The volcanic eruption occurred in August of that year, and now Wen Qian was going through her fifth winter, longing for the arrival of the fifth spring.
At this time, she finally understood why people in higher latitudes had a higher rate of depression and suicide – the winter was simply too long.
Wen Qian needed to adjust her mood, so she scheduled exercise time for herself every day, as exercise could regulate her physical and mental health.
Physical and psychological conditions influence each other – poor mental state can trigger physical illnesses, not to mention the effects of physical pain. Those with chronic illnesses often have a worsened temperament.
In addition to exercising, Wen Qian occasionally baked sweet potatoes, chestnuts, and dried fish for herself, and read novels she had read many times before but still enjoyed immensely.
After weaving fishing nets and bird-catching nets, Wen Qian also made fish traps for herself, drew house design plans, and finally welcomed the fifth spring amidst these trivial matters.
Wen Qian wondered if there would be another year of disaster after two consecutive years, then noticed the temperature was slightly better than the previous two years.
However, she would not sow seeds immediately, as severe cold could return, and a single snowfall or frost could ruin the seeds.
So Wen Qian observed while also starting to sprout various seeds. If the temperature continued to rise, she could plant more crops.
After years of cultivation, Wen Qian had gradually changed to seeds that could adapt to the cool climate.
The small fields she had opened were fertilized and plowed before winter, so once the snow melted and the temperature rose, she could directly plant vegetables and crops.
Wen Qian took out potatoes for sprouting, and after obvious sprouts emerged, she cut the potatoes along the sprout points. The potato pieces were then left to dry before planting.
They were still planted row by row, with proper spacing.
For some leafy greens, she cultivated them individually in small nursery pots, and transplanted them once they grew to a certain size.
This way, she could save as many seeds as possible, as the longer the volcanic winter lasted, the more precious the seeds became.
Wen Qian would insert bamboo poles and cover them with insulating film to form a warm shed, preventing late spring cold from freezing the young seedlings.
Wen Qian had a lot of seeds, but she was still very frugal with them.
When transplanting, she arranged the plants neatly, both horizontally and vertically, which was very satisfying to look at.
For plants that were scarce and required frequent maintenance, she planted them closer together.
For crops, Wen Qian could not control the density, but she tried to sow them as evenly as possible.
Interestingly, there were no more birds disturbing her crops now, but the insects that damaged the vegetables did not decrease.
Even at lower temperatures, the insects grew and spread rapidly.
With the arrival of spring, after completing these tasks, Wen Qian went out to dig for wild vegetables, which she found truly healing and addictive.
Behind the house, a small path had been formed by her frequent trips beyond the surrounding wall and up the mountain.
Wen Qian still carried a radio from time to time to test for any messages, but there were none.
The snow on the higher elevations of the Jade Mountain Range remained, but the snow at the mountain's base had nearly melted.
Wen Qian dug up many wild vegetables with her bamboo basket, feeling like an expert on wild greens and discovering new ones every year.
Some plants were both vegetables and herbal medicines, and Wen Qian never missed any usable item, storing them all in her space.
Besides going out to dig wild vegetables and gather mushrooms, Wen Qian also spent much time watering her crops and weeding, as weeds always grew better than crops.
Anyone who said farming was easy, just sow the seeds and have no worries, Wen Qian would surely be the first to knock some sense into their heads.
From ancient times to the modern era, even with pre-eruption mechanized agriculture, there were many things to worry about, despite machines replacing many tasks.
But the points to note during crop growth never decreased due to mechanization, as crops are delicate and can die easily if not cared for properly.
Now that seeds could not be bought freely and pesticides were almost nonexistent, Wen Qian had to put in extra effort under these circumstances.
This year, Wen Qian also planted loofah, bitter melon, and cucumber outside the wall, erecting short bamboo frames for them in a relatively wind-sheltered area to prevent strong winds from blowing them over.
She had not grown them before because of the low temperatures, but after reading the instructions, it seemed possible, although she didn't know how the yield would be.
So Wen Qian tried planting a few of each first. Before the volcanic winter, there were many heated greenhouses for cultivation in summer, but she lacked the materials for that.
She also planted pumpkins and winter melons on the hillside behind her house, using the old seeds she had kept from her hometown, only planting a few, but the vines seemed to be growing quickly.
With all kinds of melons planted, Wen Qian also took out five watermelon seeds to plant in the courtyard, grateful if even one could ripen.
So this year, she ate various seasonal melons, with the loofah yield not being very good, but the cucumbers were not bad.
The pumpkins on the hillside clearly adapted well to this season and weather, and when they flowered, Wen Qian picked some flowers to fry and eat.
After the flowers wilted, the small pumpkins emerged, but some rotted before fully growing, so Wen Qian paid extra attention.
Back in her hometown, her grandparents would never eat anything when it was young and tender, whether vegetables, shoots, or small pumpkins, as they felt it was wasteful. They would wait until the pumpkins were fully mature before eating them, otherwise they felt it was a loss.
Similarly, they would not eat young, tender soybeans or peas, but wait until they were mature.
But Wen Qian was different - she preferred freshness, so she harvested the pumpkins at various stages, fortunately this batch grew very well, with the vines spreading over a large area and yielding many pumpkins.
Wen Qian was especially delighted and even added fertilizer for the pumpkins, regretting that she had not planted them earlier.
Of all the melons, she considered watermelons the most delicate, so she followed her watermelon cultivation handbook when planting them.
As the small watermelons grew bigger, Wen Qian did not know how to tell when they were ripe, so she could only tap them and wait another two days.
Eventually, she mustered the courage to pick one that looked pinkish, though not fully ripe, with a thick rind, but it tasted quite sweet.
For the remaining melons, she estimated the time and picked them, then stored them in her space. Although she already had some large watermelons she had bought before, they were not the same as the ones she had grown herself.
This year had winds and rains in between, but no ice, snow, or frost damage, so Wen Qian estimated that she would have a good harvest.
