Farming for Three Meals a Day [Farming Life] 1

Chapter 1

“Have you heard? It seems the Cao family in the next village is going to break off the engagement!” A woman in dark blue coarse cloth sat cross-legged on the stone millstone at her door, winking at the other village women.

Another woman chimed in, “Isn’t that so? I heard from my sister-in-law in the next village that the Cao family seems to want to propose to a wealthy family in town, to secure a good marriage.”

“Didn’t the Cao family get engaged to the Ye family last year?” asked Second Aunt Liu, who was sewing shoe soles.

Mrs. Lin, who started the conversation, sighed and said in a sharp voice, “It’s because a while ago, the Ye family’s young man, he…”

She only got halfway through her sentence when Second Aunt Liu nudged her with her elbow, stopping her in time.

Everyone looked up and saw a thin young man with a full basket of pigweed walking over from the other side of the field, passing right in front of the group of women.

Mrs. Lin forced a smile and greeted Ye Xi, “Xi-ge’er, cutting pigweed?”

[Translator’s Note:”Ge’er” is a respectful and affectionate term. “Ge” means “older brother,” and the suffix adds a casual, endearing tone. However, it can also be used to refer to a young man or someone close in an affectionate way, not strictly implying an older brother relationship]

Ye Xi nodded, his body slightly bent under the weight of the basket full of green grass, his forehead covered in sweat.

He quickly glanced at the women in front of him and said, “Aunties, enjoy the cool air and your gossip. I’ll go home first; the pigs at home are waiting to eat.”

“Alright, alright, go ahead. We’ll also go home to cook after a few more words,” Mrs. Lin said with a smile.

Ye Xi didn’t linger and walked home carrying the pigweed.

However, the naked stares from behind him followed him, and the deliberately lowered voices also drifted into his ears.

“Oh, I say this Xi-ge’er is also a pitiful one. He was about to get engaged to the Cao family next month, how did he end up burning his face?”

“I’d say, the face isn’t incurable. If he finds Doctor Zhang in town to prescribe some good medicine, maybe he won’t have any scars.”

“I’m afraid it’s difficult. It’s been over a month. I’ve seen Old Man Ye go to town quite a few times to get medicine. When I passed by their house, the smell of medicine was strong enough to make me sneeze, but I haven’t seen any improvement on Xi-ge’er’s face. Didn’t you see it’s still covered with gauze?”

“Then the Cao family’s marriage proposal is probably off. The Cao family is a well-known wealthy family around here. Their son, Bin-ge’er, might even pass the Xiucai exam in a few months.”

“Still, his fortune is too thin to hold such good luck.”

Ye Xi had heard such discussions among the villagers many times recently. Ever since he tripped over the threshold while cooking pig food last month, spilling a bucket of freshly boiled pig food and scalding the left half of his face, the story had spread throughout Shanxiu Village.

Some watched the spectacle, some gloated, and some pitied him and offered folk remedies. But after more than a month, the burn on his face had mostly healed, except for the scar, which showed no signs of improvement. It stuck to his left face like the skin of a toad in the field, making people avoid him.

From the initial breakdown and inability to accept it, he gradually calmed his mind. Since things had already turned out this way, he couldn’t just stop living, right? He still had his loving father and mother, and his elder brother who had treasured him since childhood.

Putting the gossip aside, Ye Xi pushed open the wicker gate of his home.

His father and elder brother had gone to the fields before dawn. The chickens and ducks they raised were wandering around the courtyard, a few even stepping into the vegetable garden to peck at the vegetables.

Ye Xi chased the chickens and ducks out of the vegetable garden and dumped the full basket of pigweed at the entrance of the pigsty. He casually threw a few handfuls into the chicken coop, then chopped half a basin with the curved knife under the eaves, mixed it with wheat bran, and poured it into the stone trough. Watching the pink pig snouts sticking out from the pigpen, grunting and eating the pig food, he softly called into the house, “Mother, I’m back.”

Smoke curled from the kitchen chimney, and soon, a slightly plump woman with an apron tied around her waist came out. “Xi-er, you’re back.”

Seeing the strands of hair on Ye Xi’s forehead wet with sweat, she said with distress, “I told you, it’s a hot day with the sun scorching people. Wait for your father and brother to come back from the fields and let them cut the pigweed. Why did you go again?”

Ye Xi scooped some water from the wooden bucket with a gourd ladle and said, “It’s alright, Mother. I’ve been doing this since I was young, so I’m not afraid of the sun.”

“But you…” Liu Xiufeng’s face was full of distress, but she hesitated to speak. She didn’t want to add to Ye Xi’s pain. Sighing, her eyes slightly moistened, she said, “Forget it, forget it. If you want to do it, then do it. After all, we’ve let you down, we haven’t taken good care of you.”

She had this young son when she was nearly thirty years old. When Ye Xi was born, he was more beautiful than other babies, fair-skinned, with dark, bright eyes, and a small, delicate face. Others were incredibly envious. Ye Xi had been weak since childhood, and her husband doted on him endlessly, going to the village entrance every day to spend two wen to buy a bowl of goat’s milk to nourish him.

In rural farming families, whose children grew up drinking goat’s milk? But Ye Xi did.

