Chapter 55: Land Will Never Deceive

Sang Zhixia's change of subject interrupted the various images of burning handkerchiefs in Xu Yu's mind, and also caused Xu Yu to subconsciously move closer.

After staring at the indistinguishable pile of grass roots for a while, Xu Yu said with a puzzled but sincere expression, "I can't tell the difference."

Aren’t these all just a mess of grassroots?

What's the difference?

Sang Zhixia held up two very similar grass roots and waved them in front of him: "You can't recognize them at all?"

Xu Yu shook his head honestly: "No."

“There’s a huge difference between the two.”

Sang Zhixia stood up and said, "Wheat and barley are edible. The one that grows this kind of grass roots is called small-tailed wheat, also known as poisonous wheat."

From the appearance, poisonous wheat looks not much different from normal wheat, and it is even more difficult to distinguish it from other wheat when growing in the wheat field, but poisonous wheat is poisonous.

She threw away the grass roots in her hand and pointed to the large ridge in front of her. "I looked carefully when I came here just now. There are a lot of these tares growing over there. Lots and lots of them."

"If I'm not mistaken, the reason people died from eating the wheat grown on this piece of land is because of this thing."

The poisonous wheat that grew wildly was not removed in time when it was still a wheat seedling. During the harvest, the poisonous wheat was mixed into the wheat grains and made into various edibles. Naturally, something bad would happen if they were eaten together.

The toxicity of tarragon is no joke.

After listening to the general idea, Xu Yu stroked the grass roots he had picked up and said, "So it's not the soil that's the problem, it's the poisonous weeds?"

"This young man is teachable."

Sang Zhixia smiled back at him and said slowly, "Let's go back and discuss with Grandfather. We have to buy these lands at the foot of Nanshan Mountain."

In places with spring and warm water, two crops of wheat can be grown in a year, but this is not the case in the northwest.

If you hurry up and buy the land now, fertilize the soil to survive the cold winter, you will have just enough time to plant a wave of spring wheat next spring.

Xu Yu picked up his sickle and basket and followed, walking beside Sang Zhixia. He said, "I don't know the difference between the five grains because I didn't have any experience with them in my early years. But people who have been farming for years should be able to tell the difference. How could you abandon your land here just because you accidentally mixed in some poisonous weeds?"

Sang Zhixia gave him a thumbs-up for his ability to draw inferences from one instance, and said with emotion, "An experienced farmer shouldn't have made a mistake, but think about it, how long has it been since wheat was widely cultivated in the northwest?"

"Five years."

She spread her hands and said, "I heard Aunt Wu mention this during our small talk. Five years ago, soybeans and sorghum were the main crops grown here. Wheat seeds were only introduced by foreign merchants five years ago. Even now, there aren't many people growing wheat in the northwest, so naturally, few people can recognize it."

It was not a widely accepted species, and due to lack of experience, people accidentally ate poisonous wheat mixed in the wheat grains and died. Once the incident spread, it became increasingly difficult to explain.

Xu Yu hummed thoughtfully, reached out to push aside the branches that had grown across his body, and waited until Sang Zhixia had passed before saying, "Can we clear out the poisonous weeds?"

"Of course."

Sang Zhixia glanced back at the barren ridge and said slowly, "It may take some time, but it's definitely not too late."

"Once we buy the land, we can grow a lot of things, not just wheat."

She has been dealing with soil for the longest time and knows best how many surprises can come from the humble mud, so she is not in a hurry.

Xu Yu turned his head to look at Sang Zhixia's faintly shining eyes, and his jaw, which had been tense all day, relaxed involuntarily.

"You seem to like the land."

It's not fake joy, but enthusiasm flashing in the eyes.

This is the light that has never appeared before in other matters.

Sang Zhixia didn't expect him to be so perceptive. He smiled and sighed, "Because the land won't lie."

"After planting a seed, the beginning and end of the year pass, and the four seasons settle and brew. What will finally be dug out from the soil? It's like a transparent box filled with treasures you've carefully cultivated. Every day and night, you know clearly that the treasures you planted in spring and harvested in autumn are hidden in the mud, waiting for you to dig them out with your own hands. Isn't such a surprise worth celebrating?"

Everything in the world can deceive, but the simple and silent land will not.

She chose agronomy for this reason: no nonsense, you reap what you sow.

Xu Yu didn't expect it to be this. He was stunned for a moment and then burst out laughing.

"I've never farmed before, and I don't understand the techniques and fun of planting. Can you teach me more?"

Sang Zhixia squinted at him and asked, "Do you think you can get away?"

"Once we buy these lands, there will be a lot of miscellaneous things to do, some of which will require your help."

Even digging the ground can make you cry!

Xu Yu didn't know that he had already cried twice in Sang Zhixia's imagination. The first thing he did when he entered the house was to find the handkerchief that caused trouble and threw it into the stove without hesitation.

Xu Wenxiu, who was serving dishes, was shocked when she saw this and asked, "Why did you burn this? You..."

"Burning cleanses it."

Xu Yu didn't want to explain any further. He lowered his eyes and said, "The person is right in front of me. What am I going to do with this thing?"

Xu Wenxiu watched the flames rise and burn the handkerchief completely, and couldn't help but sigh.

