Chapter 133: Multilayer Farming

Shen Lian was right about reserving spaces for vegetable gardens, chicken and duck rearing, and walkways, as these were aspects the grandmothers and women were particularly interested in.

While the men might be more adept at farming, when it comes to managing chickens and ducks, naturally, the women of the household are more skilled.

Thus, it’s essential to consider the opinions of the grandmothers and women in such matters.

Sang Luo remained silent, just listening with a smile. The grandmothers and aunts were very thorough in their considerations of what needed to be fought for and considered. Being the youngest, Sang Luo felt it was best to listen quietly without interjecting, as long as the points discussed by everyone were on track.

Another consideration was the location of the small waterfall in Yun Valley, situated in the inner part of the left middle section. Due to the waterfall and pool’s location, it made sense to plot the rice fields nearby for easy water access. To avoid drawing attention, besides digging canals along the mountain side, they decided against creating crosswise field ridges. This meant that the Shi, Lu, and Zhou families living near that area would step out of their caves directly onto extensive rice fields, with just a narrow path leading to their vegetable plots and chicken and duck rearing areas.

The heads of these families were generous and had no objections. What does it matter if their rice fields are right outside their doors and they have to walk a bit further to reach their vegetable gardens and poultry areas? They chose their caves, and especially for the Lu and Zhou families who had the largest caves in that area, where else could they live?

The land was quickly allocated, dividing the valley’s cultivable area into six sections, chosen based on the proximity to each family’s cave. Families with more members were given slightly larger plots. Of course, the difference wasn’t too significant, as the valley wasn’t vast. For families with more members like the Zhou and Lu families, their plots were a bit larger but farther away, extending towards the outskirts near the valley entrance.

Naturally, some space was left unallocated at the entrance, and not every part of the valley was turned into farmland. Each plot left about half a yard on the right side for each family’s use – space to walk, grow vegetables, raise poultry, and dry items, managed as each family saw fit.

Of course, discretion in drying items and other activities was necessary, essentially camouflage. But that’s a topic for later.

Once everything was agreed upon and boundary stones were set, the next task was tree cutting. It became clear which trees were to be kept and which to be cut. The non-farmed parts, filled with trees, were not to be touched as they were perfect for covering tracks. Building chicken coops under the trees would provide shade and shelter from the rain. Only above the vegetable growing areas, if necessary, tree branches would be pruned.

While the men took on the task of cutting trees, Sang Luo accompanied by Shen An and Shen Ning, went to arrange their cave.

With plans to move in tonight, one thing for sure is that the floor must be thoroughly cleaned.

The age of this cave is unknown, its walls and ceiling made of solid rock, yet the floor is covered in thick dust, including what seems to be leaves blown in by the wind, now almost decomposed into mud – all of which needs to be cleared.

With only one shovel available, Sang Luo uses it while Shen An and Shen Ning take turns with a hoe and a small pointed hoe, scooping the loose soil into a dustpan to be carried out. As Sang Luo and Shen An each carry a dustpan of soil out, Shen An wonders where to dump it, noticing his sister-in-law pausing to survey the area outside their cave.

Conveniently, the land right outside their cave entrance belongs to the Shen family, making it their own territory.

Sang Luo selects a spot a little farther from the cave entrance, where the mountain’s surface forms a twenty to thirty centimeter elevation between two rocks. Smiling, she returns and pours the soil she carried into this recessed area, then levels it with the shovel.

Shen An approaches with curiosity, asking, “Big sister-in-law, why are you dumping soil here?”

Sang Luo looks at him with a smile: “You see, with soil added here, we can plant a patch of garlic, right?”

Shen An’s eyes widen with realization, looking at the cave's external walls – it's practically a space perfect for planting vegetables!

“Big sister-in-law, you’re so smart! This way, we can grow even more vegetables.”

After all, the half-yard of land left for walking, drying things, and raising chickens and ducks isn’t much. Considering the limited area of the valley, even with careful allocation, there’s not enough land for sufficient crops or vegetables.

But utilizing the mountainside changes everything – it’s a whole new realm of possibilities!

Shen An hurried back, carrying his own dustpan of soil to dump in a chosen spot.

Seeing his eagerness, Sang Luo pointed to another indentation near the entrance of the cave, saying, “Don’t dump there; I have another use for that spot.”

