The Leisurely Life of a Peasant Woman in the Tang Dynasty

The warm sunshine sprinkled on the country road, accompanied by the cheerful singing of birds, Tang Youyou brought the three children to the door of Village Chief Wang's house.

"Is Uncle Wang home?" Tang Youyou knocked gently on the wooden door.

"Who is it?" Village Chief Wang's deep voice came from the yard.

"Uncle Wang, it's me, Tang Youyou."

A moment later, Village Chief Wang opened the gate and saw that it was Tang Youyou with the children. A kind smile appeared on his face, "Youyou, come in and sit down."

Tang Youyou led the children into the yard. Village Chief Wang's wife was sitting in the yard picking vegetables. Seeing them coming, she greeted them warmly, "Youyou, come and sit down. Have you had breakfast?"

"Thank you, Auntie. We've already eaten." Tang Youyou responded with a smile. Then, she took out a carefully drawn plan and lease agreement from her cloth bag and handed them to Village Chief Wang. "Uncle Wang, take a look at this."

Village Chief Wang took the blueprint and looked at it carefully. Tang Youyou's plan was very detailed. It not only marked the location and area of ​​each field, but also the types of crops she planned to plant and the crop rotation plan.

"Youyou, you..." Village chief Wang looked at the drawings, frowned slightly, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

"Uncle Wang, if you have any concerns, just tell me." Tang Youyou knew that Village Chief Wang must be worried that she couldn't bear the risk of renting so much land.

"Youyou, it's not that uncle doesn't want to help you, it's just that you have to rent so much land at once, what if..." Village Chief Wang was interrupted by Tang Youyou before he could finish his words.

"Uncle Wang, don't worry. Since I dare to rent it, I must be sure that I can grow it well." Tang Youyou said firmly, "I plan to start by improving the soil. I will share the planting techniques I learned from books with everyone to help everyone increase their food production."

"You learned it from books? Can those nonsense be used to grow crops?" Village chief Wang obviously didn't believe it.

"Uncle Wang, please believe me this time!" Tang Youyou knew that if she wanted to convince Village Chief Wang, she had to prove herself with actual actions. "I brought something with me this time, take a look."

As he spoke, Tang Youyou took out a bag of things from his cloth bag and handed it to Village Chief Wang, "This is a new type of seed that I cultivated in the space. Take a look at the difference between it and ordinary seeds."

Village chief Wang took the seeds and looked at them carefully. He saw that the seeds were full and bright in color, which were obviously much better than ordinary seeds.

"This... this is..." Village Chief Wang looked at the seeds in his hand in surprise and was speechless for a moment.

"Uncle Wang, I plan to give these seeds to everyone for free for trial planting. If the results are good, everyone can continue planting next year." Tang Youyou continued, "I believe that as long as we all work together, we will definitely make life in the village better and better!"

Village Chief Wang looked at Tang Youyou's sincere eyes, pondered for a moment, and said slowly: "Youyou, I appreciate your kindness, but..."

He turned to look outside the door and lowered his voice, "What are you going to do about Widow Chen?"

When Tang Youyou heard this, she understood. Village Chief Wang was reminding her that Widow Chen was the key person in leasing the land...

Village Chief Wang's words were like a stone, rippling through Tang Youyou's heart. She knew that Widow Chen was a well-known "thorn" in the village, with a fiery personality and difficult to deal with. But she also knew that in order to rent those fields, she had to get Widow Chen's consent.

"Uncle Wang, don't worry, I will go talk to Aunt Chen in person. I believe she will understand me." Tang Youyou said in a firm tone, with a confident light in her eyes.

Village Chief Wang looked at Tang Youyou's confident expression and nodded secretly in his heart. This young woman always seemed to have a convincing power. He patted Tang Youyou on the shoulder and said earnestly: "Okay, Youyou, uncle believes in you! Tomorrow is the village meeting. Uncle will speak for you at the meeting. As for whether you can convince everyone, it depends on you."

Tang Youyou nodded gratefully and left Village Chief Wang's house with the children. She knew that tomorrow would be a tough battle, but she was ready.

The next day, the villagers' meeting was held as scheduled. Tang Youyou arrived at the village's threshing ground early, carrying a carefully prepared plan and new seeds. The villagers gathered in groups of three or four, discussing the matter, and most of them had expressions of confusion and wait-and-see attitude on their faces.

Tang Youyou took a deep breath, walked to the center of the crowd, and said loudly: "Hello, fellow villagers! I came here today to ask you to rent me those wastelands at the east end of the village..."

As soon as Tang Youyou finished speaking, the crowd exploded.

"Rent land? Why rent so much land? Can she farm it all?"

"That's right. Those lands have been barren for years. How can we grow crops there?"

"Don't you have any evil intentions?"

……

Faced with the villagers' doubts and discussions, Tang Youyou did not panic. She patiently explained her plan to everyone, showed them the new seeds, and told everyone her ideas and determination to improve the soil and increase food production without reservation.

The villagers had never seen such a novel planting method, nor had anyone ever been so sincere as Tang Youyou in wanting to help them improve their lives. Gradually, the questioning and discussion died down, and more and more people began to listen carefully to Tang Youyou's story, with hope glimmering in their eyes.

At this moment, a sharp voice suddenly rang out: "Don't listen to her nonsense! She's a foreigner, how can she have good intentions? I think she just wants to cheat us out of our land!"

It was Widow Chen who spoke. She stood at the front of the crowd with her hands on her hips, a look of arrogance and disdain on her face.

