Daily life of farming and supporting a family on the ancient Loess Plateau

Yang felt dizzy for a moment, patted her chest, and said with a mixture of anger and heartache, "Oh dear, you little rascal, with such a big belly, you still dare to eat such fancy things! You haven't even had enough grains, yet you dare to think of eating bean sprouts as vegetables!"

"What kind of family are we? What kind of conditions do we have? How could we waste it like this! You usually seem so steady, but why are you so reckless with these beans today? You might as well just bury this whole bag of beans in one hole!"

Ji Yongling considered himself a reasonable and scientific person, so he said, "Grandma, look at our place. There isn't much rain to begin with, and the mountains can't retain water, so the beans definitely won't sprout."

Looking with heartache at the soybean clumps that Ji Yongling had trampled over, Yang patted her chest and said, "If these soybeans can't sprout, we can just replant the extra seedlings, right? But you just shoved them all over! Oh dear, how many soybean seeds have you ruined! I can't even imagine it!"

Ji Yongling watched as Yang Shi pounded her chest as if she were having angina, and for a moment she wanted to laugh. But then she thought she could understand the old woman's frugality and love for food, so she quickly coaxed her, "Grandma, don't be angry! I was wrong, I'll go dig out the extra beans." As she spoke, she went to dig out the bean pods that had already been buried in the soil.

Yang glared angrily and said, "What are you digging for? I'll dig it myself. Don't you dare add any more behind you! My child is good, understand?"

The words used to coax a child gave Ji Yongling goosebumps. Even though she was actually 10 years old, 11 by the traditional Chinese age reckoning, or 12 according to Yang's family, she was considered half an adult in this era and couldn't accept being coaxed in such an intimate way.

Given Ji Yongling's misdeeds, Yang was extremely worried. She dug a hole in front of her, and like the leader in the game of "Red Light, Green Light," she immediately turned her head and stared sharply at Ji Yongling scattering beans.

Under such pressure, Ji Yongling's fingers were so tense that they were sweating, afraid of throwing down even one more bean.

In another field not far away, Aunt Ji Liu and Chen Shi were also planting beans. She noticed that Yang Shi hadn't brought a basket cart over and wondered how beans could be planted without one, so she came over during a break.

Before Chen even got close, she shouted loudly at Yang, "Hey, mistress, why didn't you bring a basket? You can't plant beans here!"

Yang was resting on the handle of her hoe when she heard Chen speak. She turned her head and said, "Sixth Aunt, are you also setting out beans? I only have a few beans, so I don't need a basket cart."

"What? No need for a basket cart?" Chen asked in surprise as she walked up to Yang.

Yang patted the other end of the shovel handle, gesturing for Chen to sit down, and said, "It was all Yongling's idea. He said this method of planting beans would save effort. We don't know if it will work, but let's try it out on this piece of land first."

Chen turned to look at the land that Yang and Ji Yongling had planted, and asked doubtfully, "Planting beans? I don't see you even turned the soil. How can you plant them like this? You really just listened to a child's advice on such an important matter as planting beans. What if this delays the harvest?"

Yang had also seen the peanut field. She thought that planting beans shouldn't be a problem, so she said to Chen, "We harvested the rapeseed first, and then planted an acre of peanuts at home. The planting method is similar to planting these beans. I saw that the peanut seedlings were growing very evenly, so I estimate that the beans will be about the same and can be planted!"

Mrs. Chen was even more surprised and said, "Second wife, we can grow peanuts here? Oh dear, I've been saying I'd save some money to buy some peanuts for Shuanzhu's wife to eat, to replenish her blood, and see if she can get pregnant again soon. Our poor family has never been able to save any money. If we could grow them ourselves, that would be great, it would save a lot of money."

Yang said with some pride, "They can be planted! The seedlings are growing really tall! I heard from Yongling that people in the south not only use peanuts as medicine and snacks, but they can also press them for oil!"

"Really? Isn't that the same as sesame seeds and rapeseed? That's wonderful!" Mrs. Chen exclaimed enviously.

"When the harvest comes this year, I'll save the seeds and share some with you next year, so you can plant some in your field too."

"It will work! It will work! That's wonderful!" Chen said excitedly, then looked towards the field where Yang had planted the beans.

Seeing Chen looking at the bean field she had already surveyed, Yang said, "Have you finished tilling all the land where you planted beans this year?"

Madam Chen nodded, and said thoughtfully, "As for her mistress, I'll also clear out some land on the hillside, and plant beans like you are. What do you think?"

Yang raised her eyebrows and laughed, "What's wrong with that! It's very simple, much easier than arranging beans. You don't even need to turn the soil. You just need to use the hoe to dig holes and then plant the beans. But you absolutely mustn't let Yongmei plant the beans. Don't grab a handful and throw them in."

Upon hearing this, Chen knew that Ji Yongling must have done it, and she laughed so hard that she couldn't open her eyes.

It is said that the Crouching Dragon and the Young Phoenix will never appear alone; wherever the Crouching Dragon is, the Young Phoenix will surely be within five meters.

Just as Ji Yongling finished "committing a crime," Ji Yongning was being subjected to severe torture by his father because he almost caused a fight between men and women in the Ji family.

Originally, Hu Xirong and Ji Manqing were digging the pits in front, while the two brothers, Ji Yongning and Ji Yongning, were planting beans behind them.

While clicking the beans, Ji Yongning was thinking about Erdan's new slingshot. Erdan's father had made him a new slingshot and said he would lend it to him to play with today, but he just couldn't finish clicking the beans in his hand.

Looking at the distant horizon ahead, he anxiously asked Ji Manqing, "Dad, when can I go home?"

Ji Manqing didn't turn his head and continued digging the hole with the hoe, saying, "You can go back after you finish burning the beans in your hand."

Ji Yongning seemed to be deep in thought, and then quickened his pace.

After Ji Manqing finished digging the holes, thinking that it was the child's first time grinding beans and that he must be tired from working for so long, he decided to take the beans from Ji Yongning and grind them himself. Unexpectedly, Ji Yongning handed him an empty bag.

Ji Manqing stared wide-eyed and asked, "Where are the beans?"

Ji Yongning said innocently, "I've finished ordering. Dad, can I go back now?"

Ji Manqing sensed something was wrong, but couldn't quite put his finger on it, so he said, "Sit here for a while, I'll check on your mother and Yongzhou." With that, he went to call Hu Xirong from the neighboring field.

Hu Xirong was digging a hole when she heard Ji Manqing calling her. She threw down her hoe and came over, asking, "What's wrong? The beans aren't even finished, why are you yelling at me?"

Ji Manqing opened the empty bag and said, "Look, less than half of the beans have been used up, and it's all gone. You must have put too few beans in when you filled it."

Hu Xirong took the bag of beans, glanced inside, and retorted, "I've farmed for half my life. I can count the exact number of beans needed per acre with my eyes closed. Don't wrong an innocent person!"