Shen An followed the direction of his sister-in-law’s gesture, nodding in agreement: “Okay!”

There was still plenty of space left to utilize!

Sang Luo watched him working efficiently, choosing good spots to dump the soil, and then with a smile, she continued cleaning inside the cave.

As they made several trips to dispose of the dirt, the mud accumulated against the cave’s exterior wall. Whenever necessary, Sang Luo picked up a few stones to build small ledges, creating depressions if none were suitable.

While everyone was busy cleaning their caves, Sang Luo's unique approach to the cave's exterior wall caught the attention of Shen Lian, Chen Dashan, and Wei Qinghe as they returned carrying trimmed tree branches.

Chen Dashan laughed, asking, “What are little sister-in-law and Shen An busy with here?”

Before Sang Luo could reply, Shen An answered with a smile, “Big brother Dashan, come and see! My sister-in-law thought of a way to grow vegetables on the mountain wall!”

Chen Dashan, initially just making casual conversation, became genuinely curious upon hearing this. He, along with Shen Lian and Wei Qinghe, set down the branches outside the cave and walked over to Shen An. Approaching the indicated spot, they immediately grasped the idea without further explanation.

Slapping his forehead, Chen Dashan exclaimed, “Oh! How did I not think of planting vegetables here?”

He then praised Sang Luo: “Little sister-in-law, you really have a clever mind!”

While pouring soil into the newly stacked rocks, Sang Luo laughed, "I only thought of this as I was about to dump the soil. You are busy and haven’t had the chance to consider it, unlike grandpa and grandma who have been farming for many years and would have thought about it upon seeing these rocks."

"It’s not that I am exceptionally clever. In the future, city dwellers struggle for space and go to great lengths to grow their own vegetables. The ingenious ones even manage to produce enough for a family’s consumption on a single balcony. Vertical planting plays a crucial role in this."

"Previously, I would just watch videos about this, and living in the mountains, I never lacked land for planting. Now, faced with the same dilemma, it naturally occurred to me to use this method. Simply transforming the mountainside into a trellis and the rocks into planters is a change in perspective."

"You're being modest. This method is excellent. It gets plenty of sunlight, and from above, it’s nearly invisible. I must go tell my family to start learning this. Tomorrow, when everyone goes to fetch soil, we’ll bring back more. As long as the mountain side isn’t too high to reach, we can find a place to use this technique."

With that, Chen Dashan ran off to the side.

Wei Qinghe, inexperienced in farming, watched closely and admired the approach, seeing even the planting of vegetables as quite natural in this way. He quickly ran back to his temporary dwelling in the cave to share the news with Grandma Xu and the children.

Sang Luo thought to herself that she needed to prioritize the compost fermentation process. If everyone started using manure directly like they did in Shi Li Village, it would be quite a smelly affair.

The two who were carrying the timber had left, and Shen Lian, a family member, finally spoke, "We need to cut down some more trees, but it shouldn’t take too long. For now, we’ll just cut enough for the next few days. As for the cave, just give it a basic cleaning for now. I’ll help with the rest later."

Sang Luo nodded, "Alright, don’t rush. Just focus on your work. What I’m doing here is all light and easy; it’s not tiring."

Shen Lian glanced into the cave, saw his sister also helping with the digging and moving rocks, felt a bit more at ease, and then went back to hauling timber. The sooner he gathered enough wood, the sooner he could come over to help.

It took nearly an hour to clear out the loose soil, rotting leaves, and scattered rocks from the cave, making the ground flat and even. Sang Luo, leading two youngsters, filled and compacted the small pits left by the excavated rocks, making the cave look much more comfortable.

After finishing their tasks, Sang Luo and Shen Ning fetched some dry firewood from near the big cave and obtained some dried mugwort leaves from Old Lady Chen. They lit several fires in the cave and threw in the mugwort leaves to let them burn.

Although the ground had been dug up and cleared of layers of soil and mud, which likely got rid of any insects, they decided to smoke the area just in case. Better safe than sorry.

Sang Luo, joined by Shen An and Shen Ning, set about moving stones to build a temporary stove. Recently cleared stones of various shapes from the land reclamation were abundant and easily chosen.

