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Although Lin Lixuan wondered why he was suddenly asking about Ger Qiu, he didn’t think much of it and replied directly, “Ger Qiu is resting today.”
“Oh.” Actually, Huang Yuan asked while already knowing. “When I came in, I saw him on the street with Du Feibai.”
“Do you know Du Feibai? He’s the son of the owner of Duji Cloth Shop. I saw them walking on the street fighting. It looked wrong, like they’d had a conflict.
When Ger Yan heard the two of them had a conflict, he was extremely surprised. He couldn’t help exclaiming, “How is that possible? Du Feibai is…”
When they were in the store, they usually had a good relationship. Young Master Du was also kind and pleasant, and Ger Qiu doesn’t have a bad temper. Why would the two of them quarrel?
At this time, Huang Yuan was curious and asked, “Du Feibai? What about him?”
“…” Ger Qiu was silent for a long time, then said, “Du Feibai likes Ger Qiu.”
“You also knew this? Ger Yan, I also see you differently.” Huang Yuan nodded with emotion.
Ger Yan lowered his head, not daring to be overly confident. “It was Lin-dage who found out about this.”
Lin Lixuan interjected. “Why? You also knew this?” The relationship between the two people wasn’t obvious. It was because they were together with Ger Qiu day and night, and after being around him often, they could guess Du Feibai’s thoughts. But as for the others…how could he tell?
With the aesthetics of this place, who knew the elegant and beautiful Du Feibai would like a Shuang’er…
Huang Yuan laughed and said, “I’ve seen them on the streets several times and…Du Feibai always chooses to buy food from your store when Ger Qiu is here.”
“An adult man and a Shuang’er at their prime of youth, these two walking together, it’s not difficult to be misunderstood!”
“And, haha, with those two standing together, who could tell who is the Shuang’er?” Speaking of this, Huang Yuan couldn’t help but cover his mouth and smile, as if he remembered something that made him happy.
“…”
Lin Lixuan saw him laughing and said curiously, “What? Do you think Ger Qiu isn’t worthy of Young Master Du Feibai?”
Huang Yuan shook his head. His long narrow eyes blinked like a cunning fox. “That’s not true. There are lovers who are happy with each other. As long as both are happy and willing. How could others decide otherwise?”
“You just earlier said that Ger Qiu and Du Feibai quarreled. Why would they quarrel?”
“Sigh. I guess it’s because Young Master Du’s feelings toward the little Shuang’er have been discovered!”
“Then won’t their coupling be announced soon?”
“Not exactly. Ger Qiu might not agree to be with him. And the Du family…” The Du family wouldn’t let him marry a Shuang’er either.
Ger Yan asked, “What about the Du family?”
“It’s nothing…” Huang Yuan didn’t want to say any more and turned the topic. “Speaking of marriage, I remembered another thing. Li Rulan, the daughter of Teacher Li from the academy, this good girl was ruined by a few bastards from the academy. She’s now forced to marry. I heard her husband isn’t really a good person.”
“Gossip is a fearful thing,” Huang Yuan said with a sigh.
The daughter of the academy teacher, surnamed Li. Why did that sound familiar? Ji Xuan’s wife was the daughter of an academy teacher, and her surname was Li. Was there such a coincidence in the world? “How was Miss Li’s reputation ruined?” That shouldn’t be. Old Lady Ji wouldn’t let her baby grandson marry a woman with a bad reputation.
“You can’t do anything that causes suspicion. The young girl didn’t know how to avoid suspicion. She got close with a few of the scholars, and finally there were rumors. Ridiculous things. One rumor turned into many. The funny thing is, the person who spread the rumors were her good friends who “admired” her. They acted good in front of each other, but acted like that behind their backs. It’s really shameful.”
Lin Lixuan nodded. “Miss Li is certainly at fault, but the behavior of the other people is even more despicable.”
“I once saw Miss Li from afar. She is a good girl with a dusty temperament. Unfortunately, she ended up marrying a…I heard his surname is Ji. Ger Yan, do you know him?”
“…” It really was Ji Xuan…Lin Lixuan didn’t know what to say.
“…” Ger Yan was silent.
Ger Yu spoke up at this time. “It’s my cousin.”
“Oh. Ger Yan, is this your younger brother? He looks just like you. Wait, your cousin???”
