A Good Country Wife
Chapter 223 - 222 Still not enough_1

Chapter 223: Chapter 222 Still not enough_1

Zhao Erhu hurried to finish the last bit of work he had on hand when he heard from Sanlang that his eldest cousin had arrived, and was preparing to go home when he saw Zhao Fuquan had already come looking for him, "Elder brother, I was just about to head back. Why have you come?"

"It’s no trouble. I just came to see if there was anything I could help with. As you know, I don’t have much else, but I do have quite a bit of strength." Zhao Fuquan had heard a lot from Dalang and Erhu, and even though he had a good idea of the situation, the sight of the lush and thriving vegetable garden still surprised him. His mother had been concerned that Erhu’s family did not have much experience planting vegetables in previous years, prompting her to send some with him. Now, seeing the garden, not to mention the variety in the yard that outdid their own family garden, and several kinds he had never seen before, he was quite intrigued.

Since he was already at the vegetable field, Zhao Fuquan didn’t return home but instead allowed Zhao Erhu to show him around. As he listened to Erhu’s explanations, he became somewhat entranced. The crop he grew the most at home was rice, and planting vegetables was just about fertilizing, watering, and weeding. He hadn’t realized vegetables required such care. No wonder they grew so well here.

As they walked, Zhao Fuquan expressed his admiration all the way and when he returned home and saw Lin Yue, he was full of praise, "The crops in your field are doing so well, it’s truly amazing. It’s the first time I’ve heard there’s so much to know about planting vegetables. No wonder they grow so well and you can sell them to the Government Office. It’s all thanks to your clever thoughts, sister. Your family’s life is getting better and better."

Lin Yue, upon seeing Zhao Fuquan’s enthusiasm about the crops in the field, shed her earlier reserve and her weathered, darkened face lit up with boundless hope and joy. For an honest farmer like him, nothing could tug at their heartstrings more than the crops in their fields.

"It’s really nothing special. I just tried some methods I read about in a few miscellaneous books, and it turned out they actually worked. So it goes to show, no matter what you’re doing, even if it’s farming, if you put your mind to it and work hard, you can do well," Lin Yue, happy to interact with a frank and straightforward farmer like Zhao Fuquan without any schemes, was willing to chat more.

It was through this conversation about farming that Zhao Fuquan started to feel that Erhu’s wife, Lin Yue, was much more down-to-earth than he thought before. Not feeling as if he was treading on eggshells around someone superior, he became more and more engaged in the conversation.

"Sister, you’re right. That is exactly the principle. We farmers depend on the crops from our fields for a living. It doesn’t hurt to put extra thought into it. Sometimes, we just don’t think of it, like the method of planting vegetables you found in books. Even if I racked my brain, I wouldn’t have figured out that’s how sweet potatoes are planted. No wonder other people’s yield isn’t that good. The method of planting vegetables is the same. Erhu said the yield of sweet potato is high if planted right. Next spring, I’ll try planting half an acre myself. The rice we plant, after paying the taxes, leaves us tight at the end of the year, living in fear of not having enough and starving."

"Why wait until next year? If there’s spare land at home for planting, then bring some sweet potato slips back from our vegetable garden. Now’s the right time to plant."

"How could I do that? I’ve heard from Erhu that those vegetable seeds cost you a lot of money to buy. Altogether, including the seeds, it was nearly thirty taels of silver. I can’t just take from you! Instead, I’ll buy them from you."

Zhao Fuquan was indeed tempted after listening to Lin Yue, especially when he heard about the high yield of sweet potatoes, one mu of land could produce over a thousand, even two thousand catties of sweet potatoes, a yield that he had never heard of before. Moreover, they could be intercropped with beans, so even if the sweet potatoes didn’t grow well, there wouldn’t be much loss. It was impossible for him not to want to try it.

If it had been before, it would’ve been easy to talk about, taking a little something from his brother-in-law’s family wouldn’t have been a big deal, as they were relatives and it was normal to give and take. However, the relationship between his family and Zhao Erhu’s was quite awkward now. Although Zhao Erhu was his brother-in-law, Zhao Erhu’s current wife was a later marriage, and he needed to be careful about everything. A misstep could not only cause disharmony between Zhao Erhu and his wife, but more importantly, he feared Zhao Erhu’s wife might treat Dalang and Erhu’s two children poorly.

Zhao Erhu, who was listening on the side, wanted to say something, but he was hindered by the presence of his wife. They had had an unpleasant argument just a couple of days ago over Zhao Family matters, and it was not easy for his young wife to forgive him. He really didn’t want to upset his young wife again, so he held back the words that had reached his lips.

Seeing Zhao Fuquan speak like this, Lin Yue felt even more that Zhao Fuquan was not greedy and had a good sense of propriety. He didn’t have that bad habit of seeking cheap gains. She wasn’t a petty person; it was just some sweet potato seedlings after all. A single sweet potato could sprout many seedlings, and their family had opened up more than two mu of land just for growing sweet potato sprouts. Now, they had also started cultivating an additional five mu of wasteland, all for planting sweet potato sprouts, and it still seemed not enough. Zhao Erhu had been considering buying land these days and hadn’t found anything suitable yet; that’s why Lin Yue had set her sights on those wastelands.

"What kind of talk is that from Dalang’s uncle? We’re family, after all. It’s just about taking some seedlings to plant, there’s no need to talk about money, it would embarrass us. If others heard it, they might think our Erhu is an ingrate. Dalang and Erhu have been under your care for so many years. Besides, we have planted a lot of sweet potatoes this year, we’ve even sown seedlings over two mu of land, there are plenty in the sweet potato field, they’re really not worth much. Just pick and take them back to plant."

"How could I accept that?" Lin Yue said. Zhao Fuquan wouldn’t be so foolish as to really think the sweet potato seedlings weren’t worth anything. If they were truly worthless, Zhao Erhu wouldn’t have specifically built a shelter in the field, asking Zhao Dahu to watch day and night, just in case someone had ill intentions and stole from the field. But seeing Lin Yue speak sincerely, without pretense or evasion, he couldn’t keep his distance anymore; otherwise, they might think he was unwilling to associate with them.

"What’s there to feel uncomfortable about? But let’s not mention it; our two families are still relatives, aren’t we? I’ll have Erhu go and pick the seedlings for you right away, prepare them, and you can take them with you when you leave."

Lin Yue finished speaking and looked towards Zhao Erhu. Zhao Erhu, not waiting for Lin Yue to instruct him, immediately went to do it. In fact, he had wanted to do this as well but had been hindered by his young wife. Now that he could make his young wife openly ask him to do it, it was even better. His uncle would not refuse anymore with such an attitude from his young wife, otherwise, even if he gave the seedlings privately, his uncle might feel uneasy about it, unlike now, when it could be done openly and without the risk of the young wife finding out.

As Zhao Erhu headed towards the field, he also reflected on himself. Seeing his young wife being understanding and reasonable and her good attitude towards Dalang’s uncle, he thought, if this was the case, why did she get so angry when he spoke of Dalang and Erhu moving to Xiaoxi Village the other day? Did he make some mistake?

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