The Blessed Farm Girl Has a Spatial Storage

Zhao Zhitong initially reassured him, "Don't worry, Younger Uncle, I wouldn't trick you."

But when she got annoyed by his urging, she pouted and grumbled, "Who said I couldn't do it? I'm about to figure it out! See? It's because you keep disturbing me that I've lost my place."

Then, her little cousins all nodded in agreement, joining Zhao Zhitong's united front and collectively accusing their little uncle, "Little Uncle, stop talking. You're bothering our little cousin!"

Sun Youcai pretended to glare fiercely at the little rascals, but clearly, they weren't scared. Not only that, they even stuck out their tongues at him.

Sun Youcai felt that his little niece had made these little monkeys even naughtier.

At that moment, Zhao Zhitong finally lifted her head, her small face alight with excitement as she exclaimed, "Oh, I know now!"

Actually, it was Grandpa Bai who had helped her cheat.

With Grandpa Bai's explanation, Zhao Zhitong finally understood what to do. She pointed at the peony flower and said, "The book says there are many ways to plant peonies, such as division, grafting, and by using cuttings."

This dry information left Sun Youcai with a head full of question marks. He hurriedly asked, "Just tell us what we need to do."

Zhao Zhitong lightly tapped Sun Youcai's head with her little hand. "Younger Uncle, you're too impatient. You can't eat hot tofu in a hurry, you know. This isn't right of you."

Having been lectured, Sun Youcai remained silent, but How can you not eat hot tofu in a hurry? I just ate some yesterday! he grumbled inwardly.

Zhao Zhitong continued, "The book says to choose short branches that sprout from the root crown of the main plant as cuttings."

After saying that, she crouched down to study the peony and then pointed at a fork on the plant. "Younger Uncle, like this one. You need to use scissors to cut a short branch, about fifteen centimeters long."

Sun Youcai nodded and was about to make a cut when he suddenly asked, "What's fifteen centimeters?"

Zhao Zhitong tapped her chin, thinking for a moment, then turned and scampered into the room. She soon came out holding a strip of cloth and handed it to Sun Youcai. "Younger Uncle, just cut them to this length!"

Sun Youcai took the cloth strip, patted his chest confidently, and said, "No problem! Leave it to your Younger Uncle."

With that, he began to concentrate on cutting the branches.

While Sun Youcai started preparing the cuttings, Zhao Zhitong encountered a problem.

The book said that after the cuttings were prepared, they needed to be quickly dipped in 300 PPM indole-3-butyric acid water before being planted in the nursery bed.

But she had no idea what on earth indole-3-butyric acid water was.

So, she frowned and went to ask Grandpa Bai.

Grandpa Bai thought for a moment and said, "It should be a type of rooting solution that helps cuttings develop roots. If you don't dip them in rooting solution, the success rate for rooting will be very low."

"Oh," Zhao Zhitong said, her eyes sparkling. "Wow, there's so much to learn about this. That's amazing!"

Then, blinking, she asked, "So, what do we do if we don't have any indole-3-butyric acid water?"

Grandpa Bai was silent for a moment before replying, "I recall the book mentioning other rooting methods. You should look for it."

Despite the difficulty, Zhao Zhitong wasn't one to give up easily, nor did she feel discouraged. She hurriedly searched through the book. By the time Sun Youcai had finished preparing all the cuttings, she still hadn't found an alternative.

Sun Youcai didn't dare rush Zhao Zhitong this time, but he still paced anxiously around her.

Soon, Zhao Zhitong grew exasperated and shouted, "Younger Uncle, stop walking around! You're making my head spin!"

Sun Youcai mumbled, "Well, I can't help being anxious, can I?"

Just then, Zhao Zhitong flipped another page and suddenly exclaimed, "I found it! The book says you can soak them in sugar water, or use water in which willow branches have been soaked in hot water, as a growth solution! It also has a sterilizing effect!"

She had plenty of sugar in her space, so she dashed to the kitchen and prepared a large basin of diluted sugar water using hot water.

Sun Mei didn't interfere, letting the little ones play and learn by doing.

After Zhao Zhitong explained how to soak them, the children crouched around the basin, placing the cuttings into the diluted sugar water.

Just as they were nearly finished, Zhao Zhitong suddenly blinked and said apologetically, "Younger Uncle, I just read in the book that the root end needs to be soaked in the rooting water—that's the part below the bud. If it's soaked incorrectly, it won't sprout."

Then, holding up a cutting, she explained to everyone that the bud points upwards, so they needed to soak the bottom end.

But just moments before, the group had been so focused on putting the cuttings into the basin that they hadn't paid attention to which end was which.

Looking at the nearly soaked cuttings, Sun Youcai playfully swatted Zhao Zhitong's bottom. "I say, my little ancestor, can't you read the book thoroughly? You've made us do all this work for nothing!"

Then, he said to Sun Daji and the others, "Alright, stop soaking for now. Take them all out, and we'll put them back in again."

He then picked Zhao Zhitong up, set her to one side, and instructed her seriously, "Little ancestor, you sit here and read the book properly this time. Make sure you get it all, and we'll handle the soaking."

He was genuinely afraid that if Zhao Zhitong pulled a stunt like this after they had planted everything, he would be driven mad with frustration.

Zhao Zhitong giggled mischievously and stuck her tongue out. She hopped off the stool, then lay prone over it and began to study the book intently.

The book said that for home propagation, it was best to sterilize the soil. Willow branches, after being crushed and soaked in water, could be poured directly onto the soil to inhibit bacterial growth.

This time, only after she had thoroughly researched everything, did she put the book down on the stool and shout, "Younger Uncle, you can soak them yourself! Eldest Cousin, Second Cousin, let's go! We're going to cut willow branches!"

This was the perfect season, as willow branches were right in their growth period.

Sun Youcai glanced up at her, nodded, and then bent his head to continue his work.

So, the little ones slung baskets onto their backs, grabbed scissors and sickles, and rushed outside like a swarm of bees.

Not far from their door stood a willow tree. They couldn't reach the high branches, but they could cut the lower ones. In no time, they had gathered a full basket.

Zhao Zhitong decided they had enough, and so the little rascals came trooping noisily back home.

Looking at the willow branches, Sun Youcai still felt Zhao Zhitong was being rather unreliable, so he asked, "And then what?"

Zhao Zhitong replied, "Crush the willow branches and soak them in hot water. They need to soak for a few days. After we've planted the cuttings in the nursery bed, we can use this water to irrigate them directly."

From that point on, Zhao Zhitong proved to be much more dependable.

The cuttings needed to soak for three hours before planting. Therefore, Sun Youcai set out with the little rascals on the second day.

When Zhao Zhitong returned from her studies later that day, she went to check and saw that Sun Youcai had already planted the cuttings and watered them.

She then instructed him to water them every ten to fifteen days, ensuring the nursery bed remained moist, and to provide shade for the seedlings.

"By September of next year, we can transplant them. Then, we'll have lots and lots of beautiful peony flowers!"

Looking at the young girl's excited face, Sun Youcai reached out and pinched her cheek. "You little rascal, don't you go making me empty promises!"

Zhao Zhitong dodged Sun Youcai's hand and giggled.

The Zhao Family had been bustling with activity for the past few days, planting fruit trees and seedlings. No sooner had they finished with that work than the bricks and tiles Zhao Dong had ordered were delivered. The matter of building the house was now officially on the agenda.