Without waiting for Old Wang's response, Second Fu had turned and walked into his own house smugly.
Old Wang was baffled.
What was that?!
"Dear! Look at my rice!" Second Fu shouted as he ran into the central room happily.
The first thing he wanted to do when he got home was to share this huge piece of good news with his family.
Mdm Fu was busy cleaning her daughter.
Fu Xing'er's face was red from pushing with all her might.
That's right, she just pooped magnificently again.
How embarrassing!
It was so annoying to be unable to control one's bowel movements.
She wished that she could grow up quickly so she could be rid of this predicament as soon as possible.
"It's fine, Fubao. Mummy will wipe you clean so that you won't feel uncomfortable." Mdm Fu smiled and coaxed gently, "My Fubao already knows what being shy means at such a young age."
Fu Xing'er blinked. She wasn't young.
"Daughter, look at the rice I grew." As soon as Second Fu entered the house, he started to show off his accomplishment to his daughter.
Mdm Fu was back-facing him as she was changing her clothes.
She was prone to frequent perspiration just like all women who had just given birth. Any slight movements would result in her being drenched from head to toe with sweat.
"Come on now, old man," Mdm Fu said, her voice soft and soothing. "Don't let this year's poor harvest get you down. Remember when we defied our family's destiny and had our beautiful daughter, Fubao? We can do the same with the rice fields. Keep your head up and let's work even harder next year."
She refused to accept her fate.
When things seemed their bleakest, there was nowhere to go but up.
Her words made Fu Xing'er giggle.
How inspiring!
She liked her mother's personality of not admitting defeat.
Second Fu's mouth twitched.
Indeed.
However, it was different this time.
"No, no. Dear, we are going to have a bumper harvest this year. Look!" Second Fu quickly handed the ear of rice to her.
He looked forward to seeing her expression of shock.
"Wow, this is the first time I've seen grains that are this plump. Whose rice is this? It grew so well." Mdm Fu said as she took a grain and bit on it.
Tsk, tsk, tsk!
The farmers who grew this must have been elated.
It's impossible for this to come from their own field.
She wouldn't dare to even think about it.
If their own crops were even 30% as plump as this, she would be smiling in her sleep.
"It's ours. It's from our rice field!" Second Fu was grinning so hard that his jaw ached.
"Old man, are you feeling okay?" Mdm Fu quickly reached out and touched his forehead. "Did that blow mess with your brain?"
How could it be theirs?
This joke was not funny at all.
When she was still pregnant with Fubao, she had gone to their rice field as well. It was so tragic
that she no longer held on to any hope.
"No, I'm serious. It's really ours," Second Fu reiterated.
"Old man, I know you're upset, but there's nothing we can do about this. If we can't succeed this year, we'll keep trying harder in the subsequent years till we succeed."
She had dealt with blows countless times over the years, so she knew how to handle them.
She even developed the ability to overcome them and grow more confident in the process.
"Dear, it's really our family's rice." Second Fu was sweating profusely from his anxiety to explain himself, "I wouldn't have specially brought it over for you to see if it's not ours."
Why couldn't she believe what he said?
Mdm Fu was still shaking her head and smiling.
She still didn't believe it.
How could it be possible that their rice grew so well? She was sure that Second Fu must have taken the rice from someone else's field to cheer her up.
"When I saw it, I didn't believe it either. I sat there in a daze for a long time before I came back to my senses. Dear, it's really our rice. Our family is really starting to get lucky." Second Fu was so excited that his eyes were glistening with tears. "Thanks to our daughter, our family is not unlucky anymore. Boohoo!"
It was said that farmers depended greatly on the weather. Whereas for them, they depended on their luck.
Their bad luck was finally gone!
She did believe in her daughter's good fortune.
"Are you sure you're not making this up to make me happy?" Mdm Fu asked as she stared at him.
No, her husband had never been a liar.
Could it be… true?!
"It's the truth. Just look at this! No one in the village has ever grown rice of this caliber! It's all ours!" Second Fu exclaimed.
This confirmation took Mdm Fu by surprise.
She was in shock.
She was stunned, her mind overwhelmed by the incredible quality of their rice. She was so thrilled that she felt like her brain was going to burst with excitement.
She shook her head.
No, she had to see it for herself.
Otherwise, she would not be able to believe it.
Mdm Fu grabbed a coat and hurried out after wearing her shoes.
Coincidentally, Fu Daxing and Fu Erxing just returned from selling the firewood. They saw Mdm Fu going out and asked, "Mother, where are you going? You're still in confinement."
Worried that she might catch a cold from the wind outside, the brothers quickly closed the door.
"What confinement? Don't block my way. I'm heading to our rice field to take a look."
Mdm Fu couldn't wait to set off.
She wanted to confirm if Second Fu was telling the truth.
The quality of their rice crops this year determined their family's financial standing for the foreseeable future.
"Mother, don't go. It's useless even if you go and take a look. You should take good care of your body." The two brothers refused to let her go.
"That's right, Mother. Our field would look tragic anyway. There's nothing great to see there."
"Dear, you need to take your health seriously." Second Fu said as he hurriedly stopped her as well. "You need to be healthy to take good care of our daughter, don't you?"
At the mention of Fu Xing'er, Mdm Fu immediately calmed down. However, it was still difficult to suppress her excitement. "But… but…"
Second Fu knew that she was anxious to confirm what he had just told her, so he got his two sons to go instead. "Daxing, Erxing, you two go to the field and take a look on your mother's behalf. Bring back an ear of rice when you come back for her to see."
This way, she could rest assured.
The two brothers were baffled.
"Father, there's nothing we can do even if we go to the field. No matter how much fertilization and watering we try, it's going to be useless."
"I agree. Let's not waste our efforts. Instead, we'll chop more firewood every day and sell them for a good price."
Since they couldn't earn much from farming, they would find another way to bring back money.
"If I ask you to go, go. Otherwise, your mother will make a fuss and insist on going."
He was sure that his wife would finally believe him when his two sons returned.
"Alright, alright, let's go."
They would do anything to make their mother happy.
Hence, with looks of puzzlement, the two brothers set off to the field.
"Old man, if you dare to lie to me, I'll ignore you in the future. I won't even let you carry our daughter," Mdm Fu warned fiercely.
Second Fu answered that he wouldn't dare. She would know that he was indeed telling the truth when the two brothers returned home later.
In the field.
Fu Daxing and Fu Erxing stood in a daze, rooted firmly to the ground..
"Daxing, are we dreaming?"
Fu Daxing pinched him hard. "Ouch!"
Fu Erxing cried out in pain.
He pinched him back. Fu Daxing also cried out in pain.
The two brothers pinched each other again and again in excitement. Eventually, bruises formed all over their arms.
"It's not a dream! It's real!"
"It's real!"
"Goodness, how is this possible?!"
"Daxing, our family has finally attained rice self-sufficiency!" The two brothers hugged each other excitedly.
"Yes! We can finally eat to our fill!"
All these years, they had been eating watery porridge every day and would often wake up in the middle of the night from hunger. With no other options, they could only drink water.
It hadn't been easy at all!
They knew very well how their crops had looked like previously. Somehow, they had come back to life and were growing extremely well now.
Fu Daxing said with certainty, "It must be because of Little Sister. It must be because of her good fortune."
"Little Sister is truly our family's lucky star!"
The two brothers had the same thought as Second Fu.
Mdm Fu turned more and more restless with each passing second.
"Why are they not back yet?"
If they were still not back a while later, she would go there personally.