Chapter 46
This is the fourth day of the wheat harvest, and most households have finished harvesting their wheat.
The sky was overcast, as if brewing a heavy rain. Families who had finished harvesting their wheat put down what they were doing and rushed to the fields to help the remaining families with their harvest.
Shu Wanxiu naturally went to the fields to help harvest the wheat. In the emergency, she grabbed a sickle, bent down, and plunged into the wheat field.
Some people were responsible for harvesting, and others were responsible for carrying it away.
After dozens of people worked together to harvest the crops, their sickles smoking from being swung, they finally overcame the rain.
Among the few acres of land that were hastily harvested was a small plot of wheat belonging to Wang Jincai's family at the foot of the mountain.
To express their gratitude to the villagers who helped them harvest wheat, he and his wife, Lin Xinghua, warmly invited everyone to their home for a cup of tea and a rest as the heavy rain began to fall.
Since it's raining anyway, and nothing can be done in the fields, and we've been busy with farming for several days, it's good to visit other people's homes.
So a dozen or so people squeezed into the Wang family's house. Shu Wanxiu and Shu Shouyi, led by Chen Sanhe, also barely managed to squeeze in.
There were five or six benches in the main room, just enough for the number of men who had come with them.
Wang Jincai then invited the men to sit down in the main room. Five or six men, bored, talked about everything from farming and family matters to world affairs, holding their teacups and watching the rain, discussing current events in this secluded little mountain village.
The women preferred to chat about current events, so they gathered with Lin Xinghua in the kitchen to chat about everyday life.
To be honest, Shu Wanxiu couldn't get a word in edgewise on many topics.
But she didn't find it boring at all. On the contrary, she learned about the villagers' past from everyone's conversations, which made her very happy, just like when she was a child listening to adults tell stories.
At first, Shu Shouyi stayed quietly in her arms, but after a while, he started to wriggle and insisted on getting off Shu Wanxiu.
"What's wrong?" Shu Wanxiu asked softly.
Just as a secret matter had been discussed, the aunties paused to savor it, and all was quiet.
The aunt and niece, who had remained silent and almost invisible, finally caught the attention of the women.
"Wanxiu is here too? Did your aunt bring you water?" Lin Xinghua asked.
"It's done." Shu Wanxiu released Shu Shouyi's hand and put him on the ground, taking a moment to reply to her.
"That's good."
"Is your Shouyi getting restless?"
Shu Shouyi drank most of the large bowl of water that Lin Xinghua had just brought him.
Seeing his blushing face, Shu Wanxiu knew that he probably needed to use the restroom.
However, the child was shy and didn't want to say it directly in front of a bunch of aunties. She only explained after letting him rush out, "He probably wanted to get up and move around a bit."
An auntie living at the west end of the village watched Shu Shouyi's retreating figure and said, "You've raised this child very well. He's gained a lot of weight since the first time I saw him last year."
"You've not only gained weight, you've also grown a lot taller." Chen Sanhe was the person who had the most contact with Shu Wanxiu and her companion among those present.
She has a grandson who is the same age as Shu Shouyi. Last year, Shu Shouyi was shorter, but after winter, he grew as tall as a bamboo shoot and has now caught up with her grandson's height.
An auntie nearby, who loved to join in the fun, asked Shu Wanxiu what she usually cooked for Shu Shouyi and if he had any secret recipes for growing taller.
Shu Wanxiu was taken aback, then chuckled and said, "Where would you find such a prescription?"
The usually quiet person suddenly smiled, and their expression suddenly became different from usual.
Lin Xinghua, who was sitting directly opposite her, was dazzled by her smile.
"You're all a bunch of idiots, all you know is how tall the baby is. What? Has no one else noticed that Shu'er has grown up?"
These words were like a thunderclap from a clear sky, and everyone present rushed to look at Shu Wanxiu's face.
Under the watchful eyes of so many, Shu Wanxiu naturally couldn't smile.
But the aunts' sharp eyes still discerned the truth or falsehood of Lin Xinghua's words from her expressionless face.
What did Shu Wanxiu look like when she first arrived in Wupai Village? She was skin and bones!
He was so thin and bony that when you pinched him, you could only feel bones and no flesh.
It really is... a far cry from what it used to be!
Chen Sanhe and Shu Wanxiu often met, and Shu Wanxiu's body gradually gained weight.
This gradual change seemed perfectly natural to Chen Sanhe. If Lin Xinghua hadn't mentioned it today, she truly wouldn't have known when she would have noticed the changes in Shu Wanxiu's appearance.
She was the last to realize it among everyone, and also the most astonished.
After finding a place to relieve himself, Shu Shouyi stepped through the door, but the aunties present had no time to discuss his height or weight.
Lin Xinghua had something to say, but when she caught Shu Shouyi entering the room, the words stuck in her throat for a while. Finally, she had a sudden inspiration, grabbed a handful of peanuts from the cupboard, and led Shu Shouyi to sit in the main room.
After instructing her husband to take good care of the child, Lin Xinghua ran back to the kitchen.
"Shu girl, with such a beautiful face, why are you farming all by yourself?" She said with exasperation, moving a stool closer to Shu Wanxiu.
"Good families are everywhere. With your looks, you can find a really good family to marry into and enjoy a lifetime of happiness!"
Marriage is always a topic of discussion.
