Farming for Three Meals a Day [Farming Life] 11

Chapter 11

The next day, Li-ge’er came to visit Ye Xi with his embroidered handkerchief, chatting to pass the time. When he arrived, Ye Xi was drying eggplant slices under the eaves. In summer, the eggplants in the vegetable garden were endless, and they could only be dried and stored for consumption in autumn and winter.

Li-ge’er brought a small stool and sat beside Ye Xi, his eyes downcast as he worked on his needlework, chatting idly. “Your days seem so peaceful and carefree, not at all showing the frustration and turmoil caused by the recent events. If I had encountered such troubles, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to lift my spirits for a long time.”

Ye Xi spread the eggplant slices on the bamboo tray with his hand and smiled. “We live our own lives. Should we stop living just because we encounter some setbacks? We should live even better, so as not to become a laughingstock.”

Li-ge’er sewed a few stitches, then suddenly thought of something and said, “Yao-ge’er from the east end of the village is quite popular now. I heard two or three families went to his house to propose marriage last month.”

Ye Xi wasn’t interested at all, just listening casually. “So, who did his family choose?”

Li-ge’er curled his lip disdainfully. “None of them. He has high standards, thinking that marrying a village farmer would be a waste of his good looks.”

Ye Xi said, “We’re all farming families. Instead of marrying a farmer and living a stable life, he’s still thinking about unrealistic things.”

Li-ge’er frowned. “He has his eyes on the wealthy Cao family in the next village, the one you were engaged to before. He really wants to marry into their family.”

Ye Xi raised his eyebrows. Lin Yao actually thought the Cao family was a good match, not knowing it was a troublesome place with an unreliable husband and meddling in-laws.

Ye Xi said with a hint of pity, “Why would he want to marry into the Cao family?”

Li-ge’er sighed. “He heard you were engaged to the Cao family before, and their son is a scholar. Yao-ge’er was envious and jealous. You know, within ten miles, the number of people who can read and write can be counted on one hand, they’re rare. If you had married into the Cao family, he would have felt you were superior to him. With his pride, how could he swallow that?”

Ye Xi shrugged, feeling indifferent. “Then he can be happy now, eagerly wanting to marry into the Cao family.”

Li-ge’er snorted. “He can dream on. The Cao family might not necessarily want him. They wanted to marry you because of your outstanding looks, diligence, and gentle personality. What does Lin Yao have?”

Ye Xi said, “I don’t think the Cao family is a good match.”

Li-ge’er nodded. “Yes, a family that rushed to break off the engagement just because your face was burned can’t be a good family. You’re right, although the Cao family is wealthy, they’re heartless!”

Seeing his protectiveness, Ye Xi couldn’t help but laugh.

They chatted and laughed for half a day. At noon, Li-ge’er went home, and Ye Xi, after seeing him off, went to cut pigweed.

Meanwhile, Lin Yao, the one Li-ge’er mentioned, was throwing a tantrum at home.

Spoiled since childhood, he picked up a bowl of water from the table and smashed it against the door frame, crying, “I will never marry those country bumpkins! If you, Father and Mother, want to marry me off just because these families offer generous betrothal gifts, then you’re severing our blood ties!”

Mother Liu’s heart ached, and she quickly went to hug her son. “My dear, you’re going to break my heart. If you don’t want to marry, then don’t. Mother won’t force you.”

Father Lin, with a worried look, squatted on the threshold. “It’s because you’ve spoiled him since he was young that he’s become so willful. These days, all sorts of families have come to propose. I’d say, a few of them are quite good, with land and houses, and kind in-laws. Our Yao-ge’er wouldn’t have to suffer if he married into those families.”

Yao-ge’er huddled in his mother’s arms, his eyes swollen from crying. “No matter how good they are, they’re still dirt farmers, I look down on them. Since I was born with such good looks, I should strive for something better. If I marry a scholar and he becomes an official in the future, wouldn’t our Lin family also be honored? Everyone in the village would look up to our family. Father and Mother, you have no vision!”

Mother Liu hugged Yao-ge’er and said to Father Lin, “It’s a good thing our Yao-ge’er has such ambition! Which other young man has such plans? If he really finds a husband who becomes an official, our family will be the most prominent in Shanxiu Village, even the village chief would have to defer to us!”

Father Lin was slightly tempted, but he also knew that their family was humble, and the scholarly and wealthy families in town probably wouldn’t look at them. He scratched his head worriedly. “It’s easy for you to say, but we have no connections. Those families have high standards, they probably wouldn’t want to marry our Yao-ge’er, at most taking him as a concubine, and that would be a disgrace to our ancestors.”

Lin Yao then mentioned, “Isn’t there the Cao family in the next village? Their son is also studying in a private school. If he passes the imperial exam this year and becomes a Xiucai, wouldn’t our family also be a step above others?”

Father Lin shook his head and said, “Cao Bin broke off the engagement with the Ye family and seems to be talking to a wealthy family in town recently. I doubt they’ll consider us.”

Lin Yao was unwilling to give up. Since the Cao family had considered Ye Xi before, why not him, Lin Yao? “Father, success depends on effort. Let me try.”

