Husband and Wife are of the Same Mind Chapter 73

Chapter 73

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However, to avoid carrying things around the bookstore and bothering others, Tang Feng still placed his items at the paying counter. “Could you please watch these for me?”

“You can leave them here. When you’re ready to leave, just come find me.”

The shopkeeper was a sharp-looking lad, speaking with great tact.

Tang Feng smiled and thanked him. The attitude here in the county town is really good.

Seeing Tang Feng’s considerate action of placing everything neatly at the front, the onlookers in the bookstore withdrew their gazes. After all, everyone was busy and it was better to spend time reading than staring at others.

Third Uncle Guo has always enjoyed reading ancient poetry and literature. Tang Feng looked through the bookshelves but didn’t find anything that caught his eye, feeling somewhat disappointed.

By chance, he came across a set of writing utensils—brush, ink, paper, and inkstone—with bamboo engravings on them. They looked refreshing and elegant. He picked them up and examined them carefully. They seemed quite nice.

“Please wrap this up for me.”

Tang Feng said as he brought the writing utensils to the paying counter.

The shop assistant was extremely efficient and soon handed him the neatly wrapped package.

“Two taels of silverstone in total.”

Tang Feng happily took out the money, which made the people in the bookstore look at him again. After all, two taels of silverstone was not a small amount. He actually used it to buy writing utensils, without purchasing some books from his elders for reference.

After buying the items and picking up what he left at the shop assistant’s place, Tang Feng saw that it was getting late. He didn’t stay long and hired a donkey cart to return to the village.

“You finally came back!”

Tang Amo had been waiting for Tang Feng to return.

“What, Amo, were you afraid I’d get lost?”

Tang Amo glared at him. “I wasn’t afraid you’d get lost, I was afraid you’d buy the wrong things and waste your money, just like your father.”

Hearing this, Tang Feng helplessly handed the milk fruits in his hand to Tang Amo.

“I bought them as you asked, all blue milk fruit.”

Tang Amo took a look and confirmed that everything was correct. He immediately smiled broadly, while Father Tang, sitting beside him, frowned and tapped his tobacco on the chair. What did he mean by “like father, like son”? They were father and son after all.

“These blue milk fruits are much better than the red and yellow ones. Look at the color and size,” Tang Amo said joyfully to Lin Yu.

Lin Yu reached out and picked up one of the blue milk fruit to examine it. It was very fresh, and as he brought it close to his nose, he could smell a faint, pleasant fragrance. Blue milk fruit could be stored for two to three months.

“But why is there so little? Didn’t I ask you to buy two months’ worth?”

Tang Feng took a sip of water and replied, “The shopkeeper said they can’t be stored for too long. I thought since we’ll be going to the county town often in the future, I only bought one month’s worth.”

“That should be enough. This amount will last for the month when the child is born,” Lin Yu said.

“Okay then, I’ll also go buy some later. I haven’t bought blue milk fruit before!”

“You’re not going to buy blue milk fruit, you’re just going to strut around the county town and show off to the neighbors!”

Father Tang, who had been sitting silently on the side, suddenly muttered.

Tang Amo’s face immediately turned green.

“Are you unable to live your days properly if you don’t speak!!?”

Father Tang turned away.

Tang Feng gave Lin Yu a look, and they picked up their things and went into the room.

“You must be tired today.”

Tang Feng said as he changed his clothes, laughing. “It’s not so much that I’m tired, it’s just hot.”

With so many people in the county town, the crowding was indeed a bit unbearable.

“Amo made mung bean porridge. Later, you should have a few bowls to cool down.”

“Sounds good, I’m quite thirsty right now.”

During dinner, Tang Feng remembered Third Uncle Guo’s birthday and asked, “How are we planning Third Uncle Guo’s birthday, Amo?”

Father Tang immediately looked at Tang Amo.

Tang Amo glanced at him, thought for a moment, and said.

“Your uncle doesn’t like fuss, so it’s usually simple. We gather to chat, have a meal, and that’s it. This year, Xiao Yu has a child, so how about you and your father go? I’ll stay home with Xiao Yu.”

Tang Feng thought about it and shook his head. “You and father go. I’ll stay home with Xiao Yu.”

“That’s fine too. After all, we feel more at ease with you at home,” said Tang Amo, knowing that Tang Feng was a doctor.

“Alright, it’s settled then. I’ve already bought a birthday gift for Third Uncle Guo. You can take it over, Amo.”

“Okay, with your thoughtfulness, I’m sure he’ll be very happy.”

Tang Amo said, pleased that Tang Feng hadn’t forgotten Third Uncle Guo’s birthday. It was heartwarming to see that their child was growing up and still thinking of them.

Father Tang also nodded.

“Oh, by the way, tomorrow the in-laws are going to harvest crops,” Father Tang suddenly said.

“Then we should go over and help.”

Tang Amo said.

The Lin family’s fields weren’t very large. When they bought land, there wasn’t much unused land in the village. Therefore, they didn’t buy much. Also, with Father Lin being a hunter, they never worried about not having enough to eat. This type of land was something Lin Amo insisted they should definitely cultivate.

Tang Feng also joined in harvesting the fields at his father-in-law’s home. He wouldn’t just stand idly by and watch.

