Ch 70: Daily Farm Life After Returning from Interstellar

Going Home

In the following days, Su Mu and Gu Shi thoroughly enjoyed exploring the various attractions of the city, both big and small. Their originally fair skin turned a healthy wheat color after being exposed to the sun.

It’s often said that travel reveals a person’s true nature, and their feelings for each other progressed rapidly during this time. However, they still hadn’t crossed the final boundary. Su Mu could consider herself as having fulfilled her father’s numerous warnings.

It was time to head back home.

The clothes and bags they bought at the mall were all packed and shipped back by Gu Shi, along with their luggage. So, the return journey was quite light and easy.

They arrived at the Muyun City Airport around two o’clock in the afternoon. Stepping out of the airport, they were hit by a wave of heat, causing Su Mu’s sweat to instantly start flowing.

“Now that I think about it, the temperature in Q City is more friendly,” she remarked.

“Then let’s walk a bit faster. It won’t be so hot once we’re in the car,” Gu Shi suggested.

Looking at Gu Shi, who still looked fresh and cool, Su Mu couldn’t help but feel envious. He seemed immune to sweating…

The drive took over an hour before they reached Huayuan Village.

Upon their return, instead of heading straight to Su Mu’s new house, they came to Su family courtyard. The courtyard was bustling at the moment. Grandpa Gu and the others were sitting under the grape trellis to enjoy the shade. Father Su was sitting on a stool, holding a knife and a piece of bamboo.

Seeing them back, everyone was delighted.

They bombarded them with questions about their travel experiences.

Smiling, Su Mu answered, “It was a lot of fun, relaxing too. We had great food and entertainment. Oh, we also bought gifts for you, but they’re bulky and heavy, so we sent them by courier. They should arrive in a couple of days.”

After chatting for a while, Su Mu headed into the kitchen to find something to eat. Mother Su followed her and whispered, “Mu Mu, during this trip with Xiao Shi, nothing happened, right?”

Su Mu’s face turned slightly red, but she remained composed. “No, nothing happened at all.”

Mother Su breathed a sigh of relief and smiled wryly. “I knew it. You and Xiao Shi are both rational. Your dad insisted I confirm just to ease his mind.”

Su Mu didn’t think her parents had outdated thinking; rather, she felt their caring concern. She held her mother’s hand and said, “Mom, don’t worry. We both know our boundaries.”

She wasn’t averse to pre-marital cohabitation. It was a trial for their future married life. However, given that they had known each other for less than half a year, rushing things wouldn’t be wise, as it might lead to complications.

Mother Su nodded. Her daughter was a sensible person, and Xiao Shi was mature too. She was confident in their relationship.

Su Mu grabbed an ice cream from the freezer and a chilled passion fruit tea from the fridge, then walked outside with her mother.

Grandpa Gu and the others were of old age and couldn’t eat frozen treats like these. Therefore, she only poured a glass of tea for Gu Shi, while she indulged in her ice cream.

Father Su’s fingers were busy flipping, while bamboo strips moved along with his motions.

“Dad, what are you doing?”

“It’s too hot these days, I’m making a bamboo mat.”

Although a bamboo mat was a bit hard, it provided cool comfort. Besides, he was used to sleeping on hard beds; he couldn’t sleep on those soft and fluffy ones.

Su Mu didn’t expect her father to have this skill and was quite surprised.

Mother Su laughed and explained, “Your dad hasn’t done this in a long time. It’s normal that you didn’t know.”

Previously, the burdens of their children’s education fees and living expenses pressed heavily on Father Su, so he had no time to waste on weaving bamboo mats. He might as well go into the mountains to pick mushrooms or gather medicinal herbs.

*

After returning from the trip, Su Mu’s flower shop reopened. The shop had been temporarily closed while she was away.

After a few months of operation, each of the flower shops had gained quite a few fans. The news of the reopening quickly spread, and orders started pouring in.

Most of the orders included several types, even a dozen varieties of flowers purchased together. Among them, sunflowers were the bestsellers.

However, Su Mu wanted to temporarily remove sunflowers from the offerings. The reason was simple: the sunflowers had developed seeds.

When she saw the sunflower heads turning from green to gray, she had a bad feeling.

Upon closer inspection, she found the flower heads densely packed with mature seeds.

Sunflowers that had developed seeds gradually lost their vibrant petals, and the once lively appearance disappeared.

When she shared this news with the flower shop’s fans, their response was one of lament.

“No, please don’t, those big sunflowers have always been my daughter’s treasure.”

“How about selling sunflower seeds, owner? You could even bundle them with the seed-filled flower heads. I’ve been telling my son that sunflower seeds are the fruit of sunflowers, but he doesn’t believe it. This would be a perfect chance to give him an educational lesson.”

