Chapter 16 of 100

Chapter 16

16 min read4,037 words

In the scorching heat of July, the afternoon sun was particularly intense, baking the earth like a hot boiled egg. Everything on the ground was listless and lifeless.

"Too hot, too hot."

The cicadas cried out with all their might.

At this time of day, even the most diligent farmers would take a break to avoid the scorching sun. Working in the fields under such conditions could easily lead to pesticide poisoning or heatstroke, which would be counterproductive.

After eating, Xiao Yang and Xiao Fei, carrying shovels, were about to go out in a somewhat secretive manner.

Their father glanced at them and asked, "Aren't you taking a break? What are you going to do?" Xiao Yang smiled and said, "Dad, we're going to do something big, something very beneficial for our family. We can't tell you about it until it's done, so we'll keep it a secret for now."

"You naughty boys, always acting mysterious. I really don't know what you're up to all day," the father said with a laugh, not suspecting anything. He knew his sons well and was confident they wouldn't do anything truly terrible.

The two brothers, drenched in sweat, left the village under the blazing sun.

Xiao Fei looked up at the sun, which was like a ball of fire, and muttered, "What a hellish weather! Walking under the sun, I'll probably be cooked in no time."

Outside the village, they could see the rolling hills. Xiao Yang asked, "Where do we start?"

"Let's go a bit further," Xiao Fei said, pointing to the farthest part of the hill. "We'll start from there and clear the entire section."

He handed his brother a cigarette.

Xiao Yang lit the cigarette and smoked it contentedly, saying, "Isn't it a bit too much to clear? How much wheat bran will we need? We'll have to add oil, salt, and alcohol to the wheat bran, and Mom will probably complain."

"Let her complain for now. She'll be happy when she sees the results," Xiao Fei replied.

As they walked and talked, they reached the hill.

They hadn't seen anyone along the way.

Xiao Fei felt his face and neck burning, thinking he would be sunburned. He sighed, realizing how hard it was to earn money.

The hill was covered with dense vegetation.

Hawthorn trees, with sparse leaves mostly eaten by bollworms, still bore plenty of hawthorns. Below the hawthorn trees were thorny bushes and clumps of reeds, whose leaves were sharp like blades and could easily cut the skin.

The two brothers climbed the hill and started clearing paths with their shovels, creating terraces. Xiao Fei explained the method to Xiao Yang, who then began working hard, while Xiao Fei followed behind, clearing small flat areas at intervals for the wheat bran.

Xiao Fei watched as his brother's clothes were torn by thorns, and his bare arms were scratched by the sharp reed leaves, leaving bloody marks and small droplets of blood.

But Xiao Yang seemed unfazed.

Soon, his clothes were soaked with sweat, and large beads of sweat rolled down his face, hitting the ground and creating small pits.

In the bright sunlight, steam rose from Xiao Yang's body.

Xiao Fei felt a pang in his heart.

His brother had been working in the fields with their parents since he was five or six years old and was treated as a strong laborer by the time he was fourteen or fifteen.

He was strong.

He was not afraid of hard work and worked with a life-or-death determination.

Such a diligent brother had suffered all his life. Sometimes, heaven really seemed blind!

After more than two hours, the two brothers had cleared a section of the hill about 300 meters long. Xiao Fei estimated the area to be about 5,000 to 6,000 square meters. When they came down from the hill, they were both in a sorry state.

Their clothes were covered in dirt, which had mixed with sweat to form mud.

Xiao Yang's arms were covered with bloody scratches, and his clothes, already tattered, were now almost in shreds.

Xiao Fei, following behind, was in a slightly better condition, but still worse off than a beggar in the city.

After coming down from the hill, they stripped off their clothes and bathed in a small river near the village, washing their clothes and hanging them on the branches of trees to dry.

On the way back, more people were heading to the fields.

Along the way, villagers often asked them what they had been doing.

Xiao Yang told them he had tried to block a section of the river to catch some fish but had caught nothing.

By the time they got home, it was around four in the afternoon.

Their parents and Xiao Yan had already gone to the fields.

This made Xiao Yang uneasy. He had never been lazy in his life.

"Fei, I'll go to the fields too. You stay home and fry the wheat bran," he said, picking up a small hoe.

"Brother, we just sprayed the fields this morning. Why go now?" Xiao Fei asked, sitting on a stool in the shade, stretching his legs and looking up at his brother.

"The weeds grow so fast. We need to clear them every one or two days, or they'll take over the fields. We farmers can't afford to be idle!" Xiao Yang, in his tattered clothes, scratched his itchy skin.

At that time in H Province, working away from home was not yet common. For farmers, leaving their hometown was the hardest thing to do. Historically, farmers would only leave their villages in times of extreme hardship, known as "escaping famine." If they could manage, most people preferred to stay and farm their land.

Therefore, farmers were very devout about their land.

They believed in the principle that "diligent people make the land productive." As long as they could move, even if they were sick, they would work in the fields.

If they were idle at home for a day, they would feel restless, as if they had committed a great sin.

Xiao Fei thought he needed to change his brother's mindset as soon as possible.

In the future, farming had become a side job for farmers, with income from working away from home being the main source. How much could they earn by facing the earth and the sky?

"Brother, it's already four o'clock. We need to fry the wheat bran now and set out by five to spread it on the hill. There's a lot of work to do!"

"But..."

"Brother, think about it. If we do well tonight, we can earn a thousand or so yuan. If you go to the fields to clear weeds and miss tonight's work, the loss will be significant."

Xiao Yang was silent for a moment and said, "Alright, I won't go to the fields. But, Fei, shouldn't we tell our parents?"

"There are too many people, and they might cause trouble. Let's tell them in the morning after we see the results," Xiao Fei replied.

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