Chapter 54
More than half a month has passed since the start of summer, and the sun has been shining for days without rain, with temperatures much higher than last month.
Xun Yi had lost count of how many times he had been awakened by absurd dreams, and he had even become somewhat accustomed to it.
He opened his eyes for a moment in the darkness, turned his head slightly, and noticed that there was already light outside through the sparse and breathable reed curtain. He simply threw off the thin blanket and got up.
As dawn broke, a crescent moon still hung in the sky.
Xun Yi paced aimlessly back and forth in the courtyard for a while, then picked up a broom that was placed against the wall and swept up the fallen leaves in the courtyard.
It's too early; we need to turn on the lamps to do anything in the house.
With nothing urgent to do and not wanting to waste lamp oil, he strolled out of the house.
As I walked to the stream, I unknowingly stepped onto the wooden plank bridge and reached the other side of the stream.
He only paid attention to whether there were snakes on the ground; he didn't care how far he went or where he went.
After strolling around aimlessly for a while, when he looked up and carefully observed his surroundings again, he found himself in the middle of the village fields—a place he had been frequenting lately.
Perhaps the absurd dream he had just experienced had caused him great emotional turmoil, because at this moment, standing by the field, he felt unusually calm.
The rice seedlings are green and much taller than when they were first planted.
The rice seedlings need water right now, and the water level in the field is not low.
A gentle breeze ripples the water in the fields, and a spider with long, thin legs crawls on the surface, foraging for food.
Everything is fine, except there are quite a few weeds.
Xun Yi knew that Shu Wanxiu's business had stopped recently, and she spent all day weeding in the fields.
He knew that Shu Wanxiu had bought a few chicks at the market a few days ago and was raising them. She would bring back some tender grass from the field every day for the chicks to peck at.
He also knew that there was a type of weed that was extremely difficult for Shu Wanxiu to identify.
That kind of grass is called barnyard grass.
To this day, she still can't quite distinguish between the barnyard grass growing alongside the rice in the field and the rice itself.
This is a weed that looks very much like a rice seedling, but it grows faster than a rice seedling.
Xun Yi hadn't specifically calculated how many days it took for barnyard grass to sprout from the soil and grow to maturity, but there wasn't a single weed in the field when the rice seedlings were transplanted because the field had been plowed.
Even if there were weeds in the field before, their roots were cut off and buried in the soil as the plow and harrow were used to till the land.
Most weeds cannot keep up with the growth rate of rice seedlings. Even if they can keep up, they look very different from rice seedlings and are not difficult to pull out.
Barnyard grass is different.
It is very good at chasing.
Even though there wasn't a trace of them in the field when the rice seedlings were being planted, they caught up with the seedlings as they grew.
Before you know it, it has taken root firmly in the field, bearing a face that is more than 90% similar to the rice seedlings.
This is the crucial period for removing barnyard grass.
It competes with rice for fertilizer, and once it grows tall and spreads its leaves, it will block some of the sunlight, which is even more detrimental to the growth of rice.
Shu Wanxiu had cleared all the weeds from the ridges of her two mu of land, but there were still many barnyard grasses in the middle of the field.
She herself may not have been unaware of this, but because she was afraid of mistaking the rice seedlings for weeds and pulling them up by mistake, she had to be extremely careful to identify them before each time she made a move.
This directly caused her progress to be slowed down.
Xun Yi's gaze moved from afar to near, and he saw a stalk of barnyard grass growing close to the rice seedlings, about an arm's length away from him.
He was a boy who had worked in the fields with his parents when he was seven or eight years old.
Before he came to Wupai Village and became an apprentice, he had farmed for a year or two.
Even though he hadn't farmed for many years, he could still distinguish weeds very clearly.
The grass was so close to him that he didn't hesitate for long. He simply squatted down, stood on the edge of the field, stretched out his arm, and pulled it up by the roots.
Once something like this happens, it will happen again. After all, pulling out one is the same as pulling out two.
He walked around the field once, and ended up with a large handful of barnyard grass in his hand.
The sound of roosters crowing gradually rose in the distance, and the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn.
The sound carried far in the open space; he could even hear the sounds of several nearby houses opening their doors.
It wouldn't be good to stay any longer.
Xun Yi stood up, carrying the bundle of weeds in his hand, and left. He didn't leave until he was far away, at which point he threw it away in an inconspicuous place.
Xun Yi remained calm until he entered his home.
He cooked his own meal over a fire, and not long after eating, he saw Shu Wanxiu and Shu Shouyi reappear in the field by the stream.
Just like the previous few days, she often stretched out her hand and hung it between the barnyard grass and the rice seedlings.
Even from a great distance, Xun Yi could sense that hesitation.
During the half-day, Xun Yi, who was forging iron by the furnace, would occasionally get too hot from the fire and take a break to wash his face in the yard to cool down, while also glancing at the situation in the fields.
In those brief intervals, he had seen Shu Wanxiu walk past the weeds without realizing it.
At the end of the day, Shu Wanxiu had worked hard and was exhausted, but she hadn't done a good job.
Xun Yi, who witnessed everything, watched from afar and did not approach.
That night, he had another nonsensical dream.
In this dream, Shu Wanxiu is weeding.
He stood in the courtyard, while Shu Wanxiu stood in the paddy field in front of his house.
She bent over and pulled weeds without hesitation, her movements quick and efficient. Before long, the pulled weeds filled the field ridge, and she left satisfied.
When did she begin to be able to distinguish between barnyard grass and rice seedlings?
Xun Yi only approached the edge of the field after Shu Wanxiu's figure had disappeared from sight.
Peeking out, I saw that the field was covered with barnyard grass, and the rice seedlings had been discarded on the ridges.
Before he could even process the absurdity, it was harvest time.
All the surrounding fields were filled with ripe, plump, and golden rice, but Shu Wanxiu's field was full of barnyard grass.
Many people stood on the ridge of the field and laughed at them for having no harvest. As they pointed and whispered, Shu Shouyi understood what "no harvest" meant and burst into tears.
He woke up before he could see Shu Wanxiu's face clearly.
This dream was more terrifying than any I've ever had.
Upon waking, Xun Yi wiped the sweat from his forehead, jumped out of bed, put on his shoes, pushed open the door, and locked it in one swift motion.
He stepped through the morning dew and went straight to Shu Wanxiu's field in the village.
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Author's Note: Xun Yi: Fine, I'll distance myself from you, but Shu Wanxiu, remember this! I won't allow you to go hungry!
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