Chapter 13: Village Head, Carefree Grass

The fragrance in the yard drifted far away, blowing toward the neighboring houses.

Before long, Li Guo’er heard the sound of a child crying from the yard next door, where it seemed that Grandma He’s little grandson was repeatedly asking for meat.

Most villagers rely on the few acres of farmland passed down from their ancestors to make a living. After covering household expenses, they barely save any money each year.

Even the village head’s family, the wealthiest in the village, only has meat two or three times a month.

This is thanks to the village head’s youngest son, Tian Wenli, who works as a shopkeeper at a grocery store in town, earning eight hundred wen per month.

At the wharf, carrying heavy loads all day is exhausting, and workers are paid only twenty copper coins per day. So, eight hundred wen is considered quite a lot.

When villagers teach their children, they often use the village head’s youngest son as an example, telling them to grow up to be capable like Tian Wenli.

Next door, in an effort to calm her grandson who was demanding meat, Grandma He generously fried two eggs and made three wholegrain egg pancakes for him.

Although Grandma He often has a boiled egg every day, she had never made herself egg pancakes before.

The little chubby boy immediately forgot about his previous complaint about meat and started drooling at the sight of the golden egg pancakes.

Watching her grandson eat the pancakes with great enthusiasm, Grandma He said to Old Man Li:

“It seems the Li family is doing better these days. Lately, I’ve often smelled the fragrance of meat coming from their yard. They never used to buy meat before!”

“I’ve heard that they’ve been making good money selling wild vegetables at the market recently. If there weren’t so many people selling wild vegetables, they probably wouldn’t be able to make much, but they’re still selling.”

“I don’t understand what Li Dafu and his wife are thinking, neglecting their honest, hardworking second son, and favoring that slick-tongued, sly eldest son and his wife.”

Old Man He sighed as well, “Yes, back then, the son they least liked has turned out to be the most successful. And when they look at their own family now…”

“Before the division of the family, Yujin worked hard every day and did most of the farm work alone. Only during the harvest season would Old Man Li take the whole family to help for a few days, and the rest of the time he didn’t manage much.”

“After Yujin was driven out, the farm work fell entirely on the two brothers.”

“Yujin and his wife are lazy and don’t do any farm work, while Youcai, though not very diligent, is still better than his elder brother.”

“But seeing the eldest brother and his wife always making excuses to avoid work, Youcai became very upset and wanted to divide the family.”

“In the end, they got their wish and separated, and since then, they’ve lived their own small life.”

Looking at the old homestead’s field, the grass had grown almost as tall as a person, yet no one had gone to weed it. Fortunately, these past few years, Li Laotou’s two grandsons had grown up and kept the field in good shape; otherwise, the whole family would be left starving.

I heard that the Jinjia family, especially Changqing, is currently fighting over a family division! Every day, there’s chaos and noise, Grandpa He tapped his dry tobacco pipe and said.

“It’s no wonder Changqing wants a separation. The Jin couple is just like Li Dafu and his wife back in the day, favoring the eldest son of the main house while being harsh on the second son, Changqing.”

“I heard that Changqing’s wife is skilled at embroidery, and she earns a decent amount each month through her work. Even if they don’t get much land from a separation, life won’t be too bad.”

“If I were Changqing’s wife, I’d ask for a separation too. Why live together and be constantly suppressed by Changsong and his wife, with the in-laws always controlling things?” Grandma He shook her clothes and said.

“The Yujin couple are good people, and their children are well-raised. You should have Xuanzi and his wife visit more often,” said Grandpa He.

Grandma He nodded at the old man’s words. “Yes! I’ll tell the children when I get back,” she said, then carried the tray into the kitchen.

Meanwhile, the stewed wild duck with radish and the stewed carp with eggplant were served on the table. The aroma of the food quickly attracted Li Yujin and his wife, along with Li Wen, to the dining area.

Looking at the two dishes, which were both flavorful and visually appealing, the family felt very happy. They thought about the hard times they had gone through in the past, and now, every day seemed sweet.

Li Wen was eating, his cheeks puffed out like a cute little squirrel. Li Xing’er wasn’t much different, with a bit of food stuck on the corner of her mouth from when she had been eating with her hands.

Only Li Guo’er, sitting quietly, sipped her soup with little sound. After setting the spoon down, she slowly picked up her chopsticks, taking a piece of duck meat and chewing it slowly.

Seeing her eldest daughter behave so quietly, Shen decided that once they finished weeding for the second time, she would take the children to her mother’s house. She also wanted to ask her two sisters-in-law if there were any suitable young men around.

When the children heard they would be going to their grandmother’s house in a few days, they were all excited, because their uncles, aunts, and cousins all treated them with great care.

Li Guo’er felt that they shouldn’t go empty-handed, so she suggested to her younger siblings that they go up the mountain to see if they could hunt anything to bring to their grandmother’s house.

When Li Wen heard that they were going to the mountain, he was the most excited. He wanted to check the wild chicken nests from last time to see if there were more eggs.

The next day, the three siblings woke up early, made a fire to cook, cleaned up, and after saying goodbye to their parents, they took their baskets and sickles and set off.

The three siblings made their way up the mountain, and along the way, they saw only a few people scattered here and there working in the fields.

Although the Li family’s rice fields were planted later than others, they were in much better condition than anyone else’s in the village. Their fields were about to be weeded for the second time, while the rice seedlings in other villagers’ fields were still short and stunted, not growing tall.

Some villagers, when they had free time, would go to Li’s field to take a look. Seeing the lush, green seedlings, they couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy and thought they should go ask Li Yujin to learn about his new farming methods.

Among these people was also the village head, Tian Dayou. At first, when he saw the Li family’s new planting method, he didn’t comment but decided to wait and see the results.

If the new method proved to be better than traditional ones, then he would approach Li Yujin to learn more and eventually promote the technique to the rest of the village.

Since the Li family began transplanting the rice seedlings, the village head had been quietly observing the progress. The final result was clear: the seedlings in Li’s field were indeed much better than those in other fields, growing robustly and healthily.

When the village head arrived at Li’s house, he saw Li Yujin working on making rabbit cages, as three new litters of rabbits had recently been born, and the cages were running out of space. Li planned to separate the larger rabbits from the newly born ones for different enclosures.

Upon noticing the village head’s arrival, Li Yujin quickly put down his work and had his wife pour a cup of water for him, inviting the village head to sit at the table in the living room.

Since entering, Tian Dayou had been quietly observing the small courtyard. He couldn’t help but be amazed. The yard, once overrun with weeds and in disrepair, had been transformed into a vibrant, clean, and bright space. Looking at the now well-kept courtyard, the village head couldn’t help but reflect on the change in his heart.

It seemed that the Li family’s second branch was on the rise, and in the future, they would no longer be underestimated.