CHAPTER 80: CONTINUE OPENING UP NEW LAND

Perhaps it was because Jiang Hu was raising wild rabbits so well himself, turning a few small rabbits into dozens.

If he raised them to adulthood and sold them all, that could be worth a lot of money.

So, many people got the idea of specifically catching rabbits, keeping the female rabbits, leaving one male rabbit, and selling the rest.

This year, apart from Jiang Hu’s family, no one else raised pigs. If they raised rabbits until the New Year, they could sell some of the big rabbits and even slaughter one to celebrate the New Year well.

As for the wild chickens, there were people who wanted to raise them too, but unfortunately, not everyone had a small amount of millet, and not everyone had Spiritual Spring water.

So, other people’s wild chickens, even with their wings clipped, still desperately tried to escape and wouldn’t stay peacefully. In the end, they would watch helplessly as the wild chickens nearly starved to death.

But that’s okay, because wild rabbits are fatter, bigger, and easier to raise. They eat any random wild grass from the fields!

If they talked to Jiang Hu, they could even go to his field to pull some wild grass.

Liu Yang’s family, naturally, also raised several rabbits. Speaking of this, Wang Xiang was particularly happy.

"Our family has two rabbits that are also pregnant. I only saw it this morning; their bellies are big. They’ll probably give birth in a few days."

There’s still some time before the New Year, and by then, the little rabbits will have grown to half their size. The big rabbits can be either eaten or sold.

The second aunt was also happy for her and even shared some of her own experiences in raising rabbits.

Especially with the little rabbits, since the weather was getting cooler, it was important to keep them warm.

Days passed, and the weather gradually got cooler. When the second aunt had spare time, she started making clothes. Winter’s thick cotton-padded clothes were needed, as Little Mi and Iron Egg didn’t have any, so they had to make new ones.

Little Mi volunteered, asking the second aunt to alter their older siblings’ clothes to fit them, while Iron Egg didn’t understand anything and just listened to his sister.

However, the second aunt still made a new set of clothes for each of them, especially for the New Year.

The autumn came, and winter followed quickly, getting colder day by day. One day, they were still wearing thick clothes, but by the next morning, it was chilly, necessitating a change to padded jackets.

Even with thick clothes, it didn’t hinder Little Mi’s movement at all. She wore padded clothes every day and didn’t fear the cold; on the contrary, she ran even faster.

Iron Egg was slowly learning to walk by holding onto things. Little Mi pushed a chair to him, letting him walk while pushing the chair, saving her family from having to bend down to hold his hand all the time, which was tiring.

Jiang Hu originally planned to plant only half an acre of vegetables, but under the persuasion of Shopkeeper Liu, it became a full acre.

They planted a bit of every vegetable that could grow in winter, such as cabbage, radish, rapeseed, spinach, lettuce, garlic seedlings, scallions, and chives. The vegetable garden also had some for their own consumption.

In addition, Jiang Hu took the time to cut some bamboo. He used the bamboo to weave walls, dividing the sleeping room into several small rooms.

This main room was quite large, with the door right in the center.

Now, Jiang Hu and the second aunt, along with the twins, slept on one side, separated by a bamboo-woven wall.

It was actually like a fence but higher and denser, with almost no gaps. Moreover, the second aunt used old clothes from Little Mi and Iron Egg, which no longer fit, to wrap it densely, and it didn’t reach the ceiling, making it convenient.

The four of them had many belongings, so the room was slightly larger, with a cabinet inside, which also stored grain.

On the other side, Jiang Hu also used bamboo to weave a wall, but it was divided into two rooms, one on each side. Da Wa would be six years old after the New Year, and Nini would be four; they needed to be separated.

Luckily, the bamboo-woven wall was thin and didn’t take up much space, and there was no stone slab on the floor. It was directly a mud floor, and the wall was easily fixed by driving hard wood into the ground.

In addition, Jiang Hu made sure to open a window in each small room. If opened during the day, it wouldn’t be too dark inside.

The doors were replaced with straw curtains, which could be changed anytime, making them convenient.

This way, the overall space of the house didn’t shrink, but everyone had their personal space, with a small table placed in the middle by the door. It could be used for meals and offered a spot for guests to sit and rest.

Little Mi was pleased with the house, as her parents said that she and Iron Egg would each sleep in a room with their older siblings when they turned one year old.

They were still small, and the room could accommodate them, but in a few years, when the family had enough money and others started building houses, they could build a big house too.

Not only was Little Mi pleased with the current situation, but Da Wa and Nini were also satisfied, and even the second aunt was very happy.

After all, long ago, the four of them used to squeeze into one room to sleep, a room that wasn’t even as big as the one partitioned now.

However, Jiang Hu still felt something was lacking.

"I really hope everyone makes more money next year, especially those families with older sons. When they start building houses, we can replace this thatched house with a tile-roofed one."

This year, Jiang Hu made much more money selling vegetables than people expected, as the prices were two or three times the market rate!

Of course, others didn’t know this, as both Jiang Hu and the people from Tongfu Restaurant kept it a secret.

But this was also because Jiang Hu knew how to handle things. Both batches of his chickens had started laying eggs, which his family couldn’t finish eating, especially since the wild chickens would lay eggs every few days.

Besides what the family ate, he sold some to the restaurant, but every month, he would specifically set aside some to give to the shopkeeper, the cooks, and the waitstaff, giving each of them a few eggs.

Their eggs tasted better than others’, and although they were expensive, nobody could refuse free ones willingly.

Receiving gifts put people in a position where they’d be more inclined to help Jiang Hu with keeping this secret.

The second aunt was sewing under the eaves, with a pot of fire beside her.

"I heard from Wang Xiang that many people in the village have started planting vegetables. They mixed half a bucket of our family’s manure with their own to water the plants, and the vegetables are doing well, earning them quite a bit of money."

"Really?" Jiang Hu was overjoyed, even happier than if he had earned the money himself: "That’s great. When they make more money, they’ll be able to build houses sooner."

The second aunt smiled helplessly: "You spend all day without going into the village, just carrying your hoe and wandering around the fields. What are you busy with?"

With the weather cold and the wind strong outside, wheat sprouting and rapeseed planted, the second aunt seldom went out with the kids, mostly busy with household chores.

On the contrary, Jiang Hu was always carrying his hoe and heading to the fields whenever he had the chance.

Jiang Hu chuckled and sat down next to the second aunt.

"Didn’t the government officers say when we first arrived at Lai Fu’an Village that land reclamation this year is completely free?"

The second aunt was surprised: "Did you open up more land again? Our family has so much land; can just the two of us handle it?"

Jiang Hu added a piece of wood to the fire pit and wasn’t concerned about the second aunt’s worries.

"This time, I reclaimed the paddy fields by the river. I’ll plant rice next year, and I’m not the only one; many villagers are busy with this."

"As for our family being short of people, that doesn’t worry me. In the past, we couldn’t even eat or drink adequately, so hungry that we had no strength to work. But it’s different now. No matter how tired we are in the fields, we come home, have a full meal, get a good night’s sleep, and our strength returns."

So, as for working, Jiang Hu wasn’t afraid at all!

You know, next year’s land reclamation to plant rice will require money to buy the land!