Da Hua scratched the fine sand with its paws and owed twice.
"Look how well-behaved Da Hua is; I told it once, and it says it rembers," Lian Manman said with a smile, and then she put Da Hua on the kang to familiarize it with the environnt.
Da Hua was still young and had to be raised on the kang, so a fine sand basin had to be prepared. Cats by nature are extrely clean, and almost without training, they won’t defecate just anywhere. This sand basin was only temporary; once Da Hua grew bigger and could easily jump down from the kang and wander outside, it would naturally choose a more hidden place outdoors for its toilet, and no human would need to worry about it.
For now, the task of changing the fine sand for the kitten every day was given to Xiao Qi.
"You brought a cat ho?" Lady Zhang ca in from outside, saw Lian Manman and Xiao Qi both sitting on the kang, playing with a little marbled cat, and asked.
"Yes," Lian Manman nodded in response.
"Not bad, it has a tiger’s head and looks quite nice." Lady Zhang sat on the edge of the kang, took a good look at Da Hua, and asked, "Is it a boy cat or a girl cat?"
Tenant farrs didn’t call them male cats or female cats, but boy cats and girl cats.
"It’s a boy cat." Xiao Qi hastened to say, "Mother, our cat has a na; my sister nad it, it’s called Da Hua."
"Oh, Da Hua, that’s a good na."
For lunch, Lady Zhang made the rice extra soft and mushy, and Lian Manman took less than half a bowl, mixed it with unsalted fish soup and dried shrimps, waited for it to cool down to a warm temperature, and then gave it to Da Hua.
The little kitten Da Hua, slling the fishy scent, kept owing at Lian Manman. When Lian Manman placed the bowl in front of it, it dived headfirst into the bowl.
Seeing Da Hua eating so eagerly, Lian Manman then relaxed.
Cats are very independent creatures. Once kittens are weaned from their mother, they quickly adapt to new environnts to survive.
After breakfast that day, Lian Shouxin told Lady Zhang that he was going to the old house to help Lian Shouli cut tobacco.
"It’s ti to cut it. His Third Uncle said he’d take the afternoon off; With my help, we can finish cutting and hanging it by noon," Lian Shouxin said.
Old Master Lian had a whole garden of dry tobacco. When he left, he repeatedly entrusted Lian Shouli and Lian Shouxin to take good care of it; the next year’s tobacco depended on this crop.
This season was the best ti for cutting and drying tobacco; any further delay would be too late.
"You don’t need to watch over the house construction today?" Lady Zhang asked.
"No need," Lian Shouxin said he had already made arrangents with the foreman about what needed to be done that morning and that he didn’t need to be there in person.
Lian Manman’s family’s house construction was a big project. With many things on his plate, Lian Shouxin couldn’t watch over it constantly, so he had hired a reliable person to oversee the work.
"Alright, then go and lend a hand," Lady Zhang said.
"Xiao Qi, coming with dad?" Lian Shouxin, having changed his clothes and taken a knife, didn’t head out directly but rather asked Xiao Qi. His tone and deanor clearly showed that he very much hoped Xiao Qi would go with him.
Xiao Qi, a sensible child, agreed and climbed down from the kang.
Cutting tobacco was not just about cutting it down; it had to be hung to dry on racks, which involved several steps and would take quite a bit of ti for just Lian Shouli and Lian Shouxin.
"Dad, I’ll co with you too," Lian Manman also got down from the kang and said.
"I’m going as well," Wu Lang added.
"Good, good, everyone’s going, everyone’s going," Lian Shouxin could no longer hide the smile on his face.
When Lian Manman and the others arrived at the old house, Lian Shouli had already started cutting tobacco in the garden. Lian Shouxin hurried over, took up a knife, and began cutting alongside Lian Shouli.
Lady Zhao and Lian Yeye were also in the garden, surrounded by heaps of hemp ropes and soaked Malan on the ground next to them.
The children walked over to them.
"If we all work together, we’ll get the job done faster," Lian Manman said.
Lian Shouli and Lian Shouxin cut the dry tobacco by slicing off the tobacco leaves one by one with a knife, leaving about an inch of the tobacco stem for easy handling and drying. Lian Manman and the others were responsible for placing the cut tobacco leaves in pairs, aligning the stems, and then binding them tightly with Malan, stacking them together.
Once Lian Shouli and Lian Shouxin finished cutting the dry tobacco, they set up wooden stakes around the garden to support a fra. Then they roughly twisted two hemp ropes into one thick rope and tied it to the wooden fra.
Next, they hung the bound pairs of dry tobacco on the ropes. After drying for a while, soaking up the dew in the morning and evening, and being exposed to the sun, the green tobacco leaves turned a reddish-brown, marking the tobacco as well dried.
Dry tobacco from the sa plant, if well cured, brought a good taste when smoked. But if poorly cured, it not only tasted bad but also went out easily.
Well-cured dry tobacco could fetch a good price at the market.
During the curing process, the tobacco needed to soak up dew but not rain. If the weather was too cold, the tobacco had to be brought inside to keep warm at night, and only brought out again for drying when the temperature rose the next day. During drying, the tobacco also needed to be turned regularly to ensure even soaking and exposure.
In short, curing a whole garden of dry tobacco was by no ans an easy task.
"All this tobacco, it’s enough not just for one year but for two, three years," Lian Shouxin remarked.
Nearing noonti, they finally finished handling all the tobacco in the garden, and Lian Yeye fetched clean water for everyone to wash their hands.
"Fourth Uncle Lian," just then, a Little Monk ran in breathlessly, "hurry back, sothing big has happened."
***......**
First update, seeking your pink hearts.
There will be a second update tonight. (To be continued. If you like this piece, you are welco to vote for it on Qidian with recomndation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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