Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 1 The Capable Young Man
In the first year of the Wen Dynasty, a century of war ended, and various regions began to recuperate.

The emperor established his capital in Luoyang and bestowed titles upon his meritorious officials.

The imperial court organized local officials to relocate people to reclaim wasteland, making the reclamation a permanent occupation, exempting them from taxes, and providing them with travel expenses, oxen, and seeds.

Most people were unwilling to leave their homes. Many people had died in wars in various places, and there was enough land left to distribute.

When local princes couldn't produce enough from their fiefdoms, they complained to their fathers, leading to the forced relocation of many people to those areas.

There is a place called Beiyuan County at the foot of the Yinshan Mountains in the north. The winters are cold and the climate is dry. It is located at the foot of the mountains where rivers flow. You can often see grassland herders, as well as coal merchants and salt merchants in the county.

There is a village called Beitian in Beiyuan County. It is the time of spring wheat harvest and summer harvest, and a large number of farmers are gathered in their fields to harvest wheat.

Uncle Li, an old man in the village, was harvesting wheat in the fields with his wife and children. The whole family of five worked together from dawn until noon.

The family was resting by the field. Old Man Li fanned himself with his straw hat, wiped the sweat from his face, and frowned as he looked at the sky, which wasn't particularly hot.

The weather was fine and the sun was shining brightly.

Old Man Li said worriedly, "Last year during the wheat harvest, the weather was just like this. We harvested half of it when a heavy rain started, which ruined all the crops. Our family had to borrow ten taels of silver to make it to this year."

"If it rains halfway through the year, we won't be able to survive."

Aunt Li said, "Eat quickly, and then get back to work!"

Li Niu, Li Niu's son, and Li Hong and Li Bing, Li Bing, quickly ate their meal.

Despite being exhausted, the three children knew they had to harvest the grain as soon as possible.

If it rains when the wheat is ripe, the mature grains will sprout due to the rainwater.

Sprouted wheat cannot be eaten or sown, let alone be used as seed next year.

In such an agricultural society, a series of heavy rains could lead to a complete crop failure and directly cause famine in families.

Old Li's family has already experienced this once. If it happens again this year, their two beautiful daughters will be sold to a brothel by their creditors.

In the afternoon, the weather became much cooler.

Old Man Li was getting more and more afraid.

It wasn't just Old Man Li; all the farmers working on this land were calling on their friends and family, and even hiring people to come and harvest the wheat as quickly as possible.

Old Li's family owns a total of 25 mu of land, with each mu producing 100 jin of grain. The more than 2,000 jin of grain they harvest each year not only has to feed them for a year, but also has to pay taxes and plant seeds.

We usually raise chickens and do textiles to earn some extra income, but if this year's grain harvest is even a third less, the whole family will be in trouble!
After the family finished their first day's harvest in a rush, Old Man Li was so exhausted that his back was about to break.

His son, Li Niu, unfortunately fell ill.

Old Li, along with his wife and daughter, continued harvesting wheat. After working themselves to the bone all day, they harvested three mu of wheat in two days.

On the third day, the family set off again, but their good-for-nothing son still hadn't recovered.

Old Man Li was somewhat desperate, but he could only grit his teeth and persevere.

The eldest daughter, Li Hong, is eighteen years old this year. During her lunch break, she went to the river to wash her hands, her face full of sorrow.

The family's relatives were all working and didn't have time to help them.

My younger brother is a disappointment, and we don't have the money to hire a helper.

The thought of being sold to a brothel to pay off her debts made Li Hong burst into tears, which streamed down her face.

She cried for more than ten minutes without anyone coming to comfort her. Li Hong washed her face and looked at the gloomy sky that had been clear for the past two days, feeling even more desolate.

Li Hong walked towards her family's farmland and stopped as she passed a field.

The land, which covered more than ten acres, had already been harvested, and large quantities of wheat were left lying on both sides as if no one had taken care of them.

Logically, the wheat should be harvested and then stacked into bundles, but these ten-plus acres of land seem to have been neglected; the harvested wheat wasn't even properly bundled.

Even if they weren't tied into bundles, they should have been piled up together, not just cut off and tossed on the ground like this. It doesn't look like people who do manual labor.

If harvested wheat is left directly on the ground, it will easily take root and sprout.

Li Hong looked around and soon spotted a figure working in the distance.

The two were several hundred meters apart, and Li Hong walked over out of curiosity.

After walking for two or three minutes, Li Hong finally saw a young man wearing a T-shirt cutting wheat.

