118 – Anti-seasonal Vegetables

Lei Tie carried two big fish into the hedge yard, “Wife, eat fish for lunch.”

Qin Mian draped the clothes in the laundry basket on the clothes hanger, and then hung it on the clothes drying pole. Shaking off the water on his hands, he took a look at the fish in the man’s hand and said, “Where did you get it?”

“In the pond.” Lei Tie came to him and said, “Don’t you like to eat—”

“Ugh—” a strong fishy smell rushed into Qin Mian’s nostrils, stirring a disgusting feeling in his stomach. He hurriedly ran to the wall, covered his chest, and opened his mouth to spit out a mouthful of filth.

Lei Tie’s expression changed. He strode over to support the other person, “What’s wrong?”

“Ugh—” nausea stirred up again. Qin Mian stepped back and looked at the fish in the man’s hand with disgust. “Isn’t the fish smelly?”

Strung together by the rice straws via the gills, the two fish were thrown on the ground by Lei Tie, and they were still swinging their tails in deathbed struggle. Anxious, Lei Tie embraced Qin Mian and clasped the other’s wrist with his right hand to check his pulse.

“There’s nothing wrong with me.” Qin Mian also wondered. As soon as the fishy smell disappeared, his nausea disappeared.

Lei Tie frowned, “Pulse is fine.”

“I’m really fine.” Qin Mian looked at the bouncing fish on the ground suspiciously, “It’s strange. Don’t you sense the two fish smell very fishy?”

Lei Tie shook his head and scrutinized his wife’s complexion – a healthy ruddy complexion and no abnormality. “Go in.”

He picked up the two fish and put them in the corner, scooped water to clean his hands, and then hung the remaining clothes.

Qin Mian felt a little tired. He went back to the house and lay down on the settee. He beat out a yawn and was gradually swept away by sleepiness.

Lei Tie finished hanging the clothes and went into the living room. Qin Mian was already asleep. His eyebrows wrinkled again. Just woke up in less than two hours, [he’s] sleepy again? He silently walked over, lowered his head, and stuck his forehead to Qin Mian’s. There was no fever, which let his worry down a little, but the wrinkles on his eyebrows did not unfold. He dropped a dragonfly kiss on Qin Mian’s lips, went to the windowsill, and pulled the rope.

Uncle Fu came over. He saw Lei Tie’s figure through the open window and saluted at the door. “Eldest Young Master, what can I do for you?”

“Go and invite Doctor Liu.”

Is Little Young Master sick? Uncle Fu didn’t dare to delay and went away.

Doctor Liu was the village’s doctor. He was in his early 40s. His family had been practicing medicine for three generations and his medical expertise was profound, handed down from his father’s generation. He could diagnose common diseases.

Doctor Liu came very quickly. While he was worried about the patient, he was also curious about Leisurely Farmhouse. After he came in, he walked quickly and did not stop to look at the scenery of the farmhouse.

Lei Tie politely invited him into the living room, “Doctor Liu, my wife is a little uncomfortable. Thank you for your trouble.”

“You’re welcome.” Doctor Liu went over to check Qin Mian’s pulse. He looked at Lei Tie suspiciously, looked back at Qin Mian’s complexion, and put down his wrist. “Your wife’s pulse is very normal.”

Lei Tie felt more uncertain. He stroked Qin Mian’s face with his big hand and said, “These days, he is sleepy and lethargic. He can’t stand the fishy smell. Just now, he vomited when he smelled the fishy smell.”

Uncle Fu was taken aback.

Doctor Liu was confused for a moment. His doubtful eyes swept around the boy on the settee. A man of Lei Tie’s character would never crack a joke. Why did this sound like a pregnancy symptom? However, as everyone knew, Qin Mian was hundred-percent a man.

Lei Tie called in a heavy tone, “Doctor Liu?”

Doctor Liu regained his senses. For the first time, he was unconfident in his medical expertise. He took up Qin Mian’s wrist again and awkwardly said, “I’ll check again.”

Lei Tie did not speak.

Doctor Liu closed his eyes and felt the pulse carefully. He then said in certainty, “Your wife’s pulse is neither unstable nor slow, but gentle and vigorous; fit as a fiddle and absolutely has no ailment. As for the fact that he can’t stand the fishy smell, maybe it’s because he had too much breakfast… made him churn.”

Lei Tie was noncommittal. He took out a few coppers from the pouch, “Thank you, Doctor Liu.”

Doctor Liu declined, “No fee since I don’t provide a prescription.”

