Chapter 169: Chapter 169: Many Hands Make Quick Work Digging

Yi Meng was considering asking her daughter what she meant, but before she could, the little girl slipped down with a whoosh and really went sliding down.

However, the open area wasn’t wide, and the little girl landed directly in the snow, with the snow instantly covering her legs.

The little one shouted excitedly, flailing around in delight.

“Oh, dear heavens!”

Mrs. Qi, upon seeing this, rushed over in a hurry.

But the path was narrow, and the old lady also stepped into the snow. Her hurry made her stumble, looking as if she was about to fall.

This frightened Qi Quanjin. He wanted to grab her, but he was too far away, so in desperation, he used a hoe to hook onto the old lady’s arm.

The old lady instinctively grabbed blindly at the look of danger, catching hold of the hoe, which allowed her to just barely steady herself.

But she had barely regained her balance when she let go of the hoe and hurried toward Qi Manman.

At this moment, Yi Meng snapped out of it and quickly picked up her daughter.

“How could you watch the child like that? How could you let her fall to the ground?”

Mrs. Qi came over scolding, while also gently patting the snow off Qi Manman’s legs, asking, “Did Granny’s Manbao hurt herself from the fall?”

“Granny, it didn’t hurt, it was fun!”

Qi Manman laughed carefree, pointing at the snow ahead with her little finger, “Manbao wants to go play over there!”

“This kid, the snow is thick over there. If you go down, it will cover you up to the top!”

Mrs. Qi, angry, reached over to take the child.

But Qi Manman, nestled in Yi Meng’s arms, shook her head repeatedly, “No, Granny, Manbao wants to go over and play, let Mom take me, okay?”

“You little girl, no, no way!”

Mrs. Qi firmly refused to let her granddaughter go.

On such a cold day, if her clothes got wet from the snow, it could lead to big trouble.

But Qi Manman twisted and turned in Yi Meng’s arms, showing signs of being ready to throw a fit if she wasn’t allowed to play.

At this point, Qi Zheng and Qi Quanjin also came running over.

Seeing that the child was fine and just wanted to play, both of them were at a loss.

In the end, Yi Meng couldn’t take it anymore and said, “Mother, why don’t Brother Jin and I take Manbao over to have a look!”

“How could that be possible? What if she catches a cold?”

Mrs. Qi glared at them.

Yi Meng sighed helplessly, “Mother, if we don’t let her play, what will we do if she starts crying?”

When the little girl cries, it really pulls at everyone’s heartstrings!

Upon hearing this, Qi Manman immediately pouted, “Granny, Manbao wants to play, wah wah wah, Manbao wants to play!”

The little one mimed crying without shedding tears, but even pretending like this made Mrs. Qi feel terribly distressed.

Qi Quanjin waded through the snow and came over, “Mother, I’ll take the child over to have a look, let her take a look, and she’ll be fine.”

“But…”

Mrs. Qi wanted to stop them, but then Qi Zheng spoke up, “Let her go.”

Qi Zheng may have sensed something, or perhaps he simply didn’t want the child to cry, so he eventually gave in.

Mrs. Qi gave the old man a glare, reluctantly instructing Qi Quanjin, “You shovel the snow in front. Meng Niang, you carry the child and walk slowly.”

With both elders agreeing, Qi Quanjin and Yi Meng exchanged glances and naturally had no objections.

So Qi Quanjin, like an old ox, began shoveling a little path with each stroke, and Yi Meng followed behind with her daughter in her arms.

This stopped the little girl from crying. She looked left and right, occasionally pointing and shouting excitedly, which amused the others so much they couldn’t help but laugh along.

The Government Official who was standing beside the carriage basking in the sun couldn’t resist walking over upon hearing the child’s laughter.

Standing beside Qi Zheng, laughing, he said, “Uncle, your little granddaughter is truly lovely!”

“Yes, she’s our only treasure. The rest are all stinky boys.”

Qi Zheng said, a bit proudly.

The Government Official was taken aback but then laughed, “Uncle, your words might really provoke those families without sons.”

“Hahaha, it’s not intentional to provoke anyone, it’s just that our family really lacks a girl.”

Qi Zheng laughed heartily.

The family of three had walked over a hundred meters when Qi Manman suddenly said, “Mom, Manbao wants to pee.”

Hearing this, Yi Meng’s heart skipped a beat.

It’s happening!

Familiar territory again!

Even so, Yi Meng stopped Qi Quanjin, having him stand behind them as a cover, while she helped the little girl take off her pants.

The plan was to hold the child to handle the emergency. If she let the little girl squat down, the snow might have touched her bottom.

But Qi Manman wriggled and refused, “Mom, Manbao will do it herself.”

“You little girl, the snow is so thick, if you squat, your little bottom will turn into an ice block.”

Yi Meng disapproved.

But Qi Manman pouted, “No, it won’t! There’s a little hole here.”

As she said this, Qi Manman pointed to the spot beneath her feet.

“Brother Jin, come and shovel here!”

Yi Meng quickly called for Qi Quanjin.

Qi Quanjin heard his daughter’s words too, feeling a twinge of nervousness, yet he hurried to shovel the snow with his hoe.

Thud!

The ground was frozen solid, and when the hoe struck it, a sound echoed, jolting Qi Quanjin’s palms and nearly causing him to lose his grip.

“Brother Jin?”

Yi Meng called out in concern.

Qi Quanjin shook his head, “No problem, I just hit the ground.”

Just after he spoke, Qi Quanjin felt his hoe sink in, poking forward again, actually uncovering a small hole.

But inside the hole was all snow, and if there weren’t dark soil marks around the opening, it might not even be visible.

“Wife, there really is a hole here.”

Qi Quanjin’s voice was tinged with indescribable excitement.

Yi Meng rolled her eyes silently: As expected!

However, first, she had Qi Quanjin clear a space nearby so that they could handle her daughter’s urgent matter, then let Qi Quanjin dig around the hole.

After several digs, he was still only uncovering snow, with nothing else in sight.

Though the hole’s opening had widened, almost reaching a foot in width.

“Stop digging for now.”

Yi Meng heard Mrs. Qi’s shout and quickly stopped Qi Quanjin, “Let’s buy this piece of land first, and bring everyone here to dig later—more hands, faster work.”

“Okay.”

Qi Quanjin also heard his own mother’s call, so he hurriedly obliged, pretending to scatter snow to cover waste, then took his wife and daughter back.

“Why did it take so long? I saw you digging for a long time, what were you digging for?”

Mrs. Qi saw her beloved granddaughter’s cheeks red with exertion or perhaps cold, with a touch of reproach in her voice.

Qi Quanjin hadn’t figured out how to explain, so Yi Meng interjected, “Just checking the soil under the snow, it’s all black.”

The Government Official next to them chuckled, “Indeed! Our land in Tabei Prefecture is the richest. So dark and fertile, almost everything yields a bumper crop.”

Upon hearing this, no matter what others thought, Qi Zheng let out a genuine sigh of relief.

We farmers adore fertile soil most!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep