LW chapter 69

 

Sure enough, after the wheat harvest, the village chief organized the young villagers to dig ditches in the fields.

For the villagers, planting rice was a huge challenge. The future was uncertain, but the temptation was great. After all, they wouldn’t have to pay taxes for two years. So, even though they hesitated, they went out with their hoes.

The men dug ditches outside and worked hard. Meanwhile, the women and their husbands in the ancestral hall listened to the old man explain how to plant rice. They were more serious than ever.

Li Xin called Qi Shuning and asked him to write down everything the old man said.

“I’m sure everyone knows how to dry and select seeds, so I won’t talk much about that here.” The old man had a slight accent, but he was easy to understand.

“Let’s talk about the first step. Planting rice is different from other things. You can’t just scatter the seeds directly. The seeds need to sprout in the soil and grow into small seedlings about a foot long.” He said this while stretching out his hand to demonstrate the length.

“Then, in the rice field, mix mud with fertilizer to create a muddy environment, and plant the seedlings one by one. The planting method is simple—just tap gently with your fingers.”

The old man cleared his throat. “Right now, there’s no need for too much water in the field.”

“Wait until the seedlings grow as tall as an adult calf, then plant them a second time.”

Those listening below furrowed their brows. Chen Qing asked, “Why is it so troublesome to plant twice?”

Aunt Sun said with a serious expression, “It really is troublesome.”

“After the second planting, there will be more water in the paddy field. The water and mud must be fully mixed before planting the seedlings. The water should be about halfway up the rice plants — not too deep and not too shallow. Pay attention to the spacing between the seedlings and don’t plant them too densely.”

After planting the rice, you can make flags out of cloth to scare away sparrows that might eat the rice leaves.

“Fertilization is the same as for ordinary crops.” The old man said, “Rice is usually planted after the wheat harvest, at the end of April or beginning of May, and it matures at the end of August or beginning of September.”

Everyone was still confused after this, but it only happened once.

“Don’t worry.” The old man said. “We’ll understand after we plant it together once.”

On the way home, Cheng Qing followed Aunt Sun. “Mother, are you sure?”

Aunt Sun smiled and replied, “No one is born knowing how to farm. We all learn slowly.”

Cheng Qing was not as optimistic as Aunt Sun, though. He was still frowning when he returned home.

Zhou Yuan returned at that moment. He had also gone to dig ditches that day. When Cheng Qing saw him, he checked his hands.

Sure enough, there were blisters on his palms again.

“I told you I would go.” Cheng Qing had no choice but to help Zhou Yuan deal with the blisters. “Why can’t you learn?”

Zhou Yuan felt no pain. “The other men in the family go, so why should I ask you?”

Cheng Qing smiled and told him what they had heard that day. “It’s very hard.”

“We’ll plant it together. Just ask if you have questions. It’s okay.” Zhou Yuan comforted him. “After you help Mother plant rice, we’ll leave. When we return, we can help her harvest the rice.”

Cheng Qing nodded and wanted to run away again. “But we’ll definitely come back in August or September. By then, Qi Shuning will have left to take his exams, and Li Xin will have given birth, but we won’t be there.”

“A Qing.” Zhou Yuan held Cheng Qing’s waist with his uninjured hand and said, “Don’t think about running away. You’re living better than those people now. Have you forgotten? We won’t go back to see them. We’ll bring Father and Little Father here.”

Cheng Qing lowered his head. “Alright.”

After Zhou Yuan returned, he couldn’t stay in the village all day. There were many things to handle at the escort agency, so he bought a horse for convenience, allowing him to go out in the morning and return at night.

At this point, the most important criteria for measuring a family’s quality of life were their fields and livestock.

Zhou Yuan now had a cow and a horse, as well as several acres of good land. This made him the wealthiest person in the village.

Except for his family and Meng Qi and Meng Shuanzi, no one else knew about the escort agency. They never told anyone about it anyway, after all, big trees attract wind.

When the ditches were dug, the village chief called all the families together again. Seeds would be distributed today. Rice seeds were distributed according to how many hectares each family had near the Luo River. Zhou Yuan received the most.

Since they were well-prepared, the seeds had been selected and pest prevention measures had been taken before planting, so they only needed to plant the seeds.