Lin Lixuan smiled helplessly and told Huang Yuan about the recent happenings in the Ji family, including how Ger Yu was supposed to be sent as a child bride. “Don’t tell this to others.”
Huang Yuan listened to the story with a dull expression. He finally nodded violently. “Don’t worry. Although I, Huang Yuan, like to watch a good show, I won’t speak casually. I won’t do anything that would ruin someone’s reputation.”
Huang Yuan sighed. “I thought the demons and monsters in stories were scary enough, but what happens in reality is even worse.”
It could be said that art comes from reality.
After February, the weather got warmer. Everything was reviving. Little by little, new green grew on the branches. The spring breeze was in full force, weaving a wave of green onto the barren lands. Jade Creek Village was surrounded by mountains. Villagers bustled about, carrying bamboo baskets, wearing straw hats, and holding sickles, nail rakes, stone hoes… The call of husband and wives echoed in the field. The sound of children fighting as well. The sound was like thunder waking up the long-dormant yellow earth.
It was finally time to start the farm work.
Lin Lixuan rubbed his hands. He was looking forward to it. Today, he was wearing white-washed old clothes. His shoulder-length long hair was tied up with a piece of cold cloth. He and Ger Yan dressed similarly. They needed to work the earth, so they would naturally wear old clothes that were dirt and water resistant.
With the amount of paddy fields and dry lands their family had, Lin Lixuan knew they wouldn’t be able to take care o f it themselves. Leaving two mu of paddy lands to plant themselves, the rest were rented out to the other villagers. The Lin family provided the seeds, cattle to plow the lands, and the land. The villagers were responsible for planting and weeding. And the grain harvest in the autumn would be split fifty-fifty. The Lin family also promised to buy their half at market price.
Around the Qingming Festival1, it rained a lot. The pedestrians wanted a break to heal their souls, so they asked for a restaurant. The shepherd boy pointed to the distance.
Before the Qingming Festival occurred, the spring rain was as thin as skin. Seeing the cattle plow the land, a poem popped into Lin Lixuan’s mind. They weren’t shepherd boys nor did they ride oxen.
In the afterglow of the setting sun, in the muddy paddy fields, the study cows dragged the heavy iron plows, leaving deep marks in the muddy water. After the plowing oxen passed, calm returned.
cultivating the land was good. The livestock at home also took a lot of work. The seedlings had to be planted in person. The seeds have already been cultivated, the seedlings were green and growing amazingly. They just wanted a good harvest this year. Lin Lixuan, Ger Yan, and Ger Yu, who was nine years old, squatted together in the paddy field. The mud overflowed their ankles as they neatly arranged bunches of seedlings into the paddy fields.
Sweat flowed down his forehead. He rubbed it with his hands, causing his face to be covered with mud. Ger Yu, who was small, raised his head and saw Lin Lixuan, whose face was covered with mud like a dirty cat. He laughed. “Brother-in-law, you have mud on your face!”
Lin Lixuan bent down and planted the seedling into the soil. “Is there?” He had mud on his face, but his hands, feet, and clothes were also covered in mud.
“Yes.” Ger Yu laughed as he ran away. His feet slipped, causing him to fall into the paddy field and become a muddy man.
Lin Lixuan and Ger Yan held back their laughter. “Have you ever heard of not celebrating too soon?”
After plowing the land and planting the seedlings, Lin Lixuan’s back hurt for several days. Before he could rest for a few days, it was time to plant the trees in his barren mountains. Lin Lixuan looked at the open space in his mountains and his heart thudded. An idea formed: Should he leave the mountain barren for another year and plant the threes next year?
Of course, that was impossible. The arrow was already strung up.
When Lin Lixuan went to buy fruit seedlings, he threw this thought to the back of his mind again. With the bundles of fruit seedlings in front of him, he imagined the abundant fruits that would spread all over the mountains and fields in the future. He couldn’t wait to plant the trees!!!!
Lin Lixuan bought many fruit tree seedlings, including 100 mango trees, 50 lychee trees, 50 banana trees, 30 longan trees, 50 Asian pear trees, and 40 plum trees. Besides these, they also planned to plant 10 mu of sugar cane, and 5 mu of watermelon. In other places, they would scatter and plant peanuts, purple potatoes, sweet potatoes, and soybeans.
- Also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day. It’s a day to sweep your passed family’s tombs and give them offerings. It happens around early April. ↩︎
