Xue Dafu said, “That’s what I think too. When the bricks and tiles are delivered, we’ll talk to Chief Lu. It’s not too late to let him mark out the land. It’s all near the village anyway, so there’s no need to be in such a hurry to mark out the land for our house. There’s no rush now.”
“Yes, yes, yes.” the others nodded. “That’s good too. We’ll probably have time to build a house soon enough.”
Double snatching was the time when they were harvesting early rice and planting late rice.
Jiang Yue and Xue Yan didn’t have any objections.
This matter was settled.
Seeing that Xue Dafu had finished his meal and was about to go to Chief Lu’s house to ask if anyone in the village wanted to sell their land, Jiang Yue said, “I’ll go with Xue Yan.”
“That’s good, that’s good.” Xue Dafu chuckled and didn’t have any objections. “By the way, you said a few acres, but how many acres do you want to buy?”
Xue Yan looked at Jiang Yue.
“Five,” Jiang Yue said.
She didn’t want to plant too many.
Xue Dafu didn’t realize that Jiang Yue was the one in charge. Xue Yan didn’t say anything, so he just nodded.
“Sure, sure, then I’ll buy five acres.”
Xue Dafu strode in front with Jiang Yue and Xue Yan following behind.
Xue Yan took out a fire piston from his pocket and looked at it, then put it away.
“Your mother and the others can’t bear to use it,” Jiang Yue said.
“When they get used to it, they’ll hate the flint,” Xue Yan said with a smile.
Jiang Yue agreed.
On the way, they met someone. That person smiled and asked, “Dafu, where are you taking your two kids?”
Xue Dafu continued to walk forward with big steps as he smiled. “To Chief Lu’s house.”
“You have something to discuss with Chief Lu, right?” that person laughed.
Xue Dafu could only laugh.
It wasn’t until Xue Dafu, Jiang Yue, and Xue Yan were far away that the man turned to the person beside him and said, “Ever since Xue Dafu bought the fields with the money he got from selling the blind bear, he immediately straightened his back. He walked with a breeze, and I don’t see that hunchback anymore.”
The person next to him laughed, “His back was originally only a little hunchback. It’s also a good thing that Xue Yan didn’t continue to study in town, or else he would have become more and more hunchbacked, just like his father, Xue Da.”
“But it’s such a pity for Xue Yan. He has such a good brain.”
“That was in the past. I heard that his brain is not as good as it used to be, so he can’t continue his studies in town, so he came back dejectedly.”
“You’re listening to Wang Sufen’s nonsense again, right? Most of what she and the others said was not true. Don’t listen to Zhang Meili too, Xue Yan’s fourth aunt. Anyway, there is no such thing. Xue Yan is still smart. He probably felt bad for his family and didn’t want them to work so hard, so he decided to quit school and said that he wanted to become a farmer. That child has been very sensible since he was young, it’s not like you don’t know.”
“I should’ve known.” The people around him suddenly realized.
“I think Xue Yan is still the same as before. I can’t see any difference. Why question him coming back? These are all just silly guesses. Wang Sufen and the others are just full of nonsense.”
Jiang Yue didn’t hear the conversation between the two because she had already arrived at Chief Lu’s house.
Chief Lu was weaving a wicker basket in the courtyard. His son, Lu Zhuangniu, was helping him to peel the bamboo basket nimbly. His wife and daughter-in-law were sitting under the roof, peeling the peanuts from last year. They did not want the shells of the peanuts, leaving only the peanuts in a bowl.
His grandson and granddaughter were playing in the central room.
The door to the courtyard was not closed.
“Chief Lu.” Xue Dafu greeted him with a smile before walking in.