Lei Tie nodded, “Uncle Fu, send Doctor Liu out and pick some pears for Doctor Liu.”

“Yes.” Uncle Fu made a gesture to Doctor Liu, “Doctor Liu, please.”

Doctor Liu had yet refused but when he saw Lei Tie holding Qin Mian ready to leave, he closed his mouth wisely and followed Uncle Fu to leave.

Lei Tie carried the person in his arms carefully, but he woke up after just taking a few steps.

“A-Tie, I fell asleep?”

Lei Tie’s eyes filled with worry, “[Let’s] go to see a doctor in town.”

Qin Mian put his arms around the man’s neck and said in amusement, “What for? I’m really fine. Put me down first.”

Lei Tie frowned and didn’t speak. His eyes stared at Qin Mian without blinking.

“Really fine!” Qin Mian held the man’s shoulders and lifted his upper body. “Believe me. Don’t I know my body? I don’t feel sick at the moment.”

Lei Tie quietly put him back on the settee.

Qin Mian scratched his head and realized that something was wrong with him recently. He was easily tired and sleepy and he ate more than before. Are they the indications of growth?

He stretched out his arms and smacked his lips. “Hungry. I want to eat spicy and sour vermicelli with tofu in it.”

“I’ll buy [tofu].” Lei Tie stroked Qin Mian’s head and went to the kitchen to get a big bowl.

Lei-Qin Le was feeding the horses in the stable. There were four horses in the stable. The brown horse and the black horse were the exclusive horses of Qin Mian and Lei Tie. The other two horses were bought after for the carriage.

“Lei-Qin Le.”

Lei-Qin Le obediently ran over. “Greetings, Eldest Young Master!”

“Go to the best doctor in town at once.”

“Yes!”

When Doctor Liu came, Lei-Qin Le saw it. Feeling somewhat worried, he quickly pulled out a horse, mounted it, and galloped away.

Thinking of Qin Mian’s abnormality, Lei Tie’s vibe became oppressive than before as he walked to the tofu workshop in the south of the village. The villagers who met him on the road did not dare to approach him and stayed far away.

The window of the small tofu workshop was open. The lady owner was sitting lazily behind the counter, basking in the sun.

Lei Tie took out some copper coins and put them on the counter, “2 jin of tofu.”

The lady cheered up and said with a smile, “Why is Brother Lei come here to buy in person?”

Lei Tie didn’t speak, and she also didn’t mind. She weighed the tofu with deft hands and put it into the bowl for him, “2 jin, accurate.”

Lei Tie nodded and left in a hurry.

Back at Leisurely Farmhouse, upon seeing Qin Mian doing stroke and stick training with Lei-Qin Zhong’s group in high spirits from a distance, Lei Tie’s expression slightly eased up. He quickly walked over.

“Wife.”

“A-Tie, come back so soon?” Qin Mian threw away his stick and ran over, “Let’s go home and make spicy and sour vermicelli.”

In the kitchen, he instructed Lei Tie to chop up the fresh lean meat, wash and cut the coriander, remove the stalk and seed of the green and red peppers before cutting into shreds, and peel and mince the garlic.

He stir-fried the minced meat and put the tofu in the boiling soup. After the sweet potato vermicelli was cooked, he drained and poured them into the bowl. Next, he added the stir-fried minced meat, coriander, green and red pepper shreds, salted fried soybeans, and minced garlic. Then, he poured the soup and added vinegar, soy sauce, and chili oil. Lastly, he sprinkled chopped green onion and stirred well.

Qin Mian ladled up two bowls; one for Lei Tie and one for him.

Qin Mian tasted it, but it was not sour enough. He went to the kitchen and brought the vinegar jar. He added three teaspoons of vinegar to his bowl and also Lei Tie’s bowl.

“Eat.” Qin Mian picked up the vermicelli with his chopsticks and ate with gusto.

Lei Tie took the first bite and sourness made him gasp.

“What’s wrong?” Qin Mian raised his eyes to look at the man while still slurping the vermicelli.

Lei Tie looked at his wife’s bowl in silence. He stretched out his chopsticks, picked up a few pieces of vermicelli, and tasted it. His cheeks caved in. “Sour.”

“Not sour.” Qin Mian looked at him strangely. Did this guy learn to be funny?

Lei Tie paused for a while before pushing his bowl toward his wife, “You eat.”

