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

"Tsk tsk, don't talk nonsense! My father is alive and well, don't bring him up!" Ji Manqing interrupted the woman, "I'll say it again, I'm not your child, I'm not surnamed Li, and I'm not going to get involved with any Zhenguo Duke! Get out of the way, I'm going back to my room!"

As Ji Manqing spoke, he got into the mule cart and prepared to turn the car around.

The woman took two steps forward and continued, "My son, I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have come looking for you so late! But you're all grown up now, you should be able to understand the suffering I went through back then. I'm just a woman, in that situation, what choice did you expect me to make? Did I even have a choice? Can't you forgive your mother and give her a chance to make amends?"

Ji Manqing smiled indifferently, waved his hand, and said, "I understand your past and your predicament at the time, but I can't forgive anyone for a dead doll! The doll you gave away back then must have frozen or starved to death at someone's doorstep long ago!"

"Snapped--"

Ji Manqing cracked his whip, preparing to turn the carriage around and take another route back to Niujiazhuang.

He didn't care about any of that bullshit about being a Duke of Zhenguo, and he didn't want to pay any attention to this strange woman! No one could change the fact that his surname was Ji, and that he was from Niujiazhuang!

Now all he wants is to go home. He misses home, he misses the cave dwelling where he was born and raised, and he misses his mother.

Behind Ji Manqing, the woman continued to shout, "Aren't you tempted by the prosperity and wealth of the capital? Duke Zhenguo, if you don't think about yourself, you should at least think about your children! Are you willing to let your children toil on this barren yellow land for the rest of their lives?"

Ji Manqing stopped the mule cart, turned his head, and solemnly said to the woman, "Thank you for your kindness, but no matter how good the capital is, it is not my home. There are no parents or brothers there! I was born on this yellow earth, grew up on this yellow earth, and I will be buried on this yellow earth when I die!"

No matter how barren this land is, it has still fed tens of thousands of people. If you look down on it, then hurry back to your rich and powerful hometown! I warn you, if you come to Niujiazhuang again to bother me and my parents, I will go to the county government to report you for the crime of deceiving the emperor and misleading the descendants of the Duke of Zhenguo!

Is this a serious crime? Can you bear the responsibility? You'd better think it through! I advise you not to test me; I have a fiery temper, and I absolutely mean what I say!

"How could you be so heartless and cruel!" the woman exclaimed in disbelief.

"Hahahaha—" Ji Manqing laughed loudly, "God, open your eyes and look! Someone abandons their own child and then accuses others of being heartless and ungrateful! How can there be such shameless people in this world! Bah! Meeting someone like you is like farting on your own heel, it's so unlucky!"

"Son—I really am your mother!" the woman continued, unwilling to give up.

"I'll say it again, I'm not your son. If you keep making up these false claims, we'll see you at the county office! Bye-bye, sir!" Ji Manqing shook the reins and turned away with a flourish.

The noblewoman looked at the more than one-foot-high pile of soil that had been kicked up behind Ji Manqing. Her eyes showed disappointment and resentment, but no guilt or remorse.

Wang Ma gently comforted her, "Miss, perhaps the young master just acted impulsively for a moment. After all, so many years have passed, so you don't need to be sad."

The elegant lady wiped away non-existent tears with her handkerchief and said, "This stubborn fellow is just like his deceased father! Since he doesn't want this wealth, I'll grant his wish for now!"

On the other side, in Niujiazhuang, in Old Ji's courtyard.

Yang was sitting on the doorstep, holding a shoe in one hand and rubbing her eyes with the other. Lately, her eyelids had been twitching constantly, and she had to rub them every now and then.

She wasn't worried about Ji Yongsong doing poorly on the exam. He was just a farm boy; it would be great if he could do well, but if he didn't pass the lowest level, it wouldn't matter. Anyway, the family had a few acres of land, and as long as God provided food, they wouldn't be afraid of anything! At worst, they could come back and continue farming. As long as they were hardworking, they wouldn't starve.

Her biggest worry was her son, Manqing.

Her youngest son was also a pitiful child. He was cruelly left at her doorstep just two days after he was born. At that time, she had just given birth to a baby, but the baby did not survive.

It was common for newborn babies to collapse, a common occurrence in the village. She wasn't particularly saddened, but she simply couldn't bear to throw the baby into "Dead Baby Gully." Wolves often lurked in that gully, devouring the dead babies until nothing was left.

But an unborn child cannot be buried in one's own village; this is a rule in every village, and his family cannot break it at will. So that day, she and the child's father waited until very late, preparing to take advantage of the darkness to bury their child in the ditch below.

But as soon as the father stepped out of the hospital, he saw Manqing in swaddling clothes at the door. His little body was ice cold, and even his cries were as weak as a cat's panting.

She and her husband both believed that Manqing, who had been abandoned at the door, had come to prolong the life of their frail baby. And so, Manqing became her fourth son.

Manqing was a pitiful child, and he was also a funny guy. Coupled with his pitiful background, she couldn't help but love him a little more.

Just like back then, she and her husband insisted that Man Chuan and his wife not leave home, and the villagers said that the old couple favored Man Qing and made Man Chuan and his wife raise Man Qing's son.

But she just couldn't help but show some favoritism towards her son.

Over the years, she never thought that Manqing's biological parents would come looking for her. Although Manqing's clothes suggested that he came from a wealthy family, what wealthy family would abandon their own child?

But last year during the wheat harvest, some outsiders came to the village to inquire about what happened back then, and asked about the baby who was born in the same year as Manqing.

She was both anxious and scared, afraid that Manqing's biological parents would come looking for him, and also afraid that Manqing would leave her. But then nothing happened, and she thought the matter was over.

A few days ago, a very luxurious carriage came to the village and hovered around the village entrance every day, often lingering not far from her house. She felt a vague unease. Her intuition told her that the person in the carriage was probably looking for Manqing.

Actually, if Manqing's biological parents were rich and powerful, it would be good if they could take him back. At least Manqing would be a wealthy and fortunate person in the future, instead of having to toil in the fields in the village anymore.

But she really couldn't bear to part with this carefree, unruly son!

"Clang, clang, clang, Mother, your son, I'm back!"

Ji Manqing sped along the road, and as soon as he arrived at the gate, he jumped off the mule cart, ran into the courtyard, and, in a high-pitched voice, imitated Liu Bao from the poem "Spring River Moon," staggered and knelt down in front of Yang.