Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Chapter 448: Chapter 235: Bathing in the River 2

Juhua smiled faintly and said, "I put a lot of vinegar in the bean-jelly noodles today."

Huai Zi broke into a wide grin, looking at her happily. "I love it when it’s a bit sour," he said. "It really whets your appetite."

Qingmu, who had just lifted Lanzi from the well, frowned at his words. "I don’t want it that sour," he said, displeased. "I want it spicier." ’Is my sister deliberately making it the way Huai Zi likes it?’

Juhua chided her brother playfully. "I made two kinds. There’s a spicy bowl. Brother, it’s so hot out, you should eat less spicy food. Weren’t the stir-fried green peppers spicy enough for you? If you eat those and then have spicy bean-jelly noodles, your stomach will feel like it’s on fire."

Qingmu pulled two ripe gourds from inside Lanzi and gave one to Huai Zi. Gnawing on his own, he smiled at Juhua. "I was just messing with you. It’s fine if you go easy on the chili paste for the spicy one."

Juhua stopped fussing. She took a sip from her bowl of Huangdou soup and said to Qingmu, "Harvesting the rice and planting the new seedlings right after is a bit much, isn’t it? We should plant a few fewer acres of late-season rice next year. I was thinking, maybe we could rotate the fields we use for the late rice. That way the soil’s nutrients can keep up. We plant in these fields this year, then switch to different ones next year and let these rest for a season."

Qingmu nodded and took a deep breath. "It’s not so bad for me, but I’m afraid Mom and Dad can’t take it. Besides, both last year and this year, we only finished because everyone pitched in to help. If everyone has more land to work next year, they’ll be too busy with their own fields. How would they have time to help us? So I agree, we should plant less late-season rice next year. And don’t forget, we still have all that corn, Huangdou, and Shanyu waiting to be harvested."

Zhang Huai said, "With this new thresher, the work is a lot faster than before. You don’t have to worry. One way or another, everyone helps each other out, so it might still be possible. Ershun and Sanshun both said they’re coming to help plant seedlings tomorrow. You lent them the thresher, so their family’s harvest was faster than usual too. But Juhua has a point about letting the fields lie fallow for a season."

Juhua’s head started to ache just hearing Qingmu list off the corn, Huangdou, and Shanyu. Ignoring Huai Zi’s comforting words, she said resolutely to Qingmu, "We’re planting less late-season rice next year. The main problem is that the two rice seasons are too close together. You have to plant the new seedlings the moment you finish harvesting, without even a chance to catch your breath. It’s not like the other farm work—like with the Shanyu and Huangdou—where you can just do a little bit each day and get it done slowly."

Qingmu nodded. "You’re right. Otherwise, we’ll wear ourselves out for nothing, and the soil will get depleted."

Regardless of the plans for next year, the Zheng Family planted late-season rice in all their fields this year. In the final days, Zhao San, Liu Sanshun, Liu Ershun, and others who didn’t grow a second crop of rice, like Li Changming and Shorty Zhou, all came to help. In one final push, they finished planting all the seedlings.

When work ended that day, marking the end of the busy farming season, several of the young men stripped to their loincloths and jumped into the Little Qing River to wash themselves from head to toe, not caring one bit about the cold. The work was finally done! They felt so light they could have jumped for joy, and they couldn’t resist the urge for a good, long swim.

Liu Sanshun floated on his back, a pale mound of flesh in the water. He swam about joyfully, shouting, "Qingmu! Huai Zi! Come on in for a swim! The water’s not deep, what are you scared of? If someone drowns while I, Sanshun, am around, I might as well give up!"

His boasting made Qingmu and Zhang Huai laugh.

Li Changming laughed. "Look how shallow the river is. Keep on bragging! If anyone drowned in here, they’d have to be a total landlubber who’s never been in the water. There’s no way any of us who grew up by the Little Qing River could drown."

Qingmu plucked some mujin leaves from the bank and handed a large handful to Zhang Huai. After washing them, he undid Zhang Huai’s hair and wet it with river water. Then, he began to vigorously crush the leaves in his hands, adding a little water now and then. He squeezed the pulpy mass, and a sticky, pale greenish-yellow liquid oozed out, like an unbreakable thread, dripping onto Zhang Huai’s hair. The juice was so slick that bits of the mashed leaves also squeezed through his fingers and fell onto Zhang Huai’s head, but neither of them paid it any mind.

After a moment, he tossed the pulp aside and began to vigorously work the lather into his hair.

Once he had massaged it in thoroughly, Zhang Huai ducked his head into the river to rinse. Tiny fragments of leaves floated away in the pale yellow water, carried downstream, leaving his hair silky smooth and refreshed.

Seeing them so preoccupied with washing their hair, Liu Sanshun called out wistfully, "Why aren’t you two swimming? What’s the rush to wash your hair?"

Zhang Huai laughed. "You go ahead and enjoy your swim. We’re washing up quick so we can head back for dinner. I heard Juhua made braised duck today. If you’re late, there won’t be anything left, so don’t blame us for not saving you any!"

Hearing this, Liu Sanshun scrambled to his feet, shouting, "Really? Hey! You rotten guys, you didn’t tell me! No wonder you started washing up the second you got in the river. You’re trying to get a head start on dinner!"

With that, he hastily plucked some mujin leaves, crushed them in a flurry, and started washing his hair and body. He smeared the mashed pulp all over himself until he looked like a green man, making everyone burst out laughing.

Liu Ershun chuckled at his younger brother. "You’re not an idiot, do you need someone to tell you? Even if Juhua hadn’t cooked a duck, were you planning on skipping dinner? After working all afternoon, you’re telling me you’re not hungry?"

Zhang Huai and Qingmu exchanged a look and laughed together.

Zhang Huai laughed. "You don’t know him. After lunch, he scraped up a huge piece of rice crust from the pot, loaded it up with stir-fried eggs and green peppers, and ate it on his way to the fields. Then, when Juhua brought the bean-jelly noodles out this afternoon, he ate a ton of that too. He’s probably still not hungry."

"Nonsense!" Sanshun retorted. "That was nothing! It’s long gone. I’m fast at planting seedlings, so of course I eat a lot."

Everyone laughed. They had to admit he had a point. He really was incredibly fast at planting, so they couldn’t tease him too much about his appetite.

Liu Sanshun submerged himself completely, scrubbing his hair and body furiously with both hands. A cloud of leaf fragments filled the water around him before quickly being carried away by the current.

After a moment, he resurfaced, wiped his round face, and said smugly, "You can’t expect a horse to run if you don’t let it eat. We plant fast, so we have to eat more to get our energy back. If I’d known Juhua cooked a duck, I wouldn’t have wasted all this time. She wants us to have a proper feast to mark the end of all the work!"

Li Changming shot back, "Speak for yourself about a ’final feast’! I plan on eating plenty more meals."

"Hahaha..."

Hearty laughter echoed far into the summer twilight...