Her Cultivation Diary
Chapter 887 - 869. Started roasting fire.

Chapter 887: 869. Started roasting fire.

The temperature on the mountain kept dropping at night, and Zhang Yanping planned to raise the salary for picking vegetables in November.

And the cold weather meant there was absolutely nothing to do in the fields during the daytime anymore.

Song Sancheng and Wu Lan seized the moment; they eagerly went into town every day, and finally on the first day of November, the two of them came back from the urban area in high spirits!

Driver’s licenses, both of them had gotten them!

Wu Lan could still hold back a bit, choosing a filter and music to calmly post a video with a tremolo effect, then looking at the steadily increasing number of likes, her mood was naturally wonderful!

But what about Song Sancheng?

Just in the short time since coming back at noon, he had already made several calls to his brothers and friends—

"What do you think of this car model? I’m planning to choose xx, but Tantan insists on buying me yy, you say I’ve just got my license..."

"What do you think of the yy model? I’ve just got my license, mainly afraid that it guzzles gas..."

"When do you have time to go look at cars... look at what? Oh yo, haven’t I just been idle and got a license..."

Zhang Yanping, wrapped in a padded jacket inside the house, was listening and then couldn’t help but glance at Song Tan: "You think the yy car is good?"

Song Tan, speechless: "I think the Dongfeng truck is best, do you see my dad buying it?"

Even Secretary Xiaozu, who was originally holding a pan-fried rice cake and enjoying it with relish, while also teasing several cats, couldn’t help but retreat into the house after hearing this:

"Oh my, oh my, listen to Uncle Song’s tone, as if he’s just picking up the license from a dish, just take it whenever—he’s suggesting it’s like I did the hard work for him."

Of course, this was a joke, but one could imagine Song Sancheng’s bragging heart. Song Tan thought to herself that this couldn’t go on; when you drive, you can’t let your attitude float away like that!

So she shouted, "Dad, it’s getting cold, shall we start a fire?"

"Ah?" Song Sancheng was on a roll and when he heard this, his train of thought was interrupted, and he unconsciously replied:

"It’s just November, why start a fire so early?"

Usually, they’d wait until mid-November or the end of the month, and if it was a warm winter, starting a fire in December would also be normal.

However, Song Tan was helpless: "But it’s gotten colder!"

The cold wave came suddenly; at the end of October, daytime temperatures could still exceed twenty degrees, and you’d need to wear short sleeves to work. But overnight, daytime temperatures dropped to only ten degrees, with cold winds whistling by. Taking a stroll by the roadside in the morning, you could even see a layer of snow-like frost.

"You young people don’t understand, who starts a fire just because it cools down a little, spring bundling and autumn exposure..." He muttered, but he didn’t stop moving and quickly returned with an armful of firewood:

"What’s that thing for starting a fire, how do you light it?"

"I’ll do it! I know how!"

Qiaoqiao, who was learning about electricity from the oranges on TV, raised his hand: "I know how to light it!"

His hands were full of orange juice, and he unplugged the twinkling light bulb first, gobbled down the oranges after peeling them, and then he took up the lighter:

"Dad, what are you moving the firewood for? Didn’t sister order coal for the stove in the back?"

Ah, dad really doesn’t study carefully. The worker had said that since the village doesn’t have natural gas, they could use coal, electricity, or firewood, but firewood would be quite costly...

Sister had said to buy coal at that time!

Song Sancheng, holding firewood and looking at the shed of coal blocks behind the house: ...

He grumbled, "Coal... expensive!"

"But firewood isn’t cheap either!" Buying firewood also requires chopping and cleaning, it costs almost the same! Qiaoqiao now really knows his math!

He can do the math.

The two pushed open the small door of the living room, leading directly to the back of the house.

There, the unnoticed heater had been standing quietly for months.

The first time lighting the fire, Qiaoqiao was quite cautious. Now she watches the video she saved again before she starts the rural-specific heating machine step by step as instructed.

Song Sancheng is still carrying firewood. He takes a moment to evaluate it: "This isn’t much different from the stove we installed in our homes! Just bigger."

Qiaoqiao looks at him with confusion: "But Dad, you were the one who said that with our new white house, stoves can easily turn it black—if you want to use a stove, there’s a special room next to the warehouse designated for stove heating and chatting!"

Song Sancheng: ...

He quickly changes the subject: "Do we also need to add firewood to this from time to time?"

"Yes," nods Qiaoqiao. "We need to monitor the temperature on the thermostat, the sister will adjust it. We need to add firewood or coal roughly every two hours—at night you can turn off the draft fan, close the slide gate, and it can stay warm until the next morning!"

Alright then!

Song Sancheng sets the firewood aside and turns to dig out a handful of pine needles from the other side of the coal pile:

"Here, light the fire first."

...

While the father and son are busy studying the heater, Wu Lan frowns: "Could this winter be particularly cold?"

Song Tan looks at the sky in the distance: "Yes."

The weather forecast predicts a cold wave, and she too can vaguely feel a chill stirring in the air.

Wu Lan sighs: "It’s good that the rice has been harvested—no wonder Professor Song always says that our area isn’t quite suitable for double-cropping rice. If the rice grows a bit slower, it just won’t do."

That’s true. In the past, nobody grew rice twice in a season. This year, after Song Tan came back eager for rice, they pushed the seedlings a bit and planted them a little earlier than usual.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yanping is full of worry: "Would the vegetables up on the mountain be affected?"

"No," Song Tan isn’t worried about this. The varieties she planted are cold-resistant and can grow well even without her help.

Plus, although it’s colder and windier during the day, the sunshine is still quite splendid.

The temperature difference between day and night stimulates the vegetables and fruits, which only makes them taste better.

"Alright," he reassures himself: "I’ll go ahead and notify everyone that salaries will increase starting tonight."

"By the way, Tantan, Boss Chang asked again, are you really not going to put up greenhouses?"

Song Tan shakes her head: "Let’s rest in the winter, we’re not doing that. As long as we have enough to eat, that’s good."

As soon as she finishes speaking, the phone rings.

The voice of Professor Song on the other end is full of joy:

"Song Tan, I’ve registered your farm for the winter exchange meeting—do you have anything to offer for the winter?"

He had mentioned this a while ago, but qualifications are normally reviewed from the middle of the year, and usually only large farms, agricultural bases, or ecological bases with special research or characteristics are eligible.

For Song Tan’s small farm, Professor Song wouldn’t have been able to guarantee her participation without pulling some strings.

Now, having only provided some fruits and snacks she brought back, she did not expect this pleasant surprise!

Here he is, talking with such a cheerful tone.

"Also, select some produce with good appearance for the gold prize competition. Don’t take it lightly. In my personal opinion, though this exchange meeting isn’t well-known, it’s still quite important."

"Song Tan, there’s about two or three more months to prepare, hurry up!"

Song Tan: ...

She looks at the leaves falling pitter-patter outside, feels the howling cold wind, and at this moment turns helplessly to Zhang Yanping:

"Perhaps... greenhouses?"