Chapter 33: The Past

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

For lunch, the family ate a pot of hare meat with grease dripping from their mouths. They also finished a pot of fresh vegetables.

The fragrance made everyone enjoy the food. It seemed to lessen the greasy taste in their mouths.

In the afternoon, Jiang Hu and Erniang carried the younger children to the field. He had been very diligent in weeding recently, and the villagers would help Jiang Hu whenever they were done with their work.

After all, during this period of time, everyone had gained a lot thanks to Jiang Hu’s generosity. Even if they only caught a hare or a pheasant, they would earn dozens of copper coins!

Compared to the time when they first settled down and almost every household in Fu’an Village was penniless, it was definitely a huge sum of money!

With this money, everyone could buy some food and not worry about starving to death before harvesting the food in the fields!

“Brother Jiang, are you going to water the fields today?” As soon as Jiang Hu placed Xiaomi on the bed, Liu Yang came with two buckets of feces water.

Jiang Hu was a little surprised. “Yes, why are you here? Your land is not here.”

“Hey, didn’t I hear you mention it yesterday? Anyway, there are a lot of people working at my house. I finished watering my land a few days ago. I’m here to help you today.”

After saying that, he smiled and said to Erniang, “Sister-in-law has just come out of confinement and has irrigated it. Brother Jiang and I will go and pick the feces.”

Because they lived in ready-made houses, every family had a latrine, but only the rainwater that was collected all year round was left in the latrine.

They had only lived in Fu’an Village for less than two months. Even if no one could bear to waste any feces or urine in the wilderness, the manure in the latrine pit was probably not much better than the clear water in the river.

Jiang Hu quickly thanked him. “Thank you, Liu Yang. Your family has helped me a lot recently.”

Liu Yang put down the two buckets. “That’s nothing. Brother Jiang is more generous. You don’t know, I caught two more pheasants yesterday and stewed one tonight. My son and my wife were overjoyed.”

If he went out to work for a day, he would earn at most 20 to 30 copper coins. However, if he caught a pheasant and rabbit, he would earn at least 70 to 80 copper coins!

Liu Yang was shrewd. It was this shrewdness that made him go to Jiang Hu’s house often recently.

Everyone knew that Jiang Hu washed diapers by the river during the day, but he would sometimes do it at home at night and splash the water in the empty vegetable garden at home.

So the weeds and insects grew well there. Dawa and Erni often plucked the weeds, washed them, dried them, and fed them to the hares and chicks. Occasionally, there would be excess that the chicks did not finish eating. Jiang Hu would give Liu Yang some every few days.

Therefore, Liu Yang liked to help Jiang Hu with his work.

Not to mention that a pheasant or a hare could be sold for a lot of money, it would be profitable even if he ate it himself! During this period of time, his family members looked much better!

Liu Yang was not a bad worker. He was diligent and did a good job, but he was a little talkative.

“Thank you very much.”

He had a big family and he had opened up quite a few plots of wasteland as he was afraid that there would not be enough food. In the end, when the weeds germinated, it got a little too busy.

Fortunately, during busy times, Liu Yang often brought Wang Xiang to help him weed, making him feel much more relaxed.

Liu Yang was older than Jiang Hu but he called him ‘brother’. So Jiang Hu would have to address Wang Xiang as ‘sister-in-law’.

Liu Yang put down the two buckets of feces. “It’s fine. Sister-in-law, go ahead. Brother Jiang and I will go down the mountain to pick feces first.”

Earlier, Jiang Hu was carrying Xiaomi in one hand and the small bed in the other. Now he was going down the mountain to pick feces.

Erniang asked Erni to keep an eye on her younger siblings and asked Dawa to go to the field in front to take a look. He had to pull out the weeds in that field.

Soon Dawa found a small patch of weeds and squatted down to clear it up. “Mommy, when can we finish plucking these weeds? Daddy and I plucked them not long ago.

“When I worked with Grandpa and Grandma in the past, I didn’t see so many weeds in the field.”

Erniang scooped feces water with a small dung ladle and poured half to water each crop. This land was too barren. Even though it rained not long ago, the crops were still small.

“This used to be a wasteland. All the grass seeds from last year fell onto the ground and were buried in the ground. As long as we weed more diligently this year, there won’t be so many weeds in the future.”

After Erniang answered Dawa’s question, she glanced at him. “Dawa, do you miss your grandparents?”

Hu was the second son of the Jiang family. He had an elder brother and a younger brother. The parents did not care much for the second son.

His parents were around and the family properties were not divided. The second son’s family was at a disadvantage when they lived together. However, it was not a big deal.

However, when she heard Dawa mention his grandparents, it dawned on Erniang that she had been so worried about the twins that she had not noticed that neither Dawa nor Erni had mentioned their grandparents even once.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Erniang finished speaking, Dawa’s expression changed. He looked very frightened as he glanced at Erni.

A mother knew her son best. When Erniang saw Dawa’s expression, she knew that something must be going on.

During this period of time, Dawa had become more sensible and he loved his younger sister more than before. Although he was sensible in the past, he was a little naughty. After all, he was a boy.

Erniang’s expression immediately changed and she said sternly, “Dawa, tell me what happened.”

There must be something going on!

She could only blame herself for being so focused on the two younger ones that she did not probe further.

Dawa gulped. “Mommy, don’t tell Erni.”

It was actually related to Erni!

Erniang nodded solemnly. Dawa looked toward the side of the field. Erni was guarding the small bed and had even plucked two wild grass blades. She was talking to Xiaomi and Bruiser.

Dawa leaned closer to Erniang. “Mom, you were lost at that time. Grandpa and Grandma forbade Dad from looking for you. Besides, I secretly heard them say that they wanted to exchange Erni for food.”

“What!” Erniang felt her vision go dark. Her body swayed and she almost fell.

Dawa quickly supported his mother. “Mom, are you alright? Dad was afraid of scaring you, so he didn’t dare to tell you.”

Erniang steadied herself and looked at the Dawa. She couldn’t help but hug him hard before letting go. “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

“Mom, what’s wrong?” Erni heard the commotion and looked over.

Dawa immediately became anxious. He looked at Erni and then at his mother, afraid that his mother would tell Erni.

His father had said that Erni was a girl and she was timid. If she knew about this, she would be shocked.

Fortunately, Erniang only forced a smile. “I’m fine. Look after Xiaomi and Bruiser.”

Erni was still young and trusting after all. She nodded and continued to play with Xiaomi and Bruiser.

Erniang stroked Dawa’s head. “I’m fine. Don’t worry. Even without Grandpa and Grandma, Dad and Mom will take care of all of you until you grow up. We will not miss a single one.”

Dawa immediately smiled. “Yes, I know. Daddy also said the same thing!”

With that, he went back to work happily.

Erniang looked at her children and sighed softly. No wonder Hu never mentioned his parents again. He didn’t even look for them after they were separated.

Thinking about it now, she wondered, The separation from his parents, he probably did it on purpose, right?

Then Erniang smiled again. But so what? At least our family is still together, and it will get better!