The day after they returned to the village, the Gu brothers took Lu Zheng to clear the wasteland.
Behind their house, in the back ditch, were potato fields. Behind that field was a small grove of trees, and on the other side of the grove was a large wasteland overgrown with grass. Because it was surrounded by trees, no one in Sanchakou Village had bothered to cultivate the wasteland in recent years.
Grandma Xiao and Grandma Gu also went along. Grandma Xiao mainly collected herbs, while Grandma Gu, being strong, helped with clearing the land.
The land totaled a little over two acres. The four members of the Gu family, mother and sons, were all used to farm work. Although Lu Zheng had never done farm work before, he quickly learned by following the actions of his elders.
“Ah Yuan, I estimate that the potatoes grown on the plot of land behind the second brother’s house in Houyanggou have yielded nearly three thousand catties! With nearly three hundred catties of seeds used per mu, that means we could plant ten mu. Why don’t you sell some of the potatoes that are left over from the ten mu to our family? Our family, young and old, all love to eat that stuff.” Uncle Gu said to Lu Zheng while catching his breath.
“Okay, I’ll give my eldest uncle a hundred catties of seeds! And my second uncle a hundred catties as well.” Lu Zheng readily agreed.
Anyway, we'll be planting two or three more crops, and when they're transported to the capital, the emperor will definitely not complain about having too little.
"Then it's settled! Yuan! You're truly the young man I admire most! Really, I've even considered arranging a marriage for you. But I know I can't accept other girls! And I can't bear to part with my own. If you weren't so handsome, I might have considered introducing you to our Gu family's daughter." Uncle Gu sighed, looking quite regretful.
"Brother, why don't you introduce our family's girls when A-Yuan is so handsome?" Uncle Gu asked, puzzled.
"Why else? A handsome man is attractive! Look at my third sister's daughter, her eyes are all on A-Yuan. Our girls should find a man who is above average in looks, like me, who is family-oriented and good-natured! Second brother, don't you think so?" Uncle Gu said without hesitation, then sought Gu Shouxin's approval.
“Brother, in my heart, your appearance isn’t just above average, it’s down to below average!” Gu Shouxin said while pulling weeds.
"If you remove 'middle,' then it's just 'above average,' right?" Uncle Gu muttered, then happily said, "Hahaha, second son, don't say it out loud! Don't you scholars always say we shouldn't be arrogant? We're not arrogant!"
Uncle Gu: "..."
Grandma Gu: What a piece of trash!
Lu Zheng: Uncle, don't scare me! Introduce her to me! I want your third daughter.
Uncle Gu was happy for only a short while before frowning and sighing, "Alas, since ancient times, beauties are paired with beasts, flowers with cow dung, and handsome young men are paired with fat women! So, Yuan, you'd better work on building up your strength. I can see you're destined to be with a fat woman too. Look at Guo Wan, what a huge lump she is! Work on your strength so you don't end up with someone like my wife, someone who's difficult to even lift..."
Gu Shouxin, Uncle Gu: Is it possible to talk about your wife like that?
Lu Zheng: "Uncle, I'm not handsome, really, I'm very ugly."
Uncle Gu patted Lu Zheng on the shoulder and encouraged him, "When I was young, I also thought I was very ugly and a perfect match for my wife. I never thought that I would realize I was actually only slightly above average when I had my second child. Now that I have my fourth child, your second uncle wants me to drop the average one. I can't even be modest anymore. You should face reality sooner rather than later!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com