Chapter 40 Chapter 40 Fertilizer
"We have completely offended the head of the village this time!"
When he returned home, Fan Shoulin did not feel relieved, but instead felt anxious. He put his hands behind his back, with a worried look on his face, not knowing why.
Before the general left, Chen Yushun privately told Fan Shoulin that his family had found a good son-in-law, who was very good at talking and who would be the heir to the throne if he was not a good son-in-law for a long time.
The man sneered and left.
Fan Shoulin didn't take such provocative words to heart. He was not the type of person who liked to have the final say in all family matters. If he did so, he would not get along with Fan Jingding.
On the contrary, he was happy to have someone to support the family affairs, and he wished he had a son to support him. Kanghe was the brother-in-law of the family, and when he came to the house, he became the son of the Fan family.
As for the whole family, what's the point of riding on their heads? Besides, he knew that Kanghe was doing this for the family.
But he knew what Chen Yushun meant. Kang He was embarrassed in front of so many elders and villagers today.
Kang He saw that Father Fan was feeling uneasy. He said, "I know you're feeling uneasy, but now that people are bullying us, do we really have to keep putting up with it?"
"Before, we respected him, treated him with courtesy, and tried to be considerate to him in every way, but he didn't appreciate it. Instead, he thought that because our family was poor, we should please him and bully us whenever he wanted.
It would have been fine if he had been rude to Dad when we went to buy the land; it was all just talk, and he didn't get us any money. But he's still not satisfied, and today when the land was divided, he gave us seven centimeters less. If Dad hadn't been so discerning, we would have suffered this loss."
"Seven cents of land, that's more than five hundred yuan. Ah Jing has to hunt a few animals in the mountains, and my mother has to work hard in the city to sell a lot of konjac and tofu to earn back this money. He's really going to cut people's flesh this time!
"Erzhuang and Mazi have no grudges against our family, so why would they want to mess with us? Even if it wasn't Chen Yushun who ordered them to do this, Erzhuang and Mazi are his lackeys, and they must have acted according to his mood and were instigated by him."
"He's been hit in the face. If we don't show our strength, he'll also feel the pain. Not only will Chen Yushun think our family is easy to bully, but the villagers will also think we're easy to take advantage of. In the future, if they can, they'll just step on us. No one will respect or fear you from the bottom of their hearts. Maybe they'll bully us just to please Chen Yushun."
"Even if everyone sees it, the Fan family is not easy to bully. The villagers are afraid of them and dare not treat them with arrogance. Regardless of whether we obey Chen Yushun or not, he will hate us and want to punish us. Why should we be so polite and teach him a lesson? Let him know that we are also troublemakers, and he will not dare to do anything bad even if he wants to."
After hearing this, Chen nodded and said, "I think what Sanlang said is right. The Murakami family is full of unreasonable people. Everyone says bad things about them behind their backs, but no one dares to offend them in front of them. Even Chen Yushun is very kind to them."
"We've changed our ways now, and we've become more aggressive. If others say we're overbearing, then so be it. If we're not, we'll teach them to give us even less land. We bought this land with our hard-earned money!"
After hearing what the two of them said, Father Fan's brows relaxed a little.
He heard this to be the truth, and they were just too easy to talk to in the past.
But he has been a coward for most of his life, how can he change in a short time? He just listened to what I said, but when you try to teach him to do something tough, he still can't do it.
Kang He also knew this. He couldn't expect Father Fan to change his temper overnight. It was not easy to change a temper that had been formed over decades.
"Your father was born with a good life. Your uncle has always been close to him since he was young. Whenever something goes wrong, your uncle always takes care of it. He has become a timid person. Even at this age, when something happens at home, the first thing he thinks of is to look for your uncle."
Chen shook her head. Zhang Jingui had argued with her about this many times.
When the weather in March is warm, you can smell a hint of summer.
At night, Kang He just washed up and felt stuffy, so he walked around the house with his bare chest.
Fan Jing washed before him and his clothes were also thin.
"Smell it, is it fragrant?"
