Chapter 112: Chapter 104: Truly Muddle-headed
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
In those two days, all the villagers of Da Liushu Village had been mobilized. Every able-bodied person was out in the fields, planting tea saplings.
Every household was hard at work in their fields.
Digging holes, planting saplings, filling in the earth, watering, and covering with topsoil.
Oh, wait, that’s not right. There was no watering.
The village only had a few deep wells with any water left, and it wasn’t even enough for the people to drink. Who would be willing to waste it on watering the fields?
Besides, even if they were willing, there just wasn’t that much water.
So, they had no choice but to plant them just like that.
In any case, the landlord bought the tea saplings; it wasn’t their money.
Plus, the landlord was providing meals these past few days. It was great to be able to eat their fill for a few meals.
Next to Da Liushu Village was Zhou Family Village.
There wasn’t much work to do in the fields, so there was no need to go out. Usually, Zhou Fugui just lay around at home, minimizing activity to conserve energy.
But yesterday, he heard from other villagers that the people of Da Liushu Village were all out planting tea trees.
He didn’t believe it at first. I mean, look at the situation.
With a water shortage this severe, even normal crops couldn’t survive. And they were planting tea trees?
’Haven’t they been kicked in the head by a donkey?’
At the end of the day, even if the tea trees could survive...
...could you eat them?
If you can’t eat them, what’s the point of planting them?
To look at the tea flowers? Tea flowers aren’t even that pretty.
Zhou Fugui couldn’t understand it. He just thought it was the funniest joke he had ever heard in his life.
So, he ignored his wife’s objections.
He had to come to Da Liushu Village today to see for himself whether these idiots were really planting tea trees.
When Zhou Fugui reached the border between the two villages, he indeed saw many people bustling about in the fields of Da Liushu Village.
"Old Liu, what are you all planting? Doesn’t look like grain!"
Zhou Fugui walked up to the edge of a field belonging to a Da Liushu villager he knew. Watching the old man at work, he asked the question, already knowing the answer.
As Zhou Fugui looked at Old Liu, the corners of his mouth turned up, and he could barely stop himself from laughing out loud.
’But I can’t laugh. I attended a private school for two days as a child, and the teacher taught me not to mock people to their faces, or I might get beaten up.’
"Hah, go ahead and laugh if you want." Old Liu wiped the sweat from his brow and leaned on his hoe, a look of complete helplessness on his face. "The landlord told us to plant tea trees, so we have no choice but to plant tea trees."
’Young Master Fang is still too young, after all. He’s barely ever farmed a day in his life; how could he possibly know anything about it?’
’Sigh, what a shame. Wasting so many tea saplings for nothing.’
’That’s pure silver, all gone to waste just like that.’
"Your landlord? You mean that crippled Fang Wuju?" Zhou Fugui asked.
Da Liushu Village had produced a Martial Scholar, and basically the entire village had entrusted their land to him, becoming tenants of this Fang Wuju.
At the time, countless people in Zhou Family Village had envied Da Liushu Village.
After all, while it seemed like they had lost their land...
...in reality, when entrusting one’s land, it was customary to have an agreement with the landlord that the original owner would continue to cultivate it.
They only needed to hand over a portion of the grain harvest.
The thought of getting so much extra grain each year was enough to make one’s mouth water.
But then, that Fang Wuju was injured and was said to have become a cripple.
"Don’t you go spouting nonsense. Our landlord has already recovered." Old Liu quickly cut him off. ’Can’t have him saying things like that.’
’If this got back to Young Master Fang’s ears, who knows what the story would become.’
"Alright, alright, I won’t say any more. But your landlord must be confused. Planting all these tea trees... they’ll be dead in two days.
"Sigh, what a muddle-head."
Zhou Fugui laughed heartily. In his mind, he figured that while Fang Wuju’s physical injuries might have healed, his brain must have been damaged.
’Someone who’s never farmed giving blind orders... I’m afraid this year and next are going to be tough for Da Liushu Village.’
Still, to think that so much of Da Liushu Village’s land was being used to plant tea trees.
’How much money must that cost? To let a muddle-headed person like that pass the Martial Examination... the masters at the Xiahe County Magistrate’s Office must be confused too!’
"Sigh, Young Master Fang is so confused. Now our Da Liushu Village has become a laughingstock. The story will probably spread to the next county in a few days."
Old Liu watched Zhou Fugui’s retreating back, then looked around at the fields full of newly planted tea saplings that were already starting to wilt. He couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.
’Young Master, you’re so confused!’
「 」
「That night.」
In the courtyard of Fang Yue’s home.
"Zhi’Er, I just don’t feel confident about this at all. Is this really going to work?" Fang Mu asked worriedly, smacking his lips.
Over the past two days, Fang Mu had inspected many of the village’s fields.
The tea saplings had been planted without being watered. Many of the ones planted just yesterday were already drooping today, looking completely withered.
Anyone who has farmed knows that when water is scarce, if you don’t water them, they’ll dry up and die in the fields within two or three days.
Seeing this, how could Fang Mu possibly feel confident? How could he not be anxious?
"Dad, don’t worry, it’ll be fine. Tomorrow is the end of the month. There will definitely be water tomorrow."
Fang Yue, on the other hand, was very confident. That was because he had received a letter from his master, Fang Hu, today.
In the letter, Fang Hu wrote that the Mo Mountain Tribe had been completely defeated. Aside from a few mountain people who had escaped, all of the Mo Mountain Tribe’s upper echelons had been executed.
There was news from the army’s high command that once the Mo Mountain Tribe was broken, the disaster in Shanyang Prefecture would be resolved.
This further solidified Fang Yue’s suspicion: the calamity that had nearly thrown all of Shanyang Prefecture into turmoil was finally coming to an end.
「 」
「Xiahe County Town, Yingkelai Restaurant.」
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