Chapter 185
"Good child." The old man spoke with great effort: "Good child."
He kept repeating these two words. The straw beneath him gave off a foul smell of urine, and his hands didn't look very clean either, but Fang Zichen showed no sign of disgust. He gently patted the back of the old man's hand.
"I know! My grandfather and grandmother used to say that often."
"Are you... the father of that big-headed boy?" the old man suddenly asked. His voice was very faint, like a breathy whisper. After a couple of sentences, a rattling sound came from his throat, like a broken bellows.
Fang Zichen leaned in, turning his head to place his ear near the old man's mouth: "big-headed boy?"
The old man said: "The child who carries a puppy in a cloth sling, the one with the big, round eyes."
In the whole village, the only one who had a dog and would carry a dog was his own son. Fang Zichen nodded: "Ah~ right, that's my son."
"You... look very much alike." The old man kept holding Fang Zichen's hand, not letting go. He looked at the roof and said: "He often gives me candy, keeps me company and talks with me. He is also a good child."
Fang Zichen didn't pay much attention to the first part of that statement, but the latter part made him happy.
Parents are almost always this way. Hearing a single word of praise for their child brings more happiness than a thousand compliments about themselves.
"Is that so." Fang Zichen puffed out his chest: "My child, takes after me!"
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Many people had gathered at the threshing ground. Having been cooped up at home for several days, and now with the fine weather, everyone had come out. Children were playing off to the side, while the men sat together in twos and threes, discussing what to plant in which field next spring, and what crop should go into another plot.
Farming might seem like work without much technical skill, but it actually involved its own set of intricacies.
For instance, land far from the village, halfway up the mountainside, or near the woods was not very suitable for planting corn. Planting it there was often a waste of effort; no sooner were the seeds sown than they were eaten by mice and birds.
But not planting was not an option either. First, there was already very little land to begin with; what would people eat if they didn't plant it? Second, leaving land unused without reason was permissible only if no one reported it. If someone did report it, the owner would have to pay a fine.
Therefore, people usually finished planting the land closest to their homes first before tending to the mountain plots. After sowing the mountain fields, they would send someone to keep watch there until the corn sprouts emerged.
Furthermore, it was best to plant the same crop across an entire hillside. Just like last year, the He family had planted corn on their own without discussing it with the other villagers. As a result, all the surrounding plots were sown with soybeans.
These two crops had different maturation periods. By the time the He family's corn ripened, everyone else had already harvested their soybeans. On that hillside, only their solitary plot of corn remained. Before it could even reach full maturity, it was completely ravaged by mice and wild boars.
If everyone had planted corn instead, the pests and animals could not have focused exclusively on their single plot. Wild boars were particularly dangerous. If the villagers kept watch together at night, they could still scare the boars away. But if only one person stood guard, any wild boar that spotted them would surely charge and toss them head over heels.
The men were deep in lively discussion, while the nearby group of women and fulangs was considerably quieter.
Usually, they were the ones with the most to say, but today was an exception.
Aunt He had a bamboo basket placed by her feet and a winnowing tray on her knees, sorting through peanuts.
They had gotten damp recently, and some had grown mold. They needed to be picked out, otherwise they'd taste bitter if eaten.
"I saw Zhao Ger bring that child back yesterday." She was talking about Xiao Feng. "Zhao Ger hired an ox-cart. Not only did he not send the child back to the Liu family, but when getting off the cart... tsk, I really couldn't bear to look."
The muddy road was uneven. Xiao Feng's injuries were not yet healed. Earlier, upon leaving the medical hall, his wounds had reopened. Later, the jostling of the ox-cart jolted his body even more severely. When they finally reached the doorstep, he was simply unable to get down himself. Seeing his pale face, Zhao Ger helped him down. Xiao Feng’s legs gave way, and he fell into Zhao Ger's arms. Aunt He happened to witness this scene and deemed him shameless.
"He was fond of having illicit affairs before. Now that he's with Young Fang, he's still so indecent he can't restrain himself. Bringing that young man home, with Young Fang away, who knows what they might be doing!"
A few of the fulangs and women frowned. Thinking she was going too far.
Setting aside the truth of the illicit affairs for now, Xiao Feng was still a child. Although the villagers hadn't spoken with him much, Xiaohe Village was only so big—people saw each other constantly. Xiao Feng was clearly just a child. Helping him up was no big deal. How had it become so unspeakable the way she described it, as if he truly had something improper going on with Zhao Ger?
Thanks to Zhao Ger, everyone had recently earned some money by working for him. They were even considering collaborating with him again next year. Moreover, Fang Zichen was fiercely protective of Zhao Ger. No one wanted to draw his hostility, so naturally, no one responded to Aunt He's words.
Aunt He didn't mind either, picking through the peanuts and talking to herself: "I always thought this Zhao Ger was no good. I even pitied him before, asked him to come help me dig up sweet potatoes. He immediately said he wanted thirty coppers a day. I didn't give it, only gave twenty. I don't know if he got angry, but most of the sweet potatoes he dug up were damaged. Tell me, if he thought my pay was too low, he could have simply refused the job! Why go to all that trouble instead? Wasn't that just pure spite? He ruined my sweet potatoes for no reason at all. How utterly malicious..."
"Aunt He," the woman sitting opposite her suddenly widened her eyes, her face somewhat pale as if she'd seen a ghost, her body trembling slightly. "You, you..."
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