Chapter 6: Intellectual Domination

The next morning, Madam Chen was glowing with radiance, displaying an uncharacteristic gentleness. When Zhu Ping'an came out, he saw Madam Chen tidying his father’s collar. Upon seeing her two sons emerge from the inner room, she hurriedly pulled her hands away, a shy blush appearing on her face.

After all, this wasn't the twenty-first century, an era where one could show affection without restraint, Zhu Ping'an sighed to himself.

Work at sunrise, rest at sunset. With the autumn harvest approaching, the crops had entered the grain-filling stage. They needed to finish irrigating the fields before the Great Uncle’s family arrived, otherwise, they wouldn't be able to get any work done once the relatives were there. After breakfast, Old Master Zhu led his father, his third uncle, and his older brother to the fields to throw themselves into the intense irrigation work.

The eldest uncle was busy studying for exams and, as always, did not participate in farm work.

As for the fourth uncle, well, the fourth uncle... he had slept in a wrong position last night.

Truth be told, ever since Zhu Ping'an transmigrated here, this was already the fourth uncle’s third time falling ill. Every time there was farm work to be done, he would fall ill... The first time, he caught a cold sleeping at night; the second time, he bumped his head while getting up to use the latrine at night (seriously, are you a pig?); and this time, he simply slept in a wrong position. These excuses were just too ridiculous, weren't they? It was obvious at a glance that he was being lazy, yet Grandmother believed them every time.

Grandmother was indeed very biased.

While the men worked, the women weren't idle either. Grandmother led Mother and the other sisters-in-law in sewing pouches, making handkerchiefs, and weaving cloth—in short, they were never idle.

Zhu Ping'an watched boredly as Zhu Pingjun rode a stick like a horse and Zhu Yu'er chased chickens with glee. No matter how hard he concentrated, he couldn't see the "fortune" above anyone's head anymore. Perhaps seeing others' fortune required certain conditions. Regardless, he wasn't in a rush; he would explore it slowly. He thought about sneaking out to contemplate life and, incidentally, look for ways to make money. He was only troubled by the fact that he couldn't enter the mountains; otherwise, he would surely find good things there. After all, the great mountains were an infinite treasure trove.

Before Zhu Ping'an could sneak out, Grandmother had a task for him. She ordered him to run an errand: go buy five wen worth of thread, the kind used for needlework.

Zhu Ping'an didn't want to do this kind of errand; it lacked any technical challenge. Moreover, Grandmother was too meticulous. Even if the purchase was off by half a wen, Grandmother would notice it immediately. Not only was there no profit to be made, but if he bought the wrong thing, he would get an earful.

Zhu Ping'an didn't want to go, Zhu Pingjun didn't want to go, and little Yu'er was too young.

So, Zhu Ping'an said earnestly to Zhu Pingjun, "You go. Don't you have a horse? You can run fast riding your horse."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Pingjun happily took the money, patted his backside, shouted "Giddy-up!" and rode off in a cloud of dust.

Intellectual crushing, indeed.

Zhu Ping'an watched silently as Zhu Pingjun disappeared at the gate, lamenting that life was lonely, and the loneliest part was not being able to show it.

Taking advantage of the fact that Mother and the others were busy inside, he snuck out of the house and wandered aimlessly through the village, planning along the way to stroll to the neighboring Shanghe Village to see what their private school looked like.

He hadn't gone far when he saw Er Niu, who often played with him, being pressed to the ground by his mother, who was spanking him. As she hit him, she lectured, "Tell me, will you dare to snatch your sister's food again!"

"Will you dare to snatch your sister's food again!"

One hit, one question. One hit, one question.

The five or six-year-old brat Er Niu was howling, his nose running with snot, as he swore, "I promise I won't dare to snatch sister's food again. If I snatch sister's food again, I'm a son of a bitch."

Son of a bitch? Zhu Ping'an almost choked on his breath. You really have guts.

Sure enough.

Then he saw Er Niu being nimbly lifted up by his mother, who took off her shoe sole and—*whack, whack, whack*—gave him another beating.

Xiahe Village leaned against the riverbank and was located downstream, hence the name Xiahe (Lower River) Village. The one upstream was called Shanghe (Upper River) Village. Both villages shared the same river. It was an unnamed small river formed by mountain streams, with water so clear one could see the bottom. People called it Qingxi (Clear Creek).

Zhu Ping'an hadn't walked far before he saw the river. There was a small boat on the water with a family fishing. By the riverbank, there were women gathered in twos and threes washing clothes, using wooden clubs to beat them against the bluestones, varying the rhythm and force.

Getting closer to the bank, one could see small fish and shrimp playing in the water weeds. In the modern era, one would never see such a clear river.

Across the river were the endless mountains behind the village, lush and green. From afar, one could hear the chirping of birds and the calls of animals, making the land seem rich in resources.

Xiahe Village was nestled between mountains and water, with beautiful scenery. There were mountains in front and water behind the village; the mountains were lush with trees, and the water was abundant with fish and shrimp. It shouldn't have been a place that bred poverty.

Zhu Ping'an walked along the riverbank, thinking, and unknowingly arrived at the edge of the fields. The Zhu family was there, clearing irrigation ditches to water the land, and he was spotted right away.

"Xiao Zhi, why did you run over here? Is everything alright at home?"

Seeing Zhu Ping'an running over by himself, his father, Zhu Shouyi, walked over with long strides and asked. Father Zhu was shirtless with his pant legs rolled up, his feet covered in mud, and he was holding a shovel.

Only then did Zhu Ping'an realize he had unknowingly arrived at his family's plot. Looking at his worried father, Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but lift his chubby little face. "Dad, everything is fine at home. I came to help."

Father Zhu was relieved. He looked at Zhu Ping'an’s small arms and legs and laughed. "What help can you provide? Go over there and watch those few fish; I'll have your mother make you soup when we get back."

Grandfather and the others also came over. His older brother, Zhu Pingchuan, handed a golden-yellow melon to Zhu Ping'an. "Little brother, wash it and eat. There are plenty more by the river."

Grandfather was quite appreciative of Zhu Ping'an coming to watch the adults work in the fields, hoping that Zhu Ping'an would also be a capable hand at farming in the future. In Grandfather's eyes, land was the foundation; even with high office and a generous salary, one could only feel at ease if they had land.

Well, he couldn't run around anymore.

Not far away, his family was watering the fields. Zhu Ping'an rested his head on the grass, guarding a few palm-sized grass carp in a newly dug small water pit, listlessly gnawing on the melon.

It was crunchy, fragrant, and sweet, leaving an endless aftertaste. This melon was the size of a fist and had black stripes; he wondered if it could fetch a good price if taken to town.

Thanks to the convenience of the river, by the end of the day, more than half of the family's fields had been irrigated. It would take about another half-day of work tomorrow to finish.

That night, they indeed had fish soup, which left Zhu Ping'an, who hadn't seen much meat, with a round, full belly.

After dinner, Grandfather waved his hand and gave orders, "Second son, you and Dachuan don't need to water the fields tomorrow. Go into the mountains and see if you can catch some game. When your eldest brother and the others arrive, we'll have some extra meat dishes."

In the family, his father was the most versatile, so the task of going into the mountains to hunt game fell to him.

(End of chapter)