Chapter 63 Watering the Vegetables

Midday was spent talking about the cane, and by the afternoon, Brother De was caned once again. During the calligraphy practice, Brother De failed to concentrate and messed up the stroke order, resulting in a complete mess. Master Zheng taught him stroke by stroke, yet he still refused to write in the correct order.

Driven beyond endurance, Master Zheng rewarded him with several heavy swats of the cane. The only silver lining was that this time he was hit on his backside, where there was plenty of flesh. It hurt during the beating, but the pain subsided afterward.

After a whole afternoon of practicing calligraphy, looking up revealed that it was time to dismiss school.

Sun Shan gathered his book box, slate, and lunchbox, hurried to the school gate, bid farewell to Uncle Zheng, said goodbye to his classmate Yang Qingbei, and then led Brother De and accompanied Lady Su back home.

After walking a few steps, Sun Shan noticed the middle-aged man holding Yang Qingbei's hand. According to what he had been told, the man was a household steward responsible for escorting the boy to and from school.

Half an hour later, they returned to Sun Family Village.

Brother De whispered quietly, "Shanzi, you must never let anyone find out that I was caned, you hear me?"

Sun Shan replied with a blank expression, "I won't actively tell Third Uncle and Third Aunt. However, if they ask, I will tell them the whole truth without missing a detail. I won't lie for you."

Without looking back, he quickened his pace to catch up with Lady Su, leaving Brother De scratching his head and stamping his feet in anxiety.

Upon returning home, Lady Su hurried off to work in the fields. Spring was approaching, which meant the sowing season was almost here. Lady Su needed to tidy up the fields so that once Sun Bomin returned, spring plowing could begin.

Sun Shan put down his book box, finished the homework assigned by the master first, and then went over to the well to practice his calligraphy.

Indeed, handwriting is entirely a matter of practice. Now his characters were becoming smaller and smaller, and the grid squares on the paper were shrinking as well, yet through repeated practice, he never wrote outside the lines.

As for Sun Shan's handwriting, Master Zheng's evaluation was: neat and orderly, stroke by stroke. It was legible, but entirely devoid of aesthetic appeal.

Master Zheng favored Yang Qingbei's handwriting. Even though he also wrote stroke by stroke, he managed to infuse it with a sense of artistry. Master Zheng remarked that his handwriting tended to be a bit too soft and lacked sufficient force, expressing a hope that the brush tips could be sharper.

As for Brother De, his handwriting remained the ugliest among the three. He couldn't even manage to cram his characters inside the grids without crossing the boundaries, earning him the harshest scoldings from Master Zheng.

Sun Shan figured he would practice slowly for now and at least aim to write smaller characters. Once he grew a bit older, he would practice adding strength and force. After all, being young meant his wrists lacked the strength, making his current handwriting insufficiently imposing.

After finishing his calligraphy practice, Sun Shan said to his eldest sister, Guyu, "Elder Sister, I am going out to the fields."

He had to inform her. Whether it was Sun Bomin, Lady Su, or any of his older sisters, they all kept a very close eye on Sun Shan. If he left without a word, his eldest sister would surely worry herself to tears.

Guyu looked at the sky; the sun was almost setting. She said, "Shanzi, it's getting late, you shouldn't go out."

Sun Shan shook his head and said, "Elder Sister, practicing calligraphy made my head dizzy. I want to go outside for some fresh air."

Hearing this, Guyu said no more. Not to mention Shanzi, even she and her younger sisters felt dizzy and overwhelmed from studying, so she could empathize completely. She earnestly instructed, "Then go out for just a moment and come straight back. Don't wander far, and don't go play in the water by the stream."

Sun Shan quickly promised, "I'm just going to the vegetable patch to find Grandmother and Mother, I won't play in the water."

Guyu nodded. Her younger brother was still a reassuring presence; he had been well-behaved and quiet since childhood, unlike the rascal next door who was always causing mischief, running up mountains, wading into rivers, climbing trees, and robbing bird nests.

She cautioned once more, "Make sure you don't go too far. You may only go to the vegetable patch."

Sun Shan acknowledged with an "I know," stepped out of the courtyard, and walked along the rustic path. Along the way, he ran into various villagers, shouting generic greetings of uncles, elders, and aunts. They would respond whenever they heard a greeting, never minding which title was used.