Cheng Qing followed Aunt Sun, who also had a field by the river. However, after hearing the old elder say that the first seedlings did not need to be planted in the field, she randomly chose a plot and planted the rice seeds.

Qi Shuning’s letter had just been sent, and it would take Blacksmith Li and the others a few days to return. Li Xin did not close the shop because of his pregnancy and was still making small items, which made Qi Shuning feel bad. He wanted to help Li Xin with the ironwork, but he was too weak and couldn’t stand the heat. Ultimately, Li Xin sent him away.

Since there were no orders for two days, Li Xin was free to play in the fields with Cheng Qing and his men.

Aunt Sun said he couldn’t rest well on such a hot day. Li Xin said the children needed to touch the soil, too.

While Aunt Sun and Cheng Qing were hoeing and turning the soil, Zhou Yuan went to the Luo River to fetch water.

“Is it okay to plant like this?” Li Xin took a handful of seeds and examined them closely. “These don’t look like rice.”

“There is a layer of husk on the outside of the rice grains. You have to beat the husk off, and then there is rice inside.” Aunt Sun was knowledgeable. “You’ll see later,”

They turned the soil, planted the seeds, covered the raised soil with the hoe, waited for Zhou Yuan to return, and watered it with a bucket.

People from surrounding villages were also farming. Aunt Liu stood in her field, wanting to ask Aunt Sun for advice.

Aunt Sun said, “Anyway, we have to farm, and we don’t need to pay taxes. If we can’t plant rice, I still have two cornfields in the mountains, and I can survive.”

The aunt sat on the edge of the field. “It can only be like this.”

Aunt Sun comforted her again. “You’ve farmed your whole life, and you’re still afraid of farming? Don’t worry.”

Aunt Liu nodded.

After the seeds were planted, they would wait quietly until they sprouted.

Zhou Yuan no longer needed to work in the fields. He rode to the county town in the morning to handle affairs for the escort agency, then rode back at night to sleep soundly in Cheng Qing’s arms.

On the day of the water release, the village chief lit a series of firecrackers for luck in the ancestral hall.

Since there was no village downstream of Luohe Village, the diversion of Luohe water would not affect other villages. This is why they chose to plant rice in Luohe Village.

The Luo River was filled with villagers. The village chief invited people to check the auspicious time. When the time came, he used a hoe to dig out the old ditches, and the water from the Luo River slowly flowed into the fields.

As the water flowed, the Luohe villagers worried.

Would they really be able to farm well? Even farmers who had worked in the fields their whole lives were doubtful. But once the arrow was released, there was no turning back. Whatever happened, they were going to farm well this season!

After the Luo River water had been released for a day, wetting all the fields, it was drained out of the ditch on the other side and returned to the river.

Aunt Sun looked at the seedlings in the field. They had grown to about the length of a finger. According to the old tribal leader, they were ready for the first transplantation. However, the soil needed to be turned before transplantation.

The released water was minimal, but it made the soil muddy. The soil needed to be leveled before the seedlings could be planted.

As Cheng Qing went to sleep, he thought about how to level the soil. Cheng Qing, who always slept peacefully without moving, dreamed of leveling the soil and slapped Zhou Yuan’s face.

Zhou Yuan had been very busy lately. The escort agency could no longer operate as before. They had to provide large and small escorts.

First, Zhou Yuan asked Meng Qi to bring a group of local specialty foods to Yunxi Town. Upon their return, the shopkeeper, Tian, told Zhou Yuan that he could provide three carts of red tomatos and cucumbers every year starting in May.

This was also profitable. Zhou Yuan needed to support his family, so he wouldn’t give up. Besides, the Tian family seemed important, so Zhou Yuan decided to befriend them.

Zhou Yuan had run the escort agency for about six months. After deducting all agency expenses and the monthly salary for each escort, he had now recouped his initial investment. He believed that things would only improve in the future.

Recently, Cheng Qing had been busy with farming, so they didn’t have time to be intimate at night. Zhou Yuan could only kiss and cuddle to relieve his desire.

The next morning, Zhou Yuan went to the county town again. Meanwhile, Cheng Qing and Aunt Sun went to the fields to level the soil.

