Ch 41: Daily Farm Life After Returning from Interstellar

Commencement

For the following consecutive days, the weather remained overcast with continuous rain. Such gloomy weather tended to make people restless and irritable. Su Mu was worried about her vegetables being soaked by the rain, so she went with her father to inspect the field near the village entrance. Indeed, there was a layer of water about calf-deep in the pathways between the vegetable beds. However, the fully grown vegetables didn’t seem to be greatly affected.

It was the newly sprouted vegetable seedlings that looked worse due to the rain, their root systems and stems scattered and battered. This sight pained her.

Father Su consoled her, “Farming relies on the grace of heaven, but human effort is essential. We’ll dig channels to let the excess water flow into the rice paddies; rice fields can withstand flooding.”

The rice paddies had recently been planted with young rice shoots and had not yet formed grain heads. As long as the water wasn’t submerging everything, the impact wouldn’t be significant.

Adjacent to the vegetable plots were the family’s rice paddies. Su Mu and her father together dug trenches to allow the water to slowly drain into the paddies.

That’s how farming was—bringing substantial income and satisfaction, but it demanded hard work and sweat in return.

After about an hour of channeling water, the father-daughter duo strolled back home, chatting leisurely.

“Dad, how are the lychees on the mountain? Were they knocked down by the rain? What about the chickens and ducks? Should we bring them back home?”

These past few days, not only had it rained, but strong winds had also blown. A significant number of grapes at home had fallen off due to the wind. They had been turning purple, almost ripe. This sight also deeply concerned her.

Naturally, they had built small shelters for the chickens and ducks on the mountain. Their fear was that strong winds might overturn these structures.

Father Su shouldered a hoe and smiled, “No problem, I went to check in the morning. Only a few lychees have fallen, and the small shelters are fine.”

Fruit grew quickly and solidly this year. Now they were large and beautiful; they would turn red in a few more days. He had picked a few fallen fruits in the morning and found that the pits were smaller than usual. They were sure to fetch a good price.

Su Mu nodded upon hearing this, “That’s good.”

Back at home, Mother Su was engrossed in a lively conversation with a group of young men.

Listening in for a moment, Su Mu heard her say, “After she reached up to grab a bird’s egg, she looked down and found herself too high up in the tree. She burst into tears and clung to the tree trunk. Her brother was panicking underneath, but in the end, he had to find her father. Only after he brought a ladder did they manage to get her down…”

As she listened, Su Mu felt that something was off. By the end, she was giving a wry smile. Was this her real mother? Sharing her own daughter’s embarrassing stories?

Su Mu’s eyes scanned the group, but they all avoided her gaze and suppressed their laughter. She patted her amused mother and asked in a sarcastic tone, “Is it really that funny?”

Mother Su slapped her thigh, “Of course…” but then she turned around and saw her daughter’s beautiful face, and her heart suddenly skipped a beat. She quickly tapped her own chest preemptively, “You, this child… Why were you walking so quietly? You nearly scared me to death!”

“Oops, oops, my chest felt a bit tight. It must’ve been from getting startled by you.”

Seeing this, Su Mu couldn’t help but laugh and cry. It had only been a few days since Tang Hui, the “Film Emperor,” arrived, yet her mother had already mastered about 80% of his acting skills. It could be said that her mother had an extraordinary natural talent. It was a shame she didn’t pursue a career in the entertainment industry.

She turned her head slightly and glanced at Tang Hui, then spoke, “Tang Hui, what score would you give my mom’s acting skills?”

Tang Hui’s smile instantly froze at the corners of his mouth. Oh no, why is the fire directed at me now? It was one thing if their childhood friends found it amusing, but now even Mother Su was looking at him expectantly, waiting for his assessment.

He cleared his throat and said with a surprised expression, “Auntie, how could you possibly be acting? I can’t find any flaws. Mu Mu, you better apologize to Auntie quickly and not scare her.”

Su Mu gave him a thumbs-up and praised his ability to come up with such a convincing lie. Impressive!

Mother Su was delighted by his response. She asked her daughter to bring out her laptop; she wanted to watch a movie that Tang Hui had acted in!

This time, Tang Hui was in an awkward position. He thought his acting skills were decent, but watching his own movies in front of him always felt a bit embarrassing.

He had no choice but to drag Gu Shi with him, holding an umbrella, as they left the yard. He justified it as a “field investigation.”

In fact, he had already gone to the site two days ago. He had also discussed the details with Gu Shi and Su Mu, confirming the architectural style they wanted, and he had already sketched out a rough plan.

Gu Shi gave him a teasing glance. “Since when did your skin become so thin?”

Tang Hui gave a bitter smile but didn’t reply. He had become cautious. He was afraid—afraid of being the center of attention.

His physical and mental health had indeed improved significantly, but that didn’t mean he was completely healed. He still feared being in the spotlight again.

Many times, among tens of thousands of positive comments, just one or two negative ones would stick in his throat like a fishbone. Although he used to not care about criticism, it seemed that as he grew older, his heart became more fragile.

Gu Shi didn’t say anything else, he just accompanied Tang Hui as they wandered around the plot of land.