Kang He saw mosquitoes flying around in the room. He sniffed the ointment in the box and found it had a scent of jasmine mint. He thought it could repel mosquitoes, so he simply applied some on his body.
I had brought it along when I went to the city to buy living boxes for Zhen'er and Qiao'er, and had kept it in the cupboard ever since. Fan Jing said he didn't want it, and he had never opened it.
Kang He put his arm, which was covered with ointment, close to Fan Jing's nose and wanted to teach him to smell it: "I'll put some on you too. It can repel mosquitoes."
Fan Jing glanced at him.
After washing, my body felt refreshed. When Kang He came over, the whole bed seemed to be able to smell his scent.
He didn't know if it was his illusion, but he always felt that Kang He seemed to be taller than when he came home.
Come to think of it, it's not impossible. He's not even an adult yet, and his growth is normal.
Fan Jing looked at the handsome man in front of him without saying a word. He lifted Kang He's chin and stroked his thumb across his lips.
Seeing this, Kang He curled up the corners of his mouth, then he threw Fan Jing to the ground and leaned forward to kiss him.
Fan Jing seemed to be somewhat addicted to Kang He's kiss, and his eyes were not as indifferent as usual, but had a touch of tenderness.
However, after a while, the expected soft touch did not appear. Fan Jing looked at Kang He, who was only a finger away from him. Their breathing almost merged into one, but that person did not move closer.
Fan Jing's brows knitted together, and then he heard Kang He say, "You two didn't kiss before when you pretended to be a couple, did you?"
Fan Jing's eyes moved, and that bit of charm disappeared mostly.
"Why do we have to kiss when we're pretending to be a couple?"
"That's true. We never kissed each other when we were pretending to be a couple."
Fan Jing judges others by himself. Although he didn't gain any advantage when they were a fake couple, it actually proved that Fan Jing was not the kind of person who would do anything reckless.
"If you two kiss, I'll pull his mouth off."
Fan Jing said, "He won't kiss me."
Kang He narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. He hadn't been feeling jealous to begin with, but after hearing this, he immediately became angry: "You sound so sorry, what's the matter? You two didn't make it?"
"He has a favorite little brother, he has liked him since he was a kid."
Kang He frowned. "Since he's had a crush on someone since childhood, and he's pretending to be a couple with you, he doesn't sound like a good person. Tell me about it!"
Fan Jing didn't want to talk much about his childhood, but Kang He insisted on asking him, so he had to tell him.
Before Lingniang passed away, Fan Jing's temperament was actually not as dull as it is now. He was loved by his father and mother. Although he was quieter than other children when he was young, he would also play with some children of the same age in the village.
"Master Xu is a scholar, and Xu Yang's father was also a student. In the early years, the Xu family opened a private school in the village. Many children from the neighboring villages studied at the Xu family, and they were quite famous in the area."
"Fan Xin was sent to school by his family to learn to read and write since he was young. He and Xu Yang were the same age and from the same village, so they were very good friends."
Sometimes Xu Yang would come to Fan's house to play with Fan Xin. At that time, the two families had not yet separated, so he would naturally bring Fan Jing along.
When they got tired of climbing trees to catch birds and going to the river to catch shrimps, the children gathered together and shouted that they would draw lots to pretend to be husband and wife and play house.
But there were more girls and boys than boys, so Xu Yang suggested that Fan Jing be included in the boys.
Fan Jing found it interesting and agreed.
Who knew that when they drew lots, they got Yuan Ge'er and Yuan Guo from Xishui River in the south of the village.
This Yuan Ge'er was born with a fair complexion, a round face and big eyes. He has been handsome since he was young.
His family was not well off, but he always kept himself tidy and clean. He did not smell of sweat like other naughty boys, but always smelled good.
All the kids in the village like to play with him.
Kang He listened and asked at the right moment, "Is Xu Yang just in love with this Yuan brother?"
Fan Jing hummed.
When Xu Yang saw that his favorite Yuan Ge'er was captured by Fan Jing, his heart was colder than the river water in winter.
