Her Cultivation Diary-Chapter 144 - 144. Finish work and go home_1
Chapter 144: 144. Finish work and go home_1 Chapter 144: 144. Finish work and go home_1 Just like Song Sancheng had said, by three o’clock in the afternoon, all the peach trees had already been planted.
Zhang Yanping was down by the pond, watching the water pump, while people above held hoses and watered each tree thoroughly.
The others weren’t idle either.
Taking a day’s wages, even though everyone worked quite energetically, finishing up before the sun set didn’t seem quite right.
So they picked up their hoes again and decisively dug two deep trenches along the edge of the mountain:
“Sancheng, weren’t you planning on planting those Golden Sakuras? Does this depth work for you?”
Song Sancheng went over to look: “How could it not work! It’s just that you all have been working hard, and the saplings haven’t even been transported here yet.”
In fact, it was still uncertain whether they would be able to purchase them.
The people waved their hands: “Earning two hundred yuan a day from you, if we can’t manage this bit of work, wouldn’t it be embarrassing to talk about?”
“Exactly!”
“Are you planning to put up iron fences or to build frames on this side? If it’s frames, we might as well chop down the bamboo today.”
Song Sancheng hurriedly stopped them: “Iron fences, iron fences, no chopping bamboo, no rush — or else, why doesn’t everyone go to my field and till the land a bit more?”
“Time to sow seeds, time to transplant seedlings.”
And as the rice field was about to be filled with water, it was time to block the drain of the pond, and Old Li was about to harness the old yellow bull to the plough.
It was then that everyone realized what was happening, and in groups of threes and twos, they began descending the mountain, carrying hoes and shovels, all the while grumbling:
“Sancheng, you’ve invested quite a bit this year, just don’t end up at a loss.”
Song Sancheng too looked worried, a picture of honesty:
“Isn’t that the truth. But Tantan plans to really make a go of it in the village. Our generation is older, and it’s fine if we can’t keep up with the times, but we can’t let that crush the kids’ spirits. The burden of supporting a family gets heavier later on; then it becomes difficult to do anything.”
The remark was indeed true.
At this point, an auntie stepping into the field ditch asked curiously: “Eh? Sancheng, didn’t I hear you say that Tantan was going to rest at home for a few months at first? How come it sounds like she’s planning to settle down in her hometown for good now?”
“Don’t be confused! What future does a girl have staying in a village? Look at my hands—”
She stretched out her hands: “These are an old lady’s hands, all from farm work. Isn’t that tough? The pressure is high in the city, but at least you don’t have to do physical labor.”
Song Sancheng fell silent for a moment, then said softly:
“Sister-in-law, it’s not that I want to keep the child by my side, it’s just that the pressure on young people out there is too great.”
“When Tantan came back, she still had gauze tied on her head, and her face was void of any color. When I went to pick her up, her square piece of gauze was covered by hair, and I didn’t notice it at first. Later, when I found out, she even told me she had bumped it!”
“Turns out, that night I was scrolling through TikTok, and there was a video up top, talking about a chain traffic accident on the Ninghai Bridge in our city; this child was pulled out of a car by a young man wearing a mask!”
“It was so close, the car was about to explode!”
Speaking to this point, Song Sancheng’s eyes reddened:
“I always used to tell her, to work hard at her job, to do more work, not to argue with others unnecessarily, and to perform well…”
“But you tell me, no matter how well she performed, if the child still ended up like this, would she truly be able to save tens of thousands of yuan after returning home.”
“We’ve been to Ning City before, and just a casual meal can cost several dozens or even hundreds,” he said. “How did she manage to save up all that money?”
If it hadn’t been for seeing the child come back and quickly regain good health, full of energy and vigor, he would have really wanted to speak out and take the child for a check-up to see if there were any lingering effects.
Once that was said, everyone sighed.
The auntie who had just spoken was now pale:
“Now I regret it. When the country said we could have a second child, I insisted that having just one grandchild was too lonely… and now look at us, sending two kids to kindergarten costs over thirty thousand a year, and that’s just for a fairly average one!”
“Then there are all those extracurricular classes, and with them having to pay the mortgage and take care of the kids, where is the money supposed to come from? I don’t even dare to ask.”
“Every year in the latter half, I go out to work to make twenty or thirty thousand, all of which goes to support them. And even then, life is still a struggle…”
Life isn’t easy!
As everyone chatted, they each talked about their own difficulties, and somehow, they naturally came to accept the fact that Song Tan was staying at home to farm.
But their hands were quick and efficient.
The land in the fields had already been finely tilled by machinery, and now it was just a matter of using rakes to level it out, and then hoes to carve a few furrows according to the different vegetables…
A few nimble aunties were ahead in two of the plots, transplanting the vegetable seedlings that had already sprouted, while exclaiming with admiration, “Sancheng, I think your Tantan really has a knack for farming!”
“Look at these seedlings, how robust they’re growing! If there are extras later, set aside a couple for my family, huh? I’m quite impressed with these pepper seedlings…”
“Sure!” Song Sancheng was generous in this regard: “If we can finish transplanting by tonight, we’ll share whatever is extra with everyone.”
There were still three to four hours left before sunset, and with twenty or thirty people scattered across seven plots, how could the work not be done?
Everyone then laughed, “Then I guess your seedlings truly won’t be enough…”
But the village wasn’t lacking in seedlings; those who had asked before were just tempted by the sight of the robust seedlings… and in the end, just as everyone had said, after planting seven plots, there still weren’t enough seeds and seedlings!
Song Sancheng looked around and said: “Don’t worry about it; let’s take a break. I’ll bring some soybeans from home later to spread out.”
By now, dusk had set in, and the workers who had been picking tea on the mountain had already descended, and those who were digging bamboo shoots had stopped early—there was no helping it, the bamboo forest was darker than the outside.
Everyone packed up in pairs and groups, carrying their own water jugs and stools, and strolled leisurely back home.
This long and laborious day was finally coming to an end.
Not until the figures had faded into the distance did Song Sancheng suddenly remember something and called out loudly, “Family folks, come help clean up Uncle’s house tomorrow!”
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From the distance, someone responded, but Song Youde was leisurely walking out with his hands behind his back, then looked up at the sky:
“No need to rush calling people. Tomorrow’s Qingming festival, and judging by the sky, it looks like it’s going to rain early in the morning—wait until after lunch to see if it clears up before calling everyone.”
Song Tan, who was cleaning up nearby, perked up at these words and involuntarily glanced at her grandfather, Song Youde—
A lifetime of farming experience was not for nothing; with the increased humidity in the air, there was a good chance of rain tomorrow.
Just in time, as spring rain is as precious as oil, a shower could moisturize the vegetables and peach trees planted today, sparing them any worry.
After thinking for a moment, she also picked up a bundle of straw:
“I’m going to add some straw to the pigpen, afraid it might get chilly tonight.”
She would also go check on Da Wang and tell him that she would visit the back mountain tonight…
