CHAPTER 129: CHAPTER 103: BUSY (PART 2)

"You all usually get up around five, and I saw the lights on, thinking something was up. Dad, I’ll go to the backyard to see if there’s any work to do." After speaking, he left first.

There weren’t many vegetables left in the backyard now. It seemed that while he was not at home, the potatoes and sweet potatoes had been dug up, and even the cabbages were harvested. Zhang Guoqing thought for a moment about what was normally done this time of year. After looking around, he walked to the woodshed, picked up a hoe, and intended to turn the soil. This body was very good at farming, knowledgeable in farming, hunting, and strong enough to do the work of three men. Luckily, he traveled here with his memories; otherwise, he wouldn’t know how to farm or hunt.

Zhang Guoqing followed his memory and, relying on his eyesight, started hoeing the sweet potato patch. His strength was an advantage; by the time his dad arrived, he had already turned over the sweet potato fields. The day had dawned, and he didn’t bother to chat with his dad. If he did a little more work, there would be less for the family to worry about, especially since they were busy with house construction. When the snow fell, and the ground froze, the hoe wouldn’t be able to break the earth, and it would be too late to cry over it then. He then headed to the cabbage patch, which required a bit more care, as his mother wanted the cabbage roots. He slowed down, not picking up the cabbage roots since his second sister-in-law would help after feeding the pigs.

When his dad came with a hoe to start from the other end, Zhang Guoqing quickly moved to the potato field. They occasionally exchanged a few words, but both concentrated on their work. When his second sister-in-law came out after making pig feed and feeding the pigs, and started filling bamboo baskets with cabbage roots, the father and son had already finished hoeing the backyard. They were waiting to fertilize in the evening, which Zhang Guoqing refused to do, as even the previous Zhang Guoqing didn’t like fertilizing.

"Dad, we’ve finished everything, and I won’t involve myself in the fertilizing tonight. Look around to see if there’s anything else that needs to be done. If not, I’ll head to the mountains to gather firewood; I’m sure we won’t have enough for the year."

"Go ahead, but come back before breakfast, and don’t go too deep into the mountains. Your brother and I will go to the private plot; that area needs to be hoed, and the three of us are enough, with half already done." Mr. Zhang looked at the backyard, sighed in relief, and enviously glanced at his youngest son. Having such strength was really beneficial; one man doing the work of three. Yesterday, the three of them had worked on the private plot until before starting the farm work and still had half left, but the backyard, which was so big, was easily finished by him without taking a breath.

Zhang Guoqing put away the hoe, took a machete, rope, and a carrying pole, and headed out the back door. Many of the village women liked to gather firewood from the North Mountain, so the peripheries had no dead wood. He followed the mountain path, found a spot, and laid down the pole and rope; he didn’t even need a machete. With his hands for the thin dead trees and his feet for the thicker ones, he worked with crackling sounds echoing, and soon moved to another spot.

After a while, estimating he had enough and checking his watch, it was around mealtime. He still needed to go back and check on Jiao Jiao’s postpartum meals. He hastily collected the firewood into a pile, trimmed it with the machete, and tied it up with rope. He made five large bundles, hanging four on the ends of the carrying pole, and easily carried them home, holding an extra bundle in his hand as he walked back in through the back door.

Mother Zhang stood at the back door watching him return, calling out from afar. When he unloaded the firewood into the woodshed, it filled up quickly.

"Xiao Wu, you’ve already hoed the backyard early on. Why go and gather firewood instead of resting? Come back to the main room and have a sip of water; it’s time to eat. You’re really something, all this work in one go. Aren’t you tired carrying so much all at once? Don’t be so foolish next time; you do have two older brothers." Mother Zhang scolded him lightly, pointing her finger at him.

Zhang Guoqing smiled without saying anything. He knew his mother was worried about him, reluctant to see him doing heavy work, constantly forgetting his strength.

After breakfast, Zhang Guoqing looked at the wild boar meat hanging outside the kitchen. It had already drained, and he packed it up in bundles. Adding the three bundles from yesterday, there were four altogether, weighing almost 400 pounds in total; he shed a tear for his mother-in-law. He had to send a telegraph early in the afternoon; otherwise, there was no way to take them home. For these four bundles, he would directly speak with the train conductor to help him deliver them off the train. Valuable items like wolf pelts and ginseng would be packed with clothes and carried on him. Fearful of the crowd during the house construction, he placed all four bundles in the car and locked them, thinking of adding two wild rabbits beside them.

Looking at the time, it was 6:30. He changed his clothes and asked his mother to tidy up, about to leave. He planned to buy a ticket when he reached the provincial city, eat first, and then catch the train, making good time.

Zhang Guoqing went to the west wing, watching his mother-in-law already packing her luggage. The military-style packing was indeed neat. He used a knife to cut the roasted rabbit, removed the rabbit head, leaving the legs and meat, wrapped them in oil paper, and added pastries brought from the provincial city and a few apples given by Jiao Jiao, packed into a small bundle to eat along the way. "Mom, these are for eating. You can put them together. We’re leaving around 7 o’clock."

Lin Lishan took them without noticing the packages in the car; she and Zhou Jiao were saying their tearful goodbyes. The mother and daughter were reluctantly talking with tears in their eyes until Mother Zhang intervened and they separated. Watching her mother leave made Zhou Jiao’s tears spill uncontrollably. Outside the west wing, Lin Lishan wiped her tears, glanced back, listened, and left with a heavy heart.

Zhang Guoqing, carrying her luggage and packages, comforted her as they walked, "Mom, you’ll come back to see her in a few days. When Ping’an grows a bit, she can come to Beijing to see you. You’ll meet her soon, and in a few years, when you’re less busy at work, Jiao Jiao and Ping’an can move to Beijing, and you can see them every day."

Mother Zhang also wiped her tears while comforting her.

Zhang Guoqing took the car keys and started the car. Once everyone was settled in, he waved goodbye to everyone. Lin Lishan repeatedly expressed her gratitude, asking them as sisters-in-law to take good care of Jiao Jiao. The crowd reluctantly parted, only dispersing when the car drove out of sight, returning to their own work. Huang Cuilan and Lin Juhua, the sisters-in-law, went into the inner room of the west wing to check on Zhou Jiao and comfort her.