The Fiery Era: Starting from Longxugou

"Big brother, shall we go home now?"

Having arrived at the westernmost point from the easternmost point, Zhao Xiaoyue, holding the unfinished sugar cake in her hand, asked nervously.

"Let's shop around a bit more! You guys hurry up and eat!"

As Zhao Shi'an spoke, he patted his little sister's head and urged her on. The little ones had discussed it quite well, but when it came time to eat, they were still a bit reluctant. They had walked half a street, and they still hadn't finished a small piece of candy cake the size of a child's palm.

"Big brother, I'm eating really fast!"

As Zhao Xiaole spoke, she opened her small mouth and took a big bite.

The other three quickened their pace.

Zhao Shi'an nodded. He was about to turn back with his younger siblings when he suddenly noticed a lot of people coming and going at the entrance of a narrow alley on the south side of Huashi Street.

Curious, he immediately led his younger siblings inside. At first, it was a bit narrow, but after walking a few steps, it suddenly opened up into a bright and spacious area.

In the middle was a large open space, where bundles of flower and sapling seedlings with soil were laid out. Small vendors squatted on the ground, occasionally calling out their wares:

"Peach trees, apricot trees, plum trees, cherry trees... they were all just brought from Caoqiao!"

"Forsythia, daffodils, and roses! Buy a pot and take it home to grow; I guarantee it will look beautiful!"

"Brother, what are we doing here?"

Zhao Xiaoyue was still enjoying the delicious taste of the sugar cake when she suddenly realized she had arrived here, which puzzled her.

The three little guys, Zhao Xiaole, Zhao Shijie, and Zhao Shixiong, also looked at their eldest brother with curiosity.

"Just looking around, nothing much!"

As Zhao Shi'an spoke, he led his younger siblings to stroll along the stalls.

This place is called Huangjiadian. It's not a big place, and it's right next to Shoupa Hutong.

He thought that real flowers weren't sold on Flower Market Street, but he didn't expect that there would be many flower and fruit farmers setting up stalls nearby.

Considering the situation in the yard, he plans to plant a few fruit trees there and improve their varieties through grafting. He plans to start planting now so that when the trees reach their peak fruiting period, they can cope with difficult times and solve many problems.

Now there are three trees in their courtyard: three grapevines, a jujube tree in front of his house, a pomegranate tree in his second uncle's house, a persimmon tree in Uncle Tian's house, and grapevines in every house.

After walking around for a while, he found that cherry, apple, crabapple and walnut trees were suitable to be planted in the yard.

As for common fruits like peaches, plums, and apricots, they are not suitable for planting in the yard.

After further screening, Zhao Shi'an finally selected cherries and apples.

Crabapples are edible, but their yield is too low, while walnut trees have too long a growth cycle.

On the contrary, hairy cherries are the earliest ripening fruit in the north, which can be eaten in mid-to-late May. They produce a lot of fruit and have a high yield. In addition, they are not picky about the soil or fertilizer, making them the first choice during difficult times.

Hairy cherries are the native cherries of China. They are small, with most fruits about the size of a little finger, and are far inferior to the large cherries and sweet cherries available today.

You don't need to buy cherry trees; there are plenty on the surrounding wasteland. Just dig up a few and plant them in your yard, and they'll thrive.

For apples, you could try the Huang Taiping apple, which was introduced from the Soviet Union and has the highest yield, as mentioned in biology textbooks. A single tree can produce over 200 jin (approximately 100 kg), and it can be stored for up to six months. While you can buy seedlings outside, it's better to wait until you're in university and buy a few of the latest seedlings from the school. Then, through space cultivation, you can grow several "fruit kings" (large, high-yield apples).

The existing fruit trees in the courtyard can also have their yield increased through grafting. If you feel that the variety is too limited, you can graft seven or eight different varieties, which can also make one tree produce multiple fruits. For example, for jujube trees, you can graft several varieties such as golden thread jujube, round jujube, gourd jujube, and winter jujube. This will ensure the yield while also improving the taste. I don't know if there are any winter jujubes available at this time of year.

