When Tian Sangui arrived at the front hall, he heard people outside talking about how their backyard had also been affected. They wondered what the students had eaten to cause such a mess, and found it impossible to even step inside.
"My house is the same. The whole house smells disgusting. My wife has to clean it carefully, otherwise I don't even want to go inside."
Hearing this, Tian Sangui pursed his lips. A grown man like him doesn't lift a finger and lets his wife deal with that filthy place all by herself. That's really something.
She doesn't want a lazy old man like that when she gets married.
Find a place to sit down, and to distract yourself from needing to use the restroom, take out some loose change to count.
The next two days are my days off, and considering that there will be fewer people around and my own health, I've decided to go home and rest for two days.
There's no end to the money you can earn and the food you can eat; a balance between work and rest is the right way to go.
Originally, the three of them were supposed to start their journey home after noon, but due to special circumstances today, they didn't get home until dark.
Mrs. Zhang hurriedly came out of the kitchen to greet him: "What happened today? Why are you only coming back now?"
The couple were busy in the fields, and after noon the children hadn't returned. They figured the shop was busy and they needed to work longer, so they didn't think much of it.
When they returned from the fields after sunset, there was still no sign of the children. She was anxious and asked Tian Laosi to go to town to see what had happened.
Before Tian Laosi could even put on his coat, he heard the door open. He went out and saw that the children had come home.
"Mom, please don't mention it, or you won't be able to eat dinner."
Tian Er got out of the car and waved to Zhang Shi, telling her not to ask any more questions. He had finally gotten over his nausea and really didn't want to bring up the matter again.
"It's alright, Mother. We were delayed by dealing with a small problem, which is why we're a little late," Tian Sangui replied to Zhang, downplaying the situation and reassuring her.
"It's good that you're alright. Go wash up and eat!"
Zhang had already prepared the meal, which consisted of leftovers from yesterday; all she needed to do was reheat them.
"Why!"
"Let's go take a bath in the river first, otherwise we can't be served at the table!"
The two brothers found a set of clothes, said goodbye to their family, and headed straight downstream.
Zhang couldn't help but wonder why these two boys had become so clean during mealtimes.
Seeing Zhang's confusion, Tian Sangui whispered in her ear what had happened that afternoon and told her in a few words.
"I knew it. The two boys aren't exactly known for their fussiness. Could it be that everyone in town has caught a stomach flu? I heard it's contagious. You two should be careful."
"Don't worry, Mom, we only eat our own food, so we won't get infected."
Tian Sangui replied to Zhang Shi, seemingly understanding what was going on.
Hopefully, the person who followed the trend will stop soon to avoid causing a fatality.
Meanwhile, back in town, Tian Laosan was indulging in a life of pleasure, drinking and reveling in the company of beautiful women, completely lost in the world of their embrace.
A few streets away, in a tiny courtyard, Liu had prepared a table of her husband's favorite dishes and was waiting by the table.
But Tian Laosan in the brothel had long forgotten about Liu Shi. He was even thinking about how to divorce her gracefully and then marry his mistress whom he kept outside.
He slept soundly through the night, without a single dream, until the sun was high in the sky. Tian Sangui got up, sat on the bed, stretched his arms, and felt incredibly refreshed, as if he had come back to life.
I haven't slept so peacefully until I naturally woke up in a long time.
As Zhang was tidying up vegetables at the doorway after stepping out of the main room, she turned around upon hearing footsteps and a smile instantly spread across her face.
"You're awake, honey. Are you hungry? There's some leftover porridge in the pot in the kitchen. Go and eat!"
"Yes!" Tian Sangui replied with a smile.
After washing up, he took a bowl of rice porridge from the kitchen and sat down next to Zhang.
"Are Dad and my brothers busy in the fields again?"
"I left early this morning. I was worried about leaving you alone at home, so I stayed to keep you company. You finally got a break, so you should get a good night's sleep."
Zhang was considerate of Tian Sangui's hard work, so in the morning she specially instructed the men in the family to keep their voices down and not to wake Sangui. The family members doted on her, so they all hunched over and walked on tiptoe to do their work.
Zhang wanted to laugh but dared not utter a sound, so she tried her best to suppress her laughter until the father and sons disappeared outside the gate.
"Hehe, Mom is so sweet to me. I'm going to work hard to make lots of money so I can buy Mom lots of new clothes and a jade bracelet, and make my mom a beautiful rich lady!"
Tian Sangui put down the empty bowl and nestled against her arm.
"Haha, my daughter has such a sweet tongue. Just saying it makes me happy."
