Free Web NovelChapter 428: Chapter 225: Daughter, Part 2
He asked, puzzled, "Why did Juhua scatter so many chili seeds? There’s no way we can plant them all. I see there’s still half a row left in the field."
Yang gave a wry smile. "She’s still inexperienced and tends to go overboard. She just scattered them over a whole row. You don’t need nearly that many seedlings."
He shot her a cheerful, sideways glance. "How old is she, really? Girls from most families don’t know the first thing about managing this stuff. They just plant whatever their parents tell them to. The fact that Juhua can make her own decisions shows she’s got a good head on her shoulders. So what if she used too many this time? She’ll know better next time! Kids have to learn by doing. They’ll get it right after a few tries."
Yang’s face bloomed into a wide smile, pleased by He’s words. "You’re right! My Juhua loves to use her head. She likes to try her hand at everything, and she usually does a pretty good job."
Seeing Yang so happy, He was pleased as well. "Juhua’s having a growth spurt," she said to Yang. "She’s grown a lot taller this year, but she’s still so thin. I was thinking, when it’s time to harvest the wheat, our families should team up again. You should stay home and cook, otherwise Juhua won’t be able to manage on her own. The weather’s getting hot, and cooking is miserable work—all that heat from the stove and the fire. We can’t let the child get sick from exhaustion."
She thought of Juhua as her future daughter-in-law, so of course she wanted her to grow up strong and healthy.
Yang nodded quickly. "Yes! That’s a good idea. You noticed it too? I felt like my Juhua got a lot thinner after this season of planting seedlings. Is it because she’s gotten taller?"
He thought for a moment. "It must be a growth spurt. Look at her, she still has plenty of energy. It’s not the kind of thinness that comes from being worn out. My Yangzi is having a growth spurt too."
Parents in these times paid special attention to whether their children were plump or thin. On a simple diet of coarse grains and vegetables, just being able to eat one’s fill and raise a sturdy child was a blessing. If a child lost weight for no reason, they would grow anxious, worrying if they were sick or overworked.
Yang said, "Juhua’s appetite is fine these days; she eats two small bowls at every meal. But you’re right, cooking for so many people in this heat is just too much to bear. I’ll stay home then. *Sigh*... I just wish our Juhua could be like the Liu Family’s Mei. That girl has such a nice, round face and a healthy complexion. She’s a delight to look at."
He let out a PUFF of laughter. She also felt for Juhua, of course. "Juhua isn’t the same as Mei. Mei’s probably already a young woman. Juhua is just a bit slight. You should make sure she gets plenty of nourishment. At her age, she’s right in the middle of her big growth spurt."
Yang nodded. The two women chatted idly as they worked, planting a large patch and even filling up the empty space by the riverbank.
When it was time to harvest the wheat, the Zheng Family and the Zhang family pooled their labor. Since Yang was afraid Juhua would be overwhelmed, she stayed home to cook during the harvest.
Juhua was genuinely touched by her mother’s concern. ’I’ve never acted delicate or spoiled,’ she thought. ’Except for not working in the fields, I’ve always rushed to do any chore I could. I’ve even cooked for large groups of people before. But my parents never treat me like a simple laborer. Whenever they can, they always make sure I feel loved and cared for.
The more they treated her this way, the more attached she became to this family. She used to always think about her past life, but now? Her heart was filled with only this one.’
She was always busy. Not working in the fields was one thing, but household chores were a girl’s duty. Even though cooking in the summer heat was truly awful, no one would ever refuse to do it for that reason.
Not working would make her no different from Granny Hua!
The weather was good this year, and it didn’t rain during the wheat harvest. This rainy season wasn’t like previous years; there was little rain. In other places, people would be worried about drought. But here, with the Little Qing River and Jing Lake, and even the Qinghui River not far away, the threat of drought was far less severe than the threat of flooding.
After several days of back-breaking, sweaty work, they had all the wheat harvested and stacked by the door. Then, batch by batch, they spread it in the courtyard to dry before threshing out the grains with flails.
Meanwhile, Juhua was in the kitchen, busy and dripping with sweat.
Even with Yang’s help, the task of cooking was still hard to endure. In the freezing winter, she loved to huddle by the stove’s opening. But in the summer, standing by the stove was like leaning against a furnace. The heat roasted her, and sweat rolled endlessly down her back.
’This is when I really hate these social customs,’ she lamented inwardly. ’If I could just throw caution to the wind and wear a short-sleeved dress, with my arms and legs bare, how cool and refreshing would that be!’
But that was clearly a vain hope. She was tightly wrapped in clothes from head to toe, letting the sweat flow like a small stream beneath her garments. She could even feel the distinct sensation of individual beads of sweat rolling across her skin.
Yang knew how scorching it was by the stove, so she had Juhua just chop and wash the vegetables while she herself stoked the fire and did the stir-frying. But when they were swamped, Juhua still took the spatula from her. "Mom, don’t trouble yourself. You go stoke the fire, and I’ll hurry up and fry these vegetables. Then we can rest, right? Besides, sweating makes you feel a bit better. Being cooped up like this is even more uncomfortable."
Finishing their work early, taking a bath, changing into fresh, dry clothes, and sitting in the courtyard—that was the most relaxing and comfortable time of day.
Yang had no choice but to nod. Seeing the sweat pour down her daughter’s forehead, which she kept wiping with a cotton cloth to no avail, she sighed and grumbled, "This blasted weather, it’s so hot."
Juhua looked at the busy figures in the courtyard, shook her head, and smiled at Yang. "They have it even tougher. Look, Dad’s and Brother’s clothes are soaked with sweat."
Under the scorching sun, Zhang Dashuan and his son, Zheng Changhe and his son, and He all swung their flails, beating the wheat spread out in the yard. Even Zhang Yang was beside them, turning the wheat so the adults could strike it again. The air filled with the smell of dust, mixed with the fine, irritating chaff from the wheat awns that made it hard to breathe. Juhua was grateful she was wearing a face covering, which at least blocked some of it.
But everyone was happy. The hotter the sun, the better it was for threshing wheat. So they didn’t mind the hard labor. They had only one simple thought: to beat out the wheat, to transform it into gleaming golden grains, and even further, into snow-white flour.
Even though they had never been able to keep much of the wheat they harvested in past years, and had eaten white flour only a few times, their enthusiasm for the harvest never waned. They always stubbornly believed that through hard work, their lives would surely get better, and there would definitely be white flour to eat.
And sure enough, weren’t their lives already better this year!
They had earned some money last year, so things were much less tight. Zhang Dashuan and Zheng Changhe had unanimously decided to keep more of the wheat for their families this year. It would be wonderful if they could even make dumplings a few times.
