"Thanks to you!"
Zhang Dazhu patted the sack full of corn next to him.
"This crop of corn is growing exceptionally well; it can yield 800 jin per mu!"
Su Jianguo nodded, his gaze sweeping over the bustling fields.
Not far away, Old Wang was bundling corn stalks with several teenagers.
Uncle Li's wife and daughter worked together seamlessly, one picking corn and the other bagging it.
Even Grandpa Zhao, who is over seventy years old, is supervising the work in the fields with his cane, and occasionally shouts to direct the young people to do their work.
Everyone's face was beaming with the joy of a bountiful harvest.
"You all go ahead with your work, I'll go check on the greenhouses up the mountain first."
Su Jianguo started pedaling his bicycle again.
"Let's talk again when we have time!"
Leaving the bustling farmland, Su Jianguo rode along the winding mountain road toward his own greenhouse.
Halfway up the mountain, four vegetable greenhouses are neatly arranged on the sunny slope.
Su Jianguo leaned his bicycle against an old locust tree and strode towards the greenhouse.
Before he could get close, he saw a familiar figure emerge from the greenhouse.
Wu Ermaitai was carrying two buckets of water and carefully watering the cucumber seedlings.
Hearing footsteps, Wu Ermaitai suddenly looked up, his bloodshot eyes instantly brightening.
"Brother Jianguo!"
He put down the bucket, ran over quickly, and a simple, honest smile appeared on his face.
"You're finally back!"
Su Jianguo patted him on the shoulder.
"Thank you for your hard work, Second Brother. How's the greenhouse doing?"
"I'm fine!"
Wu Ermai excitedly pulled Su Jianguo toward the greenhouse.
"The cucumber seedlings are all flowering, and some have even produced small cucumber heads! The tomato seedlings are also growing really tall. I've been watering them twice a day, morning and evening, just like you said..."
Stepping into the greenhouse, a wave of warm, humid air hits you, a stark contrast to the chill of autumn outside.
Su Jianguo squatted down and carefully inspected each seedling.
The cucumber vines have climbed up the trellis, and tender yellow flowers dot the green leaves.
The tomato seedlings are tall and strong, with glossy green leaves.
The chives and scallions are lush and growing vigorously.
"Excellent, truly excellent!"
Su Jianguo nodded in satisfaction and turned to look at Wu Ermaitai.
"You took very good care of me, even better than I expected."
Wu Er scratched his head sheepishly and grinned sheepishly.
"Brother Jianguo taught me well, I remember it all. During the day, lift the straw mat, and at night cover it tightly. Water thoroughly but not waterlogged; when the temperature is high, ventilate..."
Just as Su Jianguo was about to say a few more words of praise, he suddenly noticed Wu Er's heavy dark circles and bluish eye sockets.
The honest-looking man looked much more haggard, his eyes were bloodshot, and his face was much paler than the last time we met.
"Second brother, haven't you been sleeping well lately?"
Su Jianguo frowned and asked.
"Are you not used to living here?"
Wu Ermai quickly waved his hand.
"No, no, I'm staying here very well! Jianjun's wife brings me hot meals every day, it's much better than when I was begging!"
"So what's causing your dark circles?"
Su Jianguo persisted.
"Is it too chilly tonight? Shall I get you a blanket?"
Wu Er lowered his head and stammered.
"No...it's...it's a wild boar..."
"Wild boar?"
Su Jianguo's heart tightened.
"What happened?"
Wu Er looked up, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes.
"A pack of wild boars recently came down from the mountains, and they're really ferocious! Grandpa Zhao's two acres of cornfield were almost completely destroyed overnight, and Uncle Li's sweet potato field was also a mess."
He pointed to the land surrounding the greenhouse.
"I'm afraid they'll come and ruin our vegetables, so I haven't dared to sleep soundly these past few nights. I have to come out and chase them away at the slightest sound."
Su Jianguo then noticed that there were several homemade scarecrows stuck in the ground around the greenhouse, and several empty cans hanging there, jingling in the wind.
Clearly, these were all crude methods that Wu Ermaitai came up with to drive away wild boars.
"You keep watch every night?"
Su Jianguo asked with some guilt.
Wu Er nodded.
"Yeah, I moved a small stool and sat at the entrance of the greenhouse. Whenever I heard a noise, I'd bang on the metal basin. Two of them actually came last night, but I scared them away."
As he spoke, he yawned.
"I'm just a little sleepy..."
Su Jianguo felt a surge of warmth in his heart. This seemingly foolish man hadn't slept well for several nights in a row in order to protect the greenhouse.
He patted Wu Ermaidai on the shoulder.
"You get some rest tonight, I'll keep watch."
"No, no!"
Wu Er was so anxious that he kept waving his hands.
"Brother Jianguo, you're a man destined for great things, how could I let you keep watch at night? I'm fine, really!"
Just as Su Jianguo was about to say something more, he suddenly noticed several fresh hoof prints on the soil at the edge of the greenhouse.
He crouched down to examine it closely and found that it was a clear string of wild boar footprints, about the size of a bowl, with several patches of uprooted soil nearby.
"This is..."
Su Jianguo's expression turned serious.
Wu Ermai came over to take a look, and his expression changed.
"Oh dear, these are fresh footprints! I clearly chased them away last night, how come they're back?"
Su Jianguo stood up and looked in the direction of the footprints.
A series of hoof prints stretched from the mountains and forests, circled around the greenhouse, and then disappeared into the bushes on the other side.
What alarmed him even more was that a sweet potato field less than ten meters from the greenhouse had been ransacked by wild boars, and several unripe sweet potatoes had been gnawed down to only half.
"The situation is more serious than I thought."
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