Rolling up his pants, he waded into the field. The warmth from above contrasted with the coolness below, and the ground felt soft and sticky. Tang Feng furrowed his brow slightly, trying to suppress the discomfort brought by the sticky sensation underfoot.

It was his first time working in the fields, and Father Lin  didn’t make him run around. Instead, he gave him the easiest tasks, so it wasn’t too difficult.

Luckily, the sun wasn’t too harsh that day. By the end of the day, they had harvested all of Lin’s family’s crops. Several other families in the village had also started harvesting, and there were children guarding the drying grain on the dam. They were guarding not only against insects and birds but also to protect their territory for drying their own crops.

On the dam, the rule was first come, first served for drying crops. So, children had run to claim spots early. Fortunately, not many people followed Lin’s family to harvest, and there was plenty of space on the dam. Lin Amo and Lin Wen were responsible for watching over the grain on the dam. After all, the weather sometimes turned rainy without warning. If they weren’t careful, all their efforts would be in vain if the grain got wet.

Meanwhile, Lin Zhuang and Father Lin went to help the Tang family with their harvest.

The Tang family’s fields were about an acre larger than the Lin family’s.

“Hey, in-law! Your crops are looking mighty fine this year!” Father Lin exclaimed loudly as they harvested the grain.

Father Tang was also pleased. “The crops are good this year, thanks to favorable weather. Even after paying the grain tax, our family will have enough to eat through the winter.”

“Yeah, this year I won’t have to stack up so much hunted game,” Father Lin said. In previous years, before Lin’s family moved here, they relied mostly on hunting for a living. After the division of land, they had a few small plots, managed by Lin Amo and Lin Yu to grow vegetables and a little grain for their daily lives.

Later, Lin Amo thought that it was more practical for a farmer family to have more land and bought two more acres of land after moving to Xiao Qingshan Village.

This year, everyone had a good harvest, and the whole village was jubilant. Even the strict adults in the family jumped with their children.

Compared to families with children, the Tang family naturally lost out when it came to grabbing space on the dam to dry their grain, because they didn’t have any children who could run to secure a spot.

They could have gone early to stake out a spot, but the Tang family had their own responsibilities. Tang Feng had to teach in the morning, Father Tang had to help villagers solve problems, and Lin Yu was currently ignoring the issue. Tang Amo was alone and simply didn’t have enough energy.

So, to ensure that the Tang family’s grain also had a place to dry, Lin Wen was assigned by Lin Amo to go and secure a spot every day.

Lin Wen was actually quite willing to do this. After all, Lin Yu was pregnant and unable to help much physically. He was happy to contribute as much as he could.

With Lin Wen’s help, the Tang family’s grain dried completely in just two days.

After the grain was dried, it had to be run through a wooden winnowing machine to remove all the debris, husks, and broken shells.

Of course, the material blown out couldn’t be thrown away; it could be broken down and fed to the chickens.

Afterward, they lined up at the back room of the ancestral hall to shell the grain, and only then was the crop fully processed.

With the grain matters settled, everyone’s hearts were finally at ease. After all, wasn’t this year’s hard work all leading up to these days?

A few days later, Tang Feng went up the mountain to look for medicinal herbs. Suddenly, he remembered the intentionally enclosed kiwi tree. He thought it was about time; the kiwis in the mountains weren’t artificially ripened, so they should be ready to be picked and left to ripen naturally soon.

Sure enough, only two or three kiwis were left on the enclosed tree. There wasn’t a single fruit peel on the ground, just some small footprints, indicating that some animals had taken them away. Tang Feng picked the remaining kiwis.

He smelled them near his nose, and the fragrance had already started to spread. He gently squeezed one; it wasn’t too soft but just right. After picking them, a few days’ wait and they would be ready to eat.

“These kiwis are about ready to be picked. I’m thinking of taking a few people into the mountains to pick some. First, we can taste them; second, if we pick a lot, we can sell some this year and make some income.”

“That sounds good, but didn’t you say that place is guarded by monkeys? How are you going to pick them?”

Father Tang was not reckless; naturally, he thought of these things.

The monkeys were small but numerous. To pick the kiwis, they would have to get the monkeys to leave the area or pick them when the monkeys weren’t paying attention. If they confronted them directly, there would be quite a lot of trouble. If they were unlucky, making too much noise might attract the attention of other predators, which would be disastrous.

Author’s note: “Young and Inexperienced”

If you asked Wu Zhu which subject he hated the most, he would tell you without hesitation, it’s Literature.

Wen Shu on the desk began to call people to answer questions again. Wu Zhu kept his head low, hoping Wen Shu wouldn’t notice him.

“Wu Zhu.”

Just when he hoped nothing would happen, something always did!

Wu Zhu reluctantly stood up.

“Explain what ‘Young and Inexperienced’ means.”

Wu Zhu scratched his head and hesitated for a long time. Unable to figure it out, he quietly asked Tang Feng sitting in front of him, “What does it mean? Help me out!”

Tang Feng blinked a few times, quickly wrote something on a piece of scratch paper, and placed it where Wu Zhu could see.

“Hurry up!”

Wen Shu urged.

Seeing no other choice, Wu Zhu looked directly at what Tang Feng wrote and read it out loud, “Just came out of the toilet?”

As a result, Wu Zhu was punished to clean the men’s toilets for a week.

(This small theater is from a joke adaptation, set in a modern boys’ school.)

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