Chapter 119
The sun rose in the east and moved westward. The days passed quickly. The warm spring days sandwiched between the harsh winter and scorching summer always felt fleeting.
The wheat seedlings in the dry fields gradually turned yellow, and in a few more days, they would be ready for harvest. Shen Xuanqing and Lu Gu deliberately came back before the harvest, otherwise there wouldn't be enough manpower at home.
Shen Yaoqing was an expert at farming. He said it wasn’t quite time yet and that the wheat needed a couple more days in the sun to dry properly. So, there was no movement from the second branch of the Shen family for the time being.
Country folk were unable to stay idle. With these few days of free time, Shen Xuanqing and Lu Gu took advantage of the cool morning to head up the mountain and cut bamboo. The three tiled rooms of their new house were already built, and the larger chicken and duck coops were finished. However, the rabbit hutchs, which needed to be raised off the ground, was progressing more slowly. Shen Yaoqing also left the house to work on the rabbit hutchs at the new house.
Shen Xuanqing carried a hemp rope over his shoulder and held a sharp machete in his right hand. Lu Gu walked to his left, carrying a hatchet.
As soon as Guaizi returned to the village, he acted like a little kid, always running out to play with other dogs. Lu Gu saw him when he went out, but he didn't call him and just let him go.
The two walked up the gentle slope, and Shen Xuanqing said, "We don’t need to buy more farmland this year. We now have 13 mu of dry fields and 8 mu of paddy fields. The rice and wheat we harvest in a year will be more than enough to feed us. Any more than that, and we won’t be able to manage it all, especially with everything else we have to take care of at the house."
With 21 mu of land, they were already considered wealthy in the village, and they had to hire people for both planting and harvesting, otherwise the ripe wheat and rice ears would fall to the ground and be lost.
Fortunately, the wheat and rice in their area didn’t mature at the same time, so the family could manage the workload without hiring long-term laborers.
"Yeah." Lu Gu nodded. He couldn't make the decision on buying land, but he knew that with so many fields, he would never have to worry about food and clothing. He was happy from the bottom of his heart.
The reason why Shen Xuanqing didn't buy more farmland was also because he only had 80 taels of silver left. He had to wait and think about it when he had enough money to spare.
This time they went up the mountain to cut bamboo to build a fence. Once the fence was up, they would move the chickens and ducks to the new house. A door had been added to the mud wall near the riverbank to make it easier to let the ducks out without having to go around to the front gate.
There was no need to let the chickens outside as the new house had plenty of space. However, they couldn’t let the chickens and ducks roam freely, otherwise the place would be covered in droppings. The fence was used to enclose an area for chickens and ducks so they could roam around in it during the day, instead of being confined to the shed
The bamboo grove wasn’t too far away. Once they arrived, Shen Xuanqing inspected the bamboo and began cutting.
The hollow bamboo made a rhythmic dong dong sound as it was chopped. Lu Gu stood nearby, waiting to help.
Shen Xuanqing was very strong and skilled at his work. Soon, the bamboo groove was disturbed by the fallen top of the tall bamboos. When the wind blew hard, the tall bamboo swayed and then fell to the ground.
After the bamboo fell to the ground, the two people stepped forward and each used the machete or hatchet in their hand to trim the bamboo branches, leaving only a long green bamboo poles.
The trimmed branches weren’t left behind. Lu Gu gathered them into a bundle, planning to tie them with the hemp rope and drag them back home to dry in the yard. Both the branches and the leaves could be used as fuel for the stove.
The sun grew hotter, but the dense bamboo grove provided enough shade to keep them from getting exposed to the sun.
As Shen Xuanqing cut the fifth bamboo pole, Lu Gu tied a large bundle of branches with the hemp rope. The bundle was heavy, and he couldn’t carry it on his shoulder. Following Shen Xuanqing’s suggestion, he lengthened the rope, let the bundle drag behind him on the ground, and pulled the rope over his shoulder and across his chest, dragging the bundle home.
On the way, he ran into Da Hui, who had caught their scent and come looking for them. The dogs from the village were familiar with the area around the front mountain, and even Guaizi knew the way to the bamboo grove. However, Lu Gu was still surprised to see Da Hui. He stopped to pet the dog’s head, then continued home with Da Hui by his side.
As he reached the gentle slope, he spotted Guaizi standing at the front gate, looking like he wanted to go home.
Guaizi also saw him and Dahui, With a joyful bark, he came running over.
Wei Lanxiang heard the noise and stepped outside to see what was happening. Together, they hauled the bamboo branches into the yard. Lu Gu set down the hemp rope and rubbed his shoulders, asking, "Mom, did Daqing go to the new house?"
"Yes, he went out not long after you and Erqing left," Wei Lanxiang replied, crouching to untie the rope. The yard wasn’t being used to dry anything today, and with the recent sunny weather, spreading out the bamboo branches would help them dry faster.
"Alright, I'll go find him. Erqing has cut a lot of bamboos, and he can't drag them back by himself." Lu Gu said as he walked out the door. Dahui and Guaizi followed him.
No comments:
Post a Comment