Chapter 45
45 Planting Rapeseed
When Zhou Jia saw Li Yu walking far away to pick the oil tea fruits, he slowly moved to Li Yu’s side and smiled at her. “Miss Li, why did you think of picking the oil tea fruits to extract oil? No one should know about this in Green Mountain.”
Li Yu smiled faintly. “My mother told me.”
Zhou Jia put the fruit into his backpack. “Oh! I’ve asked. If you want to extract oil, you can only go to the oil press workshop outside Green Mountain City. I have a mule cart and oil drums that can be sent to you.”
Li Yu shook her head. “Mr. Zhou, thank you for your kindness. I’ve already asked someone to help make a simple oil extraction tool. We’ll talk about it after I try it.”
Zhou Jia looked at Li Yu with a smile. “Then can I go to your house to take a look when Miss Li is extracting oil?”
Li Yu looked at Zhou Jia’s smile and couldn’t reject him. She could only nod and reply, “Alright.”
When Ji Xiang saw how Young Master was fawning over Miss Li, he felt extremely depressed. He felt that it was really a rare sight. It had always been those young ladies who surrounded Young Master who could not be bothered with them.
Ji Xiang could not bear to watch anymore and walked to Zhou Jia’s side. “Young Master, it’s almost noon. I’m going to hunt two pheasants and roast them.”
Zhou Jia nodded and watched Ji Xiang walk into the forest. He continued to talk to Li Yu. The two of them chatted.
After more than an hour, Ji Xiang carried the two pheasants to the stream to wash them. He removed the chicken skin and put it on a wooden stick. Li Yu took out some seasoning and smeared it on the meat. Ji Xiang lit the fire and the two of them roasted the pheasants.
Ji Xiang glanced at Li Yu. “Miss Li, do you plan to pick all these oil tea fruits home?”
Li Yu flipped the pheasant in her hand. “Yes! I’ll pick whatever you can.”
Ji Xiang looked at Zhou Jia, who was picking the tea fruits, and then at the oil tea trees. He frowned. “Then it will take at least three to four days to finish picking.”
“Probably!” Li Yu smelled the fragrance of the pheasant and tore off a piece to taste. “Yes! It tastes pretty good. Get your young master to eat it!”
Ji Xiang nodded and handed the pheasant to Li Yu. He called Zhou Jia over.
Li Yu took the opportunity to take out a bamboo tube and egg pancake from her space. When Ji Xiang and Zhou Jia came over, she handed the pheasant to the two of them. After roasting the pancake, she handed it to them. “Eat it! I brought it out this morning.”
Zhou Jia took the pancake and gave one to Ji Xiang. The three of them surrounded the fire and ate.
After eating, Li Yu extinguished the fire and said to Zhou Jia and Ji Xiang, “Thank you for your help today. I still have to pick for four hours before leaving. You guys can go back first!”
“How can we give up halfway?” Zhou Jia smiled and walked towards the oil tea forest.
Li Yu looked at the plaintive Ji Xiang and shrugged at him. She turned around and picked the oil tea fruits.
The few of them picked for another two hours before one of the three sacks was filled to the brim. Ji Xiang carried two sacks of tea fruits, and Li Yu carried one sack back.
Zhou Jia thought as he walked. He had clearly seen Li Yu pick several sacks. Why were there only three sacks now?! Could he have seen wrongly?
Li Yu carried the oil tea fruits on her back resentfully. If the two of them didn’t come, she would have been able to use her space instead of carrying the oil tea fruits.
The few of them walked to Li Yu’s house at the end of the hour. Ji Xiang placed the sack at the door. Li Yu said politely, “Mr. Zhou, Ji Xiang, thank you. I’ll send the oil to you to try after the extraction.”
Zhou Jia nodded and smiled. “Alright, then we’ll wait for Miss Li to send the oil over.”
After Li Yu sent Zhou Jia and Ji Xiang away, Madam Qian looked at Li Yu with a smile. “Xiaoyu, why did Mr. Zhou come back with you?”
Li Yu made things up. “Oh! We happened to meet each other on the mountain.”
