Whose farming family has the male protagonist giving three piglets as a gift at the beginning?

Su's mother and others were also in disbelief. At the dinner table, everyone was stunned when they heard her words.

"What did you say? The county magistrate is looking for people to help dig the road? And he's paying them?"

"Is there such a good thing?"

Su Ziling drank a sip of soup and slowly picked up a dish with chopsticks. Seeing that everyone was staring at her, she felt embarrassed to eat any more, so she put down her bowl and chopsticks and explained carefully.

"The county magistrate went to find some wealthy merchants in the city and raised some money. He said he would go find someone today and could start the operation tomorrow."

"When the time comes, we'll dig out from the inside, and the people outside will dig in from Sangshuping. I estimate that we'll be able to dig through it in about two months."

"By the way, we have to record how much work everyone has done so that we can pay them after we finish digging."

"Is there really money to be made?"

Seeing Su's mother's unwillingness to close her mouth, Su Ziling smiled helplessly, "Mother, if the county magistrate said there is, then there must be. Could he still fool us?"

"It's hard to explain." Mother Su muttered, "You know how badly our grain was withheld when we paid taxes in the past. They are called the parents of the government, but in fact they are just a bunch of blood-sucking leeches and ticks that only take in and never give out."

Old Master Su coughed twice and lowered his voice, "How can you say that? This is just at home, we are all family, what if outsiders hear it?"

Su's mother pursed her lips and said nothing.

"Don't be afraid, mother. I forgot to tell you that the county magistrate of Yongchang County has been replaced. I have seen this man before, so we have some connection. Most of the tea and vermicelli this year were sold to him, and the price he gave was much higher than others."

"The county magistrate was changed? When did this happen?" Grandpa Su and the others were also confused.

"It was changed before the New Year. It's been a long time. It's normal that you don't know."

Baihua Cave was originally blocked from information, and Su's mother and her companions never left the village. Others only went to the county occasionally, and they were concerned about food, clothing, housing and transportation. They had no time to care about who the county magistrate was.

Old Master Su suddenly realized, "I was wondering, no wonder the autumn grain delivery was so smooth last month. Moreover, I took the grain according to the amount of previous years, but I didn't collect more this time. It turns out that the county magistrate has been changed."

"Hearing what you said, this county magistrate is quite nice. You said you had met him. When? How did you get to know him?" Su's mother's face was full of gossip.

"Mother~" Su Ziling turned his head to look at her, with more helplessness than smile in his eyes.

"Okay, okay, okay, I won't ask any more questions. Let's eat, eat."

Su Ziling looked at Su Zizhong who was eating by himself and said, "Brother, how about the dried pickled vegetables? Are they selling well?"

When Su Zizhong mentioned this, he became excited, his eyes lit up, "It sells well. This ball can make dozens of bowls, and only about two balls are used a day. It is simple and convenient to make, and the taste is good. Someone has asked me to buy some to take with them on the road, so they can make it themselves. I didn't sell it because I thought the quantity was small."

Su Ziling nodded, "We didn't make much last year, so we'll just sell the soup and not the dried pickled vegetables. We'll plant more radishes this year and make more so we can sell them next year."

After asking a few simple questions, everyone finished their meal, washed up, and went back to their rooms to rest.

Su Ziling started to braise the meat, Su's mother was in charge of kneading the dough, and Su Zizhong was in charge of soaking peas. Everyone was already accustomed to these daily preparations.

The next day, before dawn, Su Zizhong got up and ground peas and went out for exercise with Twenty. Su Ziling got up to make bean flour, and Su's mother cooked.

Everyone is busy with their own things, and after dinner everyone does their own job.

Grandpa Su and his men continued to dig the road, while Su Ziling took out the islet fruit.

"Mother, let's go plant the islet fruits this morning, and then come back to prepare lunch."

Mother Su put down the hoe in her hand and said, "Okay, I was originally thinking of making ridges and furrows, and planting islet fruits, but it hasn't rained yet, and the ground is very dry. Is it okay?"

"Water and plant now, otherwise it will be too late when it rains." It's already mid-March, and if you delay any longer it will be April, and by then it will be too late to plant.

Crops are planted in season. It doesn’t mean that they cannot be grown after the season has passed, but the yield will be greatly reduced.

"Are you planning to plant by the river?" Su's mother frowned. For watering, the land by the river is the closest.

"Yes, Aunt Ji's family also has a piece of land by the river. It's hard to plant anything there, so let's plant islet fruit. I think it's almost finished. Let's take the bucket with us and water it when we come back."

Su Ziling took the seeds, and took two backpacks to fill two backpacks with dry manure, and took two buckets to fill two buckets with wood ash.

The dung was carried by the ox, Su Ziling was responsible for carrying the ash, and Su's mother carried the seeds and the hoe.

After picking up their things, the mother and daughter headed towards the river. They could work a little longer as the sun wasn't out yet and it wasn't so hot. If they waited a while, they would feel tired when the sun came out.

I have to come back to cook at noon. If I don’t hurry up, I’m afraid I won’t be able to finish planting.

The cow was tied at the foot of the mountain, not far from the ground. Su Ziling and the others could see it as soon as they looked up.

It doesn’t matter if you can’t see it. Grandpa Su found a bell and hung it around the cow’s neck. As long as he can hear the bell, he knows the cow is still there.

The ridges were made by Su's mother in advance, and the row spacing was about fifteen inches (fifty centimeters), which was just right for growing islet fruits.

Looking at the wilted seeds in her hands, Su's mother was puzzled. "How can I plant these? These seeds are wilted. Can they still sprout?"

Su Ziling had picked the islet fruit seeds in advance, and after picking them, he took them out and dried them in the sun for two days.

"Yes, I dried it on purpose. The islet fruit should be dried for one to two days before planting. This will help increase the germination rate."

Su Ziling took out all the things and looked at the dusty ground, frowning slightly.

"This is the first time I've heard you say that. Are the distances between the ridges enough? Do we still need to dig nests?" Su's mother was really at a loss.

"No, I'll fetch water to wet the ground first, and then you'll be responsible for planting the seeds. After that, we'll spread the stove ash and manure, and finally cover the ground with soil. After that, just water it again and it'll be fine."

With few people, the mother and daughter have to go back and forth several times to finish the work. If there are more people, each person can do the same thing and the crops can be planted in one go.

"How can I put the seeds in there? You do it and I'll fetch water." After Su's mother said that, she poured the seeds in the sack into the backpack and then poured the ashes in the bucket into the sack.

When the bucket was empty, she carried it to fetch water.

Fortunately, Ji Yunchu's family's land was not far from the river, which saved a lot of effort.

She had grown this thing before, so it was not unfamiliar to her. The row spacing was fifteen inches, and the distance between plants was about nine inches (30 cm).

After roughly estimating the distance, Su's mother poured water in front, and Su Ziling followed closely to plant the seeds.

Su's mother fetches water slowly, and can only irrigate a small amount of land with one load of water.

After Su Ziling placed some seeds, he came back to spread manure. The manure cannot be placed directly on the seeds, it must be kept at a certain distance from the seeds. After placing the manure, the stove ash can be placed together.

Stove ash is used to prevent diseases and can be thrown directly on the seeds.

After putting everything in place, she filled the soil. The soil should not be too thick, about three inches is enough.

Su Ziling ran back and forth several times before he finished the job. His speed was exactly the same as Su's mother's.