Spring scenery in the fields

Chapter 127 He Yuxiang's Home Life

"It should be given. Ask Rongshan when he comes back."

Ji Wenhe responded, "Aunt Lan, do you want to dig a ditch beside the wasteland?"

She remembered ducks and geese coming to swim in the water.

"You can dig it or not." After thinking for a while, he changed his tone, "You'd better dig it. The water supply for our village is in the creek. We won't let you drive the ducks and geese in."

If the water is dirty, how can people carry it back to cook?

"Wait for Brother Shen to come back, and I'll discuss it with him."

See where to dig.

Now that the title deed has been retrieved, we can start building the fence.

After returning home and having lunch at noon, Ji Wenhe took a shovel, stood at the edge of the wasteland, and thought about where to dig.

It’s not possible to go to the west side, as you have to walk a few more steps to carry water.

Or you can dig at the east side of the field, so that the water can be carried to irrigate the fields and you can save a few steps when changing the water.

Just do it.

There were three plots of land, and I chose the middle one and dug a small puddle there.

They are small now, so there is no need to dig too big a hole. The puddle will get bigger as they grow bigger.

The weeds in the field were not weeded yet. Ji Wenhe was too lazy to weed first before digging the hole, so he just started digging.

The excavated soil was thrown into the wasteland nearby, leaving a distance on the edge for building a fence.

"Hey, Wen He, what are you doing digging a hole in the field?" He Yuxiang came over with a smile and asked curiously.

She put down the shovel in her hand and turned her head to look: "Aunt He, dig a hole for them to drink water and play."

Pointing to the goslings in the field next to him.

"I remember your family only has a piece of wasteland. If you dig in the land next to it and the village head knows about it, you will be scolded. It's better to buy your land."

Ji Wenhe pretended to be helpless and sighed: "I bought two pieces of wasteland. I can't afford paddy fields. There are many people in my family, and the harvest from the land at home is not enough to feed us."

"I have discussed this with him. We should use our family savings to buy two more pieces of wasteland. After a year of cultivation, we will be able to grow vegetables next year."

He Yuxiang nodded: "Yes, your family's three acres of land is too small, and the vegetables you grow are not enough to eat. There are only men in the family, and they have big appetites."

"If the wasteland is well cultivated, the harvest will be no less than that of the land in the east. You just have to be patient and cultivate it well."

Then he added, "But you lost money on these three plots of land. Why don't you wait a while and save money to buy the land in the east?"

Ji Wenhe turned his head and looked to the east: "Aunt He, you should know that we have to buy land from the village head."

She nodded: "Yeah, I know that."

It's like this in every village.

"The village head is planting rice soon. If we want to buy land, we have to wait until the rice is harvested before the village head will sell the land to us."

"Instead of waiting for half a year, it would be better to buy some wasteland and take good care of it. Maybe we can plant crops next spring."

I thought to myself: How can I tell you my thoughts? I am planning to buy the wasteland myself.

He Yuxiang thought so too, but she still felt that it was a huge loss and it wasn't worth it for them.

It’s not your own money, so if you say too much, people might get annoyed.

So he smiled and nodded: "You have a point. Now your family has three pieces of wasteland. Don't you weed the grass in these two pieces next to it?"

Ji Wenhe was digging the soil, breathing heavily. "We need to hoe it. I'm thinking of letting them run around inside after the fence is built, and then weed it in a few days."

He Yuxiang walked to the door and looked at the ducklings and gooselings running happily inside: "Wen He, when they lay eggs, are you going to take them to town to sell?"

"Of course. I heard that goose eggs and duck eggs are expensive, so many people buy them."

A chicken egg costs three cents, a duck egg costs five cents, and a goose egg costs six cents.

But it depends on the size. Some geese and ducks don’t eat well and lay small eggs, so they will be sold at a lower price.

She has eaten goose eggs and heard that they are more nutritious than chicken eggs, but she has not learned the details.

"So are you planning to sell them in the village? If you sell them in the village, will the price be the same as in town?"

"Same, I raised them with great effort, the price is not higher than others, but it is not cheaper than those in town either."

Ji Wenhe understood what she meant by asking. She was not stupid, so why not earn more if she could?

If you sell it for a penny less in the village, you can earn a penny more in the town, so anyone would sell it in the town.

He Yuxiang nodded in understanding. She thought that if the price was cheaper than in town, she could buy it from her home.

"By the way, Aunt He, Uncle Xiucai's private school has opened. Has anyone come?"

"Alas, no one has come for a few days."

If it were in the past, there would be a lot of children sitting around the house, reading aloud.

"My father-in-law said that not many people will come this year, but maybe it will be better next year."

"Now the family is short of money. We cannot afford to rely on my husband to work in town alone."

"My father-in-law had a serious illness a few years ago and almost died. My family was scared to death, but fortunately he managed to pull through."

Ji Wenhe heard from Shen Rongshan that he went to see Shen Qingyang and saw that at that time Shen Qingyang had a look of death on his face, and the villagers secretly said that he would not live long.

"Everyone will have a headache or fever, it will be fine once it is cured. With Uncle Xiucai here, the family can relax a little."

"Yes, I have three children to take care of. I can't do much embroidery work with the ones I bring back. My mother-in-law helps me take care of them. Otherwise, how can I take care of three children by myself?"

He Yuxiang gets a headache whenever she thinks of her three children at home. The eldest child is okay as he is no longer naughty and can help with some chores at home.

The second and third sons were not so good. They read and wrote every day and wandered around the village. I was afraid that they would sneak up the mountain, so I went to see what they were doing from time to time.

Ji Wenhe stood by and rested for a while, then said with a smile: "Aunt He is so lucky to have three sons."

"I want a daughter."

"Then ask for another one."

He Yuxiang shook her head: "My father-in-law disagrees. He wants a grandson, not a granddaughter."

"...Whether you want it or not depends on you two."

Shen Qingyang is also a patriarchal person at heart.

"In fact, I was pregnant before. It's not a secret. Everyone in the village knows it."

"I went to the town to check the pulse, and the doctor said it was a girl. I came back and told my father-in-law that we should not keep the baby, saying that three grandchildren were enough."

She had advised that since she was pregnant, she should keep the baby, but her mother-in-law and husband didn't want to keep the baby, so in the end, she had no choice...

Ji Wenhe couldn't understand: "Aunt He, when I went to your house to borrow books that day, I heard him say that after Uncle Xiucai knew that I could read, he asked my family to learn to read from me."

"From what I've heard, Uncle Xiucai doesn't seem to favor boys over girls. He doesn't seem like someone who would say, 'What's the point of women studying?'"

"That's because you don't know. Other people's family affairs have nothing to do with him. But when it comes to his own family, it's definitely different."

He said that raising girls was pointless and sending them to school was not worth it.

Girls from other families can read and write, and they are not spending their family’s money, so of course they won’t say bad things.

Her father-in-law was concerned about his reputation. He knew that she could read and would praise her, but in his heart he still believed that it was useless for women to study.

Ji Wenhe's favorability towards Shen Qingyang dropped a few points.