That night, Erye Huang kept an eye out and the puppy was indeed not lost that night.
But in the early morning, the little tiger ran to their house and brought the puppy back.
Mr. Huang realized that Xiaohu had no intention of raising the child with them.
"Come on Anzi, this dog seems to have no fate with me, the second master. Don't waste your time. If you mess with me a few times, this bastard won't be able to stand it."
"Second Master, look at what happened."
Zhang An felt that this was done unfairly, and he called Mr. Huang to catch the dog himself.
As a result, Xiaohu, this bitch, refused to give Zhang An any face.
"What's the point? This shows that your little tiger is smart."
Now that it's like this, Zhang An doesn't talk about giving away dogs anymore.
Seeing that sending the dog failed, Zhang An didn't mention it.
I took Mr. Huang to the yard to drink tea.
In the past few days, all the weeds have been hoeed in the nest, and we will start plowing them again after the fifteenth day of tomorrow.
"Anzi, the second master wants to ask you something today."
This is the first time Mr. Huang has approached Zhang An in such a serious manner, so he is not careless.
"Second Master, if you and I have something to do, just tell us directly. Why are you doing all those meandering things?"
"It's like this. I see that Jianjun and Jianye's family are preparing to plant sheep and peaches. I just want to ask you if I can also plant some plums in my piece of plum land."
As soon as Mr. Huang mentioned their plum land, Zhang An immediately thought of it.
When I was a child, I often went with Zhou Yang to pick plums in their forest.
Every time before going to class, I have to pick a big bag.
"Why, the second master is planning to cut down the plum tree and replace it with peach trees?"
Zhang An looked at Mr. Huang with some surprise at this moment. Mr. Huang had always been careful about this plum tree.
In later generations, I was reluctant to cut it off, but now I have this idea.
"What can we do if we don't cut them down? The plums the plum tree produces now are small, sour and astringent. No one wants to give them away."
Speaking of this plum, Mr. Huang couldn't say anything, and his eyes were filled with desolation.
The plums from Mr. Huang’s house are not local plums.
It was the honeydew plums that Mr. Huang spent a lot of effort to bring back from other places.
During the first few years of planting, it produced several crops of fruit which were quite good. They were big, crisp and sweet, and they were worthy of being sugar plums.
But the plum tree had only been planted for a few years, and the plums it produced had changed in flavor.
Plums that are originally crisp and sweet are not only small in size, but also sour and astringent.
Even if it is given as a gift, no one is willing to take it.
"Second Master, I think your plums are better than those peaches."
"How is that possible? Don't bother your second master. The plum blossoms are so small and sour now. How can you fix them?"
When Mr. Huang heard what Zhang An said, he didn't believe it at all.
He himself knows all about his own virtues.
"Second Master, this doesn't bother you at all. I am serious about this."
"Oh? How do you explain it? Please explain it carefully to the second master."
Seeing Zhang An'er's serious talk, Mr. Huang also became serious. It was all about money.
Zhang An also knew a little about the plum tree in Huang Erye's house.
There are not many plum trees, only two acres of land in total.
After selling two crops at first, I kept it there ever since.
Originally, they should have been pruned, but after the sugar plums turned into bitter plums, Mr. Huang didn't care about them.
So the plum tree grew for many years and became a big tree.
Although the plums no longer taste the same as before, Mr. Huang is reluctant to chop them and just leave them like this.
In later generations, when the rural revitalization policy was implemented on a large scale, some agricultural experts came to the village.
I learned that Mr. Huang’s family grew the Hermès of plums - Honeydew Plums.
But something seems to have gone wrong, and the fruit produced is not delicious at all.
After coming down with their mission, they finally found Huang Erye's home.
At that time, many years had passed for Mr. Huang, and he had forgotten that he had planted a plum forest.
As soon as he heard that these people were here to help him find problems with plums, Mr. Huang was already quite old at that time, so he didn't have much energy left.
But those experts all had a mission. They had to find out the problem no matter what, and insisted on going to the woods for on-the-spot investigation.
Mr. Huang also let them go and asked Huang Ming to take them there.
After spending a lot of time, I finally figured out what caused the problem.
It turns out that the land where the plum forest is located is too barren.
Fruit trees like sugar plums are somewhat selective in their location.
On barren soil, the fruits produced will definitely be abnormal.
Before planting plum trees, Mr. Huang was worried that the saplings would not survive.
So I carried a lot of manure to the ground to fertilize it, so the plum tree grew very well.
The first few fruits are very delicious.
