Farming for Three Meals a Day [Farming Life] 71

Chapter 71

Ye Xi wasn’t one to keep secrets, so that night, he told Lin Jiangshan about Cao Bin. Hearing that his husband had been harassed by such a despicable person, Lin Jiangshan immediately wanted to grab his axe and attack him.

Ye Xi told him about scratching Cao Bin’s face and then said, “Do you want to ruin our lives and go to jail for that kind of person?”

Lin Jiangshan calmed down. He couldn’t kill anyone, but he had to vent his anger, he wasn’t someone who couldn’t protect his husband.

So, he waited by the official road for several nights, and when Cao Bin stumbled home drunk, he put a sack over his head and beat him up.

After knocking him unconscious, he left him on the road, making it look like he had collapsed from drunkenness. Ye Shan, hearing about this, also wanted to take revenge for the Cao family’s previous humiliation of breaking off the engagement, so he joined Lin Jiangshan for another round.

This time, after knocking Cao Bin unconscious, they threw him onto a nearby mass grave, stuffing some paper money into his pocket and smearing red paint on his face.

When Cao Bin woke up, he was terrified, thinking he had encountered a ghost, who had even given him paper money as a betrothal gift!

The Cao family, seeing his state, invited a Taoist priest to exorcise evil spirits and dispel bad luck, causing a commotion for two days. Yao-ge’er simply locked him in his room, watching him day and night, making him study and not allowing him to go out.

The matter subsided after that, and Ye Xi didn’t bother with them anymore, as long as they didn’t cause him any more trouble.

Spring rain and mountain mist filled the air. Toona sinensis buds sprouted on the mountains, and wild vegetables grew abundantly in the fields, more than they could eat.

Ye Xi and Li-ge’er went to town to sell wild vegetables twice, earning dozens of wen, which they used to buy chicks and ducklings.

They sold the handkerchiefs Ye Xi had embroidered during winter at the shop, earning a few strings of cash, adding to their savings.

“How many months pregnant is Sister-in-law Ran?” Li-ge’er hadn’t seen her for a while.

Ye Xi smiled. “Almost five months, she’ll give birth in autumn.”

Li-ge’er said longingly, “I can’t wait to see the baby, I want to hold him.”

Ye Xi had been embroidering a tiger hat and making tiger-head shoes, gifts for his nephew.

“Is Li Xi’s house almost finished?”

Li-ge’er nodded. “Sister-in-law Ran’s uncle is a skilled carpenter, the construction is fast, it should be finished in a few days, in time for the wedding.”

They had discussed during the New Year that after the house was built, Li-ge’er and his mother would move in after the wedding, and they would be neighbors with Ye Xi on the mountainside.

“I embroidered a handkerchief with a ‘double happiness’ character as a wedding gift for you.”

Li-ge’er’s eyes lit up. “Really?! Your embroidery is so beautiful, I’ll be so proud to carry it at my wedding!”

Ye Xi smiled. “Then I’ll come to your new house and chat with you.”

When he returned home, Lin Jiangshan had just returned from the fields.

Ye Xi was feeding the rabbits with chopped grass and wheat bran, and seeing his husband, he smiled and said, “Are you finished with the work in the fields?”

Lin Jiangshan put down the basket, his hands covered in dirt, and washed them. “There’s still some land left to plant. Did your wild vegetables sell well today?”

Ye Xi finished feeding the rabbits, brought Lin Jiangshan a pair of clean straw sandals, and asked him to put his muddy ones out to dry in the courtyard. “There were many people selling wild vegetables in town, Li-ge’er and I just found a random spot. Fortunately, our vegetables were fresh and clean, and we gave small discounts to those who bargained, so they sold quickly. We earned thirty copper coins.”

Lin Jiangshan smiled. “Your hard work paid off, we also earned a few strings of cash from plowing fields for others, I’m thinking of lending the money to your brother.”

Ye Xi asked, “Are we short of money?”

Lin Jiangshan smiled. “I ran into your brother yesterday, and he said he bought four acres of paddy fields, planning to build a fishpond, but he hasn’t bought the fish fry yet. I think he might be short of money.”

Ye Xi felt ashamed for not being as thoughtful as his husband and smiled. “Then let’s visit them after dinner, and also see Sister-in-law.”

There was no shortage of vegetables in spring. Ye Xi made stir-fried wild scallions with eggs, steamed buns filled with amaranth and meat, and a cold dish of shepherd’s purse with sesame oil.

“We’re running low on sesame oil, it might not last until summer,” Ye Xi said as he served the rice.

Lin Jiangshan nodded. “We haven’t planted sesame seeds or cotton yet, we’ll focus on food crops this year, and next year, we can allocate half the land for those.”

Ye Xi said, “I asked about the price of sesame oil at the shop today, one catty of sesame seeds yields four taels of oil, and if we buy it ready-made, it’s twenty-five wen per catty, quite expensive. I don’t know why the price increased. I’ll ask the peddler when he comes to the village and buy some for us.”

They discussed household matters as they ate.

