At night, Zhu Xi returned to his residence with a bag of seedlings in his hand. At the gate, Zhu Di and Zhu Fan kept looking around. When they saw Zhu Xi coming back, they immediately approached him.
"Second brother, what's the matter with you? Didn't you say you were going to get the golden hairpin back? Why haven't you seen anyone all day long?" Because of Zhu Ping's changes during this period, the relationship between the brothers has obviously improved a lot. , if Zhu Ping had not come back before, no one would care about him.
Zhu Xi forced a smile: "One piece of good news, one piece of bad news."
"Ah? What's the bad news?" Zhu Fan asked, rubbing his head.
"The bad news is that I didn't get the gold hairpin back. The gold hairpin was taken away by someone else." Zhu Ming said helplessly.
Zhu Fan and Zhu Di looked at each other, and then became a little desperate: "So, wouldn't we be driven away soon? My legs are almost healed. With Guanyin slave's temperament, if I can't get the gold hairpin back, , she will really drive us away."
"There is another good news, that is, the golden hairpin is in Zhao Changge's hands. He promised that if I can help him plant this bag of seedlings, the golden hairpin can be returned to me."
Zhu Di took the bag and looked at it a few times: "What kind of seedlings are these?"
"I've never heard of sweet potatoes, and I don't know if they are trying to trick me on purpose, but I have no choice now. I can only find a way to grow them first."
"Where to plant?" Zhu Fan asked the key question.
The three of them walked towards the room as they talked.
"There is a large area of wasteland outside the city. I plan to find a piece of wasteland and reclaim it. Fourth child, reclaiming wasteland is not an easy task. I may not be able to make money to support my family during this time. I'm afraid I will have to work hard for you." Zhu Ping thought about it on the way back.
Zhu Di waved his hands indifferently. He knew Zhu Xi's feelings for Guanyin Nu. It was rare to see Zhu Xi take a matter so seriously. As a brother, he would definitely support it. He also felt that Zhu Xi's changes now were very good, so he also I am willing to help Zhu Ping.
"It doesn't matter. Our current life is not too difficult. I also have some money saved. It is not too stressful for me to support the family by myself."
Zhu Fan put his hand on Zhu Di's shoulder: "Don't worry, fourth, my leg is basically fine. I have thought about it. I have lost all my old face after letting you two support me for so long. I plan to stay with you." Go make money to support the family. Since the second son is going to farm, then the two of us will go and make money. Guanyin Slave has helped us a lot. Even if it is not for the second son, we must get back this golden hairpin for Guanyin Slave."
Zhu Di looked at Zhu Fan's feet with some worry: "Lao San, are you sure your legs are okay? It's been a hundred days of strain, so I advise you to continue to rest for a while."
Zhu Fan stamped his feet vigorously and said in an uncertain tone: "I think it should be fine. I can't lie down all the time. I have already decided, so don't try to persuade me."
Zhu Di knew that Zhu Fan was a very self-respecting person, so he hesitated and did not continue to persuade: "That's okay, but if you feel uncomfortable, take a rest immediately. Don't force it."
"Don't worry, I won't make fun of my body." Zhu Fan said with a smile.
The three of them discussed it and decided. Early the next morning, Zhu Fan followed Zhu Di to work, while Zhu Xi walked out of the city with a sickle and a hoe.
There is indeed a large wasteland outside the city, covered with weeds and a lot of gravel.
Zhu Xi has never farmed, but he has been working at the bottom for so long. Although he has never done it himself, he often hears it from others. He knows that if he wants to reclaim wasteland, he must first weed, turn over the soil, and dig canals. These were no small projects, but now that he had decided to do it, Zhu Xi did not hesitate, took the sickle and started to bend down to cut the grass.
At noon, Zhu Xi didn't even drink a sip of water. He almost couldn't stand up while holding on to his waist.
"Haha, young man, are you opening up wasteland?" Suddenly, an old voice came to my ears.
Zhu Xi turned around and saw a one-armed, thin old man looking at him happily with his yellow teeth exposed.
"Uncle, what's the matter?" In the past, Zhu Xi would not even look at such a person, but now he can say hello calmly.
"It's nothing. I see that you have been busy here for a long time, but your methods are very unfamiliar and the methods are all wrong. With your efficiency, it will take several days to clean all the grass in this area. effort."
Hearing what the one-armed old man said, Zhu Xi thought for a while and walked to the old man with a sickle.
"What do you call me, uncle?"
The one-armed old man was a warm-hearted man. He smiled when he saw Zhu Xi asking questions and replied: "Don't be so polite. Just call me Old Man Li. I just don't think you are a person who knows how to farm, so you talk too much." After a few words, if you find me annoying, just leave."
"No, old man Li, I'm right. I really don't know how to farm, but now I have a bag of seedlings in my hand to plant. I have to cultivate a piece of wasteland myself. Seeing that you know so much, if you don't mind the trouble, can you You can’t give me any advice.”
Old Man Li waved his hand: "What can I teach you? If you want to learn, I will teach you. It's not a big skill. Look, you have to hold the sickle like this. Holding the sickle like you just did is not only laborious, but also easy to cut." You have to keep yourself and the grass cut along here..."
While Old Man Li was teaching, he also demonstrated it to Zhu Ping in person. Although Old Man Li only had one hand, his weeding efficiency was obviously much faster than that of Zhu Ping.
"So that's it, Old Man Li, you have helped me a lot." Zhu Fang thanked him sincerely.
"Haha, it's all a trivial matter, but why do you want to open up wasteland here? It's far away from the water source, so most people don't want to come here. I also bought a small piece of land not far over there to grow something to feed myself. Myself, because usually no one comes here, I saw you coming today and thought of coming over to say hello."
"Hey, I'm late. The places near the water source are all occupied, so no one wants this place. Why did you come here to open up wasteland by yourself? What's wrong with your hands?" The relationship between people quickly became closer. Old Man Li was really a warm-hearted person. When he saw Zhu Feng working alone, he took the initiative to stay and help Zhu Fang, so the two started chatting.
A trace of loneliness flashed in Old Man Li's eyes: "I haven't grabbed the land near the water source, so I can only run farther away. As for this arm, I lost it on the battlefield when I was young."
Zhu Xi was stunned for a moment: "Have you ever been a soldier?"
"Yes, I followed His Majesty to fight against Yuan Ren, and then I came back after my arm was gone."
"What about your family?" Zhu Xi continued to ask.
Old Man Li's face stiffened for a moment, and his tone became low as he replied: "I am the only one. My old wife was not in good health and left long ago. She left me two sons, but they both died in the war."
