Chapter 8

When Yun Yi returned home, he was drenched in sweat. He changed into a pair of large shorts and moved a stool to sit under the large jujube tree in the courtyard, enjoying the coolness under the shade.

After resting under the tree for a while, Yun Yi, feeling a bit thirsty, suddenly remembered the watermelon in his space.

He looked around to confirm that no one was nearby, and then, with a thought, he flashed into his space.

As soon as he entered the space, Yun Yi noticed the area where he had planted the melon seedlings, as the changes there were truly remarkable!

When he had last checked yesterday, the area was filled with small melon seedlings with large gaps between them, making the plot of land look patchy with green and black. However, today, those small seedlings from yesterday had all grown into melon vines!

Each melon vine was about three to four meters long, with leaves larger than an adult's hand spreading out to cover the entire planting area. The black soil was no longer visible, turning the area into a lush green sea!

"Amazing! At this growth rate, these watermelons should be ready in no time. I'll be able to enjoy them soon!" Yun Yi walked excitedly to the melon field, squatting down and gently touching the lush vines, feeling thrilled.

The melon vines were growing well, with a vibrant green color. The thick vines were covered with fine, dense thorns, showing the strong vitality of the plants.

"Hmm, these vines are growing so well, they must be absorbing a lot of nutrients. I should water them more often." Yun Yi, though he had never done farming before, knew that watermelons needed a lot of water.

He carried a bucket and made several trips to water the melon vines thoroughly, then flashed out of the space.

The courtyard was still hot, with the scorching sun baking the muddy ground. Yun Yi frowned as he walked through the dusty ground, putting some items in the western storage room, and then stood under the jujube tree, planning the future layout of the courtyard.

He thought about building a grape arbor in the middle of the courtyard to provide more shade. The four sides of the courtyard, except for the south side where he planned to grow vegetables, had old fruit trees planted by the previous owner. However, these trees were very old, with sparse flowers, and probably wouldn't bear many fruits.

"Digging up these old trees and replanting new ones would be too much trouble, and it would take a long time for the new trees to grow." Yun Yi frowned, realizing that the original owner hadn't lost much by selling him the courtyard for 30,000.

"Maybe I should try the space spring water to see if it can help these old trees?" Yun Yi suddenly remembered the astonishing growth rate of the melon vines in his space and thought that the soil and spring water in the space might be beneficial to the trees.

Seeing no one around, Yun Yi carried a bucket and began watering the old trees.

Watering the plants outside the space was much easier than inside. In the space, the water remained still no matter how he summoned it, and he had to carry it bucket by bucket. Outside, he could make the water flow from his fingers with a thought.

He filled a bucket with water from the space and easily watered all the old trees in the courtyard. Only after he finished did he realize that it wasn't ideal to water plants at noon.

After regretting for a while, Yun Yi noticed that the trees didn't wilt but looked more vibrant, which reassured him.

Looking at the revitalized old trees, Yun Yi suddenly felt the temperature drop. A cool breeze blew, and the heat from earlier was gone.

Surprised, Yun Yi looked up and saw that the sun had moved to the southwest, and a mountain, though not very high, was blocking the sun, casting a cool shadow over Qingyun Village.

"The location of Qingyun Village is really good. The mountain blocks the sun, allowing the villagers to work in the fields in the afternoon, unlike other places where they have to wait until 5:30 or even later. It's a great place!" After feeling the coolness, Yun Yi saw people from neighboring houses carrying tools to go to the fields.

"Since others are working in the fields, I should also get to work." Yun Yi had unfinished work from the morning—planting the seedlings in the prepared vegetable plot. He hadn't planted them earlier because the sun had become too intense.

After confirming that no one was around, Yun Yi entered the western storage room and then the space.

In the space, he had the seedlings that Da Ya's father had brought in the morning. Yun Yi had originally planned to plant them inside the space, but after measuring, he found that the space was less than 100 square meters, with only 81 square meters of land. After accounting for the 9 square meters of the spring pool and the 30 square meters already planted with watermelons, there wasn't enough room for more plants.

Moreover, if he planted everything in the space, how would he explain the source of his vegetables to the villagers? Therefore, Yun Yi decided to open a vegetable plot in the courtyard, both to conceal the space's output and because the space was too small.

He took the basket of seedlings from the space and went to the prepared plot to start planting.

The soil in the ridges, after being exposed to the sun for almost a day, had turned into powder. A light kick with his foot made the clumps of soil, which were not finely broken earlier, crumble like flour.

When he first made the ridges, some underground insects were turned up. After a day of sun exposure, these insects had turned into dry husks, losing all their moisture.

Satisfied with the results of the sun exposure, Yun Yi began to turn the soil again with his hoe, mixing the dry soil from below. He then used the hoe to dig small holes at equal distances to plant the seedlings.

Although Yun Yi's technique was poor, and the holes were uneven and slightly off-center, he managed to dig enough holes to plant all the vegetables in a short time and began planting.

He planted 15 eggplants, 30 peppers, 18 tomatoes, a half row of leeks, and a small half row of lettuce, which were enough for his needs.

In addition to these, Yun Yi planted some less common vegetables for variety and practice. These vegetables took up more than 80% of the plot near the southwest corner of the courtyard. The remaining 20% was reserved for any new vegetables he might discover in the future.

Near the wall, he also planted a few cucumbers, loofahs, and green beans, which needed trellises. The fence provided a natural support, saving him the trouble of building trellises.

By the time he finished planting, the sun had moved past the small hill and was now in the west, casting a warm and gentle light. The intense midday heat was gone.

He stood up to relieve the back pain from bending over and looked around carefully to confirm that no one had noticed his activities. He then pretended to fetch water from the well near the kitchen, filled a bucket, and used the space water to water the newly planted seedlings.

By the time he finished watering, the sun had set behind the hill. The villagers, accustomed to working from dawn to dusk, had returned to the village, and the chimneys of the houses began to emit smoke.

The village became noisy, with a few boys in tank tops and shorts playing wrestling in the street. When someone won, the supporters cheered, and the losers, not upset, happily switched to continue the game.

Sitting in the courtyard, Yun Yi enjoyed the rural smoke and the noisy children, feeling a sense of peace. Da Ya's voice rang out at the gate.

"Uncle, it's time to eat." Just as Yun Yi was lost in the moment, Da Ya's voice called from the gate.

Turning around, he saw Da Ya standing at the gate, smiling at him.