Walking on muddy ground and swinging a hoe were not easy. Each swing brought up mud, which soiled their entire bodies. Fortunately, Aunt Sun supervised from the side, and they slowly began to level the field. After a morning’s work, they finally made the field look the way the old boss wanted.

Coincidentally, the old village chief was checking the water depth near the field. Aunt Sun immediately asked Cheng Qing to invite him there. Cheng Qing did not hesitate. After all, this was related to their livelihood. He got up and ran to the old man.

“Please come with us to see the field. Is it like this?”

The old man followed Cheng Qing and nodded when he saw the field. “That’s it. If your seedlings are good, you can try planting them.”

Cheng Qing breathed a sigh of relief. Their family was the first to figure this out, and their discovery could serve as a reference for the villagers.

The old village chief followed them, looked at their seedlings again, and taught them how to lift them.

“Insert the spade deeper, dig the soil beneath, then lift,” he said. He took a seedling, bent down, and demonstrated, “When planting, carefully insert it into the field like this. Watch the gaps, and don’t plant too densely.”

Cheng Qing nodded to Aunt Sun and memorized the movements.

When the villagers saw Cheng Qing’s field, they knew what to do. Soon, all the fields in the village were planted the same way.

The next day, Zhou Yuan stayed home, planning to plant rice with Cheng Qing. Cheng Qing said he was just doing it for fun, and Zhou Yuan didn’t mind.

Cheng Qing and Aunt Sun first dug the rice seed trays, and Zhou Yuan then carried them to the field.

He entered the field wearing sandals, and the water was still cold. Cheng Qing shivered as he took a handful of seedlings and planted them as the old man did, pressing the roots.

Zhou Yuan imitated Cheng Qing, but he grabbed a handful of seedlings and planted them all at once. Cheng Qing hurriedly said, “One by one. Don’t plant too many.”

He saw so many seedlings. “How will you finish planting if you do it one by one?”

“If you plant too many, they won’t grow well.” Cheng Qing said seriously, “Why don’t you play with the mud next to you?”

Zhou Yuan looked embarrassed and stopped making trouble. He tried to imitate how Cheng Qing planted rice, but he was too tall and too tired to crouch down for long, so he sat beside him.

Aunt Sun was old, and her back wasn’t good, so Cheng Qing had to plant by himself. Zhou Yuan felt sorry for him and immediately got down to help. He wasn’t very skilled, but at least he could help.

The surrounding fields are also planting rice. The villagers and Aunt Sun took advantage of the fact that it was not too hot the past two days and worked quickly to finish their tasks.

Cheng Qing planted rice seedlings for two days, and Qi Shuning came to help. Although he looked weak, he was meticulous in his work. While planting, he asked Cheng Qing to teach him how to sew in his free time because he wanted to make hats for his children.

Cheng Qing: …

Once they had finished planting all the rice seedlings in the fields, Blacksmith Li and his wife, who had been away for a long time, finally returned. Qi Shuning felt relieved.

The first rice seedlings grew quickly, and soon it was time for the second planting. The seedlings were uprooted, and then much more water was added than the first time. The fields were tilled again, and the larger rice seedlings were transplanted into the field.

It sounded like another hard job.

They planted rice in the field, and Zhang Yin wanted to help. Her health had improved considerably, so Blacksmith Li didn’t stop her. Since Li Xin was pregnant, there were orders piling up in the shop that Blacksmith Li had to take care of.

Li Xin cooked for them at home and sent food to the field.

With more people helping, the work went much faster, and Aunt Sun’s small field was soon planted.

After planting the rice seedlings, Zhou Yuan and Cheng Qing were ready to leave.

Before they left, Zhou Yuan invited both families to his house for dinner. Since both families had elders, Zhou Yuan hoped they would take care of each other and said they would return soon.

Zhang Yin told them not to worry, everything would be fine at home. She asked them to come back quickly, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to catch up with Li Xin’s baby.

He also said that Qi Shuning would leave for the Yuancang Mansion in August and that Zhou Yuan had arranged for an escort from the agency to accompany him.

The next morning, Zhou Yuan rode his horse and took Cheng Qing to Cheng Qing’s hometown.

 

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