Chapter 405 A Sudden Enlightenment
The dark, heavy clouds moved faster than people, and before they could even climb the riverbank, they were drenched in rain.
The large raindrops make a sound when they hit the road, the fields, and your forehead.
"Pat-pat~"
It feels really cold when it falls on you.
Soon, you can smell the earth, the corn silk, and the aroma of wheat stalks that have almost been scorched by the sun.
After a long drought, the rain is much-needed; hopefully it will last a little longer.
Song Chunxue ran ahead, then turned around and saw Hongying carrying Xiaolong and running very slowly. She turned back, took Xiaolong from her, and ran forward with her head down.
As they ran up the riverbank, rainwater streamed down their faces. Little Long, bouncing around in Song Chunxue's arms, laughed heartily. The raindrops hitting him made him laugh even harder, and he clapped his hands, shouting, "Grandma, run! Grandma's a chestnut horse!"
"..." Song Chunxue almost choked on her breath. The clothes she was wearing today were indeed maroon.
That little rascal.
Fifteen minutes later, they returned home. Water was gushing from the eaves into the yard, washing over the roof. Water mixed with mud on the ground flowed out through the drainpipe.
If there is a water cellar in the yard, all this water will be put into the cellar.
They were soaked to the bone.
My shoes were all wet, so I took them off as soon as I entered the house.
Jiang Hongying couldn't help but laugh, "Hahaha, our courtyards are clearly closer together, why didn't you run over there?"
“I forgot, but I sewed clothes for Xiujuan and Xiaolong. Hurry up and change into my clothes and go boil water to wash the children.”
Song Chunxue looked at He Chuan and said, "I'll find you some clothes to change into."
"Mother, no need. I'll change when the rain stops. Don't touch Sanwa's and Lao Si's clothes, they'll feel uncomfortable if they find out."
Hongying glanced at He Chuan and said, "Yes, the rain has lessened and should stop soon. Thunderstorms are like that, they come in bursts. Let him run back to change and bring the child's clothes over. We'll have dinner here tonight."
He Chuan nodded. "Yes, Lao Si hasn't come back yet, and Sanwa will probably be back late too." As he spoke, he stepped out of the house. "Oh? The sun is shining in the west. The rain has stopped."
Everyone looked outside and were somewhat disappointed.
"It only rained for such a short time. If we had known, we would have come slowly. The rain stopped as soon as we got home," Jiang Hongying complained. "If it hadn't rained, we would have lost half of this year's crops, and we would have gone hungry next year."
Song Chunxue sighed, "Yes, God doesn't always give us what we want."
The two children jumped around naked on the kang (a heated brick bed). Whether it rained or not didn't matter; the most important thing was to be happy. They pulled open the quilt, wrapped themselves in it, and giggled.
Hongying went to the kitchen to boil water, and Song Chunxue did not stop the children, letting them play however they wanted.
She changed into her old clothes, which were comfortable to wear and she didn't have to worry about getting them dirty.
Not long after, He Chuan arrived with the children's clothes, and Hong Ying brought hot water and a bathtub for them to take a hot bath.
Before long, it got dark again, and the thunder grew closer and closer, as if it were right above the rooftop, which frightened the children into screaming.
The downpour returned, and the only sound in the world was the pattering rain. The marigolds in the garden were bent over and knocked to the ground.
The rain lasted a long time, and then there was no more thunder. The raindrops were small and drizzling.
Sanwa and Mulan must have been stopped by the heavy rain. I don't know if they are on the way or at Mulan's house.
After dinner, Hongying took the child to Lao Si's west room, asked He Chuan to coax the child to sleep, and then went to keep her mother company.
"Mother, don't worry, Sanwa will definitely know how to find shelter from the rain."
“Hmm,” Song Chunxue responded, “I’m not too worried about him. Come up to the kang (heated brick bed), I have something to ask you.”
Jiang Hongying took her sewing basket and candlestick, placed them on the stool beside the bed, and climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed) to sew the child's knees.
"Mother, ask away." She threaded the needle, tied a knot, and casually ran the needle across her scalp.
I learned this trick from Song Chunxue, who also remembered that others used it this way. It actually uses hair oil to make the needle less clogged.
“Xiaolong is quite the rascal; the pants I sewed for him had worn through at the knees in just a few days.” Hongying looked up at Song Chunxue while holding her needle and thread. “Why have you been unhappy these past few days, Mother?”
She teased, "Did you realize that now that Sanwa has gotten married, what if he ends up like the eldest, forgetting his mother after getting married, and you can't stay in this house anymore?"
"No, not at all," Song Chunxue asked softly, "would you like to open a shop and start a business?"
Hongying laughed, "I dream about it. Staying indoors, where it's neither sunny nor hot, I've had dreams like that before. But who will grow the crops?"
Song Chunxue was taken aback for a moment, "Just like a couple of years ago, I hired someone to plant it."
Jiang Hongying shook her head slightly, skillfully sewing up the hole, her tone serious, "Running a shop and doing business is not easy. You can lose money no matter what you sell. I know that I don't need money now, but I don't want to go through all that trouble. There's nothing wrong with farming."
Hearing her daughter's calm words, Song Chunxue felt as if her heart had been soothed, and her restless heart calmed down.
“I used to work hard farming but still couldn’t get enough to eat, and I had to put up with their attitudes and be treated badly. Now you’ve assigned twenty acres of land to the two of us. I know Mother has bought some more land. Even if we pay people to farm it, we’ll still need someone to take care of it. With so much grain, we can’t leave it uncultivated.”
She tied a knot, bit off the thread, smoothed out the clothes, and folded them up with satisfaction, placing them aside.
“Mom, He Chuan and I have discussed it. Doing business requires a brain. We’re both not good with words and not good with our brains. We can’t do this. Besides, I don’t trust others to farm the land.”
She held Song Chunxue's hand and said, "I know Mother wants me to earn my own money, but I always feel that food is more valuable than gold. We have all experienced hunger. Even if the granary is full of food, I will not feel at ease if we don't farm."
“From now on, we will take care of the land. When we need to hire people to farm, I will ask Mother for money. Although I don’t know how much money Mother has now, Mother is definitely not short of money, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to open an inn with Yao Man.”
Song Chunxue listened quietly, feeling a sense of disorientation.
She is also a farmer, and she cultivates much more land than Hongying, but in recent years, she has been slacking off.
No wonder all those jumbled thoughts cleared up when I was picking sesame seeds this afternoon.
In the fields, she wouldn't panic; everything would become clear.
Life is nothing more than birth, aging, sickness, and death; all the flavors are nothing more than sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty. But how much of it is truly sweet?
That little bit of sweetness is a seductive poison; those who are used to bitterness become uneasy when they taste it.
Therefore, she is not greedy.
Suddenly everything became clear.
She felt a sense of lightness throughout her body and couldn't help but smile.
“I know that the second and fourth sons say they want to divide the family property, but they don’t know how to farm at all. They can take the grain from the land we farm. We put in the effort, so just give us what we deserve. I don’t want anything more.”
Jiang Hongying lowered her head and said, "We are already very content to have our own yard, and now that the donkey pen is almost finished."
Song Chunxue nodded, "It's rare that you think this way, but you two shouldn't work too hard. You're my child, not a hired helper."
"Also, don't be too harsh on He Chuan. He is your husband. Don't take it seriously just because others say he's a live-in son-in-law. Our family doesn't need that. I'll be happy if you all stand up for yourselves."
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