Broken Waist

Xiaoguo had just arrived at the fields. She was filled with admiration when she saw that some families with a bigger household had already plowed an acre of land.

It was true that her plot was really small. Even if those families had two plots of land that were the same size as hers, it would take less than a morning for them to finish their work.

Other people’s grains were stored in sacks, unlike her, who came with two pieces of rags. The people who sold seeds were unwilling to sell her anything because the quantity she wanted to buy was too little.

She walked all the way to her plot and looked at the patch of grass in disbelief. If not for the fact that there were no other plots around, she definitely wouldn’t think that this was her plot..

“This is over the top!” Xiaoguo walked closer to take a look with the hoe in her hand. Then, she stepped back. To be honest, she was afraid that there were snakes and rats hiding among the grass.

“Sigh, Jiang family, why are you going back?”

When the Lin family saw Xiaoguo walking back, they asked.

“I am going back to bring out the donkey cart. There’s too much grass.”

Xiaoguo spoke as she walked without stopping.

Since this piece of land was already in such a state, the other remote piece of land was probably not much better. The grass looked quite fresh. She would bring it back to feed the cows and donkeys.

She went back and pulled the donkey cart out. There were a few large baskets on the cart. She had almost forgotten that she had changed to a carriage and that she didn’t have a cart now. The grass could not be placed directly on the cart. She could only try to transport as many baskets as she could.

When she reached the fields, she rolled up her sleeves and started working. Fortunately, the plot was small. As she worked, she looked up to look at the remaining plot and felt a trace of comfort.

Some of the grass was very tenacious. Using a hoe, one could not remove the roots at all. She had to pull them out with her hands. Feeling that it was more efficient to use her hands, she gave up on the hoe and pulled with her bare hands. Other than some tiny weeds that she had to remove with the help of the hoe, all the remaining weeds were pulled out using her hands. Her speed had doubled but the work was back-breaking.

Xiaoguo filled the baskets as she pulled the grass out. She had been working on this for almost half a day. She arrived late and wasn’t very fast. At noon, everyone was packing up and preparing to go home for lunch. When they bumped into Xiaoguo and greeted her, she realized that it was noon.

Having worked on the plot for a long time, in the instant when she stood up, everything within her view turned black. The world spun and she almost fell. She had to hold on to the basket beside her to avoid falling over.

It took some time for her to recover from her dizziness. She carried the basket and slowly walked towards the donkey cart. During this time, the donkey had eaten its fill outside. It was still chewing and there were remnant pieces of grass around its mouth.

Xiaoguo moved the baskets one by one onto the cart. She was so tired that her entire body was covered in sweat. Just when she was lifting the last basket, she exerted strength from her waist and with a cracking sound, she was instantly immobilized.

“Did I just break my back?!”

Xiaoguo was panicking. She quickly forced herself to calm down. First, she threw away the basket in her hand. Then, she carefully tried to move her waist. Small movements were not an issue. Then, she tried a wider range of movements. She realized that it didn’t feel like it was broken, it felt more like a twisted back. At the thought of this, she heaved a sigh of relief. As long as her waist wasn’t broken, she was relieved.

Not daring to make any big moves, she carefully picked up the basket and carried it to the donkey cart. Then, she drove home. The weeding work on this plot of land was considered done. She would remove the weeds from the other plot in the afternoon. Tomorrow morning, she would plow the two plots of land and start planting in the afternoon.

“Perfect!”

Xiaoguo had a plan in mind. Her goal was very clear. She had regained her vitality, although her waist still hurt a little.

When she returned home, she immediately unloaded the cart and placed a basket of grass in the cow shed. Then, she quickly made lunch. Time was tight. On the way back, she had already bumped into a few families who had returned to the fields after lunch.

Although she always said that there was no hurry, she couldn’t help but make comparisons. When she was the only one left in the fields, she felt a little lonely.

Just as she was about to start cooking, the door suddenly opened. Curious about who it was, Xiaoguo walked out with her hands on her waist.