The demand for sunflower seeds in certain online fan groups grew louder, forcing Su Mu to consider the feasibility of this idea.

The ultimate outcome was indeed feasible. Dried flower heads were more convenient to transport than fresh sunflowers.

The flowering period of the Asteraceae family flowers by the roadside was also coming to an end. Various flowers were gradually taken down. Although Su Mu sowed new seeds, she didn’t intend to sell them in the latter half of the year. Instead, she used them to cultivate new plant varieties.

Transporting flower heads with seeds didn’t require the infusion of her powers, so Su Mu assigned this task to her mother, with all the income going to her.

This was her way of compensating her mother. Previously, her mother had helped the flower shop a lot. Su Mu had offered to pay her, but her mother firmly refused, saying she wouldn’t accept money for helping her own daughter.

“Mom, just accept it. If you don’t, I’ll close the flower shop.”

Sunflowers wouldn’t be sold for much longer; they’d likely be done by the end of October. Once sunflowers were sold out, the flower shop would naturally close. This was just a matter of time.

However, Mother Su grew anxious when she heard this. Having helped her daughter with the flower shop for quite some time, she knew roughly how much money the shop made each day. They could earn forty to fifty thousand yuan in just three or four days. She was reluctant to see it close.

“Alright, alright, I’ll accept it. Is that not okay?” Anyway, the money would eventually become part of her daughter’s dowry.

With her mother taking over the flower shop, Su Mu devoted most of her attention to the vegetable garden and cultivating new plants.

In the vegetable garden, due to the different maturation times of various vegetables, after harvesting one type, she had to promptly replant new seeds to ensure a continuous supply to both Rui Shang and the healing center.

It’s worth mentioning that the vegetables brought in from abroad performed well and were popular in the market. Based on Rui Shang’s feedback, most of the new seeds Su Mu planted were foreign vegetable varieties.

The grandmothers worked wholeheartedly, with Grandma Li overseeing them. This took a lot of burden off Su Mu’s shoulders.

She entered the greenhouse. Mist Blossom hadn’t grown much taller, but the color had become more vibrant. Golden Crystal showed signs of flowering. In the center of the plant, light golden flower buds had emerged, almost imperceptible without close examination.

The defensive Morning Glory flowers planted at the entrance of the greenhouse were now producing vines. The vines were crawling towards the edges of the greenhouse. Su Mu tested them, and the Morning Glory flowers were indeed starting to develop their defense skills.

Various colors of orchids in another greenhouse were thriving, thanks to the efforts of little orchid and little violet.

After watering them, Su Mu left the greenhouse. It was getting late today, and there was no rush to cultivate new plants.

October had arrived, and although the temperature had dropped a little, it wasn’t much different. In the city of Mu Yun, December and January were the coldest months, with temperatures mostly above twenty degrees Celsius. The peak of summer could reach over thirty degrees.

In a few days, it would be the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the festive atmosphere was becoming stronger.

Before the festival, there was a big event in the Su family. The rice in the fields had ripened and needed to be harvested.

Originally, they had only five acres, but Su Mu had bought over a hundred more acres. Among them, the area used for planting rice was around ten acres, adding up to about twenty acres in total.

Their rice was ready for harvest about half a month earlier than the rest of the village’s rice. It was too much for just the three of them to harvest, so they had to hire some help.

Mu Yun City wasn’t a plain; it mostly consisted of hills and mountains. The only exception was that the area around Huayuan Village was relatively flat.

Therefore, they didn’t have the harvesting machines found in the central plains, and everything had to be done manually.

The Su family had already gathered a group of experienced workers, offering good wages. As a result, many villagers signed up to help.

On the day of harvesting, Grandpa Gu and others had gotten up early to join the excitement.

Dozens of villagers lined up in formation, which was quite a sight. It didn’t take long for the combine harvester to roar to life.

Grandpa Gu and his wife marveled, “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen such a bountiful harvest.”

“Yes, when I was working in the countryside, I did this kind of work.”

As they chatted, Grandpa Gu was already rolling up his pant legs, ready to get to work in the fields.

Su Mu pointed to her left and right without saying a word, then bent down to continue cutting rice. He Fu followed her movement, and to his astonishment, Gu Shi and Tang Hui had secretly left him far behind! The rice they were cutting was much higher than his.

“I’m saving face for you, and you guys don’t even show any brotherly solidarity?!”

Unfortunately, he couldn’t offend anyone, so he had to work diligently.

He Fu felt bitter in his heart. Just a moment ago, when he was standing on the field ridge watching, he saw the villagers cutting in big handfuls. It seemed easy, so why were the sickles so disobedient in his hands?

Rice plants had tough roots, and their leaves had small, sharp edges. Careless movements resulted in several small cuts on his hands, making them sore and itchy. But what could he do? He brought this work upon himself. He would endure it until the end, even if he had to cry, or else he’d lose both face and substance.