But later the tree survived, so Mr. Huang didn't know that he had to continue topdressing.
So I didn't care much about it, thinking that once the tree was alive, it would be over.
So as the fertility on the ground disappears, the plum trees grow bigger and bigger, and the plums they produce become more and more unpalatable.
And that year, Zhang An happened to come back to take care of Zhang Jianguo at home.
He also went to Huang Erye's house to help for several days.
This method of improving plums was not difficult, so Zhang An memorized it.
"Second Master, I really have a way with this plum. If you believe me, just keep it for another year to see if I'm right."
Seeing Zhang An's serious expression, Mr. Huang realized that Zhang An was not joking.
"Is there really something going on?"
"There's definitely something going on."
"Okay, then let's keep it alive for another year. If there's nothing we can do, we'll cut it off then."
The problem with Mr. Huang’s plum tree is not difficult to solve.
The main thing is to fertilize and supply the fertility they need.
Moreover, after so few years of neglect, those plum trees, although only a little over two meters tall, have grown a large cluster of branches and need to be pruned.
And in places where planting is dense, trees have to be cut down.
"Is this enough? Do we need to make other preparations?"
After listening to this, Mr. Huang felt that what Zhang An said made sense.
He still remembered that when he first planted trees a few years ago, he had to carry a lot of manure to fertilize the land. Many people in the village laughed at him, saying that the millet in their fields was not that good.
But the plums in those years were really sweet and big.
But Huang Erye, who has never planted fruit trees, didn't know that he would need to fertilize the fruit trees when they grow up.
So after the plum tree grew up, he never fertilized it.
But there is no shortage of weeding. I can only say that the method is wrong and no matter how much we do, it will be in vain.
"That's enough. By the way, Second Master, don't cut down those plum trees in very dense areas. It would be a pity to cut down such a big plum tree. Then dig them out and sell them to me."
Anyway, in the past two years, the most important thing is to let the plum trees produce normal plums.
As for increasing production, this is something that should be considered in the future.
All but ten acres of Zhang An's nest land by the river are used to grow watermelons and strawberries.
There will be a lot of open space left, and it is not easy for the plum trees in Mr. Huang's house to grow so big.
So I thought that some parts of Mr. Huang's place needed to be cut down, so I simply bought them back for Mr. Huang.
Plant it in the nest, and later you can eat some at home and give it away to others.
"What are you selling this for? It's all supposed to be cut down. Since you want it, I won't cut it down. I'll dig it up for you when the time comes."
When Mr. Huang heard Zhang An say that he would spend money to buy a plum tree for him, he would not charge Zhang An any money.
I thought that everything was lacking in the mountains, except that the tree was worthless.
The plum trees planted in Mr. Huang's plum forest are not very dense.
According to what the old man said, at most only a dozen trees would be cut down.
In the end, Zhang An didn't fight with the old man. When the time came, he would add some ingredients to the old man's plums and repay the favor.
"Second Master, what's the matter with coming here?"
As soon as Mr. Huang left, Zhang Jianguo came back, and the two of them faced each other.
Seeing Mr. Huang hurrying on his way, Zhang An Jianguo thought something had happened.
"I came here for the few acres of plum groves they have. The old man plans to cut down the plum trees and plant peaches."
Speaking of their plum tree, Zhang Jianguo also looked pityful.
When Mr. Huang's family had their first crop of plums, he carried a basketful of them over for his family to eat.
"It's a pity. Those plums are good plums, but they turned out to be like this."
"Their plum grove is just a poor land, not fertile enough, and all the plum trees produced are bitter plums."
Plums are a fruit that naturally picks up the ground.
"Then why are the plums produced in the past two years so golden, crisp and sweet?"
After hearing Zhang An's statement, Zhang Jianguo felt that this was not an issue.
If the ground is too thin, the fruit will definitely be the same every year.
But after the first few crops, the fruit is quite good to eat.
"Dad, don't you know this? In the first few crops, the plum tree at Second Master's house was small, and when planting the tree, Second Master carried so much manure to fertilize the land. He was even more careful than taking care of their millet.
So the fruit is normal."
"In the next few years, the plum trees grew bigger and denser, and the second master did not continue to use manure. The nutrients were not enough, and there were so many fruits on each tree, so it is strange that the plums are not bitter."
Plums are easy to take care of, but difficult to take care of.
If the soil is fertilized, you don't have to worry about where you plant it, and the harvest will be good.
But if it doesn't work there, no matter what you do, it will all be in vain.