He thought that Fan Jing was so fierce and domineering, and he didn't seem like a good husband at all. Yuan Ge'er was kind and cute, so how could he follow Fan Jing!
But he was too embarrassed to ask Fan Jing to switch roles and let Yuan Ge'er play his little husband. Wouldn't that let the other children know what he was thinking?
What should I do? If I can’t exchange with Fan Jing, then I have to exchange with Yuan Ge’er.
For the little brother he loves, he is willing to do anything! Even if it means asking him to replace Yuan Ge'er and become the husband of Fan Jing, the "bad husband", he is willing!
The children all played happily all day long, except Xu Yang, who endured humiliation all day long.
Fan Jing didn't talk to him nor play games with him. He just directed him to wash shoes, cut grass, and chop wood, and he worked for a whole day.
After returning home, Xu Yang was tired and sad. He buried himself in the quilt and cried deeply. As he cried, he became more happy and felt that he had protected Yuan Guo once.
After hearing this, Kang He laughed out loud while lying on the pillow.
"I saw him in the daytime, and he didn't look stupid. Tell me, was it because you were too fierce when you were little, hitting people on the head and making them stupid?"
Fan Jingwan glanced at Kang He and said, "You really care about other people's affairs."
"I only ask about it because it's related to you. I'm not happy to say more about others."
After that, Kang He asked again: "Is Xu Yang and the brother of the Yuan family married now?"
"No."
Kang He said, "Why not? Xu Yang is older than you. As a family of gentry like the Xu family, he should have been married long ago."
Fan Jing said, "How should I know?"
It’s not that he didn’t tell Kang He, but he often lived in the mountains and rarely interacted with his childhood friends, so he didn’t know anything about them.
After saying that, he looked at Kang He and said, "Is everything clear now?"
Kang He laughed and raised his head.
Fan Jing raised his foot and rubbed Kang He's leg. He seemed to have waited for a long time and said, "Kiss."
.........
Two days later, Father Fan came back from outside and called Kang He into the house.
"I've got the deed back today. You can leave it with Dajing and me."
Father Fan took out a land deed from his arms and handed it to Kang He.
Today he went to the village chief to get the deed. Because of the previous incident, he was a little upset and didn't dare to go.
When he didn't want to go over, Murakami, who used to love to tease him, changed his usual behavior today. He was not polite, but he didn't dare to make fun of him either.
Chen Yu kept a stern face and didn't say anything.
"Dad, just keep it. Why give it to us for safekeeping?"
Seeing this, Kang He said something and asked him if it was okay for him to go and get the land deed today.
Fan Shoulin waved his hand and said it was okay.
But he still insisted on giving the deed to Kang He: "Although we haven't split up the family, and we're all from the same family, we don't mind. But after all, the money for this land was almost all paid by you and Dajing. You two can take it and feel at ease."
Fan Shoulin's words were not as pleasant as Chen's, but he had a good heart.
"Take it, take it."
Seeing this, Kang He took it and said, "Then I'll keep it for now."
Anyway, this land cannot be disposed of by anyone alone. If there are any changes, the whole family should discuss it before making a decision.
After buying the land, there is more work to do at home. Not only do I have to sow seeds according to the season, but I also have to reclaim the wasteland as soon as possible.
The sooner the wasteland is cultivated, the sooner crops can be planted and harvested. After all, when the land deed is obtained, the land tax will also fall on you.
At daybreak, Kang and Fan Jing followed Father Fan to the wasteland to open up the land. Chen and the two maids prepared breakfast at home, and after the meal was ready, they cleaned up and went to the fields.
After dinner, the whole family went to work in the fields.
The tall weeds in the wasteland must be cut first, and then the large grass bags and tree knots that are tightly stuck in the soil must be dug out.
If you encounter stones, you have to clear them one by one.
Father Fan worked even more meticulously and devoutly. On the sandy ground, he used a sieve to sift out the finger-sized stones, leaving only the fine soil.
When it was almost noon, Chen cleaned up the dishes she had brought out in the morning and called the two maids to go back and prepare dinner.