The weeds had been thoroughly cleared, revealing the brown soil beneath. The plot was backed by a mountain, bordered on both sides by fields and a small stream.

After a while, Tang Hui pointed to the small stream and said, “Let’s build a small bridge here as an entrance.”

“Sure, you’re the designer, your word is final.”

Tang Hui playfully punched his shoulder and said, “Is this your house or mine?”

“Mine. You’re just the laborer. Overthinking things is a disease.”

**

After another two days, the weather finally cleared up.

The matter of the recuperation center was eventually finalized. It was heard that when the county authorities learned that people from the capital were coming here to build a recuperation center, they attached great importance to the project, and all the necessary approvals were quickly granted.

The price set by He Fu for the land was the same as what Su Mu had paid for buying it, so the villagers didn’t raise any objections. Su Mu had been a little worried before, fearing that the price offered by the recuperation center might be too high, leading to discontent among the villagers for selling the land to her. Even though the contract had already been signed, human emotions were unpredictable. But now, she was relieved of these concerns.

In the blink of an eye, the vegetable seedlings in the fields had grown well. Su Mu once again sought the help of the villagers. This time, they had a lot of land to cultivate, and almost everyone capable of working was enlisted, except for Old Lady Wang.

Dozens of people worked in the fields for two days, and they managed to plant most of the land. There were still a few acres left, and the vegetable seedlings weren’t enough. Su Mu planned to use imported seeds for these remaining acres. The packages were currently in transit.

What troubled her was the construction of the flower house. She still hadn’t found a reputable team for that. Yesterday, Little Orchid and Little Violet returned. They had gone into the mountains and claimed to have found some orchids. They wanted her to go up the mountain and dig them up.

Her room’s balcony was already filled with a dozen or so pots of orchids. If she dug up more, she would have to place them in the yard, which would be messy and take up space. So, she needed to build the flower house as soon as possible. She wanted to cultivate new varieties, and during the process, unexpected phenomena might arise. She needed a safe and discreet place for that.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Su Mu planned to ask Gu Shi and the others if they had any connections. Since she didn’t see them at home, she guessed they might be at the foot of the mountain.

Indeed, construction on the house started today. The construction team was brought in by Tang Hui. He was responsible for everything, including customizing and purchasing building materials. Perhaps having something to do made him less prone to overthinking, and it seemed to boost his spirits.

Professional teams were truly different. When Su Mu reached the foot of the mountain, everything was proceeding in an orderly manner. After a brief greeting with Gu Shi, who was supervising the work in the shade, she shared her worries with him. Gu Shi frowned upon hearing this, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

Su Mu mumbled sheepishly, “I didn’t want to bother you.”

With him being a whole head taller, the young girl hung her head, her restless feet kicking at the small stones. He gazed down at her small whirling hair, then suddenly reached out and patted her head, “Let’s not make this a habit.”

“Alright, from now on, I’ll definitely tell you when there’s something. But you’re not allowed to think I’m bothering you.” Su Mu had noticed a slight change in his attitude toward her over the past few days. He seemed softer, but she didn’t want to jump to conclusions and end up overthinking things. Thus, when they interacted, she had always been a bit cautious.

But things were different now. He had taken the initiative to extend goodwill, and if she didn’t take this opportunity to establish a better relationship, she wouldn’t be herself.

Gu Shi withdrew his hand. There seemed to be a lingering silky touch on his palm. He spoke, “There’s a specialized company for building flower houses. I’ll have the person in charge come and coordinate with you.”

“Wow, I should’ve told you sooner.” That way, the flower house wouldn’t be in limbo right now.

“Yeah, just wait with peace of mind.”

For projects like constructing larger, more specialized structures, the general practice was for the company’s manager to personally assess the situation, propose a design plan, reach a consensus with the involved parties, sign the construction contract after all material customizations were completed, and then proceed with construction.

Gu Shi was the mastermind behind the scenes, so how could he know any construction teams? However, his grandfather did have a sizable flower house, so he might know the head of the construction team. That’s why he took charge of the matter.

Even if he didn’t know anyone, with his connections, finding the most professional construction team was a matter of minutes.

**

While waiting for the arrival of the flower house construction representative, the grapes at the Su family’s home ripened first.

Clusters of deep purple small spheres hung down, exuding a unique fruity fragrance. Su Mu tasted one. It was as sweet as honey, without a hint of sourness.

Su Mu’s mother snipped a small box full of grapes and carefully packed them. She also prepared some freshly dried mushrooms, wanting Su Mu to send a package to the city. Chen Mengzhi was almost two months into her pregnancy, and home-cooked food was still safer.

In fact, Su Mu often sent her brother fresh vegetables. Since he and his wife weren’t skilled in cooking, Su Chen would take the vegetables to his mother-in-law’s place and cook them for his wife. Their residence was close to their mother-in-law’s, just a couple of streets away.

The Su family had a high grape yield, with dense clusters everywhere. Apart from sending some to Su Chen, they also sent a box to their elder aunt.

With the rate of consumption being slower than the rate of ripening, Gu Shi and the other two decided to target the grapes.

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