The Sun family's vegetable patch was not far from home, located right next to the village's grain-drying ground.

A small stream flowed past the area, making it convenient for watering the vegetables. Most of the village's vegetable plots were concentrated here.

In the early spring season, everything was full of vitality. Wildflowers grew in clumps everywhere, and patches of wildflowers bloomed along the roadside.

Sun Shan quickly found Lady Su and Madam Huang. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were busy—one was watering the vegetables while the other was harvesting them.

The freshly watered vegetables emitted a distinct, pungent odor of urine. However, once accustomed to the smell, it became quite acceptable.

The village lacked other fertilizers, the most common ones being nightsoil and urine. A bucket of pure urine would be brought out first, diluted with water, and then sprinkled over the crops.

Madam Huang was picking heart-cabbage that hadn't yet been treated with the urine mixture. Some of them had grown old because they weren't harvested in time, bursting into clusters of bright yellow blossoms.

Viewed from a distance, most villagers grew heart-cabbage. Row upon row, the blooming yellow mustard flowers presented a uniquely charming landscape.

"Grandmother, Mother," Sun Shan called out from afar.

Madam Huang responded with a smile, "Shanzi, what brings you here?"

Lady Su paused the long-handled ladle in her hand and spoke loudly, "Why did you come out? It's almost dark, and we are about to head back."

Sun Shan didn't bother to answer. He came because he came; besides, Lady Su and Madam Huang were only asking casually. It was completely normal for children in the village to come to the vegetable plots to look for the adults.

Not far away, other villagers were also watering and harvesting vegetables, while children frolicked and played.

Sun Shan squatted in the vegetable plot to pull up weeds. Spring weeds grew rapidly, and flocks of wandering birds frequently dropped weed seeds. Even after weeding, they would sprout again in three to five days.

The vegetable plot contained heart-cabbage, lettuce, leeks, and celery.

Sun Shan disliked celery; that particular flavor was simply too unpleasant.

He turned to Madam Huang and said, "Grandmother, I want to eat scrambled eggs with leeks."

Madam Huang was in the midst of picking heart-cabbage. Hearing her grandson's request, she replied warmly, "Alright, I'll cut some to take back, stir-fry them with eggs, and add some of the dried shrimp that your eldest aunt brought back."

Sun Shan nodded vigorously and smiled, "Grandmother, adding dried shrimp is great, that's my favorite."

Madam Huang chuckled. Precisely because she knew it was his favorite, she made a point to add it.

Lady Su chimed in from the side, "Mother, I'll cut the leeks. You pick more heart-cabbage to take back; we can feed it to the chickens and pigs. If we don't harvest them now, they'll grow too woody to eat."

Madam Huang nodded and resumed picking the heart-cabbage. They had planted a bit too much previously, and with the crops rotting on the stalk and more than they could possibly consume, the heart-cabbage had begun to flower within days. Once aged, they could only be harvested as feed for the poultry and livestock.

After a busy spell, as dusk fell, they hurriedly shouldered the wooden buckets, gathered the green vegetables, and returned to the old Sun family residence under the lingering twilight.

As soon as they stepped through the door, all the sisters of the household had returned.

The second sister had finished her routine chore of tending to the cow. The third and fourth sisters had gone into the mountains with the village children to gather firewood. They piled thin branches into the courtyard to dry in the sun, and once sufficiently dried, they would chop them into manageable lengths and store them away for fuel.

Guyu emerged from the kitchen, retrieved the green vegetables from the bucket, discovered bamboo shoots among them, and smiled as she asked, "Grandmother, Mother, where did these bamboo shoots come from?"

Madam Huang smiled and replied, "We were lucky today and dug them up in the village bamboo grove."

Sun Shan also loved eating bamboo shoots, but the ones previously brought back from his maternal grandfather's home had long since been finished.

Lady Su instructed, "Third Girl, peel the bamboo shoots, soak them in water for two days, and they'll be ready to eat the day after tomorrow."

Xiaoman obediently picked up a bamboo shoot, squatted on the ground, and began peeling it.

After peeling, the shoots would be sliced thin and soaked in well water for two days to remove the bitter taste before they could be consumed.