“Don’t rush.” Shen Weiwan stopped him. “We can’t buy seeds carelessly. The seed shops in the city only sell ordinary seeds with low yields. We need to go to the agricultural market in the south of the city and buy saved seeds from old farmers. Those seeds are more resistant to cold and drought and are better suited to our land.”
After a pause, she continued, “And we’ll need tools to improve the paddy fields. Our hoe is rusted. We also need shovels, sickles, and buckets. Besides that, we’ll have to buy vegetable seeds and sweet potato seedlings.”
At this point, she looked at Liu Shi.
“Mother, let’s use the eighty-seven taels of silver I saved yesterday. Get ready and come to the city with me in a little while. Brother, stay home and clear the weeds from the dry fields first, then turn over the soil. Don’t dig too deep—just loosen the top layer.”
Liu Shi nodded immediately.
“All right, I’ll go get ready.”
Shen Mingxuan also nodded vigorously.
“Don’t worry, Wan’er. I’ll definitely get the work done!”
Breakfast ended quickly. With everyone assigned a task, the confusion and helplessness of the previous day had vanished.
Liu Shi changed into a clean set of coarse cloth clothes, neatly combed her hair, and carefully wrapped the twelve taels of silver in layers of cloth before tucking it close to her body.
Shen Weiwan folded up the map she had drawn and slipped it into her sleeve, then took an empty cloth bag with her to carry the seeds.
Mother and daughter locked the courtyard gate and headed toward the capital.
Han Manor was not very far from the city. It would take about an hour to reach it on foot.
Along the way, Liu Shi held Shen Weiwan’s hand tightly, her voice tinged with anxiety.
“Wan’er, this is our first time going to the agricultural market. What if we’re cheated? We can’t even tell whether the seeds are good or bad.”
“Don’t worry, Mother.” Shen Weiwan patted her hand. “I have a way to tell. You look at the color, smell the scent, and feel the firmness. Seeds with bright color, a fresh fragrance, and plump, hard grains are good seeds. And we’ll buy from elderly farmers. They’re honest and won’t deceive us.”
She had already planned everything in her mind.
Improving rice varieties was a long-term goal that would take time.
But fast-growing leafy vegetables and sweet potatoes were the quickest way to solve their immediate problems.
First, solve the issue of food.
Then improve the land.
Then think about making money.
One step at a time, steadily and carefully.
The sun gradually climbed higher, casting long shadows behind the mother and daughter.
Looking at the small figure beside her, Liu Shi suddenly felt at ease.
Though her daughter was only ten years old, she was like the pillar holding up the entire family.
She tightened her grip on her daughter’s hand, her steps growing firmer and firmer.
As for Shen Weiwan, she gazed at the increasingly distinct city walls ahead, her eyes calm and resolute.
Barren land was not a dead end.
As long as one was willing to think of solutions and put in the effort, even the poorest soil could grow hope.
By the time they returned from the agricultural market in the south of the city, the sun had already passed noon.
Liu Shi held the remaining bits of silver tightly against her chest, while Shen Weiwan carried two heavy cloth bags. One contained early-maturing rapeseed and bok choy seeds, and the other held rice seeds that she had carefully selected from among countless others.
When they returned to Han Manor, Shen Mingxuan had already plowed nearly half of the dry field outside the courtyard. His forehead was covered in sweat. The moment he saw them, he dropped his hoe and ran over.
“Wan’er! Mother! You’re finally back! Did you buy the seeds?”
“We did.”
Setting the cloth bags down on the earthen floor of the main room, Shen Weiwan did not even bother wiping away her sweat. She untied the bag of rice seeds and poured them onto a clean sheet of mulberry-bark paper.
“Brother, fetch a basin of clean water and find a clean bamboo sieve and a coarse pottery bowl. We’re going to select the seeds first.”
Though Shen Mingxuan had no idea why seeds needed to be selected, he did not hesitate in the slightest. He quickly brought over a basin of clear well water, along with the family’s only bamboo sieve and pottery bowl.
Liu Shi also came over, her face full of confusion.
“Wan’er, can’t we just plant the rice seeds directly? Why do we need all these things? Back at the Marquis’s Manor, the estate managers never went through so much trouble.”
“The poorer the land and the colder the paddy fields, the more carefully the seeds must be selected.”
Squatting on the ground, Shen Weiwan gently stirred the plump grains of rice with her fingertips, her voice serious and steady.
“If ordinary seeds are sown in cold-soaked fields, fewer than three out of ten will survive. We only have two mu of paddy fields suitable for trying to transplant rice seedlings, so we can’t afford to waste a single seed.”
What she was talking about was the most basic modern technique of selecting seeds with salt water, but she couldn’t explain it in overly strange terms. She could only present it as knowledge passed down by experienced farmers.
“First, we separate the full, healthy seeds. The shriveled, broken, and insect-damaged ones must all be discarded. The seeds we keep will produce stronger seedlings, resist disease better, tolerate the cold, and yield more grain than ordinary rice.”
As she spoke, Shen Weiwan picked up a handful of rice grains and began sorting them by eye.
Anything blackened, shriveled, cracked, or marked by insects was tossed aside. Only the golden, plump, and evenly shaped grains remained.
The task seemed simple, but it was extremely taxing on the eyes. Her small fingers moved tirelessly, and her skillful motions hardly seemed those of a ten-year-old child.
Shen Mingxuan watched without blinking and eagerly reached out to help.
“Wan’er, let me help you sort them too!”
“All right. Just remember—we only keep the very best. Even slightly inferior ones won’t do.”
The brother and sister squatted on the ground, carefully sorting the grains one by one.
Liu Shi also joined them.
The three worked quietly, and the only sound in the room was the faint rustling of fingertips brushing against rice husks.
Half an hour later, nearly thirty percent of the small bag of rice seeds had been discarded.
What remained were all first-rate seeds.
Only then did Shen Weiwan stop. She wiped the thin layer of sweat from her brow, picked up the pottery bowl, and put a small handful of coarse salt into it.
“Wan’er, why are you adding salt?” Shen Mingxuan asked, even more puzzled.
“Salt water can tell the good seeds from the bad.”
She stirred until the salt dissolved and the water became slightly briny, then poured the selected rice seeds into it.
“The full, healthy seeds will sink to the bottom, while the empty grains will float. We only want the ones that sink.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a few imperfect grains indeed floated lightly to the surface.
Liu Shi’s eyes widened in astonishment.
“Heavens! There’s actually such a method? I’ve lived for half my life, and this is the first time I’ve heard that seeds can be selected this way!”
Shen Mingxuan admired her even more.
“Wan’er, how do you know everything?”
Shen Weiwan merely smiled faintly and did not explain.
In her previous world, this was only basic agricultural knowledge.
But in this era, it was a trick known only vaguely by a handful of highly experienced rice farmers. No one would apply it with the same meticulous care that she did.
Using the bamboo sieve, she scooped out the floating grains and discarded them, leaving only the heavy seeds that had sunk to the bottom. Then she rinsed them repeatedly with clean water to wash away the salt.
“This still isn’t enough.”
She spread the cleaned seeds out in the bamboo sieve and placed them by the window where there was good ventilation and sunlight.
“Next, we need to sun-dry the seeds for two days. The drying removes excess moisture and breaks their dormancy, so they’ll sprout faster and more evenly once planted.”