Chapter 26: Watering

Along the way, Tang Wan remained silent. Grandma Bai was very worried and hurried back home.

“What exactly happened?” Grandma Bai asked Tang Wan with concern as soon as they entered the house.

Having lived with Tang Wan for a few days, Grandma Bai immediately sensed something was wrong from Tang Wan’s tone.

“It’s nothing, I just want to stay here for another night,” Tang Wan forced a smile.

Her smile made Grandma Bai even more worried. She glanced at Qin Zheng and signaled him to keep his distance.

Qin Zheng obediently returned to his room to pack his things.

Grandma Bai then took Tang Wan to her own room.

“Alright, if anything’s wrong, just tell Grandma. I’ll take care of it. If anyone bullies you, don’t be afraid—no one in this village dares to mess with me. I’ll have your back!”

Tang Wan sat down quietly while Grandma Bai gently stroked her hair with affection.

Qin Zheng finished packing and lingered outside the door, unsure what they were talking about inside.

After a while, Grandma Bai came out, saw Qin Zheng, and beckoned him to the courtyard.

“Did you see anyone bother Tang Zhiqing today?” Grandma Bai asked Qin Zheng seriously.

Qin Zheng’s expression didn’t change: “No, I only saw her chatting with two girls from the village. Didn’t see anyone bother her. Did something happen?”

“She looks upset. I tried asking her but got nothing out of her. In the end, she said she just missed home,” Grandma Bai said slowly. “Could it really be that she’s homesick?”

“Many educated youths from the city feel homesick these days. She’s been pampered at home. Maybe watching the movie reminded her of watching films with her family back in the city,” Qin Zheng calmly replied, trying to ease Grandma Bai’s worries.

“Alright then, keep an eye out and don’t let anyone with bad intentions mess with her,” Grandma Bai warned Qin Zheng.

Some old bachelors in the village can get wild when their hormones get the better of them.

“Got it.”

“Tonight you’ll still sleep in the east room, let Tang Zhiqing sleep there with you.”

“I already made the bed for her, using the sheets you like,” Qin Zheng pointed at his room.

Seeing how conscientious Qin Zheng was in preparing, Grandma Bai didn’t say anything else.

After looking him over for a moment, Grandma Bai said: “You’re acting a bit off too. You’re not bullying Tang Zhiqing, are you?”

Qin Zheng smiled helplessly: “If I bullied her, would she still come to our home?”

“Alright, go get ready and sleep,” Grandma Bai said casually.

Grandma Bai returned to her room. Not long after, Tang Wan went to Qin Zheng’s room.

Qin Zheng waited in the courtyard until the light in his room went out, then finally moved.

The next morning, Tang Wan woke up early.

She had to go to work today. She had rested long enough, and since everyone had seen her foot healed, it was no longer reasonable for her not to work.

After a leisurely period, busy days would come again.

It was midsummer now. Previously, there hadn’t been much to do in the fields, but these past few days were different.

Since the two days of rain last time, the weather had been hot.

People could barely bear it, but the crops in the fields could not.

An old farming expert looked at the weather and concluded there would be no rain for the next half month. The fields needed watering soon, or the corn wouldn’t grow.

So the village was preparing for this.

Though watering fields wasn’t done every summer, it happened often enough that the villagers were used to the process.

This watering had another reason: the river they used for watering was downstream. If they didn’t water early, then when the fields were dry, the upstream teams would water too, causing trouble.

Therefore, yesterday the team’s loudspeaker had announced that everyone must go to the fields to compete for water today.

This kind of work was a race against time, similar to harvest time.

The harvest affected their year’s grain supply. No one wanted to fall behind.

Even the lazy men and the usually idle young wives joined the work.

Even Grandma Bai was no exception.

When they got up, Qin Zheng was already gone.

For watering, areas close to the river could be irrigated through open channels. These channels were usually blocked, so youth labor was needed to open them during this time.

Though everyone feared Qin Zheng in the village, he never shirked such tasks and had gone early.

Tang Wan got up and ate breakfast with Grandma Bai. The clothes Tang Wan had taken off yesterday were still with Grandma Bai, which was convenient so she didn’t have to return to the youth work point to change.

After breakfast, the two set off. Before leaving, Grandma Bai bundled Tang Wan up well, covering her head with a towel and a hat. The towel hung down on both sides, blocking the sun.

“It’s gotten hot these days. If your delicate skin stays out in the fields for a couple of days, you’ll peel,” Grandma Bai said, dressed the same way herself.

Indeed, it had become very hot.

Tang Wan and Grandma Bai went to get tools.

They could choose to carry water or watch the channels.

Carrying water was literal: many places far from the river or at higher terrain couldn’t be irrigated by channels and had to rely on carrying water bucket by bucket or using ox carts.

Watching the channels meant guiding the water from the main channel to the fields on both sides. They had to use shovels to clear blockages and watch that the soil didn’t clog the channels.

Carrying water was harder but earned more work points.

Most of the able-bodied villagers carried water, since many fields were on high ground near the mountains.

Tang Wan and Grandma Bai naturally took care of the channels.

This work didn’t require much strength but was hard on the back because they had to keep bending.

Tang Wan felt sharp pain in her lower back whenever she straightened up.

Others weren’t feeling much better.

At first, familiar people worked together chatting, but slowly everyone fell silent.

The sun had risen high, burning fiercely overhead.

The towels on their sides were nearly soaked through with sweat.

But no one could rest. If any patch of field was neglected, those seedlings would die. If such situations happened often, work points would be deducted, and no one wanted to work hard without getting credit, so everyone was careful.

When Tang Wan left, she had already mixed some spring water into her water bottle, including the bottle she brought for Qin Zheng.

Drinking the slightly sweet water relaxed her body.

Tang Wan called Grandma Bai over to drink some water.

Grandma Bai put down her tools, wiped her sweat, walked over, took a sip, and said:

“You should go back. Usually there’s only one cook per household, and I steamed sweet potatoes and buns this morning. No need to reheat the rice today. Rest at home and come back later.”