All eyes turned to Shu Wanxiu's face once again.
Honestly, Lin Xinghua's words were not entirely correct.
There are good families and good men in the world, but they are not everywhere.
Finding a good marriage requires a lot of thought and effort.
Lin Xinghua was right in some ways.
It's not uncommon for a girl with a beautiful face to marry into a wealthy family.
But can someone who is good-looking marry into a good family and enjoy a lifetime of happiness? Chen Sanhe doesn't think so.
She wasn't as excited as Lin Xinghua, but after realizing Shu Wanxiu's outstanding beauty, she did feel that Shu Wanxiu could alleviate some of her burdens by getting married.
Right now, everyone is following Lin Xinghua's advice to persuade Shu Wanxiu to get married. Some are even starting to think about whether their own families have any eligible unmarried nephews or nieces who could be a good match for Shu Wanxiu.
Shu Wanxiu lowered her head shyly and did not respond to their conversation.
Chen Sanhe could tell that she wasn't keen on the topic of marriage, so he nodded at the few people who were talking about marriage.
"If you want to properly arrange a marriage, you still have to ask a matchmaker to come to your door. How can you just catch a glimpse of a girl and start a match without any real understanding?"
After the rain stopped, Chen Sanhe went to the Shu family's house halfway up the mountain.
As before, he found a way to send Shu Shouyi aside and then asked Shu Wanxiu about her plans again.
“Wanxiu, your aunt never realized you were so beautiful. Some of what your aunt Xinghua said is wrong, but some of it is right. Now you support the family on your own, and it must be very hard. Your aunt can tell you didn’t do farm work before.”
“From now on, your family’s two acres of land will depend on you. You’ll plant one crop of wheat and one crop of rice a year, working one crop after another. You’ll hardly get a break from the beginning to the end of the year.”
“You’ve been helping everyone with the harvest these past few days, so you should have already experienced the hardship. If it’s like this every year, do you think you can manage to cultivate those two acres of land?”
It's not easy for a man to cultivate two acres of land, let alone a woman.
Chen Sanhe spoke from the bottom of his heart to Shu Wanxiu.
"We're not talking about finding the best family, just marrying into a decent family will definitely make your life easier than it is now, at least 50% better."
Shu Wanxiu understood that Chen Sanhe was different from the aunties at the foot of the mountain who talked casually in a moment of excitement; she was seriously planning for herself.
Since that's the case, Shu Wanxiu also shared her thoughts with Chen Sanhe.
"Auntie, I believe what you say, that my life will be better after I get married, but what about my duty of keeping my promise after I get married?"
“Shouyi is the only bloodline left in the world by my brother and sister-in-law. I cannot abandon him, nor can I change his surname.”
One sentence left Chen Sanhe speechless.
They cannot be abandoned, and their surname cannot be changed.
She thought about it carefully and realized that this matter was indeed very difficult to handle.
No man in the world would be so generous as to help support his wife's nephew.
"Don't you have an uncle? If you get married, would they be willing to help you support Shouyi?"
Shu Wanxiu shook her head.
"I personally promised my brother and sister-in-law to entrust their child to me before they passed away, and I will never entrust the matter of raising Shouyi to anyone else." After saying this, she even showed a fearless smile.
"Silly girl, you're wasting your life!" Chen Sanhe was anxious and grabbed her arm tightly.
Shu Wanxiu did not break free from her grasp; instead, she moved closer and gently hugged Chen Sanhe.
"Auntie, thank you for thinking of me, but this is my own choice."
"To be honest, I figured out a long time ago what the price would be for raising Shouyi to adulthood. Don't worry about me. Whether I marry late or not, I'm willing to bear the consequences."
"Why……"
"Silly child...you're such a silly child!"
In this world, those who break their promises are despised, while those who uphold their integrity are pitied.
That night, Chen Sanhe kept muttering the word "heartache" in his dreams. A little while later, he said he wanted to find a good marriage for Shu Wanxiu.
Pang Zhishan, who was sitting next to her, laughed when he heard this.
The couple had a good relationship. Chen Sanhe didn't tell anyone about Shu Wanxiu's situation, but Pang Zhishan guessed a bit about it from their conversation.
The marriage of the Shu family girl?
Pang Zhishan really felt that his wife was overthinking things.
That's not far away, it's right in front of us, it's obvious!
But then again...
Xun Yi has been away from the village for far too long since receiving his master's letter. Why hasn't he returned home yet?
Others may not know, but Pang Zhishan and Chen Sanhe have always known.
When Xun Yi became an apprentice, he did learn the blacksmithing skill in the county town. However, not long after he finished his apprenticeship and returned to start his own business, his master moved the shop to the prefectural city for some reason.
Everyone in the village knew that Xun Yi always stayed at an inn when he went to the county town, but no one thought about why he never stayed at his master's place if his master still ran a shop in the county town, or why he never visited his master during festivals.
Perhaps there's just too much work to do in the prefectural city?
His wife was still muttering in her sleep, and Pang Zhishan helplessly turned over.
During the recent wheat harvest, many people from other villages came to Xun Yi to have their sickles reforged, or to buy new sickles, plows, harrows, and other farm tools.
Xun Yi missed out on many business deals because he wasn't home.
Pang Zhishan felt sorry for him.
He hoped to earn some money with his master over the next few months, preferably more than he could make selling ironware in the countryside.
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