The short-haired boy was busy working in the field, his sickle slicing and churning against the wheat stalks, then carelessly tossing handfuls of wheat onto the ground. Li Hong then understood why the wheat from the ten-plus acres of fields was just lying around like that—it turned out the young man was working without anyone helping him.

Thinking of this, Li Hong bent down and began to pick up the wheat that had just been thrown on the ground, placing a piece of wheat every few meters.

There were wheat stalks all around, and it was easy to pile them up and bundle them.

Five or six minutes later, just as Li Hong was about to tie up the third one, she felt someone approaching her.

Li Hong looked up and saw a young man standing about ten feet in front of her, looking down at her.

"What are you doing?"

Beijiwu asked the girl who had suddenly run into his field.

Li Hong squatted down and explained, "I'm Li Hong from the east of the village. You're Xiao Wu? We used to play together when we were kids."

Beijiwu frowned. "I don't remember, but I have seen you in the village. What are you doing in my field?"

Li Hong and this boy were indeed not very familiar with each other. Beiji Wu's surname was Beiji. His family had fled to Beiyuan County during the war and later joined the army, where they were allocated fifty mu of land and a cow in Beitian Village.

After his father died, his elder brother inherited his father's qualification to serve as a soldier in the garrison, while Beijiwu stayed in the countryside to farm. He had a small courtyard with three rooms at the west end of the village, but he didn't interact much with the villagers.

Last year, Beijiwu fell seriously ill and had to sell his cattle to buy medicine to recover.

“I saw that no one was tending to your wheat field, so I’ll help you tidy it up.”

Li Hong glanced at the area behind Beijiwu. Just a moment ago, it was only two or three meters away, but after a while, Beijiwu had finished cutting more than ten meters of wheat.

Looking at the beautiful, gentle, and poised young woman, Beijiwu said directly, "No need, I'll tidy it up myself."

Li Hongxun looked around and asked, "Did you harvest all the wheat in your house by yourself?"

Bei Jiwu wasn't in a hurry to start working. He sat down and wiped his sweat. "Yes, the fifteen acres of land are almost harvested. I'll bundle them up this afternoon and take them home to work on slowly. It might rain again in a few days."

Having witnessed the strength of this boy who looked to be sixteen or seventeen years old, Li Hong now believed his words.

"I..." Li Hong wanted to ask him for help, but she couldn't bring herself to say it because her family really had no money left.

Not only was there no money, but there was also a shortage of food.

Even if all the grain is harvested, it must be used to pay off debts and for food, leaving no surplus grain to give to others.

Seeing that she had something to say, Beijiwu smiled and said, "Just say what you have to say."

Li Hong hesitated for a moment, then thought of her family's urgent situation, and quickly looked at Bei Jiwu and asked, "Are you married?"

"No." Beiji Wu wiped the sweat from his face. "He's only sixteen, there's no rush."

Li Hong blushed and said, "Then...then...what do you think of me?"

Beijiwu looked at her with suspicion, thought for a second and said, "She is a beautiful girl, but my family has no money. Besides a dilapidated courtyard, I only have these fifteen acres of land. I have no money for you or your family, nor do I have money to prepare wedding supplies or hire a matchmaker."

Li Hong quickly replied, "It's okay! I don't need any of those. You just need to help me with some chores around the house!"

Beijiwu quickly waved his hand, "I would never marry into your family."

Li Hong smiled and said, "It's not about marrying into the family; it's just that after I finish my work for you, you can help my family harvest a few acres of wheat. If you agree, I'll go home with you tonight!"

Beijiwu felt somewhat confused. "Have you ever been married?"

Li Hong blushed and quickly and gracefully replied, "I'm not that kind of immoral girl. My family is in debt, and if we don't harvest the wheat well this year, we won't be able to pay it back. My parents might sell me."

Upon hearing this, Beijiwu stood up and said, "Okay, then you can finish my work first. I still have half an acre of wheat to harvest."

"Okay! It's settled then!" Li Hong quickly stood up.

Beijiwu didn't waste any time and continued harvesting his own wheat.

Anyway, the priority is to harvest their own wheat. The girl should first bundle up her own wheat and send it home. Everything else is negotiable.

Even if it's a lie, it has nothing to do with me.

Thinking of the beautiful girl he had just seen—her graceful figure, her rosy, slightly sweaty face, her bright eyes, and her slightly dry lips—Beijiwu worked even harder.

I've been here for a year now. Although I don't have a system or any special encounters, and because I'm a military household, I can't leave the county town, and I can't write calligraphy or recognize the local poems and texts, I'm fortunate to have a good body!

(End of this chapter)