– Digging Pond (1)

Back at home, Lei Tie went to the well and directly scooped water from the well to pour on his face.

Qin Mian frowned, “The water in the well now is still very cold, careful or you’ll catch a cold.”

“Unlikely, my body’s strong.” Lei Tie pulled off the towel on the clothes-drying pole to wipe his face.

Qin Mian’s gaze slipped from his broad shoulders to his thick chest, to his narrow waist, to his buttocks, and then to his long legs. He coughed and looked away.

“Did you see White Spot?”

Lei Tie said, “Probably went to the mountain.”

White Spot had not lost its wildness just because it lived with two humans. From time to time, it went to the mountain alone. Sometimes for two to three days and occasionally brought back a small prey. At first, Qin Mian was worried that it would not return home at night. Later, seeing that it was dirty, tired, and had never been hurt, he let it had its way.

Qin Mian lit up the oil lamps in the house. He went into the kitchen to take a bowl and filled it with spiritual spring water. He carried it out to Lei Tie. “You get two buckets of water, mix this bowl of water in it, and then pour some on each fruit tree.”

Lei Tie did not ask a word as he nodded and went out with the bowl.

Qin Mian could see from the kitchen’s window that he bent down to lift water from the well. His arms and shoulders imbued with power, and his back, waist, and hip outlined a charming curve. When Lei Tie’s back disappeared outside the courtyard, he suddenly realized that he had been watching Lei Tie all the time. He rubbed his face to pull himself together and calmly scooped out rice to rinse. They had made certain of their intentions and Lei Tie belonged to his family. Wasn’t it normal that he could not help staring at Lei Tie?

When Lei Tie came back from watering, Qin Mian grabbed his neck without warning and forced a kiss on his lips. He was a little puzzled. Upon seeing his wife walk away leisurely to continue cooking with lively movement and good mood, Lei Tie was relieved and sat quietly in his usual position – in front of the stove, watching the fire and adding firewood.

“How many people should we hire to start digging pond tomorrow?” Qin Mian ladled up the well-fried twice-cooked pork into the plate, which smelled extremely savory. He picked up his chopsticks and clipped a piece of meat to eat. Then he clipped another piece of meat and sent it to Lei Tie’s mouth. “Have a taste.”

Lei Tie held the chopsticks and looked at him as he bit at the meat.

Qin Mian suddenly remembered that he had not changed the chopsticks.

“Thirty people. Twenty-two people dug up soil and eight people pick up the soil.” Lei Tie spoke after swallowing the meat in his mouth.

Qin Mian began to make the second dish, which was stir-fried lean meat with dried red pepper. Nowadays, even without meat tenderizer or cornstarch, he could still fry lean meat to be tender and delicious. When he was making dumplings on the evening of the ninth day of the first month, he inadvertently remembered that there was a time in his previous life when he was cooking, the cornstarch at home was used up and he forgot to buy it. Then, inspiration struck him to use flour. After mixing with flour, the cured lean meat was very soft and tender, not tough at all.

When the oil in the wok heated up, Qin Mian stir-fried the cured lean meat and ginger together for a while before adding dried red pepper. The spicy aroma made him want to sneeze, so he quickly turned his back to the wok.

“Digging a pond is also a big event. Do you want to go to Deng’s Village and tell the grandparents? There are two uncles and three cousins, too. If we don’t ask them to help us dig the pond, they may feel that we don’t take them into consideration. As for whether they’ll come or not, depends on them.”

Country folks were very particular about this. They would inform their relatives and friends of any big events at home to show respect, which also meant that both sides were in good terms.

His wife was considerate, Lei Tie nodded, “I’ll go early tomorrow morning.”

The next day, at dawn, Lei Tie drove to Deng’s village. Qin Mian had prepared breakfast, but Lei Tie had yet come back, so he ate alone. He had just washed the dishes and tidied up the house when Lei Tie came back. Eldest Uncle Deng, Second Uncle Deng, Deng Quan, Deng Zhong, and Deng Xiao jumped down from the cart with shovels and baskets.

Qin Mian was surprised and said, “Eldest Uncle, Second Uncle, Eldest Cousin, Second Cousin, and Third Cousin are here. Come in, please.”

Eldest Uncle Deng was still indifferent as he nodded.Second Uncle Deng had a smile on his face and very kindly said, “Brother Mian, thanks for the hospitality.”

