The Daily Life of Farming and Raising Children in Ancient Mountain Residences

Chapter 133: Vertical Planting

Shen Lie was right; the elderly women and the other women were particularly concerned about deciding which areas should be reserved for growing vegetables, raising chickens and ducks, and creating pathways.

While men might be more skilled at farming, when it comes to raising chickens and ducks, the women of the house naturally have more expertise.

Thus, it was essential to consider the opinions of the elderly women and the other women in the household.

Sang Luo remained silent, listening with a smile. The elderly women and aunts had thoroughly considered everything that needed to be discussed and decided. Being the youngest, Sang Luo found it best to listen quietly and not interrupt as long as there were no issues with the points being discussed.

There was another matter to consider. The small waterfall in the valley was located on the left side towards the middle but more inward. Since the waterfall and the pond were there, the paddy fields were also designated for that area for convenience in water supply. To avoid drawing too much attention, no horizontal dikes would be built, apart from a channel along the mountainside. This meant that the Shi, Lu, and Zhou families, whose caves were located in that area, would step out from their caves to see fields stretching out before them.

The heads of these families, both men and women, were generous and had no objections. After all, it was just paddy fields outside their doors, and they had to walk around half the gorge to reach their vegetable plots and places to raise chickens and ducks. They had chosen their caves themselves, so there was nothing to complain about, especially since the Lu and Zhou families had the largest caves in that area and couldn’t just move to another location.

The plots were soon delineated, and the entire gorge was divided into six planting zones. Families selected plots near their caves, with larger families receiving slightly more land, though not much, as the gorge wasn’t that large. The larger families, such as the Zhou and Lu families, received plots further away, some near the entrance of the gorge.

The entrance area was reserved, and not entirely designated as fields. Each plot had a space of about half a zhang (approximately 1.67 meters) on the right side for each family to manage, leaving room for walking paths, vegetable planting, and drying areas.

Of course, these drying areas needed to be camouflaged, but that was a matter for later.

With the plans decided and the boundary stones placed, it was time to start cutting down trees. It became clear which trees needed to be removed and which should be left as cover. Trees outside the designated fields wouldn’t be cut down, as they provided the best concealment. Chicken and duck coops would be built under the trees, providing shade and protection from the rain, and branches above vegetable plots would be pruned as necessary.

The men took on the task of felling trees, while Sang Luo led Shen An and Shen Ning to clean up their cave.

They needed to move in by evening, and the floor had to be cleaned.

No one knew how long the cave had existed. The walls and ceiling were made of hard rock, but the floor was covered with a thick layer of loose soil and nearly decomposed leaves likely blown in by the wind. All this needed to be cleared out.

With only one shovel, Sang Luo used it while Shen An wielded a hoe and Shen Ning a small pickaxe. They scooped the loose soil into buckets and carried it outside. As Sang Luo and Shen An were looking for a place to dump their buckets of soil, Sang Luo began surveying the area outside their cave.

The Shen family’s plot was right outside their cave, so their cave entrance was within their designated area.

Sang Luo selected a spot a bit away from the cave entrance, targeting a recess in the rock face about 20 to 30 centimeters above the ground. She poured her bucket of soil into the recess and leveled it with the shovel.

Shen An, puzzled, asked, “Sister-in-law, why are you dumping the soil here?”

Sang Luo smiled at him, “If we fill this with soil, we can plant some garlic here, can’t we?”

Shen An’s eyes widened. Looking at the rock face outside the cave, he realized they could grow vegetables everywhere!

“Sister-in-law, you’re so clever. We can grow a lot more vegetables this way.”

Indeed, with only about half a zhang of ground space left for walking paths, drying areas, and chicken and duck coops, there wasn’t much surplus space. Even with tight planning, the available land for growing grains and vegetables was insufficient.

But using the rock faces changed everything!

Shen An ran back, fetched his bucket of soil, and chose a spot to dump it.

Seeing him working so enthusiastically and selecting good spots, Sang Luo smiled and went back to cleaning the cave.

