they let the children come and inquire about Wen Qian's intentions.
Wen Qian asked the children, if she gave them wheat in exchange, how would they grind it into flour?
The children said they had simple iron grinding devices, and they could grind as much as they needed to eat, but they couldn't grind a lot at once.
Knowing that they could grind the flour themselves, she agreed to give them wheat in exchange for fresh game.
It just so happened that in the spring, she had too many things to plant, and often didn't have time to hunt.
So the children happily went home and told the adults about this.