Chapter 194: Chapter 107: The Real Farming Life

The old woman turned to Yangzi and Little Shitou and said, “You two go gather some more. When you get back, wash the river snails clean and keep them in fresh water. Add a few drops of sesame oil and let them sit for a few days, changing the water frequently. When it’s time to cook them, snip off the ends of the snails and boil them in their shells with chili peppers and fennel. Now *that’s* fragrant. But you’ll need a needle to pick out the meat, or you won’t be able to get it out.”

Yangzi and Little Shitou exchanged a look, and both said they would continue gathering snails in the afternoon. Just hearing the grandmother’s description made them think it would be delicious.

Juhua felt that Shi Tou’s grandmother’s method for cooking the snails was better than her own. ’I’ll definitely use this method from now on. My old way was to braise them in soy sauce, but that inevitably made the meat a bit tough.’

Just then, Qingmu and Zhang Huai returned, carrying a basket filled with Huang Shan and Ni Qiu. Liu Xiaomei was overjoyed at the sight.

Qingmu said with a smile, “Your brother caught these. He’s a real expert at catching Huang Shan. We had no idea where to find any, but he went searching all along the edges of the paddies. As long as he found a hole, he was sure to pull out some Huang Shan. Huai Zi and I just managed to catch some Ni Qiu, and only when we got a clear shot at them.”

Juhua asked with a laugh, “Were you out there to plant rice seedlings or to catch Huang Shan?”

Zhang Huai smiled and said, “It was so chaotic in the paddies that all these creatures got stirred up. We weren’t specifically trying to catch them. At first, we just gathered what we found, but when we saw it wasn’t enough for a dish, we had Ershun and Sanshun go hunt for more along the ridges. It’s enough to make another dish for the table now.”

He was relieved to see Liu Xiaomei had arrived. With her help, cooking wouldn’t be so tiring for Juhua. He watched Juhua from a distance, no longer trying to get close to her as he had before. ’How can I marry Juhua if I haven’t saved up anything for our family?’ he thought. ’The moment I show my intentions, people will accuse me of being a freeloader.’

Delighted by the sight of the Huang Shan, Yangzi and Little Shitou wanted to go catch some themselves.

Hearing them, Qingmu said, “You two should forget about it. Do you think Ershun and Sanshun learned that skill overnight? You’d better not go. Neither of you have worked in the paddies before; you’ll probably catch a cold if you go in.”

Yangzi laughed. “I’m not that fragile. I’ll go plant the seedlings. Shi Tou can gather the river snails by himself.”

Huai Zi looked at his younger brother and said, “After planting just one row of seedlings, you can barely straighten your back when you stand up. You think it’s easy? You’ll be crying about your back hurting later. Planting seedlings isn’t like harvesting rice; there’s a trick to it. Otherwise, you’ll plant them all crooked, and they won’t take root and will just float to the surface. You should stay here and help Sister Juhua. Just lend a hand, pass her things, that sort of stuff. Or gathering river snails is fine too. Isn’t that another good dish for us?”

It wasn’t that Yangzi didn’t understand how hard the work was. He had matured a lot, and it was precisely because he knew how hard his parents worked that he wanted to go help his brother. But hearing the concern in his brother’s voice, he nodded with a slight smile. He glanced over at Juhua, then gave his brother a reassuring look.

Huai Zi’s face turned red, and he shot his brother a fierce glare.

Just then, Shi Tou’s grandmother also said, “You should stick to gathering river snails. Don’t go feeling around randomly; you’ll be in real trouble if you grab a water snake.”

She brought out some corn cakes for Qingmu and Huai Zi to take to everyone in the fields, adding a large bowl of chili relish to go with them. The two headed off gleefully.

At noon, when the field workers returned for lunch, they were all walking with a stiff, wide-legged gait, swaying with every step.

The women walked with one hand on the small of their backs, dragging their feet with effort. Their trouser legs were down, as they had gone into the water without rolling them up. The men, in contrast, walked with slumped shoulders and swinging arms. Their trouser legs were rolled up high, their legs caked in mud, which they washed off in a small ditch before rolling their trousers back down. Their faces were weary yet exhilarated.

Behind them, in the paddy, neat rows of seedlings covered the glistening surface of the water. The once-empty field was suddenly full, its vibrant green seeming to brighten and soften the very sky and earth. The young shoots swayed gently in the warm Feng’er.

Zheng Changhe straightened his back, his legs planted apart. He staggered a couple of steps before finding his balance and said with a laugh, “After being cooped up all winter, my back really can’t take a whole day of bending over.”

Hearing this, Yang Family glanced worriedly at his legs and asked, “Changhe, are your legs hurting? If they hurt, you can’t just endure it and say nothing. You’ll only cause more trouble for everyone if it turns into a serious problem.”

Zheng Changhe laughed quickly. “My legs don’t hurt at all, they’re perfectly fine. Don’t you worry. I think it’s just because I’ve been resting for so long. After planting seedlings all morning, my back’s a little sore.”

Zhao San heard this and burst out laughing. “Forget you, even I can’t take it! Isn’t the first day always like this? It’ll be better after a couple of days of planting. The more sore you are, the less you should lie down. You have to keep moving. Sleeping tonight is going to be torture—your butt will be too sore to even touch the bed.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep