Chapter 228 How has Junior Brother been doing all these years?

The room was very large, with a front hall and small partitioned rooms, and at the very back was a wooden kang (heated brick bed) for sleeping.

The kang (heated brick bed) is covered with flat wooden planks, which can also be used as a bed when the kang is not in use, keeping it warm in winter and cool in summer.

She loved it so much that she couldn't sleep most of the first night.

But she was very reluctant to leave this room.

She's not actually very nostalgic.

But suddenly waking up clearly from her dream, the old mud house that had sheltered her for many years, the walls plastered with mud by her husband, and the worn yellow color made her feel uneasy.

Although she felt sad, she actually liked this feeling of wanting to cry.

Two lifetimes later, Song Chunxue discovered that the feeling of tears welling up in her chest was actually more reassuring than the emptiness after happiness, a bittersweet experience.

It's like brewed old tea; it tastes very bitter at first, so bitter that your tongue doesn't want to accept it, but after swallowing it, the aftertaste in your mouth is sweet.

If you use rock sugar to cover it up from the beginning, you won't notice it.

In her past life, she often heard the old people talk about the word "misery," and she would often recite it to herself, always feeling pitiful.

Now she doesn't think so. Who in this world isn't pitiful?

She enjoys crying alone; she feels very relieved afterward.

But today, she can't cry.

"Phew." She let out a long breath.

It's still more comfortable lying here. The spring breeze outside is warm and soft, and the room isn't so cold anymore.

"Why aren't you getting up to meditate? Why are you sighing and complaining? Are you upset because you were bullied?"

Suddenly, her senior brother's words rang out from above her head, and Song Chunxue sat up abruptly.

She smiled and said, "What's bothering you? I've already forgotten. Was it Fourth Brother who told you?"

"Well, I wanted to ask, can you finish planting all that land within five days?"

Song Chunxue asked in confusion, "Senior brother is going to help me plant them?"

“Well, I’m going to the county in five days. I’m thinking about all the things you have, and it would be good to have more people to help. I can help you along the way.” The Taoist priest flicked his whisk. “I also know how to farm. How about we borrow someone’s donkey tomorrow and farm together to speed things up?”

Song Chunxue was flattered and overwhelmed.

"Senior brother, you don't need to help me like this. You've already helped me too much..."

"If I leave early, what if those thieves still come to climb over the wall again?" the Taoist priest said gently. "Just do as I say, finish planting as soon as possible and leave. You're not reluctant to leave this place, are you?"

Song Chunxue quickly got out of bed and put on her shoes. "How could that be? I was too busy running away. You have no idea how nice my new house is."

"Since you've said so, I'll go get ready and take out the seeds. It's over thirty acres. If the two of us plant them together, we can finish planting sooner or later. I also need to think about whose donkey we can borrow."

Farmers usually plant in the morning and let their livestock rest in the afternoon.

Otherwise, if you spend all day farming, the donkey will give up.

The Taoist priest followed behind her. "What do I need to do?"

Song Chunxue stopped in the courtyard and turned to look at the Taoist priest.

It's so nice to have someone to help.

"If you're bored, senior brother, could you help me move some grain out of the granary? I'll have Xiao Liu carry it to the county tomorrow. I can't let him wait at home for five days."

The Taoist priest nodded and placed his whisk on the table in the north room.

"Okay, you should go and get busy too."

Watching her senior brother open the storeroom without hesitation to move things, Song Chunxue thought to herself, what did she do to deserve such a good senior brother from heaven?

She absolutely cannot let her senior brother down.

If you want to borrow a donkey, it's best to go to someone you already owe a favor to, so that no one will remember that favor in the future.

She went to Zhao Yufang's house first.

This time, Zhao Yufang was very decisive, saying that he could come to her house to pick up the donkey tomorrow, and he could borrow it for two or three mornings.

After that, she went to Li Tang's house.