Tang Youyou turned to look at Widow Chen, her eyes calm and firm: "Aunt Chen, I know you have many misunderstandings about me, but please believe that everything I do is for the good of everyone..."

"For the good of everyone? Don't make it sound so nice! You..." Widow Chen wanted to say something else, but was interrupted by Village Chief Wang.

"Alright, everyone, be quiet!" Village Chief Wang walked to the center of the crowd and said loudly, "I've heard Youyou's thoughts in detail. I believe she truly wants to help us..."

Village Chief Wang told the villagers again about Tang Youyou's plan and determination, and called on everyone to believe in Tang Youyou and give her a chance.

The villagers began to discuss quietly, and the atmosphere became tense. Everyone's eyes were focused on Widow Chen, waiting for her to express her opinion...

In the threshing ground, everyone's eyes were focused on Widow Chen, and the air seemed to freeze. Widow Chen placed her hands on her hips, her lips pursed, her brow furrowed, as if she were engaged in a fierce ideological struggle. After a long moment, she sighed, her tone carrying a hint of helplessness and compromise: "Forget it, forget it. Since Village Chief Wang and everyone else trust you, I have nothing more to say. However, you must remember what you said today. If you dare to deceive us, I, Widow Chen, will be the first to disapprove!"

Hearing Widow Chen's words, Tang Youyou was delighted and a bright smile appeared on her face: "Aunt Chen, don't worry, I will definitely do what I say!"

The villagers' meeting finally approved Tang Youyou's request for a lease. Warm applause and cheers erupted from the crowd, and everyone surrounded Tang Youyou, asking about new planting methods and new seeds. Tang Youyou patiently answered the villagers' questions, a happy smile on her face.

Village Chief Wang looked at this scene and nodded with satisfaction. He knew that Tang Youyou's arrival would bring earth-shaking changes to this peaceful little village. He walked over to Tang Youyou, took out a long-prepared lease contract from his arms, and handed it to her: "Youyou, this is the lease contract. Take a look. If there is no problem, let's sign it."

Tang Youyou took the contract, read it carefully, and after confirming that it was correct, she solemnly signed her name on it. Village Chief Wang also signed and sealed it. From then on, the scale of Tang Youyou's farmland was expanded, and her plan could finally be put into practice.

The setting sun dyed the sky golden. Tang Youyou and the children walked along the ridge of the fields on their way home. The evening breeze caressed their faces, bringing with it the fragrance of rice flowers. Tang Wan and Tang Jin chattered excitedly, discussing the plans for the new farmland. Tang Xiaoya nestled in Tang Youyou's arms, her eyes wide open, curiously observing everything around her.

"Mom, do you think we can really turn those wastelands into fertile fields?" Tang Wan raised her little face, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.

"Of course!" Tang Youyou patted Tang Wan's head, her tone firm and confident, "As long as we work hard, nothing is impossible!"

As night fell, Tang Youyou and her family sat around the table, eating a simple meal, their faces filled with happy smiles. Tang Youyou looked out the window at the bright moonlight, her heart filled with anticipation. Tomorrow, she would begin preparing to reclaim and plant new farmland...

"Mom, let's go to Xintian early tomorrow to take a look!" Tang Jin put down his bowl and chopsticks and said impatiently, "I want to see what it looks like when those wastelands are turned into fertile fields!"

The next morning, before daybreak, Tang Youyou had already gotten up. She simply washed up and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

"Mom, why did you get up so early today?" Tang Wan rubbed her sleepy eyes, walked into the kitchen and asked in surprise.

"We're going to visit Xintian today, so of course we have to get up early." Tang Youyou said with a smile as she poured the steaming porridge into the bowl, "Go wake up your brothers and sisters, and we'll set off after breakfast."

After the family finished breakfast, it was already bright. Tang Youyou took a hoe, sickle and other tools, and led the three children towards the new field with great enthusiasm.

"Mom, this piece of land is really big!" Tang Jin said excitedly as he looked at the vast land in front of him, "If we can plant crops on it, then our family will definitely have a good harvest this year!"

"Yes, mother, what should we plant?" Tang Xiaoya also raised her little face and asked curiously.

"Mom has already thought about it," Tang Youyou said, pointing to an open space not far away. "That place is close to the water source and the soil is fertile, suitable for growing rice. This side is higher and has plenty of sunshine, so let's grow some wheat and corn."

The children clapped their hands excitedly after hearing this. Tang Youyou looked at the children's innocent smiles, her heart filled with hope. She believed that as long as their family worked together, they would be able to turn this wasteland into fertile farmland.

"Okay, let's get to work!" Tang Youyou said, picking up the hoe and starting to turn the soil. The children also picked up their tools and joined in the work with great interest.

Although Tang Wan and Tang Jin were young, they were very sensible and helped Tang Youyou carry tools and clear weeds. Tang Xiaoya was like a happy little bird, running around on the ridges of the fields, picking wild flowers from time to time, weaving them into garlands and wearing them on her head, adding a bit of vitality to the quiet fields.

The sun shone on the fields, illuminating the busy figures of Tang Youyou's family. They were sweating, their faces filled with happy smiles, as if they were painting a beautiful pastoral picture.

"Mom, look, it seems like someone is coming over there!" Tang Wan pointed to the distance and said to Tang Youyou.

Tang Youyou raised her head and looked in the direction Tang Wan pointed, only to see several figures walking on the path in the distance...