Chapter 357

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Protagonist:

Chai Mi

Chai Youqing left in a fluster, and Chai Mi didn't bother with those gossips either; she let out a cold hmph, turned, and went home.

Back home, Chai Mi fumed, "My dad really... day after day. I'm done..."

Seeing Chai Mi angry, Su Wan came over to ask what happened.

"A few good-for-nothing old ladies, standing there badmouthing Xiu'er, and my dad? Just standing there dumbly like a fool. Xiu'er gets out of school soon, and he's still standing there idly chatting..."

"Haven't gone yet?" Su Wan frowned. "That... is indeed a bit much. Later I'll talk to your dad; he definitely delayed because those people were saying Xiu'er isn't good."

Chai Mi's brows furrowed, and she didn't say anything more.

Her mother was making excuses for Chai Youqing, so she couldn't say too much.

Since Chai Youqing went to pick up Xiu'er, Chai Mi went to feed the cattle. The calf was recovering well, nursing more often, and knew to find a warm spot to lie down; its condition was still good.

Just after feeding the cattle and sheep, she heard a "clang" from a bicycle at the courtyard gate, followed by Chai Xiu's crisp, cheerful shout, carrying a hint of smugness: "Mom! Sister! I'm back!"

Su Wan poked her head out from the room, her face beaming: "Aiyo, our college student is back! Come in quick, hungry? Food's ready right away!"

Chai Mi shook off her hands, watching Chai Xiu run over swiftly, her brand-new blue cloth schoolbag bouncing on her back.

"Slow down! You've had the new schoolbag two days and you'll bounce it apart!" Chai Mi complained verbally, but her eyes couldn't help scanning her sister up and down.

The little girl's face was flushed red, her condition great; there wasn't a trace of that unwilling look from when she left this morning.

"Sister! Chai Mi! Let me tell you, our school is huge!" Chai Xiu tossed her schoolbag onto the kang and gestured eagerly, "Several times bigger than our village primary! The playground is dirt, but running on it goes 'pu pu'! And, and, our class is Grade Four Class One! The class teacher is Teacher Cao, wears glasses, speaks very gently!"

"Gentle? You not giving the teacher trouble would be a miracle." Chai Mi walked over, straightening her crooked schoolbag, "What did you learn today? Weren't you 'invited' to stand by the podium?"

"No way!" Chai Xiu lifted her little chin, "Teacher Cao even praised me! I learned a new phrase too, called... 'disrespectful in old age', you think our grandma fits that phrase perfectly?"

Chai Mi nearly couldn't hold back a laugh, hurriedly straightened her face, and poked her forehead with a finger, "Go on, just learned a phrase and using it wildly! Did the teacher teach you to use phrases to arrange elders? Careful I tell Teacher Cao, make you copy it a hundred times!"

Chai Xiu stuck out her tongue and hurriedly changed the subject: "Math class was simple too! Teacher Cao put a whole blackboard of problems, I solved them all! He even asked if I'd studied at home, I said my sister taught me! Sister, you don't know, my deskmate Zhang Xiaohua looked at me with eyes like... tsk tsk..." she mimicked Zhang Xiaohua's dumbfounded look, making Su Wan laugh straight out.

The stifled feeling in Chai Mi's heart from her dad and the gossips earlier scattered quite a bit from her sister's lively manner. "Alright alright, tail wagging to the sky. Where's the lunch box? Did you eat all the spare ribs I packed?"

Chai Xiu only then remembered the main thing, hurriedly pulling out that brand-new aluminum lunch box from her schoolbag side pocket, opening the lid and handing it over like a treasure: "Here, only two pieces left, I specially saved them for you and Mom! Our school's steaming boiler went out at noon, the rice was a bit cool, but the spare ribs were warm, so fragrant! Zhang Xiaohua and them brought pickled vegetable lumps, staring at my spare ribs, I didn't even have the nerve to eat more!"

Chai Mi looked at the glossy spare ribs in the lunch box, then at her sister's expression of slight showing-off mixed with hidden thoughtfulness, and her heart softened. She picked up a spare rib and stuffed it into Chai Xiu's mouth: "Little glutton, eat your own! Tomorrow I'll switch you to pickled veg vermicelli, soak rice in spare rib soup, save you from picking bones."

"Oh! Sister's the best!" Chai Xiu cheered muffledly with meat in her mouth.

The family ate dinner lively and warm.

Chai Xiu voluntarily spread her homework notebook on the kang table and wrote seriously.

Chai Mi watched from the side; the little girl's writing still looked like crab claws crawling, but each stroke was quite forceful.

"Sister, is this how you write 'liao' in 'liaokuo'? Left side a 'walk radical', right side..." Chai Xiu asked, biting her pencil tip.

Chai Mi leaned over for a look: "Right side is 'le' plus a horizontal stroke. Your horizontal pokes right into the 'walk radical's' bosom! Erase and rewrite!"

