Dr. Pei, do you have a partner?
"Why are you so ungenerous?"
Jiang Lin spat into the field.
The sugarcane field was hot and humid. The villagers occasionally straightened their aching backs, squinted their eyes to look at the sky, and then continued to hold the machete tightly, bend down and continue to cut sugarcane. On the vast land, hardworking figures worked non-stop.
A large truck drove into Peijia Village honking its horn. The villagers in the sugarcane forest looked like sparrows that looked up when they heard the sound while foraging in the fields. A hint of red glow appeared on their tired faces.
The villagers carried bundles of sugarcane and piled them under the big banyan tree. Pei Xu enthusiastically handed mineral water to the drivers and said politely, "Brothers, drink some water first. Lunch will be ready soon."
Zhao Sumei and Pei Zongli hurried home with machetes to prepare lunch. In the kitchen, water gurgled as Pei Zongli washed the vegetables. He said unhappily, "This stinky boy has evil intentions on me. If I don't agree to his one-year deadline, he won't arrange for the city's sugar factory to come and harvest sugarcane!"
Zhao Sumei poured a bucket of water into the pot, and used a homemade pot brush to clean the pot. She said proudly: "Our Ah Xu has a good brain, otherwise how could he be so good at studying! Do you think any child can get a doctorate?"
"A loving mother often spoils her child!"
When his left shoulder hurt, Jiang Lin switched to his right shoulder. He gritted his teeth and moved the sugarcane back and forth more than ten times. The several large trucks parked under the banyan tree seemed to be stimulants, which penetrated into the hearts of the villagers. They swung their machetes harder and faster, and row after row of sugarcane fell down, leaving behind short pale yellow roots.
The home-cooked meals soothed the hungry stomach and replenished the energy for the body that had worked all morning. The meal time was also the rest time. Jiang Lin had just finished drinking a glass of water when he saw Pei Qi and Liu Chunling had put on straw hats and picked up machetes. Jiang Lin asked, "Grandpa and grandma, don't you want to take a break at noon?"
Liu Chunling said: "The trucks only come once a day, and at 5pm they all come to load and take away."
Jiang Lin instantly realized that taking a lunch break during the busy farming season was a luxury.
Pei Qi smiled and said, "Jiang Lin, you should take a nap at home. You must be tired after moving so much sugar cane this morning."
"Grandpa, let me take a look at your knees, or I won't let you go out."
Pei Qi had no choice but to roll up his trouser legs. The wound on his knee had turned white due to being soaked with sweat. Jiang Lin applied some medicine on him before letting him go back to the field.
Pei Xu carried a small folding table and a few benches and walked towards the banyan tree. Jiang Lin walked past him as if he didn't see anything.
"Mr. Kongxu, do you have any sense?"
Jiang Lin stopped walking and heard Pei Xu's voice was a little labored. He turned around and raised his chin and said, "Dr. Pei, my eyesight is not good. How about this, maybe you can just call me brother."
The veins on Pei Xu's hand popped up. He put down the bench where he was. The sun made him half-close his eyes. "Next time, you can play a blind character in your true colors and win the Best Actor award."
Jiang Lin saw the half deck of cards sticking out of his pocket, and understood his intention. He said proudly, "Master Jiang is handsome and kind-hearted. I will help you this time."
After saying that, he followed behind, carrying two benches in each hand.
Several drivers were leisurely playing cards under the banyan tree, while the two men returned to the fields to continue cutting sugarcane.
Jiang Lin figured out a good idea. He cut the sugarcane root once on each side, then kicked it hard, and the sugarcane fell to the ground.
"Grandpa and grandma, look at me showing you my skills."
Hearing the voice, Pei Qi and his wife looked towards him, and Jiang Lin showed them the method of young people.
"Hurry up!"
Pei Qi smiled and said, "That's a good idea! But Grandpa's legs and feet are not so agile anymore, otherwise we should give it a try."
"Grandpa, please don't kick me! I'm here, our family won't be slow!"
Jiang Lin started living in boarding school when he was in his teens. He had never felt the warmth of family again since his mother divorced and went abroad.
Liu Chunling brushed the pair of shoes stained with chicken manure that he had thrown in the corner clean, and covered the shoes with paper towels to dry them in the sun.
When Jiang Lin praised her: "Grandma, you are so fashionable. You also know the trick of using paper towels to prevent white shoes from getting yellowed."
Liu Chunling's face was filled with happiness: "My granddaughter taught me."
At that moment, Jiang Lin looked at her steadily: "It's great that I haven't seen my grandparents."
The afternoon sun was like a roasting machine, scorching the people working in the fields. Several drivers who were playing cards also moved their positions.
With sweat soaking his clothes, Jiang Lin occasionally straightened his back to see how much sugarcane was waiting to be cut ahead, but the endless green and purple scenery made his heart uneasy.
Aunt Li came from behind carrying a bundle of sugarcane.
"Big star, please move to the side and let Auntie pass first."
Jiang Lin moved to the right, trying to make room, but he stepped on the soft soil at the edge of the field and suddenly slipped.
"Be careful!" Aunt Li exclaimed.
Jiang Lin lost his balance and fell down. The heavy bundle of sugarcane slipped from his shoulders and was about to hit him. Jiang Lin instinctively raised one hand to cover his face, preparing to withstand the coming heavy blow.
However, the pain did not come as expected. Jiang Lin fell down on the edge of the field. His shoes and pants were soaked by the mud in the field. He released his hands that were covering his eyes. Pei Xu was beside him!
The moment Jiang Lin fell, he rushed over around Aunt Li and caught the falling sugarcane with both hands. The sudden weight made his arms tremble slightly.
Jiang Lin immediately picked up the sugarcane and gently placed it on the edge of the field.