She wasn't particularly interested in being a rich wife; she was content as long as her daughter was doing well and happy every day.
"Hehe, let's plant the potatoes this afternoon, or they might be past season!"
“We’re planting today. Your father and brother haven’t even finished preparing the land yet.” Zhang was worried that it might affect the potato planting.
"That's good enough. There's no need to be too meticulous. Potatoes are best grown in sandy soil. I've already brought the seeds back. Let's get started after lunch."
She'll wait until the day after tomorrow to receive her dividends, then she'll go to the village head to buy land. She has to grow the cucumbers, otherwise, if someone with ulterior motives digs into her background, her online store will be exposed.
The sooner we plant them, the sooner we can have peace of mind.
"Okay, I'll do as you say. You rest first, Mom will make lunch."
"Why!"
She really needed to rest, so she wouldn't argue with Zhang about lunch.
After lunch, Tian Sangui filled the bamboo tube with boiling water, tightened the lid, and followed Zhang out. After locking the gate, the family marched into their fields in a grand procession.
It has to be said that the weather in March is really hot in the afternoon. Zhang was afraid that Tian Sangui would get a tan, so she specially put her straw hat on Tian Sangui's head and wore a piece of floral cloth to protect her hair.
Tian Sangui did not refuse and obediently let Zhang take care of him.
Following Tian Sangui's instructions, Tian Laosi used a hoe to create two small holes in the ground. Tian Sangui followed behind him, taking out a small piece of the sprouted potato and throwing it into the hole.
Zhang was behind her, using a hoe to fill in the small pits, and then moved on to the next one.
Tian Da was in charge of digging a small ditch to drain the water, and then, following Tian Lao Si's example, he dug a pair of small pits next to the ditch. Tian Er was in charge of following behind and throwing potato chunks in, while Xiao Si and Xiao Wu were each responsible for filling one of the small pits.
The family members had a clear division of labor, working diligently under the sun like two assembly lines.
"Hey, fourth brother's family, what are you doing here? Let me take a look!"
After a while, the villagers came to work in the fields one after another. Among them, a woman saw Tian Laosi's family working in the fields and couldn't help but feel curious, wanting to see what they were planting in the wasteland.
When she went down into the field, she saw an inconspicuous yellow lump that the woman had never seen before.
"Hey, Fourth Brother's family, you're all too impatient! You haven't even prepared the land yet, and you've already started planting seeds, including some wild vegetable scraps you found somewhere. It's hilarious!"
The woman on the side laughed so hard she almost fell over. She had no idea there were such stupid farmers. If you don't know how to grow crops, don't come out and embarrass yourself. Didn't they say they made money in town? How come they can't even afford proper seeds?
Seeing today's events, she realized they were all rumors. In her opinion, it was just a facade created by the family to avoid losing face.
Zhang was indignant and was about to step forward to argue with the woman, but Tian Sangui stopped her, saying there was no need to explain anything to such a person.
"Auntie, if you have a lot of free time, why don't you help us dig the holes? We can share some of the harvest with you!"
The woman was speechless, her laughter suddenly stopped, and she looked like she wanted to glare at Tian Sangui but didn't dare to, her chest heaving.
Why should she help that shameless family? With that piece of junk they have, whether it can even grow anything is another matter entirely.
"Help you? I'm not stupid. You can't grow that stuff in your hands at all, yet you have the audacity to share it with me? Heh."
Tian Sangui found this auntie rather amusing, and the urge to tease her suddenly arose.
"Auntie, what are you saying? There's no such thing as a seed that won't grow. Our family works so hard, God will surely give us a chance to make a living."
"Pah! Putting aside the wild vegetable seeds you have, with the pebbles in your field as numerous as sheep droppings, how can you possibly grow anything? Unless the sun rises in the west."
Based on her years of farming experience, the woman confidently concluded that the family was just there to make a fool of themselves.
"Auntie, aren't you afraid of biting off more than you can chew? What will you say if we actually grow something?"
After Tian Sangui finished speaking, he looked at the woman with an expectant gaze.
The woman smiled confidently at her and said, "If your family actually grows anything, I'll eat shit!"
Upon hearing this, Tian Sangui exclaimed, "Wow, this auntie has this kind of quirk? I have to say, she has a really unique taste."
The woman saw the smile in Tian Sangui's eyes and her lips curled up knowingly; the girl had taken the bait.
The woman spoke again: "If you can't grow it, then these two acres of wasteland under your feet will all belong to me!"
Seeing the woman's smug expression, Tian Sangui thought to himself, "Good heavens, so that's what she's up to."
Well, fine, she'll just have to watch her eat shit, as she pleases.
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