The General's Delicious Wife Chapter 070: Are you sure this is edible?
Seeing that Sun Old Mister was so convicted, Xue Liang Ping knew that he would not lie to him, so he nodded his head and decided. "I'll go home now and bring the manure!"
Seeing that he chose to trust him unwaveringly, Sun Old Mister was in a cheerful mood, so he tipped him again. "Once you get home, soak the seeds in the water for two days, its going to germinate faster than throwing it into the ground like this."
Xue Liang Ping went home hurriedly, after soaking the seeds of the grains in water, he went to the backyard and gathered up two baskets full of manure, bringing them to the fields.
Xue Li saw it and pinched his nose to complain, "Father, what are you doing again, hasn't the field been feed with fertilizer?"
Xue Liang Ping repeated what Sun Old Mister said to him and instructed his son. "Hurry up and change the plowing toll, dig a deep ditch, and I will pour the manure!"
Xue Li exploded as soon as he heard it, and jumped to his feet and said, "Father, have you gone mad, its just the three of us sharing the workload, who are you trying to work to their deaths?"
Regardless of the good or bad conditions, the Xue family had close to forty six Mu* of land. If they were to follow what Sun Old Mister had said, that was not a joking matter.
What was more, in order to catch the best time during the sowing season, the work could not be done half-heartedly or slowly, the sowing ought to be accomplished as soon as possible.
"What's this noise for!" Xue Liang Ping ignored his son, he placed the baskets down, "Hurry up with the ditch digging, I still need to go back and get more after filling the manure, the both of you can cover it up with soil, then lastly sow the seeds together."
The originally easy farm work was turned into a big project by merely a few words from Sun Old Mister.
Xue Li was so triggered that he didn't know how to deal with it, he uttered curses towards Sun Old Mister. Truly, the older one becomes, the fussier one gets, he might as well had died early so that he would not become burdensome to others.
Qin Zheng lowered his head and was supporting the plowing tool without a word, he felt that he could not even muster the strength to roll his eyes anymore.
He had never done any farm work before, and his posture in supporting the plow was a little awkward. Walking rounds and rounds in that manner made him tired with his back and waist sore.
This kind of fatigue was completely different from the training in the army.
He felt that the reason why he could still move his legs and walk now was entirely due to the perseverance he had trained when he was a soldier.
Xue Li was also smoked till he was dizzy, and he complained loudly several times.
Only Xue Liang Ping remained oblivious. He held out the night soil ladle and spread it evenly along the ditch. When he heard the complaint, he replied with a laugh, "If there is no smell from the dung, how would fragrance of the grains come?"
The breakfast in Qin Zheng's belly had long been digested completely, and his stomach was so empty that it felt like it was twisting. But the smell of the waste water surrounded them all, even the incoming wind was smelly spreading out ten miles far.
Hearing Xue Liang Ping's words again, he could not even muster the desire to take out the flat bread in his inner pocket.
After finishing two more acres of land, Xue Li was too exhausted to even complain, and he claimed that he could not walk another step more.
Xue Liang Ping saw how high the sun had risen up to, he finished pouring out the last bit of manure in his bucket, clapped his hands and said, "Okay, let's go home, take a break after the meal and continue two hours later."
Qin Zheng dragged his tired body home and collapsed onto the brick bed immediately.
He maintained in the same awkward posture all morning, and at this moment laying against the solid brick bed, he could feel that there was not a single muscle in his limbs and back that was not aching and sore.
Xia Yue Chu had already prepared lunch, and it was still warming over the fire, yet to be served. Seeing that Qin Zheng was back, she hurriedly set the table for the meal.
When Qin Zheng heard about the meal, he felt nauseous, waving his hand off, "Sister-in-law, don't busy yourself, I don't want to eat."
"Your stomach is thundering like a drum. I heard it all the way from the kitchen. How can you not eat?"
Xia Yue Chu was afraid that Qin Zheng would work in the field with an empty stomach, she deliberately brought a small strip of pork belly in the morning, which was stewed together with a small pot of dried long beans, it looked yummy glistening in the oil.
