Chapter 15: Buying Grain
Little Hu Liu and Hu Ming came along as well.
The two three-wheelers, loaded to the brim, pedaled toward the mountains. The final few hundred meters of wild path were difficult to ride on, so they all got off to push.
Jian Xingxia told Hu Ming to run back first: “Grab four bottles of soda and chill them in the well.”
Hu Ming was more than happy to do this task and bolted off, thud-thud-thud.
As Jian Xingxia pushed the cart, she asked Little Hu Liu, “Do you really not want to go to school anymore?”
At first, Little Hu Liu didn’t want to talk about it. But Jian Xingxia was the very first university student from Lu’an Village, and she was also the older sister who used to play with him when they were little, so he still listened to her.
“My dad broke his leg and we don’t have the money for rehabilitation, so he still can’t really work the fields right now. My mom has to do all the chores by herself. When my dad slipped in the shower, she couldn’t even lift him up.”
He was only sixteen, but in a household like this, he had to serve as half a pillar of support.
“Besides, going to school from the village isn’t convenient. If I board there, I can’t come home. If I don’t board, taking the minibus every day costs a ton of money too.”
Last year, the per capita income in Lu’an Village was only 4,000 yuan. Although they lived off the mountain and wouldn’t starve, whenever money was involved, very few families had any to spare.
Jian Xingxia looked down at the yellow-mud mountain path beneath her feet, her heart sinking.
All the bought items were moved back home. For the return trip, Jian Xingxia had paid for Auntie Lu and Fangfang’s fares, which, along with the ten yuan for the cargo space, came to twenty-five yuan in total. Buying the soda had cost one hundred and sixty-eight yuan.
Savings -193, remaining balance 3,370 yuan.
The July summer heat was at its peak. Returning right at noon, none of them had an appetite for a proper meal.
Fangfang pulled out the fried dough twists and millet cracker snacks she had bought at the market, making a meal out of them.
Jian Xingxia picked a few peaches, and the four of them sat beneath the eaves of the old house, munching on peaches, drinking soda, and chewing on the crunchy crackers and dough twists, as if they had returned to their childhood.
Dahua wandered around their feet, pecking at the dropped cracker crumbs and bits of dough twists.
A short while later, Uncle Lu arrived.
He brought rice and oil over to Jian Xingxia: “Your auntie said you wanted to buy rice. Is fifty jin enough? There’s also some millet and sweet potatoes, and I broke off ten ears of corn for you too. Use these to get by for now.”
Jian Xingxia hurriedly opened the door to welcome him in. “It should be enough. I’ll use these for now.”
Uncle Lu chuckled upon hearing this. “You’re just one person; fifty jin of rice is enough to last you two or three months.”
Jian Xingxia knew that, of course, but she wasn’t the only one in these mountains. If she encountered people like Taoya and Old Man Xu again, she would inevitably have to keep them for a meal.
“Uncle Lu, then you’ve guessed wrong. I have a massive appetite; I was a famously big eater back at our school.”
“Really?” Fangfang came over to join the fun, looking her up and down, completely unconvinced that Jian Xingxia looked like someone who could eat a lot.
Uncle Lu actually believed her a bit: “Come to think of it, your grandmother was the same. She looked like a thin, small old lady, but the grain she grew herself wasn’t enough to feed her, so she often went to the village to buy grain.”
Uncle Lu simply thought Jian Xingxia’s grandmother had been an old lady with a robust appetite. But the moment Jian Xingxia heard this, she knew her grandmother had likely bought it for the “temporary workers.”
Discovering that she was doing the exact same thing as her grandmother made Jian Xingxia very happy.
She asked Uncle Lu, “For the fifty jin of rice and all these items, how much is it in total?”
Uncle Lu and Little Hu Liu helped her place the rice, millet, sweet potatoes, and corn against the wall of the main hall. Hearing this, he felt a bit embarrassed.
“It’s not much money…”
For an elder to take money from a youngster, Uncle Lu felt somewhat awkward.
Jian Xingxia said open-handedly, “Uncle Lu, as you said, my grandmother also used to buy grain from the village frequently. I’m not just staying in the mountains for a day or two; I’ll definitely need to buy often. I can’t just keep taking things without paying, right?”
Uncle Lu had only been declining out of politeness. Farmers relied on the yield of their few mu of land to save money; a little bit here and there was neighborly kindness, but thirty or fifty jin was something even a landlord couldn’t afford to just give away.
“When we go to the market to sell it, it’s two yuan and fifty cents a jin, but when the dealers come into the mountains to collect it, it’s one yuan and seventy cents,” Uncle Lu thought for a moment. “Just give me one yuan and seventy cents too.”
Jian Xingxia pulled out two hundred yuan. “Dealers picking it up at your doorstep don’t require you to deliver it. The mountain paths are difficult to travel, yet you brought it all this way for me, so I will pay you according to the two-fifty rate as well. As for the other items, I’ll count it as a friendly discount from you. Fifty yuan to round it all out, sounds good?”
Uncle Lu didn’t even know what to say anymore. A dozen or so jin of sweet potatoes, a bit of millet, and ten ears of corn definitely weren’t worth fifty yuan. Jian Xingxia was subsidizing him!
Clutching the money, Uncle Lu’s hand trembled slightly. Unable to find the words to thank her properly, he turned to instruct Fangfang, “Don’t cause trouble for your Sister Xiaxia, make sure to help out with the chores more!”
Fangfang lifted her collar to fan herself. “I haven’t done any work yet? Look at how much I’m sweating!”