On cool days when the fields were not exposed to the sun, Chen would bring the food back to the fields to eat, saving everyone from having to run back. If it was too hot, they would eat at home so they could take a break and relax.
In the western suburbs, not far away, as spring is approaching, not only their family, but also the other families who have reclaimed wasteland in the fields are like this.
On the other side of the wasteland, tenant farmers were hired early to take care of it. Those who paid for the land did not have to work hard in the fields. They only had time to come over in the afternoon to see how the work was going.
Kang He took a sip of tea and looked at the other side of the barren land for a while. He knew that his family would not be able to live like this for a year or two, but if they managed their life well, there would always be hope.
Just as he was lost in thought, a handkerchief fell on his shoulder. When he came to his senses, he saw Fan Jing bringing him a ceramic bowl.
The large ceramic bowl contained rice and fried bacon with pickles.
Kang He then wiped the sweat from his forehead with the towel hanging on his shoulder, and sat down with Fan Jing under a big locust tree to eat.
"The locust flowers are blooming. I'll have to go up the mountain to take a look when they bloom."
Fan Jing nodded and saw Kang He put the meat from his bowl into his bowl.
The beginning of the year was full of big expenses, such as buying donkeys and land. They never hunted in the mountains, so they spent a lot of money but didn't make any money.
Money was tight, so Kang He became much more honest. He no longer used to buy meat or two pounds of offal every few days to make a delicious meal.
If they ate meat at home, they would only use the smoked meat left over from the pig slaughtered during the banquet in the first month of the lunar year to satisfy their hunger.
Compared to the past, these are pretty good days.
I'm just used to the delicious meat and dishes Kanghe used to serve me, which makes the current life seem a little dull in comparison.
Fan Jing didn't say anything and put the meat into his mouth.
The spring breeze was warm and gentle, lifting a few strands of hair on his temples.
Kang He reached out and tucked his hair behind his ears. He then wiped the sweat off his neck with the towel hanging around his neck. "After we go up the mountain to get the honey, I'll see if I can catch a couple of fish. I'll pound the meat and make fish meatball soup for you."
Fan Jing chewed his rice slowly and hummed.
The warm wind blew over with the scent of tender grass, caressing Fan Jing's thin face. Kang He followed the gentle wind and quickly kissed Fan Jing on the cheek.
Fan Jing felt as if a cabbage butterfly had landed on him briefly.
He turned his head and glanced at Kang He, and saw that he was already eating, as if he had done nothing just now, but the raised corners of his mouth betrayed him.
Fan Jing withdrew his gaze and looked at the spring water flowing in the distance, the ripples sparkling.
They had never been this close outside.
Fan Jing suddenly felt as if his heart was burned, and he had an indescribable throbbing feeling.
The whole family worked from dawn to dusk on the more than one acre of land. When they turned the soil, they also led the little donkey to the field. The land was plowed in just a few days.
The next step is to apply fertilizer to cultivate the land.
There wasn't much land at home, so the fertilizer in the manure pit was enough.
But this year, the family has new livestock and a lot more poultry. They eat a lot of grass and food, and also produce a lot of feces.
Zhen'er and Qiao'er cleaned it up and threw it away far away. Father Fan saw it several times and felt it was such a pity.
He always says that chicken, duck and rabbit feces are fertilizer, but unfortunately they cannot be poured directly on the ground to fertilize the vegetables, as they will burn the roots.
After hearing this, Kang He and Fan Jing dug a hole outside the backyard, built a thatched shed, and collected all the manure there.
Chen complained about the smell and said that the manure water at home was enough to irrigate the vegetable garden, so there was no need to bother piling up more fertilizer with nowhere to use it.
Father Fan was very happy. He was not afraid of the smell and often ran to the shed to make compost with straw on his back.
There is a lot of fertilizer piled up at home, which comes in handy and is perfect for improving the dry and thin newly opened land.
"Fan Er, why is your fat so good?"
When I was teaching the little donkey to carry manure to the field one trip at a time, fellow farmers who were also working on the land came over and said that the dark brown manure was good.
