Chapter 100: Everything Grows Quickly in Her Land

Madam Zhou listened to Du Wanchun’s suggestion and planted the seeds in the backyard to sprout first.

The next morning, Zhou Zhao went out early to feed the chickens and was surprised to find that the once bare patch of soil in the backyard had already sprouted green leaves.

The leaves weren’t small either—they were about the length of an adult’s thumb.

Excited, he ran into the house and called out, “Mother! Sister-in-law! The seeds in the backyard have sprouted!”

Du Wanchun and Madam Zhou had just stepped out of their rooms. Upon hearing the good news, they quickly followed Zhou Zhao to the backyard.

Standing at the doorway, Madam Zhou saw the lush green leaves covering the soil and was overjoyed. “Wow! What kind of seeds are these? They sprouted overnight!”

Normally, it would take at least ten to fifteen days for seeds to grow this much.

Du Wanchun walked over, crouched down, and touched the leaves. “Mother, why don’t we quickly transplant these seedlings into the fields?”

Madam Zhou nodded with a smile. “Alright! It just so happens that Ruiyuan bought the hill next to our land yesterday. We can plant them on the hillside.”

Du Wanchun stood up, ready to help with the transplanting.

Just then, Zhou Ruiyuan, who had been inside the house, quickly strode over. He took the small hoe from her hands and said, “Wanchun, you should go inside and rest. I’ll do the work.”

Du Wanchun didn’t argue. She stood up, glanced toward the house, and asked, “Husband, where’s Second Brother?”

While digging up the seedlings alongside Madam Zhou, Zhou Ruiyuan replied, “Second Brother went to the shop in Cheng’an County. Since he’ll be staying home for the next ten to fifteen days, he thought he might as well help out there. He also took the opportunity to bring Sister Zhang along for a while.”

Du Wanchun nodded and bent down to pick up the carrying basket beside her.

Zhou Ruiyuan immediately got up to take it from her.

The whole family worked efficiently, loading the seedlings into the baskets before heading out to the fields.

The land was lush and full of vegetables, stretching out in a sea of vibrant green.

Madam Zhou and Zhou Zhao walked ahead, carrying the baskets on their backs. Du Wanchun followed behind them with a water jug in hand, while Zhou Ruiyuan carried a hoe over his shoulder, staying close behind her to watch over her carefully.

Although Du Wanchun was pregnant again, aside from a bit of morning sickness in the beginning, she had been feeling perfectly fine—no different from before she was expecting.

However, Zhou Ruiyuan and Madam Zhou were overly cautious with her.

Back when they were in the palace, pregnant women were treated with the utmost care—never having to set foot on the ground, never lifting a hand to do anything. Everyone in the palace would be extra vigilant, terrified that anything might happen to the baby.

Madam Zhou herself had carried three sons in such an environment. To her, even though her daughter-in-law now lived a simple countryside life, she still deserved to be cherished just as much as when they were in the palace.

That morning, Madam Zhou had originally planned to have Du Wanchun stay home and rest.

However, since Du Wanchun expressed her desire to visit the fields, Madam Zhou allowed her to come along.

Madam Zhou set down the basket from her back, wiped the sweat off her forehead with her sleeve, and turned to Du Wanchun, saying, “Wanchun, just sit there and don’t move around. Once we’ve planted the seedlings, we’ll head back home.”

Du Wanchun placed the water jug she was holding on the ground and replied with a smile, “Alright, Mother.”

Zhou Ruiyuan helped her sit down comfortably before picking up his hoe and turning toward Madam Zhou to assist her.

The three of them first cleared the weeds on the hillside, then marked the designated planting areas and started tilling the soil.

Meanwhile, Du Wanchun didn’t remain idle. She helped by picking vegetables.

The field had an abundance of baby bok choy, and she carefully selected the tenderest leaves.

By the time Zhou Ruiyuan and the others had finished tilling the land, she had already filled a basket with vegetables.

Nearby, the rice fields were almost ready for harvest. Du Wanchun lifted her head and gazed at the golden stalks, thinking to herself that they would need to prepare for the harvest in just a few days.

Carrying her basket of vegetables, she walked over to the golden rice fields and reached out to gently touch the ripening grains.

At that moment, the drooping rice plants suddenly lifted their heads as a breeze swept through the field.

Startled, Du Wanchun quickly withdrew her hand.

She then made her way toward the back of the rice fields, where Zhou Zhao had planted a large cornfield a month ago.

The cornfield stretched far and wide, but the stalks were still quite short.

Curious, she reached out and lightly tapped on one of the corn stalks, thinking to herself, It would be nice if these corns could ripen a little faster.

With that thought in mind, she slowly turned and walked back toward Madam Zhou and the others.

The moment she left, the corn stalks in the field suddenly started growing at a visible speed, shooting upward with great vigor.

A fluffy white cloud drifted across the bright sky, and a beam of sunlight shone directly onto the cornfield.

One by one, small corn cobs began to sprout under the warm glow of the sun.

However, the Zhou family was too focused on planting the seedlings to notice what had just happened. Once they were done, each of them took a small portion of vegetables and headed home.

As they arrived, they saw Liu family’s daughter-in-law, Qiuhé, and Zhou Feng just returning home as well.

Qiuhé’s eyes were red and puffy, her head lowered, and her face filled with sorrow.

Madam Zhou noticed right away and quickly asked, “Qiuhé, what happened to you?”