Chapter 131

The talk went like this: all five knew deep down that Fan Jin couldn’t truly not mind.

So after discussion, they decided to do it at night.

When the night was deep and quiet, the four brothers secretly brought bamboo baskets and came to the fields to dig.

That day, they saw it clearly: these potatoes and wheat grains were not like ordinary ones, they were planted in large chunks!

With such big pieces, whenever they wanted to eat, they could just dig up a few chunks, ensuring there was food at home every day.

“Big brother, I found some!” Fan Sizhu ran ahead, digging up several chunks of potatoes with one swing of his hoe, and joyfully shouted.

Fan Dazhu gestured to reprimand him: “Keep your voice down! Don’t let anyone hear us.”

Father wasn’t there, so he was the eldest and naturally had to watch over the younger ones.

Fan Erzhu whispered, “I found some too. This soil is especially soft, easy to dig; it’s much softer than what we dig with a hoe.”

Fan Dazhu thought about using oxen and donkeys to plow the land. If they had oxen and donkeys, they wouldn’t have to dig themselves, right?

That belonged to Second Uncle’s family. Second Uncle shared the same surname Fan as them, and it was impossible to write two Fans differently. Presumably, Second Uncle wouldn’t refuse.

While he was daydreaming about having oxen to plow the land, Fan Sanzhu next to him exclaimed in surprise, “These are already sprouting, what should we do? Can we still eat them?”

Fan Dazhu replied without thinking: “What’s wrong with eating them? If ginger and garlic sprout, can’t we eat them? How do mung bean sprouts, peanut sprouts grow? You, with no brains, think about it!”

Fan Erzhu sarcastically added, “If they sprout, just break off the sprouts. It’s not a big deal, why make a fuss?”

Fan Sanzhu thought about it and closed his mouth silently.

On their first visit, afraid they wouldn’t have enough to eat, they dug several mounds in a row and filled more than half the basket before resting.

“It’s enough to eat. Don’t dig too much at once.” Fan Dazhu felt very dignified and lived up to Second Uncle without taking more than they needed.

The other three had no objections.

In the future, they could dig whenever they wanted to eat, just making an extra trip.

The four returned home under the cover of night.

Sun Jinhua was very satisfied with the weight of the basket.

Fan Qian was also very satisfied.

“Head of the household, what if Second Uncle’s family finds out and comes to cause trouble?” Sun Jinhua suddenly worried.

Fan Qian had already thought it through.

Why wouldn’t he go tonight?

Just thinking about it, if someone saw them, Dazhu and the others were younger and Second Uncle wouldn’t take a few kids seriously?

If she did, it would show she had a small heart as a mother-in-law, and couldn’t bear to give food to her husband’s nephew!

Women pay a lot of attention to their reputation, and the second uncle’s family is also a woman. If she really doesn’t care about her reputation and makes trouble, that wouldn’t end well.

“Unfounded accusations – if Second Uncle’s family makes trouble, we’ll just say she’s slandering us!

She doesn’t need to report us to the authorities to threaten us; we will take her to the authorities first and see what evidence she has on us.”

Sun Jinhua thought about it and said, “Head of the household, you’re right. It can be blamed on field mice or weasels. Who could say it was us?”

With a relieved heart, Sun Jinhua looked at the bamboo basket, smiling broadly. She said to her good sons, “Wash up and go to bed. Tomorrow, I’ll cook these potatoes for you to eat! Let’s see what they taste like.”

“I’ve been wanting to eat them!”

“Tomorrow, I definitely want a big bowl. None of you can argue with me.”

“Maybe they won’t taste good; what’s there to fight over?”

“No way!”

“Who knows?”

·

Early in the morning, Zhang Xiaocao knocked on the door of Shuiqing’s yard.

Seeing Shuiqing in a hurry, he reported, “Sister Shuiqing, come quickly and see, your field has been robbed!”

Shuiqing was momentarily stunned. Robbed from the field?

What could they have stolen?

The potatoes?

Shortly after realizing it, they understood that someone had stolen the potatoes.

She followed Zhang Xiaocao to the field where many villagers had already gathered.

“Goodness gracious, someone stole the seeds we planted. This is just inhuman!” Aunt Li exclaimed angrily.

“Although life in our village is tough, no one has ever stolen food from the fields before. Could it be people from another village?” Grandpa Fan pondered aloud.

Old Man Xu looked at the few mounds of dug-up soil and shook his head, “Doesn’t seem like it. Our village is remote, over ten miles from the nearest village. Who would come all this way just to dig up a few things?”

Fan Dazhu and his companions in the crowd felt a pang of guilt.

They wished they had dug more!

“It must be someone from our village!” Uncle Wang decisively concluded.

All eyes turned towards Zhang Tuzi in the crowd.

Zhang Tuzi was enjoying watching the commotion, but when everyone’s gaze fell on him, his eyes darted around in panic. He hurriedly said, “Don’t look at me, it wasn’t me!”

Seeing that no one believed him, he swore, “If it was me, may I never find peace even after death, unable to be buried properly in Shanshui Village! Is that enough?!”

This was a very serious oath, and everyone immediately believed him and stopped looking at him.

Zhang Tuzi revived and darted around again, joking, “Ah, ever since the last time I got in trouble for picking chicken cornel fruits, the old village chief threatened to kick me out of the village. I’ve been behaving myself since then, I never touch anything related to food! Besides, it’s not the season when resources are scarce, and everyone in the village helps each other out. Moreover, it’s thankless to get into trouble; can I afford it? I really regret what I did last time. I worked so hard for several days, and it didn’t do me any good. What was I thinking? Can I not regret it?”

Everyone rolled their eyes at his words.

This Zhang Tuzi didn’t regret damaging the village’s interests but regretted working hard for several days with no benefit!

But what he said was true. He was notorious for being lazy, or else he wouldn’t be among the poorest in the village.

With Zhang Tuzi ruled out as the most likely suspect, it was difficult to find any other leads.

Everyone’s eyes scanned each face.

Fan Qian and Fan Dazhu held their breath, afraid of showing any signs of guilt.

“Everyone, maybe it wasn’t people who stole them, but rodents like field mice or weasels,” a clear voice spoke up.

Fan Qian and his companions’ faces brightened.

Who was this person? They had said exactly what they were thinking!

They looked toward the source of the voice and couldn’t contain their joy upon seeing the speaker.

“What a brilliant idea!”

Shuiqing walked over, observed the scene in the field, frowned slightly, then quickly regained her composure.

Grandpa Fan stepped forward, angrily declaring, “This definitely wasn’t dug up by rodents!”

Others echoed his sentiment.

Shuiqing smiled gently and explained, “These potatoes have already sprouted. Once dug up, they can’t be replanted. Everyone in the village knows this, so no one would dig them up. It must have been pests.”

Grandpa Fan wanted to say that whoever dug them up might not have intended to replant them, but rather to eat them!

Before Grandpa Fan could speak, Fan Qian hastily agreed, “Yes, yes, yes, Sister Shui is right. It must have been… pests.”

Shuiqing’s lips curled into a smile. She glanced meaningfully at Big Uncle Fan and said in agreement, “Big Uncle is right.”

Now that the people who dug them up know “they can’t be replanted,” whether they were planted or eaten before, they can only be eaten now.

With so many sprouted potatoes… well, don’t blame her for being ruthless.