“Brother?”

Qin Anming had returned with a bag on his back.

“Xiaoguo.” Qin Anming waved his hand anxiously and headed for the room while gulping down a whole pot of tea.

Xiaoguo followed behind and looked at him curiously. What was he doing? “Why are you so thirsty?”

After quite a while, Qin Anming started explaining when his throat was not so dry, “I rushed back this morning, but when I got to the county gate in the carriage, they were doing their routine checks. Everyone entering or leaving had to register and go through thorough searches. There was a long queue in front of me. It took quite a long time for me to get back.”

“Why did you need to register again?”

Xiaoguo sat beside him and asked curiously. Previously, when they entered the county, no one was doing these checks.

“I’m not sure.” Qin Anming shook his head. “By the way, have you planted any crops in the fields?”

“No, I was planning to plant it today, but the fields are filled with grass. I was clearing the weeds in the morning, and I have to do the same for the other plot in the afternoon.”

“That’s perfect. I’m taking two days off. I’ll go back after I’m done planting.”

The two of them chatted for a while before going to the kitchen to cook. They were both starving. For lunch, they had noodles, tomatoes and egg braised soup. Xiaoguo had two bowls while Qin Anming had four.

After resting for a while, Qin Anming picked up the hoe and got on the donkey cart. He was planning to walk initially, but when he heard that Xiaoguo was bringing back the grass, he helped her onto the donkey cart.

“What’s wrong with your waist?”

Qin Anming had seen it when they were cooking just now, but she didn’t say anything when he asked her. She kept saying that she was fine. As the day progressed, it looked like it was getting worse.

“Sigh, I strained my back when I was moving the basket in the morning,” Xiaoguo said in an indifferent tone. She was afraid that Qin Anming would be worried.

Unexpectedly, even though she said that, Qin Anming still made a fuss and lectured her for a long time. He only stopped when he bumped into a fellow villager.

“Next time, don’t do the farming yourself. Wait till I get back, or when Danhe is at home. This is no joke. What if something really happens to you?”

At this moment, Xiaoguo was already numb. All she knew was to nod and say yes, yes and nothing else.

Seeing that she was quite obedient, Qin Anming nodded in satisfaction and stopped nagging.

Xiaoguo heaved a sigh of relief. She was sure that if she refuted him just now, Qin Anming would have continued nagging until the sky turned dark. He wouldn’t care if there were any other villagers around.

When they arrived at another plot of land, Xiaoguo was about to start hoeing when Qin Anming quickly stopped her.

“Then what should I do?”

Qin Anming looked around and finally locked his gaze onto a spot.

…

Xiaoguo sat on the donkey cart with a hoe in her hand. She looked helplessly at the man who was shoveling the ground not far away.

She had just asked what she could do when Qin Anming arranged for her to sit on the donkey cart and not let her move. If she got out of the cart secretly, he would start his nagging again.

Just like that, Xiaoguo sat on the donkey cart for the entire afternoon. It wasn’t until Qin Anming was done with the weeds that she finally got permission to get out of the cart to pick up the grass and load the baskets.

After resting for half a day, her back did not get better. Instead, it was becoming more painful. For twisted backs, the pain will last at least a few days before recovery. However, since Xiaoguo had healing powers, she should be fine after one night.

Although it was still early, the two of them decided to go home. Qin Anming was so tired that he was sweating profusely. Xiaoguo didn’t want him to continue working. Tomorrow, the two of them will work together and finish their work in half a day.

The next day, before dawn, the two of them prepared to go to the fields. They ate a sumptuous breakfast before setting off.

They arrived early, but there were still some others who were earlier. When the two of them reached the fields, some families had been working with their hoes for a long time.

“Don’t do it. I’ll do it.”

Qin Anming stopped Xiaoguo, who was holding the seeds, and tried to push her back to the donkey cart to rest. Xiaoguo kept trying to explain to him that she was fine, but he refused to listen.