Chapter 3: Harvesting the Wheat

This year was a severe drought; the land was scorched for a thousand miles.

Their village barely managed to harvest some grain, and after paying the grain tax, there was almost nothing left.

With no hope for the summer planting, they had no choice but to leave their homes and hearths to seek another way out.

The two families were separated on the road while fleeing the famine, and after that, they were parted by life and death, never to meet again.

How many times in the dead of night, waking from dreams, had he felt regret.

For a mere twenty taels, why did he have to split the household with his second brother? Clearly, before their parents passed away, they had repeatedly urged him to take care of this naive younger brother.

Knowing he was naive, he still chose to hold a grudge against him; he was truly unfilial!

It was precisely because he had split the household and lived apart from his second brother’s family that he had allowed that damned scoundrel to find an opening and bully his daughter.

Everything started from the moment he drove his second brother’s family away.

These past few days, his second brother had served him with great care, and he had been reflecting constantly on what exactly he had missed.

Back when he was bedridden with a high fever, delirious and unclear of mind, had his second brother also served him with such earnestness and meticulous attention?

He had lain there for several extra days, and with no one to manage the household, his naive second brother had been forced to grow up, driven to toil for the family’s livelihood.

He knew his sister-in-law had always been strong-willed.

Their life was frugal; she managed the household affairs, wishing she could split a single copper coin in two to spend it.

In previous years, he had always hired people to tend the fields. With him fallen ill and labor costs rising, she couldn't bear the expense, and the couple had actually ended up harvesting the wheat themselves.

It had been hard on them.

He sighed in his heart, his expression remaining calm as he finished the great business of life.

He let his second brother lay him back down and went to clean up himself.

The elder brother is like a father; what was there for him to feel awkward about? He felt perfectly at ease!

……

As soon as Papa Yan came out, he saw his daughter squatting at the kitchen door, watching her eldest cousin tend the stove.

Ordinary folk ate two meals a day. Having grown accustomed to three, their bodies could handle it, but their hearts were always clawing and scratching with the craving for that bite of food.

Even he couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

Their family’s eggs were truly delicious. Never mind that the hens didn't lay often; they were natural, organic, and healthy.

*Slurp!* The old hen would be even better. He wondered when he’d have the good fortune to taste that.

His eldest brother was weak; should he slaughter a chicken to help him recover?

Er Ya used her eyes to learn how to start a fire.

Her eyes said: I’ve learned it.

Her hands said: No, you haven't.

She picked up a nice-looking piece of firewood from the side and tentatively pushed it into the stove.

She was stopped in time by her eldest cousin, who said to her in a very gentle tone, "Er Ya, go play somewhere else. Be careful the fire doesn't singe you."

She confiscated the wood from her hand and casually explained, "The firewood in this stove needs space; you can't pack it too full, or it won't catch."

Understood. She had learned new knowledge again.

Er Ya nodded solemnly. She turned around and saw her old man staring at the old hens, swallowing his saliva.

Her little legs scurried over quickly.

"Dad, are you craving it?" she asked in a low voice.

"Ah? No, I'm not!" Papa Yan denied it instantly.

"Don't forget you still owe twenty taels in gambling debts!" Er Ya said with a stern face. A gambling addict had no right to eat meat.

"How can you say it's me who owes it? Wasn't that Yan Lao'er who owed it?" Papa Yan felt deeply wronged.

"You are Yan Lao'er, and Yan Lao'er is you."

"Daughter, let's not mess around. I'm worried to death. If there were a place to sell blood in this ancient era, I’d want to go sell blood!"

"Selling blood wouldn't be enough for twenty taels, Dad. That’s twenty taels!"

"Stop emphasizing it, will you? My head hurts. And wasn't it agreed? Call me 'Dad', don't call me 'Papa'."

"Okay, Dad!" Er Ya followed suit and made a request: "Then can you stop calling me Er Ya? It’s not like I don't have a name."

