Chen Xiaobei thought about using potted plants to grow vegetables, as leafy greens were worth three cents a catty. However, the biggest problem with potted plants was space.
One pot after another, where would they be placed?
The living conditions of the common people were generally poor, far from meeting the standard of a certain number of square meters per person. To grow potted vegetables, they would have to build additional houses, which would incur high costs.
Another issue was sunlight.
If only there were plastic film, all the problems would be solved.
But plastic was not gunpowder. Gunpowder could be made through individual effort, but in this era, making plastic was a pipe dream.
Chen Xiaobei felt there was no clue, so he simply left the courtyard and strolled through the village with his hands behind his back.
As he was walking, he saw Chen Daqiang coming towards him.
Chen Daqiang was pushing a flatbed cart, transporting grain home. He greeted Chen Xiaobei enthusiastically upon seeing him.
Chen Xiaobei quickly responded, "Have the crops in the fields already been harvested?"
Chen Daqiang nodded, "Yes, the harvest in our area is earlier than in other places."
Chen Xiaobei nodded. Though he said nothing, he muttered to himself, why were the grains in his own field still lush and green, while others had already harvested?
He then recalled his last visit to water Dachun's Yongyetian, where he had only felt the temperature was high and hadn't noticed anything else unusual.
The more he thought about it, the more his curiosity gnawed at him. Chen Xiaobei decided to go and see for himself.
Following the mountain path, he bypassed the village and reached the foot of Qingniu Mountain. The foothills here were not gentle slopes like those to the north of the village.
The so-called foothills here were sheer cliffs.
The dozens of feet high cliffs looked more like an insurmountable natural barrier.
Strangely, there was a crack in the middle of the cliff, and a small river flowed down from the crevice.
Seeing this, one could not help but marvel at the miraculous work of nature.
Chen Daqiang's and Chen Dachun's Yongyetian were located beneath this cliff.
As soon as Chen Xiaobei stepped onto the field, he immediately felt his body sweating. The temperature here was clearly higher than elsewhere.
After observing for a while, Chen Xiaobei understood. This place was roughly equivalent to the southeast corner of Qingniu Mountain.
Because of the steep cliff behind, the mountain wind mostly passed over their heads and did not reach this land.
Coupled with the obstruction of the mountain body, neither the north wind nor the west wind could blow here.
As for the east wind and south wind, they were blocked by the distant villages and trees in front, so very little of them could affect this place.
In simple terms, this place was like an isolated island, where no wind could reach, which was why this phenomenon occurred. Even more valuable was the water.
Seeing Chen Xiaobei arrive, Chen Dachun, who was busy in the distance, quickly ran over to greet him.
"Brother Xiaobei, why have you come?"
Chen Xiaobei pointed to a few village guards in the distance, "Brother Dachun, you can't privately mobilize the village guards to work for you."
Chen Dachun chuckled, "Five copper coins a day, clearly marked prices. I am the captain of the village guards, I can't set a bad example by breaking the rules."
Chen Xiaobei nodded, "Yes, it's good that you know. I saw Brother Daqiang and his crops were harvested, so I came to take a look. I didn't expect yours to be harvested so early."
Chen Daqiang glanced at Chen Xiaobei and thought to himself, it's harvested this early every year, you just didn't care before.
"The temperature here is higher than in other places, so the crops are naturally harvested earlier."
Chen Xiaobei looked at the large expanse of land, and a thought suddenly struck him.
"Brother Dachun, after you finish planting, do you have to wait until spring next year to plant again?"
Chen Dachun nodded, "Yes. Next year, your land will have just thawed, and I can start sowing."
Chen Xiaobei was overjoyed. He had been sweating just standing here for a short while. This land could grow at least two or three crops of leafy greens without issue.
"Brother Dachun, since your land is idle, would you be willing to plant some leafy greens?"
Upon hearing about planting leafy greens, Chen Dachun was naturally overjoyed.
"I can plant, but I have over ten mu of land. There are only three people in my family, and we can't possibly plant it all."
Chen Dachun was speaking the truth. Under the current production conditions, the three of them could indeed not plant much.
"Then can we rent your land out to the villagers?"
Dachun heard this and grinned broadly, "Great, great! Whoever is willing to rent it can come and rent it."
Chen Xiaobei was also very excited. He rushed home and told Cui Hongyu about it, "Hongyu, I've decided to plant two more crops of leafy greens on Dachun's land."
"Dachun, Daqiang and the others have dozens of mu. Three or two families can't manage it all. Whoever is willing can rent a part of it."
As he was speaking, his second aunt, Xiu Mei, arrived.
Upon seeing Chen Xiaobei, Xiu Mei smiled so broadly that the wrinkles on her face could trap flies, "Xiaobei, Dachun just came back and told me you want to plant vegetables on our land and also want to let the villagers plant."
Chen Xiaobei nodded, "Yes. You'll receive some rent, and the villagers can earn some income. It's a win-win situation."
Unexpectedly, Xiu Mei sighed slightly, "Xiaobei, how about this? I'll rent our piece of land to you for a lump sum, and you can decide how to rent it out further."
What did this mean? Chen Xiaobei was a little confused.
"Second Aunt, with such a good opportunity, why wouldn't you earn money?"
Xiu Mei hesitated to speak.
Chen Xiaobei knew she must have had some reason she couldn't easily disclose.
Cui Hongyu, standing beside him, immediately smiled and said, "We can rent it, it won't cost much, but you have to tell us the truth."
Xiu Mei gave an embarrassed smile, "Alas, it's nothing much, really. It's just that I'm a person who fears trouble."
"Look, you rent half a mu from me, he rents three fen from me, and some might only want one fen. My few mu would be rented out to dozens of people, wouldn't that be troublesome?"
Hearing Xiu Mei's words, Chen Xiaobei couldn't help but scratch his head.
What Xiu Mei said was also true.
Planting vegetables was not the same as planting crops.
The timeliness of planting vegetables was crucial, especially for leafy greens, which had to be harvested and sold within five or six days.
If left for too long, the green leaves would turn yellow and old, and they wouldn't fetch a good price.
Therefore, each household couldn't plant too much. If everyone only planted a little, it would indeed be a headache.
Seeing Chen Xiaobei remain silent, Xiu Mei knew she had said too much and immediately changed her expression, "Alas, honestly, I think it's better if you just rent it all. Hire a few people to work for a couple of days, and it'll be done." Su Dan Novel Network.
After speaking, she affectionately patted Cui Hongyu's shoulder, "Hongyu, we two families can discuss this."
Saying goodnight, she turned and left.
Watching her walk away, Cui Hongyu hesitated slightly and then advised from upstairs, "Husband, if you feel it's not suitable, let's drop this matter."
"We're not short of that little bit of money now anyway."