Farming for Three Meals a Day [Farming Life] 75

Chapter 75

Early morning, mist still lingered on the mountainside, the calls of partridges echoing through the quiet valley. Today was the day Ye Shan would release the fish fry into his pond, and Ye Xi and Lin Jiangshan were going to help, so they had an early breakfast and set off.

As they were leaving, the fawn was butting its antlers against the bluestone steps again. Lin Jiangshan touched them, it was shedding its antlers. Sika deer shed their antlers twice a year, and if it couldn’t shed them naturally, Lin Jiangshan would have to help.

“I’ll check on you tonight, and if you still can’t shed them, I’ll help you,” Lin Jiangshan said, stroking its head.

Shed antlers could be sold to pharmacies for a good price. Although their fawn was only a year and a half old, and its antlers weren’t large, they could still fetch over one tael of silver.

Ye Xi smiled. “Even our deer is earning money for us, our life is definitely improving.”

Lin Jiangshan smiled, and they locked the courtyard gate and went to the Ye family’s to help.

The fishpond Ye Shan built wasn’t as large as those in other villages, only a little over three acres. He couldn’t abandon his fields, and with his aging father, he needed to help with the farm work, so a small fishpond was enough, allowing him time for farming.

When Ye Xi and Lin Jiangshan arrived, Ye Shan and two other villagers had just returned with an ox cart, borrowed from Ye Xi’s family, carrying four or five buckets of fish fry, teeming with tiny fish.

Lin Jiangshan asked Ye Shan how many he had bought.

Ye Shan smiled. “I bought grass carp and crucian carp. I’ll release them into the pond later. Since the villagers like crucian carp soup, I bought a thousand crucian carp and five hundred grass carp.”

It had been sunny for several days, a perfect day for releasing the fish fry. Ye Shan tested the water temperature in the pond, finding it not too cold, and then he and Lin Jiangshan carried a bucket and released half a bucket of fish fry into the pond.

They had to wait for an hour. If the fish fry didn’t float belly-up, they could release more.

Ye Xi and Li Ran didn’t interfere, just watched the men from the side. Many villagers came to watch the event, crowding around the fishpond.

Liu Xiufeng, beaming with joy, chatted and greeted the villagers, who were all praising their family’s prosperity, now even having a fishpond.

It was a happy occasion, and Father Ye bought a few packets of sugar-coated peanuts from a passing peddler, offering them to the onlookers as a treat.

The host family’s generosity pleased the villagers, who took a few peanuts and hid them in their sleeves, planning to take them home for their children.

“Ye Shan is truly capable, I’ll buy some fish from you when they grow up!”

“Yes, when you drain the pond in autumn, we’ll come and buy fish, Old Man Ye, you have to give us a discount!”

Father Ye and Liu Xiufeng exchanged pleasantries with the villagers, it was important to maintain good relationships with their neighbors, in case someone tried to sabotage them, stealing or even poisoning the fish.

The Ye family had a good reputation in Shanxiu Village, always acting with propriety and consideration, which was why they dared to build the fishpond, they would need the villagers’ help in the future.

Ye Xi supported Li Ran, whose belly was now quite large, making her movements slow and cumbersome.

“Your brother keeps talking to my belly, calling the baby ‘girl,’ he wants a daughter.”

Ye Xi smiled. “My mother said that my brother thought she was pregnant with a girl, and he was so happy, always saying he would have a little sister. But then I was born, and he sat on the ground and cried, asking my mother to give him back his sister. Mother couldn’t stop laughing and told him to marry and have a daughter with his wife.”

Li Ran couldn’t help but laugh. “Although you’re not a girl, your brother still loves you very much.”

Ye Xi smiled. “Of course he does, he’s always doted on me since we were young. If Sister-in-law really has a daughter, he’ll probably treat her like a precious jewel.”

Li Ran smiled, stroking her belly, her foolish husband loved them dearly.

They had just finished releasing a bucket of fish fry when Ye Xi, feeling the wind by the pond was too strong, helped Li Ran back to their house.

When they arrived, Li-ge’er was there. “Li Xi heard that you’re releasing fish fry today and went to help. I had nothing to do, so I came to chat.”

Ye Xi smiled. “He’s a good man, even leaving his butcher stall to come and help.”

Li-ge’er said, “If he weren’t kind and reliable, I wouldn’t have agreed to marry him.”

Li Xi and Li-ge’er had their wedding feast after Rain Water and had moved to their new house on the mountainside.

They rented a pork stall in town and traveled from village to village buying pigs every day. Although it was tiring, their life was improving.

In just two months since their wedding, Li-ge’er already had a thin silver bracelet on his wrist, not as thick as Ye Xi’s, but still a sign of prosperity.

Ye Xi teased him, “Oh, you’re so wealthy now, wearing a silver bracelet. When I got married, some people were envious of my bracelet, thinking they would never be able to afford one, and you’re already wearing one after just two months of marriage.”

Li-ge’er blushed and whispered, “He’s a caring husband, he saved some money after selling pork and had this bracelet made for me. My mother was very happy, saying he’s a reliable man.”

Li Ran, eating dried sweet potatoes, smiled. “He’ll probably make you a pair next year! Then you can wear one on each wrist, even more impressive!”

