Chapter 201
Life in the countryside was mostly filled with tedious and repetitive labor, day after day, year after year. It was now spring plowing season for the rice paddies. The winter wheat had already been sown after the harvest of firewood beans last year. The dry fields required nothing more than daily weeding, digging irrigation ditches when the land was parched, or carrying water for irrigation - mostly tasks demanding brute strength.
By late morning, Lingjun had fallen asleep. Lu Gu placed the child in the cradle so he wouldn’t roll off the bed.
In the kitchen, Ji Qiuyue was chopping vegetables while steam rose from the pot. Today, they had steamed dry rice.
Zhao’er had been fussy earlier, crying and clamoring to go out and play. But with mealtime approaching and several mouths waiting in the fields for their food to be delivered, his tantrums had grated on her nerves. She ended up spanking him a few times, making him cry before soothing him with hugs. After a while, Zhao’er cried himself to sleep and was likewise placed back in the room.
Seeing him enter, Ji Qiuyue smiled while chopping vegetables and said, “Finally, some peace.”
Earlier, when Zhao’er cried, Lingjun had joined in. When two children wailed simultaneously, even doting parents would find the noise grating. Now that the clamor had ceased and the children no longer needed carrying, Lu Gu also felt relieved. Raising children was never easy.
The rice was already steamed, so no more firewood needed adding to the stove. Seeing the vegetables nearly chopped, Lu Gu stoked the fire in the clay stove, emptied and wiped the ladle dry before placing it over the flame. Outside the kitchen, he poured oil into the wok. Soon after, Ji Qiuyue brought out a bowl of blanched spring bamboo shoots and half a bowl of sliced chicken. When the oil was hot, Lu Gu grabbed a handful of wild onions, tossed them into the wok with a sizzle. The aroma of scallions filled the air, followed by the chicken and bamboo shoots.
The chicken had been bought two days prior from a neighboring village - an old hen that no longer laid eggs. Their own chickens and ducks were still producing eggs, so they couldn’t bear to slaughter them. Half the chicken had been chopped yesterday and stewed, then sent to the fields in a large earthenware pot. The broth and meat were devoured completely. The rich, oily chicken soup paired with dry rice and steamed buns left everyone full and satisfied. The remaining chicken would suffice for stir-frying tomorrow.
After stir-frying the bamboo shoots and chicken, Lu Gu wiped the ladle clean. Ji Qiuyue then brought out wild vegetables and cured meat. With no chicken soup today, slicing some cured meat for another stir-fried dish would do just as well.
While he cooked outside, Ji Qiuyue fetched a large soup basin in the kitchen, lifted the lid off the pot, and scooped out heaping portions of rice. She counted out six bowls, placing both the basin and the bowls into a bamboo basket. Since the soup basin was too large to fit alongside the dish bowls without risking spills, she carried them in a separate basket.
“Stay here and watch the house, understand?” Lu Gu placed the water-filled earthenware jar on the ground, locked the gate, and shooed Guaizi back inside. With both children asleep at home, having the dog around was reassuring.
Guaizi stood motionless behind the gate, watching him. Even after the gate was locked, he could still hear the dog whining softly twice inside.
Many people were bent over transplanting rice seedlings in the paddies. The two of them - one carrying the food basket, the other the water jar and dish basket, soon arrived at their family’s field.
For spring plowing, Shen Xuanqing had returned two days ago with the mule cart. Farmland was the foundation of their livelihood, so its importance went without saying. Not just in the countryside, even families in town who owned land were busy in the fields these days.
Shen Xuanqing's sharp eyes had spotted Lu Gu and Ji Qiuyue from afar. Though it wasn’t yet summer, a morning under the sun and hours of labor had left him drenched in sweat.
“Come, let’s eat.” He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and called out to Ge Chunsheng and his son-in-law, Li Laiqing.
Ge Chunsheng had no land of his own to tend. Last year, he had proven diligent and honest in his work, so Shen Yaoqing had approached him early this year. Ge Chunsheng, a man of few words, had struggled to speak up when Shen Yaoqing came to recruit help. Only as Shen Yaoqing was leaving did he finally voice his question: will you need extra helps for spring plowing? If so, my son-in-law can still work as a short-term laborer for a few days. He only has one meager plot of land in no rush for planting.
Shen Yaoqing knew of Li Laiqing, another poor soul. Among the villages near Qingxi Village, the closest was Qinghe Village, where Ge Chunsheng lived, followed by Linhe Village, where Li Laiqing resided. Young men, unlike women or fulangs who seldom ventured beyond their courtyards, inevitably befriended others who shared their interests or temperaments.
In the countryside, news traveled fast. Though Shen Yaoqing wasn’t close to Li Laiqing, he’d never heard of him committing theft or other misdeeds. Considering Ge Chunsheng’s honesty, his son-in-law likely wasn’t a bad sort either—otherwise, rumors would have spread if he mistreated his in-laws. So Shen Yaoqing agreed. As long as the young man had the strength to work, finishing the spring plowing would suffice.
To his surprise, on the first day of transplanting, Ge Chunsheng and Li Laiqing had arrived at the fields at dawn - half an hour earlier than the family themselves.
Six people climbed the ridges and walked to the edge of the field. Wei Lanxiang’s face was flushed with heat as she wiped her sweat with a handkerchief. The midday sun was so bright she had to squint. She unhooked the bamboo tube from her waist and gulped down several mouthfuls, finally feeling some relief.
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