After carrying several stones, they constructed a makeshift stove at a spot near the cave entrance where rain couldn't reach. Regrettably, the valley lacked yellow clay, so they used ordinary mud, uncertain of its effectiveness.

The Xu family's cousins, whose cave was nearly cleaned, saw Shen An and Shen Ning busy near their cave entrance. Curious, they approached and discovered Sang Luo directing them in stove construction. Observing the types of stones chosen, they too began gathering stones near their cave.

Old Lady Chen and Qin Fangniang were efficient workers, and with the help of the young Chen Ersan, they started a fire to fumigate their cave with mugwort, also sending some dried leaves to Old Lady Xu.

Observing Sang Luo building a stove, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law duo, along with Chen Ersan and Chen Xiaoya, also began collecting stones. Before Sang Luo could complete her stove, Shen Lian returned with a large, cleaned stone slab.

"Old Lady Chen and Aunt You Tian found two slabs. Ersan called me to carry one back. We might not have time to make furniture soon, so this will do for now. We can use it as a temporary table during meals and move it out once we have proper furniture," he explained.

Sang Luo was pleased with the thick stone slab, roughly the size of a bedside cabinet's top. Its significant weight explained why Qin Fangniang had asked Chen Ersan to fetch Shen Lian.

Sang Luo, along with Shen An and Shen Ning, couldn't have lifted it on their own.

"This is great! We can use it today, right here," she said, pointing to a spot. She then selected a few stones from those gathered for the stove and placed them under the slab to stabilize it.

Shen Lian picked up a couple of suitable stones, and together they quickly leveled the makeshift table.

Testing its stability, Sang Luo smiled in satisfaction: "Quite steady."

Observing the neat cave, several fires, the nearly done stove, and now a simple stone table, Shen Lian said, "I'm almost done with the tree cutting. Think of anything else we urgently need today; we'll make that first."

Sang Luo's eyes sparkled: "Besides a door, is there time for anything else?"

Shen Lian nodded confidently: "It's still early. The door will be basic for now, just for a few days. The wood also needs to air out. Once I've finished transporting the grain, we can refine the cave further and construct a proper door."

"If there's time, that would be fantastic."

"Come with me!"

Sang Luo led the way out of the cave and stopped about half a yard to the left. "Here, do you think we can convert this into a washroom? No need for a bathtub; just space for a simple toilet would suffice."

Shen Lian was initially startled, then realized what she meant.

He'd forgotten that they only had a temporary latrine at the valley's edge. Considering Sang Luo's penchant for cleanliness, each trip there must be an ordeal, especially now, living deep in the ravine, far from the latrine, inconvenient during the night.

"That's my oversight, I didn't think of this."

Looking at the spot Sang Luo chose, a natural inward curve in the mountain wall, rugged but suitable. It was too small for living but perfect for a washroom with just enough space for a toilet. Conveniently sheltered on three sides and covered overhead, it only required a wall at the front to create a secluded space.

"What do you think, can we make it work today?"

Modifying it would yield about one and a half square meters of space, and it's ideally located within their own territory.

Shen Lian nodded, "Definitely feasible. A narrow wooden wall with a door will make it functional. Once I finish cutting the trees, I can start working on it; we should manage it quickly."

Sang Luo's eyes brightened: "Then I'll start clearing the ground."

As she was about to say something else, she caught herself just in time, seeing Shen Lian waiting for her to continue. She quickly covered it up with a smile, "Nothing, that's all. Go ahead with your work."

Shen Lian noticed she was about to say something but didn't press further when she changed her mind. "I'll go back to cutting trees. Call me if you need help with anything."

After sending him off with a smile, Sang Luo waited until he was a distance away before she closed her eyes and pinched her cheek hard.

That was close; she almost casually asked Shen Lian if he knew how to make wooden barrels.

Naturally, the barrel Sang Luo thought of wasn't for carrying water, as they had brought those with them. What they lacked now was a chamber pot...

After all, during an escape, who would think to bring such a thing?

But for her to ask a young man, especially since they were around the same age, "Do you know how to make a chamber pot?"

The mere thought made Sang Luo feel suffocated. The embarrassment of such a question was too much to bear.

Having a washroom built today was already great progress. She decided it was a task she should handle herself, unable to muster the courage to ask such a question.