“You don’t enjoy it. I’ll cook noodles for you in a moment.” Qin Mian glanced at him with regret. He continued to eat the spicy and sour vermicelli, happily. After finishing the vermicelli in his bowl, he wiped clean the vermicelli in Lei Tie’s bowl.

After the meal, Lei Tie accompanied Qin Mian to take a nap for a while before Lei-Qin Le brought home the most famous doctor in the town.

Qin Mian knew that Lei Tie was still worried about him and obediently allowed the doctor to check his pulse.

After the doctor checked the pulse, he lightly said, “The pulse is neither unstable nor slow, but gentle and vigorous; there is no ailment.”

With that, he asked uncertainly, “Is there anyone else who needs to see a doctor?”

Qin Mian cast a ‘’relieved now?’’ look at Lei Tie and said to the doctor, “Thank you for your trouble, doctor. Uncle Fu, pay the fee and send the doctor back.”

“Yes.”

As soon as Uncle Fu and the doctor left, Qin Mian hugged Lei Tie and said, “Already said I’m fine.”

“It’s good then.” Lei Tie tightly hugged him, “If you feel unwell, don’t hide it from me.”

“En.” Qin Mian mentioned about business, “Have they bought all the vegetable seeds?”

Lei Tie nodded, “Cucumber, pepper, eggplant, bitter gourd, tomato, loofah, and so on are all bought. What are you going to do?”

Qin Mian had a mysterious and complacent look on his face. “Growing anti-seasonal vegetables!”

The so-called anti-seasonal vegetables were actually the spring and summer vegetables grown in the autumn and winter seasons. To put it simply, it was to create a climate similar to spring and summer during autumn and winter seasons, so that vegetables originally grown in spring and summer could grow in autumn and winter when the temperature was very low.

Qin Mian didn’t know much about the anti-seasonal vegetables, but he knew something about it. Currently, he and Lei Tie had a stable economic power to afford a trial. If they were successful, it could bring them another great fortune.

He asked Uncle Fu to call all the off-duty servants. He told them in detail the basic principles, conditions, and requirements of planting anti-seasonal vegetables. He also told them some examples that he had seen before. Lastly, he gave them a sum of money and let them go to work. If anyone made an important contribution in this aspect, he and Lei Tie would give him a sum of money as a reward.

This greatly stimulated the enthusiasm of the servants and kept them busy.

Qin Mian didn’t completely cast this matter aside. From time to time, Qin Mian went to see their progress. He suggested that they prepare nutrient soil with warm attributes. Chicken manure was warm manure and cow manure was mucus and permeable manure. After the two were decomposed and mixed with fine soil according to the ratio of 2:2:4, the nutrient soil could have good heat absorption and heat generation attributes, which made the plants more resistant to cold and sturdy. Besides that, the anti-seasonal vegetable planting site required a convenient water source and wind barrier around to avoid direct cold wind.

After the servants got the knack of doing it, Qin Mian truly left the matter alone and did other things.

By the end of the ninth month, Qin Mian’s abnormal constitution gradually disappeared. Qin Mian and Lei Tie were both relieved. At this time, it was time for dredging the river. However, it was the river in the village that needed to be dredged up this time. The river was the main source of irrigation for the villagers. Li Zheng asked each family to send a volunteer to clear the silt. Dredging up the river was for their own sake, so no one was dissatisfied. The villagers were very proactive. If anyone dared to be lazy, he would surely receive censure and criticism from other villagers.

Although Qin Mian’s family had servants, it was unconventional to send a servant for such collective action. Therefore, Lei Tie personally went to represent Qin Mian’s family. Qin Mian wanted to take turns with him, but Lei Tie disagreed.

It rained a lot in the tenth month. If the water level of the river rose, it would be bad. Consequently, dredging up the river was a race against time. Li Zheng asked the villagers to dig from sunrise until sunset. They were not allowed to go home for lunch but had their families deliver the meal to them.

Qin Mian expressed his heartache for Lei Tie in his meals. Every meal contained two meat dishes. He also delivered a bowl of hot soup to the man an hour later. The villagers were envious and jealous before they were used to it.

The village’s married women were stimulated. Not to be outdone, they also cooked a bowl of soup at home to send to their men. Even if it was just a vegetable soup, the men happily drank it. When the men came home at night, they were more considerate to their wives. During the day, they worked and chatted, becoming more energetic.

This morning, the river was lively; more than ten big fish were caught.

An older married woman ran this way in a mad rush, out of breath. “Brother Xiangyi… quick, quickly go back and see… your… your wife… is… is pregnant…”

😉😉 😉