They continued to carry out buckets of soil, dumping them on the rock faces. When needed, Sang Luo would stack stones to create suitable recesses herself.

Their work stood out as everyone else was busy cleaning caves. Shen Lie, Chen Dashan, and Wei Qinghe, carrying trimmed tree trunks, noticed their activity. Chen Dashan laughed, “What are sister-in-law and little An up to?”

Before Sang Luo could respond, Shen An answered with a smile.

“Brother Dashan, come and see. My sister-in-law found a way to grow vegetables on the rock face!”

Originally, Chen Dashan had just asked casually, but upon hearing Shen An’s explanation, he grew curious. Along with Shen Lie and Wei Qinghe, he put down the tree trunks outside the cave and walked over to where Shen An was standing. As they got closer, they saw what Shen An was pointing at and immediately understood without needing further explanation.

Chen Dashan slapped his forehead. “Oh wow, why didn’t I think of planting vegetables here?”

He then praised Sang Luo, “Sister-in-law, you really have a sharp mind!”

Sang Luo continued pouring soil into the crevices she had created with stones, smiling as she replied, “I just thought of it because I had to dump the soil somewhere. You all have been busy and didn’t have time to notice. Grandpa and Grandma have been farming for years, and they would figure it out immediately upon seeing the rocks.”

She didn’t consider herself particularly clever. In modern times, city dwellers with limited space had to be resourceful to grow their own vegetables, often managing to grow enough for a family on a single balcony using vertical planting methods.

Before, she had only seen such things in videos and had never needed to worry about land for planting while living in the mountains. But now, faced with similar challenges, she naturally thought of this method. It was just a matter of treating the rock face as a trellis and the stone recesses as flower pots, a simple change in perspective.

“You’re being modest. This method is great; it gets plenty of sunlight, and from above, it’s completely unnoticeable. I need to go tell my family so we can start doing the same. Tomorrow, when everyone goes out to gather soil, we’ll make sure to collect extra. As long as the positions on the rock face aren’t too high, they can all be used.”

With that, Chen Dashan ran off.

Wei Qinghe, who didn’t know much about farming, took a closer look and found the idea charming. He praised the cleverness of it and then ran back to his temporary cave to tell Mrs. Xu and the younger ones.

Sang Luo thought that they needed to start fermenting fertilizer. If they used raw manure like they did back in Shili Village, it would be unbearable.

After the others had gone, Shen Lie, a family member, finally spoke up, “We still need to cut more trees. It shouldn’t take too long. For now, we’ll only cut enough to last a few days. Just clean the cave roughly; there’s no rush. I’ll take care of the rest later.”

Sang Luo nodded. “Alright, don’t worry about us. You handle your tasks; we’ve got light work here, nothing strenuous.”

Shen Lie checked inside the cave, seeing his sister helping to dig out soil and stones. He felt more at ease and returned to hauling timber, aiming to finish as quickly as possible to come back and help.

Clearing out the loose soil, decayed leaves, and scattered stones took nearly an hour, but the floor was eventually smoothed out. Some places had pits left by removed stones, which Sang Luo filled with fine soil and packed down firmly. The cave looked much more comfortable.

After that, Sang Luo and Shen Ning gathered dry firewood from under an overhanging rock near the large cave. They also borrowed some dried mugwort from Mrs. Chen. They lit several small fires inside the cave, throwing in mugwort to burn. Even though they had removed many layers of soil and debris, it was better to be safe and drive away any potential insects.

Then, Sang Luo called Shen An and Shen Ning to help her build a makeshift stove using the stones cleared from the fields. There were plenty of stones of various shapes and sizes to choose from. They made several trips, collecting dozens of stones to build a temporary stove just outside the cave entrance, where it wouldn’t get rained on. The only downside was the lack of yellow clay in the valley, so they had to use regular mud to hold the stones together, uncertain if it would work.

