Free Web NovelChapter 415: Chapter 219: The Fields
The people of Qingnan Village, however, had no time to worry about such things. They were once again immersed in the intense labor of planting rice and harvesting wheat.
It was almost time to plant the rice seedlings. Grandmother had been living at Juhua’s house for several months, but she finally refused to stay any longer. So, when Qingmu went to Xiatang Market to buy land, he took her and Laishou back home. And so, Juhua’s life became busy once more.
In the spring, the plants were lush and green, the sunlight was gentle, a soft breeze caressed her face, and the air was crisp. If it weren’t for the intense rush of spring planting, Juhua wouldn’t have found this life of tilling fields, weeding, and raising livestock to be a hardship. In fact, she had come to appreciate the leisurely charm of pastoral life.
’Do we have too much land?’ she wondered.
If they just had a bit less land, her parents and brother wouldn’t be in such a rush, and life would be so much better.
But even if she felt it was too much, there was nothing she could do. Her parents would never sell any of their land. As long as they owned it, they would never let it lie fallow with nothing planted.
Spring planting was exhausting, but it was also a time of anticipation.
At first, people couldn’t straighten their backs for hours after planting just one row of seedlings, but eventually, they managed with ease. On the first day, they would climb out of the paddies with faltering steps; a few days later, they moved as swiftly as if on wings. The fields, once empty, shimmering white expanses of water, transformed into continuous stretches of vibrant green shoots in neat rows. The long days of spring planting seemed to consume all the leisure and comfort accumulated over the winter. It awakened a capacity for labor deep within them, and every day they rose early, full of energy, ready to throw themselves into their work.
Juhua felt her own movements had become quicker and more adept as well. Compared to last year, her logistical work felt easier. She figured she had finally adapted to the frantic pace of the busy farming season, with its rush to harvest and plant.
During the planting season, Meizi had moved to live by the mountains, so Granny Hua started visiting her son’s house frequently, claiming she was there to help. This gave Juhua the chance to witness exactly how Meizi handled her mother-in-law.
Once, when Juhua went to Meizi’s new house to bring her some salted duck eggs, she saw Meizi assigning chores to Granny Hua. Her jaw nearly hit the floor. She finally understood why Meizi had claimed that Granny Hua wasn’t actually lazy.
It turned out that Meizi simply paid no mind to her mother-in-law’s temperament or habits. She was direct, telling her what needed to be done, and she wouldn’t listen to any of Granny Hua’s excuses or evasions, giving her no opportunity to procrastinate.
The brilliant part was, she wasn’t singling Granny Hua out—this was just how Meizi always was!
The Granny Hua of today was a completely changed woman. Ever since Meizi and Li Changming had moved out on their own, Granny Hua had started keeping her own house neat and tidy, maintaining the good habits Meizi had left behind.
She no longer spent her days idly visiting and gossiping. Instead, she seemed to love coming over to her son’s house, and she and Meizi appeared to get along quite harmoniously.
And why was that? Because Meizi’s cooking was much tastier than her own, of course. Every now and then, Meizi would even fry up some flatbreads for her to take home. Granny Hua didn’t sneak food anymore. She simply did her work, ate her meals, and no one could say a word!
Seeing Granny Hua’s diligent new attitude, Juhua laughed for a long time on her way home. Her admiration for Meizi was boundless.
One day, as the spring planting season was drawing to a close, all the paddy fields had been filled with seedlings. Juhua’s family had just one last plot left to plant—the nursery paddy where the seeds had first been sown. As Qingmu was on leave that day, he and Yang Family went to finish planting it.
Zheng Changhe was still helping out at Liu Xiaomei’s home, and it was their last day of planting as well. This year, Liu Xiaomei’s second sister-in-law had joined the family, so Juhua wasn’t needed to help with the cooking.
Juhua had been busy at home for days, so she was relieved to finally have a break. Since cooking for just a few people was easy, she decided to find a moment to go out to the fields and see how they were doing.
In the paddy field, Yang Family was picking up a bundle of rice seedlings. She straightened up, untied the grass rope binding them, and was just about to bend over again to plant when she saw Juhua approaching along the ridge with a basket out of the corner of her eye. She looked up and smiled. "There’s only this little patch left. Your brother and I can take our time and still finish today. You don’t have to be so delicate, bringing us snacks."
Juhua blushed and replied, "Mom, I just wanted to come out to the fields for a look, so I brought you some flatbreads while I was at it."
Qingmu, who was behind Yang Family, heard her and straightened up. He smiled at his sister. "What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you want to get in the paddy and plant seedlings, too?"
Juhua nodded eagerly. "I do want to try! I’ve never planted rice seedlings before."
Qingmu couldn’t help but laugh. "Listen to you, acting like it’s some great honor. It might look like fun, but there are leeches in the water!"
Just as he’d expected, Juhua broke out in goosebumps. She had a lifelong fear of soft-bodied creatures, especially blood-sucking leeches. When one of those things latches onto your leg, you can scream all you want, but it won’t let go. You can even try to pull it off, stretching its body until it’s long and thin, and it still won’t come off. You have to give your leg a hard SLAP right on the spot to make it finally release its grip, fall off, and curl into a tight ball.
