Chapter 62: The Ugly Ger’s Farming Story

“I’m leaving. Stay at home and wait for me.” With fifty taels of silver in his arms, Li Changfeng pulled the donkey cart out of the donkey shed and bid farewell to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing watched as Li Changfeng drove away, and then returned to the main hall. His mind was in a chaotic mess, but when he thought about the grain and meat in the storage space, as well as the medicinal herbs that could be sold, his heart settled again. “You, child, really came at the right time.” If the child was born during this year of drought and panic, it would be fate. However, he and Li Changfeng would not let the child suffer or be wronged.

When Li Changfeng arrived at the village outskirts, Lin Fangliang and Uncle Xie were already waiting there. After Uncle Xie got on the donkey cart, he sighed, “Heaven really… doesn’t leave a way out for the farmers.”

Once they had unloaded the donkey cart and arrived at the only privately-owned rice store in the town, there weren’t many people buying grain there. Most of them only bought small bags. It seemed that no one was preparing to make a large purchase like Li Changfeng and the others.

Since Lin Fangliang was familiar with the rice store owner, he went up and exchanged a few words with the greasy old man. Then, while talking, he gestured towards Li Changfeng and Uncle Xie. The owner touched his goatee, nodded, and understood.

Afterward, Lin Fangliang signaled for Li Changfeng and Uncle Xie to follow him and the rice store owner to the backyard. Half an hour later, Li Changfeng emerged from the rice store, and shortly after, the side door of the rice store’s backyard opened, revealing six donkey carts heading straight for the outskirts of the town.

Lin Fangliang and Uncle Xie followed the six donkey carts back to the village, while Li Changfeng went to a miscellaneous grain store. He bought a lot of dried goods that could be stored for a long time, and then he bought some meat and large bones from Butcher Liu’s stall, explaining the situation to them and asking them to pass the message to the Li family’s courtyard. It would be better to prepare some grain early on this day. Then, Li Changfeng drove the fully loaded cart back home.

After hearing Li Changfeng’s words, Butcher Liu left his stall in the care of his wife and rushed to the rice store with all his money.

When Li Changfeng returned home, with the help of Lin Fangliang and Uncle Xie, Xu Qing had already stored the grain from four donkey carts in the underground cellar below the storage room. Lin Fangliang and Uncle Xie had also returned to store their grain. Li Changfeng asked Xu Qing not to help and personally made several trips to transfer the dried goods from the cart into the cellar.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Xu Qing and Li Changfeng looked at the cellar filled with grain, finally feeling some relief. “Now we can only hope that the heavens will show some mercy,” Li Changfeng whispered as he held Xu Qing.

But the heavens did not show mercy. The fields that hadn’t received a drop of water for two consecutive weeks had already dried up. It was disheartening to see the crops in the ground wither and die before they had a chance to grow.

The village head had called for a meeting, and this time, the heads of households from each family attended. Xu Qing was pregnant and the weather was hot, so Li Changfeng went alone.

“The official has posted a notice. It seems we will face a drought this year,” the village head said with a solemn face, delivering the news that left the villagers almost in despair.

“What are we going to do?”

“Our whole family relies on the harvest from the land!”

“We can’t afford the grain from the town!”

Uncle Xie and Li Changfeng sat together, listening to the sighs and moans of the villagers around them. Uncle Xie felt a mix of relief and sorrow. “It’s fortunate that you had foresight, otherwise…” Li Changfeng’s heart was also restless.

After the meeting, Li Changfeng didn’t go home directly. Instead, he went to the fields and walked through them once again. Looking at the slightly yellowing crops, he wiped the sweat off his forehead and walked toward the river. The river had become much smaller now, with wider banks, indicating that the dry season had truly arrived.

It wasn’t only their village that had a collective meeting. Anle Village and Xingfu Village had also gathered their residents, and the village heads there conveyed the same message. Old Man Li and Eldest Li returned home with mournful expressions. The day was too hot, and even the children in the courtyard didn’t feel like running around.

“Father, eldest brother, you’re back? What did the village head say?” Li Laosan, sitting with his legs crossed on a chair in the main hall, lazily greeted them. Old Man Li slammed the dried tobacco stick on the table, making a loud noise that brought Li Ama and Li Xiao’er out of the house.

“What did he say?! Second son sent word earlier, saying that something might happen and we should go to town to buy grain. But you disagreed with us going to buy! Now look! Look! I think none of us in this family will survive! We’ll just wait to starve to death!” Old Man Li trembled with anger, unable to control his shaking body. How did he end up with such a wretched child!

Li Ama, Li Xiao’er, and the eldest son’s wife stood silently on the side, not saying a word. The children also remained quiet, instinctively sensing that it was better not to make a fuss in the house. Li Laosan didn’t think it was a big deal, “What’s the problem? Didn’t we agree before? We can use this money to send me to take the imperial examination. As long as I become a Jinshi, everything will be within our grasp!” Li Laosan excitedly slapped his thigh. “We won’t have to worry about starving!”