The three of them chatted in the room, and Li-ge’er, having just returned from town, shared some news, “The results of the spring imperial exam are out today.”

Ye Xi and Li Ran, living in the mountains, didn’t pay attention to such scholarly matters.

“The imperial exam is for scholars, we don’t really care about it,” Ye Xi smiled.

Li-ge’er sighed, he had just heard about it while passing by. “Someone from our area actually became a Xiucai!”

A Xiucai was a rare occurrence, and Li Ran and Ye Xi straightened up, asking, “Who is it?”

Li-ge’er thought for a moment. “He’s from the next village, called Zhang Yuan. I heard the private school teacher praising his talent and writing skills, saying he has the bearing of an official, and that he might even become a Juren next time.”

A Juren, that was an even more prestigious title, Shanxiu Village hadn’t had one in decades, someone who could stand shoulder to shoulder with the county magistrate.

Ye Xi found the name familiar, Zhang Yuan.

He seemed to have bought couplets written by this person in town before, and he actually became a Xiucai.

Ye Xi said, “Zhang Yuan, the name sounds familiar, I bought his couplets before.”

Li-ge’er smiled. “He’s practically from our Shanxiu Village, he’s Grandma Zhao’s younger brother.”

Ye Xi suddenly realized, “That’s right, I was wondering why the name sounded so familiar, I heard Grandma Zhao mention her younger brother before, he was studying, and now he’s successful!”

Li Ran asked curiously, “Grandma Zhao?”

Ye Xi told them her story, making Li Ran want to teach those wicked parents-in-law a lesson.

Ye Xi smiled. “Don’t worry, now that her brother is a Xiucai, and might even achieve higher things in the future, the Zhao family, simple farmers, will definitely be afraid of him. With her scholar brother’s support, Grandma Zhao’s life will definitely improve.”

Li-ge’er and Li Ran were relieved.

Zhang Yuan, after learning that he had become a Xiucai, hurried to Xiushui Village to share the good news with his sister, Xi Ge’er (Grandma Zhao), his heart filled with joy and excitement.

[Translator’s Note:

Hello, dear readers! You may notice that two different characters in this chapter are referred to as “Xi Ge’er.” This is a fascinating nuance of the original Chinese text that can be confusing in translation.

• Our main character, Ye Xi (叶溪), is affectionately called 溪哥儿 (Xī Gē’er). The character “溪” (Xī) is part of his name and means “stream” .

• The other character, Grandma Zhao, is the older sister of Zhang Yuan. Her name or nickname is 喜哥儿 (Xǐ Gē’er). The character “喜” (Xǐ) means “joy” or “happiness” .

Although they sound identical in English (“Xi Ge’er”), the Chinese characters are different, making them distinct in the original text.

To prevent any confusion, from this point forward, I will clarify which character is being referred to in parentheses every time the name “Xi Ge’er” appears:

• Xi Ge’er (Ye Xi) for our main character.

• Xi Ge’er (Grandma Zhao) for Zhang Yuan’s sister.]

He wanted to tell his sister the good news immediately.

As he entered the village, he heard an old woman’s harsh scolding from afar, and he cursed inwardly, “How uncivilized.”

As he got closer to his sister’s in-laws’ house, the scolding became clearer.

“You shameless wretch! You’ve wasted all the family’s money, even a mountain of gold and silver wouldn’t be enough for you to squander, you disgusting thing.”

The old woman’s cursing became increasingly harsh, and Zhang Yuan, who had heard his share of village women’s scolding, had never heard such foul language.

He hesitated at the door, and then he heard soft sobbing from inside. Zhang Yuan’s fists clenched tightly. The old woman was scolding his sister, Xi Ge’er (Grandma Zhao). From her words, he could tell it wasn’t the first time.

His sister was being humiliated at home, such a grievance. No wonder Xi Ge’er’s (Grandma Zhao) eyes were always red when she came to the private school to bring him clothes and food, but she never mentioned any of this.

Zhang Yuan was furious and banged on the door, and the old woman’s scolding stopped. “Who is it?! A debt collector?! If you break the door, you’re not leaving! What are you looking at, open the door! Are you stupid?!”

Then he heard footsteps, the door opened, and Zhang Yuan saw his sister, Xi Ge’er (Grandma Zhao), her eyes red and swollen, her spirit broken.

Xi Ge’er (Grandma Zhao) was also surprised to see her brother. He was always studying diligently at the private school, even late into the night, never wasting a single day.

“Yuan’er, why are you here?!”

Zhang Yuan felt sorry for his sister’s suffering and pushed her aside, rushing into the courtyard. “You’re being insulted by this old woman at home?! If I had known, I would have taken you home long ago!”

With no one at home, and her younger brother still studying, she had to endure this hardship to save money for his education.

Xi Ge’er (Grandma Zhao) wiped her tears. “I’m fine, but why are you here? Did something happen?”

Zhang Yuan’s eyes were red with anger, and he pulled his sister, wanting to leave.

Her mother-in-law, Mrs. Zhao, said sharply, “Where are you going! Xi Ge’er (Grandma Zhao) is my daughter-in-law, we paid eight taels of silver for her! She’s our family’s property, even if she dies, you can’t just take her away!”