Chapter 65 – Springtime Hustle

Zhou Yu was truly exhausted. After seeing off the last visitor, he simply ate a little and went to bed early.

He slept soundly. Before his consciousness had fully returned, he heard a rustling sound—someone was approaching!

Zhou Yu abruptly opened his eyes and was met with a pair of large, round eyes, clearly defined in black and white, filled with cheerful joy.

He pulled back slightly, and An An’s clean, fair little face came fully into view.

Before he could speak, Zhou Yu smiled and reached out to ruffle An An’s little head. “Little one, long time no see!”

Because he had just woken up, his voice was a bit hoarse—but it was especially pleasant to the ear.

An An’s face lit up like the morning sun as she sweetly called out, “Uncle Zhou!”

Zhou Yu ruffled her head again and said gently, “Go out for a bit—I need to get dressed.”

An An tilted her head and gave him a curious glance. The handsome uncle wasn’t even naked!

But respecting others’ wishes is basic manners. An An nodded and turned to run outside.

Zhou Yu quickly got up, dressed, tied his hair, and after washing his face and rinsing his mouth, went out to find An An.

She was squatting outside the chicken coop, holding a basin larger than her own head. As she shouted “oh oh,” she scooped chicken feed into the trough outside the coop.

The chicks poked their heads through the gaps in the fence to peck at the food.

Zhou Yu walked over and asked, “Is it fun?”

“Very fun!” An An nodded with a bright smile, though her eyes never left the happy, pecking chicks. “I want to eat!”

Zhou Yu couldn’t help but laugh. Seeing the trough was nearly full, he pulled her away. “Even if you keep feeding them, they won’t keep eating. And even if they do, they won’t grow up in one day—only… overeat and die.”

“Huh?” An An was startled. She twisted to free herself from Zhou Yu’s hand. “Let me take it back!”

“No need,” Zhou Yu held her firmly. “Once they’re full, they won’t eat more. Did you add water to the trough? They need to drink too.”

“I did!” An An nodded. “An An is very hardworking!”

“Yes,” Zhou Yu praised her. “Our An An is the most hardworking!”

He led An An to wash her hands. Just then, Xu Xia brought over breakfast.

An An wanted to go home, but Zhou Yu pointed to the steamed egg on the table. “Stay and eat with me. I have something to talk to you about afterward.”

An An raised her hand and pointed to the house next door. “Ask Mama.”

“Okay.” Zhou Yu nodded and called out to Xu Xia, “Tell the neighbors I’m keeping An An for breakfast.”

Xu Xia agreed and went to the wall. Through the wall, he informed Aunt Zhao.

At that point, there was no stopping it. Aunt Zhao had no choice but to agree and even passed over some vegetables through the wall.

An An’s appetite had grown a lot. She ate a bowl of steamed egg, drank half a bowl of porridge, and dipped a quarter of a bun into the vegetable broth to finish.

Her grip on the spoon was steady, and she ate very cleanly—no food smeared on her mouth or cheeks.

Zhou Yu couldn’t help but praise her again and again.

An An proudly lifted her little chin and patted her chest with a “pa pa” sound. “An An is awesome!”

“She sure is!” Zhou Yu smiled. “An An is the best!”

After the meal, the dishes were cleared away. Zhou Yu personally wiped the table clean and dismissed everyone before he said to An An, “This time when I went to Xin’an County, I discussed many drought control matters with Magistrate Qin.

“The situation over there is even worse than ours, so they’re even more desperate for water sources.

“Of the spots you previously marked for me, we only had time to dig one well—at the border with Xin’an County.

“It’s just a drop in the bucket…” Worried she wouldn’t understand, he explained, “It’s like trying to put out a cart full of burning firewood with a single cup of water—completely useless.”

An An stroked her chin. If that wasn’t enough, then just keep finding more! She had more energy now and could be more effective!

She beckoned Zhou Yu over with a bold gesture. “Map!”

“Alright!” Zhou Yu agreed readily and spread his silk map on the kang bed.

An An placed her hand on Zhou Yu’s arm, sensing his political contribution points. Then she stepped forward and tightened the circles around the previously marked locations.

Zhou Yu’s smile grew wider. “If I had detailed maps of these locations, could you give even more precise spots?”

Huh? An An scratched her head. That’s a bit difficult—unless she visited the sites herself.

Seeing her expression, Zhou Yu understood and reassured her, “It’s alright. This is already very good. Narrowing it down to a few villages makes things much easier.”

An An opened the monitoring system. There were ten people living with Zhou Yu in the courtyard now. She tried giving them a koi-fish luck boost. Oh! Not bad! Previously, 90% of the energy would dissipate, but now only 85% leaked.

That was a good thing! It meant the handsome uncle had less pressure on him.

She then tried to apply the koi-fish boost to the entire Tongshutun village. Hey! Same effect!

That was great!

While not as strong as what she gave her own family, it was much better than the average village, and still enough to benefit them.

Zhou Yu saw her zoning out and waved a hand in front of her eyes. “What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing!” An An waved her hand. “I’m heading home now!”

“Don’t rush!” Just as she was about to climb off the kang bed, Zhou Yu hurriedly pulled her back. “You haven’t told me—when’s the best time for me to go dig wells?”

An An gave him a big grin. “Anytime!”

Zhou Yu picked her up, helped her put on her shoes, and then set her on the ground.

An An cheerfully shouted, “I’m off!” and skipped away.

The Zhao family hadn’t eaten breakfast. Country folks typically only had three meals a day during the busy farming season. When things weren’t busy, they ate only two. Since the drought, eating once every few days had become common.

But An An was a child—she couldn’t go without food or clothing. So her share of breakfast had been prepared early.

It was a bowl of millet porridge, a few small flatbreads, and a small bowl of stewed winter melon.

Since she didn’t come home to eat, they stored it in the cupboard.

Zhao Hu was enthusiastically recounting his recent experiences to Aunt Zhao and Qin Ying—his words flowing non-stop, eyebrows dancing with excitement.

An An ran over and threw herself into his arms. “Uncle, fly me!”

Zhao Hu agreed and stood up. He grabbed An An under the arms and lifted her twice, earning peals of her crisp, joyful laughter.

The family tidied up and prepared to go up the mountain to plant trees.

Zhao Hu suggested, “Should I go check the fields first?”

“Wait until it’s our turn,” Aunt Zhao said. “Let’s plant trees first. It’ll be our turn the day after tomorrow. Same as before—everyone in the village is divided into five groups to take turns patrolling the fields.”

Zhao Hu and Qin Ying then wrapped the saplings with damp soil, packed them into baskets, and carried them up the mountain.