Eldest Li opened his mouth, “But, little brother, our grain is only enough for our family to eat for two months. Without a harvest, we…” Eldest Li’s wife thought with a sense of despair. Yes, no matter how carefully we budget, without grain, not to mention the children, even the adults won’t be able to endure!

Li Laosan shook his head, “Big brother, I hate to say it, but with our meager amount of silver, how much grain do you think we can buy in town right now?” Eldest Li paused, “We can…” Li Laosan saw his brother’s distracted expression and chuckled, “It’s only enough for one month’s worth of grain. We can’t afford it, given the current grain prices. That’s why, why not place your hope in me? I’ll take the imperial examination next month, and you just need to endure for one month! Then we’ll have everything!”

Li Xiao’er couldn’t help but interject upon seeing Li Laosan’s confident expression, “But what if you don’t pass?!”

As soon as Li Laosan heard this, he stood up and walked up to Li Xiao’er, glaring at him fiercely. “What kind of thoughts are you harboring?!” Even Li Ama and the others were shocked by Li Xiao’er suddenly speaking up.

Li Ama quickly clasped his hands together and repeatedly bowed to the surroundings, “This child, how can he speak like that?! It’s inauspicious! Tsk tsk tsk! The passing gods, please don’t blame him. Our child is young and ignorant, young and ignorant!”

Li Xiao’er’s eyes were almost red, but he still looked at the people in front of him. “This is the truth, Third Brother. Have you ever thought about us, about Big Brother and your children? If you pass the examination, that’s a good thing, but what if you don’t? How will our whole family survive?!”

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I told you to shut up!” Li Laosan couldn’t stand hearing that he might not pass. Every word from Li Xiao’er was poking at his sore spot. So, consumed by fame and fortune, Li Laosan viciously slapped Li Xiao’er several times. Li Xiao’er was caught off guard and fell to the ground. His head buzzed, and he couldn’t hear anything anymore.

“Lao San! What are you doing?!” Eldest Li grabbed Li Laosan, who had gone insane and was about to strike Li Xiao’er again, and slapped him hard. “Get a grip! That’s our own blood, our own younger brother!”

Li Laosan knelt on the ground, his eyes bloodshot, struggling to get up again. Li Laosan’s wife hurriedly went over and embraced him, while the children burst into tears. Old man Li instructed Eldest Li’s wife to take the children inside the house. He and Li Ama approached Li Xiao’er, who sat on the ground motionless, and assisted him in standing up.

“Don’t worry, it’s okay. It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t hurt,” Li Ama gently blew on Li Xiao’er’s red and swollen cheeks from the blow delivered by Li Laosan, while offering words of comfort. Old Man Li supported Li Xiao’er and urged, “Get up quickly. I’ll deal with that beast later, get up.”

Li Xiao’er felt an uncontrollable warmth in his eyes. He gazed blankly at his father, observing his mouth moving incessantly. He also noticed his eldest brother seemingly scolding the third brother, and the third brother’s wife crying while embracing him.

“Father, Ama.”

Li Xiao’er let out a faint call, catching the attention of everyone in the hall. Eldest Li even took the opportunity to smack Li Laosan’s head hard and jokingly said to Li Xiao’er, “Don’t worry, big brother will take revenge for you!”

Li Xiao’er still didn’t move, but gently pushed away the strong hands of Li Ama, who was trying to help him up. With teary eyes and a reddened face, he looked at Li Ama and the others.

“I… I think I can’t hear anymore.”

***

Li Changfeng, thinking about the meat at home that wouldn’t last much longer, took his tools and prepared to go up the mountain to dig more traps. Tomorrow, he would see if he could harvest something. With the dry season approaching, no one was thinking of coming to carve statues anymore. After all, there was nothing better to do.

Xu Qing also wanted to go, but his pregnant belly was the biggest reason he couldn’t. Helplessly, he watched Li Changfeng leave alone and stayed at home, waiting for his return.

The weather was hot and humid. Whenever he stopped, he felt drowsy all over, and any movement caused him to sweat. The water in the well was running low, and although there was a space with a well, using the spiritual spring to take a bath would be too extravagant. So, Xu Qing, bored and with nothing to do, lay on the recliner that Li Changfeng had made for him in the hall and played with Xiaobao for a while before falling into a deep sleep.

On his way up the mountain, Li Changfeng encountered many villagers carrying baskets on their backs, digging for wild vegetables outside the mountains. The weather was scorching, and they couldn’t afford to buy food from the town. If they didn’t bring back more wild vegetables, their family wouldn’t be able to make it through the coming days. However, they didn’t know how long they could keep relying on these wild vegetables.

In order to attract larger prey, Li Changfeng went further into the mountains, dug more traps, and made markings. By the time he finished, it was already getting dark. Li Changfeng was worried about Xu Qing at home, so he didn’t linger and hurriedly made his way back.

However, when Li Changfeng arrived home, besides Xiaobao running around him, he didn’t see Xu Qing’s figure or hear his voice. The house was pitch black, with no trace of light.

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Li Laosan: “Hello, thank you for your warm love and support. I’m back and now I made my little brother to go deaf.” 😁

Thingyan: Thank you my readers for your kind words. I have recovered. Although now I’m left with some annoying coughs.