Chapter 118: Grandmother Worries
"It was currently autumn, the perfect season for planting fruit trees. As Zhao Dong organized the seedlings, he shared his knowledge of fruit tree cultivation. "Fruit trees can be planted about half a month before they sprout in the spring, around mid-March, and about ten to fifteen days after they lose their leaves in the fall. Planting them in spring avoids the winter dormancy period, making management more convenient and saving labor and resources. Autumn planting, when the temperature is lower, reduces nutrient loss for the trees and helps root wounds heal."
Zhao Cheng, who was standing by, listened carefully, committing every word to memory and asking questions from time to time.
Seeing Zhao Cheng’s interest, Zhao Dong explained more and even took him to plant some fruit tree seedlings himself.
At this time, there weren’t many varieties of fruit trees available, so the seedlings Zhao Dong brought back were common ones.
The peony shop owner was quite reliable. Besides the peach, hawthorn, persimmon, and apricot trees Zhao Dong had requested, he had also managed to get fig trees and asked Zhao Dong if he wanted them.
Zhao Dong, of course, wanted them immediately.
They got fifty of each kind, planting one mu of land with each variety. Though the trees were somewhat sparsely planted, grouping the same kind together made management easier. Besides, they might add more trees later on.
Only when all five mu of land had been planted did Sun Mei’s parents learn about it.
Sure enough, that afternoon, her parents came rushing over.
As soon as they entered, Grandma Zhao Guifen grabbed Zhao Dong worriedly and asked, "Son-in-law, why did you plant so many fruit trees?"
She had heard from Sun Mei before that Zhao Dong had the idea of planting fruit trees. At the time, she’d merely assumed he would plant at most two or three in their courtyard. She hadn’t thought much of it; it would just be some fruit for the children to eat, which was perfectly fine.
It wasn’t until today, when she heard from Sun Youcai, that Zhao Dong had actually planted over two hundred trees in one go! And he apparently planned to plant even more. This had thoroughly shocked her.