After breakfast, the six people leaned back in their chairs and sighed. Life had been too comfortable lately; they just wanted to lie there forever.
“Mother Dashan, are you home?”
Wang Auntie’s voice rang out from the courtyard gate. She carried a bamboo basket, in which lay two long jade bamboo shoots. She pushed the bamboo basket into Cheng Qingluan’s hands: “The other day you gave our family three or four catties of chestnuts. This is to return the favor.”
Cheng Loanloan pushed the basket back: “Dashan worked for our family for a day; that’s enough for those chestnuts.”
“Dashan ate two meals at your house, and working for one day is enough!” Wang Auntie’s expression was a little unnatural: “Then I’ll leave the things in the courtyard!”
She then threw the two jade bamboo shoots to the ground, picked up her bamboo basket, and left.
Cheng Loanloan helplessly picked up the jade bamboo shoots. Although Wang Auntie had a sour face from beginning to end, she had to admit that Wang Auntie was someone worth befriending.
She walked into the room and saw the four boys preparing to go out. She said, “Weren’t you tired after working all day yesterday? Go rest a little more.”
Zhao Dashan, carrying a hoe, replied, “Mother, I’m not tired. I’ll go to the fields to check and pull weeds.” “The rice is almost dried up; pulling weeds won’t do much good.” Cheng Qingluan took the hoe from his shoulder: “Listen to Mother, go to sleep first. We can talk about anything later this afternoon.”
These four boys were all at an age of rapid growth. After a day of fatigue, they didn't sleep well at night, which would affect their development.
Once she made a decision, the four boys dared not resist and obediently climbed into bed to rest.
Wu Huiniang sat under the big tree in the courtyard, using the sunlight to mend clothes for the six members of the family. The clothes became more and more tattered with wear; almost every day she had to mend and patch them. New patches overlapped old ones, and the original style of the clothes was long unrecognizable.
Cheng Loanloan sat in the main house, chin in hand, thinking about finding groundwater.
She tried to recall the geography knowledge she had learned, searching for the exact direction of groundwater. It seemed that professional probing equipment was needed.
Cheng Loanloan opened the marketplace and searched for probing equipment. After looking, she confirmed it was an item she couldn’t afford.
There was no such thing in ancient times, so how did ancient people find water sources?
Cheng Loanloan searched for a long time, but there were no similar books in the marketplace.
Finally, she found a book related to the history of groundwater exploitation, priced at thirty copper coins.
She decisively bought this book. She took the book to the backyard, where there was no one, and began to read it seriously.
As the saying goes, in books, there are beauties like jade; in books, there are houses of gold. Cheng Loanloan read the book for over an hour and finally found a relatively easy method to implement. However, what the book said might not be true; she had to practice it herself to find out.
Cheng Loanloan hid the book under the eaves. Then she went to the front yard, where Zhao Dashan had already woken up and was chopping firewood.
After he chopped a piece of firewood, he looked at Wu Huiniang, who was sitting under the tree. She also quietly looked at him. The two looked at each other, then quickly averted their gaze, the air filled with floating pink bubbles.
Cheng Loanloan covered her eyes.
An older single woman rejects public displays of affection.
“Mother…”
Wu Huiniang saw her standing nearby, her face flushed with embarrassment.
Cheng Loanloan coughed and said, “Hey, Dashan, come here and help me look at this tree.”
She picked up a branch and drew a type of plant on the ground, focusing mainly on the shape of its leaves.
Zhao Dashan recognized it in an instant and replied, "It must be mugwort. There's quite a bit of it behind the house."
(1) Classical Chinese:
Shū zhōng yǒu nǚ yán rú yù
Shū zhōng zì yǒu huáng jīn wū
Meaning:
Within books, there are maidens with faces like jade.
Within books, there are golden mansions.
The intended meaning is: Just bury your head in books and study diligently. Once you have understood all the knowledge within them, you will have... become talented, passed your exams, and when you have passed and become an official, you will surely have a beautiful wife like jade and live in a golden mansion with scarlet towers and purple pavilions.