Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Qingmu laughed at Zhang Huai’s words.

He straightened up and glanced at the lush green Huangdou seedlings in front of them. Then he looked at the distant Shanyu field, where another row of Huangdou had been planted along the edges of the furrows. In fact, Huangdou had been planted in every available patch of soil, making full use of the land.

He turned back to Zhang Huai and said, "As long as the officials aren’t too unreasonable, we won’t be poor. County Magistrate Hu is an honest official, so we’ve benefited from that. Besides, acorns are edible even for people, and they aren’t taxed like the crops in the fields."

Zhang Huai looked up. The two men met each other’s gaze and couldn’t help but laugh happily—this was what truly made them happy.

After all, they were hardworking farmers, and the land at Little Qing Mountain was good. If it weren’t for the unaffordable taxes, how could they possibly be poor?

The two of them dug and carried soil, chatting idly from time to time, so the work didn’t feel tiring.

Seeing them talking so cheerfully, Zheng Changhe smiled knowingly but didn’t go over to interrupt. ’Wasn’t it the same with me and Zhang Dashuan back in the day?’

After lunch, they dug for the entire afternoon and finally finished a pond about half a mu in size. They connected it to the ditch, and water immediately flooded in.

Watching the pond gradually fill, Juhua beamed, a scene of a pond full of lotus leaves appearing in her mind. ’Though it might not achieve the poetic effect of an endless sea of green lotuses, it should still be quite beautiful.’

Zhang Huai smiled and asked her, "Is this big enough? I said we should dig it bigger, but your brother said it would take up too much space. He couldn’t bear to part with the land."

Qingmu laughed. "If it’s too big, it’s also a hassle to take care of. This size is perfect."

Juhua said hurriedly, "It’s enough, it’s enough! You guys dug so fast. I thought it would take another day."

Zheng Changhe chuckled. "It wasn’t dug very deep, so of course it was fast. Huai Zi, find some time to get some lotus root cuttings soon. Any later and it won’t be good."

Zhang Huai agreed and said his goodbyes, explaining he had things to do at home and wouldn’t stay for dinner. Two days later, he indeed delivered several long sections of lotus root with furled leaves still attached, which Qingmu then planted.

********

During dinner that evening, He said to Zhang Huai, "I was talking to Aunt Zheng today about moving over to be her neighbor. She was so happy! She said she’s the only one living over there, and she always worries when Juhua is left home alone. If we move, she’ll have some company."

Hearing this, Zhang Huai’s face turned a little red, and he said nothing.

His feelings were now known to the whole family, though no one had spoken of them openly.

He was determined to move next door to the Zheng Family as soon as possible, and she had another reason: ’Juhua always stays at home and never goes out, and now Huai Zi is attending school and has to help with chores when he’s free. The two of them never even have a chance to meet. This engagement really isn’t reliable.’

She sighed. "It’s much more spacious over there, too. Good for raising pigs, chickens, and ducks. If we have a big enough plot, we could even plant a lot of fruit trees."

Zhang Dashuan took a sip of corn mush and said, "Let’s do it next year. It’s not possible this year, not even if we build with earthen walls. But in my opinion, if we’re going to build, we should go all out and build a brick house with a tiled roof, just like the village chief’s. Let’s save for one more year. Wife, our fields aren’t that big anyway. You and I can work a little harder in the mornings and evenings to gather pig feed. Otherwise, we won’t have enough to feed the pigs before autumn arrives."

He comforted him, "It’s only a few more months. Autumn will be here before we know it."

Zhang Yang, who was becoming more and more sensible, saw his parents planning the family’s finances and said, "From now on, my brother and I can gather the pig feed every morning. We can do it before heading to school. Don’t you still have to make breakfast and do the laundry, Mom?"

Zhang Dashuan said, displeased, "In that case, I’ll go alone in the morning, and then I’ll go with your mother in the evening. You just focus on your studies."

Zhang Huai put down his bowl and chopsticks and said solemnly to Zhang Yang, "Yangzi, if you didn’t like studying, your brother would drag you home to work. But since you do like it, then study hard and make us proud! Besides, you’re just a kid, what help can you be? We’ll each do our part. Your parents and I will use our hands and minds to earn money; you just focus on your studies. We’ll earn money to build a house and buy land. As for you, if you can earn a Scholar title for the family, that would bring great honor to your brother."

Zhang Dashuan also said to Zhang Yang with great spirit, "Son, you just focus on studying hard. Your dad can still work. When I can’t work anymore, you’ll be successful, and then you can support me."

The playful look was gone from Zhang Yang’s face. He said gravely, "Dad, Brother! Don’t you worry. I can’t make any other promises, but I will definitely earn a Scholar title for our family. If Mr. Zhou hadn’t come to our village, I wouldn’t dare say this. But since Mr. Zhou has settled here, I will study diligently under him. He is a man of great learning. I often ask him for guidance after school, and he’s told me many things about the outside world and taught me many stories from the history books. I’ve already learned much more than the others in the schoolhouse. Mr. Zhou said that as long as I study with all my heart, he will do his best to teach me."

Zhang Dashuan and his wife were absolutely overjoyed to hear this. No wonder their son always came home so late; it turned out he was studying with his teacher.

He said quickly, "From now on, don’t be in a rush to come home after school. Just stay at the schoolhouse and study. Our family is small, and there aren’t that many chores. Mom is here to feed the pigs and chickens."

Seeing his mother looking like she wished for nothing more than for him to study all day, Zhang Yang laughed. "Mom, studying all the time isn’t good either. It won’t take much time for me to come home and feed the pigs and chickens."

Zhang Huai asked with a smile, "Is Little Shitou also studying with Mr. Zhou?"

He and Qingmu were older now, and during the busy farming season, they had to help their families with work. They always rushed home right after school, so they didn’t know what went on afterward.