117 – Wife is Mighty
The mountains and rivers were full of spiritual qi. For four days, Qin Mian had been practicing. He was very talented in cultivation. In a few days, his accomplishments reached the middle stage of Enlightenment. It was no problem for him to leap over the treetops and across the rivers.
To shorten the gap between them, Lei Tie did not practice but accompanied him at the side. Occasionally, he entered the space and bustled about, collecting eggs, harvesting vegetables, growing vegetables, picking fruits, and so on. Also, he used the grapes in the space to brew six jars of wine. When he was away, Qin Mian was guarded by White Spot.
Four days later, two men and a wolf appeared in the public’s sight.
Outside the village, the golden paddy looked more dazzling in the sun. When the old farmers touched the ears of the paddy, their wrinkled faces showed a satisfied smile.
The two deliberately went around their paddy field. Uncle Fu and four servants were working hard to harvest the paddy. From time to time, they wiped the sweat slipping down their chins with the towels hanging around their necks.
“Eldest Young Master and Little Young Master are back!”
Lei Tie waved his hand to stop them from saluting. He turned over and dismounted, walked to the edge of the paddy field, and cut off an ear to check.
“A-Tie, how is the paddy this year?” Qin Mian came to him and asked.
They dared not to have a big gap with other people’s paddy fields, so they did not use the spiritual spring water in the paddy field. However, before transplanting the paddy seedlings, they had their servants fertilize the paddy field. Therefore, both men were concerned about the paddy’s harvest.
Lei Tie nodded, “Pretty good, the grains are fuller and less shriveled.”
Uncle Fu happily chipped in, “Eldest Young Master, Li Zheng passed by here just now and also praised that our paddy is one of the best in the village this year.”
In the beginning, Qin Mian had people to put farmyard manure into the paddy field, which the villagers did not understand. In the past, the careful villagers found that vegetables that had been accidentally spilled with manure grew better than other vegetables, so they pondered whether the manure could fertilize the field. The bold villagers tried it on the whole field, and all the vegetables died. Since then, no one dared to try. Farmyard manure naturally had the effect of fertilizing the soil, but because they did not dilute the farmyard manure, it ‘’burnt’’ the vegetables to death.
“Uncle Fu, you find a time to talk with Li Zheng that the farmyard manure can only be used for fertilizing after being diluted,” Qin Mian said.
“Yes, Little Young Master.” Uncle Fu reported the household’s affairs in detail, “Uncle Quan takes four people to dig peanuts in the peanut field. My wife and Uncle Quan’s wife are cutting the soybean pods.”
“Got it.”
Farmers dreaded rain during the harvest season. After Qin Mian and Lei Tie went home, they put on straw hats to help in the peanut field.
Lei Tie pulled up the peanut vines one by one and piled them together, while Qin Mian sat on a small bench and picked the peanuts off one by one and put them in the basket. Qin Mian had secretly sprinkled diluted spiritual spring water on the peanut field in Leisurely Farmhouse. The peanuts were white and plump, making him very satisfied. He had already thought of what to eat for lunch.
They were busy until noon. Qin Mian went back to cook an hour earlier. He cooked a dish of shelled peanuts with vinegar and a dish of boiled five-flavored peanuts, trying something new.
The peanuts in half a mu of field were picked in a day. After the peanut vines were pulled out, they still had to till the field to close up the holes, conveniently turned the soil to prepare for the next round of planting.
After digging peanuts, they dug sweet potatoes. Digging sweet potatoes required experience. If not careful, the sweet potatoes under the ground would break, thus looked bad and inconvenient to store.
Qin Mian and Lei Tie didn’t have much experience so they didn’t interfere. They left it to the servants. Lei Tie took a sickle and went to harvest the paddy. At home, Qin Mian made overall arrangements for Double Xiang House, Eating Savory Restaurant, the processing yard, and the farmland. The workers in the processing yard still had to plant in their own families’ fields. Within the half month after the Mid-Autumn Festival, the winery and vermicelli workshop only operated for half a day. Naturally, the wages were only calculated by half. The villagers praised Lei Tie and Qin Mian for their consideration.
Qin Mian was also responsible for another thing — delivering a meal to Lei Tie. The hot spell during autumn in the ninth month was fierce. After walking under the sun in such weather, Qin Mian’s head hurt a little. He regretted that he didn’t wear a straw hat when he came out. He hastened his pace.
Seeing his wife carrying the food box and gradually getting closer as he walked along the ridge, Lei Tie’s heart softened, recalling the similar situation last year. Unconsciously, he and his wife had been together for a year.
“Why are you in a daze?” Qin Mian was a bit shy. In public, Lei Tie still looked at him with such undisguised tenderness, nearly throwing him out of order.
Lei Tie pulled his wife to sit down on a bundle of paddy, took off his straw hat, and put it on his wife’s head. “Eat yet?”
“Yes.” Qin Mian first handed him the water bag to let him wash up. Then he took down a board which was buckled at the bottom of the food box. This board was a folding tray. He unfolded the tray, put the tray on his legs, and then put the meal out of the food box onto the tray.
A dish of twice-cooked pork, a dish of steamed meat with rice flour, a dish of scrambled eggs with chives, and a bowl of soup were all home-made dishes and tasted delicious.
After washing his hands and face, Lei Tie picked up the tray and put it on his legs to eat.