"Everything that I am smelling right now is stinky, how am I going to eat!" Qin Zheng turned his head to look at the dishes on the table, his stomach started to revolt violently, twitching and aching in trembles.
But the smell was lingering, making him unable to lift his appetite at all.
Xia Yue Chu suddenly understood the reason, she smiled and told him, "Every flower on the farm is built upon the foundation of manure, manure as fertilizer is a farmer's treasure, it's not good to detest it like this!"
Xue Liang Ping was passing by their door when he heard this, and he exclaimed, "Aiya, you are truly a daughter grown up from the home of a private tutor, Yue Chu's words are very well said. Although I know it in my heart, but I would not be able to come up with that eloquent description!"
"Father, have you eaten? Come in and have some food together!" Xia Yue Chu greeted politely.
"There's no need to, your mother had also cooked lunch." Xue Liang Ping waved his hands off, he walked quickly towards the edge of the brick bed and took out a small porcelain bottle, pulled out the lid and put it under Qin Zheng's nose.
Qin Zheng could felt a refreshing and cooling and a hint of prickly smell hitting his nose, and it was inhaled into his lungs. His entire lungs became refreshed, clearing it from the previous terrible and disgusting feeling.
"You haven't done farm work and are not used to it, if you don't feel well, just smell some peppermint oil and you will be fine." Xue Liang Ping stuffed the porcelain bottle into Qin Zheng's hands and went back to the house for lunch.
At last, there was no stench lingering around his nose, and Qin Feng was able to recover again. He washed his face after getting off the brick bed and ate like an animal.
When he continued to work in the afternoon, Qin Zheng gradually mastered the technique, he was no longer as stiff or awkward as he was that morning, but still, he was too tired to raise his limbs.
The three of them worked in the field until it was dark, until they could no longer see the location of the ridge and ditch clearly, then did they dragged their exhausted self home.
Qin Zheng took off his coat before entering the house, he washed his hands and face, and applied some peppermint oil before entering the house.
He pushed the door open and immediately caught a foreign yet especially appetizing fragrance.
Qin Zheng did not know how to describe this scent. The aroma of braised sauce that was mixed with a hint of some foreign ingredient.
Mixed into a thick and heavy umami flavor, every trace of it was like a hook that was catching his interest.
Firstly, catching the attention by the nose, then, catching the attention by the stomach. Lastly, catching the curiosity of the heart, so much so that he could not wait to jump into the wok.
"Sister-in-law, what delicious food did you make? It's so fragrant that my saliva is about to drool down."
Qin Zheng did not bother entering the room, he headed straight to the big wok.
However, Xia Yue Chu deliberately blocked him off and said, "Don't open it, it is not done stewing. Go inside and wait, we will be able to start dinner in a while."
So Qin Zheng entered the house expectantly, but he noticed Xue Zhuang with a strange expression.
"Big Brother, what's wrong? Did the old lady Sheng come to trouble you again?"
Xue Zhuang shook his head, his expression changed in a complicated manner, and suddenly asked expectantly, "I remember you still had a piece of flat bread that you have yet to eat?"
"I have eaten long ago after working in the afternoon." Qin Zheng scratched his head, "Big Brother, are you hungry? Aren't we going to start the meal soon?"
"En." Xue Zhuang responded nonchalantly and his expression becoming complicated again.
"Let eat!" Xia Yue Chu declared, carrying a small pot of stewed dish into the room.
Qin Zheng took a deep breath, the warm and rich aroma entered his body and as if it became tangible, soothing and comforting his restless gastrointestinal tract.
But when he focused his attention on the food that was in the pot, his entire body suddenly flopped backwards, and almost rolling over in a back flip.
"Sister-in-law, you, you really cooked that basket of toads?" Qin Zheng finally understood why Big Brother had such a complex look and was unable to speak up a moment ago.
You, are you sure this thing was edible?
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Translator Notes:
*Mu, is a Chinese unit of area. 1 Mu equals to 1/15 of a hectare or 1/6 an acre.
Translated by YellowBean.