Farming for Three Meals a Day [Farming Life] 97

Chapter 97: Daily Life Raising Children 3

It was the height of summer in July, the cicadas chirping incessantly.

The temperature in the mountains rose, and the people of Shanxiu Village changed into thin clothes and short jackets. Villagers often gathered under the shade of the large tree at the village entrance after meals to escape the heat.

The small courtyard halfway up the mountain, nestled against the mountain and forest, was relatively cool.

Under the shade of the trees in the courtyard, Ye Xi was taking a nap with their two children on a bamboo bed. Lin Yuxi was nestled snugly in Ye Xi’s arms, while Lin Yuli, always restless in his sleep, lay on his back, his soft belly exposed, his arms and legs spread out.

Lin Jiangshan watched over his husband and children. Unable to sleep or stay idle, he weaved bamboo baskets.

Occasionally, a cool breeze would blow through, rustling the bamboo leaves, the summer air inducing drowsiness.

As the sun began to set in the west, they heard footsteps outside the courtyard gate. The two dogs, which had been lying down, perked up their ears, and Lin Jiangshan looked up.

Li Ran and Ye Shan arrived, carrying baskets.

“Oh, you’re still sleeping,” Li Ran said, looking at the three sleeping figures on the bamboo bed.

Lin Jiangshan put down the bamboo basket and brought stools for them. “It’s hot, easy to get sleepy. What brings you here, Sister-in-law and Brother?”

Ye Shan smiled. “The grapes at home are ripe, your sister-in-law was thinking of you and brought you a basket.”

Lin Jiangshan smiled. “Sister-in-law is so kind, Yu-ge’er loves grapes.”

Li Ran put down the basket and looked at Yu-ge’er’s sleeping face. “Yu-ge’er is so adorable, even prettier than a girl.”

Lin Jiangshan asked, “Why didn’t Ling-jie’er come?”

Ye Shan sighed when mentioning his daughter. “She’s not very ladylike, always running around with the other children, chasing cats and dogs, never at home.”

Despite his words, his face was full of love for his daughter.

Li Ran rolled her eyes at him. “It’s because you spoil her, you can’t even bear to touch her, giving her whatever she wants.”

Ye Shan touched his nose and didn’t say anything, he doted on his daughter.

They chatted for a while, and Ye Xi woke up, seeing his brother and sister-in-law, he was stunned for a moment before coming to his senses. “Brother, Sister-in-law, you’re here, why didn’t you wake me?”

Li Ran teased him. “You three were sleeping so soundly, we didn’t want to disturb you. Why are you so sleepy? Are you pregnant again?”

Ye Xi blushed at her teasing and said, “Sister-in-law, you’re talking nonsense, I’ve already given birth to two, why would I be pregnant again? I’m not that young anymore.”

Li Ran sat on the bamboo bed. “Farming families like having many children, it brings prosperity, and there are more hands for working the fields. You’re still young, remember our uncle in the village?”

Ye Xi thought about the man who drove the ox cart in Xiushui Village. “Of course, I rode in his ox cart before.”

Li Ran covered her mouth and chuckled. “That uncle, almost middle-aged, is expecting another child with his husband, a little boy, who’ll be studying with our Little Lei Zi at the private school.”

Ye Xi said, “Your family is truly blessed, every couple so loving, that’s how you became the wealthiest family in Xiushui Village.”

They continued chatting.

Yu-ge’er woke up, his long eyelashes fluttering, his eyes opening and closing a few times before he was fully awake.

Li Ran took a grape and teased him with it, touching it to his lips, the sweet fragrance filling his nose. Yu-ge’er opened his mouth to bite it, and Li Ran pulled it back, afraid he would choke.

Fully awake now, Yu-ge’er saw his aunt holding the grapes.

“Aunt Ran,” he called out softly, his voice still raspy from sleep.

Li Ran’s heart melted. “Oh my, how can you be so adorable?”

Ye Xi smiled. “He knows how to act cute, but he’s also mischievous.”

Seeing the grapes, Yu-ge’er’s craving was awakened, and he clung to Li Ran, his arms around her neck, saying softly, “Yu-ge’er wants grapes.”

Li Ran fed him a grape and pinched his cheek. “Here, eat, they’re all for Yu-ge’er.”

Yu-ge’er sat obediently and ate the grapes, the juice staining his fingers, mouth, and cheeks purple, a cute and endearing sight.

He even saved some for his brother, picking the largest bunch and carefully placing it beside the sleeping Lin Yuli.

Ye Xi’s heart warmed, his children were so kind and considerate.

Ye Shan and Lin Jiangshan were discussing the summer harvest, the two men responsible for the farm work and family decisions.

In recent years, their families had acquired more land, no longer struggling with just a few meager acres.

They drank tea and chatted in the courtyard, and after a while, Ling-jie’er finally returned, holding a few lotus leaves to shield herself from the sun. She drank two large bowls of tea in one gulp and wiped her mouth.