Father Lin wanted to say more, but Mother Liu pushed him out and said protectively, “Our Yao-ge’er has his own ideas, just let him handle it himself. I also like the Cao family, they’re a wealthy family and can help us in the future!”

Hearing his wife say this, he couldn’t say anything more.

Time flowed like water in the mountains, and in a blink of an eye, Major Heat arrived, and every family in the village began harvesting rice.

Under the scorching sun, men and women, old and young, worked in the fields. Rice stalks were cut down with sickles, dried for half a day, then threshed to separate the grains. The remaining straw was tied into bundles and left to dry in the field, later to be transported home to be used as fertilizer for poultry or burned into ash and scattered in the fields as fertilizer.

Sweat mingled with the joy of harvest, and cartloads of grain were transported home.

The Ye family were all in the fields, leaving Ye Xi at home to dry the rice grains. He just spread bamboo mats in the courtyard and evenly spread the fragrant rice grains on them with a rake when Liu Xiufeng came running back, the hair on her forehead wet with sweat and plastered to her cheeks. She wiped her sweat with her sleeve and shouted, “Xi-ge’er! Xi-ge’er!”

Ye Xi hurried out of the main room. “Mother, what’s wrong?”

Liu Xiufeng said anxiously, “Your brother cut his foot with a sickle! Your father can’t carry him, quickly find someone to help! I have to go to the village and find a doctor!”

Ye Xi’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly replied, “I’ll go right away!”

Liu Xiufeng finished and hurried off to find a doctor.

Ye Xi didn’t dare to delay, quickly locked the door of the main room, and rushed to the village to ask for help. He ran in a panic, and at the intersection, he bumped into someone coming from the opposite direction.

His nose hit something hard, and he smelled the scent of sweat.

“Are you alright?” Lin Jiangshan’s voice came from above.

Ye Xi touched his nose. The pain brought tears to his eyes, and the corners of his eyes reddened. He had bumped into Lin Jiangshan’s chest.

The man’s muscles were firm, and the impact was quite painful.

“I’m fine,” Ye Xi replied, then, remembering his brother, he grabbed Lin Jiangshan’s arm and pleaded, “My brother cut his foot with a sickle in the field. Can you help me carry him home?”

Lin Jiangshan’s gaze fell on Ye Xi’s hand gripping his arm. Without any hesitation, he said in a deep voice, “Alright, lead the way.”

Ye Xi smiled gratefully and pulled Lin Jiangshan’s arm, leading him to their field.

Ye Shan had been cutting rice when the sickle sliced into his lower leg, a bowl-sized wound, deep enough to see the bone. Bright red blood oozed out continuously, flowing down to his ankle and dripping into the soil, staining the small patch of earth a dark red.

Father Ye found some spiderwebs from a nearby tree and applied them to Ye Shan’s wound, then wrapped it with leaves, and tied straw around his leg to slow the bleeding.

Ye Shan’s face was pale with pain, his lips trembling.

Ye Xi arrived hurriedly with Lin Jiangshan. Seeing his brother’s condition, his eyes filled with tears. “Brother!”

Lin Jiangshan squatted down and examined the wound, frowning. “The wound is deep, but it didn’t damage the bone or the main artery, which is fortunate.”

Ye Shan gritted his teeth and said weakly, “Brother Lin, do you know medicine?”

Lin Jiangshan untied the sash from his waist and skillfully wrapped it around Ye Shan’s leg, then looked up and said, “I saw many injured people in the army camp during my military service, so I gained some experience from observing.”

After bandaging the wound, he supported Ye Shan’s shoulders and helped him onto his back. “Hold onto my neck.”

Ye Shan was a strong man, and even for Lin Jiangshan, carrying him was a bit strenuous. Fortunately, they weren’t far from the Ye family’s house, and Father Ye helped from behind, while Ye Xi followed, carrying their sickles and other tools.

Lin Jiangshan walked quickly, and Ye Xi almost couldn’t keep up.

In no time, they carried Ye Shan back to the house and laid him on the kang. Just then, Liu Xiufeng returned with the doctor.

The doctor examined the wound and gave the same diagnosis as Lin Jiangshan. He just needed to stop the bleeding and take good care of the wound. He prepared some herbal ointment to apply to the wound and prescribed some blood-enriching and healing medicine.

The family finally felt relieved.

Seeing the sweat on Lin Jiangshan’s forehead and his wet shirt, Ye Xi went to the kitchen to boil some hot water and called Lin Jiangshan, “Come and wash up.”

Lin Jiangshan nodded and followed him to the kitchen.

The basin was filled with warm water, and Ye Xi handed him a soap pod. After Lin Jiangshan finished washing, he gave him a clean cotton cloth.

After thoroughly cleaning himself, the heat dissipated significantly. Lin Jiangshan looked at the sweat stains on the white cotton cloth and said apologetically, “Sorry, I just came from the woods, I’m very dirty.”

Ye Xi smiled. “I’ll wash it with soap berries later, it’ll be clean. You helped our family a lot today, we owe you another favor.”

Lin Jiangshan shook his head. “Your brother treats me sincerely as a brother, it’s only natural for me to help. There’s no need to talk about favors. If you need help in the future, just ask, I’ll definitely help if I can.”

Ye Xi’s heart felt warm upon hearing his words. He lowered his eyes and said, “Then thank you very much.”