Thinking about all this, Zhao Shi'an gave up the idea of ​​buying fruit trees.

"Where can I buy watermelon seeds, bro? Do you know how to grow watermelons?"

Zhao Shijie ran up to his older brother, looked up at him, and asked.

"Watermelon? Do you want some?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shi'an's mind stirred. He thought to himself that watermelons were not easy to grow. Not only did they have a longer growth cycle than cantaloupes, but they also required extremely high technical skills. The most famous place in the capital to grow watermelons was undoubtedly Panggezhuang.

My family tried growing watermelons before, but we found that although the watermelons grew, they weren't sweet and couldn't fetch a good price, so we stopped growing them after that.

"think!"

Zhao Xiaoyue and Zhao Xiaole were very happy to hear about watermelons. Watermelons are much bigger and sweeter than cucumbers. It's a pity that their mother couldn't bear to buy them. If their older brother had bought the seeds, they could have watermelons to eat in the summer.

"Shijie, let's go take a look!"

Seeing his younger siblings' reactions, Zhao Shi'an immediately called the two little girls to follow. Although watermelons were common these days, they were not cheap. Even the last batch of watermelons that were not yet in season cost more than a thousand yuan per kilogram, and many people could not afford to buy them.

"Okay!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shijie excitedly led the way.

Before long, Zhao Shijie arrived at a larger stall and pointed it out to his elder brother, saying:

"Big brother, this is it!"

Zhao Shi'an nodded and looked at the stall owner, asking:

"Sir, do you have watermelon seeds? What are the prices?"

"Yes, we have the three-white ones for 300 a pack, the patterned ones for 500, and the black ones for 800. Young man, which one do you want?"

Seeing that customers were coming in, the stall owner, an elderly man, was very enthusiastic.

"Sir, may I take a look at that black, taut vein?"

Zhao Shi'an became interested immediately upon hearing that there were three types of watermelons.

The "Three White" watermelon has a white rind, white flesh, and white seeds; there is also a "Green Three White" variety, where only the rind is green with yellow stripes, otherwise it's the same, and this one is sweeter. The Three White watermelon is the most commonly eaten variety in Beijing.

A mottled watermelon is a watermelon with red flesh and black seeds. It is the largest of all watermelons, and a single watermelon can weigh seven or eight pounds.

The Black Veined Melon is the most famous melon in Beijing. It is oval-shaped and dark green, named for the prominent dark green veins on its skin that resemble bulging veins.

This type of melon has golden flesh and black-red seeds. It is not very big, with most weighing two or three pounds. The most authentic ones are grown in the sandy soil of Panggezhuang in Daxing and the old course of the Yongding River.

Panggezhuang watermelons have been a tribute item since the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, and the Black Vein variety is the most famous representative of it. It is also the most recognized by the old Beijingers. If it can be grown, the economic benefits will naturally be good.

"Take it yourself, this row is all there!"

"These seeds are good!"

Zhao Shi'an looked in the direction the old man was pointing and found several small paper packets made of folded newspapers. He picked up one of the packets and saw the word "black" written on it. He opened it and found dozens of plump seeds. After examining them, he gave his evaluation.

"Hey! That's right, my seeds are famously good! How about it? How many packs do you want?"

"Sir, are these the only three types? Are there any others?"

Zhao Shi'an then picked up the seeds labeled "Three Whites" and "Patterned Skin" and examined them.

Upon seeing these watermelon seeds, he realized that the largest watermelons of this era weighed no more than ten kilograms.

The black-skinned watermelons that were popular in the 80s and 90s, often weighing 20 kilograms or more, would be considered giants in this era!

If you cultivate a few good watermelon varieties, your family, as a vegetable grower, can also become a direct beneficiary.

Among the many modern watermelon varieties, seedless watermelons are undoubtedly the top choice!

In this day and age, seedless watermelons don't seem to have been developed yet.

If seedless watermelons could be cultivated ahead of time, one would gain both fame and fortune without worrying about leaks, since seeds cannot be propagated and even if one were to grow them at home, one would have to produce new seeds.