Chapter 137: Chapter 137: Harvest Day
She was worried Zhou Anran might punish Xiao Jingran and Xiao Fenghao in case she disagreed with her wish, so she deliberately didn’t mention her brothers.
Her eyes were full of expectation, and she also bit her lip nervously as she stared at Zhou Anran, waiting for her decision.
Zhou Anran was taken aback, and she stopped what she was doing. "Xi’er wants to learn martial arts?"
Upon hearing the question, Xiao Yuxi nodded furiously. "Yes... Mother, I..."
"Do you want Mother to find a teacher?"
Xiao Yuxi’s brain suddenly short-circuited. Huh? She hadn’t even recalled a good reason that could convince her mother yet, but... she actually agreed?!
"M-mother, are you serious?" She widened her eyes.
Zhou Anran nodded. "Grandfather might know some martial arts teacher with–"
All of a sudden, Xiao Yuxi pounced on her, hugging her tightly. Zhou Anran was startled, and she soon let out a breath, hugging her daughter’s back.
"Thank you, Mother, you are the best mother in the world!" Xiao Yuxi muttered, hugging Zhou Anran tighter.
The latter smiled. "You child, is your mouth smeared with honey? You can say such sweet words to Mother now."
Xiao Yuxi giggled, and she slowly released her mother. "Actually, Mother. There is no need to find me a teacher..." She scratched the back of her head. "I already found one... eh, two."
"Who are your teachers?" Zhou Anran asked patiently.
"It’s Eldest Brother... and the other is..." she stopped herself. She didn’t know whether her Master would be willing to let his whereabouts be revealed to others.
He seemed to be some kind of reclusive martial art master.
"Sorry, Mother, I can’t say it yet. If I meet the person again, I will definitely ask him!" She clenched her fist, her face full of determination. "He is not a bad person, so you don’t need to worry, Mother..."
Zhou Anran was feeling a little conflicted inside about letting a stranger she never met to associate himself with her daughter. Her brows furrowed tightly.
Although she already knew that her eldest daughter had interest in this area, she was only aware she often practiced some moves with Xiao Fenghao.
She originally thought that these moves were taught by her husband, but...
"Second Brother also knows him, Mother. With him protecting me, I will be safe!" Xiao Yuxi finally dared to bring up Xiao Fenghao upon seeing the deep creases on Zhou Anran’s forehead.
"Next time, I will also beg my eldest brother to come along," she added anxiously.
Zhou Anran let out a sigh. "Alright, alright, as long as you two protect yourselves."
The mention of her eldest son definitely calmed her down enough.
Xiao Yuxi was really thrilled that night that she stayed by her mother’s side for a long time, occasionally hugging Zhou Anran’s arm in excitement. She began to recount her experience in learning martial arts.
"Eldest Brother is so strict! My body ached all over a few days ago." She acted as if she was tattling on Xiao Jingran to her mother, but there was no blame or complaint in her tone.
She only returned to her bedroom after she began to feel sleepy.
The Zhou family’s old house was wide enough to accommodate a lot of people, so she no longer had to share a room with Xiao Yuyan.
"Huh? The lamp in Yan’er’s room is lit. Why is she still awake so late?" Concerned, Xiao Yuxi knocked on her younger sister’s door.
After a few minutes of knocking and calling her name, she received no reply, so she muttered to herself. "Yan’er must have fallen asleep and forgot to put out the light. She rarely sleeps peacefully with the lights on."
Shaking her head, she went to her own bedroom, taking a rest and preparing for tomorrow’s harvest. Since Xiao Yuyan has fallen asleep, she wouldn’t disturb her younger sister’s rest.
The next day, the family went to the fields with bright faces.
"I wonder how high our harvest yield will be this time," Xiao Yuxi bounced around happily.
They were waiting for Zhou Wenzhi and Guo Tianliang to bring out the oxen from the barn, settling the carts to their back.
"What do you think Yan’er?" She turned to Xiao Yuyan. "And, Little Ya?!"
"Xiao Qingya rubbed her chin like a little adult and gave her answer. "High! Higher than last time!"
Xiao Yuxi picked up her youngest sister and spun her around a little, causing the latter to giggle happily.
"If it’s really higher than last time, I will buy you candied haws! Deal?"
Xiao Qingya nodded enthusiastically. "Deal! Deal!"
The family went to the fields together with the Sun family’s youngsters. A few days ago, some people from the Magistrate had visited their home to make sure the date for the rice harvest.
Upon arriving at the fields, they began to work, cutting the paddy rice’s stems carefully.
As the sun was getting warmer, Shun Zi also finally arrived with Merchant Yang and his men. Zhou Wenzhi and the Xiao family greeted them.
Merchant Yang’s eyes widened slightly at the sight of paddy rice in front of him. The grain heads look densely-packed, unlike the sparse ones they often see at other people’s fields.
"Your fields look beautiful, Mrs. Zhou!" Merchant Yang praised. "You will need a lot of people to finish such large fields! So, I brought my men to help your family!"
"Sorry for troubling you," Zhou Anran said.
Merchant Yang waved his hand. They exchanged some pleasantries before they started to work in the fields.
Zhou Wenzhi and Merchant Yang dealt with allocating the people and assigning their works, then they started joining in themselves.
"This is the result of one mu?" Shun Zi stared at the pile of paddy rice in front of him with bated breath.
He took the scale and began to measure the weight from one mu of harvest. Merchant Yang approached him, and they began to weigh the harvest together.
Just as they were about to announce the result of the harvest this time, the Magistrate and Han Tingxun finally appeared.
"How much is the harvest?" Magistrate Xu asked.