"Oh..." Chai Xiu pouted, obediently picking up the eraser.

Outside the window, dusk gathered, autumn insects chirping.

Chai Mi gazed at her focused sister, then glanced out the window, and plans turned in her heart.

Xiu'er's schooling is settled, but the field work is pressing down visibly.

The next day at dawn's first light, Chai Mi got up.

Today she'd agreed with Song Qiushui to set up a stall at the County No. 1 Middle School gate; students started school again, business should pick up too.

Just as she pushed the cart out the courtyard gate, Song Qiushui was already waiting at the road intersection, sporting two faint dark circles.

"What's up? Didn't sleep well last night? Your mom's back hurting again?" Chai Mi asked.

Song Qiushui yawned, waved her hand: "No, my mom's better after applying your herbal medicine. It's my Second Aunt, she ran to my house crying last night!"

"What's wrong with her now?" Chai Mi pushed the cart forward.

"What else? Money's gone!" Song Qiushui pursed her lips, "Crying heaven and earth, saying my Second Uncle scolded her for being a spendthrift, squandered all the money. Then pointing at the mulberry and cursing the locust, saying Chai Xiu has good fate, can go to a good school... listened to my dad frown straight, finally coaxed her away with good words. Tsk tsk, that mouth's still crooked, words leak straight out, listening makes it even more annoying."

Chai Mi hmphed: "Her own chosen path, she has to finish it even on her knees. Your dad's heart is soft enough. Alright, less listening to these annoying things, today let's sell more money, haven't set up stall for four or five days." She changed the subject, not wanting her mood affected by these broken matters early morning.

The cart left the village, heading straight for the county town.

"Watch," Chai Mi gestured with her chin at the fields, "Ten days to half a month at most, it'll be time to swing sickles. Then our stall, might have to come out earlier or pack up later."

Song Qiushui also looked at those endless crop fields, sighed: "Exactly. Your dad was muttering yesterday too, saying this year's corn grew thick and solid, more labor than last year. Chai Mi, what'll you do then? Still set up stall every day?"

"Set up! Why not?" Chai Mi's tone was decisive, "Autumn harvest is just busy for ten-odd days, grit teeth and it's past. Our business just stabilized, can't stop a single day. I've thought it through, worst case I get up early and stay up late, can still manage both."

Chai Mi's family autumn harvest was indeed a huge problem.

Though their land wasn't much, in this era ten-odd mu to twenty-odd mu, plus that piece behind the mountain, actually wasn't little. And no transport tools, the cow had a calf so couldn't use the ox cart, no other vehicles, very difficult.

And the whole process is manual harvesting, even more difficult.

Su Wan basically can't do much physical labor, Chai Youqing still has to shuttle Chai Xiu, and she herself sets up stall, very difficult.

"Chai Mi, you say we haven't set up stall for a whole month, those student kids won't have forgotten us, right?" Song Qiushui sat on the inverted donkey, turning her head to ask, voice carrying a bit of nervousness.

She was in a good mood today, with Meng Clan's back pain improving, she also wholeheartedly livened up to business.

"Forgot?" Chai Mi sneered, adding force to her hands, the cart speeding up a few notches, "Won't forget. Lots of stalls selling food at County No. 1 Middle School gate, but like ours with thin skins big fillings on dumplings, fried chicken crisp outside tender inside, how many can there be? Student kids are sharp, picky eaters, they know which door's good. Besides, first few days of school, pockets are flush, bellies lack oil, prime selling time!"

Song Qiushui's eyes lit up hearing this: "That's great! Today whatever happens we gotta earn back the deficit from the past few days! You don't know, my mom applying medicine these days, that Choose Shen root looks ordinary, asked at the pharmacy, they said if it's wild, it's worth money! My dad kept muttering it's a waste, better sell it..."

"Your dad's also a talent" Chai Mi couldn't help admiring their family's thinking: "Money's dead, people are alive. Today we'll pack more dumpling filling, prepare an extra bucket of oil for fried chicken, guaranteed to earn it back."

Soon arrived at the usual stall spot; students hadn't gotten out of school yet, but lots of people outside, many kids' parents came to send them to school, making this side look lively.

By noon dismissal, crowds poured out.

"Boss Lady! You finally came!" A boy in school uniform wearing glasses squeezed over, tone carrying complaint: "School's been open several days, thought you weren't doing it anymore! Hurry up, one portion dumplings, pickled veg filling, extra soup!"

「Exactly, exactly! 」A girl with a ponytail beside them also crowded over, 「Boss lady, I'm dying for your fried chicken wings! Same as usual, one chicken wing and two chicken legs! Hurry up, we'll be late! 」She said while tiptoeing to peer into the school gate.

Chai Mi and Song Qiushui smiled at each other, quickly lighting the fire, boiling dumplings, and frying chicken legs. Chai Mi's hands never stopped, and she readily replied, 「Sorry, sorry, something came up at home! Just a moment, it'll be ready, ready. Qiushui, take the money! 」

The long-missed feeling of being busy instantly wrapped around the two of them. Song Qiushui took money and packed orders, her movements skilled, while she chatted with regular customers:

「Xiao Hei Dan, you're early today! Still dumplings with an egg added? 」

「Oh my, isn't that so-and-so's kid? Got a new haircut? It looks like a dog chewed it! The fried chicken will be ready soon! 」

「You bastard, don't you run, you haven't paid yet! 」

Students crowded around the stall, all talking at once:

「Boss lady, where have you been these past few days? I've been craving it to death! 」

「Did you go back to your old home for the autumn harvest? I saw the corn at my uncle's place is almost turning yellow. 」

「Hey, Boss, do you know me? I'm Qin Shi Huang...... I, the Emperor..... 」

Business was even more booming than expected.

The prepared dumpling filling and fried chicken were gone in less than half an hour.

The last few students who didn't get any all had disappointed faces.

「Boss lady, you'd better prepare more tomorrow! 」

「Right, school just started, and the cravings in our stomachs have all rebelled! 」

Chai Mi, while tidying up her things, smilingly agreed, 「Don't worry, don't worry, there will be enough tomorrow! Sorry today, everyone, come early tomorrow! 」

After sending off the last wave of students, the school gate gradually grew quiet.

Chai Mi and Song Qiushui were panting from exhaustion, sweat soaking their clothes, but looking at the bulging money bags, both showed relieved smiles. Song Qiushui weighed the money bag, her eyes curving into crescents: 「Chai Mi, you're amazing! This business hasn't dropped at all! It's even busier than before the break! 」

Chai Mi wiped her sweat: 「School started, that's normal. The key is our stuff is genuinely good. 」She began clearing the stall, moving the empty buckets and cutting board onto the cart.

On the way back, neither spoke much. Song Qiushui was still excitedly calculating today's earnings, calculating what supplements to buy for the Meng Clan. Chai Mi rode her bike in silence, the wheels rolling over the road, making a monotonous sound.

The cornfields on both sides had leaves already turning yellow.

As they neared home, they saw Chai Youqing squatting at the gate from afar, puffing on his dry tobacco.

Chai Mi came home early, Chai Xiu hadn't finished school yet, so Chai Youqing had nothing to do.

「Dad, what are you squatting at the gate for? Has Xiu'er returned yet? 」Chai Mi asked after parking her bike.

Chai Youqing raised his head, his wrinkles deepening, and said in a muffled voice: 「Soon... I just saw Lao Liu Tou driving his cart past, saying that over at Nan Wazi, some families have already started harvesting beans. 」He paused and let out a long sigh, 「Our twenty-plus mu of corn... just looking at it... sigh. 」

Su Wan came out of the kitchen hearing the voice, flour still on her hands, her face also full of worry: 「Chai Mi is back? Qiushui is here too? Come in and rest. Sigh, your father has been worried all morning and hasn't eaten much. Our autumn harvest... what are we to do? You know my body, I can't do heavy work, Xiu'er is still young, we're counting on your father and you... but your stall business... 」

Chai Mi didn't respond, scooped a ladle of cool water to wash her face, the icy water making her shiver and clearing her head a bit. She walked into the room and dumped today's earnings with a 「clatter」 onto the kang table, mostly small bills and larger bills, piled into a small mountain.

「Mom, worrying about the autumn harvest won't help. 」Chai Mi's voice was calm: 「Money, we earned quite a bit today. But the work in the fields, relying only on Dad and me, even with you helping, definitely won't be enough. If we drag it out and happen to hit rain, the corn will mold in the field, and this year will have been for nothing. 」

Song Qiushui followed her in, looking at the pile of money, then at the worried faces of Chai Youqing and Su Wan, and couldn't help but interject: 「How about... I help too? Anyway, my mom's back is better, and my dad can watch over things. 」

Chai Mi shook her head: 「Your strength isn't enough for harvesting corn. Besides, you have plenty at home. Hire people. 」

「Hire people? 」Chai Youqing suddenly raised his head, forgetting to smoke his dry tobacco, 「How much would that cost? The fertilizer and seed money, watering the fields also costs money, then hire people, might as well just give the corn to them. 」

「But we can't just not harvest it! 」Chai Mi interrupted him: 「Dad, do the math. Our twenty-plus mu of land, just you and me, how much can we harvest in a day? After harvesting, there's still stripping the stalks, hauling it home, peeling, drying, threshing... which one isn't time-consuming and laborious? Drag it out for ten days or half a month, and if an autumn rain hits, half a year's harvest is ruined! How much is that loss? Hiring a few short-term workers costs cash, but it saves the main part! 」