A small plot of land in a mountain village

Chapter 2 Seed Value

The next day, after having breakfast, Zhang Niu carried a shovel and went out, actually secretly entering the Seven-Colored Space that he had named himself.

I went into the space this morning to see if I could grow vegetables here. I put the shovel aside, squatted down, grabbed a handful of soil, and squeezed it. Compared to the soil outside, it was much softer and not as dry and hard. It should be a good piece of land, but I don't know if it can be planted without sunlight.

Zhang Niu decided to go to his own field first, dig up some vegetables or something, and transplant them to see if they would survive. He picked up a shovel, turned around, and went out towards his own field. He rarely went to his own field, even though the road wasn't very far, he didn't really like coming there.

Arriving at the edge of the field, Zhang Niu saw that many vegetables had already been planted, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, loofahs, and Chinese cabbages. Water spinach was also growing by the nearby puddle. Looking at the lush green shoots, he guessed they had just been harvested a few days ago and were newly sprouting. The tomatoes had begun to bear fruit, but there weren't many small green tomatoes, just a handful here and there. He had some doubts about whether these tomatoes would ripen. So he decided to plant these few tomato plants in that space; they would be perfect for transplanting.

Zhang Niu wasn't very interested in growing cucumbers, probably because he found it too troublesome; he was a typical lazybones.

I broke off about ten sweet potato vines (often called "egg yolk" sweet potatoes) from someone's nearby field, intending to plant them in my space. People in the countryside usually grow sweet potatoes in their own fields. There are many varieties, such as red-fleshed, white-fleshed, and egg yolk, but many people choose to grow egg yolk sweet potatoes. These are smaller, but they are superior to other sweet potatoes in terms of their starchiness. Eating more sweet potatoes is said to "nourish the body, warm the stomach, and nourish the five internal organs. It is recommended not to eat too much." I heard that in the city, they cost at least two yuan each, and they're made from white-fleshed sweet potatoes specifically for making sweet potato starch.

Holding a bunch of vegetables, Zhang Niu suddenly realized something was missing. He couldn't remember it for a moment, so he shook his head and prepared to find a secluded place to enter his spatial dimension.

Halfway there, I saw a large patch of thriving corn seedlings, about waist-high, planted along the irrigation ditch. This must be the second batch planted.

"I thought I'd forgotten something, turns out it's this corn." Zhang Niu slapped his forehead. He muttered to himself, realizing his memory was so bad he couldn't even remember corn.

When Zhang Niu was little, he especially loved eating corn on the cob. He could gnaw on four or five corn cobs in a row, and as a result, he would have diarrhea in the outhouse at night.

You shouldn't eat too much corn; it's better to eat it a few times rather than be greedy. This is something I learned from the villagers later.

I remember there should still be corn at home, I think it's the glutinous type. If there weren't people nearby, Zhang Niu would have just pulled up a few stalks.

There were quite a few people working in the fields by the roadside, so Zhang Niu had to run into the bamboo forest to enter the space.

Zhang Niu wasn't a farmer, and he hadn't even turned the soil over. He simply dug a few small holes in a corner of the space, placed the tomato seedlings one in each hole, covered them with some soil, and that was it. The sweet potato vines and leaves were even simpler; there was no need to dig holes, as the soil was soft enough to just stick them in, and that was it.

Looking at the tomatoes that were bent over and swaying, I shook my head with a wry smile. It seems I really don't know how to grow vegetables.

Just as he was about to leave and come back tomorrow, he realized he hadn't watered the plants yet, and Zhang Niu was so annoyed.

When I got home, I wanted to find the corn kernels, but I didn't know where I put them. I decided to wait for my mom to come back and ask her. I filled a bucket with well water in the front yard and went into my space. I watered each vegetable, then took a shovel and dug a big hole next to the tomato seedlings. I poured most of the bucket of well water into it and let it slowly seep into the soil.

When my mom came home in the evening, she asked about the corn seedlings.

When Zhang Niu mentioned it, my mother remembered that she hadn't been able to plant corn for a while because she was busy.

The next morning, Zhang Niu slipped into the space from his room. As soon as he entered, the space, which was originally gray and hazy, turned into a light red color. It wasn't very bright, but it was quite eye-catching. The stone tablet in the distance that was engraved with "seven colors" was gone.

Looking at the stone tablet disappearing into the distance, Zhang Niu felt that this must be related to yesterday's farming, otherwise such a thing had never happened the previous times he came in.

Arriving at the corner, the few half-dead tomato seedlings he had planted yesterday now stood upright, their small green fruits seemingly having grown considerably. Zhang Niu couldn't quite put his finger on the changes in the tomato seedlings, but he knew that things could grow in this place. As for the missing stone tablet, he no longer paid any attention to it.

The fact that vegetables could be grown in the space excited Zhang Niu greatly. He was about to go and see how the sweet potato vines were doing when he took a few steps without paying attention to his footing and accidentally stepped into a hole, ending up with a mouthful of mud.

After finally spitting out the dirt in my mouth, I looked back and saw that the small puddle I dug yesterday was much bigger today. The strangest thing was that the more than half a bucket of water I poured in yesterday had now turned into a living puddle. The clear water in the puddle was rising directly from the bottom, forming bubbles, just like boiling water. I squatted down, scooped up the water with both hands, and gulped down a few mouthfuls.

Wow! This water is so sweet, even better than the bottled water sold in supermarkets in the city. The first sip is refreshingly cool, like Sprite, and then it has a lingering aftertaste like the aftertaste of light tea. I couldn't help but drink a few more sips. I've decided that next time I come here, I'll get a bottle and fill it up to use as cola.

The puddle looked too small, and since the shovel was left there yesterday, I decided to go all out and make it bigger.

I picked up a shovel and got to work. Luckily, the soil here was loose, and it didn't take much effort to dig out a pool about one meter deep and two meters wide.

I figured they'd been in there quite a while and should be leaving by now. Before leaving, I watered the tomato seedlings in the corner.

Back outside, I checked the time and realized that more than an hour had passed without me noticing. It must have been because I was shoveling water in the pond that time had gone by so quickly.

In the afternoon, I went to the only supply and marketing cooperative in the village and bought a few yuan's worth of corn kernels and a spray bottle to water the seedlings. Before going to bed, I went to my online space and planted all the corn. Finally, I've filled the empty space. It looks very empty now, but once the corn seedlings sprout, this space will probably feel cramped.

In the days that followed, Zhang Niu lived a leisurely life, having mostly finished cutting the stone grass. The corn seedlings in his space changed every day, and by the second day, they had already sprouted flower buds. The previously sparse tomato plants were now laden with red fruit, bending the branches and leaves low. The tomatoes, each one a bright red like a Fuji apple, looked incredibly tempting. He picked one, wiped it on his clothes, and took a bite—the flesh was tender, juicy, and delicious.

Lying in bed that night, Zhang Niu recalled that just a few days ago he was a person who had nothing to do at home, and in the blink of an eye he had a treasure trove. He originally wanted to share it with his family, but then he thought it was better to keep it from them. He didn't know if it was happiness or not.

I'm going to make some careful plans about how to live my life from now on and what I should do.