After thinning the beets, the crops in the fields mainly need watering every few days, weeding from time to time, and finally, thinning the seedlings when the beets grow to seven or eight true leaves. Later, it will be important to earth up the soil, continue weeding, and pay attention to pest control.
The large areas of farmland for rice, wheat, corn, potatoes, and other crops are managed by Uncle De with a large group of elderly men. The vegetable garden is managed by two elderly women assigned by Grandma, along with a group of other women.
Uncle Fu is helping Xiangxi and others build livestock sheds. Xiangdong, Erhu, and Teacher Zhou, along with his four students, are each leading a team to build houses day and night. Some of Xu Mingxuan's mobile comrades are also lending a hand nearby. In short, the infrastructure work in the valley is proceeding in full swing.
Grandpa Zhou, along with more than a dozen of Xu Mingxuan's comrades, are also busy every day cleaning the temporary sheep pens and pigsties, and are responsible for cutting grass to feed the twenty-two lambs and two piglets.
Everyone in the valley is busy now, with no one idle. The valley is filled with a scene of bustling prosperity.
The remaining task is simply to wait for the crops in the fields to grow on their own.
Chen Lan plans to use the several months while the crops are growing to lead the young women and wives in the valley in basic construction – building roads.
Chen Lan thought that if road construction were left to Xiangdong and Erhu when they have time, it would likely not be completed this year, which would be too much of a delay!
So, she decided to lead the construction herself. After all, these young women and wives are smart and capable, and with the help of machinery, building roads should not be difficult. Moreover, she, Hu Yuzhen, and Cui Qiao have experience from building the drying yard last year, and they also built the paths in their own front and back yards.
The first road to be built is a cement road from their home to the sheep and pig pens. This will make it convenient for Xu Mingxuan's comrades to commute by wheelchair. If the road is smooth, even those with mobility issues can use electric wheelchairs to come here and participate in animal husbandry work.
The open spaces on both sides of the road should not be left idle. The multi-functional agricultural tractor will be used to level the land on both sides, and then alfalfa seeds will be sown to grow naturally.
Alfalfa is a valuable plant. It can be used as fodder to feed pigs, cattle, horses, and sheep, and it can also improve the soil and act as fertilizer.
Furthermore, alfalfa is a traditional Chinese medicine. It not only has high nutritional value but is also rich in various vitamins, and it has the effects of clearing the spleen and stomach, benefiting the intestines and bladder, and clearing bladder stones.
Alfalfa has a relatively short growth cycle and can be sown in batches. It can generally be harvested every two months. This means that if planted now, it can be harvested by late July. The harvested hay can then be dried and stored as feed for cashmere goats in winter.
Another batch can be planted in late July, and another harvest can be reaped by late September before the snow. The alfalfa harvested at this time can be stored as green fodder to feed pigs and cashmere goats.
Alfalfa is a crop that can be planted once and harvested multiple times. Spring sowing allows for three consecutive harvests, and late spring sowing allows for two consecutive harvests. It is only necessary to ensure that the stubble is short and neat when harvesting, especially for the first harvest, which must be low and flat. This will make subsequent harvests easier and yield higher.
Planting alfalfa is very simple. Alfalfa is a shallow-rooted plant, usually requiring a cultivation depth of about fifteen centimeters. Raised beds about one meter fifty wide and twenty centimeters high should be made, and then the bed surface should be leveled before sowing alfalfa seeds.
To improve germination rate, alfalfa seeds are usually treated for germination before sowing.
The method for germinating alfalfa seeds is also relatively simple. Select the seeds, place them in a hemp sack, and soak them in well water or river water for about ten hours at night. Then, take out the seeds and place them in a cool place for two to three days, spraying them with cool water every three to four hours. They can then be sown.
Managing alfalfa is also convenient. After sowing, it only needs to be watered once in the morning and once in the evening to keep the soil moist. After emergence, it only needs to be watered once a day, and watering can stop after six to seven days. Whether to water thereafter depends on the soil moisture.
In any case, Uncle De has already brought people to dig an irrigation well, making watering much simpler. This task is very suitable for Xu Mingxuan's comrades, whose daily work will simply be watering the alfalfa.
Thinking of this, Chen Lan no longer delayed. She immediately got up, informed her mother and Aunt Shan, and went to the study hall. It was during the break time.
Chen Lan directly shared her thoughts with Mingwei and told her of her decision: "Mingwei, starting this afternoon, all the young women and wives in the study hall will temporarily stop attending classes. Of course, pregnant women are excluded. All others will accompany me to build roads."
Mingwei immediately nodded in agreement. She said, "Sister-in-law, your idea is right. Brother Xiangdong and Brother Erhu definitely won't have time to build roads this year, and I think next year might be difficult too. Besides, their studies are not urgent. They will have plenty of time to study when they are not busy with farm work during the winter months, when it will be fine to learn to read and write then. Now, the construction of the valley is the most important thing."
Then Chen Lan instructed Mingwei: "Mingwei, after school, please inform everyone to rest for a while after lunch. Ask Chuncao, Ruyi, and Xiaoxue to each drive a bulldozer out of the garage, and ask Hu Yuzhen, Cui Qiao, and Lin Mai to each drive an agricultural tractor out. Everyone else should gather at the road entrance towards the sheep pens at 1:30 PM."
After clarifying the matter with Mingwei, Chen Lan immediately left home to prepare for road construction in advance. She purchased gravel, cement, and fine sand for road construction from the system.
Chen Lan estimated the distance from their current location to the sheep pens and the planned width of the road, and then ordered an estimated amount of materials from the shop where she had purchased before. She ordered gravel, cement, and fine sand.
She also ordered three large sacks of alfalfa seeds from the system and took them out of the system warehouse, setting them aside.
Once all the road construction materials were ready, Chen Lan unloaded them from the system warehouse to a convenient location. In the afternoon, she would have those who could drive bulldozers bring a couple more bulldozers to level and compact the ground before starting construction.
After completing the preparations for the afternoon road construction, Chen Lan turned and went home.