Perhaps because of growing up drinking goat’s milk, even though he was a farmer’s son, Ye Xi’s skin remained fair. Even when working under the scorching sun during busy farming seasons, he didn’t get tanned. Instead, the more sun he got, the fairer he became, and even when sweating, he appeared rosy-cheeked and bright-toothed.

Because of this, his reputation spread. Villagers within ten miles knew about the Ye family’s beautiful young son. Many people eagerly asked matchmakers to inquire, but Ye’s parents were reluctant to let Ye Xi marry so early, wanting to keep him by their side for a couple more years, so they declined the matchmakers’ proposals.

Until last year, when Ye Xi turned sixteen, even though they were reluctant, they had to find a husband for him. It just so happened that the Cao family in the neighboring village also wanted to find a wife for their only son, so they asked a matchmaker to come and propose.

Father Ye and Liu Xiufeng saw that the Cao family was well-off and offered a generous betrothal gift, so they were satisfied. Later, when the Cao family brought their son, Cao Bin, for them to meet, the couple saw that Cao Bin was handsome and refined, and heard that he was studying at a private school, so they readily agreed.

Ye Xi naturally obeyed his parents’ arrangement and peacefully got engaged to Cao Bin, just waiting to be married.

Who would have thought this would happen?

The water in the wooden basin reflected Ye Xi’s face covered with white gauze. He looked at the water quietly and said calmly to his mother, “What are you talking about, Mother? You and Father have treasured me like your own eyes since I was young. Now that my face is injured, it’s my own fate. What does it have to do with you?”

Liu Xiufeng gently wiped the corners of her eyes with her sleeve. Her young son was sensible and capable, managing the household affairs meticulously. He was a perfect match for the Cao family’s son, and they could rest assured. But now, they were uncertain about the Cao family’s intentions. If the engagement were broken off, how would Ye Xi live in the future?

Ye Xi gently removed the gauze, revealing the ugly scar on his left face. It was bumpy and scabby, a stark contrast to his right face. He pursed his lips and scooped water with his hands to wash his face.

As dusk fell, Father Ye and Ye Shan, Ye Xi’s elder brother, returned from the fields shouldering hoes. Entering the courtyard, they knocked the mud off their hoes and tossed them under the fence, then sat under the eaves to repair their farming tools. People who depended on the land for a living never idled.

Ye Xi brought out an earthenware teapot from the kitchen and poured a bowl for each of them. “Father, Brother, have some water. I boiled some artemisia leaves in it.”

Father Ye and Ye Shan each took a bowl and drank it down in a few gulps. When they handed back the bowls, they saw the white gauze on their younger brother’s face, and Ye Shan felt a pang of pain in his heart.

“Xi-ge’er, the rice stalks in our fields are growing particularly well this year. The harvest will likely be better than previous years. After Father and I sell the new rice, we’ll take you to the provincial capital to see a famous doctor. We’ll definitely cure you!”

Ye Xi smiled and comforted his brother, “Brother, I’ve been taking Doctor Li’s medicine from town for over a month, and I haven’t seen any improvement. Our family’s silver has been mostly spent on me. I think it probably can’t be cured. I’ll just stay at home and live with you. I’ll be happy too.”

Father Ye said loudly, “The Cao family hasn’t said anything about breaking off the engagement yet, Xi-ge’er, don’t be sad. If that family doesn’t want you, your father and brother will take our cleavers and go to their house!”

Liu Xiufeng came out of the kitchen, tying her coarse cloth apron, and scolded Father Ye, “What are you shouting about! Are you afraid the neighbors won’t come to see our family’s joke? I say, if our Xi-ge’er doesn’t get married, our family will raise him ourselves. I’m not willing to let him go anyway!”

Being scolded by his wife, Father Ye deflated like a frost-bitten plant and sat back down on the bluestone slab under the eaves. “Yes, wife, you’re right. If Xi-ge’er wants to stay at home, we’ll raise him. The food from our fields is enough for him too!”

His parents loved him so much. Ye Xi sniffed, his heart gradually relaxing. Even with a ruined face, life could still go on. This way, he might not have to get married and could stay with his family forever.

Dinner in farming families was always simple: a clay pot of pumpkin and millet porridge, a plate of blanched loofah, and another plate of garlic mashed pumpkin vines.

They set up a small square table and the family sat in the courtyard to eat.

The next day.

Ye Xi covered his face with white gauze and, as usual, carried a basket to the foot of the mountain to cut pigweed. They raised three pigs at home, along with a flock of chickens and ducks. The demand for green grass was high every day. His father and brother were busy with fieldwork, and his mother had to manage the household, so he had always been responsible for feeding the livestock.

By the end of each year, this was a very important source of income, enabling the family to have a good New Year. Ye Xi could also earn some pocket money, which, after saving for years, amounted to over one or two taels of silver.

By the ditch at the foot of the mountain, the green grass grew lush and green. Ye Xi put down the basket and bent down to cut the grass with a sickle. He had just cut half a basket when he encountered villagers going to wash clothes together.

Walking in front was the youngest son of the Lin family from the east end of the village, named Lin Yao, often called Yao-ge’er. He was delicate and handsome, one of the most attractive young men in the nearby villages, though people still considered him slightly inferior to Ye Xi.

Since Ye Xi burned his face, he had become completely puffed up, often mocking Ye Xi in front of others and behind his back.

Ye Xi had just pressed the cut grass into his basket when he heard Yao-ge’er’s laughter.