At the beginning of the Shen hour, the courtyard was usually quiet, with people either working or relaxing. Most of the time, Xia He would be at home. Today, Qiao Xingsheng was coming back, so Qiao Laohan and his son finished their work in the fields early and returned home. Zhou Shi also stayed home, waiting in the courtyard.
Qiao Yue squatted next to Qiao Laohan, “Grandpa, shouldn’t we start planting seedlings at home?”
“Yes,” Qiao Laohan nodded, taking a puff from his dry tobacco pipe, “This year, you better stay in the fields long enough before heading back up.”
Don’t think about sneaking away after just half an hour in the fields.
Qiao Yue immediately pulled a face, “I stayed for a long time in the past years too.”
Qiao Laohan gave him a sidelong glance and lowered his voice, “Now, you’re the only young man in the second household. If you don’t go to the fields, who will? Your grandpa is old, how long can he support you…” Last year, the second son passed away, dealing a huge blow to the second household. It’s time to stand up this year.
Looking at the wrinkles on Qiao Laohan’s face, Qiao Yue nodded with a heavy heart, “I understand.”
The two of them sat in silence for a while before Qiao Yue spoke again, “I got a bag of grain seeds from a passing merchant. They say three pounds of seeds can plant an acre, and the grains are full, yielding three to four hundred pounds per acre… How about we give it a try?”
Actually, the yield could be double, but saying that now would surely be met with disbelief.
Qiao Laohan paused, “Three pounds of seeds can plant an acre? Really? Where did this merchant come from?”
“What?” Qiao Laoda, with sharp ears, overheard and shouted, “Shanzi, you must have been tricked. I’ve been farming for so long and never heard of three pounds of seeds planting an acre. Seven or eight pounds for an acre is already good, and where do you get three to four hundred pounds of grain? You must have been tricked! The seeds you bought aren’t like the ones Old Liu at the village end bought, are they?”
If the seeds hadn’t come from the spiritual treasure, Qiao Yue would have thought he was tricked too. But after observing these days, Qiao Yue found that the items drawn from the spiritual treasure were as described in the function introduction, exactly as stated.
Since it said three pounds of seeds could plant an acre, then it surely could.
Though he understood, the family’s immediate disbelief still made Qiao Yue a bit unhappy. He insisted, “How could I be tricked? I know what ripe grains look like. Even if I haven’t seen them, can’t I pinch them to check? Grandpa, let’s just try planting an acre…”
Qiao Yue sought a breakthrough from Qiao Laohan.
Qiao Laoda still didn’t believe it and said, “You don’t go to the fields often, and full grains don’t necessarily mean good growth. You don’t understand these things.”
That’s true, but Qiao Yue still wanted to try. If the grains really yielded as high as six to seven hundred pounds per acre as stated, farming wouldn’t be so hard in the future.
Qiao Laohan pondered for a long time. Under Qiao Yue’s hopeful gaze, he spoke, “Shanzi, you know how much land we have left. If it were years ago, taking out an acre to try for half a year would be fine, but now it’s not possible.”
Although Qiao Xingsheng passed the scholar exam and was exempt from taxes and labor, nothing else changed.
Moreover, not long ago, the eldest mentioned that Xingsheng’s marriage might be settled. Once Xingsheng gets married, Shitou will also need to marry, and the expenses will be huge.
Qiao Yue slumped his shoulders, “Alright.”
In the family, major decisions were made by Qiao Laohan. No matter how well Qiao Yue spoke, it was useless.
Qiao Yue’s mouth moved slightly, wanting to speak but hesitating.
Xia He came out from the inner room and couldn’t help but interject, “Dad, if an acre is not possible…” Trying a few plots would be fine too.
“Da Ge is back!” Zhou Shi’s sudden exclamation shifted everyone’s attention from Qiao Yue to the entrance. Qiao Laohan also stood up to look at the door.
The people from the main household surrounded Qiao Xingsheng, asking about his well-being. Xia He walked to his son’s side, “I’ll ask your grandpa later.”
Taking out a few plots to try wouldn’t be a big deal. At worst, he would just raise silkworms this year.
Qiao Yue shook his head, “Forget it, the seeds weren’t expensive.” Ten coins, just consider it lost. After all, he’s not the main force in the fields, so it’s normal for everyone not to listen to him.
“Really not going to ask again?”
“No.”
With Qiao Xingsheng back, the Qiao family courtyard became lively, with women and husbands from the same village finding excuses to visit. When it was time to cook, the courtyard finally quieted down.
Once everyone left, Zhou Shi and Xia He busied themselves in the kitchen. Soon, the aroma of stir-fried meat wafted out.
Qiao Xiaoyuan sat on Qiao Yue’s shoes, looking up at the kitchen and sniffing, “Big brother, it smells so good~ Xiaoyuan is so hungry! Today, I want to eat lots of meat!”
Only when acting cute would he call himself Xiaoyuan. Qiao Yue pinched his little pigtail, “Alright, just wait and see.”
Qiao Xiaoyuan raised his arms and cheered, “Yay~ Big brother, go for it!”
Qiao Xiaomei passed by: “…” Sometimes she really wanted to fight these brothers!
At the dinner table, as expected, as soon as Qiao Laohan moved his chopsticks, everyone prepared to reach for the plate of steamed meat in front of Qiao Xingsheng.
The scramble for food at the table was something even Qiao Laohan, after years of poverty, had gotten used to.
On regular days without meat, everyone would eat and drink normally, not piling their bowls high. But once the dishes had a bit more oil, everyone would compete to grab. Not just the Qiao family, most of the village was like this.
It was even more exaggerated during feasts.
Qiao Xingsheng couldn’t stand seeing his family like this and cleared his throat.
