continuation [farming]

Chapter 13

There was really no other way. On the second day, Xia He went up the mountain with a hoe on his shoulders. Only Zhang Shishi and Liu Lanniang came to help.

Xia He's favorite land is next to his own low-grade field, and it is relatively easy to open up wasteland. There is no shade of large trees, and only need to clear some weeds and bushes.It's a pity that the slope is really steep, and it has never been favored by people, so it is deserted there.It took the family several days to finally clean up the debris. Xia He began to dig the ground, clearing out the stones one by one and throwing them away.I'm afraid the people from the county are in a hurry, he is working like a star and a moon, and Jin Bao can only put it aside for the time being.

Mrs. Li has no idea, she can only hope that Xia He can really solve this matter, and bring Jin Bao at home.He wanted to find Xia He to ask about the progress, but every time he couldn't make it to Xia He's return at night. When he woke up the next day and asked Aunt Lin, he realized that Xia He had already left.

After looking forward to it for a few days, one day when it was getting dark, Xia He rushed back sweating profusely, and said with a smile: "Mom, they are all planted. Although the planting is a bit dense, I don't know if it will grow well. But it should be enough to fool those officials!"

Mrs. Li stroked her chest, seeing Xia He's muddy face, she hurriedly asked Aunt Lin to boil water for Xia He to freshen up.

Fortunately, there were not many seeds thrown in the Li family, as if the county wasn't rich enough to get this thing.

How could Xia He have the time to take care of her superiors? After finishing this important matter, she completely let go of her hanging heart, and her appetite widened. She wolfed down three big bowls of rice, which made Aunt Lin speechless. , mumbling again.It's just that Xia He was really too tired, too lazy to care about what Aunt Lin said, so she fell asleep on the bed with her head up, and when she woke up, it was already the next day.

Still woke up hungry.

Rubbing her growling stomach, Xia He was in a daze, and stretched out one hand into her bosom, and was about to pull out the steamed buns, but suddenly heard someone calling herself: "Lady."

He woke up immediately, opened his eyes, and saw Li Mu standing in front of him.Only then did I remember that today is officially Li Muxun's day of rest.

Xia He still maintained the posture of stretching out one hand in his bosom, so embarrassed that he could only pretend that nothing happened, and took out that hand embarrassingly.

Li Mu, on the other hand, was completely stunned. It wasn't until Xia He straightened his clothes and sat up that he realized it, and said awkwardly, "Well... Xia He, mother told you and me to go eat."

Xia He secretly rejoiced that she didn't take out the steamed buns, as mother told her that the hidden steamed buns should not be seen by her husband's family.As soon as he heard the meal, he quickly jumped up from the bed, propping up the bed board with one hand, and then he let out a gasp.

"What?" Seeing Xia He's pain, Li Mu asked, and immediately stepped forward, took Xia He's hand, and clearly saw the row of blisters on his hand, "What's the matter?" Already?!" He didn't dare to touch those blisters, and raised his head to ask Xia He.

Xia He withdrew her hand in embarrassment, she didn't feel it when she was busy with work for the past two days, why did she suddenly feel that the blister was so painful when she was free today: "It's nothing, I just went to the field to do more job."

"Let me pick it for you." Li Mu said with a sigh.

Xia He touched his nose, but didn't respond.To be honest, he felt a little strange, Li Mu's hand was holding a pen, and he couldn't imagine Li Mu's gesture of holding a needle.

Li Mu had never touched a needle before, so he went to Aunt Lin to find the needle first, twisted the long and thin thing, carefully held Xia He's hand in his palm, and poked it on the blister with a slight trembling .

The more careful he was, the more Xia He felt the pain.He yelled twice, but on the contrary, it made Li Mu feel that he was not careful enough.After popping three blisters, Xia He couldn't take it anymore, she quickly pulled her hand out of Li Mu's palm, took the needle, and nimbly picked out the blister on the other hand and squeezed it out. the water inside.

He shook both hands, jumped up, and said, "I'll go and return the needle to Aunt Lin, Mr. Xianggong, you should go to mother's place first."

Li Mu hurriedly asked: "I see that you are in severe pain, why don't you put some ointment on it? I remember that there are some medicines for trauma at home."

Xia He shook his head hastily, it was just a blister, there were too many blisters when he first went to the ground, it was because Lan Niang broke it for him with tears in his eyes the first night, and he had to return it the next day Go get that hoe, the sons and daughters of the peasant family are not so delicate.

At this time, Xia He only wanted to eat, and rushed to return the needle like a gust of wind, and then ran to Mrs. Li's place like a gust of wind, and saw the little Jinbao who hadn't been close to him for a while, and took Jinbao away. , Intimacy.

The old lady Li was worried, she relaxed, and greeted Xia He with a smile: "Okay, come and eat, I heard your stomach growling from a long distance, I ate a lot yesterday, why did I become so hungry?" so!"

