She replied, "I know, all your father does is nag, why doesn't he hurry up and bring two more buckets of water himself? You're not in school anymore, why can't I call you? We can't rely on me for all this land!"
Aunt Tietou picked up two buckets and walked towards the river, cursing as she went. Halfway there, she finally couldn't help but wipe her eyes.
She didn't want to give birth one after another like piglets, but if he didn't produce a son, her husband would divorce her, and then she wouldn't have the face to continue living.
Song Anxin led the children towards the riverbank. Lin Fengshou looked at his mother and said:
“Mom, you’re really different now. Even when Aunt Tie Tou said that, you weren’t angry. I even wanted to talk back for you, but she’s an elder in the village, so I couldn’t say anything.”
“Mother, I think you have four sons like us, so you really don’t need to work in the fields anymore. You should go back and rest,” Lin Fengnian said.
Song Anxin glanced at the chafing on her sons' shoulders and figured that carrying a dozen buckets of water back and forth every day must have worn them out long ago.
She said, "Your bodies are my bodies too, and I feel sorry for you all."
Your shoulders must be chafed raw too. When we get back, Mom will go to the foot of the mountain to gather some herbs, and Meizi will crush them and you can apply them.
Song Anxin didn't want to argue with Aunt Tietou about this matter. In ancient times, how many women could decide for themselves how many children they had or whether they should have sons?
Even the empress, high above in the palace, couldn't make that decision; they were all just unfortunate people of their time.
The three sons were warmed by their mother's words and decided to work harder to carry two more buckets of water so that their mother would have to carry less and wouldn't have to work so hard.
"Mother, you read about these herbs in a book, didn't you? You're amazing, you've read all kinds of books."
Lin Fenghe looked at his mother with admiration.
Song Anxin felt a little guilty from the sudden praise, so she coughed and said, "You will all be just as capable as your mother after you have read a lot of books."
After saying that, she walked straight to the riverbank. Actually, this was something she learned from her grandfather. When she was a child, if she fell and accidentally bumped into something, her grandfather would always pick different herbs to apply to her wounds, and the effect was no worse than modern ointments.
It has to be said that her status as the daughter of a scholar gave her many advantages, but she was also quite vulnerable!
Soon, Song Anxin led the children to the river to fetch water. Because it hadn't rained and the temperature was high, the river was shallow, and the surface shimmered under the sunlight.
She was momentarily blinded by the light reflected from the river, and instinctively closed her eyes. Suddenly, something flashed through her mind.
When she was a child, there was a river like this in the countryside where she lived. There was a big thing standing on the river, I think it was called a waterwheel, which could automatically pump water from the river to the fields using water power.
"I've got it!" Song Anxin was overjoyed. She could make a waterwheel to irrigate the farmland, so that everyone would no longer have to spend so much time and effort carrying water. But Song Anxin's joy was short-lived, and she soon became dejected.
To build such a large waterwheel, we definitely need to send people from Kyoto to study it, since we don't know much about it ourselves, and even if we figure it out, it will take a lot of time to build.
The rice plants desperately need water right now, so there's no time to wait for the waterwheel to be made. Song Anxin sighed again and said she would have to wait until next year.
Finally, the morning's work came to an end. After half past Chenshi (7-9 AM), Song Anxin's family went home to rest and prepare for lunch. Because of the hot weather, most farmers in Linjia Village would go to the fields early in the morning, before the sun rose, to fetch water to irrigate their rice.
Then, after the sun rises and the weather gradually gets warmer, they will go back. In the afternoon, when the weather is not so hot, they will go back to the fields and work until it is almost dark.
At this point, it's a race against time.
Because every household needs to irrigate the rice fields, the Lin family's small classroom, which was held in the evening, was moved to after lunch.
Actually, Song Anxin originally wanted to cancel the classes for the next few days and resume them after she finished her work, so that they could get a rest at noon.
But the younger ones insisted on refusing, as did Lin Shitou and Han Xiaohe. Song Anxin knew they cherished the opportunity to study, so she had to reduce the amount of content in each class so that they could go back to rest earlier.
During that time, Zhang Mei also came to visit Song Anxin and the others.
Zhang Mei walked to the riverbank and saw her mother-in-law carrying water to go to the fields. She quickly went to help and took the water-carrying pole from her to put it on herself.
"Mom, please let me come. I'm feeling much better. Everyone in the village is busy watering the rice, and no one has come to deliver the duck eggs. I can't just stay at home and watch you all work so hard."
I heard from Feng Nian that your shoulders were chafed raw. I have thick skin, so I'll take care of it! Zhang Mei said.
Song Anxin put down the carrying pole and looked at her daughter-in-law with a smile, saying:
Look at your puny frame, you're nothing like someone with thick skin and a strong build. You've only just recovered, don't go through all that trouble. If you're really bored at home, help us with some sewing to pass the time."
Zhang Mei refused: "Mother, how can a mother-in-law come to work in the fields while her daughter-in-law stays at home doing nothing?"
Zhang Mei felt really uneasy.
Her mother-in-law was so good to her. While everyone in the village, from the elderly and children to pregnant women, was busy with their own affairs, her mother-in-law still let her stay at home and rest.
In the past, at this time of year, she had to do the work of two or three people, not only carrying water from the fields, but also cooking, washing clothes, and feeding the chickens and ducks when she got back.
“You’re not just sitting idle, you’re still making clothes. Listen to your mother and go back quickly. Last time I went to Doctor Zheng’s to buy medicine, he said that if you don’t take good care of yourself, he’ll prescribe some tonics, which will cost a lot of money,” Song Anxin said.
Lin Fengyao, who was helping to fetch water, was puzzled. He had gone with his mother last time, so why hadn't the doctor mentioned it?
Song Anxin naturally noticed Lin Fengyao's doubts. She was just talking nonsense so that her daughter-in-law wouldn't interfere, so she quickly gave Lin Fengyao a wink.
Although young, Lin Fengyao was shrewd. After receiving his mother's message, he immediately said, "Yes, sister-in-law, that's what the old doctor said. Brother Shitou said that his mother spent a lot of money on medicine and even owes money."
Lin Fengnian happened to come over from the field and heard this. He said, "Really? Mother, did the doctor really say that? Meizi, you should go back and rest. This work is tiring and hot. Don't wear yourself out."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Mei knew better than to take on the job. It was one thing for her to be tired, but it was another for her to spend her family's money, as medical treatment and medicine were not cheap.
So she had no choice but to leave. Seeing that Lin Fengnian was covered in sweat, she didn't forget to wipe his sweat with a handkerchief. Lin Fengnian grinned foolishly.
After Zhang Mei arrived, the women drawing water by the river stared at her intently. After saying only a few words, Zhang Mei left again, and Lin Ersao didn't even give her a cold shoulder.
Some of the young wives in the village immediately started grumbling and slowed down, which led to them being scolded by their mothers-in-law.
"You lazy bum, you can't blame anyone if you're not lucky enough to have this job. You were laughing at others before, so hurry up and get to work. If you fail to carry two buckets of water today, don't blame me for making you the first one to get punished."
The young wife dared not throw a tantrum and quickly carried the two buckets of water away.
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