Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 177 Cultivation

Gu Dexing was unhappy, his face looked very unpleasant, sitting silently without saying a word.

Previously, he wanted to be apprenticed to Scholar Shang, but Scholar Shang didn’t accept him and had written him a letter advising him to attend the town’s private school for ten years which might enable him to attain an official position. But now, his father was making him go to Songzi Gully to study with Xu Tongsheng, which was clearly a deliberate attempt to discipline him. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

Gu Dafu was indeed trying to discipline him, to suppress his ambitions lest he becomes uncontrollable.

Seeing Gu Dexing wearing a sulky face again, Gu Dafu got annoyed and directly said, "If you don’t want to study at Xu Tongsheng’s private school, then don’t study. Just stay at home and farm."

Where would Gu Dexing want to farm at home, he knew how hard it was to toil in the fields, so he could only nod in agreement.

Seeing her big brother nodding, Gu Yumei had no choice but to agree as well.

Mrs. Chen was pleased, finally, these two young masters and misses had come to their senses. If they kept behaving like this, even if Gu Dagui disagreed, she would have to propose splitting the family.

The next day, Gu Yumei and Gu Dexing wore coarse linen clothes, carrying baskets and farm tools, and followed behind Gu Dafu to the fields.

People were not surprised to see Gu Dexing in the fields, but seeing Gu Yumei really gave them a shock — Sister Mei actually working in the fields was indeed a novelty.

Previously, even pestering her to grind spices was met with tears about hurting her hands and inability to work, and Gu Dafu, too, won’t bear to scold her, indulging her whims. What happened today? Did the sun rise from the west?

Third Grandma and Gu Jinli were harvesting bean sprouts in the field. Seeing Gu Yumei joining them, Third Grandma nodded and said, "That’s more like it. A farmer’s family cannot spoil them like this; well upbringing has made them too spoiled."

Farmer’s families should engage in farming; they aren’t county rich daughters to be forever pampered, avoiding others mocking their pretense.

The wastelands of the families were all connected, after reaching the edge of the field, Gu Dafu pointed towards Gu Jinli’s wasteland and said: "Sister Mei, follow your second Aunt to Xiao Yu’s nursery bed to get some bean sprouts."

In the past, when sowing soybeans, they directly scattered the seeds, but Xiao Yu suggested, first nursing the seedlings then transplanting them could increase soybean yield.

If this were in their old home, such an idea from Xiao Yu would have been deemed madness, but having made tofu and earned the families money, people trusted her. Despite the seedling transplanting method being contrary to the ancestral farming way, they still agreed to use it for soybean cultivation.

After the families agreed, Gu Jinli used his family’s acre of wasteland as a nursery to nurse the seedlings, and now the bean sprouts were half a palm tall, ready for transplanting.

Gu Yumei sulked, following behind Mrs. Chen, heading towards Gu Jinli’s wasteland, murmuring, "Gu Xiaoyu is just being meddlesome. Why nurse anything, isn’t directly scattering the seeds better?"

Now, they had to transplant, which meant uprooting the bean sprouts and planting them one by one; exhausting to death.

Mrs. Chen glared back at her: "Shut up, just work quietly, don’t speak nonsense and upset Xiao Yu."

Gu Yumei felt extremely aggrieved: "Why should I shut up? If she gets upset, am I supposed to be happy?" Everyone only cares about Gu Xiaoyu; why does no one care about her?

Mrs. Chen was exasperated, wishing she could smack her again, too tired to argue, she simply said, "Just work properly, if you don’t listen, I will reveal the fact you kept He Minzi’s handkerchief; see how you’ll get married then?"

Mrs. Chen was just trying to frighten her, she wouldn’t really disclose such a disgraceful matter; if it ruined her reputation, the family would have to support her for life, totally not worth it.

Gu Yumei felt both angry and wronged, her tears falling, yet she dared not speak ill of Gu Jinli anymore.

"Third Aunt, we’re here. Where are the bean sprouts for my family?" Mrs. Chen set down her basket, asked Third Grandma, and then turned to Gu Yumei, saying, "Call someone, are you mute?"