The group laughed and bantered for a few moments.
Jian Xingxia’s savings dropped another two hundred, leaving a balance of 3,170 yuan. While she had a beaming smile on her face, her heart was quietly bleeding.
Back at school, things were fine—eating three meals a day at the cafeteria and sleeping in the dorms 365 days a year, her poverty had been quite restrained. Now that she had graduated, leaving school meant practically everything cost money.
Uncle Lu headed back, and Little Hu Liu left as well. “I’m helping someone harvest corn this afternoon, so I won’t stay.”
Jian Xingxia felt bad. “You should have said so earlier! I would have boiled a bowl of noodles for you.”
People doing farm work had to eat their fill; snacks just wouldn’t hold them over. They needed to eat two or three bowls of rice, along with hearty, savory dishes, otherwise they wouldn’t have the strength to labor.
Little Hu Liu smiled and pedaled his three-wheeler to catch up with Uncle Lu.
Fangfang and Hu Ming refused to leave. The two of them had wanted to come play in the mountains long ago; the adults hadn’t let them the day before yesterday, but today was perfect timing, and they didn’t plan on heading back so early.
However, Jian Xingxia was still thinking about the “temporary workers.” When she woke up this morning and checked the system, Old Man Xu’s work satisfaction rating had hit ninety-five points. Just barely reaching the benchmark, there was an extra reward recruitment slot for today.
Counting the one basic daily slot, Jian Xingxia could hire two temporary workers. But with Fangfang and Hu Ming refusing to leave, she didn’t dare post the recruitment notice, terrified that the two sides would run into each other.
Jian Xingxia let out a cough, hinting to Fangfang and Hu Ming, “I need to do some chores. What are you two doing this afternoon?”
Ten-year-old Hu Ming just grinned foolishly. “Sister Xiaxia, don’t worry about me, I can just play by myself.”
Fangfang followed her lead naturally, “Sister Xiaxia, what kind of chores do you need to do? I’ll help you.”
Hu Ming added hurriedly, “Then I’ll help too!”
Jian Xingxia cracked her knuckles, left with no choice but to take them along to reclaim the wasteland.
The wild grass on the open ground outside the back courtyard had already been pulled up, but the roots remained. Previously, there had been no farming tools to handle it, but now that the hoes and shovels had been bought back, they could dig out the grass roots and dry them in the sun, ensuring the wild grass was thoroughly dead. Along the way, they could bury some base fertilizer; she wanted to plant vegetables in this back plot later.
How could Fangfang and Hu Ming know anything about farm work? Even though they lived in the countryside, people rarely let their children work the fields. They were far inferior to Jian Xingxia, who had at least studied agronomy for a few years at school. The two played with the hoes and shovels for a short while, squatted on the ground to flip a few grass roots, and their focus inevitably drifted away.
The moment Jian Xingxia looked away, the two slipped away, with Dahua trotting closely behind them.
A short while later, they actually returned using their shirts to cradle a few small watermelons.
The two were incredibly excited: “Sister Xiaxia! There are watermelons in the field over there! A lot of them were rotted by the rain, but we picked out a few good ones to bring back.”
Seeing the red fruit stains on their clothes and the sticky watermelon juice around their mouths, they had clearly already sampled them.
Jian Xingxia looked behind them. “Where’s Dahua?”
“She’s eating watermelon! The melons in the field were rotten, so we cracked several open, and she’s eating so much she refuses to leave.”
Fangfang liked Dahua very much, finding her to be both beautiful and spirited. While they were picking watermelons, Dahua had even helped peck at insects.
“Sister Xiaxia, it’s truly wonderful here at the old house. Even wild pheasants come to make a nest.”
Jian Xingxia smiled, “You like Dahua? Perfect. Dahua is a hen; if she hatches any chicks, I’ll save two for you.”
“I want some too, I want some too!” Hu Ming clutched his melon, refusing to be left behind. “I’ll trade you for some big geese. The geese at my house are about to hatch; I’ll have my dad grab two for you!”
Fangfang also agreed, “Big geese are excellent for guarding the house, they even dare to lunge at people. Once my family’s dog gives birth to puppies, I’ll send one to you too.”
“Alright then, let me thank you both in advance,” Jian Xingxia chuckled. She picked out a small watermelon, cracked it open forcefully with both hands, and the melon split right apart, revealing vibrant red flesh as a fresh melon fragrance wafted through the air.
Taking a bite, it was indeed very sweet. It was just that it had seeds.
But having seeds was perfect. The mountain plot hadn’t been managed for over a year, so these watermelons were likely grown from leftover seeds sprouting in the soil. This watermelon was crisp, sweet, and refreshing—a solid variety. It would be even better to save the seeds to keep planting them.
Jian Xingxia told Fangfang and Hu Ming to find a woven sack and pick some to take back: “Before it rains, pick all the ripe ones to take back and share.”
Lu’an Village didn’t lack watermelons. Aside from the difficult paths deep in the mountains, the territory of Lu’an Village could be described as a place of beautiful mountains, fine waters, and vast, abundant resources. The villagers grew watermelons too.
But children were simply like that—even if they had more than enough melons at their own homes, the melons from someone else’s plot always tasted a bit sweeter.
The two found a bag and went out to harvest a large sack from the field. Leaving half the sack for Jian Xingxia, the two hopped onto their three-wheelers with the remaining half and headed out of the mountain.
Jian Xingxia seeing that they had gone far away, quickly locked the front courtyard gate, opened the system, and posted a recruitment notice.
