Everyone's been reborn, so who would bother finding a wife on their own?

Chapter 96 Rural Areas

Farming is really hard work.

Song Huan wielded the hoe for half an hour under the scorching sun, until his palms turned red.

He stopped to catch his breath, glanced at his palm, and saw that the skin between his thumb and forefinger was taut and shiny; it would probably get blisters in a while.

He gritted his teeth and continued digging.

After digging a dozen more times, my arms started to go weak. When I raised the hoe, it wobbled and fell half an inch off course, hitting a lump of hard mud. The impact made my hands go numb.

"hiss."

He placed the hoe in the field and shook it.

Grandpa sat by the irrigation ditch, an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth. Looking at him like that, I didn't say anything.

Song Huan rested for half a minute, then picked up the hoe again.

This time, after digging three times, the fourth time it went astray, the hoe hit the rice stubble, bounced up and almost hit my foot.

Grandpa quickly stood up, walked over, and took the hoe from his hand.

"Alright, I'll do it."

Song Huan wouldn't allow it, saying, "I'll be fine after resting a little longer."

"You're not just resting, you've never done it before, your hands are too raw."

Grandpa slung the hoe over his shoulder. "It'll be fine once you get calluses on your hands. Go outside, it's too hot here."

He walked to the middle of the field, picked up his hoe, and started digging.

The movements were similar to Song Huan's earlier, but the rhythm was different.

One stroke after another, at a steady pace, the hoe cut into the soil at just the right angle, turning up the soil neatly, with all the rice stubble pressed underneath.

Song Huan stood on the edge of the field, watching her grandfather's back.

He was over seventy years old, his back was a little hunched, the skin on his arms was loose, and the veins were bulging, like old tree roots.

But the hoe was very obedient in his hands, rising and falling repeatedly.

The sun shone on his back, and sweat dripped from the brim of his straw hat, falling into the turned soil and forming a small dot that dried quickly.

As Song Huan watched, she felt a strange mix of emotions.

A young and strong body can't beat a seventy-year-old; who can you complain to about that?

"Song Huan!"

He turned his head.

Xiao Yunqing ran over from the other side of the field, carrying three bottles of water, panting heavily.

His sneakers were covered in mud, and his trousers were rolled up to his calves, revealing his white ankles with a few mud splatters on them.

She ran up to him, holding up three bottles of water. "Are you thirsty?"

Song Huan glanced at the three bottles of water, then looked at her. "Where did you buy them?"

"The village store," she said, panting, her face flushed from running, "I asked Aunt Liu where I could buy water, and she took me there. It was a long walk."

She rummaged through the three bottles of water in her bosom, pulled one out, and shoved it into his hand. "Drink it quickly."

Song Huan took it; the bottle was cool to the touch, with water droplets condensing on it.

He unscrewed the cap, tilted his head back, and took a big gulp.

The water slid down my throat, cooled down to my stomach, and I felt completely relaxed.

Seeing that he had drunk it, Xiao Yunqing grabbed the other two bottles and ran into the field.

"Grandpa! Drink some water!"

She ran into the field, her feet sinking into the freshly turned soil. She stumbled and almost fell, but managed to steady herself after a couple of wobbles.

Grandpa stopped, took the water, looked at her sun-reddened face, and smiled.

"You silly child, running all this way to buy water."

Xiao Yunqing smiled and said, "It's not far, it'll be there in a little while."

Grandpa unscrewed the cap, but instead of drinking it himself, he handed it back, saying, "You drink some too."

"I have another one." She held up another bottle and shook it.

Grandpa laughed even harder as he watched her proudly showing off her treasure.

He glanced at Song Huan standing on the edge of the field, then at the rosy-cheeked little girl in front of him. He couldn't quite explain what he felt, but he was just happy.

The sun slowly slid westward, and the light turned orange-red.

Grandpa said that was enough after turning over almost half the field, and that they would come back tomorrow.

The three of them packed their things and headed back.

Song Huan carried a hoe and walked in front, Xiao Yunqing followed behind, clutching a small iron shovel that hadn't been used much all day. Grandpa carried empty buckets at the very back, the carrying pole creaking loudly.

There are more people on the village road now.

Some people carried their plows and harrows home after work, some led their oxen back from the fields, and some sat at their doorsteps eating dinner.

Upon seeing these three people, they all stopped to greet them.

"Old Song, did you take your grandson to the fields today?"

"That's right." Grandpa laughed loudly, and the carrying pole swayed even more violently.

"Your grandson is quite successful; he studies in the city and comes back to help out."

"That's right." Grandpa's voice carried a hint of pride. "Jiangcheng No. 1 High School, and second in the whole school."

Song Huan was walking ahead when she heard those words and stumbled.

