“lush & green” fields

As the only literate person in the village, Zhao Ce was seen walking with his wife in the fields during the day, wearing an old robe and carrying a hoe and a winnowing basket, which surprised the villagers who were used to seeing him attend school.

He seemed to have abandoned his previous manners as a scholar and tied the bottom of his robe directly to his waist, becoming a person who not only studied but also did household chores and farm work.

The villagers speculated about his behavior and wondered if he had suffered from some sort of shock or if he was on leave from school. Zhao Youcai, his uncle, had not told anyone about Zhao Ce's expulsion from school, but it was only a matter of time before the news spread.

However, Zhao Ce did not seem to care about the rumors and continued to walk leisurely with his wife. Su Caier, feeling regretful for letting her husband do manual labor, believed that as a literate person, Zhao Ce should not be doing such work.

But Zhao Ce, understanding the importance of improving the family's economic situation, did not mind working in the fields and doing household chores.

As they walked, Su Caier whispered to him, apologizing for her earlier advice, but Zhao Ce simply smiled and continued walking, thinking mockingly 'So he should just sit at home, and pretend to read books? And watch the little girl running around busy by herself doing all the work?'.

Zhao Ce helplessly said, "When it's time to study, study; when it's time to work, work." "That's the right way to do it."

Su Caier listened but was confused.

The only thing she knew was that her husband was different from other scholars.

To be more precise, he was better than any other man she had ever met.

Since her husband was so great, everything he said must be right! Su Caier nodded her little head and said, "My husband is right!"

Zhao Ce smiled and patted her little head with the hand that was free.

The two walked from the village road to the field.

The sun was getting higher in the sky, and the weather was getting warmer. There were already many people working hard in the fields. Most of them were men. A few women from families with more land also rolled up their pants and joined in the work.

Many people were wearing grass shoes on the field. When they saw Zhao Ce, they stared at him curiously. Someone shouted, "Lord Zhao, what are you doing in the field?" "Don't get your clothes dirty."

After the voice sounded, some laughter came from nearby. Zhao Ce looked at him and said with a smile, "I'm just going to take a look in the field, Uncle Dachang." As he spoke, he continued to stroll forward with Su Caier.

"What's going on? Is that really Lord Zhao?" "Why isn't he afraid of getting his clothes dirty now?" Everyone was confused by Zhao Ce's attitude.

He had only been married to his thin little wife for a few days, but he had already become a different person.

He was willing to work in the field now? As they worked, everyone gossiped about Zhao Ce.

Zhao Ce's two acres of land were located near the foot of the mountain.

They walked further in. The air was filled with various crops and a fresh scent. Zhao Ce smelled it and felt like he wanted to compose a poem.

However, the further they went in, the sparser the crops in the fields inside became. Most of the fields here were lower-grade fields with poor harvests. The yield of crops in these fields was at least half that of the crops outside.

After walking further, they saw a field in the distance that was lush and green. The plants seemed to grow very vigorously. Zhao Ce looked at that place and felt that it was very much like his own fields. He nodded his head, feeling somewhat comforted. It seemed that the previous owner was a bit of an idiot, but at least they had contributed something by properly taking care of the crops, which were growing so well.

The crops in these two acres of land were good enough to harvest. While walking, Zhao Ce pointed to the two acres of land several ridges away and said to the little girl beside him, "That is our field. You see, it grows so vigorously, we will definitely be able to harvest a lot of crops."

Su Cai'er also curiously looked around, but her vision wasn't as good as Zhao Ce's, and she wasn't tall enough to see that far for the time being. "Husband, I can't see," she said, and couldn't help but speed up her pace.

After all, there weren't too many people here, and she didn't have to worry about her own legs. She immediately quickened her pace and walked forward with one foot deep and one foot shallow.

Zhao Ce laughed and said, "There's no need to rush. We're almost there. Anyway, our family only has these two acres of land, so we have plenty of time to harvest."

A gust of wind blew by, and the rice plants around them rustled. Zhao Ce turned his head and looked around. He felt quite good and said, "Is this the joy of a good harvest?"

There was also a stream flowing in the distance. The scenery was really nice. The closer Su Cai'er walked toward the two acres of land that her husband had pointed out, the more she felt something was strange about it. Wasn't the field too green? Where were the golden fruits on top? She quickened her pace and walked to the edge of the field.

Looking at the lush greenery, Su Cai'er asked in doubt, "Husband, is this our field?" Zhao Ce brought his gaze back from the distance and smiled, "Yes. It seems that the people I found are quite reliable. They have taken good care of our land, haven't they?" Zhao Ce walked closer and took a closer look.

Suddenly, he was dumbfounded. Wait, where were the crops they were talking about? This lush green area was filled with weeds that were taller than people!