Gu Yumei dared not disrespect Third Grandma and hurriedly called out, "Third Grandma," but she did not call for Gu Jinli.

Gu Jinli didn’t mind at all and didn’t even spare Gu Yumei a glance.

"Ah." Third Grandma responded, pointing to the three rows of bean sprouts on the right, "Those three rows are your family’s. Xiao Yu has calculated everything; one row of bean sprouts can plant two acres."

She also instructed them, "Be careful when you are taking out the sprouts, don’t break the main root." If the main root is broken, the sprouts won’t survive.

"We know, Third Aunt." A couple of days ago Gu Jinli had explained how to take out the sprouts, and Mrs. Chen and the others remembered it. When they reached the seedbed, they squatted down and started taking out the sprouts as Gu Jinli had taught.

Gu Yumei, clumsy with her hands, broke many main roots while taking out the sprouts, which made Gu Jinli frown and say, "During seeding, everything was calculated precisely, each household propagated only an extra half pound of beans seeds, if too many die, you replenish them yourself."

Gu Yumei, already frustrated about having to work in the fields, angrily retorted upon hearing this: "Isn’t that your fault? Why can’t we just plant as usual? You insist on germinating and transplanting, making everyone exhausted! Whatever about increase yields by about forty percent, who are you fooling? As if no one else has planted soybeans before. Besides, it’s just soybeans that cost three cents per pound, what does high or low yield matter? We are not poor, we can just buy with money if needed."

Gu Jinli, looking at Gu Yumei as if she were looking at a fool, mocked: "Soybeans at three cents per pound are not expensive, then go earn your own money and buy them."

He added, "Don’t rely on tofu and spices to make money; create something new to sell yourself."

This left Gu Yumei burning with embarrassment, wanting to retort, but indeed she had no skills to produce something new. The family’s comfortable living came from tofu and spices, both produced by Gu Jinli.

Mrs. Chen said in a tone that was less than friendly, "Do you think we have a mountain of gold at home? To look down on three cents? Get busy picking bean sprouts quickly. If you don’t like picking bean sprouts, then go and plant them, which is even more exhausting."

Gu Yumei felt extremely wronged, tears falling while she squatted down to pick sprouts, damaging quite a few before she actually learned how to properly do it.

After working for nearly an hour, she finally gathered a load of bean sprouts and carried them toward her own family’s field.

Gu Dafu saw her wobbling with the load and, fearing she might fall, quickly went to help her.

Gu Yumei, aware that her father felt guilt over her mother’s death and loved them very much, couldn’t stop her tears when she saw Gu Dafu.

Gu Dafu initially wanted to comfort her, but seeing her like this, he refrained and simply said, "Just work well alongside your second mother and Third Grandma, don’t mind the dirt and fatigue. What farm work isn’t dirty and tiring?"

Gu Yumei was actually fake crying, but upon hearing this she really started crying, even thinking her father, probably because he had money now, was planning to remarry and therefore would no longer care for her and her brother as much.

Gu Dafu, unaware of Gu Yumei’s thoughts, just sternly told her to put down the sprouts.

Gu Yumei, infuriated and feeling utterly wronged, cried relentlessly until her eyes were swollen. By lunchtime, when she did not see Gu Jinxiu, she immediately pointed at Gu Jinli and demanded, "Why is your sister not working the fields? During spring planting, everyone works the fields. She’s not some young lady, why doesn’t she come?"

Gu Jinli looked at Gu Yumei, truly thinking she was ill, terminally so, "My sister is at home making tofu, she’s very busy. Why should she work the fields? If she comes here, who will make the tofu at home? Can you do it?"

Moreover...

"What does it matter to you whether my sister works the fields or not? Did my family ask for your help with the fields? Really a busybody!"

Their family and Third Grandpa’s Family together had only nine acres of barren land, planted with eight acres of fertile soybean fields. The remaining one was discussed with Gu Dashan and Mrs. Cui to be used for experimental planting of medicinal herbs. With Third Grandpa, Third Grandma, Gu Dashan, Gu Jin’an, He Sanlai, and Mo Chunyue around, there was no need for Gu Jinxiu.