The Su family’s rice was growing well this year. Every rice ear was densely packed with grains, causing them to droop heavily.

The villagers were experienced farmers. As soon as they started working, they knew that the yield per acre would be high. Seeing the grains plump and full, they felt envious.

It seemed that the heavens had smiled on the Su family this year. From vegetables and fruits to rice, everything had been harvested well. This year had been prosperous.

Harvesting nearly twenty acres of rice wasn’t something that could be done quickly.

As the sun climbed higher, its intensity increased. Father Su asked everyone to return for lunch and resume work around four in the afternoon.

The group returned together. After a morning of work, Su Mu and the others were in a sorry state. Their clothes and pants were stained with mud, and their hair was soaked in sweat.

Scratching at the small wounds on his hands, He Fu sighed, “Harvesting isn’t easy. We really need to treasure these crops.”

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Gu Shi deeply agreed. Farmers worked under the scorching sun, yet the price of rice wasn’t high. However, there was serious food wastage in places like schools and restaurants in the cities. Even he had engaged in wasteful behavior in the past. Looking back, it was truly wrong.

Father Su chuckled, “It’s not too late to realize this now. Your generation grew up in times of peace, never worrying about food and clothing. You don’t have such a deep connection to the land and food. But for people like me, who are older, we couldn’t bear to waste even half a grain of rice. Back then, we used to dig for roots and peel tree bark just to fill our stomachs.”

Su Mu and the others nodded obediently. Today, they had truly learned a meaningful lesson.

*

Ever since Tang Hui posted that photo on V-blog, he had intermittently started posting content. Today, he shared about harvesting rice online, accompanied by a picture of him wearing a straw hat and holding a sickle in front of a rice field.

“So the big boss hasn’t been posting for a while, turns out he’s out in the countryside harvesting rice?”

“Really down-to-earth.”

“Emmm, looking like this, you’re not much different from an ordinary person!”

“Our family Tang Hui relies on acting, not his looks. But why don’t you post a picture for us to see? He’s actually quite handsome, you know?”

“Don’t give us that skeptical look. Our Tang Hui is in much better spirits. I’m glad to see him eating well lately.”

“Did anyone hear the news? There’s a rumor that he is joining ‘A Wonderful Day.’ Is it starting filming?”

“Don’t believe rumors. Wait for the official announcement.”

These rumors have been circulating for over two months, and the show’s production team still hasn’t made an official announcement. Even though fans really want Tang Hui to join this popular variety show, they won’t get their hopes up until there’s concrete news. They don’t want to cause trouble for the person they like; they’d be the ones getting attacked, not the haters.

Tang Hui refreshed the comments section and saw that fans were defending him. A faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He took a few steps forward and joined the conversation.

“I wonder what the aunties are making for lunch.”

…

The group returned to the small courtyard, where mother Su and the others had already prepared lunch. Since it was hot, she hadn’t cooked anything overly steaming or oily.

There was a whole hand-pulled chicken, thinly sliced garlic pork, blanched jumbo shrimp, stewed sour eggplant with fish, a large pot of minced meat and vegetable soup, and garlic-flavored baby bok choy.

Each dish was substantial, showing that they knew everyone was famished and had even served the food themselves.

Today was harvest day, and the young people had gone to help. Grandpa Gu and Grandma Gu were worried that Mother Su alone wouldn’t be able to prepare lunch in time, so they had asked Aunt Li to come and assist. Therefore, they were having lunch at Su’s house too, and the table was packed with cheerful chatter.

“I’ve never felt that white rice was so delicious!” He Fu took a big mouthful of rice and expressed his genuine feelings.

Grandma Gu looked at him affectionately. “Seems like you need to experience it firsthand to understand the value of these crops. Are you going back in the afternoon?”

He Fu and Tang Hui both shook their heads. “Not going, not going.”

He Fu added, “I need to check on the progress of a project at the recuperation center.”

Tang Hui said, “I need to see if there’s any work for me. Due to my previous depression, my studio disbanded, so now I have to manage my own work arrangements and plans. But I haven’t resumed work yet.”

Grandma Gu and Grandpa Gu’s gazes landed on their grandson. Gu Shi nodded lightly. “I’m going.”

It was his girlfriend’s land, and the rice was his girlfriend’s rice. As half of the owner, he had to go.

Grandpa Gu nodded in agreement. “Exactly.”

Su Mu naturally understood why he wanted to go as well. She patted his hand resting on his thigh, and placed a piece of chicken on his plate. “Eat more.”

After lunch, Su Mu followed her father out and arrived at the village committee square.

♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎

Thingyan: Are you hungry now, my dear reader? Because I am 🥲🥲🥲