"So I chatted with Mr. Huang for a while, and he decided to take a look at it for another year."
"Are you sure about this? Don't let the second master and his wife spend a year in vain. In the end, there will be no harvest."
Knowing that Zhang An gave Huang Erye advice, Zhang Jianguo was worried that this method would be of no use.
When the time comes, the plums will still be the same as before, although Mr. Huang and Mr. Huang will not say anything.
But neither of Mr. Huang's two daughters-in-law was easy to talk to.
"Dad, although Mr. Huang said he wanted to chop down the plum tree, I think he is still reluctant to do so. In this case, we might as well give it a try."
Mr. Huang recently also learned from the village elder's vigorous and resolute style of doing things.
I had just agreed with Zhang An in the morning, and in the afternoon I called my family and started working in the fields.
In Zhang An's words, it is better to do it sooner rather than later.
There is still enough time in the past two days just for the new year, so I will put some fertilizer on it during this period.
Then maybe this year the plum tree will produce a crop of plums, which will be all money.
The sons and daughters-in-law of Mr. Huang's family were all a little confused.
It was so good that the old man at home came and shouted to start work.
Moreover, the piece of plum tree that was being cleaned up was still useless, which made everyone even more strange.
What's going on with this old man today? Huang Ming's mother, Li Xingyan, was playing mahjong.
Being pulled off the table by Huang Dabiao, he felt a little unhappy at the moment.
So I kept asking the old man why he wanted to pack that bitter plum.
Mr. Huang knew the personalities of his two daughters-in-law, so he did not say that he had sought advice from Zhang An.
He just said that he wanted to take advantage of this free time to clean up that Li Zilin.
Even if they don't want to go, the old man and old lady will go to the house in person to call for people.
They had to go, because after the son-in-law and his wife separated, it was right for them to work for their parents-in-law.
Moreover, Mr. Huang and Mr. Huang have not called them a few times throughout the year, so even if they don't want to in their hearts, they still have to pretend to be very positive on the surface.
Otherwise, if word spreads in this village, it will have a bad reputation in the future.
At four or five o'clock in the afternoon, Mr. Huang and his eldest son pulled a cart down from the mountain.
The car was loaded with more than a dozen plum trees, all dug in the afternoon.
Zhang An didn't expect that Mr. Huang was so anxious.
I had just left home in the morning and had already gone to the fields to start tidying up in the afternoon.
"Second Master, why are you always in such a hurry? I thought you had to wait until fifteen before you started cleaning up."
"Anyway, idleness is idleness. Farmers don't pay that much attention."
Now that the tree has been dug up, it must be planted now.
Not only is it spring, but it is also around four or five o'clock in the afternoon, which is a very suitable time for planting trees.
Finally, Zhang An's family, joined by Mr. Huang and Huang Ming, transplanted more than a dozen plum trees to the edge of the nest.
"Second Master, is there a lot of excrement in your house this year? Is it enough for you?"
During the process of planting trees, Zhang An asked Mr. Huang how much dung there was in his family circle.
They only have two cows at home, and Zhang An probably doesn't have enough.
"There is still a pile of retting that was done last year, and there is still a pile that can be harvested from the circle, but we are about to start plowing the fields and planting seedlings, so I guess it won't be enough. I plan to go to the town to buy some oil cakes to put in."
In previous years, the manure at home was put into paddy fields first, and then the excess was used to plant corn.
The dung fished out by Mr. Huang's family last year was used for this year's millet retting.
But now we have to fertilize the plum trees, and the manure in the cow pen will definitely not be enough.
"Come on, don't buy oil cakes. Just come to my house to poop. Our family can't use up all the poop every year."
Zhang An's family has many animals. There is a large pen house in the new house, and there is also a pig pen in the old house.
Zhang An's own house and his two uncles' houses couldn't use up all the excrement.
"Okay, when I don't have enough, I will come to your circle to get some."
Mr. Huang was not polite either. He knew that Zhang An's family had many animals and couldn't use up all the manure.
After planting these plum trees, everyone stopped work.
Wang Fang had already gone home to prepare dinner in advance and called Mr. Huang's father, son and grandson to eat, but they didn't stay.
It was said that Mrs. Huang had prepared it at home and she would go home and eat it.
Zhang An is also welcome. Anyway, there will be a lot of help in the future.
After dinner, Zhang An went to water the newly planted plum trees with some spring water.
This nest land is not very fat, but it can be considered average.
So while I had time, I sprinkled the area where I was going to plant watermelons and strawberries.