Zhao Ce looked at the green weeds covering the ground and fell silent. He remembered clearly that he had arranged for someone to plow the field in the spring, but what happened to all these weeds? And what about the family who was supposed to help him with farming? Su Caier watched him in silence and carefully examined the field. She found that there were occasional golden rice ears hidden among the weeds, but they were hard to find and very few in number.
Just then, a man carrying a hoe and sickle walked over from the road. When he saw Zhao Ce and Su Caier staring stupidly at their field, he smiled mockingly and said, "Lord Zhao, the weeds in your field looks great!"
Zhao Ce snapped out of his thoughts and recognized the man. "Uncle Dashan!" he exclaimed. Dashan's dark face showed a hint of discomfort at Zhao Ce's friendly tone.
"Um, you haven't taken care of this land after planting the seeds, have you?" Dashan asked, feeling uneasy after Zhao Ce's address.
"Don't bother with this land," Dashan continued, taking advantage of Zhao Ce's use of "Uncle." "Instead of picking out the rice ears one by one, it's better to cut the weeds and rice together. At least the weeds can feed the pigs.
You scholars are really something. You plant the seeds but don't remove the weeds. How can you expect to have a good harvest?"
Feeling embarrassed, Zhao Ce said, "I remember asking my sixth uncle to help me with the planting, and I thought he would take care of it."
"Your sixth uncle?" Dashan chuckled. "I don't know anything about your affairs. I have something to do in my own field, so I'll be going now." With that, Dashan hastily left the scene.
Crops are the lifeblood of farmers, and if Zhao Ce had really asked his sixth uncle to help with the farming, but ended up with such a mess, the two families would have a dispute. Dashan was just passing by and didn't want to get involved.
After Dashan left, Zhao Ce looked helplessly at his drowned crops and said to Su Caier, who was staring at the grass, "Let's go back. I need to go to my sixth uncle's house to find out what happened."
Su Caier quickly grabbed his sleeve and said, "I'll go with you!" She knew from experience as her family's land was only half an acre of wasteland, barely enough to survive. Her mother's family had many brothers, but no one would take their inferior land and plant it.
She had seen in the village before how other families' issues with their fields and crops would usually lead to arguments, and in some cases, even fights. Her husband was a scholar and would certainly not argue with anyone, let alone fight.
Therefore, as his wife, she had to help him. Su Caier gathered her courage and raised her voice slightly. "My husband, my husband is not afraid!" The young girl suddenly became nervous. Her usually soft voice trembled slightly as she spoke.
Was she afraid that some conflict would arise because of the land issue? Zhao Ce didn't know what she was thinking. He could only smile and say, "It's okay. I'm just going to ask them some questions." "As a scholar, I won't argue with anyone."
"I saw some good yellow mud on the way here. Can you go check it out for me?" Su Caier breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. Then, she nodded her head seriously. "Then I'll go help my husband find the yellow mud."
Zhao Ce agreed and took her to a nearby slope they had passed earlier. Many villagers were working in the fields around here, so there was no need to worry.
Zhao Ce left his hoe here and asked around to find out which field Uncle Liu was working in. Many people were working in the fields, but Zhao Ce easily found out where Uncle Liu was.
He went straight to Uncle Liu's field. Aunt Liu was there with her grandson, bringing lunch for Uncle Liu. The two were sitting on the edge of the field, while a little boy played nearby.
Zhao Ce approached them and called out, "Uncle Liu, Aunt Liu." The two looked up at him. Uncle Liu gave him a glance but didn't say anything. Aunt Liu smiled awkwardly and said, "Master Zhao, why are you so polite today?" Then, she seemed to think of something and quickly looked away.
Zhao Ce went straight to the point and asked, "Didn't I ask Uncle Liu to help me plant on our land? Today, I went to see it and found that it's all overgrown with weeds."
Upon hearing this, Uncle Liu snorted. "Planting? Do you, a big scholar, even know how to plant?" "Tilling the land, fertilizing, cultivating, planting, weeding... which of these processes did you ask me to do?" Zhao Ce was taken aback by his words and didn't react at first. The people resting and eating nearby were also attracted by Uncle Liu's loud voice.
They watched the commotion while enjoying their meal. "At the time...I asked Uncle Liu to help me plant my two acres of land," Zhao Ce said. Strictly speaking, Zhao Ce himself had never done any farming work. When he was in the countryside before, his grandparents never asked a child to work. So he had only seen others do farm work, and it had been a long time ago, so he couldn't remember it very clearly.
When Uncle Liu asked him what kind of work he had asked him to do, he couldn't answer. Uncle Liu turned his face and waved impatiently, saying, "You asked me to plant the land, but only paid me for two days of work. I even provided the seeds in the beginning. I did what you asked me to do, and I don't owe you anything. Now, stop bothering me, and let me work!"
Aunt Liu looked a little embarrassed but didn't say anything. The people eating nearby were still making noise, saying, "Mr. Zhao, since you have never worked on the land, there are many things you don't know. This kind of crop cannot be planted properly in just two days. The pay you gave Uncle Liu wasn't enough for the work."
Before, Zhao Ce used to mock those who worked on the land for not studying, but now he was speechless when they turned the tables on him with their knowledge of farming.
Someone nearby said, "Why didn't Uncle Liu clarify things with you at the time? This crop is our livelihood. The season has passed and if Mr. Zhao doesn't harvest his crops, he'll lose out on the autumn tax." Uncle Liu insisted, "I did as much work as he paid me for. How can this be my fault?"