Deng Quan, Deng Zhong, and Deng Xiao all greeted Qin Mian with a smile. It was not good to call him “cousin’s wife”, so they called him “Brother Mian”.

It was their first time here. Entering the house, they could not help but look around curiously.

Deng Quan said with a smile, “Your house is well-organized.”

Deng Zhong nodded in agreement. The most noticeable thing in the central room was the wall. Unlike the wall of the common villager’s house where there were a lot of dried mud lumps between the bricks due to extrusion, theirs was all polished and leveled. On the wall opposite the door was a pair of calligraphy and painting, a small wall-mounted flower basket symmetrically on the left and right. There were also two “Happiness” characters pasted opposite each other, and four exquisite wall-mounted bamboo candlesticks in the four corners of the room that reached up to shoulder-height – the several exquisite objects with elaborated arrangement could easily attract the eyes of anyone entering the door, thus weakening their concern for the wall itself.

Taking another look at the furniture in the central room, the dining table was covered with reddish-brown and white checker tablecloth with a complete tea set placed on it, and the two high-back chairs placed side-by-side were padded with two finely tailored gray fur seats. On the spotless tea table, there was a fruit basket with a few apples and oranges in it. The four big leaning cushions on the settee looked soft. On the right side of the settee was a three-layer wooden rack which was neither high nor low. A wooden knife holder was placed on the top layer, on which was placed a smoothly polished wooden knife, and beside it was a small bow. In the middle layer, there were pairs of wooden carriage models and sailing boat models. At the bottom layer, there were two snack plates, containing melon seeds and peanuts, which were convenient for the owner to take when sitting on the settee.

Continuing to look to the right, there was a waist-high cupboard beside the settee, with a vase on it. There were several bright flowers in the vase, full of vitality. It made people feel refreshed. A closer look, one would discover that the red flowers, yellow flowers, green leaves in the vase and the flowers in the wall-mounted basket were all made of cloth. It made people marvel at the ingenuity of the maker. The whole central room was very warm and elegant.

Deng Xiao joked, “It’s arranged so neatly that we dare not to sit down.”

Qin Mian took out the best tea from the cupboard to make tea for them. He said modestly, “Only fiddling around while idle.”

Lei Tie took the snack plates into the kitchen. After a while, he came out with several plates of snacks. The snacks in the plates were piled high.

“Eldest Uncle, Second Uncle, and cousins, please make yourself at home.” Lei Tie succinctly said.

Deng Quan hastily said that there’s no need to stand on ceremonies.

“Eldest Uncle and Second Uncle, it’s warm now. Why don’t you bring the children here to play?” Qin Mian asked. Lei Tie was too tight-lipped; he could not count on him for this kind of domestic trivia.

Speaking of the children, Eldest Uncle Deng’s face softened, “We’re here to work, what do we bring them for? They’re too noisy.” Be that as it may, he had no disdain in his eyes and obviously loved his grandchildren.

Qin Mian said, “It’s good for children to be lively. The pond we’re going to dig is very large. It’s estimated to take two or three days to completely dig up. It’d be better to bring the children tomorrow. Aren’t boys at that age like to play with soil and mud? Running and jumping more often makes the body healthier. As for the little girls, I can let little sister watch over them. It’s the right time for the girls to go out and have a look while they’re still young.”

He arranged it very carefully and said it sincerely. Second Uncle came around first, “Well then, we’ll bring them here tomorrow.”

Eldest Uncle Deng also nodded.

The three Deng cousins’ expressions were even gentler. For Qin Mian to attach importance to their children was the same as attaching importance to them.

Qin Mian also added, “As for grandpa, grandma, Eldest Aunt, Second Aunt, and the three cousins’ wives, I’m afraid we won’t be able to welcome them well at present. When the flowering and fruiting season of fruit trees is up, I’ll invite them to have a good time.”

Eldest Uncle Deng and the others’ faces were brimming with smiles.

“That’s a deal,” Deng Zhong said with a laugh, “When the fruit trees blossom, we’ll bring them to see the flowers.”

“That’s settled then.” Qin Mian nodded with a smile, “At that time, I’ll let Lei Tie pick you all up.”

After chatting for a while, Deng Quan took the initiative to say, “It’s getting late. Shall we go now?”