"Mother and husband-in-law will also eat together!" Xia He said politely, picked up the chopsticks, and shoveled the rice into his mouth without any hesitation.

Mrs. Li and Xia Hejun very tacitly did not mention the recent bad things to Li Mu, so that he could only concentrate on taking care of the exam, but Li Mu saw something was wrong.Xia He has always been able to eat very well, but he will not starve like today. The way he eats, it seems that he has put in a lot of effort recently and is exhausted.

Having such doubts, Li Mu made some indirect remarks, but Xia He and Mrs. Li both pretended to be deaf and dumb, so he had no choice but to go out and inquire.

On a rare ten-week holiday, Li Mu, who was supposed to stay at home with his mother and wife, found an excuse to go out. First of all, he looked around, and then saw that the circle along the base of his house seemed to have been loosened. .He didn't see the mystery, so he had no choice but to continue walking outside. Before he went far, he heard someone laughing at his house: "Look at the gate of Li's house, that kid Xia He really has no place to grow that weird food. Actually planed the root of my own wall, haha."

What weird food?Li Mu stopped, frowned, and continued to listen to the words of the two people on the other end.

"Isn't it?" Another person agreed, "This official is not a man who digs food in the fields. He thinks of growing crops too simply. He got some seeds that no one knows, and he insists on planting them." , who would dare. Who told Li’s family to have a lot of land, so they can only let them take it away.”

"But where was that thing planted? The row at the door doesn't need many seeds." A question came from over there.

The other person showed off: "Oh, you can't imagine this, Xia He of this family is capable of working with his mother's family. In just a few days, he hastened to open a few acres of land on the mountain before planting that thing. down!"

"Hiss!—" The speaker was extremely shocked, "There are only three people in their family connected to Xia He? How did this happen!"

The other person shook his head and said: "You also know that piece of land, although it is easy to cultivate, the slope is too steep, I'm afraid it will take a lot of effort to take care of it, I don't like it anyway, alas, it's just used to fool people It's the top guy."

"Being able to fool the officials is the top priority. In our place, everyone else is good. It's the parents and officials who are really..."

He was complaining, but he was interrupted abruptly in the middle of his sentence.Another person hurriedly said: "You don't want to die, the official master dares to arrange it at will?! - Misfortune comes out of your mouth, you have to remember!"

"We are in the backcountry, what's the point of saying a few words, who else would just stay here and stare at people and say nothing." The muttering voice gradually faded away, and the two left the Li family while gossiping nearby.

After a few words, Li Mu figured out what happened, and sighed, it turned out that when he was not at home, Xia He and his mother suffered such a crime.

He clenched his fist vigorously, and made the oath in his heart that hadn't changed for so many years.If he is an official, he must not make it difficult for any of his subjects, he must let them all live a healthy life!

Li Mu turned to go home, and saw Xia He walking around with Jin Bao in his arms.These days Xia He was busy with affairs outside, and Jin Bao hadn't seen him for a while, he groaned and leaned on him, even if it was put on his little chair and asked him to sit.

"Xia He." Li Mu called him.

"Hey!" Xia He hurriedly responded, thinking that Li Mu had something to do, turned his head away, but saw Li Mu just standing there stupidly, staring at him, but didn't say a word.

After waiting for a long time before Li Mu could say anything, Xia He was full of doubts and asked, "Sir, what's the matter?"

"It's nothing, you should rest well these two days and don't go to the ground anymore." Li Mu said with concern.

Xia He hurriedly shook her head: "I have my own land to work on now, where else can I go!"

Li Mu knew that he had gone to the mountain to open up land again, and it seemed that it was still difficult to take care of. He sighed and said: "If it doesn't work, I will arrange a few tenants to help your family out of time. It is best not to have your father-in-law with you. No more tiring."

Xia He shook her head, smiled very brightly, dragged Li Mu to show off to him, and said, "Come on, let me show you, I see that the small courtyard where I live has been empty and has been uncomfortable. In two days, I took the time to plow the plow and sow some seeds...then what...it seems to be called...corn?" Xia He thought hard for a long time before putting the seeds of the thing... Remember the name.

As soon as Li Mu heard the strange name, he guessed it, probably it was the strange seed distributed by the county.

He did not object to Xia He's move of turning the yard into a grain land, and Mrs. Li was mostly conniving. The only one in the Li family who could not understand Xia He's doing this was Aunt Lin, but seeing Xia He busy with the Li family these days. After she was busy, she was too embarrassed to say anything.

Xia He pointed to the yard, and said to Li Mu: "After two days of free time, I will build two rows of fences to enclose the land. When Jin Bao grows up, he will run away, and it will save him from accidentally breaking in and hurting him." on."

Li Mu nodded: "Whatever you want to do, just do it."

"Hey, then I won't be polite!" Xia He put her hips on her hips, and glanced at the yard where the seedlings hadn't sprouted yet, as if she saw a lot of fruits.