Maxim, do you feel confident about the test? Yaelle asked casually.
Maxim replied humbly, "It should be fine, but I'm not sure about the ranking."
Yaelle smiled and said, "With your talent, I believe you will definitely do well."
She trusted Maxim's words quite a bit.
Maxim looked at Yaelle gratefully and silently promised himself not to disappoint her.
He nodded slightly and said firmly, "Thank you for your encouragement. I will do my best."
A gentle breeze blew through the window, lifting Yaelle's hair.
Maxim suddenly felt that Yaelle seemed livelier and more cheerful than before.
His feelings for her grew even stronger.
They chatted a little more before saying goodbye, but their relationship had grown closer.
At least Yaelle now truly saw him as her fiancé and wanted to build their feelings carefully.
To build feelings, they needed to meet more often.
So she invited Maxim to go to Qingshan Lake in three days for a spring outing, walking and boating.
Maxim would not refuse his fiancée's invitation.
They agreed to meet at her house's east gate early in the morning three days later.
He would come to pick her up, and then they would part ways when they returned home.
On the way home, Yaelle did not relax.
She asked Attendant Sean and Attendant Sam to ride the carriage with her and asked what gifts girls usually give their fiancés.
She wanted to know what kinds of accessories men liked.
Attendant Sean knew this better and said, "Miss, when a man gets engaged, he gives the woman headwear and bracelets. The woman gives the man sachets, jade pendants, folding fans, and other small items."
Yaelle memorized this quietly.
Passing by a jewelry shop, she went inside to find the master craftsman.
Based on designs she had seen in modern times, she combined some current popular elements to design a jade pendant.
She sketched it with her pencil inside her space.
She was used to modern pens, not brush pens, so her characters were barely readable and lacked beauty.
Unlike other time-traveling girls who mastered music, chess, calligraphy, singing, dancing, or martial arts, she only had drawing skills.
Her strength was sketching and quick drawing because she studied animation design in college.
But her art was only about 80 to 90 percent accurate, not at a master's level or like a camera.
After drawing the pendant, inspiration came.
She drew several more ancient-style accessories from memory for the craftsman to try making.
If they turned out well, she planned to draw more.
The craftsman was very interested and immediately started working in the studio.
Since it was boring guarding the shop, she watched short videos about ancient-style hairpins and accessories.
She became very interested and bought many beads, materials, and accessory parts.
She even had lots of velvet and silk materials, becoming an amateur hairpin maker.
After watching many free tutorial videos, she had many new ideas in her mind.
Good memory was one of her few strengths.
For a while, beaded bracelets were popular.
She bought a few pounds of beads to play with and pass the time.
When learning silk ribbon bows, she also bought many rolls of ribbons in various colors and widths.
She had many supplies, but her interest lasted only a few days.
Now she could finally use these things again.
After leaving the shop, she planned to go back to her space to study how to make her small shop famous in Qingyun City and increase its income.
Yaelle and her group slowly drove the carriage home. They arrived around early Shen hour, just after 3 p.m. Seeing there was still time, she went to check the experimental field.
The weather had been cooler these days, and it rained quite heavily the night before last. The seedlings they planted were mostly alive. The potatoes had already sprouted, with shoots about 5 to 6 centimeters long.
Watermelons and corn had just started to peek out of the soil. Sweet potatoes and taro were planted a bit deeper, so no changes were visible yet. Pepper and chili had not sprouted either, so she planned to check again in a few days.
Yaelle told Helper Beau some modern composting methods. They built a compost pit in the center of the vegetable garden. It was well ventilated, waterproof, and protected from sunlight.
Kitchen waste, animal manure, and organic materials from pruning were mixed in evenly without piling up. Enough water was added to keep the mixture moist but not too wet. Adding microorganisms like yeast or lactic acid bacteria speeds up fermentation.
These microbes were not available in this time, but she had them. She kept some rice wash water with yeast powder ready in plastic buckets. She poured the yeast culture into the compost pit quietly when no one was watching.
Then, a wooden board covered the pit to prevent flies and bad odors but still allowed air to flow. A shelter was built over it to keep ventilation while blocking sunlight. Every few days, they used a shovel to turn the compost to speed up fermentation.
Fermentation time depends on waste types and weather. Usually, it takes over three to four months until the material turns dark brown, loose, and odorless. At that point, the compost is ready to use as fertilizer.
Gloves and masks should be worn to avoid direct contact. Before the compost was ready, they could only apply old toilet manure and wood ash to the soil. The amount of wood ash fertilizer depends on soil acidity, crop types, and growth stage.
Generally, 20 to 30 kilograms per mu is enough. If the soil is very acidic, more can be added. Wood ash is best applied mixed into the soil, either in rows or holes, at 8 to 10 centimeters deep, then covered with soil.
Before applying, mix the ash with two to three times its weight in moist soil or spray it lightly with water to prevent dust. Potassium-loving crops like sweet potatoes, potatoes, and beans should get priority and more frequent applications. Yaelle explained all this while writing notes for Helper Beau to keep and follow later.
She learned these methods online, even watching short videos about fermenting rice wash water and fruit peels. She had done well growing vegetables on the rooftop before, with more than enough to eat. But after solar panels were installed up there, planting was no longer allowed, so she planted by the door instead.
A lush small-leaf banyan tree stood near the door, but the land there got little sunlight, so the plants grew weak. This vegetable garden had open views and plenty of sunlight. With proper methods and enough fertilizer, she believed the hard work would bring a good harvest.