Grandpa Liu expressed his sorrow, but then found that his precious granddaughter had disappeared. He was so scared that he almost toppled over into the canal behind him.
When he found his little granddaughter splashing water at the mouth of the ditch, he heaved a sigh of relief and quickly walked over, "Nannan, don't play with water, you'll easily catch a cold if your clothes are wet."
Liu Yusheng answered with a brilliant smile, "Play, play."
As she spoke, her little hands flicked in and out of the water.
The soft milky sounds and the bright smiles dispelled the heavy stone weighing on people's hearts. Someone couldn't resist quipping.
"Kids love to play, so let her play!"
"With so many of us here, can we still overlook this baby?"
"Rumor has it that Nannan is blessed, so let her come here more often to play and bestow us more blessings, hahaha!"
"A bunch of magpies!" Grandpa Liu chuckled in rebuke, then he rolled his trousers to avoid them from getting wet, "Nannan, watch how Grandpa catches a mud loach for you."
Light-hearted banters flew all around the field. Liu Erlin, Liu Dalin and Chen Xiulan could only smile helplessly.
Needless to say, the old man tagged along just to play with his granddaughter.
Liu Yusheng squatted seriously on the ridge and watched her grandfather really catch loaches, her round eyes soon curved into crescent moons.
Estimating the time, she pulled the old man's trousers, and her little hand casually pointed to another corner, and successfully encouraged the old man from taking her out of the ditch.
Although his injury was better, he wasn't totally healed in the end. Furthermore, he was now older, and bending his back for a long time wasn't good for his health.
After spending half a day in the field, when the sun has risen overhead, they get ready to go home.
On their way back, tumultuous outbursts could be heard behind them.
"Ei! Have you noticed that the rice plants seem a bit more resplendent than in the morning?"
"Look, you're right. Even the leaves are glossy and the grains are brimming with vital energy!"
"Exactly, I'm not sure if it's my faulty vision, but I think the ears of rice are fuller!"
…..
Liu Yusheng once again rode around her father's neck, clutching his big ears with her tiny hands, and singing in time with the swaying of her short legs, "Go go, drive! Go go, drive!"
Shengsheng used her father's ears as a steering wheel, swerving left and right, and guiding Liu Dalin into walking around forming an S shape.
Grandpa Liu burst out into a hearty laughter.
With the autumn breeze lingering in the air, the freshness of the air in the countryside surrounded by sprinkling laughter by her loved ones, Liu Yusheng's heart finally felt peace.
She must let her family smile forever.
Seven days later, the weather remained hot especially the sun high in the afternoon. Anyone who walked outside had to brave the heatwave.
The beginning of autumn has passed, but the temperature has not dropped.
The water in the Qinghe River has reached the bottom, which was a fatal blow to the farmers who rely mainly on the Qinghe River to irrigate their crops.
The whole of Xinghua Village was charged with tension and gloom, and everyone's face was stained with unsettling dejection.
The same was true of the Liu family. The adults smiled less and less, and sighs of despair could be heard from time to time.
On the tenth day, the water in the field dried up completely and cracks began to appear.
Standing in the middle of the field and looking at the cracked earth, Grandpa Liu's brows were ruffled as he dusted his hands, "We can't wait any longer, we will start the harvest tomorrow!
"Wait! Dad, look!" Liu Dalin, who was standing beside him, twiddled with a few grains of rice in his hands, and his tanned face filled with excitement, "Dad! They're ripe, they've ripened!"
Quickly grabbing a handful of grains from the ear of rice and crushing it between his fingers, Grandpa Liu's expression slowly cracked.
Compared to the past, at this same time of the year was when rice crops began to harden, counting the days, they should mature in at least twelve to twenty days later!
But the hard grains in his palms were telling him that their crops are ripe!
And the rice grains are fuller than ever! Shaking his hands to remove the rice husks, Grandpa stared down at the white rice in the palm of his hand and could no longer make sound.
"Dad, we can harvest, they can be harvested now. Just by looking at it, we can still have a rich harvest!"
The condition of their crops quickly spread to the ears of the neighboring villagers, and everyone rushed to their own fields, grabbing the rice grains for inspection.
"It's true! They're really ripe! I can't believe it!"
"Nothing has gone bad, nothing's wasted…. God still has eyes!"
"Quickly, those who walk fast will go back to the village and spread the word, let everyone come down quickly to harvest! Lest the fields will shrivel into a sunken valley under the sun!"
The heavy depression was swept away replaced by cheerful delight.
Merriment filled the fields.
The news that rice in the fields has matured spread throughout the village overnight.
On this day, the stifling depression that pervaded the whole village was dispersed by euphoria. People in the fields harvested their crops in full swing.
Liu Yusheng was sitting on the threshold of the courtyard door, her head was supported by her little hands. Listening to the peals of laughter blending in the air, her little mouth smirked.
On the other side of the Qinghe River is the farmland of Xiapo Village.
Across the river, they can clearly see the lively atmosphere and hear the loud laughter of the villagers.
This spectacle was unimaginable, that more and more villagers from Xiapo Village gathered by the river bank to see the fun.
While watching the liveliness, each face was as ugly as the other, feeling envious of Xinghua Village.
"What's going on? How come the rice over there has ripened?"
"We blocked the river. They were short of water four days earlier than us! Just look at our fields, they are all dry and cracked that half of the ears of rice are flat. How could theirs be better than ours!"
"Can't say for sure, their families must have been cornered and chose to jump over the wall. In order to reduce their losses, maybe that's why they decided to harvest early?"
"Can early harvest make you laugh like that? From the snippets from a few fields by the river, I have heard everyone saying that it is a good harvest!"
The face of the village chief of Xiapo village, Chang Ancai, darkened and even his eyes dimmed, "Go and ask if they have any ways to make rice mature ahead of time!"
Other than that, there was no other explanation.
The same fields, the same rice seedlings, sharing the same river water, plus their Xiapo Village also have advantages in terms of water resources. It was impossible for them to have completely different results!
Even if there was any difference, their Xiapo Village should be better than Xinghua Village!
Soon, someone crowded beside him. "Village chief, I asked someone in the village to go and find out. Their fields are indeed a good harvest, but no one knew how it happened!"
After a pause, he hesitated for a moment, "But there is a ridiculous rumor circulating privately on their side …"
Then he stopped.
"What?" Ancai narrowed his eyes.
"Rumor has it that they were in a bad situation before. Everyone has made preparations for a bad harvest … Ten days ago, a little baby in their village went to the field to play. From that day on, the growth of rice in their fields started to ripen strangely. Obviously, there was insufficient water supply, but the crops still grow robustly. They said that the little baby, is a divine baby, and bestowed blessings to the whole Xinghua Village …"
"Ridiculous! Bullshit!"
Ancai blurted out, and the speaker immediately snorted and retreated to the crowd.
Their voices were too loud, and with the crowded packed together to watch the fun, they heard something.
"Are they talking about the baby granddaughter of the Liu Family?"
"Do you know their family?"
"I've heard that, too. I've been in town and heard a few rumors flying around about their family. And the most miraculous thing is…"