In the countryside, once spring plowing begins, you basically have to get up at the crack of dawn.
Crops have their own specific growing periods; if you delay, you certainly won't get a high yield.
However, you can't plant them too early either, as pollination comes into play.
By the time Wang An got up, Wang Dazhu and his wife had already been busy for a while. Mainly because the Wang family had too many livestock, and every single one of them had to be fed.
Seeing Wang An come out of the house, Wang Dazhu impatiently said to him
"Xiao An, let's go plant these corn seedlings first, and plant the corn seeds while we're at it. By the time we're finished, it'll probably be time to eat."
Wang An, who had intended to wash up first, immediately abandoned the idea. He gave a casual agreement and followed Wang Dazhu toward the back garden.
Hearing their conversation, Wang Yi actually came out of the east room immediately and caught up with Wang Dazhu and Wang An.
Noticing Wang Yi following behind, Wang An said casually
"We don't need you. Go memorize your lessons and ancient poems."
Wang An noticed that Wang Yi was becoming more and more studious; his grades were among the top in his grade level, but he also showed an increasing potential to develop into a bookworm.
Although Wang An didn't know why Wang Yi had become like this, he felt it was a good thing, so he had never tried to discourage him.
After Wang An spoke, he heard Wang Yi say
"Big brother, the middle school in our Xing'an Township is finished. There should be students by autumn."
Hearing this, Wang An was momentarily stunned. He did remember that a middle school—to be precise, a junior high—was being built in Xing'an Township, but he recalled that in his previous life, it hadn't happened this early!
Of course, in his previous life, Wang An had spent his days fooling around and hadn't cared about such things, so he hadn't paid much attention to exactly which year it was built.
However, Wang An did remember that his younger brother, Wang Yi, had attended middle school in the county, not the township school.
Wang An asked
"What about the middle school? What's on your mind?"
Wang Yi stiffened his neck and said
"I want to go to the County First Middle School. I don't want to attend junior high in the township."
In Wang An's view, there was nothing wrong with this idea. After all, most people prefer to go to a larger place, always believing that a small place will hold them back.
So, Wang An instinctively smiled and said
"If you want to go to the County First Middle School, then go. The whole family supports you."
But as soon as Wang An finished speaking, he remembered his promise to buy Wang Yi a bicycle, so he added with a chuckle
"You're probably talking about the bicycle, right? Don't worry. Once I find some time in the next few days and make a trip to the county, I'll buy it for you."
After speaking, Wang An turned and rubbed Wang Yi's head.
It had to be said that 14-year-old Wang Yi was truly not short; he already reached Wang An's chin, comfortably over 1.6 meters.
After rubbing Wang Yi's head, they walked a few more steps and arrived in front of a few small pine trees.
In the back garden of Wang An's house, there was a large open area used for growing vegetables. Further north of this area was a small slope, and north of the slope was an east-west running drainage ditch.
Of course, this ditch had been dug collectively; its main purpose was to intercept the water flowing down from the mountains and divert it toward the river to the west.
North of the drainage ditch were the great mountains again.
To the north of Kaoshan Village were the mountains; to the south, aside from some villagers' homes, was an open grassy meadow, and south of the meadow were the mountains again.
In other words, the entirety of Kaoshan Village was actually situated in a fairly large mountain hollow.
Thus, the name "Kaoshan" (Leaning on the Mountain) was truly well-deserved.
Just as Wang An took the square hoe from Wang Dazhu's hand and looked for a shaded spot to dig a hole, he noticed that Wang Yi had not gone back inside.
Wang An glanced at Wang Yi and asked while digging
"What is it, Xiao Yi? Is there something else?"
Wang Dazhu also frowned and asked Wang Yi
"If you have something to say, say it. Who did you learn this hesitant way of speaking from?"
Hearing this, Wang Yi hurriedly said
"We have to take an exam to decide where we go for junior high. Our teacher said the County First Middle School only accepts 20 students from our Xing'an Township."
Wang An didn't take this seriously and said with a smile
"What? Are you worried you won't get into the County First Middle School? It's fine; if you don't pass, Big Brother will arrange it for you. It's a small matter."
It must be said that Wang An's words were very reassuring, and Wang Dazhu's expression instantly shifted from cloudy to sunny.
Furthermore, Wang Dazhu's eyes were suddenly filled with gratification and pride as he looked at Wang An.
Wang Yi shook his head and said
"I'll definitely be fine. It's just... I have a classmate who also wants to study at the County First Middle School, but she's always outside the top 30 in every exam."
After Wang Yi finished, Wang An paused. He immediately understood what Wang Yi meant.
He simply wanted Wang An to arrange for his classmate to get into the County First Middle School!
Immediately, Wang An's brow furrowed, and he felt a bit displeased.
Strictly speaking, Wang Yi was still a child, and this was not something a child should be considering.
Despite his annoyance, Wang An continued to smile impassively and asked
"A female classmate?"
Wang Yi didn't answer, but simply nodded with a flushed face.
Seeing Wang Yi's reaction, before Wang An could speak, Wang Dazhu suddenly flew into a rage. He swung his shovel as if to chop Wang Yi in half, shouting
"Holy mother of... if you don't want to study, then get the hell back here and farm! You little brat, you're not even fully grown, you haven't even grown your fuzz yet and you're already learning how to date? I'm going to beat you to death today!"
At this moment, Wang Dazhu was like an enraged tiger, brows furrowed and teeth bared, spitting out these words through gritted teeth.
It was clear that Wang Dazhu was truly angry!
In the Wang household, when it came to disciplining the children, Wang Dazhu was generally only responsible for the physical part, while the verbal education was handled by Liu Guilan.
This time, Wang Dazhu was taking on both roles.
However, the way he swung the shovel was truly a bit irrational. If that shovel actually hit Wang Yi, he would likely be covered in blood instantly.
So, Wang An immediately dropped his square hoe, stepped forward quickly, and grabbed the shovel Wang Dazhu had swung.
Wang An then pleaded
"Dad, Dad, Dad, what are you doing? Do you really want to kill Xiao Yi? It's not that serious!"
Wang Dazhu roared while struggling
"Let go! Let go of me! I'm going to beat this little brat to death today!"
Currently, Wang An was quite a bit taller than Wang Dazhu, and in terms of strength, he had long since surpassed him, so Wang Dazhu could not break free despite several struggles.
Wang An certainly couldn't let go; his father was currently very irrational, and if that shovel actually came down, his father would likely spend the rest of his life in regret.
Thus, Wang An raised his voice and said: "Dad, listen to Xiao Yi finish first."
(End of Chapter)