Before leaving, Ye Xi took their money bag and went with Lin Jiangshan to his parents’ home.

Father Ye and Liu Xiufeng had just finished dinner, and seeing them, they asked, “Have you eaten yet?”

Hearing that they had, they were relieved and asked why they were back so late.

Ye Xi smiled. “I’ve been busy buying poultry and digging wild vegetables these past few days, I didn’t know Brother was building a fishpond, my husband told me when he came back.”

Ye Shan smiled. “We saved money all winter, and Father and Mother also gave us some, so we finally had enough to buy those paddy fields in the village, we just need to build the embankments.”

“Are you short of money?”

Ye Shan scratched his head, hesitating. “We’re short of money for the fish fry, but your sister-in-law said she still has some savings, don’t worry about it, Xi-ge’er.”

Ye Xi looked at Li Ran, her belly now quite large, sitting on the kang, stroking her belly, and smiling. “I still have my dowry, and if that’s not enough, I also have a silver bracelet, the one your brother made for me last year, it’s worth some money.”

She was generous and willing to contribute to the family, but Ye Xi didn’t think it was appropriate. “Sister-in-law’s money is her dowry, her safety net, although we’ll return it after we earn enough, it’s still not right. And she loves that silver bracelet, she doesn’t even wear it, how can we sell it?”

A daughter’s dowry was her own, her last resort, and her in-laws shouldn’t touch it. If her parents found out she was using her dowry, they would be upset, thinking their daughter was being mistreated.

Lin Jiangshan said, “We came to give you the money, see if it’s enough.”

Ye Shan rubbed his leg, embarrassed. “You just bought land and a cow, I thought you might be short of money, so I didn’t want to ask.”

Ye Xi took out the money bag. “Although we spent most of our savings, your brother-in-law is hardworking and has earned some more, we still have some left. Since Brother and Sister-in-law are working hard for our family, I’m happy to help, once your life improves, your parents-in-law will also be relieved.”

Liu Xiufeng said, “Xi-ge’er is your own brother, we’re family, there’s no need to be so polite about money. Since he’s lending you the money today, remember to return it to your brother and brother-in-law when the fishpond earns money.”

Lin Jiangshan said, “Don’t delay the fish fry purchase, it’s the best time to buy them.”

Ye Shan and Li Ran finally agreed to accept the money.

Leaving the Ye family’s house, Ye Xi was overjoyed, swinging Lin Jiangshan’s hand. “Our family is truly doing well now, my brother is even building a fishpond!”

He remembered when his family couldn’t even afford an acre of land, barely making ends meet every year. Now, his brother was married, they were expecting a child, and once the fishpond was built, their lives would truly improve.

He and Lin Jiangshan had also bought land and a cow, and as long as they worked hard, they might even be able to buy more land next year.

Lin Jiangshan, seeing his joy, and taking advantage of the darkness and the lack of people around, put his arm around his husband’s slender waist. “As long as my husband is happy.”

Ye Xi tugged on his clothes with two fingers, and Lin Jiangshan looked down at him.

“Do you… want a child?” He had seen the joy on his sister-in-law’s face today, the happiness of an expectant mother.

Lin Jiangshan’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, and he said in a low voice, “It would be good to have a child, but I don’t want you to feel pressured, don’t force it. If you conceive, we’ll have the child, and if not, it’s also fine, as long as we’re together, our life is good.”

He knew that it wasn’t easy for young men to conceive, even in Beizhou where he was from, many young men never conceived, that’s why the betrothal gifts for young men were much lower than for young women, wealthy families would only marry young women as their principal wives, and young men would only be concubines.

But in Nanjiang Prefecture, the customs were different, and young men were not looked down upon, their families treasured them, so their status and lives were much better. Lin Jiangshan, hearing Ye Xi’s question, knew that he wanted a child, but he didn’t want him to worry too much.

Ye Xi was also a bit worried, not knowing if he could conceive easily. Some young men in the village hadn’t conceived even after ten years of marriage and had even been divorced, and some families would take another wife, and the young man wouldn’t dare to object.

Ye Xi knew Lin Jiangshan wasn’t that kind of person, but he also believed that men all wanted children, Lin Jiangshan must also want a child to make their family complete.

“I’ll go to the doctor and ask for a prescription, to see if I can improve my health, maybe it will be easier to conceive…” Ye Xi said softly. Many young men in the village had tried medicine, some successfully conceived, some didn’t, he didn’t know if it would work.

Lin Jiangshan hugged his husband tightly, his lips nuzzling against his ear. “What’s the use of medicine? It’s bitter and you’ll suffer. I’ll give you a better prescription, guaranteed to be more effective than medicine.”

Ye Xi asked, “What prescription?”

They were almost home, and Lin Jiangshan smiled, lifting his husband onto his shoulder. “Me, your husband, I’m guaranteed to be effective!”

Ye Xi cried out in surprise, then covered his mouth.

Lin Jiangshan carried him straight into the house, removed his clothes, and pressed against him.

Even the birds on the roof were startled and flew away.