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墨書 Inktalez
The weather has already become quite hot, but this heat makes the farming families very happy because the hotter it gets, the better the wheat ripens. They need to harvest the wheat in this good weather and then dry and store it properly; otherwise, after a few days, it will start to rain. If they don't harvest in time, the wheat could be ruined by the rain.
Because they need to rush to harvest the wheat, every household is busy, with almost all family members involved, even the little children helping to pick up the fallen wheat ears.
This year, Xie Youshun's family only has one acre of dry land, which yields just one acre of wheat. If they hurry to harvest, they can finish in a day.
Xiao Lihua also wants to go to the fields, but Xie Youshun doesn't want her to.
"It's too hot; you shouldn't go. I can manage alone. You just recovered from your injury; don't keep bending over. What if it hurts again? You even suffered from heatstroke last year."
"I'm fine; I know my body. If I get tired, I'll take a break. I've prepared everything today; I definitely won't get heatstroke," Xiao Lihua said. She thought that her previous heatstroke was just an act to avoid work, and she remembered that it caused a fight at home. Now she is not that lazy Xiao Lihua anymore; she can't afford to slack off while working for her family.
Although Xie Youshun is happy that his wife is now diligent, he still doesn't want her to go. With just one acre of land, he believes he can handle it alone.
"Alright, let's not argue. You work while I watch; that makes me feel better. At worst, I'll work for a while and then rest. That's how we'll do it."
Xiao Lihua took out the straw hat, mask, and gloves she had prepared earlier and gave Xie Youshun a pair while holding another pair herself. She thought that since it's so hot, wearing a straw hat would at least provide some shade. The wheat awns can be prickly; sometimes when bending over, they can poke her face. The mask would offer some protection, and the gloves would prevent her hands from getting sore. She didn't want to end up sunburned again; she wanted to keep her skin fair and tender. Who says being a farmer means having rough skin? She wants to be a graceful farmer.
The straw hat was woven by Xie Youshun at Xiao Lihua's request because she said that bamboo hats were too heavy. A straw hat is lighter and won't fall off when tied under the chin with a string; it’s definitely much better than a bamboo hat.
Wearing the straw hat and holding the mask and gloves his wife gave him, Xie Youshun has already adapted to her cleverness.
Early in the morning, Xiao Lihua cooked a large pot of mung bean soup for breakfast and still had plenty left over. She added more water to it and stored it in a jar for later. She also brought some prepared egg pancakes so they could eat something when they got hungry while working; she didn’t want her family working on empty stomachs.
Shitou and Muti didn't have masks or gloves but each wore a small straw hat. Shitou carried a basket as they were going to pick up the fallen wheat ears; this is something all rural children do—every wheat ear is precious in their eyes.
When the family of four arrived at the fields, there were already many people there. Xie Youshun set down his basket and let the two kids sit down first since they had to wait until others finished cutting before they could pick up the wheat ears.
Xiao Lihua gave each of them a piece of candy before heading into the fields with Xie Youshun.
Xiao Lihua looked at the Wheat Ears on the ground and thought they were growing poorly. This Wheat was smaller than any she had seen before, no wonder the yield per acre was so low in ancient times; if this acre could produce three to four hundred pounds, it would be considered high yield. It really couldn't compare to modern times. Moreover, people were exhausted from the work.
"This year's Wheat is looking good. It seems that aside from paying taxes, what we have left will be enough for us to eat noodles. Don't you love eating noodles? From now on, we'll eat noodles instead of Corn Cake."
Xie Youshun saw Xiao Lihua gazing at the Wheat and said to her. Over these days, Xiao Lihua had improved, and he thought to himself that with her intelligence and capability, she could truly live a better life than being married to him; it was just that her luck was poor that she ended up with him. He had always understood her desire to climb higher socially, believing there was nothing wrong with a woman wanting a good life. Now he felt even more that she deserved a better life. Therefore, he wanted her to eat well and dress well.
Xiao Lihua was momentarily taken aback by his words but then smiled and said, "I also love eating Corn Cake, as long as we don't eat it all the time. Do you believe that if we ate Fine Noodles every day, we'd still want to eat Corn Cake? We can eat whatever we have. However, it's good for the kids to eat more Fine Noodles." Speaking of noodles made her crave them; she thought about making noodles for them when they returned home. "It would be great if we had some sauce; I could make Zha Jiang Mian for you."
"Zha Jiang? Are you frying Soy Sauce? What’s there to eat with that?"
"Fried Soy Sauce is quite tasty; adding Sichuan Pepper makes it even better."
Xiao Lihua paused for a moment and laughed, thinking that she was talking about sauce, not just Soy Sauce. Zha Jiang Mian was so common; how could Xie Youshun act like he had never heard of fried sauce? Could it be that they didn't have fried sauce here either? Xiao Lihua thought she wasn't surprised anymore; considering that even Pickled Egg wasn't known here, it wasn't impossible they lacked sauce as well. If they truly didn't have it, that would be fantastic—another business opportunity! Moreover, making sauce wasn’t as easy as making Pickled Egg; they could sell it at a higher price, and if they could make it themselves to sell, that would be even better. But she needed to think this through carefully.
In just a moment, several ideas flashed through Xiao Lihua's mind.
Hearing Xiao Lihua say this made Xie Youshun want to eat too.
"Then let's eat today; let the two boys go pick some wild vegetables to go with the noodles."
"Okay, do you want ramen or hand-pulled noodles? Or do you want knife-cut noodles?"
"I want them all."
