The Leisurely Life of a Peasant Woman in the Tang Dynasty

The dilapidated wooden door creaked, standing out in the quiet village. Tang Youyou, holding a little girl's hand, followed by two older children, walked into a mud house that was clearly in disrepair. Curious glances darted in from all directions, some probing, some puzzled, and most unabashedly scrutinizing, making the newly arrived Tang Youyou feel a bit uncomfortable.

"Wanwan, you and your brother and sister play in the yard for a while while mommy cleans up the house." Tang Youyou said, putting the simple bundle in her hand on the ground and began to clean up the messy dead branches and leaves in the yard. The eldest daughter Tang Wan sensibly picked up the broom and swept the floor carefully, imitating her mother. The youngest son Tang Jin, however, was like a wild horse that had broken free from its reins. He ran around in the yard, sometimes climbing onto the pile of stones in the corner of the wall, and sometimes chasing flying butterflies, which made Tang Youyou unable to help but scold him: "Jin'er, don't run around!" Tang Jin stuck out his tongue, made a face, ran to Tang Youyou, hugged her and acted coquettishly: "Mom, this yard is too small, I want to go out and play."

"I'll take you out after I've cleaned up the house," Tang Youyou said, patting her youngest daughter, Tang Xiaoya's head. Xiaoya was squatting on the ground, fiddling with a few broken tiles. When she heard her mother's words, she raised her head and looked at Tang Youyou curiously with her big, watery eyes.

It took Tang Youyou half a day to clean up the dilapidated house. Looking at the simple home in front of her, she felt mixed emotions.

"Mom, are we going to live here from now on?" Tang Wan asked uneasily as she looked at the unfamiliar environment around her.

"Yes," Tang Youyou touched her daughter's hair and said softly, "This will be our home from now on. We will live a good life here."

In order to reassure the children and to adapt to life here as quickly as possible, Tang Youyou decided to ask the villagers for advice on farming. She took Tang Wan to the old locust tree at the entrance of the village, where an old man was sitting and smoking a pipe.

"Uncle Li," Tang Youyou stepped forward to greet him, "I've just moved here, and I'd like to ask you for some advice on farming. Is that convenient for you?"

Uncle Li narrowed his eyes, sizing up the pretty young woman in front of him, and said slowly, "Farming is not an easy job. Can a woman like you do it?"

"Uncle Li, I'm not afraid of hardship, please teach me." Tang Youyou said sincerely.

Seeing her sincerity, Uncle Li began to explain the farming seasons, tools, and methods. Tang Youyou listened attentively, occasionally asking questions. Although Uncle Li patiently answered her questions, his words still revealed his suspicion of her.

At this time, a fat woman came over with a basket in her hand.

"Oh, isn't this the new lady from the Tang family? Why are you coming out to visit so soon?" Aunt Wang said sarcastically, with a hint of contempt in her eyes.

"Aunt Wang, I'm here to ask Uncle Li for some farming knowledge." Tang Youyou replied indifferently, not wanting to pay attention to her provocation.

"You? Still want to farm? Don't let the land go to waste and you have to rely on us for support!" Aunt Wang said with a sneer.

Tang Youyou clenched her fists, suppressing the anger in her heart. She knew that in this strange era, if she wanted to gain a foothold, she had to work harder than others.

As the sun set, Tang Youyou brought Tang Wan back home. Looking at the barren land in the yard, she took a deep breath, a determined light flashing in her eyes. Tomorrow, they would start by turning the soil!

The next morning, before the mist had dissipated, Tang Youyou got up early, ready to work hard. She followed the example of other farmers in the village, shouldered the hoe, and walked confidently towards her own wasteland.

"Mom, where are you going?" Tang Jin asked while rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"Mom, go plow the soil. We have to start working early today so that we can eat the food we grow as soon as possible." Tang Youyou said with a smile, her tone full of enthusiasm.

"I want to go too!" Tang Jin became interested when he heard it and clamored to go along.

Tang Youyou couldn't persuade him, so she had to take him to the field.

Arriving at the field, Tang Youyou rolled up her sleeves, picked up the hoe and began to turn the soil. However, since it was her first time doing farm work, the hoe seemed to have its own ideas in her hand and refused to obey. Every time she hoeed, she either hit a rock or dug nothing, and she couldn't turn over more than a few inches of soil in half a day.

"Mom, you are so stupid!" Tang Jin on the side laughed at her mercilessly.

Tang Youyou blushed, but was too embarrassed to blame her son. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and swung the hoe even harder.

"Ouch!" Suddenly, Tang Youyou slipped and fell to the ground. The hoe flew out and hit the tree trunk beside her.

"Mom, are you okay?" Seeing this, Tang Jin hurried over to help Tang Youyou up.

Tang Youyou rubbed his sore butt and looked at the still barren land in front of him, his heart filled with frustration.

As night fell, Tang Youyou dragged her exhausted body back home. Looking at the innocent sleeping faces of the children, her heart was filled with guilt and self-blame.

"I will make sure you live a good life!" Tang Youyou clenched his fists and swore secretly in his heart.

Exhausted, she soon fell asleep. In her dream, she seemed to see a golden rice field, with full ears of rice swaying in the wind, and the sound of birdsong in her ears...

"Tick, tick..."

After an unknown amount of time, Tang Youyou was awakened by a strange sound. She opened her eyes and found herself still lying in bed, with the children sleeping soundly beside her.

"Strange, that sound is..." Tang Youyou was just wondering when she suddenly felt her right palm getting hot. She subconsciously spread out her palm and saw a flash of golden light before it disappeared.

"Is this a dream?" Tang Youyou rubbed his eyes and muttered to himself.

She turned over and wanted to continue sleeping, but the scenes in her dream kept replaying in her mind: the golden rice fields, the plump rice ears, and the crisp birdsong...all of this seemed so real, as if within reach.

"Could it be that this isn't a dream?" Tang Youyou suddenly sat up, a bold guess surging in his mind.

She threw back the covers, got out of bed, walked to the window, and gently pushed it open. The sky outside was still pale, and the distant skyline gradually took on a light golden hue. A new day had begun.

Tang Youyou took a deep breath, closed his eyes, pointed his right palm at the sky outside the window, and said silently in his heart: "Let me see if you really exist."

The next second, she felt a warm sensation in her palm again, and then a golden light shot out from her palm and went straight into the sky!

Tang Youyou widened her eyes in surprise. She could feel that the golden light seemed to be connected to something, and a powerful energy was continuously flowing out of her body.

"This...what is going on?" Tang Youyou murmured to herself, her heart filled with confusion and uneasiness.

At this moment, she suddenly remembered that when she fell in the field yesterday, her hoe seemed to hit a strange stone. Could it be that all this was related to that stone?

In order to verify his guess, Tang Youyou decided to go to the fields as soon as the sun rose.

"Mom, what's wrong with you?"

Tang Youyou's unusual behavior woke up Tang Wan from her sleep. She rubbed her sleepy eyes, looked at her mother standing by the window, and asked with concern.

"Nothing, Mom just wants to see the sunrise today." Tang Youyou turned around and gave her daughter a gentle smile.

Outside the window, the morning sun has slowly risen, and the golden sunlight has spread across the earth, illuminating the hope in Tang Youyou's heart.