The Xu siblings, who were clearing their cave floor, saw Shen An and Shen Ning busy at the entrance and came over to investigate. Seeing Sang Luo leading the construction of a temporary stove and noting the types of stones she chose, they also went to gather stones for their cave.

Mrs. Chen and Qin Fangniang, who were quick workers, had also started burning mugwort in their cave. With the help of Chen Ershan, the young boy, they even brought some dried mugwort to Mrs. Xu. Noticing Sang Luo building a stove, they also joined in gathering stones.

Before Sang Luo finished building the stove, Shen Lie returned with a cleaned stone slab. “Mrs. Chen and Aunt Youtian found two slabs. They sent Ershan to call me to carry one back. We probably won’t have time to make furniture in the next few days, so we can use this for now as a table.”

Sang Luo was delighted. The slab was about the size of a bedside table, quite thick and heavy. No wonder Qin Fangniang had sent Chen Ershan to fetch Shen Lie; she and the two kids together couldn’t have lifted it.

“This is great! We can use it right away. Put it over here.” She pointed to a spot and removed some stones meant for the stove, using them to stabilize the slab.

Shen Lie also picked up a couple of stones to help. Together, they quickly set up the small table.

Sang Luo pushed it, smiling. “It’s quite stable.”

Shen Lie looked around the cave, noting the clean floor, the small fires burning, and the makeshift stone table. He said, “We’re almost done cutting the trees. After a few more trips, I’ll be back to help. Think of anything else urgent we need to do today.”

Sang Luo’s eyes brightened. “Besides making the door, do we have time for anything else?”

Shen Lie nodded. “It’s still early. The door will be temporary, just something to last a few days. Once the wood is properly dried and the grain is stored, we can make a better door.”

Having extra time was wonderful.

“Come with me!”

Sang Luo said as she led the way out of the cave, walking about half a zhang (approximately 1.5 meters) to the left before stopping. “Here, do you think we could make a clean room? It doesn’t need to have a bath basin, just a place for a chamber pot.”

Shen Lie was momentarily taken aback before he realized what she meant.

He had forgotten that the only latrine they had was the temporary one they had built at the valley’s entrance when they first arrived. Given Sang Luo’s cleanliness, she must find using that latrine unbearable. Moreover, now that they had moved to the middle of the valley, the latrine was quite far, making nighttime trips especially inconvenient.

“My fault, I didn’t think of this.”

He examined the spot Sang Luo had chosen. It was a naturally recessed area, rugged with rocks, but suitable. It was too small to live in but perfect for a clean room with a chamber pot. The best part was that this recessed area had three surrounding walls and a ceiling. They only needed to build a wall at the front to create an enclosed space.

“How about it? Can we get it done today?”

After a bit of work, it could provide about a square meter of space, conveniently located within their plot of land.

Shen Lie nodded. “Yes, this spot is great. We can put up a narrow wooden wall and a door, and it’ll be ready to use. The trees are almost all cut. I can start on this right after. If I work quickly, it’ll be no problem.”

Sang Luo’s eyes lit up. “Then I’ll start by cleaning the floor.”

As she spoke, another thought crossed her mind, and she almost blurted it out but caught herself just in time. Seeing Shen Lie waiting for her to continue, she forced a smile. “It’s nothing. Just go ahead with your work.”

Shen Lie noticed she had something else to say but decided not to press. He nodded. “I’ll get back to cutting trees then. If you need any help, just call me.”

Sang Luo watched him leave and, once he was a bit further away, closed her eyes and pinched her cheek hard.

That was close—she had almost asked Shen Lie if he knew how to make a wooden chamber pot.

Not the kind used for fetching water, which they had brought along, but a proper chamber pot.

Given their situation, it wasn’t something anyone could have brought with them while fleeing.

But asking a young man, especially one about her age, “Do you know how to make a chamber pot?” would have been mortifying. Just thinking about it made her feel suffocated with embarrassment.

Having a clean room built today was already a great accomplishment. She decided she would handle the chamber pot situation herself; her face wasn’t thick enough to ask for such a thing directly.