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Chapter 173: Chapter 166: The Couple Clears the Land
Li Hongjun swung the shovel, digging up clods of the dark soil, then flicked his wrist to flip the soil over and toss it back to its original place, before lightly sweeping the shovel to smooth out any raised areas.
His series of movements flowed effortlessly like clouds and water, showing no signs that he hadn’t held a shovel in years.
Shen Yunfang stood by, giving a thumbs-up in admiration.
"I never knew you could farm," she said.
"I joined the army at sixteen, but before that, I helped my dad farm wheat for several years," Li Hongjun replied, bending down to continue turning the soil.
Seeing sweat on his forehead, Shen Yunfang took out her handkerchief, tiptoed over, and began to wipe his brow.
Li Hongjun cooperated by pausing his work and tilting his head towards his wife, making it easier for her reach.
"I’ve heard that Taoshu Village mainly grows wheat. Do you still know how to farm it?" Shen Yunfang asked, eyes shining as she stared at Li Hongjun.
"Of course, what’s up? You want to grow wheat?" Li Hongjun enjoyed seeing her expression; it made him feel important, almost as if he could do anything.
"Yes, I do. I want to eat buns, I want to eat noodles, and I want to eat dumplings," Shen Yunfang answered with certainty.
Taoshu Village and Gaijiatun weren’t far apart, yet the crops they cultivated differed significantly; Gaijiatun primarily grew rice, while Taoshu Village focused on wheat.
"You don’t know how tough it is; Gaijiatun only distributes thirty kilos of wheat at the end of the year. It’s a hassle even to have dumplings occasionally. If you can farm, then this year I’ll plant wheat on my land," she said, indulging in the delightful thought of being able to eat buns or dumplings whenever she wished.
"Alright, we’ll plant whatever you want," Li Hongjun had no objections, as long as his wife was happy.
And so, the planting agenda for the year was decided on that simple basis.
Seeing Li Hongjun working alone and progressing slowly while she stood idly by, Shen Yunfang fetched another shovel from their space and started turning the soil alongside him, effectively doubling the work speed.
Li Hongjun didn’t attempt to stop her as she began to work the ground. He knew his wife wasn’t a delicate flower that wilted outside of a greenhouse. Even without him, he was confident she could manage the labor just fine.
They chatted intermittently as they worked, never pausing in their task. When Li Hongjun started to feel a slight pain in the palm of his hand, he looked up and noticed that Yunfang was behind him—even though the work progressed from front to back, implying that his gentle and soft wife was working faster than he was.
"What’s wrong?" Yunfang sensed the silence on his end and stopped to look over.
Without a word, Hongjun walked over, took her delicate pale hand, and began examining it gently. Despite being soft and smooth, it didn’t show any signs of labor.
"You must be tired after working for so long. You should rest. You’re not wearing gloves either. What if you ruin your hands?" It didn’t make sense. Just last year, she cleared an entire hillside on her own. The labor was considerable, and yet her hands remained slender, without a single callus on her palms.
Reminded by him, Yunfang suddenly remembered she had forgotten to put gloves on him. She quickly grabbed his hands to check them. There was only a slight redness, no blisters had formed.
"I’m fine. I’m used to this work, and my hands have toughened up over time. But you should be more careful, or you might get blisters," she said.
Hongjun chuckled as he lifted her hand. "Are you sure?" he asked, skeptical that her hands had toughened up naturally.
"Hehe," Yunfang laughed sheepishly, realizing that she couldn’t keep even her last secret hidden.
And so, Hongjun learned about the Essence of Life.
"Are you saying that ever since you ate that thing, your physical condition really improved?"
"Mhm, it improved significantly. I used to struggle just lifting a shovel, let alone doing any plowing. Look at me now." She made a gesture like Popeye the Sailor.
"Any other effects?" Li Hongjun furrowed his brows and pressed on.
Shen Yunfang thought for a moment and recounted all the changes she had experienced.
"So you’re saying, ever since you came to see me, you fed me that thing, and then my leg recovered so quickly and so well, right?"
"It should be its effect," Shen Yunfang nodded in agreement. In fact, she didn’t mention that she knew to use the Essence of Life on him generously only after they were married. She wasn’t foolish. Before marriage, this person had nothing to do with her; why would she use such a precious thing to improve his physique? After they got married and she confirmed that he was truly her man, only then did she become more generous with him.
Li Hongjun nodded in understanding, "No wonder you could single-handedly clear such a large area of land."
"Hehe, this kind of work really isn’t much for me now. It’s only because there’s limited space. If I had even more land, I could farm that too," Shen Yunfang boasted.
Li Hongjun raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure you’re not just boasting?"
Shen Yunfang snorted, as if to say don’t underestimate me.
"Are you sure no one really comes here?" It took him about an hour to climb up from the base of the mountain. Logically, since it wasn’t too far from the village, there should be people who could make it up here.
"Mhm, no one came by last year at least." Nobody could guarantee this sort of thing; who knew when someone might suddenly decide to clamber up here? That’s why Shen Yunfang was very cautious last year, always carefully observing her surroundings before approaching.
Li Hongjun nodded as he understood. If that was the case, then it truly would be feasible to clear some land here.
"Alright, for the sake of my wife’s future, where she can eat steamed buns whenever she wants, let’s plant more wheat this year," Li Hongjun declared, picking up the shovel, his fighting spirit ignited by his wife.
But after just working for a morning, in the afternoon, they both got distracted by something else and stopped plowing to squat by the forest instead.
"Does this really work?" Shen Yunfang looked at the ropes Li Hongjun was fiddling with in his hands.
Just while they were plowing, they saw a gray rabbit hop by the edge of the forest. Li Hongjun suggested a break to catch a wild rabbit to augment their dinner.
Shen Yunfang knew that Li Hongjun could catch rabbits and was also excited—she had been eyeing those rabbits for quite some time.
So Shen Yunfang took out some rope from her space, and Li Hongjun started to craft a simple snare by her side.
"It’ll work, it’ll definitely work. Just get ready to eat rabbit meat," Li Hongjun said after observing the surroundings, then fixed several snares in place.
After setting the snares, Li Hongjun pulled his wife back to continue working. Shen Yunfang was somewhat distracted, always thinking about turning back to check the snares for caught rabbits.
Li Hongjun, quite helpless, turned her head back around for her, "Stop looking. Rabbits aren’t caught that easily; do you think they’re like you?"
"Go away, leave me alone," Shen Yunfang replied, clearly frustrated. Ever since she told him about her space, he seemed to always question her intelligence. In her previous life, she was a successful person, after all.
That afternoon, the couple worked until the sun was about to set, and Shen Yunfang was still reluctant to leave, all because not a single rabbit was caught in those snares. It took Li Hongjun’s promise that they would surely catch a rabbit if they came early the next morning to finally coax her back home.
