pjbooks Chapter 158 Farm Work
Chapter 158 Farm Work
"How much further?" Lin Xilei wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked at the rolling loess slopes in front of her.
This mountain has no lush trees, no babbling brooks, only withered grass and thorns covering the hillsides, gleaming with a grayish light in the morning.
"Almost there." Lin Dachun turned to look at her, a smile in his eyes. "What's wrong, you city girl, can't walk anymore?"
"No way!" Lin Xilei puffed out her cheeks and quickened her pace to catch up, but her foot slipped and she almost fell.
Li Ruoxue quickly caught her, and both women laughed.
Laughter carried far across the open hillside.
Lin Dachun felt a warmth in his heart as he listened.
He, a widower, used to make a living alone on this mountain. He never imagined that one day he would be able to work in the fields with two women on this barren land.
The flock of sheep walked slowly ahead; there were more than a dozen goats, which Lin Dachun had saved up to buy last winter.
The lead ram was the largest, with thick, long horns, and it walked with its head held high, looking majestic.
Lin Xilei looked at the sheep, a little scared, and moved closer to Li Ruoxue.
"Don't be afraid," Li Ruoxue said, "sheep don't bite."
Upon reaching a relatively gentle slope, Lin Dachun stopped. "This will do. Ruoxue, you take care of the sheep with Xilei. Let's go check on the wheat field; the harvest is almost here."
"Okay." Li Ruoxue responded, put down the basket, and pulled Lin Xilei to find a flat place to sit down.
The sheep scattered, heads bowed, nibbling at the dry grass roots, occasionally letting out a few bleats.
Lin Dachun squatted down and started weeding. The wheat was growing very well, a beautiful golden yellow.
With each swing of the hoe, yellow earth swirled and flew, and sweat quickly soaked his back.
"Let me try it too." Lin Xilei walked over and looked at the hoe with curiosity.
The hoe was taller than her, and its wooden handle was worn smooth and shiny by Lin Dachun's hands.
Lin Dachun stopped, looked at Xilei's eager expression, and smiled: "Okay, you give it a try."
Lin Xilei took the hoe, and like Lin Dachun, she lifted it up and dug down hard.
The hoe struck the ground, bounced up, and made her hands go numb, but only left a shallow crater in the ground.
"Ugh, why is it so difficult?" She rubbed her hands, looking unconvinced.
Li Ruoxue laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight: "You can't do it like that, you have to use a trick. Watch me."
She took the hoe, raised it steadily, and brought it down, the hoe digging deep into the soil. With another pry, a large clump of yellow earth was turned up, and the weeds were turned over.
Then Li Ruoxue reached out, gathered the weeds together, pulled them out, shook off the dirt, and set them aside.
In this way, when the weeds wither and turn yellow, they become natural nutrients.
"Sister is amazing!" Lin Xilei's eyes lit up. She took the hoe again and, imitating Li Ruoxue, dug out a decent clod of earth with one, two, and three strokes.
"It's done! It's done!" She jumped up with joy. "I can do farm work now!"
Looking at his daughter's excited expression, Lin Dachun's wrinkles smoothed out: "Good, you've got potential. With more practice, you can become a good laborer."
"I don't want to be a laborer," Lin Xilei pouted, but her eyes were full of laughter.
As the sun rose higher, Lin Dachun invited the two to rest in the shade, where they ate cornbread and drank water.
The sheep quieted down, lying in twos and threes on the slope to ruminate.
Only the lead ram remained standing on high, vigilantly surveying its surroundings.
Lin Xilei took a bite of her cornbread, gazing at the distant, layered loess hills. "Before you married into this family, did you do this kind of work every day?"
"Yeah." Lin Dachun nodded. "It was much more tiring than this. Back then, we didn't have any sheep, so I was all alone, working from morning till night."
Aren't you lonely?
Lin Dachun paused for a moment, looked at the two women beside him, then at the flock of sheep in the distance, and smiled: "I'm not lonely anymore."