Li Tang's child was already six months old. When he heard that she wanted to borrow a donkey to plow the field, he readily agreed and even gave her two buckwheat buns.

After that, she went back into the house to pick out grain seeds.

Anyway, this year's wheat harvest should be good, so she doesn't need to worry about relying on coarse grains to avoid risks. She should plant more wheat and sesame, and also more potatoes.

It's a bit early to plant potatoes, but she can't worry about that now.

She went to the potato cellar and brought out a lot of potatoes, then took an old kitchen knife and cut the seeds at the door.

Each bud will eventually grow into a potato sprout, so you need to make sure that every potato has a bud, otherwise it will be a waste of time to plant them.

"I'll go with Lao Si to cut it up. You must still have things to pack. Put the odds and ends in the carriage; it's more convenient than a donkey cart."

As he spoke, the Taoist priest rolled up his sleeves, sat cross-legged on the broom, and began cutting potato seeds.

Song Chunxue didn't stand on ceremony and said to the fourth brother, "You come and cut too, and remember to keep your eyes open."

"Mom, I can chop it, you go ahead and do your work. Clean out our sauerkraut jar, you've been wanting to get it ready for a while now, pour some out for the sheep, and we'll put in a new one when we get to the county."

"No need, the sauerkraut jar is too heavy. I was thinking of getting a smaller jar to take with me. Our new kitchen has large jars, so we can make more and let it ferment for a few days."

"People in the city use celery and cabbage to make the fermented vegetable juice, which tastes much better. We use radish leaves, which isn't as fragrant. Just bring your small jars or something; the fermented vegetable juice isn't that valuable."

The fourth brother nodded, "That's right. Then put some more stuff in the carriage. The oil and meat vats will easily get the carriage dirty. Go and clean them up. Just call me if you need any help."

"I know." Song Chunxue walked into the kitchen, wondering why her fourth son had suddenly become so sensible.

Don't do it only once in a while, it's really infuriating.

And so she spent the whole night tidying up, filling the carriage with the most valuable and fragile things in the house.

Xiao Liu was about the same age as the eldest brother. After looking around, he also helped move things.

The next day, when the rooster crowed three times, Song Chunxue first went to Zhao Yufang's house to bring the donkey over, and then went to the kitchen to make soup.

After breakfast, Xiao Liu drove the horse-drawn carriage to the county.

The fourth brother put the grain seeds on the cart and took the donkey to the field.

The land was scattered, not in one place. Song Chunxue pulled a cart by herself, while Lao Si and the Taoist priest went together.

In one morning, they planted five acres of wheat.

In the afternoon, Song Chunxue borrowed Li Tang's donkey and planted four mu of land.

The next day at noon, Song Chunxue borrowed Cheng's third son's donkey again.

They worked back and forth like this for three days and finished planting the wheat and sesame.

On the fourth day, they spent the whole day planting potatoes.

By this time, the fourth brother was already complaining incessantly, saying that his whole body ached and he couldn't get up in the morning.

On the fifth day, Song Chunxue planted some lentils and peas.

As for the others, it's too early to plant them now, so we'll just leave them alone.

On the fifth night, the three of them went home and collapsed on the kang (a heated brick bed), not wanting to move at all.

Even though the Taoist priest usually practices boxing and meditation, and also practices Baduanjin Tai Chi, when it comes to farming, he has to admire the farmers.

I admire you wholeheartedly.

"Master, my back is broken. I don't think I can get up tomorrow. Can we postpone our journey until the day after tomorrow?" The fourth brother lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) groaning in pain. "Even farming isn't done like this! Master, is your back still okay?"

Master Zhang lay on the pillow, stretched out, and felt both sore and aching.

I don't know how my junior brother has managed all these years.

Although they usually farm in the morning and the animals, not people, rest in the afternoon, she is always busy with this and that without stopping.

Hopefully, next year, my junior brother won't have to cultivate this land himself.