Li Ran couldn’t help but say, “Slow down, no one’s going to steal it from you.”

Ling-jie’er was still catching her breath.

Ye Xi smiled. “Did I hear the sound of a katydid?”

Ling-jie’er brought out a straw cage from behind her, which contained a large, green katydid.

Yu-ge’er’s eyes lit up with envy as he looked at it.

“How did you catch it?” Li Ran asked.

Ling-jie’er had been asking for a katydid a few days ago, wanting her father to catch one for her, saying all the other children had one. Li Ran, thinking that it wasn’t appropriate for a girl to play with insects, had forbidden Ye Shan from getting her one, so she was surprised to see her with one now.

Ling-jie’er shook the cage and replied, “I didn’t catch it, Little Brother He caught it for me. He was on his way back from Xiushui Village today after his carpentry apprenticeship, and he saw me trying to catch one in the grass, so he rolled up his sleeves and said he would catch one for me. He’s good at catching them, and he caught me the biggest one, look, bigger than anyone else’s, and its chirping is so loud.”

Li Ran sighed. “That Little Brother He is truly spoiling you, treating you like his own sister, giving you whatever you want.”

After Li Ran recommended Little He for the carpentry apprenticeship, he had been grateful and always helped them with chores.

Yu-ge’er, envious of Ling-jie’er’s katydid, also wanted one. Ling-jie’er said, “Alright, let’s go find one for you, Yu-ge’er.”

Yu-ge’er nodded happily, and the two children ran out of the courtyard.

Ye Xi looked at the lotus leaves Ling-jie’er brought, green and fragrant, the leaves fresh. “These are from the lotus pond at your house, Sister-in-law, the leaves look good, the lotus roots must be growing well this year.”

Li Ran smiled. “The lotus leaves are thriving this year, and the lotus pods are growing well. They’re still a bit young now, but in five or six days, the lotus seeds will be plump, I’ll bring you some then.”

Ye Xi, reluctant to discard the lotus leaves, cut some and brewed tea with them and some dried tangerine peel. The fragrant tea filled the courtyard.

He planned to use the remaining lotus leaves to make beggar’s chicken.

Lin Jiangshan went to the chicken coop and caught two half-year-old chickens, slaughtered, plucked, and cleaned them, then gave them to Ye Xi.

Li Ran helped tend the fire, and Ye Shan, hearing his brother’s request, went outside and brought back a basket of yellow mud.

In the kitchen, Ye Xi cleaned the chickens, stuffed them with ginger slices and scallions, brushed them with a marinade made with soy sauce, vinegar, and spices, and let them marinate for half an hour.

Then, he wrapped the chickens in lotus leaves, tied them with mulberry bark string, coated them with the yellow mud, sealing them completely.

He just had to roast them in the stove until the mud hardened, then they would be ready.

As the sun set, the chickens were cooked, golden brown and fragrant, the chicken legs saved for the children.

Ling-jie’er returned with Yu-ge’er, their appearance startling Ye Xi, and Lin Jiangshan frowned.

Yu-ge’er was covered in mud again.

“Did… did you fall into the ditch again?”

Ling-jie’er shook her head. “I took Yu-ge’er to our lotus pond to catch katydids, and he fell into the pond while trying to pick a lotus flower.”

Ye Xi’s heart skipped a beat, the pond was deep, and neither Yu-ge’er nor Ling-jie’er could swim. “You can’t swim, who saved you?” he asked anxiously.

Ling-jie’er said, “It was Big Brother He from Mrs. He’s family. He came back to the village today and saw Yu-ge’er fall, so he jumped into the pond and pulled him out.”

Ye Xi and Lin Jiangshan understood, it was Big Brother He, who was apprenticing at the blacksmith’s shop in town. He had grown taller and stronger these past few years, with a sturdy physique from working with metal.

Ye Xi scolded Yu-ge’er and Ling-jie’er for going near the pond, then took Yu-ge’er inside to wash and change. He was clutching a lotus bud in his hand, which Big Brother He had picked for him.

Lin Jiangshan decided to visit the He family and thank them later.

Li Ran and Ye Shan were also relieved, these children were always causing trouble.

Before they could relax completely, Fuge’er arrived, running.

“Aunt Ran! Uncle Ye!”

Li Ran and Ye Shan’s hearts sank, a bad feeling rising within them.

Fuge’er, panting, said, “Lei-ge’er, Lei-ge’er…”

Li Ran quickly asked, “What happened? Tell me, Fuge’er.”

Fuge’er caught his breath. “Lei-ge’er got into a fight and accidentally knocked the teacher unconscious, and now the teacher is keeping him at the school, making him kneel as punishment!”

Li Ran exclaimed, “Why did he get into a fight again? Isn’t he supposed to be studying?”

Fuge’er pursed his lips. “Someone at school was making fun of us, and Lei-ge’er got angry and hit him, and then the teacher came in, and…”

Li Ran and Ye Shan sighed. “You children are truly little devils!”