Xie Youshun thought for a moment and spoke honestly. Since their separation, Xiao Lihua had been cooking, and her skills were truly remarkable; even simple dishes became delicious in her hands. It was like night and day compared to before. Xie Youshun and the two children had become picky eaters because of her cooking, and he had noticeably gained some weight.
Hearing Xie Youshun say this made Xiao Lihua feel quite proud and happy; women in the household loved it when their husbands and children appreciated their cooking. She nodded and said, "Then let's make one dish at a time and take turns eating! After finishing the noodles, we’ll have dumplings; we've been working hard these past few days, so we need to replenish ourselves properly."
"Hey! Xie Four Brothers, what are you two talking about? Your mouths are moving so much!" A person nearby returned from cutting a circle and asked when he saw Xie Youshun and the others still not moving.
"We're talking about how well this year's wheat is growing; Heaven is really generous. Brother Zhang, your field is looking great. Look at how well the wheat is growing; this year is definitely the best year for it," Xie Youshun said with a smile.
The person immediately straightened up proudly and said, "Yes, Heaven is generous; this year's harvest is good. Xie Four Brothers, your piece of land isn't bad either. You must be having good fortune this year; it looks like all the grain you harvest will be kept for your own family, right?"
"Let's wait and see. No one knows which cloud will bring rain. People can't rely solely on that little bit of extra wealth to eat for a lifetime. We just split the family, so we still need to save," Xie Youshun replied.
"You're right; we farmers have to live frugally to make our lives better."
The person's tone had been somewhat sour at first, but upon hearing that Xie Youshun wasn't boasting, his tone changed back. Xiao Lihua listened to their conversation and thought that in this countryside, it's not just women who love to gossip; men do too. Considering that she would be living in this village in the future, it seemed she really needed to pay attention and build good relationships with everyone.
After chatting for a few more sentences, the person hurried back to cutting wheat. Xie Youshun and Xiao Lihua also put on their masks and gloves to start working. Xie Youshun was skilled at his work and cut quickly. To avoid making Xiao Lihua anxious, he cut a much larger area than her horizontally. They both worked side by side, and he occasionally observed Xiao Lihua. Seeing her working hard and becoming more skilled with each movement made him feel quite complex; in the past, she had been lazy and he was unhappy about it. Now that she was diligent, he often worried about her needing a break. It seemed his feelings towards her had changed. She used to be just his wife and the mother of his child; now he felt like he was starting to truly see her and care for her.
Shitou and Mudou watched their parents cut a large area before they started picking wheat ears behind them. This year's wheat was also quite impressive, with very few ears falling off. The two played while picking and soon caught up with their parents.
"Little Shitou, take your brother to play under the tree; wait until your parents bundle the wheat before you pick again," Xiao Lihua called out to them, hoping they wouldn't end up picking again later. The weather was too hot, and looking at the golden fields made her eyes a bit blurry; sweat was running into her eyes, causing some discomfort.
Upon hearing this, Shitou took his brother back under the tree.
When they reached the edge of the field, they happened to meet Sister Zhu and her husband Zhu Dayu.
Sister Zhu wore a straw hat but was sweating profusely at this moment. Her face was sore and itchy from being pricked by wheat awns, and her hands were also quite painful. Seeing Xie Youshun and his wife wearing light straw hats with masks on their faces and gloves on their hands made her eyes turn red.
Zhu Da chatted with Xie Youshun while Xiao Lihua ignored Sister Zhu and turned back to continue cutting.
This acre of wheat doesn't seem like much, but when it comes to harvesting by hand, it takes time. One person would need almost a day, and two people would be faster, but they would still have to work until the afternoon. However, one cannot work continuously; after about less than an hour of cutting, they need to take a break. Xie Youshun felt sorry for Xiao Lihua and sat down with her at the edge of the field to rest. They took the jar out of the basket to prepare for a drink, but when they poured it into a bowl, Xiao Lihua sensed something was off.
"This mung bean soup seems to have thinned out," Xiao Lihua said, her sharp eyes catching details. "It looked fuller in the jar than when we brought it here."
Upon hearing this, Xie Youshun frowned. If it had less, they could say a child drank some, but if it had more, who could have added water? If that were the case, it could only mean someone had drunk it and then added water. Xie Youshun picked up a bowl, sniffed it, took a sip, and said, "It's not as sweet anymore."
Xiao Lihua had added sugar to the mung bean soup because mung beans can be a bit bitter; adding sugar makes it taste better.
Shitou immediately claimed they hadn't drunk any mung bean soup and then mentioned seeing Big Tiger walking past under the tree. Big Tiger was Sister Zhu's son.
"I didn't walk past here!" Big Tiger jumped out from the side at that moment, glaring with wide eyes.
"If you didn't walk past here, then where did that mung bean on your mouth come from?" Shitou pointed at Big Tiger's face.
Upon hearing this, Big Tiger immediately wiped his mouth and insisted he had cleaned it well, but after wiping for a long time, he realized he hadn't removed anything. Discovering he had been tricked made his eyes widen even more as he huffed in anger. If Xie Youshun and the others weren't around, he probably would have lunged at Shitou.
The author has something to say: Thank you to Yuxue Feifei for two landmines.
Thank you to Fanxiang for one landmine.
Thank you to Lin Si for one landmine.
That's all for today; I will update more tomorrow. I wanted to write more today but got frustrated by some things. I just want to say that I hope everyone supports the original works; it's not just for me but for many authors. When I'm in a good mood, I can write more words. I truly understand now that I write to read more good stories. At least if there's money involved in reading original novels, I realize writing isn't easy. So I hope everyone supports the originals and thinks twice before pirating. I've been frustrated all day; starting tomorrow, I'll work hard on my writing for everyone who wants to read originals!
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