These words were spoken lightly, but Li Ruoxue's heart softened upon hearing them.
She lowered her head, pretending to be focused on eating her cornbread, trying not to let anyone see the emotions in her eyes.
After resting enough, Lin Xilei clamored to learn how to herd sheep.
Lin Dachun taught her how to crack the sheep whip, how to shout, and how to herd the stray sheep back.
Lin Xilei studied diligently, and soon she dared to take a whip and chase after the sheep.
Her clear laughter echoed from the hillside, along with the cracking sound of the sheep whip.
"This little sister of mine is so lively and excited, she's more excited than anyone else. I don't think she'll be interested for more than a few days," Li Ruoxue joked.
"As long as you can learn and endure hardship, that's enough," Lin Dachun replied.
Lin Xilei was chasing a lamb to the other side of the slope, feeling quite pleased with herself, when she suddenly heard a muffled, low "baa—" behind her.
She turned around and froze.
The lead ram had somehow appeared three meters behind her.
Its head was lowered, its two thick horns facing her, and its hooves were pawing at the ground, raising clouds of dust.
Those eyes were no longer as docile as before; they stared straight at her, their pupils reflecting her terrified face.
"Ah..." Lin Xilei's voice trembled.
The ram took another step forward, making a low, threatening sound in its throat.
"Ah!" Lin Xilei screamed, but her legs seemed to be nailed to the ground, and she couldn't move an inch.
Lin Dachun was chatting with Li Ruoxue when he heard the scream and suddenly looked up.
Seeing the ram approaching his daughter, his expression changed, and he threw down the water jug and rushed over.
"Sirius! Don't move! Don't run!" he shouted as he ran, his voice urgent and loud.
Hearing the commotion, the ram turned its head to look at him, then turned back to stare at Lin Xilei, pawing the ground even more frantically, as if it were about to charge at any moment.
Lin Dachun ran very fast, kicking pebbles that flew everywhere.
He had only one thought in his mind: that ram's horns could gore a person right through!
When there were still more than ten meters left, the ram finally moved.
It lowered its head and charged towards Lin Xilei.
"Ah—" Lin Xilei closed her eyes, screamed, and covered her head.
Just as the ram was about to collide with her, Lin Dachun rushed in.
He grabbed his daughter and dodged to the side with all his might.
The ram's horns grazed past his back, creating a whooshing sound, and crashed into the earthen slope behind them with a muffled thud, sending dust flying.
Lin Dachun, holding Lin Xilei, fell to the ground and rolled twice before stopping.
He disregarded his own pain and quickly looked down at the person in his arms: "Xilei! Xilei! Are you hurt?"
Lin Xilei's face turned deathly pale, and she trembled all over. When she opened her eyes and saw Lin Dachun, tears streamed down her face: "Waaah..."
She threw herself into Lin Dachun's arms, tightly wrapped her arms around his waist, buried her face in his chest, and cried uncontrollably.
The cries were filled with fear, and the lingering dread of surviving a disaster.
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I'm here." Lin Dachun patted her back, his voice trembling. "It's alright, it's alright."
Li Ruoxue also ran over, holding a thick tree branch in her hand, watching the ram warily.
The ram tried to charge but missed, then stood there panting, its eyes still fixed on this direction.
Li Ruoxue raised the branch and shouted loudly, shooing it away into the distance.
Lin Xilei nestled in Lin Dachun's arms and it took her a while to stop crying.
But she wouldn't let go, burying her face tightly, as if she wanted to hide her whole body in Da Chun's arms.
"...You scared me to death..." Her muffled voice came from his chest, tinged with tears.
Lin Dachun looked down at her frightened appearance, feeling both pain and tenderness in his heart.
He gently patted her back, his voice as soft as if soothing a child: "Don't be afraid, I'm here. That beast won't dare come back."
"This ram is no good. It goes crazy every day. I've already taken it out of the fold. It even charges at people randomly. I'll kill it tonight. It doesn't even recognize its master anymore. It's a beast!" Lin Dachun cursed.