Aunt Li breathed a sigh of relief, "Big star, are you okay?"
Jiang Lin immediately made way for her and said, "Auntie, I'm fine, please go over."
Aunt Li walked over, but unexpectedly turned around and yelled at the photography teachers: "Why are you like wooden men? He fell down just now, but you didn't go up to help! The sugarcane is so heavy, what should we do if it falls on us?"
Jiang Lin's nose felt a little sour, and he pretended to be relaxed and said, "Auntie, I'm really fine. You're still carrying sugarcane."
Aunt Li snorted and walked away carrying the sugarcane.
"Thank you." Jiang Lin looked at Pei Xu to express his gratitude.
Pei Xu turned around and picked up his sugar cane, saying, "I'll put up a sign here later. Jiang Lin fell here."
Jiang Lin was amused by his joke, "Then you should write 'The old place where the tough guy Jiang Lin fell' to remind everyone not to fall."
Pei Xu stepped over the sugar cane on the ground, walked past him, and said, "This is the old wrestling site of Master Kongxu Jianglin. Everyone can go without worries."
Jiang Lin looked at his back, his sweat-soaked black T-shirt outlining his waistline. He stretched out his hand to measure and muttered, "His waist is only a little thicker than mine, and he's a little taller than me, so why is he so strong?"
Jiang Lin followed behind him carrying the sugar cane. The sunlight cast mottled shadows on the boy's face, outlining the perfect side profile. When he took off the sugar cane, Jiang Lin noticed Pei Xu's collarbone exposed at the collar, his chest rising and falling slightly with his breathing, and then looked up at his face, exuding a wild sexiness and handsomeness.
Jiang Lin couldn't help but ask: "Dr. Pei, do you have a boyfriend?"
Pei Xu tilted his head back and drank the mineral water in big gulps. Beads of sweat and water dripped down his chin, through his Adam's apple that slid up and down, and into his collar.
Jiang Lin followed suit and made the swallowing motion.
"Big star, do you want to introduce someone to me?"
Before Jiang Lin could speak, Aunt Liu, who had just put down the sugarcane, and Aunt Li, who was resting, joined the conversation.
Aunt Li asked loudly, "Pei Xu, don't you have a date? Auntie will introduce you to someone! How about arranging a meeting for you two after we harvest the sugarcane?"
Aunt Liu tried to snatch someone away: "There's a really good girl on my side of the family, she's a Chinese teacher at the town's middle school. When I'm done with my work, I'll take you to meet her."
Pei Xu said with a wry smile: "Thank you both aunts for your kindness. I have accomplished nothing and have no intention of starting a family for the time being."
Jiang Lin opened his mouth wide and silently made the shape of "oh".
"Your mother always says that you will be nearly 30 by the time you finish school, and you will have missed the best age to find a girlfriend. I think now is just the right time. I will talk to your mother about this later."
The enthusiasm of the aunts was like the sun hanging high in the sky at this moment. Pei Xu couldn't resist it and ran away quickly.
He said to Jiang Lin with resentment: "You have done this evil."
"How can it be a sin? Maybe it was me who facilitated this marriage."
"Do you want this good fortune?"
Jiang Lin waved his hand: "No need, I'm not from your place, I will leave after the recording of the show is finished in mid-June next year."
Pei Xu said calmly: "You and we are not from the same world."
As the sun was setting, several drivers unloaded two large scales from their cars, stood in front with notebooks and pens, and shouted loudly: "Representatives from all families, line up! Take your turn, one by one!"
Jiang Lin took off the sugarcane on his shoulders and joined the queue. Looking around, he saw small mountains of sugarcane on the wide concrete floor and on the roadside.
The villagers divided the work in an orderly manner. Each family sent a representative to line up, and the rest continued to cut and move sugarcane. The setting sun dyed the sky golden, and the working villagers raced against the sunset.
Bundles of sugarcane are stacked on the scale, and the villagers take the slips of paper with the weight written on them to the checkout to collect the payment.
The busy figures and the joyful smiles of the harvest do not stop with the arrival of night.
Beams of light moved slowly across the field. Jiang Lin put bundles of sugarcane on the scale. He took a note that said 2.2 tons and went to pay.
He confirmed again in disbelief: "Master, is it only 1,100 yuan?"
The master said firmly: "500 yuan per ton, your 2.2 tons is 1,100 yuan."
Jiang Lin was dumbfounded. He took the 1,100 yuan and walked away slowly.
"Mr. Kongxu, 2.2 tons a day is pretty fast."
Jiang Lin asked with a look of despair: "Pei Xu, is sugarcane some cheap fruit? Other fruits are sold by kilograms, but it's sold by tons, and the key is that one ton is only 500 yuan!"
Pei Xu raised his hand and waved it in front of his eyes. Jiang Lin was so tired that his eyes turned yellow.
Pei Xu waved to the cameraman: "Cameraman, give us a close-up. The big star got a huge sum of money and is so happy that he is silly."
Jiang Lin said weakly, "What about the sugar cane I saw in the fruit store in the city for 6 to 8 yuan a piece?"
Pei Xu patted his shoulder gently and said, "It's lucky to have entered the city."
Jiang Lin looked into his eyes. Pei Xu was so calm.
"I just didn't expect that after working hard for a day, I only got 1,100 yuan. This hard work is not even worth the cost of a meal in Beijing."
Pei Xu said seriously: "I have read so many books, but I never believe that 'God rewards hard work', because if hard work is the magic weapon to get rich, then the farmers should be the ones who get rich."
Pei Xu held his shoulders and turned to them: "Look, they have been cutting sugarcane for a whole day and are obviously very tired, but now their faces are filled with happy smiles. Everyone is happy to weigh and collect money. They are very satisfied with this number because the price per ton is 10 yuan more than last year."
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