Chapter 101
After discussing it, Xun Yi and Shu Wanxiu decided to continue cultivating the two acres of land belonging to the Shu family.
The land that was originally allocated to Xun Yi and his sister in the village was rented out because Xun Yi was busy learning blacksmithing and had no time to cultivate it.
Later, when he returned to open a shop, he needed to spend a sum of money to buy iron materials, so he had no choice but to sell his land.
Now that they have land again, leaving it fallow would be a complete waste. Renting it out wouldn't yield much return, so selling it would be better since they're not short of money right now and might as well continue farming.
In a few years, when Shu Shouyi grows up, if he wants to learn a trade, Xun Yi can teach him blacksmithing. If he doesn't want to learn a trade, these two acres of land can at least be considered as some kind of family property.
As for now, these two acres of land can be used to grow two crops of grain each year, enough to feed the whole family. In addition, because of Shu Wanxiu and her family's status as refugees, these two acres of land are exempt from taxes for three years.
Shu Wanxiu doesn't plan to use the plow and harrow set that she bought together with her uncle anymore.
One problem is that cross-village partnerships are not very convenient, and the other is that Xun Yi's area has no shortage of plows and harrows.
Since we'll be farming every year anyway, I might as well keep one set for myself.
Xun Yi is the type to act on his words, and so is Shu Wanxiu.
Two acres of land, one person holding the plow and the other pulling it, were plowed in three days.
Afterwards, Shu Wanxiu was not involved in planting or anything else. After finishing her own land, Xun Yi, her nephew-in-law, even went to Wuli Village to help his uncle and his family.
The busy farming season is finally over. During this time, someone came to the shop to order a set of door knockers and arranged a time to pick them up.
On the first day of the renovation of Xun Yi's shop, they began to work in full swing to forge according to the customer's requirements.
Now that they are husband and wife, Shu Wanxiu can openly and legitimately watch every step of the forging process.
From getting up early to light the furnace, to selecting iron materials and melting iron.
Shu Wanxiu and Shu Shouyi, who were seeing such a spectacle for the first time, watched with great interest.
Xun Yi glanced at Shu Wanxiu several times, and finally, after his short jacket was completely soaked with sweat, he calmly took off his jacket and went shirtless.
Shu Wanxiu's eyes widened as she looked at him, then at the door.
The iron furnace was cleverly positioned so that even if someone passed by outside, they wouldn't be able to see what was inside at a glance.
So... it's okay to go shirtless?!
She narrowed her eyes, recalling the first time she came to Xun Yi's blacksmith shop.
That day, she found the rabbit at her doorstep. After going down the mountain to ask Pang Zhishan to solve the case, Chen Sanhe gave her directions and told her that Xun Yi could tan rabbit skins.
That time, she stood outside the shop and called out once or twice, and Xun Yi waited a while before letting her in.
Was he getting dressed at that time?
During the day, Shu Wanxiu didn't ask. But at night, after the two returned to their bedroom and made love, she nestled in Xun Yi's arms to calm her breathing before softly asking the question.
Xun Yi remembered every single one of their encounters vividly.
He remembered it as soon as Shu Wanxiu mentioned it.
At that time... he was indeed shirtless.
"What if I hadn't made a sound and had just barged in?" Shu Wanxiu asked, wriggling out of his arms and crossing her arms.
"Then I'll... marry you?" Xun Yi scratched his head.
Shu Wanxiu's expression instantly turned even colder. "Fine, what if another woman had accidentally barged in without saying a word?!"
Xun Yi then realized something was wrong.
Shu Wanxiu turned away unhappily.
Shortly after their marriage, the two had a disagreement over a hypothetical scenario.
However, the conflict did not last long.
"Those who come to the blacksmith's shop are usually aunts, uncles, or other female relatives. Very few, no, almost no young women come alone."
“Since I opened my blacksmith shop, no woman has ever seen me shirtless.”
He tried his best to explain, even promising that he would always wear clothes while forging iron and would never go shirtless.
During the day in the furnace room, Shu Wanxiu also broke out in a sweat.
She also saw with her own eyes that Xun Yi had no choice but to take off his shirt because his shorts were completely soaked.
Going shirtless is indeed not good, but if you insist on covering yourself up, you'll get too hot.
Shu Wanxiu's anger dissipated.
Later, Xun Yi's furnace room had an additional screen.
...
On this day, Shu Wanxiu chatted with Chen Sanhe and learned that Chen Sanhe's family's sow had given birth to a litter of ten piglets. They planned to sell eight of them after they turned one month old and keep two.
Shu Wanxiu was just feeling bored with her life, and upon hearing this news, she immediately had an idea. After returning home, she discussed with Xun Yi about bringing two of them back to raise.
After all, if you raise them at this time this year, you can sell them for a good price by the end of next year.
Meeting Shu Wanxiu's expectant eyes, Xun Yi thought carefully for a moment.
Although he felt it was better not to raise the pig, out of respect, he didn't directly object, but calmly expressed his concerns.
“Raising pigs requires cutting pig feed every day. The bigger the pigs, the more they eat. Later on, two pigs can eat a whole basketful a day. There are more than one family raising pigs in the village. Sometimes, after the pig feed around the village is cut, we have to walk several miles of mountain roads to find feed elsewhere. Sometimes I have to go to the county town to buy iron, and it's common for me to be gone for two or three days. You…”
Shu Wanxiu smiled and said, "Do you think cutting some pig feed will stump me?"
Xun Yi already had enough on his plate, and Shu Wanxiu had no intention of entrusting the pig-raising project to him.
His gaze swept helplessly over Shu Wanxiu's beautiful face. Xun Yi tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and said tenderly in her ear, "You may not feel any problem now, but what if... you get pregnant while this pig is being raised?"
Shu Wanxiu's cheeks were flushed.
But it must be admitted that Xun Yi was right.
Fortunately, she was only tempted and did not reveal her intention to buy it to Chen Sanhe.
The matter was left unresolved.
Two months of sweet days passed, and the weather gradually turned cold.
Shu Wanxiu finally had something to do.
He was either learning how to make pickles from Chen Sanhe in the warm winter sun, or staying at home with fabric to make autumn and winter clothes.
The temperature in Xun Yi's blacksmith's furnace was extremely high, yet her hands never stiffened while she sewed clothes inside.
Shu Shouyi suffered from frostbite last year, but this year he has spent more time in the furnace room, and his ears and hands are fine, without any redness or itching.
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