Father Fan said proudly, "I collected that from the manure pile at home bit by bit."
"You have a lot of chickens and ducks, so fertilizer is easy to get."
"They eat huge amounts of food every day, but other than making manure to fertilize the soil, they're of no use at all."
Dad Fan was fertilizing the fields while chatting with the villagers. His day passed very smoothly.
The next day, early in the morning, Kang He, Fan Jing and Fan's father were busy working in the fields.
Qiao Yatou came running over breathlessly and said to Father Fan, "Uncle Wang and Uncle Zhang San came home with some things and wanted to ask Father for fertilizer. Mother said she couldn't allow it and asked Father to see if they would give it to Uncle Wang and Uncle Zhang San."
The work in the fields has not been so heavy these past two days. Previously, we were in a hurry to open the fields, and there was a lot of work piled up at home. Today, Chen and the two maids did not go to the fields. They cleaned and tidied the house at home and washed the clothes they took off a few days ago.
There are also people who bring radish to sell. Yesterday they came to ask if you still accept radish. If you do, they want to carry some over today.
Chen collected them of course. The salted duck she had pickled earlier was almost ready to eat, and she hadn't been to the city to sell things for some time.
I was thinking about saving some konjac. After I finished working in the fields, I would take the salted duck and go sell the konjac and tofu.
"I think I talked about composting in the field yesterday, and they learned about it here."
Father Fan looked at Kang He and said, "Give them some of it. There's still plenty left, and we can't use it all up in our fields."
Kang He thought for a moment and said, "Dad, since they've come to your door to ask for things, you might as well not accept them. Just tell them how much you want per load and sell it to them."
"Sell?"
Father Fan frowned and said, "We are from the same village. I'm afraid this is not a good idea."
He muttered quietly, "The villagers will say that my family is obsessed with money and everything is about money."
"What's wrong with that? They bring things, isn't it money too? On the contrary, because we didn't pay, we owe them a favor by taking our fat. If the price is clearly marked, it would be a transaction when they take the money, and people would feel more at ease."
Kang He figured, "Mom wants to pickle some duck and sell it. We have chickens and ducks at home, so we'll always have more in the future, and the manure will be easy to pick up. We can't use it all. Everyone in the village knows that Dad is a good farmer. If they knew we had manure to sell, people who needed it would definitely come and buy it."
"If they really don't have any money, that's easy. We can just take their things and use them as payment. Village businesses aren't like those in the city where they're all about the money."
What Fan Dad said to Kang He was a little touching.
The manure he made was so good that he didn't think it was immoral to sell some to the villagers.
On the other hand, what Kang He said was not wrong. If we raise chickens and ducks at home and they poop every day, the manure pile will be too much for them to use up, which is a waste of money.
Seeing that Father Fan remained silent, Kang He knew that he had persuaded him somewhat, and continued, "We can just lower the price a bit, not as high as the market price outside. The villagers will only be grateful if they want to get rich."
He lowered his head and whispered to Father Fan, "The three or five copper coins I earn will become my pocket money. It will give me more money to buy some wine and some snacks. I don't have to ask Mom for money every time. It's so nice to have someone who can earn his own money. Look at Mom selling konjac and tofu. She's so energetic every day."
After hearing what Fan Dad taught Kang He, he felt relieved. He looked at Kang He eagerly and said, "Then go tell your mother to let me keep the money from selling manure."
"Okay, I'll go and ask her, and she'll definitely agree!"
Kang He patted his chest and promised him.
Seeing this, Father Fan dropped his hoe and happily went to sell manure with Qiao'er's family.
Fan Jing was spreading manure at one end, and saw how happy Kang He was making the old man happy. He didn't know what the two of them were whispering to each other with their heads together.
Kang Hezi took the initiative to confess.
After hearing this, Fan Jing said, "That's good. It gives him something to do so he doesn't have to go out and drink with others whenever he has free time."
But then again, why is it that Kang He has Zong'er in his mind who makes so much money?
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