Chapter 14 Nian Nian, the Social Butterfly

“Not enough, not enough, of course not enough. Ninth Brother and I found many more rare plants. I want to bring them home and plant them, so we need to clear a lot of land.” Shen Nian said, gesturing with her hands, her expression extremely serious. After finishing, she put her little hands on her hips and said to her brothers, “Grandpa said, ‘Food is the priority for the people.’ No matter what, people can’t be without food. So, we need to plant a lot of food. The adults work so hard, how can we, the young and strong, not work harder?”

Seeing their sister start chattering again, Shen Cai and the others looked up at the sky.

Ever since their sister’s articulation became clear, her little mouth had been particularly talkative. No one could argue with her. She had a lot of crooked logic and was very good at persuading people, making them willingly do things for her.

Shen Nian continued to lecture with her little mouth, “Grandpa said, half of our family’s land is rented. We have to pay rent grain, and the rent grain is very expensive. After paying it, we’ll have less food to eat. Not only do we have to pay rent grain, but we also have to pay taxes. After paying them, the food we’ve worked so hard to grow will only be a tiny bit left!”

“My father said, the government encourages people to clear land. For the first three years of cleared land, there’s no tax. Whatever you grow belongs to you. Such a good thing, how can we not cherish it? We work hard to clear land, clear a lot of land, and then the adults won’t have to rent land from those blood-sucking landlords anymore?”

Shen Feng looked at her with bright eyes, like a little fanboy, “Nian Nian, you make so much sense! Clearing land is really beneficial!”

Shen Ang scratched his head, “Nian Nian, we understand the logic, but the adults also said that the food grown on newly cleared land is not good and wastes seeds.”

Otherwise, why would the adults in the village rather rent land to farm than clear land?

It’s because you can’t grow good food on cleared land!

You put in labor and seeds, but you don’t get any harvest. The harvested grain is less than the remaining grain after paying rent grain.

Shen Nian raised her chubby chin, “But the vegetables I planted on the cleared land are growing well!”

That’s because you planted wild vegetables and herbs you found in the mountains. Those things are naturally very hardy. It’s normal for them to grow well on cleared land.

Of course, Shen Cai and the others didn’t say this out loud, afraid of discouraging their sister.

Shen Nian knew what her brothers were thinking. Cleared land was indeed difficult to cultivate, but the things she planted did grow very well. Although she didn’t know why, as long as the things grew, that’s all that mattered!

They said she was a lucky child, so she would bring good fortune to the cleared land!

Cleared land! Please let my grains, vegetables, and fruits grow strong and healthy!

Unable to resist their sister, Shen Cai and the others had to agree to continue clearing land after lunch.

Shen Nian and her group were on the back mountain. There were no houses there, so they didn’t attract anyone’s attention on their way home. No one knew they had gone to the mountain area with wolves.

As they came down from the mountain and reached the front door, Shen Nian saw her father coming out of the gate. She immediately shouted in a loud voice, “Father! We’re back!”

Shen Dong saw them, “Nian Nian is back. Father was just about to go find you!”

Shen Nian took her little short legs and ran quickly, pouncing into Shen Dong’s arms with a bang. She raised her smiling face, “Father, did Grandpa and the uncles come back too?”

Spring was a busy time for farming. The adults went to the fields to work early in the morning. Only Grandma and her mother were at home. Her mother was doing embroidery, and Grandma was preparing lunch.

Shen Dong picked up his daughter and smiled, “They’re back. They’re washing their hands now and getting ready to eat. I came home and didn’t see you, so I was going to go look for you on the mountain. You came back just as I went out. How was it? What did you harvest today? How many wild vegetables did you dig?”

Shen Cai walked over and pointed to the backpack on his back, “A whole backpack of wild vegetables, bitter garlic, purslane, bracken, and fragrant toon.”

Shen Dong exclaimed, “You even found fragrant toon, my favorite! We’ll have a feast tonight. My daughter is amazing. She’s so young and can already help the family with chores!”

Shen Dong carried Shen Nian into the courtyard, and Shen Cai and the others followed behind.

Seeing that Shen Nian and the children had found so many wild vegetables, Old Man Shen and the others praised them again.

The brothers put the wild vegetables in the eldest brother’s house and then went back to their own homes for lunch. After lunch, the other three families came back to the eldest brother’s house to share the wild vegetables.

At the dinner table, Shen Dong said, “The county exam is in seven days. Dalang and the other three will come home three days before the exam. I’ll go pick them up then and buy some delicious food to nourish them. After all, exams are very tiring.”

Shen Bo was fifteen years old, Shen Xue was thirteen, and Shen Duo (second brother’s third brother) was also thirteen. The three of them had made great progress in the past two years. Shen Bei and Village Head Zhou, one a scholar and the other not even a scholar, had limited knowledge. They were willing to teach, but they didn’t have much knowledge to impart.

Moreover, Huayue Kingdom had a rule that students from ordinary private schools could not participate in the imperial examinations. If they wanted to participate, they had to enter a formal academy and be recommended by the academy.

Therefore, Shen Dong went to the only academy in town, Bailingshuyuan Academy, paid three taels of silver per person per year as tuition, and let Shen Bo and the other three enter the academy to study based on their abilities.

Shen Bo entered Bailingshuyuan Academy last July. This year, all three of them were well-prepared and wanted to take the county exam together.

Shen Nian said softly, “I miss Big Brother and Second Brother. When they come back, I’ll make them buns with my own hands.”

She knew how to cook, but in her previous life, she used an electric rice cooker and a gas stove. Here, they used firewood and a clay stove. At first, she didn’t know how to use it. Her family thought she was too young and wouldn’t let her touch it. It was only a month ago that she persuaded her family to let her touch it. She only learned twice and could control the heat. She also learned how to make buns.

Well, for now, she only knew how to make buns. She would have to learn other dishes slowly, otherwise, her family would think she was too extraordinary. A little girl’s dishes were actually more delicious than those made by adults.

Being a child was really not easy!

Old Lady Shen touched her little head affectionately, “My Nian Nian is so smart. You learned how to make buns so quickly. Your big brothers will be surprised when they come back. Your buns are prettier than theirs.”

Shen Dong looked at Shen Nian and said, “Even Father’s buns aren’t as good-looking as yours. When your big brothers come back, Father will buy some meat and you can make them big pork buns!”

Shen Nian nodded, “Okay, okay. I’ll make some for Father, Mother, Ninth Brother, Grandpa, Grandma, and the uncles and aunts. Everyone will have a chance to eat the big pork buns I made!”

Shen Feng immediately said, “I’ll help you.”

After dinner, Shen Nian and Shen Feng each carried a small hoe and went to find their brothers.

Seeing that Shen Nian was really going to clear the land, her brothers felt a headache, but they still picked up their sickles and hoes and followed her.

The location of the cleared land was on the east side of the back mountain. Besides their cleared land, there were also fields belonging to other villagers. The eldest brother’s family also had two pieces of dry land there. Shen Dong and Old Man Shen were going to work there, so they went out with Shen Nian and the children.

When they arrived, they looked out and saw a patch of green crops of various varieties planted on the highest point. This was Shen Nian’s exclusive vegetable garden.

There were already people working in the fields next door.

Seeing them, Shen Nian shouted in a soft voice, “Grandma Wang! Uncle Niu! Uncle Zhao! Village Head Grandpa! Aunt Zhang! Hello!”