Chapter 178 - 170: The Bai Family’s Wasteland
Chapter 178: Chapter 170: The Bai Family’s Wasteland
Liu had only done farm work for the first two years after she married into the family. Since giving birth to Da Bao, she had never set foot in the fields again. After Zhao Lan joined the family, she hadn’t even bothered to come and take a single look, so naturally, she didn’t recognize which plots belonged to them. She immediately chimed in after Old Mrs. Bai, saying sarcastically, "Exactly. People like us rely on this land to get by. It makes no sense to just let it lie fallow."
Although Ms. Zhang didn’t do farm work either, she had brought meals to her husband before and knew where their family’s land was. Hearing Old Mrs. Bai and Liu’s little performance, she couldn’t stand it any longer. She turned to Bai Erzhu and asked, "Erzhu, whose are those two fallow fields?"
Bai Erzhu’s face flushed red. He stewed for a moment before muttering, "Whose else could they be? They’re ours!"
Old Mrs. Bai, who had been walking steadily forward, suddenly stopped. She finally remembered that back when she had broken Zhao Lan’s arm, there were indeed three plots of land that hadn’t been planted with rice seedlings yet. She had told her two sons to go work on them, but they had wanted to go to town to win flour and didn’t go. After that, so many things happened that she completely forgot, and the fields were just left to waste.
The fields were just left to waste...
Their family had five plots of paddy fields. A full harvest from all five was the only way to ensure the family’s basic survival and have enough money left over for Xiao Feng’s schooling...
But now, three plots of land lay fallow. ’How are we going to get through this winter? How are we going to pay for Xiao Feng’s tuition next spring?’
Old Mrs. Bai felt the world spin as spots danced before her eyes. She couldn’t tell if it was from hunger or the pure shock of this sudden blow.
Back when Zhao Lan was here, she never had to worry about the fields. She would just sit at the front door during the harvest and watch Zhao Lan carry home load after load of grain...
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Bai Zhi was constantly worried about Meng Nan, but with a mountain of chores at home, she couldn’t get away. The work in the fields could not be delayed any longer. Over the past two days, she had found people to till the land. After processing the hard-won Purple Silk Vine Leaves, she mixed them into the soil. By then, the potatoes had also started to sprout in the heat. To work more efficiently, she cut the potatoes into pieces and hired a few villagers to help. Soon, all the potatoes were planted.
By the time she finished all this, five days had passed.
She got up bright and early that day. After washing up, she went over to the Hu Family’s house in front to make breakfast. She had just finished when Hu Feng, drawn by the aroma, woke up.
He glanced at the sky outside and frowned, "It’s so early. Are you going out again?"
Bai Zhi put down the bowl of porridge she had filled. "Yeah, I’m heading into the city in a little while. I need to go see Brother Meng. I wonder if his injuries have healed."
Hu Feng’s expression darkened instantly. "You’ve seemed so out of it these past few days. Have you been thinking about him this whole time?"
Bai Zhi nodded frankly. "Yes, I have been worried about him. He got hurt saving me, after all. It’s been many days, and he hasn’t visited. I’ve been too busy to go see him, and I feel terribly guilty about it."
"Is that the only reason?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Bai Zhi glanced at him sideways. "Of course. What did you think?"
The gloom on Hu Feng’s face vanished instantly. His tightly pressed lips curved into a faint smile. "I’m going to get washed up. Dish out some porridge for me."
Bai Zhi stuck her tongue out at his back and mimicked his tone. "’Dish out some porridge for me.’ Hmph! I’m not your maid." Despite her words, she obediently filled a bowl to the brim with white porridge for him.