CHAPTER 44: CHAPTER 44: AN UNEXPECTED INCIDENT

The wind is picking up, and it’s going to pour. Chun Nuan hurriedly goes to the corner of the sandy field to pick vegetables.

The rice in the fields has already turned yellow, and seeing them leaning east and west in the strong wind, Chun Nuan is a bit worried that it might affect the yield.

"Your sandy field isn’t very fertilized, the stalks aren’t sturdy, they won’t be blown down by the wind." Uncle Zhu, looking at his own field, sighs: "At the start of the year, I put ten loads of manure in, and scattered a large heap of ash over the field, hoping for a good harvest this year. But who would have thought we’d encounter this strong wind just before autumn is approaching? Look over there, my rice has truly been flattened by the wind."

Following Uncle Zhu’s pointing finger, Chun Nuan sees that the middle of the large field to the left below the sandy field has turned into a flat space, with a pale yellow hue. It can’t exactly be called pretty, but rather tragic and unbearable to look at.

"Uncle Zhu, will this reduce the yield?"

"It will definitely reduce the yield." Uncle Zhu feels his heart is bleeding: "The rice has only turned yellow halfway. It can’t be harvested yet. The rice that has fallen into the water and hasn’t grown well will directly rot, and the yellow rice that matures in the water will sprout, making harvesting troublesome..."

The old crops face a new problem, and Uncle Zhu is entirely frazzled.

Looking back at his own sandy field’s rice, due to late planting and not having seedlings, they relied entirely on Uncle Ma to gather leftover seedlings from other tenant farming families. The varieties are inconsistent; some are dining rice and some are brewing rice. Also, due to lack of manure, the rice stalks grew short and thin, at least half the height of that in Uncle Zhu’s field.

People in the village laugh, saying that the rice of the Xiao family doesn’t yield well, clearly planted by novices. They all say to learn more from Uncle Zhu.

Who would have thought that the rice, not tall or sturdy, would stubbornly stand still in the field after the strong wind passed, not affected at all.

"Oh, if I had known, I would have poured in less manure." Uncle Zhu regrets terribly: "Truly, it’s tiring and thankless. With such a big piece of field, the yield might not even leave a hundred jin after paying the rent. It’s another year of cat knocking over the steamer for the dog."

Chun Nuan... Uncle Zhu seems to be cursing someone!

Probably not cursing himself, right?

"Chun Nuan, you’re just learning to farm, remember in the future not to put too much manure in the field." Uncle Zhu uses himself as a negative example: "Look at me, I am the perfect example."

"Okay, I understand, thank you for the lesson, Uncle Zhu."

Chun Nuan thought that her family couldn’t even use heavy manure, as many families in the village keep poultry, and the chicken coops and rabbit cages are lined with ash. The mixture of droppings and ash becomes manure. Moreover, they raise pigs, which are excellent manure producers.

Raising twelve people is already enough.

Raising livestock? Not qualified!

Uncle Zhu grabs a hoe to open a gap in his field, while Chun Nuan picks a large bunch of water spinach to take home.

Just as she enters the house, raindrops the size of beans start to fall.

"It’s raining heavily, it’s raining heavily."

Chun Qiang and Chunxin quickly move two wooden stools placed in the yard back inside.

"What hour is it? Just now the weather seemed early; how did it suddenly turn dark?" The old lady looks up outside: "Nuannuan still needs to go back to town. Later, let Chun Ning carry a torch to see her off."

"Grandmother, it’s only the hour of Shen now; the heavy rain just made it dark out. It’ll get bright again after it stops raining."

"With this heavy rain, when will it stop?" Mrs. Xu looks at the falling water from the eaves: "This rain is really..."

"Oh dear, the rain has gotten in here." Chun An, writing with water on the table, climbs on a stool and suddenly sees water dripping onto the table, looks up: "Sister, the rain is coming into our house."

Chun An, puzzled, looks up at the roof and yells: "How come it’s raining inside?",

The leaky roof makes this little rascal find it novel.

True, back in the Capital, there wasn’t such a scene!

At that time, the roof of the Xiao Mansion was layered thickly, naturally not letting in rain.

"Move the table away, and bring a wooden bucket to catch water."

The thatch roof is too old and fears these rainy days.

"Chun Ning, check again if there are any other leaks, especially over the beds."

"Grandmother’s bed is leaking, a large area is soaked." Chunyan exclaims: "What should we do?"

What can be done?

The house is narrow; moving the bed is impossible, so a wooden basin has to be used.

Then, one after another, thirteen more leaking spots were found, and all the wooden buckets, wooden basins, earthen pots, and even big bowls were used.

"Ding-dong..." Hearing the rainwater drip onto the wooden bucket makes a nice sound, but Chun Nuan doesn’t feel any joy.

What she was worried about has happened.

"Grandmother, let’s move to town." Chun Nuan persuades again: "No matter what others say, we should live our life. How can one guard against thieves every day?"

"I’m afraid that moving will be too big a change. If it catches their eye, they might guard against us everywhere, making it hard for us to move an inch."

The old lady’s concerns are justified; the biggest thing to guard against now is the Xiao family clan.

A hundred years ago, they were one family; now they are worse than strangers.

The most critical point is that everything the Xiao family clan has is thanks to the old grandpa and grandpa’s efforts. Flipping faster than book pages, it’s unthinkable, nurturing dogs with one’s effort.

"No worries, let’s just say that silver taels were sent over from Eunuch Sister in the Capital." Chun Nuan said: "The cooperation between granddaughter and Old Master Zhang is more stable now, moving to town won’t be an issue."

"Then we’ll move after this rain." The old lady, seeing the wooden buckets, wooden basins, earthen pots, and bowls everywhere for the first time, wavered.

While speaking, she suddenly sees a small figure rush in through the rain.

"Sister Chun Nuan, Sister Chun Nuan, please save my mother." Luo Xiaogang, drenched, lips shivering: "My mother was hit by bamboo, her head is bleeding a lot..."

"Huh?" Chun Nuan was taken aback: "Why not take her to the town pharmacy to find a doctor?"

"My dad’s not at home; we can’t carry her. Sister Chun Nuan, Brother Chun Ning said you’re very capable. You can definitely save my mom, right?"

"I’ll go take a look first." Chun Nuan was about to rush outside when Mrs. Xu grabbed her and tied a raincoat around her: "This was left behind by the former tenant, dirty as it is, but it keeps the rain off. Go take a look, but don’t overdo it."

"Mhm, mom, I know."

Chun Nuan donned a hat and raincoat and followed Luo Xiaogang into the rain.

While running, she asked about the situation. As it turns out, Aunt Luo, while looking for chickens in the bamboo forest during the strong wind, had met with unexpected trouble: several bamboo stalks fell on her, with a broken one piercing her temple.

"Bleeding a lot." Luo Xiaogang said: "I used dry loofah powder to sprinkle on it but couldn’t stop the bleeding. Sister Chun Nuan, will my mom die?"