Everyone instinctively became more orderly.
Qiao Lei picked up a piece of meat and smiled happily. Seeing this, Qiao Xiaomei patted Qiao Lei, “Second brother, slow down…”
“Oh, oh.” Qiao Lei looked up at Qiao Xingsheng, grinned, and slowed down.
Qiao Yue: “…Why isn’t anyone eating? Eat.”
He picked up two pieces of meat for Xiaoyuan and his little dad, then happily started eating himself.
Seeing the meat dishes dwindling, Qiao Xiaomei pouted and mumbled to Qiao Lei, “Big brother clearly said not to reach across the table, so why are they taking from others’ plates?”
“Eat pig across the table?” Qiao Lei suddenly laughed, “That sounds impressive.”
Qiao Xiaomei: “…” Eat pig, you just think about eating pig all day!
Qiao Yue didn’t need to think to know what Qiao Xiaomei was talking about. This scene played out every time Qiao Xingsheng came back.
He thought the matter would pass, but Zhou Shi nodded and said, “When you marry into another family, don’t reach across the table. It’s not proper!”
“Big aunt is right,” Qiao Yue reached out to pick up more meat, and after swallowing it slowly, he said, “If the meat dishes are in front of me, I promise not to reach across the table.”
If the meat isn’t in front of me, why shouldn’t I reach for it? This isn’t someone else’s house. Thinking this, Qiao Yue picked up another piece of meat for himself.
“You…” Zhou Shi wanted to say why should it be in front of you.
Seeing that even eating wasn’t peaceful, Qiao Laohan glared at Zhou Shi, interrupting her, “Everyone, be quiet and eat.”
After dinner, it was dark. Qiao Yue told his little dad he was going to the mountains to check on the beehives. The new bees in the hives were breeding well.
In about a month, the entire spring breeding would be over.
A bright moon hung high in the branches, and a few barks pierced the night.
Qiao Yue found he had no place to sleep, so he moved people to the corner.
“Uh…” Qiao Xiaoyuan rubbed his eyes, mumbling, “You’re back…”
Seeing him like this, Qiao Yue knew he had something to say, something that couldn’t wait until tomorrow, something he had to say tonight.
“Go ahead, was it Tiedan who knocked over your sandcastle, or did you play hide and seek and end up as the bad guy again? Or did you have a fight with Miao Ge’er?”
Qiao Xiaoyuan looked at him angrily, “Big brother, Miao Miao and I didn’t fight! I was only the bad guy three times in hide and seek hahaha.”
Probably only played four or five times in total. Always caught because of his short legs, Qiao Yue didn’t know why he was so happy.
“No, big brother, don’t interrupt me.” Qiao Xiaoyuan touched his chubby chin, his features scrunched up, then suddenly jumped up, “I remember now.”
“When playing hide and seek, I hid at big uncle’s place, and I heard big aunt and big uncle say that big cousin is going to marry a bride. Big brother, when will you get me a bride too?” Qiao Xiaoyuan finally remembered what he had been thinking about all afternoon.
Miao Miao said that people as old as big brother should be getting brides.
Qiao Yue “oh”ed, pretending to ask casually, “Did big aunt say who the bride would be?”
Qiao Xiaoyuan hugged his head and grinned at him, “Who is it? Let me… Xiaoyuan think. It seems to be the sister from the Xu family. Big brother, who is the Xu family sister?”
A girl with the surname Xu?
There didn’t seem to be anyone with the surname Xu in their village, but it was obvious that his big aunt wouldn’t fancy a girl from the village.
Qiao Yue thought for a while and finally remembered that Qiao Xingsheng’s teacher seemed to have the surname Xu.
“I don’t know, maybe we’ll find out later. Go to sleep, it’s late. Tomorrow, if Miao Ge’er sees you’re not around, he’ll play with someone else.” Qiao Yue pushed him down.
Qiao Xiaoyuan flopped on the bed for a while, “No way, Miao Miao and I are best friends. Big brother is so annoying.”
Saying big brother is annoying, the next second, Qiao Xiaoyuan’s eyelids drooped, and he fell into a deep sleep.
Seeing this, Qiao Yue lay down beside him and quickly fell asleep.
…
As the sky turned light, Qingshan Village awoke from its silence.
Firecrackers and drums echoed in the sky. Wang Ming nervously tugged at his clothes for the fiftieth time, “Does my hair look messy? Does it look weird?”
Tian Zhuzi replied for the fiftieth time, “…No, hey. Wait, it seems a bit messy here.”
“Where, where, help me fix it.”
Qiao Yue watched them fussing with their hair: “…” So where exactly should those few strands of hair go?
Soon, the auspicious time arrived, and with the sound of gongs and drums, Wang Ming, dressed in new clothes and adorned with a big red flower, confidently headed to the Zhang family.
The Zhang family was in the village, and a group of people noisily arrived at their door.
The Zhang family had been waiting, blocking the entrance to prevent them from entering.
With the combined efforts of Qiao Yue, Tian Zhuzi, and the Wang family’s brothers, Wang Ming bravely pushed forward and finally received the bride.
With another round of firecrackers, Qiao Yue walked from the Zhang family to the Wang family.
Wang Ming: “Brothers, find a place to sit, I’ll be out soon.”
“Alright.”
After Wang Ming left, Tian Zhuzi suddenly clutched his stomach, “Shanzi, I need to go home for a bit.”
“…Okay.”
The Wang family courtyard was packed with people inside and out. The feast hadn’t started yet, and Qiao Yue felt stifled, so he wandered to the back of the house.
He thought it would be quiet here, with no one around, but—
He looked at the two figures not far away and was stunned.