Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

He said angrily, "It’s all Li Laoda’s fault! He wanted to irrigate his rice paddies, and the water had to run through our wheat field. Huai Zi’s father told him to just wait a couple of days until we’d finished harvesting our wheat before releasing the water. A day or two wouldn’t have made a difference, right? But that hag Granny Hua—that damn woman, may she be hacked to a thousand pieces! It was like she was possessed. She’s usually so sluggish, I have no idea why she had the energy to go out to the paddies to check on the crops that day. I mean, isn’t that like the sun rising in the west? And fine, she could look all she wanted, but she just had to meddle and start irrigating, without a care for anyone else’s livelihood. She flooded our entire wheat field! Huai Zi was so mad he went to her house and gave her a piece of his mind. Even Li Laoda chewed her out for being a busybody, asking her when farm work ever became her business. But what good is yelling? In the end, it still delayed our wheat harvest."

Yang was furious to hear this, but she offered some comfort. "Once we’re done harvesting our wheat, we’ll come help you. It doesn’t look like the rain will start for a little while."

As He turned to leave, she said, "You focus on your own work. After harvesting the wheat, you still have to thresh it—it’s a whole ordeal. We’ll only pause for a day to get everything ready. If we rush, we should still have enough time."

Juhua found the situation rather funny. ’That Granny Hua is really like a rat crossing the street—everyone wants to take a swat at it!’

She asked Yang with some concern, "Mother, is it going to rain?"

Yang sighed. "It’s this hot and muggy, so it’s likely. A single shower wouldn’t be a problem, but I’m worried it won’t stop. If the water rises and it floods, that would be real trouble. It’s happened before."

Hearing this, Juhua said urgently, "Then, Mother, you should hurry back to harvesting the wheat. I can take care of things at home. Don’t bother coming back for the midday meal. I’ll bring it out to the edge of the field for you. You can eat and rest there, which will save you the time and trouble of walking back and forth."

Yang laughed. "We’re not in that much of a rush. And won’t you get tired carrying it all that way? It’s so far, you’ll roast in the sun running back and forth with the food."

Juhua said, "Well, my job is to do odd chores, so this is exactly what I’m for. It’s busy at home too, but not on a tight schedule. The pig, for example, won’t starve if I feed it a little late. The most important thing is that you all can rest for a bit at the field after you eat."

Seeing that her daughter had a point, Yang didn’t insist and agreed to the plan.

And so, at midday, Juhua delivered their meal. Carrying enough food for three people left her breathless. For convenience, she hadn’t bothered with lots of separate bowls for each dish. Instead, she had divided the meal into three portions and packed them in three large clay pots, with the soup in a separate container.

When Qingmu saw her struggling toward them with two Lanzis, he quickly tossed his sickle aside and went to take them. He felt their weight—they were not light at all. He chided her, "We could have just made a trip back, it wouldn’t have wasted much time. Why go to all this trouble and exhaust yourself?"

Juhua just smiled, unconcerned. She said it was nothing and that she would be fine after a little rest.

She glanced around, then pointed to a tree in the distance. "Let’s go eat over there, or else we’ll roast under this sun." The two of them then carried the food over.

Zheng Changhe and Yang also stopped harvesting and came over to eat.

Juhua glanced at the wheat field. There was only a small patch left. She asked Qingmu, "Will you be able to finish this afternoon?"

With his mouth full of rice, Qingmu replied, "We can. We still have to carry it home, too. I wouldn’t feel safe leaving it in the field."

Zheng Changhe, eating a salted duck egg, said to Juhua, "Once we get it home and spread it on the threshing ground, the wheat is as good as halfway in the granary. The sun is strong today; it’ll dry out a lot in one day. Another day of sun, and I’ll be able to rest easy."

Juhua said to him, "I already swept the courtyard clean, so just bring it on home. Father, are you full?" She had seen Zheng Changhe finish his meal in just a few quick mouthfuls, even downing a salted duck egg in two bites, so she hurriedly asked if he’d had enough.

Zheng Changhe gave an honest laugh. "I’m okay, but I’ll probably need something to tide me over this afternoon. Anyway, I’ll be coming home to drop off the wheat, so I’ll just grab some puffed rice candy then."

As she ladled soup for him, Juhua explained, "I was worried that if you ate too much, it would be uncomfortable to bend over while working, so I didn’t pack a lot. I was already planning to make some fried fruit pastries this afternoon. When you bring the wheat back home, you can have a few then."

Qingmu chimed in, "You’re right, you can’t eat too much when you’re bending over to work, or you’ll feel stuffed and awful. Eating until you’re mostly full is just right. Mmm, this salted duck egg is delicious. When will our ducks start laying?" He thought the rich, crumbly yolk was incredibly fragrant and eating just one wasn’t satisfying enough, so he looked at Yang expectantly.

Yang laughed. "They’re only this big and you already want them to lay eggs? It’s far too early. They probably won’t lay until the eighth month. Besides, two of them are drakes. We can butcher one later and just keep the other. The chicks we got last year, however, have started laying."

Juhua beamed. "That’s right! They’ve started nesting and laying, and we’re gathering more than a dozen eggs a day. We have a few too many roosters, too. We should sell some, otherwise all they do is fight. Later, I’ll use yellow mud to cure some of the chicken eggs. The flavor will be just as good as these duck eggs."

Zheng Changhe chimed in, "I saw two hens fighting over a nesting box the other day. When things slow down a bit, I’ll weave another one. Otherwise, they have to fight over a place just to lay an egg. Good thing we don’t have that many hens."

Juhua laughed at that. "I saw it too! I didn’t dare shoo them away, though. Wouldn’t it be a huge hassle if they started laying their eggs outside the coop? Honestly, can’t they just wait until the other hen is finished? What are they fighting for?"

Qingmu almost sprayed out a mouthful of soup. He looked at his sister, torn between laughter and exasperation, but when he saw her wide grin, he realized she was saying it on purpose.

He said to Juhua, "When a hen needs to lay, it’s probably because she’s about to burst. She can’t not lay it. I secretly watched one when I was a kid. A hen laying an egg is like taking a crap—it has to strain to push it out. It starts out squatting, but once it pushes hard, it stands right up in the nesting box."

Juhua and Yang couldn’t help but laugh. Yang shot her son a mock-reproachful look. "Always getting into pointless mischief with Huai Zi."(To be continued. If you enjoy this story, please consider supporting the author with your recommendation votes and monthly passes on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)