She had seen this handkerchief before.

But at that time she mistakenly thought that Xu Yu had fallen in love with the eldest daughter of the Sang family, so she happily asked the old lady to act as a matchmaker. She didn't even have time to tell Xu Yu before the marriage between the two families was settled.

But Xu Yu said that the person he was going to marry was called Sang Zhixia, not the one they had chosen.

In order to dissuade Xu Yu from marrying a concubine, she tried some tricks to take the handkerchief away, but Xu Yu was drunk and couldn't find the handkerchief, so he made a big fuss at home. The old man held him down and whipped him, but he showed no sign of giving in.

In desperation, she could only try to negotiate with the Sang family in secret, hoping to have Sang Zhixia registered under her stepmother's name before the wedding so that she could marry as a legitimate daughter.

But who could have imagined that the Sang family had been vague and hadn't responded, not even giving her a chance to meet Sang Zhixia until she was stuffed into the bridal sedan on the wedding day, and then the Xu family's misfortune...

She lowered her voice with mixed emotions: "Are you still angry with Xia Xia?"

"Yu'er, my family has been trying to stop this marriage, saying it's impossible. You braved the heavy rain and knelt in front of the old man's study for two days and two nights. We finally got this marriage, and you don't..."

"I know."

Xu Yu said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "Mom, I know everything."

How could I bear to quarrel with her?

After he made sure the handkerchief was burned clean, he clapped his hands, stood up straight, took the big bowl from Xu Wenxiu's hand and walked towards the old man.

"Grandfather, I have something to discuss with you regarding the land over at Nanshan."

Sang Zhixia was helping to set the table. When she heard the voice, she looked up and saw Xu Yu's profile as he was seriously discussing something with the old man.

This guy always seems to be like this.

Knowing that she was a younger generation who married into the family, some things were not easy for her to say, so her suggestions would be rounded up in his mouth. When encountering difficult things, he was always the first one to stand up in front of others.

At least as far as the Xu family's current situation is concerned, his words do carry much more weight than hers.

This seems to be a good idea.

Sang Zhixia put away the amusement in her eyes, took the bowl of rice and walked over to set it. As soon as she sat down, she heard the old man say, "Poisonous wheat? Are you serious?"

"Nothing can go wrong."

Xu Yu added a piece of stewed radish to her bowl and said slowly, "The curse is not to be believed. The problem can only be with the crops."

The old man could tell immediately that it was Sang Zhixia who had discovered something strange. He laughed meaningfully and said, "When did you learn to recognize something like poisonous weed?"

Xu Yu said calmly, "I don't know her, but Zhizhi can tell. She can't be wrong."

"Do you trust your wife's judgment so much?"

"Why shouldn't I believe it?"

Xu Yu remained calm and said, "Zhizhi is the most knowledgeable among us. If we can't trust her judgment, who else can we trust?"

The old man sighed in a vague way and said quietly, "Since you trust me with all your heart, don't get drunk and cause trouble with the people in the house in the future."

He caught a glimpse of the embarrassment that flashed across Xu Yu's face and said meaningfully, "After dinner, ask your third uncle to come with me to the village chief's house to discuss the land issue. Don't drink anymore, so as not to make a fool of yourself in front of your wife."

"The Xu family's rules are not to bully the weak or oppress the young, especially those in your own room. If something goes wrong, the elders will teach you a lesson, but you don't close the door and vent your anger on your own people."

Xu Yu knew very well that these words were not mostly directed at him, but he still nodded with a look of learning.

"Grandfather said it, and grandson remembered it."

"Just remember it. Stop sitting there and eat."

Because of the old man's words, the dinner table was surprisingly silent. Uncle Xu slammed the door and went back to the west room with a dark face before finishing his meal.

Second Aunt Xu moved her lips as if she wanted to say something but hesitated. Xu Minghui placed a bowl of hot soup next to her.

"Mom, you've lost a lot of weight recently. Eat a little more."

She held back her tears and lowered her head. When she held the bowl, her sleeves slipped down, revealing her wrists covered in bruises.

That was pinched out by someone with great effort.

Seeing this, Sang Zhixia silently tightened her lips. Seeing Xu Mingyang carrying his small quilt into the west room, she breathed a sigh of relief without making a sound.

"Are you worried about Second Aunt?"

Xu Yu handed her the bowl of medicine at just the right temperature and said softly, "Don't worry, Xu Minghui is here."

Second Aunt Xu is a bit cunning and likes to take advantage of others, but she can distinguish right from wrong when it comes to major issues, and she is decisive when she makes up her mind to work together.

It's hard for people to like this kind of personality at first sight, but it's also not very annoying to get along with him.

He was very annoyed with Xu Minghui.

But Xu Minghui was raised by Aunt Xu, and he couldn't just watch his own mother suffer such injustice.

Sang Zhixia held the black medicine bowl in her hand and said vaguely, "My second uncle is going to sell charcoal tomorrow. I'll go carry the firewood for my second aunt so she can do some light work around the house."

My wrist is already badly injured, and I don’t know how serious the invisible parts are. The more I can relax, the better.

Xu Yu looked at her thin body and said neither yes nor no.

"Take the medicine and go to rest. We'll talk about this tomorrow."