When Old Man Gan said that no one had lived in the house for many years, Gan Li was already mentally prepared.
She had expected it to break, but she never imagined it would break this badly!
The courtyard is small; you can see everything inside just by standing at the gate. The reason for this is that much of the outer fence and mud wall has collapsed under the erosion of rainwater, but it still barely maintains the shape of a wall.
The fence gate was swaying precariously. Chen Pan'er had barely raised her hand when the gate collapsed on its own, startling her so much that she quickly withdrew her hand and looked at Gan Li in fear, whispering in her defense, "Mother, I didn't use any force!"
Ganli: "..." Of course you didn't use any force, you didn't even touch it!
"Alright, let's go in and take a look."
Actually, there's not much to see inside. The layout of this courtyard is the same as most houses in the village, with a front yard and a back yard. The front yard is relatively flat and is used for daily entry and exit or drying grains.
The area at the back is a bit larger than the area at the front, but it's still only slightly larger.
Chen Pan'er was in high spirits, and with a quick gesture, she began to plan.
“We can clear two rows of land here and plant some seasonal fruits and vegetables, so we'll have something to eat all year round… No, there might not be much to plant in winter, but that's okay. If we can't finish eating the vegetables at other times, we can dry them and store them. Dried vegetables are delicious too.”
“We can build a pigsty here, and then catch a couple of pigs to raise—Mother, don’t worry, I’ll gather the pig feed.”
"And this area too, let's fence it off and catch some chicks and ducklings. They can lay eggs when they grow up!"
Ganli listened to her well-organized explanation and was very impressed. She also began to long for those chickens and ducks. How delicious chickens and ducks raised without feed must be...
The two circled around and returned to the front. Looking at the dilapidated thatched hut and the lush weeds growing in the corner, Gan Li wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth. The cruel scene before her pulled her back to reality, and she felt like crying.
She didn't yet know how delicious free-range chickens were, but she did know that if they didn't hurry up and prepare them, they might end up eating snakes and insects today.
Chen Pan'er secretly observed her expression and, seeing her mournful face, quickly said, "Mother, I can do these chores. You just rest here."
Gan Li looked down at her and saw a fawning expression on the girl's face that she herself didn't even notice. It was both strange and familiar, as if she could see her former self through a crack in the distant past. Gan Li couldn't help but feel a little sad.
She refused firmly: "How can that be? You're still a child, and I'm your mother. There's no reason for you to do the work while I rest, regardless of age or seniority. You just sit here and rest today, and watch me get it done in no time."
After saying that, Ganli rolled up her sleeves and resolutely disappeared into the bushes.
However, a moment later, she rushed out again, clutching her head: "My God, what a huge snake!"
Looking at the person in front of her who was running away with their head in their hands, Chen Pan'er thought: "..." This mother seems a little different today.
Gan Li, who had been somewhat frantic from being frightened by the snake, calmed down immediately after meeting Chen Pan'er's somewhat puzzled yet barely suppressed laughter gaze. Pretending that she wasn't the one who had just embarrassed herself, she coughed twice, feigning composure.
"Well, I think we can't pull all these tall grasses out by hand. It would be great if we had a sickle."
Chen Pan'er saw through it but didn't say anything. She looked around and saw several houses not far away, so she volunteered: "Mother, wait for me, I'll go and borrow two sickles."
Having said that, he ran out before Ganli could reply.
Seeing this, Gan Li didn't dare to stop her anymore. She watched Chen Pan'er walk away and made sure she hadn't noticed her before she dared to raise her hand and pat her chest. She was still feeling lingering fear as she looked at the bushes in front of her.
She grew up in the countryside and did a lot of farm work, so she was familiar with snakes, insects, and rodents. However, since graduating, she lost contact with her family and has been living in the city ever since, never returning to the countryside.
Several years have passed, and now, upon closer contact, she seems quite pampered.
However, recalling Chen Pan'er's knowing expression just now, she didn't think it was a bad thing.
The original owner was pampered at home, and her parents and brothers couldn't bear to let her do these chores. After marrying Chen Danian, she did all kinds of work, but ever since Chen Pan'er became sensible, she handed over all these rough chores to her daughter.
Otherwise, Chen Pan'er, at such a young age, wouldn't possibly know anything about growing vegetables and raising pigs.
Therefore, from the time Chen Pan'er could remember, her mother, while not exactly a novice, had never done such rough work. If she appeared to be very skilled at it from the start, it would arouse suspicion.
So what she just did wasn't embarrassing, it was called hiding her true abilities!
...
Chen Pan'er returned quickly. She was small and sweet-talking, and since she didn't need sickles in the fields for the time being, she easily borrowed two. Not only that, but the family who lent her the sickles, upon hearing that her family was going to "clear the land," kindly gave her a small packet of realgar.
"Grandma Qian said that houses that have been uninhabited for a long time have the most snakes, insects, rats and ants. If you sprinkle realgar around the house, those dirty things will not dare to enter the house."
Ganli's eyes lit up when she saw this—this was a good thing!
She was just worried that even if the house was cleaned up, snakes might sneak in when no one was looking, but now she doesn't have to worry about that anymore.
She instructed Chen Pan'er, "Put it away first, and when you're done tidying up, scatter it around the room where we sleep."
This is a good thing, but there's not much of it, so she can only use it on the most important places.
The place to sleep is naturally the most important thing right now; she doesn't want to touch one or more of those cold, cute little things while she's sleeping soundly.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
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