Qin Mian drew out the folding fan in his waist to fan him.
“Wife, I’m not hot.”
Qin Mian continued to fan, “I’m fanning myself and you by the way.”
“En.” Lei Tie asked, “Want some?”
Qin Mian shook his head, “I’m full.”
In the paddy field next to them, the villagers, who were also eating, glanced at them with envious eyes from time to time.
Uncle Fu and the other four servants sat not far away and were also eating. Their meals were brought by Aunt Fu and Aunt Quan. A pot of scrambled eggs with green peppers and a pot of stewed eggplants with fat meat was an excellent treatment. They needed fat and water to do physical work. Generally speaking, the stewed eggplants with sliced fat meat was the most delicious dish for them.
The biggest paddy field of Lei Daqiang’s family was not far away from here. Lei Xiangren had already seen Qin Mian come to deliver food. With a rice bowl in hand, he quickly walked over and loudly greeted them in a friendly tone, “Eldest Brother, are you eating?”
Lei Tie glanced at him. Without a sound, he picked up a piece of steamed meat and put it into his mouth. The steamed meat made by his wife was soft and delicious, not greasy at all.
Lei Xiangren squatted down beside Lei Tie and looked straight at the tray. “Eldest Sister-in-law’s cooking is so good. Look, these dishes are colorful and smell good. I’ll taste.”
He licked off the rice grains on the chopsticks and stretched them toward the steamed meat.
In a split second, Lei Tie’s face sunk heavily.
Qin Mian looked at the chopsticks still stained with Lei Xiangren’s saliva and frowned. Before Lei Xiangren’s chopsticks touched the steamed meat, Qin Mian stopped him and said to Lei Tie with a happy smile, “A-Tie, Second Brother must be shy to take more. You help him.”
Lei Tie nodded and paused for a bit. After he turned the chopsticks around, he gave Lei Xiangren a few pieces of steamed meat and a clip of scrambled eggs with chives.
Qin Mian snickered behind the fan.
Lei Xiangren was unaware of Qin Mian and Lei Tie’s dislike of him, so he retracted his chopsticks with satisfaction and ate with big bites, smacking his lips noisily.
“Eldest Brother, Eldest Sister-in-law. Father and Mother are exhausted these days. There are more than a dozen servants in your family. How about lending some to us?”
Lei Tie showed firm determination, “No.”
Qin Mian said, “As you know, our family grows paddy, peanuts, sweet potatoes, and fruit trees… Also, have to herd the cows, feed the chickens, and guard the processing yard. I’m afraid we won’t be able to lend any manpower for a while.”
Lei Xiangren opened his mouth to speak, but Qin Mian spoke again with a surprise in his tone, “If I remember correctly, your family has 12 mu of paddy field. Your family now has the old man, the old lady, Second Brother, Second Brother’s wife, Third Brother, Third Brother’s wife, and Fourth Brother as the labor forces. There are seven people in total. Normally, you can finish harvesting the paddy in three to four days at most, right? Did your family buy another farmland? Otherwise, how can the manpower be insufficient? Buying farmland is a good thing, but you keep it from me and A-Tie.”
Blocked by Qin Mian, Lei Xiangren couldn’t utter a word. Only after quite a while did he spoke in embarrassment, “Didn’t buy it. I was just saying it casually.”
“Oh.” Qin Mian looked convinced and took some meat with Lei Tie’s chopsticks. “By the way, Second Brother, I heard that you and your wife are going to enlighten Dabao. The old man and the old lady must have agreed? That child Dabao looks smart. He will surely have the same future as his fifth uncle.”
Lei Tie raised his eyes and looked at his wife. A ghost of a smile flashed away before he silently buried his head to eat.
Lei Xiangren’s deep dissatisfaction with Du Shi and Lei Daqiang was aroused by Qin Mian’s words. He said in a deep voice, “This matter… Neither Father nor Mother agreed.”
“No way!” Qin Mian said in surprise, “Dabao is six years old. Everyone knows that children at this age are the most intelligent and most suitable for intellectual development. Besides, Dabao is the eldest grandson! How can the old man and the old lady…” Speaking of the last sentence, he lowered his voice as if he was talking to himself, with a tone that carried a bit of doubt and a sudden understanding of something.
Lei Xiangren’s curiosity was suspended by Qin Mian, and his heart buried some doubts, “Eldest Sister-in-law, what do you mean?”
“Nothing,” Qin Mian glossed it over with a change the topic, “Second Brother, have some more of the steamed meat.”
Lei Xiangren thought a lot from Qin Mian’s half words. That’s right, Dabao is the eldest grandson of the old man and the old lady. He is smart. Why do the old man and the old lady disagree to enlighten him? Do they only care about their youngest son? Do they want to set aside all the money they usually save and withhold to the youngest son? Why?
“Eldest Brother, Eldest Sister-in-law. I remember that I have something else to do. I’ll go first.” Lei Xiangren stood up and left in a hurry.
Lei Tie picked up a piece of tender meat and handed it to Qin Mian’s mouth.
Qin Mian opened his mouth and ate it. He urged the man, “Eat it quickly. The food is going to be cold.”
Uncle Fu and the others, who also heard the dialogue between Qin Mian and Lei Xiangren, admired Qin Mian from the bottom of their heart. That’s what one called invisible killing. Little Young Master is mighty!
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