Li Yu moved the oil tea fruit into the room and locked the door. When she saw Li Qing returning with a school basket, she said, “Ah Qing, didn’t I make a school bag for you? Why don’t you use it?”
Li Qing smiled in embarrassment. “Sister, I want to use it in the future.”
Li Yu guessed that Li Qing couldn’t bear to use the bag. She smiled and patted him. “Idiot, it’s a pity if you don’t use the bag after it’s done! I’ll make it for you if it’s torn!”
Li smiled happily. “Yes! I’ll go to school tomorrow with my backpack.”
The next morning, Li Yu had just gone out with the backpack on her back when she saw Ji Xiang and Ruyi waiting at the door. Ji Xiang looked at Li Yu and smiled. “Miss Li, Young Master asked Ruyi and me to help you go up the mountain to pick tea fruits.”
Li Yu looked at the two of them in surprise. “How can I do that? I can go back alone!”
Ji Xiang and Ruyi shook their heads. “That won’t do. Young Master will blame us when we go back.”
Li Yu could only bring the two of them up the mountain. With Ji Xiang and Ruyi’s help, the remaining tea fruits were picked home in two days.
Li Yu stored the tea fruit in her space and began to transplant the rapeseed. Seeing that Li Yu’s family had begun to plant the rapeseed, Chen Yaohui, his wife, and Li Mei’s family came to help her.
Chen Yaohui and Liu Changmin dug the nest. Laidi and Madam Qian plucked the seedlings. Xiao An released the seedlings. Li Yu transported the fat soil and placed it in the nest. Li Mei and Zhaodi raised the rapeseed seedlings in the nest and used the soil to press down on the roots of the rapeseed seedlings before digging the soil to cover the roots.
In the evening, Stonemason Chen sent the oil-press stone mortar to Li Yu’s house. Li Yu asked him to place the mortar nest against the wall of the woodshed. After Stonemason Chen placed the mortar nest on three stone pillars and fixed it with fish glue, he laid a stone slab beside it.
Stonemason Chen pointed to the bamboo tube at the bottom. “Xiaoyu, the golden bamboo Uncle found was roasted and bent and stuck inside. I guarantee it won’t fall off. Also, when you squeeze the oil, step on this wooden board and knock the wooden stopper into the nest.The wooden stopper will allow the oil to flow out from the bottom when it squeezes the oil.”
“Alright, Uncle Chen, sorry to have troubled you.” After Li Yu sent Stonemason Chen away, she returned to the courtyard and tried it out. She also used the same lever principle. She stepped on the wooden board and knocked on the wooden plug, letting the wooden stoppersqueeze out the oil.
When everyone returned after work, they saw the oil-squeezing stone mortar that Master Chen had sent over. After looking at it for a while, Chen Yaohui and Liu Changmin felt uncertain. “Xiaoyu, even if you can’t squeeze oil, you can still grind rice.”
Li Mei brought the dining table to the courtyard and shouted with a smile, “It’s time to eat. Aren’t you hungry?”
For dinner, Chen Yaohui stewed radish, garlic sprouts, stir-fried rapeseed, and bean paste fish. “This fish and Twice Cooked Pork are really fragrant.” Chen Yaohui had eaten the bean paste fish and Twice Cooked Pork and pointed at the sauce jar in Li Yu’s courtyard. “Xiaoyu, did you stir-fry it with that bean paste?”
Li Yu nodded. “Yes, Uncle Chen. I’ll scoop a can for you later so you can bring it back for Grandpa to try.”
Chen Yaohui took a sip of wine and smiled brightly. “Alright, I won’t stand on ceremony.”
After dinner, Li Yu took a jar and scooped a jar of bean paste for Chen Yaohui. The couple happily carried it home.
Li Mei looked at Li Yu and asked, “Yu’er, what do you think is good for my wasteland?”
Li Yu thought for a moment. “Aunt, why don’t you plant radishes and vegetables? You can make pickled vegetables to sell when you harvest them.”
Li Mei nodded. “That’s fine. We’ll go home and come back in the morning.”
After Li Yu sent Li Mei’s family and the Qian family back to their house, she realized that Li Qing had already fed the pigs. The siblings washed up and rested separately.