"Can we even use that name? What if we give ourselves away? We’d be burned as monsters. Your eldest uncle calls me Tianyou. I thought Yan Lao'er was named Yan Tianyou, but I only just realized these past few days that it was a childhood name. I still haven't figured out what Yan Lao'er's real name is." Papa Yan was helpless; everyone in the village called him Yan Lao'er, and he didn't know his real name.

"Dad, you're really uncultured. 'Tianyou' is a courtesy name, right? Educated people in ancient times all had courtesy names. People who are close address each other by their surname plus their courtesy name, or just the courtesy name." Er Ya was a little straight-A student, though her major was of no help to their current situation—care to learn about minor languages?

The only thing she was better at than her parents was that she loved binge-watching shows and reading novels...

"Wait, that's not right. Didn't you say you saw the IOU? There should have been a name on it."

Papa Yan was at a loss for words; he had sighed a lifetime's worth of sighs today. "Yan Lao'er’s signature was a mess of cursive, and it was in traditional characters. I really couldn't tell what it was."

Er Ya:...

"Forget it, Dad. We'll know eventually." She comforted her dear father.

"Your sister has finished cooking. I have to hurry back to the fields; your mother is exhausted." He took the lunch prepared by his eldest niece—a basket covered with a cloth—and hurried out.

They only had lunch during the busy farming season. He wasn't happy at all; cutting wheat was not a job for humans. Holding the wheat with one hand and cutting with the other, his waist felt like it was about to break. His family’s leader had suffered greatly!

……

In the Yan family’s field.

Li Xuemei stumbled and fell to her knees.

The pain in her knees was temporary, but the aching, numb pain in her lower back had been tormenting her nerves, along with the increasingly intense sun that made her dizzy.

It was truly too tiring!

"Wife! Wife! Where are you?" Yan Lao'er couldn't see anyone from afar and panicked, shouting loudly.

"Here!" Li Xuemei tried to be as loud as possible, but she was exhausted, her whole body aching, and she was truly powerless.

"Oh, wife, what's wrong? Where are you hurt? Let me see, let me see." Yan Lao'er ran over in a flash. Seeing his leader kneeling on the ground, one hand supporting her, the other hand with a sickle wrapped in cloth, his heart ached so much it twitched.

Damn it, what kind of situation was this!

"I'm fine..." Li Xuemei took a few heavy breaths and said, "Help me up slowly."

Yan Lao'er understood immediately. Whether it was the former Li Xuemei or this current Li-shi, neither had ever worked in the fields doing such heavy labor. How could their bodies take it?

He wiped his face and stepped closer, adjusting her posture as he spoke. "Don't get up yet. Lie down for a while; I'll help you massage it to loosen up."

His fingers, with moderate pressure, focused on her lower back.

Li Xuemei couldn't help but groan; it was both sore and painful.

"Bear with it, don't make a sound. We're still in the middle of the field; don't let people misunderstand what we're doing." Papa Yan was always a joker.

Li Xuemei was so angry she wanted to slap him. "Shut up. I don't want a massage. Let me up." She struggled, trying to stand up on her own.

"Hey, hey, why are you getting impatient again? Wife, you need to change that temper of yours. It’s not acceptable here for a woman to talk back to a man." Papa Yan pressed her back down, not caring if the ground was clean or not. "Wife, why are you pushing yourself? Didn't I tell you to work in moderation? Moderation! You just need to lend a hand; I have to be the main force. Why didn't you listen as soon as I turned my back?"

"There are ten acres! How are you going to finish it by yourself?" Whoever did this work would be tired; it was the same for everyone.

"Let's hire someone, hey! Anything that can be solved with money isn't a problem."

"Heh, what are you going to use to hire them? Are you going to ask Big Brother for money?"

Is the new cover pretty? Actually, I wanted a warm-toned one, but I looked everywhere and couldn't find one that caught my eye. Let's just use this little beauty cover for now, and I'll look for a better one when I have time~! Wait for the fairy talisman, I'll try to write it before midnight~!

(End of chapter)