Second in the whole school? When did he ever get second place in the whole school?

Last time, he was in the 50s in the whole school in the monthly exam. Where did Grandpa hear that he was second in the whole school?

He glanced back at his grandfather.

Grandpa winked at him, his expression like that of a weasel that had stolen a chicken.

Song Huan was speechless.

Okay, whatever makes you happy.

An uncle walked along the ridge of the field, carrying a shovel. His skin was tanned dark, and he smiled, revealing a set of white teeth.

He looked at Xiao Yunqing with a smile, "Old Song, whose daughter is this? She's really pretty."

Before Grandpa could speak, Xiao Yunqing said, "I'm his classmate, I came to visit."

The voice was crisp and clear, and straightforward.

The uncle laughed even wider, "Hello, classmate. City girls are so fair-skinned."

Xiao Yunqing blushed slightly, but the corners of her mouth turned up.

After walking for a while, we met an old woman carrying buckets of water.

The woman put down the bucket, wiped her sweat, and looked at Song Huan and Xiao Yunqing with envy in her eyes.

"Old Song, you're so lucky. Your grandchildren have all come back to help."

Grandpa waved his hand, "What granddaughter? That's Huanhuan's classmate."

"Classmate?" The aunt glanced at Xiao Yunqing, then at Song Huan, and smiled. "Oh, classmate."

The "oh" was drawn out for a long time, carrying a deep meaning.

Xiao Yunqing walked forward with her head down, her pace quickening considerably.

Song Huan followed and walked beside her.

She whispered, "Why are they all so enthusiastic?"

That's how it is in the countryside; if a stranger comes to someone's house, the whole village knows.

"Oh." She nodded, then glanced back at the older woman.

The woman was carrying buckets of water forward, her back short, the carrying pole swaying on her shoulders.

"She looks so kind and simple," Xiao Yunqing said, her tone tinged with emotion.

Song Huan glanced at her.

Kindness? Simplicity?

He thought for a moment, "A little, but only a tiny bit."

Xiao Yunqing turned to look at him, a little puzzled. "What do you mean by that?"

Song Huan didn't answer and continued walking forward.

He remembered something.

After his grandparents passed away in his previous life, he returned to deal with the old house.

The neighbors who used to call him "Huanhuan" with smiles suddenly changed their attitude.

The Zhang family said that the land belonged to them, and that they had only lent it to the grandfather to farm back then.

The Li family said that the corner of the wall should have been moved in half a foot, because the boundary was drawn too far back then.

The Wang family was even more direct. Taking advantage of the fact that no one lived in the old house, they planted a row of sugarcane in the yard, saying that since the land was just lying idle anyway, they might as well let them use it.

Several families argued fiercely over a small plot of land, a few fruit trees, and the location of a wall.

Some people slammed their fists on the table, some smashed cups, and some stood at the door cursing, using extremely offensive language.

He stood at the door of the old house, looking at those people, and felt they were complete strangers.

The person who used to hug him, give him candy, and pat his head when he was little, saying "Huanhuan is such a good boy," how did he suddenly become like this?

He didn't contest the land later; he just sold it.

He never came back from that day on.

It's not that I don't want to come back, it's that I don't know what to do when I come back.

The house is gone, the land is gone, and my grandparents are gone too.

He didn't want to guess what was hidden behind those smiling faces anymore.

A rural area is still a rural area.

Sometimes, it's not just about being poor in terms of money.

"Song Huan?" Xiao Yunqing's voice brought him back to reality.

He came to his senses and found himself standing under the big banyan tree at the entrance of the village, already stopped.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked, looking at him with concern in her eyes.

"It's nothing," he smiled. "Let's go."

The two continued walking forward.

Xiao Yunqing followed beside him for a while, then spoke again.

"What did you mean by what you just said?"

"What did you say?"

"You're saying what that old lady said." She mimicked his tone, not quite quite right, but she got the gist.

Song Huan didn't say anything.

Xiao Yunqing glanced at him. "How could you say that? Aren't the villagers treating you very well?"

Her tone carried a hint of reproach, but more than that, it was filled with confusion.

In her opinion, these people were indeed quite nice.

Smiling, greeting her, praising her, offering cigarettes to her grandfather.

There's nothing wrong with it.

Song Huan thought for a moment and said, "Some people can't be judged by appearances. They may seem nice to you, but who knows what they're really thinking?"

Xiao Yunqing paused for a moment.

She looked at him, her brow furrowing. "Aren't you overthinking this?"

"Maybe." Song Huan didn't say anything more.

maybe.

Perhaps he's overthinking it.

Perhaps those things from my past life will not happen in this one.

Perhaps these people are simply kind-hearted and have no ulterior motives.

He switched the hoe to his shoulder and quickened his pace.