Qin Mian waved a hand, “Eldest Cousin, no hurry. You all can sit down a little longer, I’ll call the others first.”

After Qin Mian left, there was a moment of silence in the room.

Deng Quan looked at his tight-lipped cousin and shook his head helplessly. He thought to himself: Second Uncle Deng was bored sitting, so he stood up. “Tiezi, please take us there first and have a look at your orchard by the way.”

The few men carried their shovels and baskets and went out with Lei Tie.

They needed to hire thirty people in total. In addition to the five members of the Deng Family, Qin Mian found another twenty-five people in the village.

The digging work was harder; 80 Wen a day. The picking up work was relatively easy; 50 Wen a day. It was fairer to pay according to the amount of soil dug up and the amount of soil picked up, which could prevent people from being lazy. Considering that they were all fellow villagers, Qin Mian did not do so. Being excessively calculating in everything was not the way to deal with things.

The high wages made villagers swarm up. If Lei Xiangyi, Lei Xiangli, Zhang Dashuan, and Wu Di were not informed in advance, they would not be able to seize the quota.

Qin Mian also hired two married women to move the stove to the field with the purpose of boiling water and deliver tea. The wage was 20 Wen a day.

The two married women were too happy, they grinned from ear to ear. What a wonderful thing that just by sitting there boiling water could earn 20 Wen.

After Qin Mian called people, he returned home. The gate was locked, so he did not enter and went directly to the field.

Just after two steps, an old man with his hands behind his back came across. His eyes were bright and his body was thin, but his pace was steady. One could see that he was hale and healthy.

Once Qin Mian saw that the old man resembled Fang Wu by half, he greeted with a smile, “Uncle Fang.”

“Hehe…” Uncle Fang squinted as he laughed and beckoning him to walk together, “This youngster’s eyes are very sharp.”

Qin Mian looked at him and shook his head. “Second Brother Fang said that you’re 61 years old this year. He’s surely fooling me. I think you’re 50 at most; hale and hearty despite the years.”

“Hahaha…” Uncle Fang laughed, “You boy! He’s not fooling you. I’ve agreed to what Fang Wu said. I’ll have to ask this youngster to take care of me later.”

“Uncle Fang overwhelms this junior with more than what I deserve.” Qin Mian politely said, “It’s Lei Tie and me who want to ask Uncle Fang to take care of us.”

Old people liked people who were modest and polite. Uncle Fang stroked his beard and nodded, “Well said.”

Qin Mian said, “I don’t know––”

Knowing what he was going to say, Uncle Fang waved his hand, “Let’s go and see the trees first.”

Qin Mian readily accepted all good advice and made a gesture of “please”.

When they came to the orchard, Uncle Fang was a little excited when he saw the fruit trees. He quickened his pace and walked to the front unconsciously.

Based on his expression, he really understood fruit trees. Qin Mian’s heart was truly at ease and quietly followed him.

Uncle Fang used his fingernail to pick out a small piece of bark from a branch. He looked at the color of the core under the bark and went on.

After turning around in the fruit trees, he stopped, turned back to Qin Mian, and said, “You bought a lot of fruit trees. There are three trees withered a little, I’m afraid they’d be hard to survive. The other trees are well chosen. However, the transplanted adult trees are difficult to survive. Now they’d only been transplanted for a day, so there’s nothing to see. If, after five days, these trees don’t show signs of withering, there’s basically no big problem.”

Qin Mian was not worried about this. He had confidence in the spiritual spring water.

“Later on, I may trouble Uncle Fang with the labor.” Qin Mian pondered for a moment, “Generally, the fruit season is three months. During the fruit season, I’ll pay Uncle Fang 200 Wen a month. Outside the fruit season is 50 Wen a month, what does Uncle Fang think? This junior doesn’t know about the market situation of this business. If the arrangement is unfit, please let me know.”

Uncle Fang waved his hand with happy laughter, “I don’t need so much. Pay 100 Wen per month during the fruit season and 20 Wen per month outside the fruit season. It’s a deal.”

After that, without waiting for Qin Mian to speak, he went back to the place where the pond was dug up.

Shoutout Corner: Thank you, TucTuc! ღゝ◡╹)ノ♡ You just sponsored Chapter 78! (*・∀-)☆ We shall share the joy!

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