Chapter 13: Chapter 7 Spring Plowing
The family went down into the field the next day. Jinghan and Jingya had never done fieldwork before, so Mrs. Xue taught them how to sow seeds. "When sowing soybeans," she instructed, "make the holes close together, and sow a bit more. Four or five seeds per hole will do. Too many is a waste of seeds, too few and the sprouts will be sparse and yield no beans."
The sisters followed their mother's advice, sowing four or five seeds in each hole while also using their feet to cover and firm the soil over the holes. As a result, their work wasn't fast, and by noon each had only sown three rows. Zhixin and Zhixiang were digging ridges in front, while everyone else followed behind fertilizing and sowing seeds, amounting to two acres planted by midday.
By lunchtime, everyone was tired and took a break sitting down before heading home for a meal. Back at home, Mrs. Chen had already prepared the food, and everyone washed their hands and sat down to eat. At the table, Mrs. Wei kept a stern eye on Zhixin's family, who paid her little attention.
Just after finishing lunch, the youngest son and his family walked in. "Dad, mom, we're back." As they entered the room, "Dad, what in the world happened? How could my second brother just be gone like that?" he asked.
The old master sighed, ready to speak when Mrs. Wei started wailing again. Mrs. Chen rose to take Mrs. Wei outside as the old master then told Zhide about Zhiyong's situation. Hearing the news, Zhide too sighed deeply. "Dad, I've brought the coffin back; it's just outside. Where should we put it?"
The old master and Zhixin went out to look. The red coffin, made of red pine wood, was quite good. The old master nodded his approval, "For now, place it in the shed. It's already the tenth today, and we'll bury him on the twelfth – that's perfect." Since Xu Zhiyong had been dead for quite some time, and what was returned were his ashes, it wasn't appropriate to erect a mourning shed like for a regular death. Moreover, Zhiyong was only thirty this year, and there were still elders in the family, so this was considered an early death, and it wasn't suitable to make a big fuss about the arrangements. Therefore, on the burial day, the ashes would simply be placed in the coffin and buried in the family plot.
The brothers carried the coffin into the shed, placing some wooden planks underneath to keep it from the damp. After setting the coffin right, Zhide paid the coachman, who then left.
With the coffin settled, Zhixin and the others still had to continue working in the fields. Zhide hadn't done any fieldwork for many years, so he stayed home to be with the two elderly folks.
On April 12th, Zhixin enlisted a few village lads to help carry the coffin to the Xu family's ancestral burial ground. Having dug the grave, they buried the coffin, filled the earth, and after placing a wooden gravestone, the task was done. Mrs. Wei, being a woman, couldn't go to the graveyard, and after another bout of crying at home which calmed after some consoling, matters settled.
With Zhiyong's ashes laid to rest, the third son Zhiming and the fourth Zhide returned to their own homes. Life at the Xu family seemed much like before, continuing as usual. A few more acres were yet to be planted, so Zhixin took his family back to the fields.
Just as the family arrived at the field's edge, they saw the Lin father and son standing on the Xu family's side of the field. They approached Zhixin, saying, "Brother Xu, we've finished planting our fields and came to help you out today. With the incident in your family, you've been delayed. We can't have that, right?"
Zhixin didn't say much in return. The relationship between the Lin and Xu families had always been good, and helping each other out was common. So everyone got to work. Jinghan and her group were still responsible for scattering seeds. Today, they were planting sorghum, which involved opening furrows instead of digging individual holes and scattering the sorghum seeds into the furrow before covering them with soil. As Jinghan scattered seeds, she used her foot to tamp the soil more firmly with every step.
Lin Zixuan worked beside Jinghan. "Jinghan, is farming tiring? Is this your first time?"
Jinghan nodded, "Brother Zixuan, it's quite exhausting to farm." She now understood the saying 'the sweat falls, and the earth under the grain shows.' Farming was truly backbreaking work. These past few days, upon returning home, she wanted nothing more than to quickly lie down and sleep.
"Farming isn't so bad. Planting ginseng is even more draining. Caring for those plants means kneeling by the poolside to weed and loosen the soil, and you can't stand up straight because of the shed overhead." As he worked, Lin Zixuan filled Jinghan in on the hard labor involved in ginseng cultivation.
Jinghan understood this all too well. In her previous life, she often worked for others to earn money, precisely tending to ginseng fields. It truly involved kneeling to the ginseng all year round just to earn that meager sum. Especially during spring when tending to the first weeding, one had to pinch all the clumped soil on the surface to break it apart. After finishing that task, her hands would be swollen.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone