Reborn in a small mountain village in 1991

Chapter 20 Everything is Getting Better

You Xiaoxia and her father frowned at her mother's words, as if they had suffered a serious loss.

"That's right, Erwa is destined for great things, how can he be delayed by working in the fields?"

"So what is Xu Chunsheng doing now?"

Mr. You couldn't help but ask his daughter in a deep voice.

"It seems like they're growing Ophiopogon japonicus."

You Xiaoxia replied.

"If you're not going to help with the work, why are you planting Ophiopogon japonicus?"

"That stuff has never fetched a good price in all these years. What's gotten into the Xu family that they'd go and grow something that doesn't make much money?"

"Did a donkey kick your head?"

After saying this, Mr. You stood up and said to his daughter, "Go see him again next time and tell him that if he's willing to give half of the bride price upfront, we can get engaged!"

Over the next few days, the Xu family planted all the Ophiopogon japonicus seedlings in the ground one after another.

Xu Chunsheng also took the time to settle all the outstanding accounts from the wheatgrass harvest.

Thanks to the heavens, it has been cloudy since the second day after planting the lilyturf, and today it even drizzled, bringing a touch of coolness.

At this moment, Xu Chunsheng stood on the ridge of the field at the bend of the road, braving the drizzling spring rain. Looking at his "land", he took a deep breath and felt the rain and mist on his face. The anxiety of the past few days was soothed and calmed, and his mind gradually became peaceful.

Xu Chunsheng walked into the fields and observed the seedlings planted a few days ago. He could see that some seedlings were already sprouting new leaves, and the yellow-green leaves were striving upwards to welcome spring.

Xu Chunsheng was the same.

The Xu family's land is mainly concentrated in "San Kuai Bao", "Wan Tou" and a few plots of land near their home.

That's how the land is in the village. No two plots of land are connected. Some plots are next to each other, some are further away, and some are close to the woodland.

At this moment, Xu Chunsheng, wearing a straw hat, was preparing to go to a higher and farther place called "San Kuai Bao". From a distance, he could see the "scarecrow" nodding up and down in the rain. Some even had their heads and bodies separated, leaving only a bare pole standing in the rain as punishment.

The "scarecrow" is actually just a stick and some rotten plastic:

Find a stick about the height of a person, tie a tattered plastic bag or plastic film to it, insert it into the ground in a few suitable places, and finally weigh it down with a few stones. The "scarecrow" is done quickly and efficiently.

Actually, rainy days are not suitable for doing this. Xu Chunsheng did it just to put his mind at ease and reduce his anxiety.

He wasn't worried about not being able to sell the Ophiopogon japonicus; he was worried about what he could do besides selling it, or more precisely, what he should do during the year while waiting for the Ophiopogon japonicus harvest.

Xu Chunsheng carefully avoided the lilyturf seedlings as he stepped on the damp soil to save these low-quality counterfeit goods.

Because this land is close to woodland, there's always the risk of small animals eating the seedlings. Sometimes, the seeds that were just planted the day before might be dug up and eaten by small animals that very night. So you have to check on them frequently and be ready to replant as needed. This situation usually continues until the weather gets warmer and there are more earthworms and crickets, at which point it will decrease considerably.

As Xu Chunsheng was tying the plastic bag he had just picked up onto the stick, a voice interrupted his actions.

"Xu Chunsheng!"

"My dad said that as long as your family pays half of the bride price, we can get engaged!"

You Xiaoxia appeared at this moment and called out to Xu Chunsheng in a low voice.

You Xiaoxia and her family really couldn't bear to part with Xu Chunsheng, their free laborer, and the occasional one or two yuan he would send.

That's why her father made a concession and proposed that they could get engaged if she paid "half of the bride price".

You Xiaoxia had no choice but to come to him again, but after she said that, she didn't say anything more and just kept her icy expression on her face.

She thought that with such a big concession from her family, Xu Chunsheng would come running over to her as before.

Xu Chunsheng glanced at You Xiaoxia disdainfully, ignored her, and continued with his work.

Just then, a person slowly walked down the slope.

The man walked past You Xiaoxia, who was closer to him, and followed the path uphill. He stopped a couple of ridges away from Xu Chunsheng and asked with a smile:

"Young comrade, you're busy on the road."

Xu Chunsheng tied the bag in his hand tightly with chicken manure vine several times, looked down following the sound, and then responded enthusiastically:

"Yes, tie some plastic bags to scare away sparrows."

Xu Chunsheng looked up and saw that the man was holding a dark blue nylon umbrella, smiling and waving at him. He was also carrying a cloth bag, revealing a smooth chin and half of his nose, as well as a fountain pen held upright in front of his chest.

The man tilted the umbrella back slightly, and raindrops dampened his glasses, causing him to squint involuntarily.

"Excuse me, could you please tell me how to get to Gushan Elementary School? I think the forest farm is just up the road, but I haven't seen it along the way."

Xu Chunsheng found a weed growing in a crack in the stone slab, used it as a hand towel, wiped his hands on it, and said to the people below:

"You might have taken the wrong turn at that fork in the road. You need to take the road down there to get to school."

"Wait for me a moment, I'm about to leave too. I'll give you directions when we pass by there later."

Xu Chunsheng had only managed to save two "scarecrows" after working for half a day, and he immediately lost interest in doing it again. Besides, he knew that this job was impossible to do in the rain, and he was just killing time here.

"Okay, thank you for your help, comrade."

Seeing that Xu Chunsheng was ignoring her and instead talking to a stranger, You Xiaoxia's expression grew increasingly grim: "Xu Chunsheng, didn't you hear what I said?"

"I have made myself very clear to you."

Xu Chunsheng simply left with one sentence, then proactively asked the man in front of him, who wasn't much older than himself, with a smile, "Come on, what are you going to do at the elementary school?"

There are many child abductors nowadays. Even if someone is dressed neatly, if they are a stranger and enter the village, the villagers will ask them a few more questions.

The man explained, "I'm a new elementary school teacher. I was supposed to report for duty next semester, but a few days ago, the leaders of your brigade told me that the school didn't have enough teachers, so I came early."

The man's shoulders relaxed completely. It was his first time in Xujia Village, and he had been asking for directions along the way. When he reached Gushan Brigade, someone told him:

"Do you see that road? Follow it, climb uphill, and you'll see the village school when you reach Xujia Village."

The person who gave directions wasn't wrong, but he forgot that it was not only raining today, but also foggy, so he didn't see the school's location. He just kept walking uphill. Unfortunately, there were no houses at the "Three Pieces" spot. The land there was uneven and undulating, making it unsuitable for building houses, hence the nickname "Three Pieces".

Instead of walking obediently down the path, Xu Chunsheng reached out and grabbed a mulberry tree stump by the ground, jumped off the embankment, and found a stone by the roadside to rub off the mud from the soles of his shoes.

Xu Chunsheng became interested as soon as he heard the man say this, and he turned to look at the man.

The man's eyes beneath his glasses revealed a clarity that, without needing decades of experience, Xu Chunsheng could tell that he was telling the truth.

"Hello, teacher!"

Xu Chunsheng stared straight at Tang Changping, and he had a very "mature" idea.

You Xiaoxia was surprised to see that Xu Chunsheng actually bypassed her and followed the strange man away, chatting and laughing, completely ignoring her.

A surge of heat rushed to his head, and he roared, completely disregarding his usual arrogant demeanor:

"Xu Chunsheng! You son of a bitch! Go marry a ghost!"