The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 120 - 109: Unable to Give Birth

Chapter 120: Chapter 109: Unable to Give Birth

Manbao took out her little ledger and read it to them.

Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang had saved the same amount of money; after all, they had always worked together and earned the same amount.

It was not until they counted that everyone got a shock; Zhou Wulang alone had managed to save up 3,660 coins.

Zhou Wulang couldn’t help but swallow his saliva and, clutching his excited heart, said, "So, so does that mean I can save enough to get married after another year?"

Manbao, green with envy, said, "Get married? Fifth Brother, just buy meat to eat."

"Do you think about anything other than eating? I’m a man; of course, I need to get married."

"But Silang hasn’t gotten married yet."

"Who knows when Silang will finish paying off his debts, I’m not waiting for him," Zhou Wulang had already made plans, "Once I’ve saved up 5,000 coins by next year, I’ll have Mom arrange a marriage, and then I can get married the year after."

"Who do you want to marry?" Manbao was very curious.

Zhou Wulang shook his head, "I don’t know; I’ll see who Mom likes."

Manbao: "...I thought you were so eager to get married because you had someone you liked."

Zhou Wulang had his own thoughts. He said, "The girls in the village aren’t pretty; I don’t want any of them. I’ll find someone from outside. Sixth, once I get married, you should also prepare. Don’t take it lightly; let me tell you, you’re only grown up once you’re married, and that’s when your life is secure."

Zhou Wulang said, "Look at Sixth Uncle at the east end of the village. He’s all alone. Look at the kind of life he’s living. If you don’t get married, you’ll end up like that too."

Zhou Liulang’s mouth fell open, and he shuddered, "I don’t want that!"

Manbao asked curiously, "What’s wrong with Sixth Uncle?"

"You’re still young; you wouldn’t understand," Zhou Wulang ignored her and stretched out his hand, "Come on, give me 600 coins."

As Manbao handed him the money, she asked, "What do you need the money for?"

"What else? Of course, it’s to buy fabric and cotton for myself," Zhou Wulang counted on his fingers, "I’ve never worn new clothes since I was young. I’m almost ready to arrange a marriage, and this New Year’s, no matter what, I want to make a new set of clothes, including new pants and new shoes!"

Zhou Liulang’s eyes lit up, and he called out, "I want that too, I want that too!"

Datou, Daya, and the others were all stirred up. They had saved up some money too, not much, but it should be enough to buy a set of fabric, right?

Except for Manbao, everyone else in the house hardly ever had new clothes made. Even Manbao usually wore clothes that Ms. Qian had altered to fit her.

Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang were even more so, being the youngest; they always wore hand-me-downs from their older brothers. Once the first three brothers stopped growing as much, they would take clothes from Silang because Zhou Si was still growing.

Zhou Liulang also took 600 coins from Manbao.

Datou and Daya thought about it too, but then they remembered they couldn’t go to the county town the next day, so they let their shoulders drop and decided not to withdraw their coins.

Zhou SiLang returned home with a sour face, and upon seeing so many people inside, he frowned and asked, "What are you all doing?"

Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang secured their money and said, "Silang, you promised Datou and Daya to buy them snacks tomorrow. What would you like to eat? The younger brothers will treat."

Zhou SiLang waved his hand, "No need, keep it to buy yourself some food."

Zhou SiLang lay down on the bed, where Manbao was seated; she curiously moved closer to look at his face, "Silang, are you ill? Are you still going to dig in the mountains tomorrow?"

"Yes, and not just me. Datou and the rest are coming too. Didn’t you say the rotting leaves and the layer of soil underneath are good for fertilizing the fields? We are going to dig all that up," Zhou SiLang declared with some determination, "I refuse to believe it!"

Zhou SiLang didn’t go on, but Manbao and the others were stunned into silence. After a long time, they huddled together and whispered, "What’s up with Silang?"

"He actually isn’t thinking of skipping work? How odd!"

"Did Dad and Mom scold him?" As soon as this was said, they shook their heads again. Their Silang was someone who never learned from being reprimanded or beaten; cajoling or disciplining had no effect. He might behave for a short while, but as soon as you turned away, he would become lazy and mischievous again.

Manbao scampered back to her own room, which, of course, was also her parents’ room. She squeezed past the screen and, tilting her little head, asked her parents, "Dad, Mom, what’s wrong with Silang?"

Ms.Qian looked slightly bewildered and said, "It’s nothing. You don’t go up the mountain tomorrow; it’s cold up there..."

"No, I want to go!"

Ms.Qian sighed in resignation, "Alright, go if you want to, but you mustn’t catch a cold. You’ll have to take very bitter medicine if you fall ill."

Manbao agreed.

The next day she followed Zhou Si up the mountain, watching his face the whole way. Zhou Si felt her strange gaze and couldn’t help but pat her head, warning her to watch the ground, "You didn’t see the tree roots at your feet, did you? Be careful, or you’ll trip and roll down the mountain."

Manbao silently retracted her foot.

This mountain was, of course, not the one Zhou Si had cleared, but the neighboring one, covered in trees, predominantly pines. The deeper they went, the thicker the layer of fallen leaves became. Manbao scraped away at them and found a layer of soil beneath that had already decayed and was slightly greyish-brown.

Keke said that this soil was very fertile.

But the layer of soil was very thin.

Zhou SiLang, not disdaining the task, joined his nephews and nieces in digging up this layer and loading it into a bamboo basket. After a large area had been dug up, they had barely managed to fill two baskets; then he carried the soil down the mountain to spread on his fallow land.

Together, they spread a layer over the field, and many of the newly fallen leaves were also shoveled over. Manbao stamped them down with her little feet and told Zhou Si, who was watching her, "When these leaves decay, the soil will be fertile."

Zhou SiLang left Datou and the others to spread the soil and sat down on the ridge to rest, asking, "Manbao, since there’s so much written in books, do they mention what to do if you can’t have kids?"

Manbao widened her eyes, "Silang, you can’t have kids?"

Zhou SiLang said with embarrassment and annoyance, "I obviously can’t bear children; children are born from women, and I’m a man, a man!"

Manbao scratched her head, her little mind clearer than ever, "If a woman can have a child on her own, why bother getting married? Isn’t it said that you can only have babies after getting married?"

Zhou SiLang choked up; he didn’t know what to say either. He certainly didn’t understand biology and didn’t even know how children came to be, so he stared at his sister, unsure of what to say.

Keke, seeing the siblings staring blankly at one another, couldn’t help but educate Manbao on sperm, eggs, fertilized eggs, and other knowledge.

Keke knew about what had happened in the legitimate wife’s room the previous night and therefore told Manbao, "Not being able to have kids isn’t necessarily the woman’s fault; it could also be due to the man, such as weak or dead sperm. However, the belief is still prevalent that it’s the woman’s responsibility if there are no children."

Manbao, keenly inquiring of Keke, "Who can’t have kids?"

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