The topsoil was very thin. Beneath it lay nothing but gravel and crushed stones. The earth was yellowish in color, dry and loose to the touch. Shen Weiwan pinched up a little soil, brought it to her nose, and then rubbed it between her fingers. It immediately crumbled apart and could not be formed into a clump at all.
“This land… I’m afraid crops won’t grow here.” Shen Mingxuan crouched beside her and looked at the field, his brows tightly furrowed. “It’s far too barren. Even the weeds are sparse.”
Without saying a word, Shen Weiwan made a note on the mulberry-bark paper with her charcoal pencil:
“Dry, barren land; rich in gravel; poor water retention.”
This patch of dry land covered about eight mu. It occupied the best location on the estate, nearest to the manor gate, yet it was also the most infertile.
The siblings continued forward. After passing through a patch of low shrubs, they arrived at the paddy fields.
The paddies covered ten mu and were irregular in shape, divided in the middle by a shallow ditch.
There was very little water in the ditch, and a thin layer of ice still coated its surface. The trickling flow looked as though it could dry up at any moment.
The soil in the paddy fields was heavier and stickier than that of the dry land, but it was also soft and soggy. A single step sank halfway to the ankle.
Shen Weiwan probed the ground with a wooden stick. Even after pushing it down half a foot, she still found nothing but soft, rotten mud.
“This is cold-soaked land.” She stood up and brushed the mud from her hands, her tone calm. “The ground underneath is all silt, and the soil temperature is low. Even if we plant rice here, the seedlings won’t grow well. Most likely, their roots will rot.”
She added another note to her map:
“Cold-soaked paddy; thick silt; low soil temperature; insufficient water source; prone to both flooding and drought.”
Looking at the vast stretch of paddy fields before him, Shen Mingxuan felt his heart sink.
Their family had pinned all their hopes on these paddies. If even rice could not be grown here, how were they supposed to survive in the future?
Gritting his teeth unwillingly, he asked, “Wan’er, is there really no solution at all? Maybe… maybe if we use more fertilizer, the rice will survive?”
“Fertilizer helps, but it only treats the symptoms, not the root of the problem.” Shen Weiwan shook her head. “The real issues with cold-soaked land are the cold and the waterlogging. Unless we drain the water and raise the soil temperature, no amount of fertilizer will make a difference.”
She paused before continuing.
“However, it’s not entirely hopeless. It’ll just take some effort. We need to dig drainage ditches first, then bring in better soil to improve the land. We’ll also need to burn straw to warm the ground. All of that requires labor, time, and money for tools.”
Shen Mingxuan immediately straightened his back.
“I’ve got plenty of strength! I can work a few extra hours every day and definitely get the ditches dug. We can carry soil from the hillside ourselves, and there are plenty of straw stalks on the estate, so we won’t need to spend money!”
Seeing the light rekindle in her elder brother’s eyes, Shen Weiwan nodded slightly.
That was exactly the spirit she wanted.
Barren land was not the problem. The real problem was losing heart.
The siblings then headed toward the northernmost slope.
The hillside covered about two mu. The terrain was high and barren, with scarcely any weeds growing on it. Only a few crooked, scraggly wild jujube trees remained.
When the wind blew, it stirred up clouds of dust that made people cough.
“This land is even worse.” Shen Mingxuan frowned again. “It’s too high up and can’t be irrigated. And whenever it rains, the soil just gets washed away.”
But Shen Weiwan circled the slope once, and her eyes gradually lit up.
She crouched down and brushed aside the loose surface dirt. Although the soil underneath was still poor, it was finer than the gravelly earth of the dry fields. Moreover, the elevated terrain meant excellent drainage and little risk of flooding.
“This land isn’t suitable for grain, but it can grow other things.”
She stood and pointed at the slope.
“We can plant drought-resistant crops here, like sweet potatoes and peanuts, or even fruit trees. We shouldn’t expect a harvest right away. First, we stabilize the soil and improve it. Once the land recovers, it’ll start producing.”
She made another note on the map:
“Hillside land; elevated terrain; drought-tolerant but flood-sensitive; suitable for miscellaneous grains and fruit trees; requires soil and water conservation.”
This inspection lasted a full two hours.
From dawn until the sun was high in the sky, the morning mist had long since dispersed. The sunlight warmed their bodies, but it could not dispel the heaviness in Shen Mingxuan’s heart.
Twenty mu of land.
Eight mu of barren dry fields.
Ten mu of cold-soaked paddies.
Two mu of desolate hillside.
Not a single patch could be cultivated immediately and guarantee a harvest.
This was no estate.
It was a complete mess.
The siblings carried their hoes and slowly made their way back.
Shen Mingxuan remained silent the entire journey, feeling as though a huge stone weighed upon his chest.
At last, he understood why the Marquis’s Manor had given them this estate.
It was nothing more than a piece of worthless wasteland that no one wanted.
By the time they returned, Liu Shi had already prepared breakfast.
A bowl of rice porridge so thin that one could see their reflection in it, a few wheat cakes, and a small dish of pickled vegetables—that was the family’s meal.
Shen Jingzhi had already left for work at the Ministry of Revenue. Before leaving, he had specifically instructed Liu Shi to follow their daughter’s arrangements.
Seeing the siblings return with mud all over their clothes, Liu Shi hurriedly handed them towels.
“Why were you gone so long? Hurry and wipe yourselves clean and eat while the food’s hot. How are the fields?”
Shen Mingxuan took the towel and wiped his face. He wanted to speak but swallowed his words in the end, simply lifting his bowl and taking a sip of porridge.
Shen Weiwan, however, sat down and spread the mulberry-bark paper on the table.
“Mother, I’ve figured out the situation in the fields. The eight mu of dry land are gravelly and unsuitable for crops. The ten mu of paddy fields are cold-soaked land and need to be improved before rice can be planted. The two mu of hillside are suitable for miscellaneous grains and fruit trees.”
The chopsticks in Liu Shi’s hand froze.
The color drained from her face.
“Then… then doesn’t that mean we won’t harvest any grain this year?”
Her greatest fear was that the family would go hungry.
“Mother, don’t panic.”
Shen Weiwan looked up, her expression as calm as ever.
“The land is poor, but that doesn’t mean we’re out of options. We’ll make it through this year’s food shortage.”
Picking up a bit of pickled vegetables with her chopsticks, she explained slowly:
“First, although the dry land can’t grow grain, we can plant fast-growing leafy vegetables such as spinach, lettuce, and bok choy. They have short growing cycles and can be harvested in just over a month. They’ll solve our vegetable problem, and any surplus can be sold in the city.”
“Second, we shouldn’t rush the paddy-field improvements. We’ll start with two mu on slightly higher ground, dig drainage ditches, and try planting one season of early-maturing rice. As for the remaining eight mu, we’ll let them rest this year and plant green manure crops such as Chinese milk vetch and red clover. Next year we can grow rice there. This way, the land won’t go to waste, and the soil will improve.”
“Third, we’ll plant sweet potatoes on the hillside first. They’re drought-resistant, easy to grow, and produce high yields. Even if the first year’s harvest isn’t great, they can still serve as staple food. As for the remaining space, we’ll plant some wild jujube and pomegranate trees and cultivate them gradually.”
Each of her words settled into the hearts of Liu Shi and Shen Mingxuan.
Their seemingly hopeless situation suddenly appeared to contain a glimmer of hope.
Setting down his bowl of porridge, Shen Mingxuan’s eyes sparkled.
“Wan’er, you’re right! We’ll plant leafy vegetables first, then improve two mu of the paddy fields and grow sweet potatoes! I’ll go prepare the seeds right now!”