However, the current situation was that houses were being built for them by others! They didn't have to cook their own meals anymore! They didn't have to worry about raising their own children anymore! They didn't have to worry about not having clothes to wear if they didn't make them themselves! They didn't even have to wash their own clothes, because Chen Lan had provided a washing machine for every household!
It could be said that almost every trivial matter of daily life in the valley was meticulously taken care of by someone for everyone, long in advance, so that they didn't need to worry about it themselves.
But as the saying goes, "It's better to rely on yourself than on others," a truth Chen Lan understood better than anyone!
They were idle now, but what about the future? The future was still long. She couldn't take care of them forever, nor could she protect them forever.
Considering the future of the children and wanting them to experience more of the world, they would all have to leave here sooner or later to seek development outside!
So, after leaving this place, who would be able to guarantee that their future lives would be as peaceful and smooth as they were now?
There was only one answer: themselves.
Therefore, even if it meant forcing them, pushing them to learn and improve, even if they didn't understand; even if it meant she had to be the villain, Chen Lan had to find ways to help them learn a skill to support themselves in the future, and also to leave themselves a way out. This was the original intention behind Chen Lan establishing the reading club in the valley and mandating that they all attend.
Chen Lan thought at the time that since everyone would be staying in the valley for twenty to thirty years, they could use this time to teach the disadvantaged group in the valley a skill to protect themselves.
As the head of the valley, Chen Lan truly worried about these people, hoping that one day in the future, they would all understand her good intentions today.
Just as the old saying goes: "Yesterday is past, tomorrow is unknown"; who knows what the future holds?
Only "now" is in their hands. Since everything in the future is uncertain, it's better to have some foundation now and enrich themselves to cope with future changes. It's the same old saying: "Opportunities favor the prepared!"
If they weren't pushed to their limits, how could they rapidly develop into talented individuals?
Alas! It was truly contradictory! Alas! As the saying goes, "The master leads the way, but cultivation depends on the individual"! She had done what she could, and that was that. Whether they could all succeed in the end depended on themselves.
She thought about it again and felt a sense of relief, so she stopped dwelling on it.
That evening at dinner in the large kitchen, Chen Lan told Uncle De that she planned to dig an irrigation well on the opposite mountainside.
Uncle Fu, who was working there, already knew about digging the irrigation well. Uncle De, however, did not, and he curiously asked, "Xiao Lan, what good things have you planted over there now? Why are you planting in that area? How many acres have you planted? Why do you need to dig an irrigation well there?"
Chen Lan listened to Uncle De's barrage of questions and pressed her forehead with her hand, inwardly lamenting, "Oh my goodness! It's just digging an irrigation well, why are there so many questions!"
At this moment, Comrade Xiang Xi, who had been quietly and quickly shoveling rice, saved her from distress. He suddenly spoke, "Uncle De, you don't know! You probably can't guess! Xiao Lan! She's brought another big surprise to our valley! You definitely won't be able to guess what she's planted this time?"
Chen Lan inwardly grumbled, "When did Little Watermelon start talking so much nonsense? You could have just said it directly."
As soon as Xiang Xi said this, as expected, everyone at the table became interested. Even people at nearby tables leaned in to listen. Everyone widened their eyes and eagerly asked Xiang Xi, "Little Watermelon, hurry up and tell us! Don't dawdle! What rare thing has Xiao Lan planted?"
Seeing that his purpose was achieved, Xiang Xi said proudly, "Everyone, calm down, and listen to me slowly."
After listening to Xiang Xi, everyone immediately became excited, and they launched into a new round of heated discussion: "Sugarcane and beetroot are both good things! They can both be used to make sugar. Sugar is a precious commodity. It would be great if we could make our own sugar in the valley! Wait..."
Chen Lan was getting a headache from their chatter. Regardless of their discussion, Chen Lan remained silent, focusing on eating quickly. After eating, she made an appointment with Uncle De to go to the opposite mountain the next day and quickly slipped away.
She wanted to go back and check on the twins. The children and her mother were now cooking separately in the kindergarten every day. Because Sun Xiao Mei and her mother were both from Sichuan Province, their cooking had a heavier flavor and was not very suitable for the children.
The children needed to be stewed with nourishing soups and liquids every meal, which was also suitable for the elderly mother and Mama Liu. Therefore, Chen Lan arranged for them to cook separately.
The next day, Chen Lan went with Uncle De to the mountain. They walked around the sheep pen, pigsty, and sugarcane and beetroot fields. The two of them determined the location for the well, discussed the irrigation methods, and Chen Lan handed the relevant drawings to Uncle De before turning to leave.
Chen Lan had already decided the night before that she would take advantage of this time when she had nothing to do to go up the mountain and pick more valuable wild vegetables to sell to the system.
For example, monkey legs, which tasted fresh, were crisp, tender, and had a fragrant aroma, with high nutritional value. Chen Lan knew that in modern times, it sold for a very high price. Because it was so outrageously expensive, Chen Lan had specifically researched this wild vegetable. Monkey legs were rich in protein and minerals and also had the effect of preventing high blood pressure, heart disease, and lowering blood lipids.
Even now, it could be sold for over forty yuan per jin in the system.
Then there was the fresh and uniquely flavored Ci La Ya, known as "ginseng on the tree, the king of mountain delicacies," which could be sold for over thirty yuan per jin in the system.
And then there were the tender leaves of Ci Wu Jia, which were even more popular than toon in modern times. They tasted delicious and had a fragrant aroma. They also had the effect of treating insomnia, relieving coughs, resolving phlegm, and calming asthma. They could be sold for over ten yuan per jin in the system.
Chen Lan pondered, not even returning home, and headed directly towards the mountain forest where she had picked Ci La Ya last year.