Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Zheng Changhe added in a loud voice, "We have to manage the bamboo on that mountain, otherwise this situation will never change. In the fall, when everyone gathers more acorns, they’ll need more baskets and hampers. Won’t they all come to cut bamboo then? If the whole village starts cutting, it’ll be a huge problem. We need to do what we do with the acorn trees and plant more nearby. Only then will the bamboo groves grow bigger each year. I mentioned it to the village chief the other day, and he agreed."

Qingmu nodded eagerly. "Just cutting and not planting is no good. We also can’t just let the bamboo shoots grow wild. We have to thin them out where they get too dense, otherwise they’ll be too crowded to grow properly."

The men dug, sweat pouring down like rain, while Mrs. Yang sorted the soybeans that had been moved aside. She urged Juhua to hurry home, saying it was noon and the sun was vicious.

Juhua agreed out loud. Watching the pond grow wider and wider made her heart feel light. She rested for a moment at the edge of the field before getting up to head home and cook lunch.

Zhang Huai watched her slender figure, wearing a straw hat and carrying a basket, as she walked farther and farther away. He couldn’t help but wonder, ’When will the day come that Juhua brings a meal just for me?’

The thought sparked a vision of the future, many years from now. He saw himself toiling in the fields while Juhua, carrying a basket and holding a small child’s hand, came to bring him something to eat.

He was lost in a daze for a moment.

’He could picture himself and Juhua, but what would their child look like?’

He pondered for a long time, but the child’s tiny figure remained a blur.

’He’d probably be like me when I was a kid,’ he thought. ’But what was I even like back then?’

An image of Yangzi as a little boy surfaced in his mind. In his daydream, Juhua approached, leading little Yangzi by the hand. From far away, the boy was calling him "Dad." The thought made him break into an irrepressible, happy smile.

Qingmu, having just delivered a load of dirt to the field’s edge, climbed back down into the pit and asked him curiously, "What are you laughing at?"

Startled from his daydream, Zhang Huai’s face immediately grew hot. He hastily tried to cover up, saying, "Nothing. Aren’t you planting a few too many soybeans? Why not plant more corn? At least you can eat corn as a staple. Soybeans are nice, but you can’t make a meal out of them."

Qingmu jutted his chin toward another plot of land. "We planted several mu of corn over there, you know. But it’s no good planting too much of it. If we can’t eat it all, it’d be a waste to just feed it to the pigs, right? And it doesn’t sell for much. Soybeans, on the other hand, sell better than corn. I plan to use the corn to pay the autumn tax this year so we can keep more of our rice. Juhua says she really wants to eat big bowls of fluffy white rice."

Zhang Huai saw his point and fell silent.

’I really have to work my tail off,’ he thought. ’Juhua wants to eat fluffy white rice, and when our kids are grown, they’ll want to eat fluffy white rice, too...’

Qingmu glanced over at his parents, who were busy working nearby, and asked Zhang Huai, "Is your family only raising three pigs this year? Any other plans?"

Zhang Huai threw his shoulders back, lifted his rake, and dug into the earth with force. "Just three for now," he said as he worked. "If we raised more, what would we feed them before the acorns are ready in the fall? I told my mom we’re using all the money from selling the pigs this year to buy undeveloped land like this plot of yours. Even if we just get two or three mu, we’ll be able to plant sweet potatoes next year. Once we have sweet potatoes, we can afford to raise a couple more pigs, can’t we? Plus, I want to raise a sow. Buying piglets all the time gets expensive."

Qingmu smiled, impressed by his planning. "You’re right. This first year is all about working hard to build up some capital. Once we have that, we can raise more pigs and chickens. No worries, as long as we plant more and more acorn trees, we’ll have a future to look forward to. I’ll find a moment at the schoolhouse tomorrow to talk to the village chief about cutting grass to feed the fish."

Zhang Huai shot him a smile. "I’ve already talked to my mom and dad. We’re going to try and save enough money to buy a plot for a house here on Little Qing Mountain next year. We’ll move the house over and be your neighbors. It’s so much more spacious out here. It’s better for raising pigs and chickens, and for gathering acorns."

Qingmu stopped his rake and stared at him, his mouth agape. After a long moment, he finally laughed. "That would be great, of course. But I bet you’re not moving over here just for the acorns, are you?"

Zhang Huai simply smiled and didn’t answer, focusing on swinging his rake and digging into the earth.

After a good while, he finally spoke. "I have my other reasons, of course. But the idea of moving out here to be your neighbor is something I’ve had for a while. It’s much more spacious. We can plant trees in the front and back, raise chickens and ducks, keep some pigs... Even if we don’t strike it rich, we certainly won’t be poor. It’s not comfortable being squeezed into the village center. For one thing, I can’t stand being neighbors with that Granny Hua."

’Being Juhua’s neighbor would be so much better. In my spare time, I could watch her do her needlework, or get her and Qingmu to go catch shrimp with me. I’d see her when I woke up, see her before I went to sleep, see her out tending the vegetable garden...’